The original plans for book two of the Butterfly Dragon series of books were going to introduce the character Dragon Butterfly, who is essentially the mirror reflection of Heylyn Yates, that is spawned from an ancient spirit that finds a way to ressurrect itself through the body tattoos of a Japanese lady. An aspect of the story that was planned in later chapters but that I never got to, before deciding to scrap the original book two and replace it with What Different Eyes See.
What I've decided to publish here are all of the initial drafts for the second book, keeping in mind that none of them are finished.
I just thought that given how often I've made reference to this, I thought that it would be good to publish as a frame of reference to see how far Butterfly Dragon and Shhhh! Digital Media have come since 2015. They're very rusty in terms of the quality of writing, not to mention a bit pretentious, lacking engaging elements of the plot that you'll find in some of the better episodes of Two Butterflies.
I'll add the last version of Dragon Butterfly (which was originally drafted in March of 2016) in a day or two and yes, it includes the Ballerina, though I'm not doing so as part of any accusation against the film makers but rather to show you the truth about the content I've created.
It was a good idea but I opted not to finish it back when I wrote it in 2016. Its ironic though that with Keanu Reeves quite often symbolizing John Penny in his John Wick and Matrix 4 generation, and myself symbolizing Neo from the first Matrix film, I could see people taking from me based upon the idea that with my love interest being Southeast Asian, that they accuse me of taking John Penny's identity when nothing could be further from the truth.
I've always been attracted to Asian women, but I've lived in the presence of people and racist ideologies that for some reason oppose it for me, instead trying to force me in a different direction racially that fits their racist ideas about relationships and blood, knowing that if I resisted such a push that it would make me appear the racist, when in fact its them. I'm European Canadian though, and in all truth, I've been attracted to Southeast Asian women for my whole life, though I did my best to be honourable to the women with whom I was involved despite the pressures of this cult.
No disrespect meant to John Penny though, as I'm certain that none of this was his doing and was more so focused on making me into the "bad" person. Still, I've never used crack cocaine in my life (take that Miles).
Regardless, I'll add the version of Dragon Butterfly that includes the Ballet dancing character who adapts her dancing style into a weapon within the next day or two.
There are several versions and each are published from the oldest to the newest. I also found the version
This should at least keep you going while I tone down my writing a bit to take some time and enjoy content I've been meaning to watch, and to give me a break while I recharge for the next big push, which I suspect will happen twice over the next month. Once in the next few days, and once a month or two from now.
I hope you enjoy!
Brian Joseph Johns
Shhhh! Digital Media Presents:
The Butterfly Dragon II: Dragon Butterfly (September 29, 2015)
On Language And Translation
This story takes place in a number of locations throughout the world. In these locations I've tried to adhere to a level of realism and retain the indigenous language as related in telling the story. In such places within the story, I've switched to a new method of keeping the English language translation by placing it above any spoken dialog that is in another language other than English within braces {} and in italics.
For example, a line of dialog for a Korean speaker would look something like this.
{Butterfly. Butterfly. In the night and in the sky. The Dragon follows and dare not I.}
"nabi. nabi. bam haneul e . yong-eun da-eum gwa na haji gamhi" Lee Jeong said raising goose bumps on her arms.
or a line of Chinese Traditional might look like this:
{If it was I in your dream, then lose not your self esteem. For I'm the bringer of great things, though none so great as you...}
"Rúguǒ shì wǒ zìjǐ de mèngxiǎng, nàme bùyào shīqù nǐ de zìzūn. Duìyú wǒ de wěidà de shìqíng de shǐzhě, suīrán méiyǒu nàme dà, nǐ..." Weltherwithsp spoke eliciting the rhyme in another translation.
The character Weltherwithsp would likely not make such a rhyme (the rhyme is in the English and then spoken in the dialog of another language and therefore it would not be consistent in the spoken language but this is just an example).
I've given considerable thought to the dialog and just how things might be said in their host languages. As well, I've tried my best to be aware of the differences that language elicits in the minds of their speakers for most thought itself is based in linguistics and in some cases limited by what we give name or label to.
For instance, we in this part of the world might refer to something so simple as a snow fall by few words (snow, sleet, slush). All of those words describe icy water fallen from the sky whereas the Inuit have some twenty to thirty different words for the same weather phenomenon describing all of the different kinds of weather there is related to icy water falling from the sky. If your life and survival depends upon it, chances are you'd want to be able to communicate all the different permutations of a thing that relate as such.
I've taken this into consideration as much as I can and tried to carry as much of the ideas of some of the host cultures and their mystique as possible. In this story more so than with Heroes Of Our Own, Heylyn's native language of Chinese and her original cultural identity has proven to be a key element to the events about to unfold. At least part of this story is about each of the characters coming to terms with where they are, where they came from and where they are headed.
Though I've learnt much of the Heylyn's culture through personal study and past relationships, my language skills are not so good as to write a line of dialog in Heylyn's or Warai's native tongue. I write the dialog in English and then translate with Google Translate. The dialog that I come up with is written though from the perspective of the speaker of the host language if that makes any sense.
For instance, when you translate the spoken language of a Chinese speaker into English, it has style to it that is representative of the grammar of the host language of the speaker. I've tried to maintain that as best I can, by taking what I know about the language after translation and retaining that style when I write the Chinese dialog. Likewise with the other languages that are to be found in this book.
As well, it might be noticed that rather than using the host character set of the spoken language, I've instead chosen to use the alphabet and phonetics for the speakers' language. In this way it can be read by an English speaking reader, phonetically and they might learn something about the language it represents. I am very excited about this because it allows many different readers who speak different languages to come at the story from different viewpoints. A Chinese speaker and reader might get something very different from the story than an English reader does versus a Korean reader, versus a Japanese reader all while staying the narrative inherent in the story.
Presentience And Informata
Does art imitate life or is it the other way around? This is a question that many philosophers have pondered and have rarely come up with on solid answer. Much like the two slit experiment of quantum physics that exposed the behaviour of fast moving particles and consequently the underlying mass and energy of the universe, it takes both paths at once and interferes with itself to make matters more confusing.
A new generation of idealists, perhaps much like the book burners of old have arisen recently. There are those amongst their numbers that believe that if you do not experience or conduct directly an activity, that you have no right to write about it, either in journal or fiction format. In addition to this idea, amongst those people, there are others who believe that if they mimic the qualities of what you've actually done in your life, they can abscond with those actions for their own and erase you having done them at all. So essentially, writers lose on both sides of that fence because by the advent of such people, there is no room for imagination or creativity in the context of life or storytelling and worse, if you do not guard your own life carefully, you may even lose the events of your own to others who sweep them up away from you by using their similar prior actions to act as a sponge for them.
Welcome to the world of the modern idealism, though we can hardly blame a generation for it. It has more to do with the way some people have learned about dualism as a means of muffling or taking the actions of another. Either because they believe that those actions or efforts occurred because of their presence as many of the people who believe such drivel are taught to think they are genetically superior and are the sources for anything that goes on around them.
So I as a writer, who has no children and is not married, must tread carefully when writing about subjects with which I have no experience. How could I empathize about things I've never done or experienced much less offer advice about them that anyone should ever take seriously? In the world of the Butterfly Dragon series of stories given the nature and origins of the character, the child is an important part of driving force of the plot. Secondly, at one point in my life believe it or not, I was one of those lovable yet pesky tiny little gruffins at one time. So the experience argument works. How can I write about a person who flies? How can I write about curing genetic ailments and diseases that have thwarted humankind for all of its existence? How can I write about people who fly under their own abilities? Or read minds? Or write characters that talk to an imaginary fifty foot long flying thing with butterfly wings for advice or psychoanalysis?
In the case of the real, the only way that one ever experiences is by imagining or trying for one's self. This has limits though and is not a good approach to anything where human life other than your own is at risk. Even professional athletes often practice visualizing themselves achieving their goals, with statistically proven results thus proving that one can literally imagine themselves practising to improve some skills negligibly. Modern gaming and virtual reality have proven that many skills we possess now-a-days can be augmented and improved by such imaginary experiences. The Spacial and perceptual qualities of our mind and our powers of observation may be improved by such activities with plenty of scientific evidence to back this up. So practice may come in a variety of packages (including one of my favourites, the almighty book) where you can learn without the risk of ever having done that thing at all yourself. Keep in mind that unless you are somehow physically unable to experience such things, they are no substitute for the real thing. A real trip to a resort island is probably much more enjoyable than just the first book in this series alone. Now reading the book while on a resort island, out on the beach? That might be for you. I can only hope that your life is that full of such experiences and if not, reading is a wonderful way to live and learn.
As far as other people being the source for what experiences writers write about. I would say that the answer is like the photon (or electron) in the double slit experiment. The answer is that it goes both paths and interferes with itself as well. What it comes down to is that many people who live around writers often want to cite themselves as the source of inspiration for a writer. Some even go far enough to keep an eye on the writer's progress (even illegally) and make it a game of determining who has the most influence upon what the writer writes. In such cases I'd say that such people have little to no effect upon what the writer writers, because under such circumstances, I as a writer either stop writing, or forcible ensure that character or plot arc stays away from any resemblance to things around me.
Having been burned a few times with regard to actual events of my life having been absconded with by such would be thieves (though I do not believe those events or histories to be gone). Similarly I've had situations where people have pre-dated their experiences to match some aspect of my story as I write it, as a means to lay claim to being the source of inspiration, or even to claim they are controlling me into writing it, Neither is true.
What it comes down to is that life is a great place, and that no matter what life throws at me and I might complain about it from time to time, ultimately what I put into the world I want to have a positive effect of some form because I want to leave this place a little bit better than it was when I got here. It starts somewhere within my imagination and just filters through my way of thinking about things and makes its way to these pages as a story.
Someday soon, we'll be able to record our real actual perceptual and cognitive experiences of life, and trade them with one another like we do with music, movies and software now and even when we are able to do that, there will always be the story tellers who speak through the various mediums available to them, of things that do not yet exist, have not happened or things that might have yet to come whether they've experienced them or not personally. You don`t need a license to live or imagine.
Yet.
Don't let that become a modern reality of existence.
Introduction
This is the second book in the Butterfly Dragon series of stories. This story continues the lives of Alicia, Heylyn and Valkyra, Monique and Norler and introduced some new characters, some of whom will probably die. The tone of this book will take the characters to a much darker place and territory than that they faced in the first book Heroes Of Our Own. It will also deal with issues that are mature and therefore reader's discretion is advised.
It picks up several years after the success of their mission to the Treadwater Island Resort to deal with Mr. Zek, who is in prison at the time the story begins. Torman has been dead and "cleansed" from the minds of those that he'd occupied during the events of the first book and throughout some of the stories. Alicia's life has changed drastically as has her life role and purpose there to. She still possesses the initial driving force that motivated her for the first story but she's hung up her proverbial cape in favour of other ways to better society. She has also been in a serious relationship with Norler, the benevolent and philanthropic billionaire and is seeking to expand their commitment.
Valerie has been building her own business empire, or has at least started the process with a degree of success. Having finally overcome Torman's hold over her (see the story Valkyrie's Deal which chronologically takes place just before the events of this book) and secured lucrative business deal she much like Alicia has moved on to other priorities.
Heylyn and Monique have become closer during that time and have struggled to keep up with the changing times and live up to the high demand world of fashion, each in the way they know best. As a result, Alicia and Heylyn haven't been keeping in touch as often as they did in the first book. Of the original group of four heroes who brought closure to the story in Heroes Of Our Own, Heylyn and Monique are the only two who continued their efforts in many ways, including helping the Police to solve difficult crimes and in one case, even helping to hunt down a serial murderer who posed as a drug dealer (read the short poem Her Bedtime Story). Heylyn's attention recently has returned to the fashion world with an upcoming show by her company's top designer.
Heylyn's story in this will cover much ground and a vast time span from the very beginning of the children's tale her alter ego, The Butterfly Dragon is based upon. The very story her Grand Mother told her as she told her Mother in their family tradition.
Prologue
*From an ancient legend and seer's tale*
*For every left there is a right.
For every day. Another night.
For every dragon, there's a butterfly.
For every butterfly dragon. A dragon butterfly.
The field peaceful.
Quiet as the night.
The monster came.
Stayed from their sight.
It came to them,
within their dreams.
When none could know
or hear their screams.
That only left,
their life at day.
They'd not leave home,
for there they'd stay.
Afraid to live,
afraid to die.
caught in the middle,
from side to side.
To find no peace,
to find no end.
In dark then light,
one cannot bend.
The butterflies spoke,
while the dragons fought,
The butterflies' used,
the time they'd bought.
The only way,
to stop this dance.
The butterflies found,
their only chance.
For this to cease,
they had to try.
For the field to live,
they both must die...*
Birth: 500 BCE
Under the stars she'd been on her way to the village circle. Her parents had built their hut which was quaint and simple by even their standards within the small village. Despite the fact that it was one of the few which still held its fired clay bricks and mortar to reinforce its' walls against the spirits. The land had many and their moods changed quickly and fiercely just as likely as they'd be calm and serene. She struggled with her extra weight and despite the calm of the eve, even the smaller bumps on the path seemed like mountains.
They had lived in the village for as long as time itself so it seemed, though really it had been twenty years since they'd settled in the valley, for its prime conditions and drainage for farming. Her mother and father had been a part of the settlers who built the village from the wood and dirt. They built the tools, erected the houses and then built the farms all from nothing but what the land and the spirits had provided them.
The men and women of the village were equals, each as capable as the other and the only lines drawn were those afforded the elderly by the young. Wisdom was valuable when you lived by the land and your wits, and the young paid their respects to earn it. Those that did often lived long and prosperous lives. Those that didn't often learned the hard way if they survived.
The land was free and that freedom often came at a steep price. The land was one country divided into many different peoples who often fought wars for its resources or to quiet the spirits and keep the balance of power. The land had been consolidated from time to tome in the dynasties, the Xia, the Shang and the Zhou. In that time they had become divided by many different means and a beast beyond their control in a land full of restless spirits. To the west, a fierce and nomadic enemy who often had other ideas about how the land should be ruled. They periodically stormed villages, pillaging the food and laying waste to what had been built. For them the land was the provider and if people were fostering unnatural growth from it, some other natural force would arrive to return the balance. Often it was the nomads of the west whom pressed even the mightiest of the armies of the dynasties. Divided the people of the land fell and united they held their home. The dynasties struggled for power and support within this turmoil.
To the east and into the seas, the great land of Honshu. Amongst them a great deal of fighting would determine who ruled and what part of the mighty island under the shadow of its silent God, the mountain that spit fire and smoke. The killing had found its way their too and the only art that had emerged as a result was that which could remain hidden from the blade of war and war itself. Sometimes they would would gather in their boats and come ashore to the east, and fight vicious battles, the spirits of Honshu and their blades against the spirits of the great land. Most often they eventually made peace, and there was shared learning between the two peoples before they'd return to their destiny on Honshu. Sometimes there was no peace and no one would return. The spirits of the land and of Honshu were satisfied that the price had been paid and balance had been restored. Then the arts would thrive and the peaceful would prosper while the warriors would tend their blades. The soul could not be denied.
To the south, and the lands of Gojoseon, the great farmers of both the land and sea, and the great architects and artisans lived their lives. Sometimes a party would leave their habitat and arrive with goods and knowledge to trade. Sometimes the people's of her land would go there and do the same. Sometimes there would be trading and others there might be killing. Sometimes the restless spirits would push the residents of Honshu to travel in their boats in great armies and fight wars with the Gojoseons of the south. Sometimes her people would go to the south to fight by their side. Sometimes the people of the Gojoseons would fight amongst each other. Sometimes they'd make peace and other times they'd slaughter the living until there were none. No matter who was fighting, there was always trade between them.
The dragon had its eyes in many places and where it did, there was death when the spirits were not happy with the people or the demons sought destruction. The dragon was the eyes of the land and its will to do great harm to restore balance. When the spirits were satisfied and the demons had tired and the land had been restored, the dragon became a source of peace and good fortune to the people. It was the will to balance the forces of the land and the spirits and the demons and to maintain harmony and balance. The dragon had rarely if ever looked upon her village and the spirits had rarely held contempt for them for they took what they needed and traded what they didn't. What they traded always brought in the means to heal the land. The paddies in their land had become fertile and bore much food for them and their skills had grown and before long the village had become prosperous. Nobody would speak word of this, for they did not want to attract the attention of the greedy spirits who might seek to benefit from their efforts.
So as the dragon slept, or kept the turmoil churning and frothing in the east, west and the south, the butterflies found their way into the village and the surroundings. The butterflies too were considered spirits of the air, artistry and beauty. Many people reviled them for the good fortune they'd bring and seeing one was often an good omen. She'd been told by her mother that long ago when the butterflies were scorned by the other creatures of the land for their beauty and artistry, they created the dragon to protect virtue, the land and its fauna and artistry.
There was no wall to protect them against the riders of the west. These nomads of the steppes were enemies of the dragon as they often killed those that they felt were useless. Artistry was one such thing they saw no utility for so often artisans were cut down unless they could adapt their skills for military use by the khans. Most couldn't and were often killed rather than being kept as labourers. In many villages that bordered the plains the value of art had not diminished but had become cherished. Those who possessed it would keep it guarded and hidden against such risk, only to display it proudly again when the threat had disappeared.
With the pressures of survival around them, the crops of the farmers were valued treasures like the art and just as necessary and symbolic for survival. The farmers had first noticed this and the fact that farming often made those who did it quite flexible agile and full of constitution. This made them the best qualified to protect their farming paddies and land against attack and had inadvertently resulted in the most organized form of martial training in existence. Some of the astute elder generations has developed techniques for using their farm tools as weapons against attackers. Over the generations this developed into an organized tradition of training, integrating itself with the spiritual beliefs of those of the land. In many villages, the elders would teach the young different styles borrowed from the animals living around them (including the butterfly and the dragon). These styles became more and more diversified and included the farming tools for use as weaponry against the riders and before long, they'd become formidable and legendary artisans themselves of martial endeavours.
Her mother and father had developed the first integrated style of the martial arts that combined the grace of the butterfly with the ferociousness of the dragon, much like the story she'd been told when she was a child. It was for this that the butterflies had made the village their home and the dragon protected it from the turmoil surrounding it. It was part of their family history and the village was their family too, though they`d had roots much further than they`d ever have known and back before the turmoil had found the land and when the people were in harmony with each other and the land and its fauna. When the butterfly and the dragon were one.
During these times of peace in the earliest of times of the land, her family had been born. They had come from the lands of the south, and the artisans of food and cultivation who so much loved and lived from the land and sea without raping it to survive. They came from the families of the warring tribes of Honshu, whose intensity and passion for the extremes of life and death had forged her as a skilled and talented martial artist in her parents' own personal family style. Finally from her home land itself and the love of its beauty, scenery and fauna and the land whose sky she experienced the wonders of the heavens every night since her birth. She and her family were a product of the best of their world and peoples unified in harmony. It is from this harmony that the butterfly dragon awoken through them and into the lives of the people in their village. Both as a unifying spirit and as a means to protect it.
Just as there had been a people to unify, there had been a force to segregate. Where her people had encouraged peace and understanding through martial training and the style of the Butterfly Dragon, another had encouraged war and mindless slaughter. Where her people had taught others to work the land and become self sufficient and realized, the other sought to incite violence and to encourage others take by force what they lacked. If those who had grown it, built it or created it were dead, who would be around to protest the truth about ownership? Eventually ever her people broke down and her family fled the arising chaos the people had fallen into. Generations had passes and soon the chaos had spread and her people were fighting each other everywhere. Her family had settled the village generations later and they'd have their peace and prosperity. They would teach it by their way of life and how they lived from the land and protected it along with their virtues.
She strode slowly through nothing but the star light until she heard the Se and the sound of its delicate strings echoed through the night. They had just started the spring festivities the main reason she had left in the first place on an urgent errand. The light of the lamps cast a warm glow across her face as she stepped into view.
"Honglian! Where have you been?! A pregnant woman out there walking alone! You should be ashamed for not getting help you know!" her neighbour, Tsiao scolded her.
"I am sorry, but it was urgent. I had no time to get anyone else to run the errand." she tapped her blue bracelet and lied.
"We're just glad that you made it. Your husband has been worried sick you know." Lu, one of the senior farmers told her.
"I am sure he's at home asleep right this moment as we speak!" Honglian said with an air of scathing sarcasm holding her tone momentarily.
Lu and Tsiao looked startled and held their tongues.
"Is my levity not appreciated?" Honglian began to laugh.
Lu and Tsiao laughed reflexively to relieve the tension and to distract Honglian.
Pingjing snuck up behind her and put his hands over her eyes. Honglian let out a quick scream and turned to see Pingjing. She thrust herself at him wrapping her arms around him and rubbing his back. He rubbed her sides carefully and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek.
"How was your little walk?" Pingjing asked her.
"Just fine, no thanks to you." Honglian told him.
"You wouldn't let me come with you. I had Baohu Zhe follow you. He's light enough that you wouldn't have known anyway. He told me you were back. Did you find them?" Pingjing asked her.
"You tricky spirit, you. Yes I found them. A good bunch too, take a look." Honglian opened the sack to reveal the yarrow stalks she'd cut for tonight's ceremony.
"Those are good. We may be able to divine a whole three seasons worth of questions from the spirits. Thank you my blossom. Speaking of blossoms..." Pingjing said rubbing her belly.
"Are you asking about our baby, or perhaps you are just seeking good luck?" she asked him coyly.
"Both. For us both. I mean for us all." he smiled kissing her cheek again.
The sound of the Se fell silent which meant that the ceremony was about to begin.
"Here! You'd better take them and prepare them." Honglian scolded Pingjing who ran off with the sack behind their hut.
Honglian made her way to a clay planter someone had overturned for her seat.
"Thank you Wennuan." she told him.
Wennuan nodded.
Honglian watched as her Grandmother walked to the center of the circle and addressed the village. Another elderly couple joined her wearing much different attire ceremonial attire. They all appeared very poignant and dignified.
"We have made it through another season and the spirits of the land have shown their kindness by ensuring us passage to the beginning of the next. That which ends begins again and that which begins must end. So here we are at the beginning again." Congmíng Meili spoke, pushing herself a little to get her voice into the night.
"Let us be grateful for this chance, for this is the fertility of the land and her buxom on this night. Maybe the land she will become like Honglian. Big and bouncy with a blossom of her own." Congming Meili spoke as the surrounding audience laughed aloud.
"It is with love for the land that you respond. Thank you the spirits. We shall care for it to honour your gift." Congming Meili nodded before making her way back to her seat.
"Thank you." the village said to the land and the night.
A moment later the couple who wore the ceremonial attire sat themselves before a clay table with a smooth wooden surface. Upon it were sticks of incense (herbs tightly bundled and often marinated in oils) and paper lanterns. The lady whose name was Chuantian, took up a place across from the man whose name was Xuanjian Zhe and their ceremony began. Chuantian closed her eyes for a moment and after balancing her breaths, she opened them again.
"Why have you come to us and before me?" Chuantian asked the Xuanjian Zhe.
"I have come to seek the guidance of the land and the spirits." Xuanjian Zhe answered
"You trifle us with your questions? We have more important matters than to attend to your needs. What is it you wish to know?" Chuantian asked a bit impatiently.
"I wish to know. Do the sky spirits and those of the air mean us harm?" Xuanjian Zhe asked Chuantian.
Chuantian cupped a group of yarrow stalks in one hand and selected some and placed them before herself on the table. She the examined them before speaking.
"The air and the sky are in harmony with you. There will be water from the sky in abundance but none too much." Chuantian answered.
"Thank you spirits of the sky. Will the earth reveal her clay and bear our paddies." Xuanjian Zhe continued with another question.
Chuantian cleared the table in front of her and again, cupped a hand and within it a bunch of yarrow stalks. She retrieved a selection of them and placed them upon the table again. She examined them and then spoke.
"The earth and its clay will be abundant and the quality good. The earth will not dry or drain of the water for your precious paddies." Chuantian answered the question.
"Will the riders of the steppes seek us out to take from us what the spirits have given and lay waste to our village?" Xuanjian Zhe asked her.
She once again cleared the table carefully placing the yarrow stalks she'd used into the sack where she retrieved another handful. After selective some and placing them upon the table she once again gazed into their future. Xuanjian listened intently waiting for her answer.
"The riders will not come for you, though they grow restless and hungry after a long winter. Honshu will not seek to clean you with the souls of its great warriors' blades upon your innards nor shall you find enemies in the Gojoseons. They seek reform amongst their land's three offspring." Chuantian told him holding tone and the last pronouncement.
Xuanjian Zhe smiled and the village cheered upon hearing this.
"They've smiled upon us again. We're..." Lu yelled before being interrupted.
"I am not finished." Chuantian spoke and the air grew silent again.
She paused looking to Xuanjian Zhe's eyes before speaking.
"The dragon can no longer protect you for another is coming and this is it's last season and this dragon will fall. Your village will be gone before the end of this season. All will die except two." Chuantian spoke in a sharp and deliberate voice.
"Honglian carries the seeds of birth, the rebirth and death yet again. She carries the best and worst of the great Honshu, Okinawa and Tsushima. She carries the best and worst of Gojoseon. She carries the line of the great dynasties and the spirits and demons of the land alike. She carries the life blood of the butterfly. She carries the ferociousness of the dragon. She carries the seeds of innocence and of corruption. She carries the future. Your future." Chuantian eyed Xuanjian Zhe, looking right through him.
In the weeks that came, the village prepared for the turmoil ahead and Honglian's Mother and Father trained the all of the villagers and farmers in the style of the Butterfly Dragon.
"Let us use this and the legend of the Butterfly Dragon to protect our children and their innocence. They will in turn carry it on and the future will be protected everywhere by the Butterfly Dragon." Honglian's Mother addressed the people.
"None shall ever under estimate the power of the arts to protect goodness and virtue. We may be humble farmers and artisans of the clay. But we will defend this our village and our paddies as the dragon!" Honglian`s Father finished the speech, holding his wife's hand and the instruction began.
The village became silent and that silence did not break until the sounds of new life and birth echoed forth into the night nine days after the start of the first instruction in the style. On that night, two were born. The only two that would live beyond Chuantian's grim prophecy. They would carry the life blood of the Butterfly Dragon and from that day forth they were the key to peace amongst the people of the land. They would be the key to peace between the people everywhere.
From that day they would be hunted by their shadow and their ancestors would cast the shadow that would become the hunter. This cycle would continue and repeat until it would be born.
The Dragon Butterfly.
The Northern Song: 1000 AD
The village was empty and silent as the storm arrived above. The old world and ways were approaching the end of their long reign as the modern world slowly bored its way across the land. Other dynasties had arisen and fallen. The Qin, the Xin and the Han had all risen to rule and had given way for the next. The Song Dynasty held the land and the peace. It was the first government the world over to issue paper currency as a measure of the percentage of the treasury that one possessed.
This had signalled the beginning of a prosperous era of commerce and trade in the east. The Silk Road was open and westerners had brought about some of the first dealings with the cities and civilizations from the Far West. This would open the doors to explorers like Marco Polo to make their way to the east in the middle of the millennium. Time stepped forward and change with it and the ways of the mystics, the spirits and the demons and their threshold of balance between the land and the people was dying. Disappearing forever. Some ideas had merely drifted off into the night in the last five hundred years as the forces of change wore away at their need to exist. Some traditions too disappeared as the new thought and sensibilities came with new ideas. Gunpowder had been discovered and was used readily by the alchemists of the land for displays of magic and performance. The first compasses saw their use to reveal the invisible force of the north making navigation possible. This also led to the dynasty of the Song establishing the first permanent navy in the world.
The long dark ages of the west had come to an end though the wars had far from ceased when they could not compromise. Trade opportunities were ripe with new markets and people and many innovators were looking to what could be a prosperous future when people were ready to lay down arms. To the south Gojoseon had changed much in political and and its structural organization. Leaders had risen and fallen and they had finally come upon a period of peace ironically ending the turmoil as they had began: in the three kingdoms of Gojoseon which had grown out of adolescence into Koryeo. Meanwhile another peoples to the south had liberated themselves and declared independence, the Dia Viet as they'd named their state. In their new found independence and golden era had blossomed for them. Eventually they too entered into the regional trade and prosperity followed. It seemed that a new way to fight wars without blood shed may have been found.
On the great isle of Honshu, a peace had found its way there too and as the butterfly had found its way to so many places, so had it there amongst the flowers of word, verse and prose had given them perch. The words to its anthem had come to life during this time, the Kimigayo though without tune to accompany them. It was a time of art and renewal and artistry and beauty thrived during the time of Heian.
Back on the main land and the dynasty of Song where the turmoil had taken hold. Many ancient traditions hadn't disappeared and some prophecies had become truth and the storm found its way above the village, much like the return of what had brought it to them. Most of the village was already dead and gone and the monster that had arrived in search of something had also come to see their end. It pit them one against the other until it had found the only ones remaining were its quarry. The very reason for its existence and the motive for it being here. The wind howled and the scatter flew in the torrential howling of this storm, for this was no ordinary storm. The sky darkened by the minute and the clouds thickened above the lightly forested canopy where the village dwelling lay. A group of men, women and children huddled inside of a small wooden home, some brandishing weapons of old, others safe behind blankets for the cold. They were the few who'd remembered the prophecy. They'd held onto ideas over which they kept guard.
"What do we do now?" asked Sela a man with a panicky voice.
"We wait!" replied Hein.
"We performed the rite. It should be... It should be just like us! Now." Korabu said looking to Hein.
"I'm not going out there. You saw what it did to them. All four of them. At once." Sela replied.
"You don't understand. We have to. For them. We'll be protected if we do." Korabu told them.
"By the... it left us! Abandon us! Ran away scared from that monster!" Hein remined Korabu.
"We must. It is their only chance. Do we wait here for it to come in here and get us all?" Korabu continued.
"I will go." Li stood, her hair slightly damp.
"No you can't go." Hein told her.
"We'll all die while you sit here arguing They need us!" Li pointed to the children.
She pushed past Sela and Hein grabbing Korabu's hand.
.
"I will protect you." Korabu promised her with devotion in his eyes.
"No. We will protect each other." she reminded him of their obligation to each other.
Sela and Hein looked at each other and followed them out the door.
They each brandished their swords, Li armed with a small bow drew an arrow from a quiver on her back.
The wind and rain fell diagonally though their wide brimmed hats, the same ones they'd wear to work in the rice fields protected them from most of it.
It was getting darker by the minute as the storm grew in power.
They walked the paths of their now deserted village. Empty villas and pagodas creaked in the wind from among the scattered trees.
Back in their home, Siri got up leaving the children with her two nieces. She stepped before the ritual table and prepared the rite once again as she had earlier.
She pulled herbs from one jar, then a dried insect wing from another. Some dust and other unidentifiable parts from the other jars until she was done. After stirring them feverishly, she took a paint brush, dipped it in the mixture, which had become thick like a paste. It was green in colour when she applied the brush to a roll of rice paper which she scrawled upon. She did this with three separate pieces of the paper, each with a different inscription.
The first one she took to the children, her nieces accepting it and keeping it in front of the children,
The second she took and put it over the door to the house, fastening it there. The thunder crashed shaking the house and startling her to the floor.
Outside, it watched them. All four of them as they approached. It jumped from rooftop to rooftop despite the wind, which did not seem to affect it or bother it.
"Do you hear?" Sela asked them.
"What?" Hein asked.
"The song... Her voice... Do you hear it? Just a voice. A song..." Sela replied.
"I can't hear a thing with all of this wind." Koruba said brandishing his sword tighter spinning it expertly in his hands.
"So..." Sela's voice drifted off.
The others formed a circle facing outward away from Li, whose bow was drawn ready. Koruba, Sela and Hein scanned their surroundings nervously.
It leapt to another roof, then to a tree very close to them peering at them from above.
"Stay closer together." Koruba said.
That was when it dropped from the tree and snatched Sela before anyone had time to see.
His screams were all that was left to remind them of his being.
"Sela!" Li turned nervously searching for him or a target.
Hein heard a thud on the ground behind him. He turned to see Sela's lifeless body in formless pile.
"Noooo! Sela!" he ran to the body.
As he did, it jumped down and confronted Koruba head on.
Koruba's sword was fast and his blade caught its claws before they entered his flesh.
He adjusted his stance to keep up with its onslaught as he tired quickly. It struck at him again and again chipping away at his waning strength, making his arms feel like wet noodles.
Li stepped side to side trying to get a shot, the creature always kept out of view behind Koruba. It was using Koruba for cover against her. It was an expert tactician.
Hein caught sight of it and grabbed Sela's sword, wielding it beside his own.
"You'll pay for his death!" Hein ran at it screaming, focusing as it bore down on Koruba.
Just as it had disarmed Koruba, Hein hit it with one of the swords, which glanced off of it harmlessly.
Hein wasted no time and swung the other he brandished blocking one set of claws from the creature but not the other.
Hein was impacted by the claws which tore into him ans sent him flying threw the air like a rag doll falling to the ground still and dead.
In the mean time Koruba had retrieved his sword and blocked the next attack the creature sent his way.
Back at the house, Siri spoke the last of the rites that she hoped would put an end to this horror. The village had been abandoned by most and those that did not leave were dead. They were the last of many.
She held the rice paper around the symbols of her inscription as they began to glow. Energy built within the symbols and the table began to shake. The children whimpered from under the blanket as Siri's nieces protected them.
Once again Koruba gained his focus and determination and fought with the creature keeping pace but not matching its stamina.
His skills as a swordsman were the best in this village and many other villages for a ways, but he'd never encountered an opponent such as this one.
Koruba's sword once again flew from his hand, sticking into the ground ten feet away. The creature knocked him down and moved in for the kill. Koruba struggled against the weight of the creature's foot upon his chest.
Back in their home, Siri took her knife raising it high above her head with both hands and drove it down into the insignia upon the rice paper. A tremendous burst of energy leapt from the insignia travelling outward in a line to the creature hitting it solidly. It glowed intensely for a moment though the creature felt nothing, shaking it off.
Li aimed her bow, let half a breath and fired as the creature raised its claws in attempt to tear Koruba in two.
The arrow flew trew the distance to the dead center of the creature's breastplate, sinking deeply into it. The creature looked puzzled for a moment, almost in disbelief that this feeble arrow had pierced it. It ignored Koruba momentarily as it strode towards Li who struggled to draw another arrow before the creature arrived.
Korabu, quick on his feet dove for his sword, rolled to the ground and threw it like a knife through the air with expert precision.
Just as the creature had arrived to fell Li, was it hit by the sword which pieced it's back the tip protruding from its chest.
It fell to its knees before Li and looked into her eyes, laughing.
In its lady like voice it spoke.
"You win this time. Butterfly. There will be another time. A long time from now there will be another time." it laughed looking at its wounds.
It began to dissolve into dust which was quickly scattered by the now dying winds of the storm. The dust spiralled upward in a pillar to the clearing sky.
The rain had stopped.
The sky had cleared.
And peace had returned to the earth.
Koruba joined Li, and they embraced.
Siri came with her nieces and the children who gathered around Koruba and Li.
"The butterfly has returned!" said one of the little girls, where a butterfly had landed upon her hand, flapping its delicate wings.
"Yes. The butterfly has returned." Li said as she embraced Koruba.
The butterfly flew from the child's hand, flying high into the air and above the canopy of the scattered trees that kept the village concealed.
Blossoms dripped under the glaring sun as time began to heal the damages left in the creature's wake.
In moments one year after the other passed and soon a thousand had flown by, much like the butterflies and the blossoms through each season. The world had changed much over the ages. Many things were learned by the people of the world and many many more things were forgotten.
The butterfly, a symbol of beauty and innocence and her mysterious and otherworldly protector the dragon were rememembered through the children's story told for millennia. Through the style of the Butterfly Dragon and through the line of Hongian and Pingjing the Butterfly Dragon would remain ever watchful.
The other. The most dangerous.
The threat to the preciousness of innocence and the scourge to the peace was forgotten.
And so was destined to be born but once again.
Keep Your Eye On The Ball
Heylyn dove for the ball as it flew lightening quick through the air. Monique had only tapped it, but with her abilities it turned the ball into a bullet. Heylyn caught the ball returning it to the opposite end of Monique's court. Heylyn rolled landing back on her feet finding the center of her court.
Monique changed direction and ran for the ball on the opposite end of her court. She just barely caught it sending it just slightly off center of where Heylyn stood. She positioned herself and hit the ball, returning it to Monique once again on the opposite side of her side of the court.
Monique realized that she could not make it no matter how fast she moved, so she cheated. Monique phased momentarily to a beam of light and made the trip with time to spare materializing in place to send the ball back to Heylyn.
"Oh. So we're going to play that way?" Heylyn asked her as she caught the ball with her racquet sending it flying directly at Monique's chest.
Monique didn't have time to step left or right and the ball impacted her knocking her over.
"Hey! No fair!" Monique got up and picked up the ball.
"You were the one that used your abilities first." Heylyn said honestly putting her hands on her hips.
"But I... I couldn't get the ball. You put it on the other side of the court!" Monique exclaimed.
"I have to get my points somehow." Heylyn smiled to her.
"What? By making me run so much?" Monique wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Maybe you need to learn better control of the ball. Once you learn to control the ball, you control your opponent." Heylyn said to her.
"Unless they can move at the speed of light." Monique said with a cocky grin on her face.
"You still missed. I didn't use my powers at all. Are you learning about this game yet? You lost because I had control of the ball. Even when you can move fast enough to be anywhere on the court, it still takes something more than just speed to win." Heylyn told her.
"This isn't turning into one of those ancient wisdom lessons is it? You know, like Kwai Chang Kang? You may leave when you can snatch the tennis ball from my hand." Monique said to Heylyn sarcastically holding out the tennis ball in front of her.
"Very funny." Heylyn smirked rolling her eyes.
"Well its true. That's where this is headed." Monique defended her sarcasm expertly.
"No Monique. This is about here and now. Taking control of the ball is like taking control of your life. If you let someone else have control of the ball, then you're always chasing it." Heylyn told her as she crossed the net to her side of the court.
Monique nodded having seen this life lesson coming from Heylyn for a good distance.
"I am in control of my life. I've got a job. A good job. A good boss, though she seems to be getting worse every day. I've got a condominium that is mostly paid for. That means I've got equality?" Monique told Heylyn.
"Equity." Heylyn corrected Monique.
"Equity. That's what I meant. What's not in control?" Monique asked her.
"What's next?" Heylyn asked her.
"I just enjoy life every day. That's it." Monique replied to her.
"Enjoy life? Is there anything beyond what you have now that you'd like to achieve? Maybe something you want to do. Maybe to buy a house? What's next Monique?" Heylyn asked her.
"Well. I don't know." Monique told her honestly.
"Remember the person you were before. Living with you know who. You didn't think about anything beyond that. That was because he had control of the ball. Your ball. Now you're away from him and independent but you still don't have control of your own ball." Heylyn told her.
"Yes I do. Look." Monique held up her empty hand.
"Hey!" Monique exclaimed.
Heylyn held up the ball.
"What does that mean?" Monique asked.
"I think you said that means that we're ready to leave." Heylyn smiled at her, bonking her on the head with the ball and heading towards the exit.
This was their weekly stress breaker that they'd engage in every Thursday evening after work. They'd joined the club that occupied the building where there offices were located so it was hardly out of the way. They'd managed to use it every week consistently for the past year, with Monique showing up every once in a while for aerobics or dancercise, something she loved to do.
It took the edge off the week for the weeks that they didn't set themselves upon the city. To the rooftops in search of their quarry, whatever that might have been for the only two known superheroes in existence. The only two known in this existence anyway. They'd kept quiet and to most they were an urban myth and perhaps elsewhere there were similar urban myths much like the myths of the ancients.
"Is there anything happening tonight?" Monique asked Heylyn as they walked home in the evening summer air,
"You mean patrol? No. Its pretty quiet. I checked things out earlier. Nothing that's out of the ordinary. Why, do you want to patrol or maybe do something else?" Heylyn asked Monique.
"No, not really. I just wanted to sit in tonight. Catch up on some television or read finish that book you got me." Monique told her.
"Well same here. I want to finish some design work and get to bed early. But maybe tomorrow we could go out if you wanted? If you want a 'wing girl'. In case you wanted to meet a guy?" Heylyn looked at her with a coy smile ear to ear.
"How'd you know?" Monique asked her thinking that she looked like the Chesire cat, smiling at her that way.
"I didn't. I kind of feel the same way too. Lets take tomorrow night and be a bit more social than we normally are." Heylyn said lying somewhat to help her friend feel at ease.
"That sounds like a plan. Shake on it?" Monique held out her hand to Heylyn,
Heylyn grabbed Monique's pinky with her own and shaked.
"Its a deal." Heylyn said as they turned into the condominium entry way.
"Go ahead. I've got to pick up my mail." Heylyn said to Monique heading over to the security desk.
"See you tomorrow." Monique said running for the closing elevator door.
"Bye." Heylyn waved before turning to the front desk security person.
"Still here? A long one for you." she said to him having recognized him from the morning.
"Yeah well my wife's expecting. I've got to make sure the mortgage is paid you know." he told her.
"Just this one. I'm going to need a signature." the front desk staff handed her a wrapped package.
"How long?" she asked him.
"She's been carrying for about seven months. So we figure another month and a half. Debbie is always ahead of time for everything. If the baby's anything like her she'll be a premature birth by a long shot." the man smiled at her jokingly.
"If I don't see you again, all the best to your family." Heylyn told him.
"Well, she is a fan of your work by the way. It wouldn't be too much to ask you for a..." the man blushed a bit.
"No problem at all..." Heylyn pulled a business card and signed it for him adding her best wishes for the child and their family.
"She is going to love this. Thanks." he said to her looking at it.
She signed for the mail and thanked him, taking the manila envelope sized package and putting it under her arm and proceeded up stairs.
After getting settled in she sat down with a stir fry she'd cooked last night having heated it in the microwave. She ate it right out of the tupperware container before falling asleep on the couch in the peace after her busy day.
The Dream In A Package
Heylyn dreamt that she was driving somewhere in a forested roadway. She looked over to a lady, who might have been Alicia, Monique or even Valerie, except for the dark hair. She was reading a map following a path with her finger. Heylyn looked ahead on the road and the forest opened up into a roadway through a mountainous pass, a tremendous drop on one side. She had the feeling that they were being followed and she checked her mirror. A car in the distance was trying to keep pace with her. She stepped on the gas trying to get some more speed out her vehicle. She looked over to the woman, who looked back at her longingly and with a tear in her eye. She put her hand on Heylyn's which was perched on the stick shifter, though Heylyn had never driven stick. The car following them had closed a considerable distance and was attempting to pass. As it did, Heylyn took a good look at the driver but only saw a concealed terror behind its eyes. She struggled with the wheel as the driver in the passing car attempted to force her car off the escarpment and into a fifteen hundred foot drop. She steered hard into the offending car attempting to force it off the road only to have it bounce back twice as hard. She felt the car slipping and as she struggled with the steering wheel, her car slipped over the edge of the cliff, and she was weightless. She looked over to see the lady she was with as she clasped Heylyn's hand. The car tumbled and from inside they could only see rock face, followed by sky and then the ground speeding towards them.
"Goodbye." she tried to mouth to the passenger as the car impacted.
She woke up sitting up suddenly a mist of sweat on her brow.
She picked up her half eaten meal and disposed of it before tossing the container in the dishwasher. She then picked up the package she'd gotten in the mail and proceeded to open it.
It was wrapped in plastic shrink wrap first and then a sealed manila envelope. Inside was a letter and series of what appeared to be legal documents.
Dearest Ai Yualin Ying,
It is with great regret that I write to inform you that your nephew Akito Tokama and his wife Lee Jeong-Min were killed in a fatal automobile accident one week from the date at the top of this letter. We searched for any relatives, living and deceased and found your name in the family registry. It is for this reason that we have contacted you as next of kin and wish to ask that you attend a post memorial service for their tragic loss and later to discuss the legal ramifications regarding the custody of their five year old daughter Warai Jeong-Won.
We request that you respond before three days after the date at the top of this letter so we may make arrangements for your accommodations.
Our sincerest condolences,
Zenji Soong Man
Attorney for the Estate of Akito Tokama and Lee Jeong-Min
Heylyn could not believe what she was reading. She immediately scrambled around for her cellular phone and called the provided number.
"Offices of Soong Man. May I help you?" the secretary answered the call.
"Hi. I'm looking for Zenji Soong Man. I'm Heylyn Yates care of the Estate of Akito Tokama and Lee Jeong-Min." she told the secretary.
"Please hold." the secretary switched lines and another voice answered.
"Zenji speaking." a rough male voice answered.
"Zenji, I am Heylyn Yates." Heylyn answered.
"Ahhhh. Yes. I am sorry for your loss Ms. Heylyn. You received our letter I take it?" Zenji asked her.
"Yes I did. I just read it. How tragic." Heylyn was still in shock.
"Yes. The loss of any life always is. We have matters to discuss if you'd be willing to make quick arrangements for a flight over. We could be meeting in my offices as soon as tomorrow at this time." Zenji asked her.
"Set up arrangements for my accommodations as per your plan. I'll order my flight ticket and be on a flight in a couple of hours. I'll meet you at your offices in fourteen hours." Heylyn told him.
"Excellent. So that's noon our time. Thank you for your fast response and I look forward to seeing you." Zenji said professionally and sincerely.
"Right. See you tomorrow." Heylyn hung up the phone.
First Heylyn thought it might be a hoax to get at her money or targeting her as a result of her fame. After doing some calling around, she managed to get in touch with the ministry where the child's birth registration information was kept. When she could not trace the family connection through the records of the ministry, she called a family friend whom referred her to a Shǐxué jiā, a trusted family historian. She called this person long distance, who lived in a time zone 13 hours ahead of hers.
"I have been expecting your call, Ai Yuanlin Ling." the voice answered after three rings.
"How did you know I was going to call you?" Heylyn asked.
"How does the flock know when the seasons change?" the voice replied.
"You know what I am going to ask you then?" Heylyn rebuked somewhat defensively feeling like she had just reached Weltherwithsp by phone.
"The little girl? You are going to ask about her. You think this all to be a hoax to get at that which will matter little in the coming storm. She is no hoax and you are related, though most records will not recall such a fact. They are only kept in the knowledge of those who pass it by words that are only remembered and never written." the voice answered.
"My parents were from China. The names mentioned by the letter indicate Japanese and Korean family names. The little girl bears a Korean name. How am I related? Is this a hoax?" Heylyn inquired getting impatient.
"You are related and this is no hoax." the voice replied.
"Then I want to know the whole story." Heylyn demanded.
"You will. Get the girl and protect her. Speak of this to no one." the voice answered and the phone went silent.
"As if one Weltherwithsp wasn't enough..." Heylyn said aloud before hanging up.
Her eyes lightly teared when she thought of the tragedy. Finally she resolved to pay her respects to the family and to ensure that the child was looked after well despite the fact that she could not take on such a responsibility.
She immediately got in touch with her travel agent and gave them the details of her destination. They found her a flight two minutes later. After she'd called Monique and told her about what had happened and not to expect her at work, she was in the shower getting ready to leave. This was going to be a long night.
The Meeting
Zenji`s offices and the child care facility where Warai was being held in care were located in Japan on the island of Tsushima between Korea and Honshu. Heylyn sat in Zenji's office, waiting for him to join her. The flight had been fast and she'd slept for most of it not to mention that she'd actually gained time during her trip, so she'd arrived with time to spare, which she spent recovering for a day in a hotel room. The service for Akito Tokama and Lee Jeong-Min had been short but sweet. Akito had been a Japanese migrant worker who'd met Lee while on a job site in Korea. Six months later they were married. A year later Lee gave birth to a beautiful little girl they named Laughter (in Japanese), because the first expressions upon seeing her mother were complete joy, a smile and laughter. She had been a little bundle of joy to them ever since. Then some time four years later both parents were dead a result of a fatal car accident. Their service recognized both the Japanese and the Korean ceremonial practises, with which Heylyn was slightly familiar. She observed the moment of silence in their names and cast her flowers to their urns. She'd never met them but she'd felt a sense of family and kinship despite that fact. She thought about her nightmare the night she found out when she saw a photo of Lee. It was the woman in the passenger seat from her nightmare.
Zenji walked into the office with a file and some forms.
"First of all Ms. Heylyn." Zenji started as he positioned himself behind his desk.
"Call me Heylyn." Heylyn told him.
"Heylyn. You understand that you are the only named next of kin in their estate. You are their sole benefactor. They did not have much in the way of fixed assets, but they did have enough liquidity to cover the costs of the funeral and leaving about twenty nine thousand yuan or about three thousand Canadian dollars. That will help pay for Warai Jeong-Won's airfare back to Canada. There's the issue of applying for her citizenship as well and her inoculations." Zenji was interrupted.
"What do you mean? What is going on?" Heylyn asked him.
"You are Warai Jeong-Won's new legal guardian. You are like her mother now. She has nobody else but you." Zenji looked to her smiling through his crooked teeth.
"Mr. Zenji, I don't know the first thing about parenting. I cannot just jump into this. The poor girl would suffer with me as a mother..." Heylyn tried to explain as Zenji handed a picture of the little girl to her.
"That's alright. We will just have to send her to an orphanage, that is all. You may go then." Zenji stood holding out his hand.
"Wait. Did you say an orphanage? I can't do that. There must be some other arrangements that we can make. Is there nobody else? A distant cousin? A family friend?" Heylyn asked.
"Ms. Heylyn..." Zenji started.
"Heylyn!" Heylyn corrected him.
"Heylyn. I assure you that there is nobody else. You are her only family." Zenji paused while she thought.
Heylyn paced the room for a moment thinking about this carefully and looking at the picture. The little girl was beautiful and had her eyes. She could see herself looking back, though it was not quite her but someone else. A little person just growing and getting ready for the big world out there. Heylyn could not deny this little girl nor allow her such a cruel start in life but she had neither the means nor the experience to do this.
The world spun a into a whirlwind of night and day and the darkness crept over her and then the light once again and she was in the field. A hornet flew by her ear buzzing loudly as it passed.
The air moved and it was quiet and peaceful just as it was the last time she'd seen it. A little less than a year ago.
"Thought you'd lost me did you?" a familiar voice posed a simple question for her.
"No. I lost me." Heylyn spoke honestly.
"I see that we're learning now? And but how?" Weltherwithsp's head snaked up next to hers and whispered in her ear.
"You know why I'm here. I can't do this. I can't raise a little girl." Heylyn exclaimed.
"You are a little girl! You raise yourself every day and then some. A bit too much I'd sometimes prefer to think but it is you whom must first wink when you cross that line for if you don't, lost you'll be can you not see?" Weltherwithsp encircled her.
"What? Are you saying that I'm being selfish?" Heylyn cut to the chase.
"Now what ever gave you that idea? I mean you raise yourself, one little girl. And here comes Warai, the little blossoming garden of laughter and you leave her to the orphanage. Not good enough for you is she?" Weltherwithsp unravelled and came at her from the other side.
"Are you playing with me? I won't have that. I needed someone to talk to, not patronize me." Heylyn told the ancient creature from her childhood fairy tales.
"And talk I am doing though not for you but to you. Maybe some sense might make its way to you from me but for that I'll wait and see." Weltherwithsp pulled back away following a butterfly for a moment then looking back to Heylyn.
"You've lost it!" Weltherwithsp continued.
"No I haven't. This is all just too sudden. I can't just take a leap with this little girl's life." Heylyn pleaded.
"Which little girl? You or her? What you can do for one, you can do for the other." Weltherwithsp suggested.
Heylyn pondered Weltherwithsp's words once again. If she could keep herself, essentially her own little girl alive every day, play with herself and keep herself company when she needed it. Tell herself when she wasn't trying hard enough or when she was trying too hard. She was ready to do the same for another little girl besides herself.
"You've answered your own dilemma again I see." Weltherwithsp told her more so than asking.
"Yes. Thanks for the help." Heylyn let a little smile slip.
"Be careful, those are contagious you know. You wouldn't want them to spread would you?" Weltherwithsp's grin spread across its face before it slithered off into the sky.
A moment later and she was back in Zenji's office.
"Let's get the papers signed then. I'll do it. I want custody of little Warai. She'll be coming with me when I return home." Heylyn declared.
"Of course she will. Thank you Ms...er... I mean thank you Heylyn." Zenji said to her sincerely as he began feeding her the paperwork one form at a time.
No New Little Life
"I'm sorry. But those are the results." the Nurse said to Alicia over the phone.
"They can't be. I mean we did everything. Absolutely everything the Doctor said. Try it again and make sure the test tubes are clean, that can throw a measurement. The centrifuge might have thrown a filament from a ball bearing and..." Alicia started, her immense lab experience.
"M'aam. I'm sorry. They're negative. I can get Doctor Reed if you'd like?" the Nurse responded.
The phone went quiet at the other end of the phone.
"...No. That's alright. You did everything that you could. Thank you." Alicia hung up the phone and rested her head in her cradled hands.
They'd been trying for months, her and Walton. Between his busy schedule promoting the Healthy World agenda of the WHO and her new focus on pushing the successor to the SY-300 series formula, the S9-Beta there'd been little time for them. Right from the most critical point in their relationship, from the point they'd made a decision to create a life together and bring into this world to nurture and raise. To pass their experiences onto their child and to hope they could bring the positive change to the world that they could not.
They tried and at first used the home pregnancy kits to measure for Alicia's pregnancy. They kept getting negative results and they kept trying until they finally decided to go see a Doctor together to discuss what the problems might be. They ran a full set of tests on both her and Walton, finding nothing wrong or out of the ordinary. Walton's sperm count had been more than adequate for fertilization. Her ovaries were healthy and she'd no prior history of any complication in her family. So they followed a regimented program that targeted maximizing their chances, and gave it another go. They followed this program for months, which involved a change in their diets, a change in their lifestyle and habits. Changes to the way they made love. They'd conferred with a Doctor on a regular basis and decided on lab testing to view the results of their effort.
She'd been at home, getting ready for an upcoming meeting at Tynan And Associates when the latest results came back from her Doctor's office. Naturally she took it all upon herself and blamed her body for this failure in pregnancy. After all it had been her body which had made her heavier than some of the other kids when she was younger. She had in the last two years made many changes to her appearance by a constant regimen of diet and exercise and she physically looked great. The best she had in years, even when compared with her superhero alter ego Night Style. Even though she still blamed it upon herself. It was her fault. Her imperfect body.
Something inside of her was wrong that needed fixing. Time to develop another formula. The fix Alicia's body formula that would solve everything wrong that she felt about her body. She thought jokingly to herself though she did not laugh. Instead she fought with her tears. Long and hard and managed to win the battle. She kept a dry face and eyes, enough so that she picked up her phone and called Walton.
"Hi babe." she said to him.
"When did they call?" Walton asked her.
"About twenty minutes ago. They were negative." she tried to finish.
"I know babe. I know. We'll try something else." Walton told her sincerely and quietly over the phone.
"There's nothing else left Walton." Alicia told him firmly.
"There's always something left. We'll find it and try it. We'll keep trying even if we don't find another way." he assured her of his commitment.
"I think..." Alicia started.
"No Alicia. Its not you. Its not your fault. This kind of thing is a long shot. It takes planning and time. Cancel the meeting if you need to. I'll cover for you. I know the material. We'll have a quiet evening at home. We'll call in for some nice take out and watch a movie together. It will be alright." he laid out a plan for the night.
"No its alright. I'll make it to the meeting. I'll take you up on the evening though. That sounds nice." Alicia let a smile onto her face.
"I'll see you in a bit then. Don't forget to leave the computer on if you want to get at the presentation through the network." he reminded her.
"I know honey, I built the network don't forget." she reminded him.
"Ok. Then I'll see you soon. Big smooch." Walton said.
"I love you too." Alicia hung up the phone feeling a little better but still ultimately carrying the blame upon herself.
She got herself up and gathered her things before heading out the door. As she drove out of the parking garage of her condo, she did not notice that she was being followed.
END OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 DRAFT
BEGIN DECEMBER 12, 2015 DRAFT
Business As Unusual
Valerie picked up the pace of her address to the board of directors of Tynan and Associates. They listened carefully as (she) delivered the rest of her analysis regarding an upcoming investment. In the aftermath of the Grier Torman and Mr. Zek fiasco, she'd been hired to get the investment firm back on track. She had Norler's approval and backing and he'd been so busy pushing the development of the SY-series of regenerative medicine and pharmacology that he'd not attented a board meeting in months. The fiasco that brought about the shuffle saw three board members of the very board she was addressing now, end up with prison sentences for criminal extortion and a host of other market sector related charges. She had finally liberated herself of Torman once and for all when she'd put together the bid for the very position she'd earned on the board. The echoes of his presence in her mind had been exercised once and for all. She also had been credited by the courts for helping to bring both Torman and Zek to justice.
Life had gotten much better for her since then and she'd taken charge of her own life.
"So it is my finding that the research being conducted at Harnes Chemistry is following very close in the footsteps of the research program conducted for the original SY formula. It is therefore my finding that with all of their fiscal expenses and developmental risks, that they are not breaking any new ground that has not already been researched in the SY program. No significant returns for such an investment and no new technology deliveries expected for the foreseeable future." Valerie finished up her talk.
"We're already in the midst of a ten year commitment with the research firm that developed the SY formula. Do you see Harnes Chemistry's research as a breach of our patents?" asked one of the board members.
"No. They've got lawyers with some expertise in biomedical research helping them skirt the risk of patent breach libel, so its a tightly run ship. They're looking to produce a competitive product following the same lines close enough that it works and not close enough to be legal. Good for the consumers in some sense because it guarantees competitive pricing and bad for the initial investors in the technology that started it all as they rarely recoup the projected ROI." Valerie responded.
"We've already entered into an agreement that guarantees that the SY will be made available regardless of income levels in countries that don't have medical insurance or national coverage. Norler made sure of that. His girlfriend Alicia, one of the lead researchers for the project even started a fund to help finance treatments for the underprivileged world wide. Harnes won't be benefitting the consumer. They'll be filling their pockets. They'll just stick to markets that don't have medical insurance coverage so that they can enter into a pricing war and make this about the pricing margin. Why didn't Harnes Chemistry just approach us for a licensing deal?" asked the senior board member.
"They've got a portfolio of other such projects in their history. DTXB. Lesculamine. Triopsis Diexelicine. They've been doing this number for a while." Valerie explained.
"What if they find a path similar to the branch of the SY that resulted in the anomalies?" one of the board members inquired in a somewhat hushed voice.
"You mean the...sightings? That's all just a myth started by Torman and Zek's criminal syndicate to get at the research from another angle. There were never any superhumans or monsters created by the SY formula. The tabloids bought those stories but the authorities didn't" Valerie answered somewhat sarcastically.
"There were witness who said, and I quote: an angelic butterfly flew from the sky and rescued us! Another account claims: the golden lady in violet saved the airport's security forces and patrons from the monster super men! And look at this: The super human lady caught lifting a fifteen ton boulder and tossing it like a pebble into the ocean! Someone got a video of it from a beach on Treadwater Island resort. It was viral for weeks after though that was four years ago. The account of the Park Beach serial rapist murderer who was caught before committing what would have been his sixteenth rape and possible murder. He says a lady dragon monster caught him and beat him to a pulp. The dragon made him relive each of his rapes and murders as the victim before the dragon lady beat him. He's in a psyche ward now and he still claims he visited by the same dragon every night who brings all of his victims along to make him suffer indefinitely. These are actual accounts from eye witnesses by the way. That was just a year ago." the board member spoke of the myths to the room.
Valerie's face flushed for a moment.
"Sounds like he got what he deserved and that was probably served up by his conscience. As for the rest, its just urban legend that has nothing to do with the very valid research conducted by Alicia, Darret Wenslen or the research firm. I don't think Harnes Chemistry will creating any monsters." Valerie responded carefully to the insinuation.
"So what do you recommend?" asked the senior board member trying to get them back on track.
Valerie paused a moment.
"I propose we press forward with the SY-9 Beta program as Norler recommended and up our investment plan. I also propose a marketing plan that includes the success stories of those that the SY series formula has helped thus far. The marketing campaign will serve to help us gain footing in some of the other harder to reach markets and to break down some of the long standing prejudices against the medical and pharmacological industry. The campaign's slogan will be called Real Miracles Do Happen. My marketing plan is included in your handouts and reading material." Valerie finished up her presentation.
"All in favour raise your hands." the senior board member polled the board members.
Every hand in the room raised except for the board member with the monster stories about the super humans. He waited several seconds then reluctantly and slowly raised his hand.
"It's unanimous then. Good show Valerie. Thanks and this meeting is adjourned." the senior board member announced as the other board members quickly filed out leaving Valerie alone with the monster story board member.
"What gives Tannard?" Valerie asked him.
"You don't believe those stories?" he stood and approached her somewhat menacingly.
His frame was large and muscular even under his suit. He was in his mid thirties and still very fit.
"I have one more question to ask you Valerie." he said very deliberately.
Valerie avoided looking at him and instead concentrated on gathering her material from the presentation when the lone board member did something she did not expect. He tried to slap her face.
She instinctively caught his arm with one hand and stopped him dead holding his arm in a tremendously strong grip.
"No super humans eh? How do you explain that?" he asked her.
"Self defense classes. I could have you charged. Why on earth would try something so crass. I always figured you were a gentleman?" Valeria held his right arm carefully in her left arm.
He swung with his left, this time closing his hand in a fist. She easily caught it with her right hand and threw him across the room. He hit the wall and fell to the floor half laughing.
"I knew there was more to you than meets the eye."Tannard's voice sounded victorious and confident despite his injury.
At that moment someone ran into the room.
"What happened? What's going on?" asked a lady who'd stepped into the room.
"I was just trying to show Valerie here that I could do a cartwheel even though I am a guy." Tannard said covering for the two of them.
She looked over to Valerie, who nodded back at her to let her know she was alright.
"You need to be more careful next time you brute." Valerie said gathering up the last of her materials.
Tannard got to his feet.
"Thank you miss. We're alright. Aren't we Valerie?" Tannard asked adjusting his tie.
"Some of us more than others." she responded.
"You have that right. For certain." Tannard replied.
Valerie quickly left the room and headed downstairs to her car. The lady who'd checked in on their safety followed her.
"I have a bad feeling about that Tannard. Just watch your back Valerie." the lady told her.
"I can handle him, thanks all the same. You have a good night." Valerie arrived just as the elevator did.
She quickly jumped in it and vacated the building.
Meanwhile Tannard pulled his cellular and called a number.
"Gotcha! She's one of them. She just stopped me twice. Threw me across the room too. She's one of them for sure. One down and three to go. If you're setting up the trap, make it a big one cause she's easily as strong as she is in video. Maybe even more so. Wooooohooo!" Tannard gave the information to his contact then cheered himself on.
Garden Of Laughter
Heylyn arrived at the child care facility and walked in the front door still a little uneasy and unsure of what to expect. She had never thought about motherhood as the most important relationship she'd had all her life was with her career. Her employees and fellow designers were her family and she`d had no time for a social life that had included a man. She`d found men attractive in her life but they were rarely a priority to her and often had even represented a limitation or restriction. A possible hurdle to her career. She`d seen too many women often end up as such. Either trophies for a man that did not appreciate them. Women who spent far too much time tending to the ever fragile egos of their men and never enough time for themselves. She had always thought of partnership as just that, a partnership but from what she`d seen in her life there were few that had turned out as such. It was always the lady making concessions to accommodate the men. She did not hate men for this, she just saw that it might be something inevitable and therefore avoided relationships. Her parents had just such a relationship and her mother had made many concessions to accommodate the family. That was the way in her day and Heylyn`s generation had produced many confident and career minded women.
Her sex life too had never been very active and she`d reserved it for only the most special of encounters and in her life they`d been few. Being artistic she saw sensuality as an art itself as was it`s expression. She expected the same from a lover and as a result she`d only had three such experiences in her life that met her expectations. Unfortunately in every case the fragile male ego entered into their relationship and had ended it short. If she`d needed sensuality she`d seek it in other ways without a partner, though that was rare for her. Her obsession with her design work was her lover. Hence her thoughts about finding a mate and motherhood had never flourished. Her career was what mattered to her and it took front and center stage in her life only occasionally superceded by her new and mysterious career that nobody had known her for. The mysterious Dragon Lady. The Butterfly Angel as one tabloid had called her. She was both a famous designer and an modern mythological mystery. But never once a mother. That was soon to change and she was having her doubts about her ability to do well by Warai and to balance all these aspects of her life.
She approached the front office and was met by a receptionist who took her name and the papers that Zenji had provided her. The receptionist asked for her identification and passport and asked her to take a seat. Heylyn waited nervously while they went through the process of verifying her identity. In this part of the world, few had known of her in person though they`d heard of her as a designer. China had clung to her name when she`d achieved international success and flaunted her as a product of the homeland. Heylyn had always appreciated her heritage and its rich cultural history but she`d also thought she`d been as much a product of Canada. Her Mother was China and Canada her Father. China gave birth to her and gave her many values from its rich history but it was Canada that had raised her to seek her fortunes and desires. Once again she questioned whether she would be qualified to raise this child being so much a product of two very different countries. Warai had been the product of two different cultures much like Heylyn. Warai's father was a Japanese migrant worker who'd met her mother in South Korea.
A moment later an elderly lady stepped into the waiting room from a long hall, a little girl with shoulder length hair clung to her hand. She was tiny, a little shorter than Heylyn`s waist height. Her face held two dark eyes and a little button nose and tiny lips. She looked tired and a little scared and perhaps even lost. Heylyn immediately stood up. A natural and warm smile crossed her face as little Warai stood before her.
"Miss Yates? Pleased to meet you. I'm Mrs. Cheng, Warai's caregiver." Mrs Cheng introduced herself.
"Pleased to meet you." Heylyn said to her smiling to Warai, who shyly hid behing Mrs. Cheng's dress.
"Miss Yates, this is Warai." Mrs. Cheng tugged lightly on Warai's hand to bring Warai around from behind her and out into the open.
Warai's face lit up upon spying Heylyn's and for a moment they were both at peace as if they'd arrived at home after a long journey.
"You're the butterfly lady!" Warai said to Heylyn before she starting laughing in a joyous shrill.
"You're the little butterfly girl! See? Here's your antennas, here's one wing, and here's the other wing." Heylyn said to Warai tugging lightly on her hair for the antennas and on the shoulder blades of Warai's blouse for her wings.
Warai laughed and giggled again, her face glowing.
"You're a real butterfly. I know. Wispy told me you know!" Warai laughed again.
"Oh she's got such a wonderful imagination. She's going to go on to be an artist some day." Mrs. Cheng said in levity.
Warai stepped away from Mrs. Cheng and reached out for Heylyn's hand.
Heylyn hesitated for a moment having a quiet thought.
Here is this little life that needs me to protect her and to love her and to raise her to be aware of the dangers and the treasures out there in this big world. Then one day she's going to strike out on her own and I'll have to hope that what I taught her will help her to survive and be successful.
"She's waiting" Weltherwithsp's voice spoke in Heylyn's head.
Heylyn extended her fingers and took the little hand that had just offered her trust. With that their bond was sealed.
"Now if you'll just sign some papers first you are both free to go. We'll be sending this information along to the Canadian Embassy here in Japan and South Korea. You'll need this information when you file for Warai`s citizenship in Canada." Mrs. Cheng told Heylyn.
The receptionist had prepared all of the paper work and Heylyn sat Warai on the counter beside her as she signed the stack of papers.
Warai watched her carefully and quietly with a little smile on her face. When Heylyn was done, Warai wiped her eyes and yawned and was ready to fall asleep.
Heylyn said her goodbyes to the staff at the child care facility and took a cab back to the hotel room. Warai had slept in the cab for the whole twenty five minute trip. When they arrived Heylyn picked her up in her arms and carried inside. On her way in her senses went off warning her that something was amiss. They were being watched by someone or something sinister. She took a look around scanning the area, peering through even the walls of the perimeter around herself. Her skin became scaly for a moment as the Butterfly Dragon came to life. She made a great deal of effort to make sure that she did not awaken Warai. Inside her mind she heard something laughing. A sinister laughter with a thunder to its voice much like that of Weltherwithsp though it was not. There was no playfulness or joy. Just malice and tumultuous cruelty. The last place she'd remembered such a feeling from anything was from Lasher. The serial rapist and murderer she'd caught last year.
"Somethings have help from us you whelp. Did you think you were the only one to have some fun?" the sinister voice came again followed by sinister laughter and a thunder like that of Weltherwithsp.
"Who are you?" Heylyn spoke aloud.
"I'm sorry m'aam. Did you say something?" one of the bellhops asked her as she passed.
She was startled back to reality and her senses suddenly went dry and things appeared alright. Under her clothing her skin returned to its soft and silky texture.
"Nothing. I was just thinking out loud." Heylyn responded.
She check Warai again only to see she was sound asleep comfortable in Heylyn's arms.
She continued to her room deftly opening the door with the key card. When she got in she dialled the front desk and asked them to keep an eye out for potential stalkers. They agreed knowing of her celebrity status in other parts of the world. Heylyn lay Warai in the second bed beside her own and tucked her and let her sleep. She stroked her forehead for a moment seeing that this poor little girl had likely spent most of the last two days in a constant stream of tears. Heylyn tried to imagine what it would be like to lose the two most important people in her life when she was so young. She curled up on the bed beside Warai and fell into an uneasy sleep.
"Sleep little baby... don't you cry... Mother's going to find you a Butterfly..." Heylyn sang quietly.
"... and with those two big beautiful wings... Mother's going to find you a song to sing..." she continued stroking Warai's hair.
"...and when you've sung your song an hour... Mother's going to find you great big flower..." she sang softly.
"...when you're tired your wings are sore... Mother's going to sing your song some more..." her voice continued.
"...when you Mother's voice is dry... sleep your your flower lullaby..." her voice trailed off as she too fell asleep.
She dreamt about Akito and Lee, Warai's parents who both pleaded with Heylyn to watch their child.
They told her it was coming.
They said it would remove whomever was in its way just as it had removed them.
Then there would be nobody to protect Warai, their little Garden Of Laughter.
Lunar Eclipse
Just as Heylyn had settled into bed in midday Tsushima, Monique had awaken in late Friday evening Toronto. She had been restless since Heylyn left despite the fact that she had specific instructions to lay low with city patrols until she got back. Heylyn did not want Monique to face anything alone even though she knew that Monique was capable of handling any difficulties that could arise. Monique had never met Heylyn`s family so for her to up and leave suddenly about a family emergency was strange even for Heylyn. Despite the fact that they each lived in their own condos, Monique still felt protective of her as a friend and neighbour.
Monique looked out into the late May night as she stepped out onto her balcony. The air was warm and the night was beautiful. The downtown streets below were crowded with night lifers out to finish up their shopping or sightseeing. Some were just heading out to begin a night in the downtown Toronto club scene. Her condo faced north off of Harbour Street and the Queen's Quay staring north past into the art and fashion district of Queen West village. The three of the major Toronto television stations' headquarter s were within medium walking distance and accessible to the press savvy like their fashion company's publicist.
To her east were Osgoode Hall, the City Hall and a variety of the University Of Toronto's educational and research facilities spread along the Queen Street walk. Further east, towering sky scrapers stood boldly like the impassible wall of the Bay Street business sector. Just beyond that and a bit north there was Dundas Square (just outside of the Eaton Centre at Dundas Street and Yonge Street), a large communal area where there were often concerts or outdoor movies, in the midst of the lights and billboards of the many storefronts of the Yonge Street strip. The strip continued north with a variety of shops and land marks like College Park, for a great hike up before merging into the Yorkville district just north and west of where Yonge Street intersected Bloor Street. So much to do and she was still sitting there in her place alone.
The truth was that she'd been so busy with Heylyn most of the time that she'd not had time to reaffirm her own independence. In the time since she'd been hired by Heylyn and worked her way up to high profile photo shoots and runway shows, she'd had little time to find herself again. In the evenings they'd patrol the city as their super powered alter egos and by the time all was said and done, there was little time for her. She thought about it and wondered if she wasn't being selfish and then vetoed that thought. She'd given as much of herself as a person can give in the service of others, and though she was finally achieving financial independence, she'd still not found herself. She thought back to the conversation that she'd had with Heylyn on the tennis court. Heylyn was trying to tell her something that she'd missed at the time. If you're too busy chasing the ball and not directing it, then you`re really acting by the whim of the ball and not yourself. She had been guided by Heylyn and her friends at the fashion company for so long that she wasn't making her own choices. She was still on training wheels. Tonight she decided that she would remove them and set out on her own. Do what she wanted to do.
She recalled one of her friends at the fashion company, one of the make-up artists had mentioned a club and bar that they'd often used for promotional and or social events related to their business. The Wyrm Wing West as it was called had the right combination of elements she was looking for on this night. It was a little familiar and recommended by people she'd come to know. It was innovative featuring entertainment and great cuisine that one could not find just anywhere. It catered to a lot of those in her career and a wide variety of people whose idea of a good time was enjoyable conversation and dance, with a little bit of spontaneity, which of course is immeasurable.
She played with the idea for about two minutes before working herself up enough to actually make the effort to get ready. Forty five minutes later she took a look at herself in a full length mirror and when she was satified, she stepped out the door onto the balcony. She promised herself that she'd not get involved in anything related to her super powered alter ego, though she'd worn part of the costume with her attire. It was more her fashion sense speaking than her sense of identity speaking to her. Besides, the idea that she had a secret alter ego made her excited. Her little secret that she'd share with just the right person. She leapt off the balcony and materialized as a long shadowy wisp speeding through the night. She touched down thirty seconds later in an empty alley just a block from the Wyrm Wing. There was momentarily a bright flash as she returned to her material form, an unavoidable side effect of her unique abilities and partly the reason Heylyn, Alicia and Valerie had nicknamed her the Strawberry Eclipse. Later she'd taken the nickname and made it the permanent name for her alter ego.
"What was that?" a gruff looking fellow whom poked his head out from his apartment and asked about the disturbance.
"Just the flash of my phone camera. Sorry if it startled you." Monique held her phone up for him to see,
"..next time. Be more quiet..." the man climbed the stairs and closed the window settling back into his apartment.
She quickly got out of the alley and headed out into the Queen Street West strip. On this end of Queen Street, a community of artistry and working professionals had emerged and many the shops that held store fronts were colourful and inviting intermingled with some of the neighbourhood's traditional stores and restaurants, flaunting its diversity. She quickly found the Wyrm Wing and made her way in and found a stool at the bar. A moment later a dapper looking bar tender greeted her.
"Good evening. What can I get you?" he asked her, polishing the section of bar she occupied.
"A gin and soda, and please go easy on the gin." she answered him pacing herself.
"One gin and soda coming up. I'll mix it up nice and tasty for you." he smiled and went about mixing her drink.
She smiled back and then took a look around the bar. At one end and off to the side, a lounge was set up that was out of the way, with cosy half moon bench seating. Further down a the bar opened up into a club where the dance floor was packed. She elected to stay at the bar the time being until she'd decided how she wanted her night to go. Normally adventurous she suddenly felt of place and without a safety net. She'd always had another aspect of her life and persona to fall back upon and suddenly since she'd realized it was her life and that the only one in the audience was her. She was struck with a case of self stage fright and found herself unable to decide her next course. That was when fate stepped in.
She'd just finished up her drink when the bar tender stepped up and placed another in front of her, along with a flower, a dragon lily.
"Where'd this come from?" she asked blushing slightly.
"The gentleman over there. In the corner by that table. He's been eyeing you for some time." the bar tender gave her generous smile and winked at her.
She looked over to see a man sitting in the corner near the edge of the lounge closest the dance the club. He appeared to be sitting alone, periodically speaking with some people at the next table. He paused a moment and took notice of Monique eyeing him. He raised his glass in the air to acknowledge her. She hers up along with the flower and proceeded over to his table.
"I just wanted to thank you for the drink. And the flower." Monique leaned in close to him to speak over the sound of the music.
"I needed some company, so I was really just doing myself a favour really by inviting you. Besides, I grabbed the flower out of one of the city planters on the way over." he spoke with a smile stretched across his face.
"Get out! Really?" she played along.
"No. You're right. I'm bluffing. The flower was actually in a salad I ate a while ago. I thought it would make a nice gift." he continued his jest.
She laughed pleasantly.
"Would you like to join me?" he asked her.
"I'd love to." she sat in the chair across from him.
"I was just kidding about the flower. They still have flower vendors in this place. One of the things I like about it. They're quite tasty." he smiled again.
"I hope you mean the flowers..." she replied with a smile of her own.
"I'm Kam." he offered his hand.
"I'm Monique." she accepted his hand shaking it gently.
"So what brings you to this place on a Friday evening at... 12:10AM?" she asked him.
"I've actually been here since morning." he paused before a smile crossed his face.
"Kidding. No I just came out for a bit of fresh air. I don't tend to get out often enough." he spoke somewhat solemnly.
"Well you're out and about now. How do you like it?" she asked him.
"I'm liking it quite a bit. The night just seems to get much better." he replied.
"So what do you do for a living?" she asked him.
"I'm a freelance investigative journalist though lately I've been doing more writing related to advertising. Some columns geared to product promotion. I've got a few good clients who like my style. What about you?" Kam asked her.
"I work in design a bit. Nothing much. I'm around a lot of talented people all day so its kind of fun and interesting. I've got a great boss too. Pretty lucky I guess." Monique said in self reflection very much enjoying her first social conversation in a long time.
"I think that you're just being modest. You're hiding something, aren't you?" Kam asked somewhat playfully.
Monique paused only slightly for a moment but it was enough to further fuel Kam's curiousity.
"No. I'm just being honest. Really. How would you like to dance?" Monique asked him excitedly and with a bit of a seductive look on her face.
"Dance? Me? I don't know. I don't think that I'd do too well." Kam replied.
"Come on. You mean to tell me that you're just going to sit here all night and drink without moving your body? Even a little?" Monique pried him some more before he got up and joined her.
Just as he stood to accompany her, his phone came to life and he scrambled through his pockets to find it, He checked the text message and replied to it quickly.
"Do you need a moment?" she coaxed him playfully.
"No. Its alright. Just some good news from a friend." Kam replied pocketing the phone.
"Did you tell your friend your good news?" she asked him.
"Now what good news might that be?" Kam asked her.
"You know. That the flowers here are edible." she laughed.
"I have to admit. I really like dancing." he replied as he stepped onto the dance floor with her.
Ten blocks away in an office, a woman received the reply from Kam on her phone. She read it carefully and smiled.
"Good. Now we're making progress. This might be easier than I thought." she spoke aloud to herself as she speed dialed another number.
"They're at the club. Wait until they leave. Make sure nobody sees you." she spoke to the voice on the other end of the phone.
"They won't see a thing. Then they won't feel a thing." the voice replied back to her.
The Meeting Is Adjourned
The boardroom broke out into cheers and a bit of applause as Alicia and Norler finished their presentation. The board of financiers and directors stood and shook hands with one another. The senior board member approached Alicia.
"Thanks for an astounding presentation." Alan, the senior board member held out his hand.
Alicia accepted it gracefully. She relaxed a little from the pressure she'd been under and pushed her other worries to the back of her mind.
"We're happy that it went over so well, for certain." Alicia replied cordially.
"We are in agreement then that we're going to go ahead with the new SY program and continue funding. We've got representatives that will prepare for the approval process once the test results are compiled. We're on the right track and we don't want to see this progress lost because of the Treadwater incedent. Rumours about the boogey man and flying angels tend to present a hurdle and public relations nightmare." the senior board member replied.
"Maybe the rumours will draw some good attention to the important issues here. This research is good and the smiles on those children's faces proves it." Alicia replied thinking momentarily about her other problem.
"Yes. It must be a wonderful feeling to be able to walk after never having been able to before. I'm sure it was an experience for them as it will be for many to come in the near future. The data looks good too." the senior board member replied.
"That's the goal and we're getting there." Norler joined them, rubbing Alicia's side.
"Norler. A pleasure to see you as always. When will you be in Geneva next?" he asked Norler.
"Not for a while. Our schedule's pretty full for the next little while. I'm sure we'll be here sooner than you think though." Norler replied shaking his hands before the senior board member left the room leaving him alone with Alicia.
"I thought we were going to spend some time together?" Alicia looked at him, a little shocked.
"Well there's just so much that has to be done to get this project going." he replied avoiding her gaze.
"You're hiding something." she accused.
"No I'm not." he replied trying to hold back a smile.
"Yes you are. Tell me." she demanded.
"It was supposed to be a surprise. We're going away on a vacation to a quiet retreat. Just us, nobody else for miles on a quiet island thousands of miles away from Treadwater. Just you and me." he smiled looking at her intensely.
"You are a tricky one sometimes." she smiled approvingly laying a kiss upon his lips.
"We're leaving from here. Right now." he informed her.
"I need my things." she replied.
"No you don't. We'll get new things if you need them." he assured her.
"Alright. You've got yourself a deal. There. I only negotiated one deal today and you negotiated two. You win. Maybe we could stop at the hotel first before we make our flight." she smiled and kissed him seductively.
"I think that could be arranged..." he drifted off in their kiss.
A few moments later they left the office and made their way to the downstairs lobby where other board members were filing into their limousines one at a time.
"Do you just want to grab a cab?" Norler asked Alicia.
"We could do that. Incognito." she accepted his hand as they ran for the street as they saw an approaching taxi.
Something in Alicia's head fired and her senses came to life. She felt goose pimples all over her body. Something was wrong.
"Wait!" she yelled as she stopped their forward momentum.
"What? Getting cold feet?" he turned to ask her.
That was when the blast hit them. It started out from under one of the limousines and the shockwave expanded crumpling metal and bystander as it expanded. Alicia tried to pull Norler from its path but even with her exceptional speed she was not quick enough. The shockwave hit Norler, picking him up and crushing the ribs on his right side. Alicia braced herself as the blast wave hit her, doing comparably no damage aside from the minor cuts and abrasions she'd sustain from flying debris.
Some of the board members flew through the air with the two of them and for a moment it seemed an aerial dance of some elegance and beauty. Men. Women. Metal. Glass. All flew through the air with grace. They impacted the side of the Geneva convention center, its concrete walls stopping them, some of them dead as they fell to the ground succumbing to the effects of gravity.
Alicia's head was spinning as she got to her feet. She stumbled a few paces in the direction of Norler's body before she fell. That was when the gunfire started in a stand off between the security forces of the convention center and a group of inbound masked gunmen. All bore 9mm submachine guns, which blazed as they fired. The security forces dropped while some fell back for cover.
There were screams and cries as time regained momentum and people realized what was happening. The streets became empty as people ran for cover, protecting their heads and exposed body parts. The gunmen payed them little attention as two cars pulled up on the street a distance from the fire and carnage. The gunmen searched the area outside of the convention center looking for three bodies, which they grabbed and pulled to them into the waiting cars before speeding off into the overcast and midday of downtown Geneva.
Alicia woke up first, scouring the area, finding unconscious body after body. She cringed inside having never seen such destruction on this scale before. Her eyes filled with tears as she searched for his body. His dead body. She did not know. If only she'd been just a foot to the right and in front of him, she could have shielded him from the blast. Her body had already began to heal itself as she started to assist the wounded, still looking for Norler.
"Alicia! You're alright! They took him." one of the men from the meeting ran over to her from the convention center.
"Norler? Who?" she turned to verify with him.
"They took Norler. The hooded gunmen. They drove off in two black cars. Sedans. They went south." the man told her.
Alicia stood wasting no time. She sprinted the stairs of the convention center down and onto the street and in the direction the man had indicated. To his amazement, she leapt a twenty five foot distance up and onto the ledge of a building, where she scurried up the side before leaping to another smaller building until she was on its roof. From there she quickly made her way in the direction of escaping cars in a futile bid to catch them.
From within another similar car, a man sat with a telescopic lens and fibre optic feed to his cellular. He had just recorded the second real evidence since the Treadwater incident that there was more going on than they'd been told.
"Did you see that?" he spoke into his headset.
"You bet I did! We got 'em! Two down. Two to go." the delinquent voice on the other spoke excitedly.
Pressed By The News
Valerie stepped out onto the crowded street from her office. She was feeling a bit hungry and had decided she needed a late night snack to fuel her through until the morning, when she assumed she`d be finished her work. She walked down the street to one of her favourite restaurants to get a wrap and a latte for a bit of energy. As she stepped out onto Bay Street and Wellesley Avenue, her phone rang from inside of her purse. She found it and answered.
"Did you hear? Its on the news! Right now!" a female voice said excitedly.
"Who is this?" Valeria asked, looking at her caller id to see Monique's name.
"It's Monique! Who else? They're on the news! Norler's dead. There was a bombing in Geneva! I can't believe this." Monique sounded stressed and on the verge of tears.
"Norler? That can't be right. Really? How's Alicia?" Valerie asked feeling a bit of panic herself.
"I don't know! They mentioned Norler's name. Oh my... they just said Alicia's name! She's missing too. Or de... dead." Monique broke out in a stream of tears.
"She's alright honey. Keep yourself together. Where are you?" Valeria asked Monique assertively trying to keep her focused.
"I'm at the Wyrm. The Wyrm Wing West. I'm in the lounge. We have the television on now." Monique replied through sniffles catching her composure.
"Are you alone?" Valerie asked her.
"No. I'm with Kam. He's nice. Really." Monique replied quivering on the other end of the phone.
"Don't talk with anyone else and wait there until I get there. I mean that." Valerie told her as she started looking for a taxi.
"Alright. I'm in the lounge. I'm wearing part of the... you know. My suit. My nice suit." Monique told her.
"You're what? I thought Heylyn told you not to...? Wait there. Don't say or do a thing. I'll be there quickly." Valerie flagged a cab and quickly got in.
"To the Wyrm Wing West she said." she asked the cab handing him forty dollars up front.
"Right away miss! Must be a party eh? You don't want to miss it." he said as he sped off just comfortably on the speed limit.
"I won't miss it." Valerie told the driver.
"Aye aye!" he replied.
She'd failed to notice the man on the sidewalk that had tailed her for most of the distance of her walk. He now was on his phone.
"She's on her way just as expected." he said into his phone.
For Valerie the party was only getting started.
Alley Party
Monique curled up in the lounge sofa with Kam, wrapped up tightly against him still sobbing slightly. He rubbed her side affectionately while still maintaining a disconnectedness that she felt though they'd only just met. The news was turned down and the music could be heard quietly in the background.
"So is your friend on the way?" he asked her already knowing the answer.
"Yes. She'll be here soon." Monique replied.
"She sounds like your mother." Kam told her.
"More like a sister. She's a good friend though. We've been through a lot together." Monique told him.
"I'll bet." he said high a slight bit of sarcasm.
A man approached them on the sofa and tapped Monique on the shoulder.
"Your friend is here to see you. She's just outside across the street parked behind the alley. She said her name is Valerie." the patron told her.
"Thanks. Let's go." she asked Kam.
"Are you sure you want me to come with you? It's kind of personal." Kam asked her.
"Yes. I do. If I need you to leave I'll ask you." She told him as she stood.
They headed for the door together and out across the street to the same alley Monique had used when she'd arrived. As she rounded the corner and into the darkness, she was hit with a sudden burst of pain as five thousand volts of electricity jolted through her body. She stumbled stunned as the man jumped her from behind and masked her screams. She slowly lost consciousness as the compound her attacker had started to take effect.
"That was much easier than I thought it was going to be." he said as he secured her.
"You're not going to hurt her? You're only going to ask her questions right? So we can expose this cover up?" Kam asked him.
"Yep, that's right kid. That's all we're going to do. She's going to talk for sure." he laughed as another man stepped out of the car.
"...And I get to release any video I take to the press. That's what your boss told me." Kam asked them.
"Yep and she ain't my boss. That's the plan kid. You can sell the video to the news if you want. That's what you want isn't it?" the man pulled her firmly secured body into the back of the car.
"Uhhh. Yeah. That's what I want." Kam assured them.
"Don't worry, you'll get what's coming to you." the man told Kam.
"Now you might want to get out of the way. This next one is going to be a bit harder to catch." the man said.
"Where should I stand?" Kam asked.
"I don't know, where ever you think is the best place to shoot your video from." the man said.
Kam feeling very much in over his head looked around for a spot to shoot his video from. If he caught this on video he'd very possibly be rich. He pulled the HD camcorder from his belt pouch and got ready for the excitement.
The first car drove away as a van pulled up. A few large men jumped out dressed in black gear. They spread out quietly to the darkest areas of the alley. The first man addressed the driver.
"You might want to pull that van down a bit farther. She'll just use it as a hurting stick to beat us down if you don't." he told the driver.
The van started once again and pulled further into the alley and into a zone of safety that the other one signalled.
"How do you know so much about them?" the driver asked as he returned.
"I was at Treadwater. I was working for the big man at that time." the first man replied.
"Let's get ready, she'll be here in a few minutes." the man said as he stepped further into the alley and waited, a cigarette dangling from his hand.
Valeria got out of the cab, thanking the driver and headed into the Wyrm Wing. As she stepped towards the front door, a man intercepted her.
"You wouldn't be Valerie, would you?" he asked her.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked him defensively.
"I'm sorry but your friend asked me to tell you that she was going to wait for you in that alley across the street there. She said it would be safer." the man told her.
"Thanks. Imagine that girl. Thinking an alley would be safer than the lounge. She must have had a few." Valerie said to keep cover.
Valerie waited for a bit of a break in traffic and then ran across the street and found her way into the alley.
Kam heard her as she rounded the corner and began recording.
"Monique? Monique?" she spoke aloud seeing the heater on the man's cigarette about twenty paces away.
"You didn't happen to see a girl around here did you?" Valerie asked him as he cupped a hand to his ear.
She stepped forward to close the distance between them.
"I'm sorry, I asked if you'd seen a..." Valeria didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before the man lifted his other hand and fired a taser into her chest.
The taser impacted and penetrated her clothing down to her skin, sending a high degree of voltage through her body and stunning her slightly. The man then threw the taser at the ground and ran from what he knew was about to happen.
"What the..." she cursed aloud chasing after him.
Two of the hidden men from the van stepped out and fired their tasers, each hitting her on a different side. She shuddered as the voltage hit her body once again stunning her.
She quickly turned now full of adrenaline and closed the distance between herself and one of the men. She picked him up over her head with ease and threw him like a rag doll at the second man. He was knocked down like a bowling pin. Neither got up from their impact induced slumber. Valerie then turned her attention to her surroundings.
"What have you done with Monique?" she yelled as she looked around for more attackers lurking in the shadows.
A man whom Monique might have recognized had she been present and conscious peered out from a window just overlooking the alley.
"Hey look, could you keep it down out there! Some of us are trying to sleep." he yelled out the window.
As she was distracted, two more men stepped out from the shadows and attacked her with their taser guns as well. This time she caught the taser lines, one in each hand as they were about to impact and put them together terminal to terminal in her hands. The taser guns in their hands exploded in sparks and debris sending a high voltage spark of electricity to each. They both fell to ground but neither returned to their feet.
Kam kept silent watching in amazement not believing what he was seeing. She had taken three direct hits from their tasers and was barely affected. She'd thrown the first attackers across the alley like they were toys. She truly was powerful. He realized that his video was going to make him rich.
The man from the balcony had stepped back into his apartment and was calling the Police about the altercation outside in the alley below. There were only four more men to deal with Valerie and beyond that, Kam would be on his own when the Police arrived.
The four of them jumped out at once confronting her. She quickly grabbed a seven hundred pound section of the concrete walkway from under her and used it as a shield. The taser lines impacted with little effect as the men backed away. She then broke the slab of concrete into several pieces using each of them as projectiles one at a time rending them unconscious.
Kam shuddered at what he was seeing.
The sirens cut through the night and Valerie heard them thinking that it might be better to get out of the alley. She turned and started to run down the alley and onto the main street, once again gaining her composure. She dusted herself off quickly and crossed the street back the Wyrm Wing West. She had some questions for someone.
Kam stepped out of the shadows and started walking trying to get some distance between himself and the alley. Most of the men she'd dispatched were silently sleeping or groaning and barely moving. He ignored them as he passed and kept going knowing they'd be plucked up by the Police. He need not worry about them because he had the real treasure. Video proof that corroborated the Treadwater video account of the super beings there.
Question And Answer Period
Valerie stepped into the Wyrm Wing West as the Police pulled up setting up a perimeter around the alley. They kept their distance waiting for the tactical team. All NATO countries had been placed on high alert following the attack upon Geneva and they weren't taking any chances.
The bar had become noisy with talk as people discussed the most recent events to happen in Geneva and now some were pouring out onto the sidewalk to see what was happening in their own neighbourhood. Valerie eyed them one at a time for the one who'd told her about Monique being in the alley. That was when she stepped up to the bar and spoke with the bar tender.
"You wouldn't happened to have seen a girl, about five feet nine inches tall, medium length hair in two colours though I don't know what colours she has them now. I haven't seen her for a while." Valerie asked him politely.
"Yes I did as a matter of fact. She left with Kam, a regular in here. They left about fifteen minutes ago. I can take a message for Kam if you'd like? He's in here just about every day." the bartender asked her grabbing a pen and pad from his pocket.
"Uhhhh. Yes. That would be great. Tell him that Monique's sister was here looking for him." Valerie spied the man who'd told her that Monique had gone to the alley.
"Will do. Can I get you anything?" the bartender asked her professionally.
"Yes. Could I have a double shot of Ouzo?" she said.
"Coming up." he replied and a moment later he returned with her drink.
"Could I ask you a favour. Could you light it for me?" she asked him.
"Certainly. Will do." he pulled a lighter and ignited the drink.
She quickly picked it up and followed in pursuit after the man who'd misled her to the alley.
He had just about made it to the door when she feigned stumbling and dumped her drink onto the man. His jacket caught fire and she pushed him to the ground trying to put it out. He rolled over and panicked upon seeing her face.
"Hi. Did you miss me?" Valerie said to him.
"Uhhh. Did you find your friend? I hope nothing happened to Monique." he spoke clearly treacherously acting his sympathy.
"No. I didn't. I was hoping you might tell me where she is? There a reward in it for you." she said, remaining atop of him.
"A reward?" he asked her.
"Yes. I'll let you leave with none of your legs broken." she told him.
"That's a good deal." he said in a feisty manner.
"I'd say." she replied.
"I was paid by a man dressed in a black jumpsuit to wait there and tell you that." he replied.
"When?" she asked.
"About ten minutes before you arrived." he replied.
"How much money?" she asked him.
"Two hundred dollars. He told me not to tell." the man said.
"Then you're lying. He paid you more." she said bringing her business negotiation skills into play.
She could clearly see he was a wheeler and dealer.
"You're right. He paid me five hundred dollars and told me not to tell." he responded as she held him down.
"So he paid you five hundred dollars to set me up like that. What did you do with my sister Monique?" she squoze his thigh hard and he felt a shot of pain through his leg to the bone.
"I don't know. She left first. Before you arrived. She left with a guy! I swear!" his face broke out in a sweat.
"You better not be lying to me. I'm going to hand you a phone. You're going to say your name and your address and your phone number into it. Then we're done and you have both your legs. Don't lie. Then you're going to give the five hundred dollars to Women's Place, a charity for battered women. Place the donation under the name Valkyra. The donation will be listed online and I'll be looking for it by the evening. Do you understand?" Valerie told him as she dialed her answering service and handed him the phone.
He did as she instructed and she got off of him. She offered him a hand and he accepted it. She applied a bit of pressure upon his hand as she hefted him easily to his feet.
"The man who paid you to set me up has probably been picked up from in that alley and is being loaded into a Police van at this time. You're undoubtedly an accessory to an abduction I'm hoping because if one bone on her pretty little body is hurt... Sorry about your shirt." she said brushing it off.
"Don't forget to call..." Valerie waved to him.
She returned to the bartender and waved to him.
"Yes?" he asked her.
"You're a sweetheart. Thank you." she said pulling him in and kissing his cheek.
Following The Trail
She had started the day with a long distance call first to Monique's answering service, then to one of the other senior designers at West meet East Design, her fashion design conglomerate. Once she'd gotten that out of the way
Warai held onto Heylyn's hand as they walked the block to arrive at their destination. Heylyn stepped into the office building with Warai and approached the receptionist.
"Annyeonghaseyo, mueos-eul dowa deulilkkayo ?" The lady greeted her in Korean, bowing politely.
Heylyn paused for a moment looking slightly puzzled. Warai tugged her hand and Heylyn took the signal and picked her up.
"She asked if you want help." Warai told Heylyn.
"Thank you sweetie. Could you tell her that I need to see a list of recent employees and their last dates worked? Could you say that for me?" Heylyn asked Warai.
"I'll try." she said giggling.
"Nae chinguga dangsin-i geunyeo ege jeon-e yeogie geunmu haneun salamdeul-ui moglog-eul pyosi hal su issneunji algo sip-eohanda . god." Warai spoke, pausing to think about what she was saying then finished.
The receptionist replied: "naneun dangsin-ege jinan dal geunmu gyodae wa moglog-eul inswae hal su issseubnida , hajiman geugeos-eun danji cheos beonjjae ileum eul gajil su issseubnida. eotteon gajog ileum eobs-seubnida." turning to her computer and clicking the mouse to bring up the employee utilities.
"She says she can print you a list with their first names but no last names. That way you can know a little bit." Warai told Heylyn showing her teensy with index finger and thumb.
"That's fine. Tell her thank you for helping us." Heylyn poked her nose.
"Geunyeoneun uli leul dowa jusyeoseo gamsa leul malhanda. nan dangsin-i joh-eun issneun geoscheoleom boigi ttaemun-e bilog neomu gomabdaneun mal ." Warai told the lady and smiled at her.
The lady returned her a wink and handed Warai the already printed list.
"Geuge dangsin-i chajgoissneun geos-eul balgyeon haneun de doum-i doegileul balabnida. joh-eun yeohaeng doeseyo." she said to Warai giving her a smile a wink then stood and bowed.
"She says she hopes you find what you need and to go safely too." Warai told Heylyn.
"Daedanhi gamsahabnida ." Heylyn said to the receptionist bowing for her.
She accepted the list from Warai and put her back on the floor as they walked out together.
"What are you looking for?" Warai asked Heylyn as she browsed through the list.
"Oh, I just need a time and a date and a place someone was at. Sometimes we need to know why things happened. So people keep lists of things that happened. That way we know we can find them out later." Heylyn tried to explain without letting her know that she was tracing the last steps of Warai's father.
"Oh. Does that mean you keep a list of me?" Warai asked her intensely amazed.
"Well. In a way but not like this list." Heylyn explained.
"You mean so that if I go lost, you can come find me?" Warai asked her.
"Mmmmm. Yes, kind of too but I have really good senses for that." Heylyn told her.
"You mean like Welly?" Warai's face lit up.
"Yes. Just like Welly." Heylyn smiled just as she thumbed through the second last page of the print out.
She noticed the that the address listed on his delivery wasn't the address on his waybill. This struck her as being odd and seeing as it bore his first name, she presumed she'd found her match.
"Did you find something?" Warai asked her.
"Yes honey. I did." Heylyn said as she thought.
This could be potentially dangerous but she had to investigate this lead. There was nobody that she could leave Warai with that she'd be safe with than her. She decided that it was safer to go back to the hotel room and to get a second opinion about what to do. She managed to flag down a cab and they were en route to the hotel not far from them in Busan, South Korea.
Warai sat quietly with her seat belt buckled, though she wanted to look out the window. Heylyn reached into her purse and pulled out a hand mirror and handed it to Warai.
"Here, you can use this to look out the window." Heylyn smiled at her.
Warai took it in her hands and angled it so it faced the outside window. If she looked at the right angle, she could see the street and the people on it. She was looking to see if she knew where they were or were near a candy store. She wanted something sweet.
"If I see a candy store can we stop?" Warai asked her.
"We'll get something sweet for you when we get back to the hotel. But not too much because you'll be too sweet then." Heylyn squeezed her nose.
Warai giggled then fell silent as she tried to re-angle the mirror so she could see the street again.
The trip back to the hotel only took fifteen minutes before they were in their room. Heylyn called room service and ordered a strawberry tart for Warai and a salad for the both of them to share. After they ate, they sat and watched television together until Warai fell asleep. Heylyn tucked her into bed before she stepped into the bathroom, leaving the door open slightly.
"Are you here?" she asked the mirror.
There was a moment of silence and the lights flickered before a voice spoke.
"Have I ever been absent from you my dear?" Weltherwithsp spoke seeming to be coming from all directions at once.
"Where are you?" she asked him.
"You know. Here. There. Everywhere." he answered her in rhyme.
"Stop it. I need to ask you some questions." Heylyn told it.
"Why would you need to see me to ask a question? Ask away and if I know I'll say..." he spoke eloquently.
"I need to check out an address where Akito has been. It was his last delivery for the company he'd been working for. But it wasn't on the waybill." Heylyn explained.
"He made a stop along his trip for you to find his path within that place is where you'll find what subject him to wrath..." Weltherwithsp once again put forth another puzzle.
"That's great, but how do I get there? I have to look out for Warai and I can't just leave her here to investigate." Heylyn asked impatiently.
"True you go and you'll not know what happens to the child. So why not stay and lets just say I'll show you something wild..." Weltherwithsp wove the words carefully yet playfully.
"Whatever could you mean by that?" she pressed.
"And for these words I'm weaving there's ways to get there without leaving. You just need to be versed and left none the less worse. So lets just say I'll show you..." as Weltherwithsp finished the room disappeared.
Heylyn was now in the lobby of the hotel. It was sparsely populated and dimly lit. Some were dressed their best on their way to the restaurant. A lady sat in the lobby chair silently reading a book. The desk staff were going about their business.
"You see? But they don't we." Weltherwithsp guided her.
She turned to see Welthwithsp flying through the lobby weaving around the pillars and behind plants then up to the high ceiling weaving around the glass and paper lanterns then back down before her. None of the patrons seemed to be aware of their presence.
"You mean this is actually happening right now? I mean its not just my memory of the hotel and I'm imagining... sorry, we're imagining this together?" she asked the Dragon.
"Yes and no. It is the hotel lobby of your mind and only what you know. So things you see are where you've been and hides where you'll never go. What hides is within their sides and in their mind is where we'll find what we can't see." Weltherwithsp once again explained while Heylyn struggled to grasp.
"You mean that if there are other people around... I can borrow what they can see to fill in what I haven't." Heylyn became excited with her discovery.
"What is seems is within their dreams..." Weltherwithsp confirmed for her.
She tried walking out into the hotel a bit and over to the front desk. She'd never been behind the desk and figured this would be a good place to test her theory and Weltherwithsp's explanation.
She stepped up to the counter, neither of the desk staff noticed her. She tried stepping through the desk, like a ghost but found that she couldn't. Instead she walked around and took a look behind the desk. There were various shelves and cubby holes for paperwork and stationary. She peeked at the stationary to see what they had. She saw a collection of pens, pencils, erasers and even complimentary screen guards for cellular phones. As she tried to step back out she noticed the place she'd investigated disappearing, as if it was being erased from reality. She looked around and saw that the desk staff had stepped out from behind the desk and were no longer near enough to see it. She grasped the concept immediately from that point on.
She stepped over to one of the guests as they got out of the elevator. As she approached she held her breath as they collided. Instead she passed right through the guest and he kept walking as if nothing had happened.
"I see. So because they aren't part of my precise memory, they aren't solid to me." Heylyn asked Weltherwithsp who'd wrapped around one of the plants and was playing with one of its leaves.
"Definitely not as solid as your attentiveness." Weltherwithsp replied peering up from the plant.
"So I want to go to the address, but I've never been. How will that work?" she asked.
"You know the way from here, then what have you to fear?" Weltherwithsp queried her.
"I need my costume... Wait..." she spoke and then as she realized that she didn't in fact need it, but she transformed anyway.
Her residual image was now that of the Butterfly Dragon and she stepped over to the door and out into the setting sun. Her face was hidden by an elaborate mask which tucked behind her hair. Her upper body was lightly armoured in a scaly composite material. The crest that she'd recently fashioned was centered between her breasts, a heart between two butterfly wings. Her cape stretched from where it was attached to her shoulders streaming down to her elbows following down to her knees. It was made of the same composite materials as her armour only it was more pliable. Her legs were covered in similarly scaly armour which clung to them tightly. Her utility boots were designed for rugged wear and tear and for physical prowess as much as beauty and artisty and as such had a minimal heel design.
She looked around and most of what she could see was filled in as in her memories but with patches of blackness where she'd never been and where there was nobody near enough to her that had been there either. She decided that she'd better leave and try to make it the whole trip to the address of Akito's delivery. She recalled it from the list and took to the air at high speed to make her voyage.
She found that she had to maintain a very low altitude, much lower than she'd usually fly at so that she'd remain within the view point of other people so that she didn't creep into one of the black zones. Where she'd never been and where nobody had their eyes. She sped up the main street dodging solid objects as she needed not knowing if they were her memory or their vision.
She turned at high speed around the street corner narrowly missing a building as she tightened her flight arc. She still had a bit of leeway in speed she could pull from herself but chose instead not to. Her path took her through a section of alleys and restaurants and shops finally to a street with a warehousing operation where she found the address she'd sought.
She flew around to the shipping and receiving door and found it closed. She checked each of the loading bays until she found a truck that was being loaded and managed to squeeze through and get in the building. She made her way over to the shipping offices to see if she could find what she was looking for. There were three people in the shipping office all browsing the shipping and receiving logs which was exactly what she needed. She scanned their computer screens over their shoulder hoping she'd find what she was looking for in their random use of the logs.
She waited five minutes before one of them happened to scroll down into the logs for the weeks prior to the date on Akito's stop at this warehouse. Then she found it on the screen, a special high security shipment for a company called XYZZZ Industrial. That would explain why it hadn't been the same address that the waybill had recorded. She thought about it for a moment as she scanned the screen for any other information. That was when she noticed the description for the package which listed it as an archaeological find, and a special high security substance. Listed under class 1 chemical shipping restrictions which she had no idea about. She stepped away from the screen and looked around the room until she'd found what she was looking for. A chart listed all of the different classes of chemical shipping and the requirements for their safety and the required paperwork. Class 1 was at the top of the list and required refrigeration.
"So you found your way here?" a lady's voice spoke to her from inside her head.
She quickly looked around trying to find the source but still found herself in the office. She noted the destination for the delivery was to a facility in Venezuela, South America. The archaeological find came from the ZhangFangZhen area of Beijing, China. Two other shipments also accompanied it, one from Amsa-Dong, Seoul in South Korea and another from Bunkyo, Tokyo in Japan. Another container was destined for the same destination under the same shipping order located in Fairwater, Cardiff in Wales. She committed the exact address to memory and then stepped out of the office. As she made her way to the loading bay. She stopped when she felt a presence.
"I said you found your way here. Quickly too." the same lady's voice spoke, this time from behind her.
She turned around quickly to see a lady, much like herself though as much different. She was an S&M caricature with abundant makeup that appeared precise and artistic. She wore a costume much like Heylyn's however hers revealed more than it hid. Where Heylyn's was very attractive and sublimely seductive, hers made no pretentions about seduction at all. Her expression was all or nothing. Her scaly blouse extended down open to her naval. A elaborate design of tattoo artistry adorned her chest made up of scales, thorns and pain. Her arms were wrapped with scaly art much like Heylyn's own armour making her appear dangerous and delicate simultaneously. Down further a short skirt kept most of her abdomen hidden and crowned the top of her thighs. Her legs were bare with tattooed scales and patterned designs that held them together and giving her legs shape. Her boots were tall and heeled, with tiny black spikes adorning the front and back.
Heylyn said nothing believing this to be an illusion created by one of the warehouse worker's fantasies somehow become real.
"Fine. Be rude. Hold your tongue. I'd heard so much about you. I thought you'd be the social butterfly! I guess that one's mine. You can be the obsessive artist and designer, hiding in your tower trying to ride the wave of hipness and being 'in' until you're no longer in style. Then when everyone has forgotten you and you're all by your lonesome and you look into the mirror for your friend, you know the one, the only thing that you'll see is an old and washed up lady. Welcome to the future babe. Welcome to me!" the lady walked up to Heylyn slowly clicking her heels down which echoed through the imaginary warehouse.
When she got close enough to Heylyn she moved up close, nearly lip to lip.
"So are we going to kiss, or are we going to dance?" Heylyn asked her sarcastically.
"That's better. I thought that you'd lost your sense of humour. You do have one don't you? Or has that friend of yours, Wally Wisp taken it all away from you?" she proceeded around Heylyn as if she was inspecting her.
"Weltherwithsp. Get me out of here..." Heylyn said aloud as she tried to figure out how best to handle this.
"You won't be getting any help from Wally today. That one's a little busy at the moment. So lets get this started. Oh and by the way, you can call me the Dragon Butterfly." with that she launched herself with a ferocious speed at Heylyn swinging her arms at her abdomen then up to graze her face. Heylyn's skin flared and became scaly to avoid damage from the blades that had emerged from the armour on the Dragon Butterfly's arms. Heylyn returned with a knee jab to the torso then spun kicked her assailant who caught her leg mid flight.
"Nice try but you're a little too slow aren't you now. Over the hill?" she said to Heylyn who pulled her leg free and cartwheeled away from the advancing Dragon Butterfly.
When she landed the other lady quickly kicked her stomach sending her flying into a stack of loaded shipping palettes. She hit them hard and fell to the cement floor. She picked herself up and by the time she was on her feet the Dragon Butterfly was already in her face sending punch after punch to her. She quickly dodged them one at a time then slipping under her between her legs, wrapping her boots around her kneck and swinging her to the cement floor with a thud.
The Dragon Butterfly wasted no time getting to her feet.
"Good show! You still have so much art and design energy left in you! So wonderful and tasty! Let's go some more." she advanced once again this time launching herself in a spinning kick, hitting Heylyn's shoulder and sending her flying once again. In Mid flight the Dragon Butterfly still in the air from her kick shifted her balance sending forth a volley of punches into her abdomen. Heylyn flew against the steel shelving, which was filled to the brim with loaded pallets. She hit the shelving and stopped dead falling to the floor unmoving.
"See. I told you. You're washed up. I'm the future, you're the past. I'll come first, you'll come last. Hey that's pretty catchy. Do me a favour and give that one to Wally for me." the Dragon Butterfly once again went back to a slow and seductive walk her heels echoing.
"I'm not done." Heylyn tried to move but found she couldn't.
"Oh yes you are!" the Dragon Butterfly reached down and lifted Heylyn's unmoving head from the floor and raised her bladed fist.
"Wake up!" Warai said, shaking Heyln who'd fallen to the floor in the bathroom.
Heylyn lurched up quickly and upon seeing Warai grabbed her, wrapping her arms around the little girl.
"You were hurt. You scared me! Don't leave me! Everybody leaves me! Don't you leave me!" she screamed at Heylyn crying pounding her with her little hands.
"No honey. I won't ever leave you. Never." Heylyn rubbed her hair with her hands and found the strength to lift her.
She carried her off into bed.
"Honey. I won't ever leave you. Now you sleep and I'll be right beside you." Heylyn told her.
"How will I know?" Warai asked her.
"I'm going to tell you a story that my mother and her mother used to tell me. Their mother's too. Then you'll know that you'll never be alone and that I'll be her to protect you. Just like Welly said." Heylyn stroked her forehead.
"What's the story called?" Warai asked.
"Its called The Field, The Butterflies, And The Dragon." Heylyn tucked her under the covers and began the tale.
Receiving And Shipping
The warehousing operation was a large one set a short distance from the port in Maracaibo. The containers in question had arrived through the port on a shipping freighter that had come arrived from Asia. The man who had arranged all of this was situated far from both places in the world and had made sure to keep it quiet and off the radar. Nobody would have been able to link this back to him. Nobody alive.
From the time the freight had been unloaded by the gantry crane on the vessel, it had waited in port for half a day when the customs officer had arrived for the rush shipment. He had made a special exception in this case as they were dealing with one of their biggest customers and sources of revenue for both the port and Maracaibo. One call to a government official and the orders came down directly from the Secretary of Trade to send an officer out to examine the shipment and to "hasten" the shipment's passage through the customs house. The customs officer had arrived and barely looked at the shipment before signing the paperwork and making his way back to the office. He didn't want to be anywhere near the shipment if anything went wrong. Careers tended to end quickly with mistakes involving this customer.
Thereafter it was unloaded in a small warehousing operating, where a group of men and women carefully opened the crates and began examining the contents one at a time.
"They look so similar. Remarkable." Juan said.
"There's slight differences if you look closely. For one, the faces seem to have a distinct uniqueness indicating they each represent a different being." Estella indicated pointing.
"We'd best hurry then and get a sample for the carbon dating team and one for our lab." Tito reminded his coworkers.
They worked together, carefully tipping each of the contents over and getting at their bottoms. There they chiseled a scraping of rock and dust, making two sample bags for each of the items labeling them carefully beforehand.
The building began to shudder and on the roof the sound of a helicopter could be heard as it touched down. A crew quickly jumped out of the small cargo helicopter arriving in the warehouse. Estella, Juan and Tito stepped out of the way they each carefully picked the items and loaded them each in turn onto the helicopter. When they took the last one, Estella, Juan and Tito followed them up the stairs and boarded the helicopter. An LCD monitor that was affixed to the interior wall came to life, and the words "Incoming Call - Push To Answer" flashed across the screen. One of the crew pointed to the headsets on the wall beside the LCD monitor, which the three scientists put on. Estella pushed the screen with her index finger and the flashing message disappeared only to be replaced by the face of a distinguished slightly older man.
"Doctor Greeves. It is a pleasure to see you. I take it you had a chance to examine them?" the man asked her.
Estella took a moment to adjust the boom on her microphone before speaking.
"Yes. They're remarkable and in good condition. We got the samples we need for the rest of the lab work and we're headed there now." she replied noticing the motorized camera just above the monitor.
"Good. I want you to notify me immediately as soon as you get the results of the carbon 14 dating. As well, I want you to let me know if there's anything significant about the minerals or composition of the samples." the man demanded confidently.
"Yes sir. We'll do that." Estella said keeping her response brief.
One of the crew gestured to her that they were taking off. She stepped back into her seat and buckled herself in as the camera followed her movement.
"I take it the arrangements were to your liking?" the man asked her.
"Oh yes, the money is fine. Very good in fact. Enough for me to keep this from the prying eyes and ears of my colleagues.
"Excellent, because if you do let anyone know, I'm afraid that I'll have to let you go and find someone else to continue your work for me." the man said unfazed which slightly unnerved her.
"Yes, I understand." Estella said keeping her composure.
"The same goes for Juan and Tito." the camera panned to take their image in.
"Yes sir. We understand. Gracias. Gracias." they replied.
"Now you do understand that I'm going to have to ask that you sleep for the rest of the trip to my facility. In the cabinet beside Doctor Greeves is a bottle of sleeping pills. One each should be sufficient. My crew will awaken you when you arrive. It's location is a well kept secret and I don't want it getting out you know." the man told them confidently.
"Well of course." she turned and opened the cabinet pulling the steel bottle from the magnetic shelving.
She opened the bottle and handed Juan and Tito one each of the pills, before taking on herself. She put the lid back on the pills then put them back in the cabinet.
"Pleasant dreams, Doctor Greeves. Pleasant dreams." the man said as she slowly fell asleep.
The camera panned once more making sure each of them was soundly asleep before the monitor went black before flashing "Call Ended. Call Total Time: 04:23".
The message stayed onscreen for some time before the monitor too went to sleep.
Infamy
Monique awoke in a tiny room, padded from wall to wall. The door too was padded leaving only a small window one way window for her captors to keep an eye on her. She examined the rest of the room and noticed two cameras mounted one each in the ceiling corners opposite one another. She checked her clothing only to see that someone had taken it and redressed her in what appeared to be flannel pajamas. She concentrated and attempted to transform herself only to find that she couldn't. She swiftly kicked the door, with a front kick that Heylyn had taught her. Heylyn had been teaching her martial arts and according to the Kyu system, she would have been considered an Orange belt.
"Not quite enough to knock that door down." she spoke aloud to herself.
She tried again, this time trying with all of her might to channel her powers with no avail. She instead ended up hurting her leg. She rolled around on the floor for a minute and half in pain before it subsided and the SY formula still present in her body healed her minute injury.
"At least I bounce back quick." she said aloud.
She turned to the cameras and yelled.
"Which one of you perverts stripped me down and took my clothes!" she demanded.
A moment later she heard a latch or bolt on the door.
She quickly ran for it struggling with the handle. It opened with a turn and she found herself in a room walled with two way glass, unbreakable she assumed. She braced herself preparing to try another kick.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you." a voice came from a loudspeaker.
"And why not?" she asked.
"Because its very sturdy. Even more sturdy than you could break even if you had your powers. Eclipse girl is it?" the voice answered her question asking one of its own.
"You must be the pervert who took my suit. It's not Eclipse girl. I'm not a girl, I'm a woman. The name's Strawberry Eclipse." she told the voice.
"Really? Duly noted. Eclipse girl, could you be so kind as to watch that monitor on the other side of the glass. You'll hear the audio in here." the voice asked kindly.
"Strawberry Eclipse I said! When my friends find you, you're going to be sorry." she corrected him.
"Just watch the monitor, please?" the voice asked.
A moment later the monitor came to life on the other side of the glass. It depicted two news stories making headlines around the world. The first one was the footage of the blast and then the camera footage of Alicia taking off up a wall after the terrorists. The footage had a picture of Alicia Westen, whom they'd identified as the lady in pursuit of the terrorists who'd made off with Walton Norler. The second footage was of a confrontation between Valeria and some armed men in an alleyway. Valerie was seen to be using feats of superhuman strength to deal with her attackers, throwing a couple of them like toys. Inset was a picture of Kam, giving him the credit for the video. After that they played the infamous video from Treadwater showing a mysterious lady lifting a giant boulder of at least ten tons in weight and tossing it into the ocean. The news piece then went on to link the mystery lady from Treadwater to Valerie, from the attack in the alley.
"Oh no... Why are you doing this to us?" Monique stood wide eyed in disbelief.
"Because, you asked for it." the voice replied.
A tear tread in spurts down her face.
"That and my client is paying us a lot of money." the voice told her.
She closed her eyes and mouthed Heylyn's name. Then that of Weltherwithsp.
Show Business
The video live crew were waiting outside of Valerie's office for her morning arrival to confront her with questions about these superhuman feats and her apparent double life. Moments later she arrived and tried pushing her way through the crowd of reporters and videographers.
"Ms Mills, could you tell us how and where you got these incredible powers of strength and do you use them in your business life?" one reporter blurted.
"Ms Mills, have you seen the new footage and do you care to comment?" another voice shot out.
A wall of microphones were thrust into her face as she struggled to get into her building.
"I think I'm going to need superpowers just to get to my office." she said as she made her way carefully through the crowd.
"Are you and Alicia Westen acquaintances and have you seen the footage of her?" one reported asked.
"Yes. I saw the footage and I'd say someone is playing a big trick on us both. She's busy promoting her latest medical treatment breakthrough in the SY line which is what you should be focusing on. I'm an independent Corporate Researcher and Analyst trying to guide boardrooms everywhere onto the right, responsible and accountable track. Its good for their customers and makes such reforms in a company make for great media coverage and news. We couldn't have planned this better for publicity but the truth is that we didn't do it. She's a super researcher and I'm strong in the boardroom. I'm more concerned about the lives of my friends right now than I am about how many buses I could play pickup sticks with." Valerie said throwing in a bit of her public relations experience and her forceful charm.
The flashes fired and in those moments she'd become a public figure and an icon, much like UFOs, secret Government programs and the men in black. She was an object of much scrutiny and she realized that her life had changed as she arrived at the door to the building. The reporters didn't follow her past the door and security helped Valerie in the door. The footage of her lifting that boulder on Treadwater had become such a mystery that it had even been discussed in multiple presentations on Coast To Coast AM, where she had become known as the mysterious Siren of Treadwater Island. Little did she know, they were doing a special on superpowered beings from beyond that very night inspired by the recent footage of her in the alley and the footage of her friend Alicia.
"Thanks darling." she said to one of the security guards.
"How was your trip to work today?" he asked her.
"Fine. Just fine. Any news about Alicia?" she asked.
"Nothing on our end. I'll let you know." he told her as she made her way to the elevator.
When she arrived at her office, she closed the door and quickly dialed Heylyn's numbers, at home and then at work. There were no answer at either and when the answering service came on, she left a message.
"Hello, its just me, Valeria calling to see if you're alright. Have you heard anything from Alicia or Monique. Please call me on my personal cellular line when you get any of these messages. Bye." Valerie hung up the phone seriously concerned about the whole situation.
She considered her next step in solving this mystery and figured that it might be a trip to see Kam, the videographer who'd sold her out to the press. She suspected that doing something like that might not be so good, as they'd be anticipating such a move on her part. She had to question him though before he was paid off by the press for his video and before he managed to cash in. He'd likely just disappear after that and she'd have no way of finding Monique.
She could no longer operate secretly or behind the scenes and she'd have to use her abilities sparingly though she had no idea of the ramifications of what she was about to experience.
She'd completely entered into a new world and one with which she'd had no experience. The world of a celebrity, though she felt more like the mystery of Lock Ness.
Caught On Video
The black car pulled into a drive in warehouse. The terrorists quickly closed the sliding door signalling each other to be ready for anything. They set themselves up strategically in positions around the warehouse, which sparsely filled with empty pallets and dust. Norler sat unconscious in the car while four men kept an eye on him from just outside the car. They sat patiently waiting for their quarry.
Ten minutes passed before on of the motion sensors on the roof went off.
"She's here." one of the said quietly signalling the others.
He had barely passed the message around before they heard a loud noise from the back of the warehouse and saw the metal door come flying off its hinges. It piled into one of the men and left him unconscious under the door. One of the other men covered the open door, firing a few shots into it for safety sake.
A moment later he was taken from behind as she flipped him over by his head, face down onto the cement floor of the warehouse. He stayed quietly put after that and she disappeared into the warehouse even further.
Three had kept a close formation, covering every direction yet she still managed to get between them. The broke the gun of the first one, snapping it in two with a fast punch, then spun landing her kick just under the chin of another. She then used his body as a weapon on the other two leaving the three of them piled in their aisle.
Another backed away in terror himself as an empty pallet flew through the air landing beside him. He turned, firing upon it before she waylaid him from behind with a punch to his right side lower back. He fell gasping for a moment before he was unconscious.
Finally she'd made it to the section of warehouse where the car had come to a stop. She approached cautiously noticing another four men outside the car armed with submachine guns. She leapt up grasping a ceiling beam, which she shimmied along until she was directly above the car. She dropped onto its roof, cartwheeling off of it onto the first man. He turned and attempted to fire only to be introduced to her foot which connected to his cheek. He was fast asleep before he hit the ground. As soon as he was on the floor, two of the others had a clear shot and opened fire at her. She tried to move but was clipped by a shot which hit her on the left side. She maintained her momentum ignoring the pain and kept towards the gunman. The arrived, grabbing the SMG beneath the barrel, then hefted it up quickly, bashing it into his face. He fell quickly though she grabbed him before he fell. She used him as a shield as the other one fired again this time hitting his co-conspirator squarely in the chest. She launched his body at the gun man who could not dodge it fast enough. He fell to the floor bashing his head on the concrete giving himself a concussion in the process.
She turned to deal with the last one who had already opened fire upon her. The rounds impacted her dead center of her chest and she recoiled from the impact. She looked down to realize that what she was seeing wasn't blood but instead was paint. Laughter came from the only remaining gun man.
"Smile. You've been caught on video!" he laughed.
"What is the meaning of this!" she grabbed him.
"Just what I've said. You've been caught on video! Don't blame me though. Its kind of like a prank." the gun man told her.
She jumped for the door to the black car and yanked it open, pulling Norler from it. He appeared bruised and bloodied a bit and was still unconscious, but was mostly alright.
"You mean to tell me this was all a joke? Just to catch me on video?" she asked the man looking furious.
"You got it Sherlock! We figured it was a lot easier than trying to get you to sleep with all of us on camera." he said, before bursting out laughing.
"Why?" she asked.
"Don't be shy girl. You're a star now. Just like catching Bigfoot." the gun man said as he laughed again.
She punched in the face once and he fell silently to the floor. She pulled their bodies into a pile and then checked the address on the front of the building as she dialed the authorities. Seven minutes later she was in an ambulance with Norler as they sped to the hospital. He awoke on the way there and smiled at Alicia.
"Hi honey, I'm home." he said.
She kissed him tenderly.
"I know." she said to him seductively.
"Are we in a limo?" he asked.
"No. We're in one of the vehicles of the other superheroes, you know the ones?" she said.
"Oh. You mean the life saving ones." he said.
"One and the same." she said.
"I feel pretty alive." he told her.
"They just have to see how alive you are before they can let us go." Alicia told him.
"Ok. I think I'm going to have to take the first night of our vacation a little slow." he said asking for her to forgive him.
"That's alright. We have a whole two weeks don't we?" she said leaning in close to him and giving him a seductive smile.
"That's right." he said returning her smile.
"My hero." she said kissing him again.
They kissed for the rest of the ride and after giving their statements to the authorities, left for the airport one hour later. Within two hours they were on a flight to Hawaii and ultimately for a rental island with a private chalet there. Alicia tried not to think about the what had happened and what she was going to be up against upon their return. Instead she planned to enjoy the time they'd have and focus on her personal life for the moment.
Akito And Lee: 23 Days Earlier
Akito approached the front door of the abode, knocking twice, then once. followed by two more quick taps. A moment later Lee opened the door, Warai in her arms.
He bowed for her and she nodded her head giving him a passionate kiss.
"How did it go?" she asked him.
"Very well. I passed the examination. I am certain of it. The manager seemed to like me." he told her.
"That's good news." she said to him.
He could no longer contain his smile which grew from cheek to cheek.
"They want me to start tomorrow. He even gave me an advance on my pay!" Akito smiled from ear to ear.
Lee pressed herself close to him and the three of them hugged one another.
"Does that mean that I can have some ice cream tonight Daddy?" Warai asked her father.
"We're going to need to get some groceries for tonight. I don't have enough to make a meal for us." Lee told him excitedly.
"I'm afraid that we can't." he told them.
"Why Daddy?" Warai asked.
"Well I have a problem in my car. Maybe you could take a look Lee?" he said as he walked out to the compact car they struggled to maintain.
"You know I don't know a thing about cars. Why do you..." she stopped as he opened the hatchback.
He'd already done the grocery shopping and come home with more than enough to last them for three weeks.
"You can't have ice cream tonight, my little garden of laughter, because you can have some right now!" he showed her the container with her favourite brand.
She screamed in laughter and happiness making them both laugh as they carried the groceries into the house in a series of trips.
"Maybe this time, it will work out and we can make a good living and leave the Witherwyrm behind like the wind." Akito told them.
"Akito. Maybe we will, but that is not something that we can know. We left Tsushima, one of my favourite places in Japan and the place your Great Grand parents and your ancestors had lived before them in peace without trouble. We tried a new life in Shanghai near the place of our ancient spirit ancestors and it still found us. Now we are here in Busan in the home land of my Korean heritage and we have yet another chance to be free of it. Maybe we weren't meant to be free. Maybe we were meant to learn to live with it. Not in spite of it." Lee tried to reason with Akito.
"No. We like any of the myriad creatures here deserve peace from our struggle and that struggle is balance just by trying to survive. The Witherwyrm is not a balancing force sent upon us to make us pay for any excesses we've had. We've never had excess, just barely enough and more struggle than gain. Our greatest gift ever is little Warai and she too deserves peace. There will be a time when she is in grade school and when that time comes, we must be free of Witherwyrm. Even the wild pig does not fear the tiger all of time and the wild pig goes home to rest with its family after the night settles in. Nor does the tiger fear the poacher and not find peace within its life for like the poacher, a tiger will not stalk the same prey indefinitely before moving on to another. We too are creatures of this great world and we deserve no less than any other. We are not meant to settle for less. Have faith in me and I will protect us and we will protect her together. That is what we must do." Akito explained to his wife.
"That is why I married you, Akito Tokama." she hugged him in close.
"As I did you. My best comes for you and from you Lee Jeong-Min Tokama." he rubbed her back and they pressed their noses together gently as they brushed lips.
Warai giggled shyly as they showed their affection to one another, and waited patiently for her ice cream.
A few miles away, inside of the offices of the warehouse of the freight company that Akito had been hired by, the man who'd hired him received a phone call from the other side of the world.
"Deh? Good to hear from you. I hired him and gave him the bonus as you suggested." the manager told the man on the other end of the phone.
"Excellent. How did his test go?" the man asked him.
"It went exceedingly well. He's quite apt and a good driver too. Just like a senior driver. I was quite pleased. Knows his package handling and requirements well for hazardous materials and high value shipments." the manager explained.
"That is good news. I do know how to pick them." the man said confidently.
"Absolutely sir." the manager said.
"That will be all." the man on the phone hung up and turned to one of his senior advisors who sat in a chair across from his desk.
"That should help lure them out, whatever they might be. Especially once we've procured the historical pieces." the man said.
"I would say that I have to agree with you." the advisor advised.
"The tales that I'd read from your research material say that the one is a woman. I find this very hard to believe." the man said to the advisor.
"My research indicated that this time it most likely would manifest itself in a woman. It has shown up in men as well throughout history. Not only that but in other parts of the world, but it always manifests itself under the same symbol in both its positive and negative form.
"So we will most likely be looking for a woman of remarkable power." the man asked the advisor.
"Well yes, this time. It is important to note that during the Song Dynasty, the first time that the ancient school was actually able to defeat one in protecting the line, that there had been manifested two. Two on the positive side, yet only one on the negative. This is the one that they defeated to bring about peace to the land for a time until it manifested again. This was the time during which trade expansionism was made possible. This raises some interesting questions, but ultimately you should expect that it will be a woman." the advisor told his employer.
"What about the other one. The imaginary creature." the man asked.
"We know nothing of that. We'll get that information from her once we've got her." the advisor once again advised.
"Sometimes I wonder why I pay you so much." the man said to the advisor somewhat scornfully.
"To say yes to everything you say, and to tell you how great you are." the advisor said.
"No. If you were that, you'd be the lowest paid in my organization. There are already too many of those." the man turned in his chair.
"I always assumed you like the turbulence." the advisor said.
"If you were just a touch less important, I'd have your tongue and shortly thereafter, your life. See that the arrangements are made and track down the remaining artifacts we seek. Meanwhile I want the other ones dealt with and out of the way. Increase the payout if you have to. That will be all." the man said.
"They're going to be taken care of very soon. In the meantime I'll keep a close eye on Akito, and his wife Lee." the advisor stood and left the office, one of the guards slowly closing the gate behind him.
Following Leads
Heylyn unlocked the storage unit opening the gate to get a good look at the condition of the contents. Most of it had been piled in half hurriedly but some care had been taken to protect the worldly possessions of the deceased Tokamas. They did not possess much furniture and what was present was in somewhat poor condition.
"There's my old bed! Are we taking it?" Warai yelled excitedly.
"No honey, I'm sorry. But we are going to get you a new one when we go to your new home." Heylyn explained as she started rummaging through the contents, half of her heightened senses making sure Warai was not in danger.
"That's the table that my Mommy and Daddy and me used to play Go!" Warai pointed before putting her hands behind her back shyly.
"That sounds like a fun game. Maybe we you could teach me?" Heylyn asked her.
"I could show you. We play it different though. Do you want me to tell you?" Warai asked her politely.
"Sure honey. Why don't you tell me. Then maybe when we have time before your bedtime, we could play." Heylyn said adjusting the contents of the locker so she could get at the drawers of the dresser and night table set.
"Ok! So you start by shuffling the cards. Then when you're done that part... wait... yeah... you put down... one... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight... eight! You put down eight cards in a line. Did you hear?" Warai asked.
"Yes, I heard you honey. You deal out eight cards in a row and then what's next?" Heylyn asked as she shuffled through the contents of the drawers of the dresser which were mostly empty as the clothing had been packed in boxes.
"Then you give everyone who is in the game their own cards too. They each get eight cards too. Then the first person who goes tries to put a card on... no wait. The rest of the cards after you give everyone eight cards go onto the table facing down. They're a pile that you take from later. Do you want me to keep going?" Warai asked Heylyn who was still listening while she checked the night tables.
"I certainly do. What's next?" she asked Warai as she stumbled upon a pile of notes in the night table.
"Then the first person to go has to lay down a card... if they find a spot on the other eight cards. If you have the same card as one of the eight cards on the table, then you can put it down or if you have the next card like when you count up you can put that down too. But when you put it down on the card... you put it so the cards run away from the first line that was there. Like a word puzzle!" Warai was excited that she got it right.
"Good job! Now let me see if I understand. You shuffle the cards then deal out eight of them in a row. Right?" Heylyn asked.
"Yes! Go on..." Warai listened carefully.
"Then you give all the players eight cards each and put down the rest beside the line you made. Right?" Heylyn confirmed with Warai.
"Right again! Then what's next?" Warai asked.
"Then the first person starts by trying to find a place to put down a card on one of the cards in that line. If they have a card that is the same number but a different suit, or a card that has a number that comes after the one on the table, they can put their card on it, stretching away from the first line you made?" Heylyn found a notebook journal which she fingered through as she spoke to Warai.
"Oh I almost forgot a part! If you can't put a card down, then you have to pick up a card from the pile of left over cards." Warai added.
"Ok. Then the first person's turn is over?" Heylyn asked Warai.
"Yes. But before you do, you have to say Go to the next person. And that's why its called Go!" Warai said excitedly as she grasped the concepts for herself.
"Sounds like fun. I think I understand. If I don't, you can teach me when we play." Heylyn arranged with Warai who contemplated it for a moment before speaking.
"Ok. Oh yeah! There's one more part. If you can trick the next person into going before you had to pick up a card, then you don't have to pick up a card. But if they catch you, then you pick up two. Then they go for their turn." Warai continued.
"How do you win?" asked Heylyn as she found an entry in the journal with an address in Tokyo and beside it a note that made the hairs on her neck stand and gave her goose pimples: Witherwyrm's eyes and ears - dragon girl.
"Oh yeah. I forgot. I like playing so much that I forgot that you have to know who wins. Whoever has the most cards in their hands if another person runs out of cards. I think the cards have points on them. And Daddy of Mommy used to add them up with me, so I could learn how to count. I can count really high you know. I can count to... a millyun millyun." she said laughing and giggling.
"I'll bet. You can speak very well too. Your Mommy and Daddy are good teachers. They raised such a smart and beautiful little girl like you." Heylyn spoke carefully on the subject of her parents.
"Why did they have to go then? Why couldn't they stay?" Warai asked.
Heylyn put the notebook journal in her pocket and crawled out from the midst of the loaded locker.
"Warai, you know what? They didn't go. They have all of their best parts right here. In you. They'll never be gone. Ever." Heylyn pointed to her heart and rubbed her hair.
"You mean like you?" Warai looked up at Heylyn, really looking at her.
"Just like me. We'll always be with you honey. Always." Heylyn told her truthfully.
They had a quiet moment and Warai's fears fled and her wonder of the world returned.
"Ok so what do we need to do next?" Warai asked Heylyn, helping to keep them both on track.
"Good question. We go to the hotel and tonight we play Go! Tomorrow we take a morning flight to Tokyo to try and find someone." Heylyn told her.
"Where's Tokyo? You mean on the big island of Honshu? That's close to where my Daddy's from!" Warai said excitedly.
"Yes. We need to find someone in Japan." Heylyn told Warai.
"Its a big place. We'd better get a good sleep then. We're going to need all day if we have to find one person there." Warai said roughly calculating it in her head.
"It's alright. We've got an address to start at. Let's go get some dinner." Heylyn closed the gate to the locker and grabbed Warai's hand.
"Will we be coming back to Korea?" Warai asked.
"We'll come back when all of this is done and do a three month tour of the whole area and see everything. I promise. I can't wait to show you my home in Canada." Heylyn tweaked her nose.
"Is Canada far away?" Warai asked.
"It's almost on the other side of the world from us. So far, that when its day here, they're at home sleeping there." Heylyn tried to explain.
"You mean they sleep in the day and come out at night?" Warai asked mystified and almost a little disturbed by the thought.
"No you don't have to worry about that, but the sun can't be there too at the same time as its out here. Its so far that when the sun is out here, its night over there. There's lots to see there too. Its a big country and my home city is very big. Lots of things for people to do." Heylyn told her.
"Do they have ice cream there?" Warai asked her.
"Yes, they have ice cream. With lots of flavours too." Heylyn told her.
"Ok. As long as we can come back and visit here too." Warai approved of Heylyn's plan.
Together they made their way back to the hotel where they spent their last night in Busan playing Go and though it didn't matter to her, Warai won.
The Eclipse Returns
Amazingly, all of her belongings were in tact and none of her money was missing. She'd found them just outside of the padded room, which had remained unlocked during the time she slept. Someone had come in a placed her belongings there for her and then left she presumed. In fact there was a paper note on top of them which added to the mystery. It simply said:
We're even for now. Don't come looking for trouble.
She was a little upset by the note but overjoyed to have her belongings and had changed in the padded room before proceeding out into the shielded glass room. She'd not found a door but none of that mattered now that she had her suit, The suit. She merely transformed and passed through the glass as a beam of light re-materializing on the other side of the glass. She then found her way out of what appeared to be a small makeshift complex set up in the basement of a rental office. She stepped out of the door without running into anyone in the abandoned building and out onto midday Yonge Street, just north of Dundas Square. The weekend shoppers were out in force along Toronto's world renowned strip on the longest street in the world. Many stared at her as she emerged, some making remarks like "I've seen her somewhere before" and "Isn't she that model?" of course which was correct.
She felt horrible and feared she looked even worse. She had to get home but she needed to let Valerie know she was alright. She pulled her cellular phone from her pocket as bypassers admired her multi-tone hair. Within a moment she'd dialed Valerie who was essentially trapped in her office on Bay Street.
"Daring Corporate Analysts, Valerie speaking." Valerie answered sounding a little anxious.
"Its me. Strawbs." Monique replied.
"Monique? Where in the... Where have you been? Are you alright? I've been worried sick about you!" Valerie started off in a commotion.
"I'm alright. I was kidnapped in a building down here on Yonge Street. I got out though. Nobody in the place and it looks pretty deserted. Any ideas?" Monique asked her.
"Yes a good one. Make sure you stay away from myself and Alicia for the time being until this cools down. I've been discovered and I'm doing damage control. Likewise with Alicia. The whole thing is nearly public. Keep your distance from us for now because I don't want the press coming your way. I know that you don't have any powers and you aren't a circus freak like Alicia and myself and I hope that you can forgive us but its for your own good and safety." Valerie explained to Monique who didn't quite catch on.
"What are you talking about. What about Tread..." Monique started with Valerie.
"No! You were never treading on my shoes! Ever. You're a friend but I'm worried about your safety and peace of mind and your heart murmurs. Just stay away for the time being until things have calmed down and Alicia and I aren't the star attractions at the local UFO and Bigfoot conventions." Valerie tried again hoping Monique would catch on.
"UFOs? Bigfoot? Cool! Are you guys going to be on Coast To Coast AM or something?" Monique was momentarily distracted from the situation by the thought.
Valerie shook her head, almost admiring Monique for her ability to enjoy a situation no matter how hectic it got. Maybe if the tides were turned Monique might have coped even better than she herself was currently. Monique had seemed to ease into the fame without being a face that people had noticed often and when they did, they generally just looked at her and kept their distance. Nobody ever asked her for her autograph and she got to enjoy the glamorous side of her work life without having to pay the price in infamy.
"No. We're not going to be on Coast To Coast AM. But its not a bad idea." Valerie shook her head contemplating the idea of running an ad on the show, using this infamy to her company's benefit.
"Alright. I'm going to keep my distance for now. I'm going to have a look around and see what I can find out. I'm also going to be in action tonight. There's something up." Monique said still not catching on.
"You're right! You want some Saturday night dancing and action? That club on Richmond Street is doing a benefit tonight. All the proceeds go to Cancer research. You should go. For Alicia's sake. I have to go now. You take care and if you do go out tonight, don't get too active with your heart murmur. You keep healthy and we'll talk more when this is all over." Valerie tried to get off the phone.
"Are you kidding? It is all over! All over the news." Monique started again.
"Goodbye!" Valerie hung up before the conversation revealed too much as she could not be sure that someone else wasn't listening.
"Good... bye." Monique hung up.
She decided that she needed to get home and get cleaned up so she made her way to the Dundas Street transit (TTC) station and onto the subway. She managed move with relatively little attention upon her though she couldn't escape the madness that had enveloped Alicia's and Valerie's life. The newspapers and local dailies were alive with front page stories covering the story. They'd gone from relatively unassuming lives to become the star attraction everywhere they went. Alicia wasn't having a chance to experience this as much as Valerie was, though she certainly knew what awaited her when their vacation was through.
Valerie had suspicions that this whole effort was planned and orchestrated but she had no means now to investigate without drawing attention to herself. She was stranded as much as a business woman as she was a super powered woman. All the strength in the world couldn't help her now that she'd lost her anonymity.
Monique had the same suspicions as well and Valerie could not communicate with her without raising suspicions about Monique's unique abilities. So instead Valerie decided to deal with her situation and hope for the best for Monique. She would help where she could, but that would be little given her current situation. Whomever had planned this had taken the most effective means to eliminate them as obstacles though the motives could just as easily have been about revenge.
Many people had lost money in the Treadwater fiasco, and many of those people were heavily involved illegal dealings and scams of their own. Opening up Treadwater had uncovered a long string of interconnected organizations for which Interpol and the intelligence agencies of at least nine countries in the world had in dept intelligence files. The domino effect had taken down more than just Mr. Zek and his heavy handed brand of blackmail and extortion which he'd used to manipulate nearly every market and political system on the planet.
Merely killing Valerie and Alicia would have opened the investigation even further and united the resources of those nations against such a threat. Alicia most certainly would have been a martyr and symbol for the people and charitable agencies she'd helped by her research and nothing could have undone the bad publicity for murdering her had someone tried. By making them infamous and by revealing their abilities publicly, their antagonist had effectively debilitated them for a long time to come. The public were doing it all for them without even knowing they were being used as pawns for such a thing. Much the same way Mr. Zek had used the public with his blackmail video database whenever he had to deal with a Cabinet Minister, Senator, Congress person, Law Enforcement official, a public figure or some other person to remove them as a barrier to his goals. Valerie had to find a way to share her thoughts with Monique without her finding out where they were coming from. She also had to be careful that Monique didn't just go off the handle about the whole situation and try to round up the guilty parties all by herself.
Another thought occurred and Valerie wondered if Monique had used her powers to escape? If she had, then there was a good chance they had recorded it on video and that they had what they needed to expose her too as well. Valerie needed a way to share this and set her mind to the job. Until then she'd have to wait for the only person who could communicate with Monique effectively to return. Maybe Heylyn had decided to take a break herself from the fashion business and her other endeavors. Only she knew for sure. For she was subject to the tidal forces of public infamy and was of little help to Monique. She hoped Monique had grown up a great deal while under the tutelage of Heylyn for if she hadn't, they'd all be finished.
Monique was truly alone and more vulnerable than ever.
The watcher saw as her condo door opened as Monique stepped into her living space. He'd been hired to line her condo with hidden cameras, as part of the effort to expose her and eventually Heylyn, whose place had similarly been wired to the watcher as well. He laughed to himself in a somewhat perverse manner as she disrobed before stepping into the shower, the only place he didn't have a camera, though he'd put one in her bathroom just the same. The security service and front desk had been remarkably thorough and had nearly foiled his plans when they called to check his work orders and background.
The man who'd paid him to wire their condos though had made sure his background and work order was covered and had set up companies with phone numbers to answer the security checks against his work order. The security guard still didn't trust him but hardly had the proof to put his distrust to the test. In the end having nearly been exposed before he'd wired their places, he succeeded in the surveillance project for his employers' benefit and that of his own pocketbook.
His employer had even purchased the three condo units beneath Moniqe's and Heylyn's units, and the one beside Heylyn's corner unit. When there was so much at stake, money was of little concern. The watcher lived in one of the units, while other employees of his employer occupied the others. They too were tasked with various goals in this operation and attack upon Monique's and now Heylyn's lives. Now their private lives were about to become the foundation of the next great underground empire. Their internet too had been run through a local proxy which could be monitored from one or all of the condo units purchased by the watcher's employer but for now the watcher alone had control of that. He saw himself as an equal to one of Monique's or Heylyn's former lovers. He'd have access to all their personal secrets and information about them that only they would know. Their bodies. Any birthmarks or scars on their skin visible to his micro-camera feed, which covered every room in their units. Their income and banking information. Their family and personal lives. Everything. Any bias their family and former lovers had in the way of secret knowledge of them would be little compared to how intimately he'd come to know them in the next few months. And all of it too was being streamed to a new database that could be used to deal with problems like Monique and Heylyn.
It was only a matter of time until someone had stepped in to fill Mr. Zek's shoes and that person wanted to do it the right way from the start. Leave no problems. No obstacles. Make sure that those who crossed their organization were destroyed and ruined without ever knowing who'd done it.
The truth was nobody knew what was coming. Nobody.
Vacation
Alicia woke up again for the second day in a row, at 3:30 AM local time in their rental chalet on an island offshore of Hawaii. She couldn't sleep for the life of her and her mind was a buzz with her worries about how this current fiasco was going to affect her work with the SY-Beta formula. She'd largely managed to stay clear of this kind of scrutiny and kept her credibility amongst even her most stern of colleagues. Now she was literally being touted as a circus freak (as one newspaper had labelled her). Others were more endearing with headlines like There She Goes: Power Woman! None of this would have been so disasterous if she'd been able to maintain a distance between herself and her alter ego, Night Style. From the moment they'd arrived for their vacation, she'd regretted having first tried the formula on herself and the stylish suit Heylyn had sent her as a gift, years ago as part of her gratitude to Alicia.
Heylyn never would have achieved the marks she had in her academic subjects if it had not been for Alicia. When she'd graduated and went on to intern at a popular fashion house, she promised to send Alicia one of her first designs at her first successful showing. That time came and her designs were an outstanding success. She'd kept her promise and sent Alicia her active life design night wear. Alicia had not tried it on until years later, when she'd finalized lab tests in which every single test subject had shown one hundred percent recovery from muscular degenerative diseases like Lymphoma Hodgkins and Muscular Dystrophy. In fact the results were so staggering that she'd crossed a line that few researchers had done in history. She tested it on herself, an overweight essentially healthy late twenties female subject. The formula had worked as a two stage process. First as a supplement that the subject had to ingest, and secondly by wearing garments that had been treated with the second stage formula. First it bonded to the subject at the genetic and quantum level, heavily triggering a modification in their cellular structure. This improved the health of all cells, regardless of what generation they'd been spawned through cellular mitosis. So twentieth generation cells would have no variations from their first generation counterparts regardless of hormonal activity and bodily deficiencies. In fact, it worked so well that the cells actually flushed the body of toxins and reinforced the newly developed tissues with remarkable regenerative capabilities. The greatest side effect of all that Alicia had found was that the effect itself and how pronounced it was could be shaped by the design of the garment the second stage formula was applied to. Even hats, gloves, sweatbands and jewelry. Their potency was influenced by their aesthetic design, a concept which confounded Alicia at first.
Later she'd understood it perfectly after the success of the SY-300 series formula and when she'd begun working on the SY-Beta series. She'd started the design phase of the chemical structure, which she'd used the mountains of data gained from the 300 series to rebuild a new chemical structure and molecule one atom at a time. She visualized the end results of its effects in her head, as the effects of generations of healthy cells producing beautifully healthy body parts and fixing damaged tissue. With each change to her design she saw that she was shaping a person's health, like a craftsperson might shape a fine instrument, though her designs would be free beyond that and change themselves in ways she could never imagine. When she asked herself if she was playing God? she thought no, I am not playing. I am shaping the potential for a healthy life and therefore the potential for that life to overcome the trials it is sure to come across in life. To be more successful than it might have been otherwise and ultimately to never know what trials it might have lost out on due to poor health. She was building the crosswalk before someone was hit by a car, and not after. The SY-Beta line would be a front line treatment for the early stages of any cellular and muscular degenerative disease and even had the potential to fight Cancer one day. Artists might actually be able to affect that part as it also was a two stage process, the subject would take a supplement in a pill form. Then be required to wear something that had been specially designed by a strange hybrid of the fields of artist and physiologist though not so strange when one realizes that the human body is a work of art. A fact with which both physiologists and artists would most certainly agree.
From the first night that she took that formula and saw its effects after she'd put on Heylyn's design (after treating it with the second stage formula), she'd taken the whole project down the road from being a cutting edge treatment for some of the biggest health challenges against humankind, to that of being nothing more than a side show medicine. She'd sold herself out in the heat of the moment though how could she blame herself. She'd had a weight problem for most of her life. It was her best friend Heylyn that had helped to bring her out of her shell with a graduation dress she'd designed for Alicia. She'd looked stunning in it and had been the talk of the graduation rather than the usual subject of ridicule. When she tried the SY formula and Heylyn's more recent design, her weight problem disappeared and her body had gained the physique of an Olympic athlete. She'd never experienced anything like it before and immediately went out for a walk to see what it felt like to be in a different body from the one she'd known her whole life. It was already late when she'd left the lab and the night had settled in. The city was a much different place at that time, in the middle of its growing pains and a little known crime lord was running the streets, and slowly getting hold of the markets by targeted cronyism. She'd come across some thugs who'd been assaulting a lone male, when she decided to try to do something about it. The rest was history. Not only had the formula made her entire body much thinner and more fit, she also had incredible agility and regenerative capabilities. Without any training whatsoever, she'd taken out four armed thugs in less than a minute. She never gave it a second thought that she might be selling her research out down the wrong path. She could save more lives as a researcher than she could beating the pants off of thugs like those. She chose the path with which she was less familiar and more invigorating because it gave her power.
The reason she'd chosen that path was simple. She was reliving her childhood and dealing with all of her childhood bullies through these thugs. Taking them out one at a time and cleaning out her own closet of the pain and torment her childhood bullies had put her through. Here she was an educated woman, with the ingenuity and intelligence to back her cognitive abilities up and she was playing superhero in the playground against her childhood bullies. That childhood fantasy had a price and it had finally caught up and was affecting her professional life and might already have destroyed it along with her professional credibility. Despite the difference she'd contributed to the city along side the people who did so as part of their daily profession, she'd not really accomplished anything at all except to take the SY formula from being a miracle cure to being a formula for which people would kill to have that power. Mr. Zek and his hireling, Torman had been the first to take on that approach and they might have succeeded if Heylyn, Valerie, Monique and herself had not taken action to prevent it. That problem never would have existed if she'd not stepped out that first night and used it to become a freak of modern research. She'd had enough and decided that Night Style was never going to return again. She would focus her life on her research and stay away from her alter ego forever. With her decision she felt a tremendous weight lifted from her shoulders only to be replaced with Walton's embracing arms. He kissed her neck gently.
"Up a little early again I see. Anything you want to talk about?" he asked her.
"...No. I think I've resolved me own problems. How is your body feeling? Are you still sore?" she asked him as she turned to return his embrace.
"I'm feeling much better and a bit energetic, thank you for asking." Walton informed her cordially.
"Good. You're going to need it..." she said as she threw herself at him devouring his lips whole with her mouth.
They didn't make it back to the bedroom and woke up together on the floor asleep on the couch cushions with a light blanket wrapped around them. When they found themselves a little chilly they made love again. Warmed once again they fell asleep, wrapped in each other.
Rising Sun
Heylyn walked through the Haneda Airport terminal with Warai in her arms. She sat cradled in them looking out at the world around her. She was still a little bit groggy from her sleep over on the plane and had cried when Heylyn woke her up. She said that she wanted to stay on the plane and sleep some more. Heylyn tried to explain that they had to use the plane again to take more people back to Korea, and then probably come back with more for Tokyo. When Heylyn explained that some other little girls and boys might be waiting to get home, she reluctantly let Heylyn pick her up and carry her off the plane. It was the first time that she'd been a little grouchy but they'd covered a lot of ground in the last couple of days. When they left the plane, one of the stewardesses made a funny face at Warai which brought sheer laughter and joy from her much to Heylyn's relief. From that point she was a little giddy though slightly still a bit grouchy to Heylyn. Heylyn was relieved, taking it as a sign that Warai was getting comfortable with her enough to be herself. She could accept just about any mood that Warai could throw at her because her little heart was in exactly the right place when it needed to be.
She pointed to a series of large screen monitors with a cartoon show depicting a little girl a little bit like herself. She laughed again before falling back asleep in Heylyn's arms. Heylyn continued her trek through the terminal when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned swiftly covering Warai to meet the source of the intrusion. The smiling face of a man in his late twenties greeted hers. He bowed most humbly for her repeatedly and she returned the greeting.
"Kon'nichiwa" Heylyn said to the man.
"Hai. Kon'nichiwa anata ni misu Heylyn." he bowed again a few times just barely letting himself stand again,
"Eigo o hanasemasu ka? Watashi no hon'yaku-sha ga nemutte imasu." Heylyn said struggling a bit with pronunciation as she gestured to Warai.
"Haha. You are very funny. I understand you perfectly. I said: Yes, Hello to you Miss Heylyn. Then you said: Do you speak english. My little translator has fallen asleep. I understand. Haha. Very funny." he said to her.
"Good. And your name is?" Heylyn asked him.
"I am so sorry to be rude. I am Hiroyuko. I was sent by Kawaī kao Cosmetics. We received word of your arrival. We have a proposal for you. We would be so honoured if you endorsed one of our products in a photo opportunity please? We have it all set up here in the terminal if you would be so kind." Hiroyuko gestured for her to follow him, bowing humbly as he went.
"I'm a little bit time pressed. Maybe we could..." Heylyn tried to explain.
"It will only take a few minutes of your time." Hiroyuko informed her insistently.
"Well, alright." she looked at Warai whose head rested gently on her shoulder.
She followed Hiroyuko through the terminal and down an escalator to a lower shopping level where there was a stage set up with several professional photographers who were taking before and after photos for some of the free makeovers they were giving to shoppers as part of their promotional campaign. They had a separate section set aside that was already set up and lit and metered. A makeup artist was there to do a light touch up of Heylyn's light makeup.
"Have you arranged this through my business and booked this through the proper channels?" Heylyn asked professionally.
"Miss Heylyn, you must trust me that it will be returned a thousand fold. We have plans for something big in which you will be an integral part. I give you my word." Hiroyuko gestured to the makeup artist to start which Heylyn stopped.
"She is not to appear anywhere in the final release photo. We take it with my back to you, with my head turned to the side. That way she can sleep and you get a profile like the one that was in our biggest fashion show to date. Your customers will know it." Heylyn replied digging into her professional life with vigor momentarily.
"So we get only half of Heylyn?" Hiroyuko asked her challenging her offer.
"No. You get both sides, just not in the same photo. That's the way it is or its no way at all and my agent is asleep right now." she gestured to Warai who was soundly asleep.
The crew burst out laughing quietly when they saw, breaking the tension and giving them the levity they needed to go ahead.
"I think that what you suggest might be most artistic. I thank you for this. You will not regret it. Nor will your agent." Hiroyuko laughed upon saying so.
Heylyn let the makeup artist perform her artistry as Heylyn commented quietly to the makeup artist:
"To tell you the truth, the only reason that I gave them permission to do the other side was because I didn't want to walk around with half a made up face."
The makeup artist stopped while she laughed for moment before returning.
"Now I know why people say you're so hard to work with." she commented smiling at her.
"Save it for my agent." Heylyn said rubbing Warai's back a little.
The makeup finished and Heylyn took her place in front of a backdrop with her back to the camera and her head turned to the left right side. The lighting technician metered her face carefully and then the background one more before adjusting one of the reflective gels to adjust the lighting wash to a more evenly lit shot.
"We'll just get the shadows in there in post for drama. What do you think?" the lighting technician asked the photographer.
"Sounds great! Looks even better. Alright. Lets try and get through this efficiently. You know how much I hate working with amateurs." he joked with Heylyn getting a chuckle from her and the crew.
"I'll remember that next time you're looking for work in Toronto, Mr. Lao." she laughed drawing a chuckle from him too.
"Diva." he joked again drawing a laugh from Heylyn.
"That's Miss Diva to you." she replied easing the tension some more.
She'd worked with Mr. Lao before on several shoots where she'd hired him to work along side industry photographers like Troy Wilson, Sherry Malren. The levity was necessary in such an industry where it could be fatal not to take one's work seriously to the point of obsession (many in the business were) while never really taking oneself too seriously at all. Those who could laugh just as easily as they obsessed tended to survive the longest. Mr. Lao had been a survivor and as much brought with him a good sense of humour which Heylyn welcomed.
They took a few shots, previewing them immediately on a photographic monitor and when they'd found the lighting and palette, they took a few shots of the finals, both sides of her face and Warai had slept through the whole process, not showing up in any of the pictures. Heylyn checked the photographs over onscreen before signing off on them.
"Miss Heylyn, it has been a pleasure to meet you and to be able to have you as a guest on our stage. Where might you be staying while you're here?"
"I'm at the Gōrudenresuto Hotel here in Tokyo. I'll be here for another day at least. Then who knows where." Heylyn answered him honestly.
"Here is my card. If you need anything that we can provide you while you stay here in our beautiful city, please call me. I insist that you do. Most humbly. There is a complimentary driver for you upstairs that will take you to your Hotel. Enjoy your stay Miss Heylyn." Hiroyuko bowed again and she returned the gesture.
She shook hands with Mr. Lao and the rest of the crew and said her goodbyes before finding her way back up the escalator to the pick up area where she found her ride.
She got to the Hotel to find that her belongings had safely arrived in the room before she did. There was also a thank you gift bag from Kawaī kao Cosmetics, containing their cosmetics, a stuffed toy of a popular children's Japanese cartoon character, a gift certificate for a complimentary dinner in the Hotel's restaurant, and a chilled platter of Sushi and various sweets and pastries. She let Warai rest a bit longer as she dug into the Sushi and drew out her plans to follow the lead she'd found in the locker.
Despite her heightened senses, she'd failed to notice that she had been watched the whole way.
Toronto Ticks. Monique Talks
Monday announced its presence in Monique's bedroom as the light crept down the wall diagonally finally reaching her bed just barely and warming her nose. She awoke hardly feeling well rested as she'd not really slept at all. She checked the clock, noting the time she quickly flew out of bed almost literally and was in the shower in seconds. She was late and there was still no sign of her employer and friend, Heylyn. She was part of a pool of models who worked for a collection of designers under one house, Heylyn's fashion essentially which was called West meet East or WmE for short. Her offices included design facilities, a fully equipped photographic studio and post lab and maintained a staff of regular models (occasionally hiring new ones or outsourcing to an agency), a presentation theatre where they'd occasionally hold events and shows. Monique was essentially on call while at the studio, possibly working for a number of designers in the course of a day. She'd show up regularly every day with Heylyn at 8:30 AM who would arrive at the front door to her condo at 8:00 AM from next door. She'd not maintained her momentum as Heylyn liked to call it and needed to make serious effort to stay on track. Her past loomed over her shoulder and reared its ugly head as a reminder every once in a while. She wanted this life much more than she wanted a return to that one. She finished her shower in three minutes and cleansed her face getting the morning bumps out in two. She was dressed and out the door in another four.
As she left the front lobby, a man sitting reading a newspaper in one of the lounge chairs called up to the watcher to let him know she had gone. The watcher had needed another entry to finely tweak the eavesdropping equipment he'd installed in her place. Likely he would need one more beyond that as well as he learned her patterns. Just to be sure. Anytime such a measure was required, he had an assortment of recruits he could count upon to relay information about their target's whereabouts. This prevented the embarrassing scenario of her coming home to find the watcher installing his observation equipment in her apartment. A dangerous scenario at best and especially with his current targets. One had revealed themselves to possess an ability to transform themselves into a shaft of light to travel and the other was a multiple black belt. Both were somewhat high profile in the sense that there were many people who knew about them publicly, and that meant they had credibility and sometimes fans who'd stay their loyalty through thick and thin. If the watcher had been discovered, his employer would have to expend great resources to cover it up. That would prove disasterous as they were building the necessary steps to deal with these two in a much more strategic way. Brute force had been a failure and that had been demonstrated number of times on Treadwater Island. These two required special attention that Mr. Zek had failed to consider. His new employer was not taking any similar chances.
By the time she arrived at milestone two, the location of their second scout just outside of WmE's offices he could safely make an entry leaving enough time to escape should a quick retreat be required. The watcher demanded professionalism in his line of work and for that he charged great sums of money and maintained a loyal group of employees, whom he rewarded equally. Most of his clients had been seeking to deal with a high profile target. Divorce cases mostly involving wealthy clients seeking to discredit their ex-spouses in order to gain some negotiating powers at the bargaining table. Occasionally someone involved in questionable business practices would hire him to deal with "problems" like Monique and Heylyn. In this case his employer demanded a special strategy that required the gathering of personal information about their targets lives in every aspect in order to build a window of opportunity using such data. This data would also be used in the future to deal with any additional problems arising in the extremely rare case that the targets actually figured out the source of their dilemma. The watcher had planned this carefully had informed his employer that he could have the window of opportunity ready in two months tops. Enough information to publicly discredit each of the targets in such a way that credibility would no longer be an issue.
He'd developed the strategy for taking out Alicia and Valerie in a similar manner. Both being a special case based upon their ties to Walton Norler, who possessed the resources to counter those of his employers, Worse, Norler had contacts in Government and the intelligence agencies of three countries including a first name acquaintance with the director of Interpol. This probably explained how Alicia's little science project had remained off of the radar for so long. She'd had a trusted insider whether she was aware of it or not. His strategy for dealing with a risk like that was simply to pit the public against them by making them infamous. They had secrets as everyone does. He'd even considered using knowledge of Alicia's and Norler's failed attempts at conception, but in the end calculated that would have strengthened them rather than destroyed them. By revealing that Alicia had been moonlighting as a superhero, using the investment resources meant for fighting degenerative diseases that affected many children and adults, he'd made her a target of public scorn. A time proven weapon that had devoured many others in similar positions all throughout history. Valerie had already had a brush with such confabulation based upon the secret video of her lifting a large boulder and tossing it like a paper ball. The watcher's job had already been partly done. All he had to do was to fill in the blanks for the public, who bought it as quickly. If in any of these cases the risk of being caught came around, they had a backup plan and that was to tie it up and hang it around the neck of another unsuspecting neighbour, equipment and all and then disappear. They were far from that possibility he thought as he exited his condo unit on the floor below and made his way upstairs.
Monique thought of using her abilities then remembered what Valerie had said on Saturday during their conversation. She decided against it and instead chose to use her great physique instead. The walk to WmE was about twenty minutes at an calm pace, including the stop at a local cafe for their morning java. She was wearing a pair of sneakers and started to run for the entire distance. Most of the morning pedestrian traffic had died down by that time so the sidewalks were relatively clear. She ran the entire distance in less than seven minutes without even working up a sweat or more importantly raising suspicions about her unique abilities. She ran into the building and made her way into the creative development room, where most of the models waited between gigs with the designers. The room was geared to getting the creative juices flowing, though having mostly a bland palette of colours on the walls, which one could write upon freely. There were several computer workstations equipped with design tools, a set of sofas for lounging and a pool and bocci table for leisure.
"Hi sorry I'm late." Monique trying to make a discreet entry although it was not that kind of work place.
"How was your weekend? I heard you were down at the Wyrm Wing West this weekend when all of the trouble went down." Delia, a veteran model in her mid twenties asked her.
Monique staggered a moment consciously. She hadn't even thought about the fact that the Wyrm Wing was frequented by many of the staff at WmE.
"Oh that? Oh I thought it was just a bomb scare in the alley or something. I just went home and fell asleep." she yawned for effect.
"That's not what I heard. I heard one of the super ladies was there. The one from that video on the internet. She's lifted a huge boulder or something." Kori responded excitedly.
"I don't know about that. There were lots of emergency vehicles there though. It was pretty quiet in the club after that so I went home. What's going on around here today?" Monique sat on the couch beside Delia.
"There's a shoot after lunch. I heard Denise say she needed a few of us. She wanted you for sure. She said Kori can just kiss my..." Kori interrupted.
"...Lens. Right?" Kori smiled having one upped Delia.
"I was going to say a body part. Rhymes with brass." Delia replied.
"So definitely not her femur or tibia. Maybe her humor-ass..." Kori responded with wit.
Delia burst out laughing while Monique chuckled not quite so well versed in biology but not wanting to be left out.
"Alright, you win. If it comes down to you and me, its yours." Delia said shaking on it with Kori.
"I thought you were supposed to be working with Heylyn today? There's a few shows coming up that she doesn't want to miss. You know what they say about yesterday's news..." Kori addressed Monique who interjected.
"Yeah, its tomorrow's headlines. She's taking care of some family business. She'll be back soon." Monique covered for her friend.
"Let's hope. I hear its a little slow at some of the other houses. We've got to stick together. If this goes down, we'll keep in touch and share news about any opportunities." Delia said.
"Its not going to go down. Heylyn is on top of this." Monique dodged the thought though enough of it got through to leave her with and aftertaste.
"Let's work on something while we've got the time. We could grab a camera and go take some shots in one of the free Studios? It's good for our portfolios." Kori suggested.
"Sounds good to me. We could go through Heylyn's back catalog for clothing. I've got the keys." Monique said.
"Alright. Lets do it. Get a latte first or whatever it is that you drink in the morning, then we'll go." Kori said with authority.
After Monique had finished her latte, they headed over to Heylyn's wardrobe storage closet. Monique pulled the key and opened the door letting the two other women in.
"Where's the light in here. Oops, got it." Delia said stepping around a cutting table.
The three of them spread out and began going through the five separate wardrobes which contained all of the clothing Heylyn had designed over the course of her career, sorted by year and season. Kori modelled a few, holding them up to her body. Monique went through the older designs she'd never seen with wonder and amusement. It was like seeing the evolution of her employer and friend through her artwork. Some of the outfits appealed to Monique while others left little impression though as she'd progressed through the outfits, she found she'd gained a whole new appreciation for Heylyn's style. Her signature which was very apparent though impossible to put a finger on.
"Wow! These ones are wild. I didn't know she did a sexy wear line like this. Very nice yet traditional. How'd she pull that off?" Kori said holding up a semi-translucent negligee for them to see.
"Pulling it off is the point with sexy wear, like on a honeymoon. You think that's wild, check this out. Its like some kind of S&M outfit or something,,," Delia held up the outfit bringing a look of horror over Monique's face.
It was the Butterfly Dragon armour that Heylyn had designed impromptu on Treadwater Island for their encounter with the forces of Mr. Zek.
"Wow! I never thought I'd see anything like that come from her. That's really cool! It even has a mask! Wings too! She even put bullet holes on the outside. I'd wear that! This is awesome! I want to wear this one for our little photo shoot." Delia told the two women.
"I don't think so. You'd better not. That's the designs that she never used in a show. She doesn't want anyone to see those. I mean it. Put it back." Monique told Delia.
"Lighten up girl! C'mon, the only place this is going to be seen is in our portfolios right? I'll even give her the credit for the outfit. We're going to do this professionally." Delia bargained with Monique persuasively.
"Yeah, come on girl. Give her a break. We have to stick together. Think of your future? Think of ours. Lets give it a go. We won't show a soul. Just for our portfolio. I've got something. She's got something. Now you pick one." Kori finished the deal closing it.
Monique paused a moment considering Kori's point carefully before picking an outfit for herself.
"Alright. But we make this quick and you keep the photo on your portfolio and don't give it out or share it on social media." Monique told her.
"I got you that gig today didn't I? Lets stick together." Delia reminded her.
"Alright. Lets do it." Monique grabbed herself an outfit and quickly left the wardrobe storage unit with Delia and Kori.
They quickly checked the day's shooting schedule, finding one of the studios that was not in use and took it over. They quickly got dressed, doing each other's makeup as they prepared.
Monique was surprised at how well the Butterfly Dragon costume fit Delia and how good she made it look although the effect was mutual. When she put the mask on her deep red lips stood out and she looked like a Goddess. Monique felt a tinge of envy that she could wear that costume and look so good without actually having earned the right to wear it, and she herself who'd taken on an army of goons here and elsewhere could not wear hers for her own financial benefit and future opportunities. Monique had picked a casual evening dress with a hip motif to it that she kind of liked. Kori had on a professional suit, stylish but still "safe" as they often called it in the industry.
They each took turns doing a round of photos with one of them as subject, switching as photographers for each other until they had what they deemed to be the best set worthy of their portfolio. When they'd done their photo shoot, they sent the pics to their network folder via WIFI and put the outfits back where they'd found them. They spent their remaining hour touching up their photos on Photoshop and Lightroom. When they were done, they uploaded their content to their portfolio accounts and were ready for anything from that point and ready for Denise's photo shoot.
"See. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Kori said to Monique.
Monique smiled uneasily and thought of Alicia.
Shadows Of Prior Millennia
The bar was more of a local hangout, for those who'd no life of their own at home and who needed to get out just to be around other people. Even on Monday night, for some it was a bit like family. Just off one of the many tendrils that etched its path from Yonge Street in either direction, the bright lights and shopper bustle quickly disappeared to be replaced by the doldrums of a community passed by, and the bar that kept the fires burning. Eric sat at the bar drinking back a bottle of his favourite suds, watching the local news channel on the flat screen that Shane had just installed. There were three other regulars and a two couples, the random unknown faces that would pop in like extras on a sitcom then disappear again into the night. The ones that returned Eric sometimes thought of as syndication. Eric had been a gear head for the locally subsidized television station, setting up and striking sets, preparing and cleaning gear, you name it he did it. He was large and just slightly out of shape, with a long head of hair to go with his rugged looks.
"Shane, could ya get me another?" Eric asked politely.
Shane pushed a cloth over an empty table whose occupants had just left.
"Could you hang on a minute? Some of us are still working you know." Shane said, an edge slightly in his voice.
"What's your problem. Do you ever finish?" Eric shot back.
"You try paying the mortgage and business taxes on my lovely bar here. You'd be takin' care of her too." Shane replied.
"Well keeping your paying customers waiting isn't going to pay them now is it?" Eric bore a friendly smile as he tapped his crisp twenty dollar bill on the bar.
Shane grabbed the plates and got behind the bar again. After he loaded the dishwasher, he grabbed two bottles for Eric because that's how he liked them, two at a time.
Eric paid Shane for the suds noticing the current story on the news. Once again it was about the super women that had been taking the news by storm. They showed the same clip of a beautiful looking lady in her late twenties tossing what appeared to be a heavy set man (which the news crew referred to as a terrorist) at another similarly clad assailant like a play toy. Eric had seen it so many times that he was starting to believe it.
"You know Shane, I think this is real. I've seen special effects before and there's nothing that says they used computer graphics or post processing at all. She just lifts the guy up like he was a ball and tosses him at least fifteen feet. I don't see a green screen or any of the tell tale lines you get when compositing a background onto a green screen that's not lit correctly. This is real. It has to be." Eric gave his commentary somewhat like the half time of a hockey game.
"There's been some strange things going on lately. Ever since they caught that one on the island resort. The biggest bust in history. They ran the courts for three weeks around the clock just to set the trial dates for all of the co-conspirators involved in that fiasco. They even adjusted the interest rates to accommodate the suspected market flurry after his arrest. There's some people playing the power game lately and they're really messing things up. Now we see this? I tell you, this has to be a sign of the end times." Shane tried his daily sell to Eric.
"Nonsense. Its sheer numbers. You have to think that with eight billion of us floating around on this planet, sooner or later one of us is going to be born a little bit different from the others. It happens the other way, don't it? I mean we have people that aren't born right. Maybe this is just the opposite. A few people who are born a little too right." Eric countered.
Just then the jukebox came to life and the lights dimmed just slightly as if on cue but more likely because of the electrical draw on Shane's shoddy wiring job. Eric turned to see who had turned on the jukebox but only saw the empty space in front of it. It was a song by the Black Crows; She talks to angels, one of Eric's favourites though he hadn't heard it in a long time. He looked around the room and spied a dark shadowy figure figure sitting in the corner. That's when her perfume hit him and his heart. Eric quickly looked away from the table and turned his attention back to the television. After a few dead end relationships and a failed marriage, he'd learned not to get his hopes up with regard to any encounters with the opposite sex. In this neighbourhood one could be played when they did, and there were those to whom doing so was merely business. Nothing personal.
On the news, they were doing a piece on Alicia Westen, the other woman that had been caught on video climbing a building like an acrobat then proceeding out of view leaping from roof to roof. All like it was nothing but her being herself. Hi honey. I like to jump from building to building. What do you like to do tech boy? He thought about it as incredulous as it was while the music reeled in his thoughts.
...
She paints her eyes as black as night now
Pulls those shades down tight
Yeah, she gives a smile when the pain come
The pain gonna make everything alright...
...
"Now whatever might you be watching?" she asked him leaning into his space at the bar.
He turned to take her in and got more than he bargained for. She looked like a rock and roll video from the nineties on heels. She wore heavy makeup and eyeliner, though done just right and deliberate. A shapely body of which he caught the upper half. She was slightly compact but not too much so, enough though to make him feel tall though he often did at six foot two. Her clothing or lack thereof more than revealed her intentions. She liked to be seen Eric thought. Her top was open all the way down past her navel. Her neck was the beginning of a modest canvas, tattoos that sprawled lightly at first and increased in density as they progressed down to her arms and legs. There they turned into a rendering of scales and tiles intermixed like artistic armour. He enjoyed the view of her bust momentarily before answering.
"Just the news. The same news." Eric said with a lump in his throat.
"What news might that be?" she asked him, turning slightly to give him a better view.
"The super women..." he looked at her with a strange look in his eye.
She chuckled slightly and gazed at him though he could not discern the colour of her eyes.
"What's a matter. Don't you believe in super women?" she asked him lightly touching his chin.
"No. I mean yes. Of course I do. Its as plain as... Would you care to join me?" he asked her nervously without hesitation.
"I was hoping that you'd join me for a walk." she asked him again touching his chin and running her fingernail down his neck.
He coughed up a bit of his suds before answering.
"Sure. I'd love to. This isn't going to cost anything is it?" he asked her.
"Now what would you mean by that? Oh. You mean? No. No money at all." she answered him without losing her rhythm.
"Alright. Let me finish this." put poured the remainder of both bottles down his throat hurriedly and threw a ten on the table.
"Thanks Shane. Catch you later." Eric left the bar with the mysterious lady.
...
Says she talks to angels
They call her out by her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
...
The evening air was warm and brisk as her heels clicked and echoed through the night. He offered his arm which she gracefully accepted and they walked together in no particular direction.
"Where we going?" he asked her.
"Why?" she returned.
"I just want to know. That's all." Eric replied.
"Now isn't it just like men. Always wanting to know the future. Makes them feel in control. Why can't you ever just walk?" she asked him in almost rhetorically in a way that made him feel that he was representing all men.
"Because we're men. We're supposed to be the leaders. In charge, you know? Keeping women safe. Bringing home the bacon." he answered according to his life philosophy feeling like he had a group of his own around him to cheer him on.
He heard something behind him brush his back as the air moved with it.
"Why do you have to be in control? I don't mean just playing control cause I'm sure that's fun. You actually have to be in control. Not playing. For real." she asked him.
"Because we do. That's just the way it is. We're the men." Eric answered her.
"You know what I think?" she continued her progress.
Something brushed his other hand and the street lights dimmed slightly as they walked beneath them. There was something following them. Darker than night. He could feel it watching them.
"Think about what?" he asked her nervously.
"About you wanting to be in control. Men I mean." she looked at him.
He started to feel uncomfortable, like this was going somewhere that he did not want to go. Not just the direction of their walk but the conversation.
"I think that you're afraid. All of you. That you don't know the future. And not knowing that future makes you feel inadequate to the women that you're trying to protect. Because the truth is that you're afraid of women." she lay it out as plain as the night itself.
"I'm not afraid of women at all." he defended himself.
"Why did you hit her?" she asked him.
"Who?" he shot back.
"Your wife. Why did you beat her like that." she didn't retreat from him nor was she afraid of him.
Something brushed by his head very quickly, too fast to be seen.
"Who the hell are you?" he stopped.
"I'm your living fantasy come true. Someone you can beat on..." she said to him biting his chin.
"How did you know about... Are you from the agency? One of her lawyers? I paid my alimony. I got caught up. What do you want?" he backed away.
"...that can beat you back..." she continued following him.
He staggered backwards falling over.
"Look you crazy whore, I don't want anything to do with you." he struggled to his feet.
"Eric! What's going on here? She giving you problems bro?" a group of three hoods from his neck of the woods approached from a building across the road.
"Eh Mike. Nothing's going down. Trust me. Its alright." Eric said nervously.
"Who is this? Is she some kind of whore or something?" Mike looked the lady over.
Mike had been in jail for the count more than once, and had authority as far as the street was concerned. His friends who were more like followers than anything warshipped the religion of Mike. He'd made a name for himself in the rare pocket neighbourhoods throughout the city where that kind of thing went on. Schooled in the life of the street which he took great pride in.
"Twice in one night. First Eric, now this poor excuse for a man. I'll bet you learned that word from your Father, because nobody's Mother would use that word." she told him.
"What? You talking to me? You talking that way about my Father?!" Mike got in her face.
"See what I mean Eric? You're afraid. Mike's afraid. His friends too. Most men are. There's some that aren't or we'd all be lost." she ignored Mike looking over his shoulder to his two partners in arms.
Something flew by Mike, brushing his neck. He turned quickly, startled by his heightened alertness.
"Quit messing around Sam." Mike turned to one of his friends.
"Wasn't me." Sam replied.
"Dan. What's up? Why you doing that for." Mike addressed his other friend.
"Watcha talkin about Mike? She's playing with ya." Dan informed his friend.
"You see Eric. You're going to decide who lives and who dies tonight. You're in control, since you want it so badly. To protect me. The woman. Here I am. Protect me." she said to him.
Eric started to shudder a bit under the pressure. There was something about her that told him that she was serious. Something brushed him once again from behind but he was too afraid to look. Instead pleaded with Mike.
"Look Mike, I don't know. I think she's drunk. She's a mouthy one, believe me. She doesn't know how it is around here. Let it go." Eric tried to reason with Mike.
"No way man, she bashed my Father. You know what that means around here." Mike said.
Eric shook his head unable to deal with the situation.
"So Eric honey. Does he live or die?" she asked Eric.
"Mike man. You've got to stop this. Just go home or something. This is going too far." Eric started to panic.
Mike was just a neighbour living in a building around the corner from his home. He didn't really know Mike or his friends at all. Mike had spoken up for Eric once when some of the other hoods on the street picked on him on his way back from Shane's. Since then they'd left him alone.
"Did she just say what I think she said? Yeah! You want to try?" he said pulling a small handgun from his jacket and pointing it directly at her head.
"Now this is more like it. So what's your answer Eric. Are you capable of being in control? Does he live or die?" she asked Eric not even flinching under the barrel of Mike's gun.
Eric started to break down and cry.
"No. No. Don't do it!" he said as he fell to the ground.
"Is that what she said to you when you hit her?" she asked Eric.
Eric was a lump of sorrow and pain on the sidewalk, weeping and pleading barely coherent.
"Times up." she turned her head to Mike.
Faster than Mike could pull the trigger, she'd gained a clasp of his wrist pushing his arm upwards, the shortest direction away from her head. The gun went off twice before she broke his wrist. Mike screamed in pain striking at her with his other hand which she blocked effortlessly with her other arm. Mike's gun fell to the sidewalk beside Eric who cried like a newborn baby minus the universal innocence. She punched him once in the dead center of his rib cage connecting with her two knuckles perfectly. Mike's rib cage collapsed broken onto his lungs squeezing his last breath from his body. He fell to the sidewalk gasping and shuddering.
She stood there staring at him as he gasped and writhed.
"You see? That's what it takes to be in control. You failed Eric. You couldn't protect a woman. Just like you couldn't protect your own wife: from yourself." she told Eric.
Eric's weeping went on as Mike stopped moving altogether.
"Who is next Eric? Do you want another chance to be in control?" she asked him.
Sam and Dan looked at Mike in disbelief too afraid to move.
"So what is your answer Eric? Sam or Dan?" she asked him, kicking him once clearly energized by the events that had just unfolded.
When she'd turned to talk to Eric, Sam and Dan turned and ran, each in a different direction. Sam ran for a fence which led to a residential backyard. Dan on the other hand continued down the street at full tilt screaming as he did. The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.
"We don't have much time here Eric. It's them or you." she said him as he reached for Mike's gun.
She let him pick it up and get to his feet. He backed up leveling it at her chest.
"I don't want to shoot you." he cried backing further away.
"Well you're still alive so I guess they're dead." she told him making no effort to avoid the barrel of the gun.
He pulled the trigger and she moved to the side, dodging the shot altogether. He fired again and again until the revolver was empty as she dodged every shot. She still stood before him completely unharmed as the sirens got louder.
"Do you think they'd move as quickly if I was being raped?" she said rhetorically into Eric's ear.
"You see Eric. You're inadequate. You can't even be in control because you don't have the guts to do what has to be done to protect a woman! Maybe. Just maybe you can tell them that you took Mike out to protect me. A lady he was assaulting. Raping. You did it in remorse and the heat of the moment. To pay for your own violence against your wife! How far a step away from the truth would that be? They'll buy it. Which version of the truth do you think they would believe? That a women like myself just killed three men, one armed with a gun all by her lonesome? I mean he tried to shoot me. It's your choice Eric. Don't worry about the other two, they're already dead. Poor fellows should thought twice about running with such weak hearts." she rationalized with him.
She stood taking in a breath of the night air for a moment as something full of blackness flew in circles around her. Then the thing flew off in the direction of one of the fleeing men. She once again turned her attention to Eric, changing to an aggressive tone.
"You tell her. You tell the Butterfly. You tell them. You tell your super women. You tell everyone. There's a new woman in town. And she's the real Dragon around here!" she stepped up to his face kneeing him in the solar plexus knocking him instantly unconscious.
Then she disappeared into the night.
Cleanup
The squad cars lined the street having cordoned off a good section of it. Investigators and forensics combed the sidewalk for clues. The first body was already on its way to the coroner, pronounced dead on the scene. The other two were being loaded into the ambulance after having failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"Evening Detective." one of the Constables addressed the man who'd newly arrived on the scene.
"What's the story so far?" Detective Nelson asked.
"We have what appears to be an altercation that started at roughly 10:30 PM between three males around twenty five years of age, and an unknown female in the vicinity of thirty years of age. She was assaulted by homicide number one, possibly sexually with the assistance of body two and three. Homicide one is Mike Fakward, who'd been packing a .22 caliber revolver which he may have used during the sexual assault. They are found by our suspect, a thirty eight year old male, six foot two and about two hundred pounds. He disarms homicide one, and then proceeds to punch him in the chest, breaking his ribs and killing him. Homicide one was asphyxiated by his own broken rib cage. Two and three flee for fear of being caught and promptly die of cardiac arrest three hundred feet away despite being healthy males. We find our suspect unconscious with the gun still in his hand. We believe he fired it to signal for help, before being assaulted by body two and three who knocked him unconscious before fleeing." the Constable explained pointing out their assessment.
"Where's the sexual assault victim?" Detective Nelson asked.
"We believe she fled on foot after being freed by the murder suspect." the Constable replied.
"What about our homicide? What do we know about him?" the Detective asked examining the scene more thoroughly.
The Constable pulled his notes and began reading.
"He's a small time hood, recently moved up in the world from petty crimes, robbing convenience stores to armed robbery, aggravated assault and he just barely dodged an attempted murder charge. He served two years in the pen from a three year sentence. He's got a rep around here and nobody messes with him. The other two were his posse. They're small time crooks, mostly accessory though Sam has been nailed once for conspiracy to deal in a banned substance. Let's see here. Crack cocaine and he was nailed with two hundred grams. We found around six hundred that someone had dropped nearby during the bust. One of his friends is still doing the time for that." the Constable closed his notes.
The Detective examined the ground closely looking to the grass just off of the side walk. He noticed puncture holes in the grass with slightly depressed grass swatches a few inches away.
"HQ, this is Detective Nelson. We have an APB on the sexual assault victim from the incident on Shuter Street at 10:30 PM. She was wearing heels so she won't be moving too fast. Possibly a sex trade worker off her beat. Probably wearing a short skirt too then judging by the heels. She won't be wearing much. Possible signs of damaged clothing and bruises resulting from the altercation. Over." he spoke into his radio.
"Detective Nelson, this is HQ confirming your APB for a sexual assault victim from the incident on Shuter Street at 10:30 PM. Wearing heels and a revealing short skirt. Slow moving. Possible sex trade work. Signs of a physical altercation, damaged clothing, scratches or bruises. Over." the radio blared back.
"Confirmed. Over and out." the Detective replaced the radio on his belt.
"How many shots were fired?" the Detective asked.
"All six. Emptied the cylinder." the Constable replied.
"Anyone find the flash burns on the shooter? Those pistols are pretty messy. Small firing chamber and poorly covered." the Detective asked the Constable.
"Negative. You'll have to check with the hospital or the coroner." the Constable replied.
"Anybody hear the shots? Do we have a rhythm?" the Detective stood again.
"Nobody no information on that yet. Nobody has come forward. Nobody wants to be seen talking to us." the Constable told the Detective.
"Fair enough. This is one of the areas that was affected during the Treadwater bust. They're still sore from it. Probably a few that were on Zek's blackmail database. Things will be quiet for some time. We'll probably get a lot of phone in and email intel." the Detective walked the crime scene one more time looking for any clues.
He noticed a tiny colourful object laying in the grass. He picked it up turning it over and quickly saw that it was a plastic child's toy.
It was a butterfly toy with a broken wing.
Tokyo Days And Nights
Heylyn walked the street with Warai in the land of the rising sun as the sun slowly crept behind the horizon for a night's rest. They had spent the day at their hotel room, once again playing Go! as Heylyn tried to get the hang of the game while Warai managed to beat her every game. At three o'clock they left for an afternoon theatrical show for children in Hibiya Outdoor Theatre. The theatre was just outside from the Imperial Palace, which Warai of course had wanted to visit. After Heylyn convinced her that they couldn't get in without an appointment and that they probably couldn't get an appointment, Warai accepted the fact that they would get to see it. The Hibiya Outdoor Theatre show was very well staged with a lot of humor and action. Warai even managed to get up on stage with ten other children during an audience participation gag at the end. The emcee of the show, who was dressed like a doll, talked with each the children one at a time:
{"Hello. What is your name?"}
"Kon'nichiwa. Onamaehanandesuka?" the emcee asked Warai.
"Ummm.., Warai. Warai Tokama." she smiled for the doll, amazed to be talking to her.
{"Who are you here with today? Do you want to say hi?"}
"Anata ga koko ni dare ni shite imasu ka? Anata ga aisatsu shimasu ka?" the doll held the microphone
in front of Warai.
{I'm with her. She's the Butterfly! Hello Heylyn! Hello Welly!}
"Watashi wa kanojo to isshodesu. Kanojo wa chōdesu! Kon'nichiwa Heylyn! Kon'nichiwa WELLY!" Warai looked out into the audience at Heylyn waving frantically to her.
The audience burst out laughing with Warai. They all turned to look at Heylyn who blushed of course smiling back at Warai and waving.
{"Hello to all other little children too over there."}
"Kon'nichiwa, amarini mo asoko ta no subete no chīsana kodomo-tachi ni." Heylyn replied in her best attempt at Japanese of which she spoke a little.
{"We're going to sing a little song today. Can you help us sing too?"}
"Kyō wa sukoshi uta o utau tsumoridesu. Anata wa watashitachi ga amarini mo utau tasukeru koto ga dekimasu ka?" doll addressed the children onstage and then the audience as a taiko started a catchy rhythm.
The song started and the children onstage and in the audience all sang together, as the words appeared on the video screen behind them. A stage full of other live action toys joined the finale, each singing and dancing. It reminded Heylyn of her youth, when her Mother brought her to the Children's Summer Theatre on the Toronto Harbour front. She wiped a tear from her eye seeing this little girl up there dancing and singling. She suddenly felt like her Mother.
When the song was done, Warai made her way from the stage where Heylyn was waiting for her.
"Did you see the Dolly? Did you see me up there singing with her!" she started giggling and jumping.
"Yes I saw the Dolly and you and I was very impressed! With both of you. But especially with you. So was Welly!" Heylyn answered her question picking her up.
"Do you need some time to rest before we go? We have to find that person I mentioned before. This is the best time to do it." Heylyn made sure Warai was alright more trying to calm her a little so she didn't quickly burn out.
"I think I'll be alright." Warai replied trying to sound a bit more refined ultimately sounding funny.
Heylyn kissed her little cheek and started on their walk to find the address on the note she'd found in the Tokama's estate locker.
Heylyn did not know the addresses or the neighbourhoods of Tokyo so she flagged a Takushi, which took them all the way into the neighbourhood.
{Are you sure you want to go there? She might not be safe in there.}
"Anata ga koko ni dashimasu ka? Sore wa kanojo no tame ni yoi bashode wanai kamo shiremasen." the driver asked Heylyn as played with his hair.
Heylyn looked around seeing a bright plethora of lights and adds in a small hidden street. It appeared to be a hidden red light district tucked away from the main cluster of streets and buildings.
"We'll be safe. I'll make sure of that." said Heylyn who suddenly sounded a little more defensive.
She paid him and thanked the driver for his help and got out with Warai in her arms.
"I want you to keep your face to my jacket. Don't look around unless I tell you its alright. Do you understand?" Heylyn told her very seriously though thinking that she might be making too much out of this.
Better to be safe than otherwise.
"Ok. You tell me when its alright to look and then I'll look." Warai buried her face in Heylyn's jacket like she was playing hide and seek.
"That's good. We won't be too long." Heylyn said as she proceeded down the street.
As she proceeded, she saw this was definitely their red light district, offering many different adult services which made Heylyn feel uncomfortable more so for Warai. She did her best to conceal it and foil Warai's keen sense of empathy but she could already tell something was wrong.
"Can I look yet?" Warai asked impatiently.
"No." Heylyn said abruptly as she scanned for the address.
Some women spied her walking down the street with the little girl on her shoulder and pointed, laughing in good fun. Heylyn ignored them and picked up her pace until she found the door she wanted. It was beside an adult video shop and street vendor whose stall partially blocked the door. She attempted to squeeze by and the stall attendant stopped her.
{"Where are you going?"}
"Doko ni iku no?" the man running the stall asked her grabbing her arm.
"Can I look yet?" Warai asked.
"No!" Heylyn said immediately.
{I need to find an apartment. On the second floor!}
"Watashi wa apāto o mitsukeru hitsuyō ga arimasu. Ni-kai!" she demanded.
{You might not like what you find. Go where you need.}
"Anata wa nani o mitsukeru yō ni shinai baai ga arimasu. Anata ga hitsuyōna basho ni ikimasu." the man said releasing her.
She stepped around him and through the door. She leapt the stairs two at a time up to the second floor.
"What about now?" Warai asked.
"Ok sweetie." Heylyn said with a bit more calm and focus putting Warai down beside her.
Heylyn found the apartment door and knocked. She waited a few more minutes and started pounding.
A door behind her opened, revealing a beautiful woman dressed fashionably. She bowed for them as did they.
{"Can I help you?"}
"Ikaga nasaimashita ka?" the woman asked Heylyn.
{"I need to get into this apartment."}
"Watashi wa kono apāto ni shutoku suru hitsuyō ga arimasu." Heylyn said stretching her Japanese at best.
{"You need in? I can help you. I have the key. You know the lady from here?"}
"Anata ni hitsuyōdesu ka? Otetsudai shimashou. Watashi wa kagi o motte imasu. Genzaichi kara no josei o shitte imasu ka?" Akari spoke as best she could.
{"What are you doing here? What do you do here?"}
"Anata wa koko de nani o shite iru no? Anata wa koko de nani o shimasu ka?" Heylyn said defensively thinking about Warai.
{"What do you mean? I try to help you and you insult me? What? You think that I'm not good. Because of adult movie? You're no good! You make me bad!}
"Dōiu imidesu ka? Watashi wa anata o tasukeru tame ni shiyou to, anata wa watashi o bujoku shimasu ka? Nani? Anata wa, watashi ga nigate to omoimasu. Otona no eiga no tame ni? Anata wa dame janai ndesu! Anata wa watashi ga warui tsukurimasu!" Akari spoke harshly to Heylyn.
{"You stay away from us. From her!"}
"Anata wa watashitachi kara hanarete taizai shimasu. Kanojo kara!" Heylyn said defensively.
There was a moment of silence and Warai stepped between them.
"Heylyn. She used to be a little girl too. Just like me. Just like you. Maybe she's still in her cocoon? Maybe she'll be a beautiful butterfly like you. Maybe she is a beautiful Butterfly already. We don't know if we make her bad before we know her. If we make her bad, then she's trapped with no way to be good. I think she's good. She tried to help us. That's what Welly would say." Warai spoke Heylyn quietly trying to explain her thoughts.
Heylyn stood terrified for a moment to let this issue go but then Warai's words made sense to her. If they damned her before they even had evidence to make such a conclusion, then she would have room to be otherwise. She'd come across this same issue during her investigation of the sex trafficking ring back home. That involved women who'd been forced into sexual service by various coercive means, and none of the women involved had made their own free choice about it. They'd been cornered and rounded up. This affected Heylyn deeply and to her core. She'd not quite gotten over the nightmares she'd had during that time and when it came down to dealing with the ring leader, she'd very nearly killed him trying to contain her own rage. She'd never considered herself prudish or even an asexual person. It was just something that she'd held in very high esteem for its ability like all art to express love. When it was cheapened and sold for mere pocket change, it somehow took away from the power of this means of expression. A language that was meant to be spoken between two people who loved one another. This woman was not that enemy nor was she a victim of such a ring. She could freely go and do as she chose and the doors of choice have to start somewhere. In a world that praised misogyny and womanizing in its movies about male secret agents and action heroes from yesteryear, they were sometimes very hard on women whose path as media stars were similar. The men would be considered the studs while the women would be considered the slut. Many women and men had fought to change this impression of women. Heylyn pondered this for a moment as she eased her tension. Heylyn did not want to be a barrier to that kind of progress. It stood against everything she was and represented as a person.
{"I apologize. I was hasty to judge you. We would appreciate your help if you would be so kind to share it with us, Akari."}
"Shazai shimasu. Watashi wa anata o handan suru seikyūdeshita. Anata wa, watashitachi to issho ni Akari o, sore o kyōyū suru koto ga totemo shinsetsudearu ka dō watashitachi wa anata no tasuke o itadakereba saiwaidesu." Heylyn spoke with confidence and assuredness.
Warai seeing this in Heylyn once again stood by her side reaching up for her hand.
{"I will help you. I forgive you. Your little girl is a good soul."}
"Watashi wa anata o tasukemasu. Watashi wa anata o yurushimasu. Anata no chīsana on'nanoko wa yoi tamashīdesu." Akari told Heylyn then looking to Warai.
Akari pulled a set of keys and opened the door to which Heylyn required access. The musty air hit them immediately. The room was small and simple, possessing a bathroom, a wardrobe and a hot plate for cooking. The walls were lined with pictures of different women, some of which Heylyn knew personally through the fashion industry. Some had been painted over with a form of asian script that Heylyn had never seen. It was definitely ancient Chinese in origin but this was pre-Han dynasty.
{"Did you know the lady who lived here?"}
"Anata ga koko ni sunde ita josei o shitte imashita ka?" Heylyn asked Akari who'd stepped in to see the walls.
{"A little bit. She would come and go. She was very arrogant and vile. Like a beast. Dangerous like the Dragon. Too much hate. She would often talk to herself alone. To someone. Something."}
"Jakkan. Kanojo ga kite, ikudarou. Kanojo wa hijō ni gōman to hiretsudeshita. Kemononoyōni. Doragon no yōna kiken. Amarini mo ōku no nikushimi. Kanojo wa ōku no baai, hitori de jibun jishin ni hanasudarou. Dareka ni. Nani ka." Akari told her.
Heylyn thought of Weltherwithsp and wondered how her conversations sounded to the outside world.
"Who are all these people?" Warai asked.
"They're people that I work with honey." Heylyn explained to the little girl.
"Why are they on the wall?" Warai asked her looking up to her face.
"I think that she was looking for someone." Heylyn said.
{"Yes. Always. She was looking for someone for certain. She often used to say in her apartment: I will find you. I will find you butterfly"}
"Hai. Tsuneni. Kanojo wa tokutei no tame ni dareka o sagashite imashita. Kanojo wa shibashiba kanojo no apāto de iu tame ni shiyō sa reru: Watashi wa anata o mitsukerudeshou. Watashi wa anata ni chō ga dekimasu" Akari interjected, the word Chō meaning butterfly.
Heylyn shuffled through some belongings that were scattered around her sleeping mat. One was a note containing an address in Guangzhou, China. There were also two crudely drawn maps. One looked like a treasure map indicating a path through a maze like structure and into a temple of some kind where a symbol was marked in Vietnamese. The second map contained a top down view of a building, obviously copied from an architectural drawing. Beneath an elevator shaft there was something marked in Thai, which Heylyn could not read.
{"Do you read Thai?"}
"Anata ga Tai o yondekudasai?" Heylyn asked Akari.
{"No. I'm sorry."}
"Īe, watashi wa mōshiwake arimasen." Akari answered humbly.
{"No. I'm sorry we got started off on the wrong foot."}
"Gomen'nasai īe, watashitachiha machigatte toho de ofu ni hajimarimashita." Heylyn told Akari as she pocketed the maps and the note with the address.
{"I want you to consider something for me. I want you to contact this company, the Kawaī kao Cosmetics. I want you to apply for a job there. I'll let them know that you're calling. Make sure that you do. Something for the future and to look forward to. Don't tell anyone."}
"Watashi wa anata ga watashi no tame ni nanika o kentō shitai to omoimasu. Watashi wa anata ga kono kaisha, Kawai Kaō no keshōhin ni o toiawase kudasai. Watashi wa, anata ga shigoto no tame ni tekiyō shimasu. Watashi wa karera ga anata ga yobidashite iru koto o shitte moraou. Anata ga okonau koto o kakunin shimasu. Shōrai no tame ni nanika shite tanoshimini. Darenimo iwanaide kudasai." she handed Akari Hiroyuki's business card.
Akari accepted the card gratefully bowing most humbly.
"Arigatō." Akari replied as they left the apartment, closing the door and locking it.
{"Here's my card too. If you ever need to contact me."}
"Koko ni watashi no kādo wa, amarini modesu. Anata wa imamade watashi ni renraku suru hitsuyō ga aru baai." Heylyn handed her business to Akari before she slipped back into her own apartment.
"Do I need to hide?" Warai asked Heylyn.
"Well... Just keep your face tucked in my jacket a little. We'll be out of here quickly." Heylyn told Warai as she picked her up in her arms.
"It's Ok. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." Warai told Heylyn as she nuzzled in her jacket.
"Lucky you." Heylyn stepped down the stairs quietly and remerged into the night. The sun had disappeared and the red light district was alive with people and colorful ads. She managed to make her way through arriving at one of the main intersections where she flagged a Takushi which drove them the rest of the way back to the hotel. Heylyn put Warai to bed careful not to wake her. They would be leaving Tokyo tomorrow and Heylyn hadn't decided if she wanted to continue following the trail or return to the studio. She'd not called or picked up her messages in some time but she thought she was certainly most deserving of her indulgence. Before she went to be, she decided to make the decision the next day and either way, she'd call Monique in the morning despite the time difference. She needed to catch up on events on the other side of the world. She wanted to be ready so she could help Warai adjust to culture shock.
When she slept, she dreamt of a dark and wispy creature, that moved too fast to be seen or heard.
She dreamt of home.
It was there and she was not.
Pressure Point
The intensity of dealing with the most common issues in the city had dropped substantially since Zek's blackmail operating had fallen and Torman's grip over the city had been loosed since his death. Torman had during his time in the city and as Zek's wrench in the works managed to unite the majority of the criminal factions that operated in the city, despite their differences. He'd grown up on the same streets as many of them and he'd already had their respect. He was one of theirs that had broken the mold and made it in the business world and onto the board of directors of one of the most powerful investment firms in business: Tynan And Associates with the help of Mr. Zek. From that point he was a puppet for the mysterious man whose primary weapon was blackmail.
Torman had managed to gain hold of support from the major importers of narcotics to the city. He used them tactically to gain a foothold on other dominions that the city had to offer by way of gray and black market activity. He built a scaffold between these different groups all across the city utilizing the benefit of modern communications technology and gang colours to enforce and protect it. With the importers on his team, the big players were on board and the rest was just a matter of pressuring the right people until everyone else fell into place.
Those dealing in the micro markets of the black market economy were the simplest. Torman used a strategy that had been around for a long time known as the mutual protection pact. If the micro market informed on the importers, they'd do the same to the major players in the micro market. So those that didn't agree with the importing of narcotics like cocaine and heroin were suddenly wrapped up in the ages old big game. That meant that throughout the city, every community that dealt in contraband tobacco, contraband pharmaceuticals and pirate movies had a force of people who'd protect the importers of big ticket narcotics. Many of those involved in these smaller micro markets had families and by every respect they were average people struggling to make a living in a changing economy. Now they'd become a tool in the fight for power that had been fought since the ages of exploration and colonialism. They had become protected by this ever growing and tightening ring, leaving law enforcement embattled between politicians as to how to overcome it.
Torman's hoods, who were made up of the many gangs throughout the city operated as the muscle, making sure everyone was kept in line. They too were the arm of his biggest ambition which was to use that muscle to affect market prices of publicly and privately traded companies in the local markets. For instance, if Torman wanted to acquire a company for his personal portfolio but did not have the capital to make such an acquisition, he employed his hoods to affect its market. If that meant keeping customers away, then so be it. If that meant following the company's executives and pressuring them to leave the company, then it would happen. Any company which operated in the vicinity or within three hundred kilometres of the city was subject to his grip in this manner.
With Mr. Zek's help he'd managed to acquire many companies through these means meaning that Mr. Zek's means of laundering finances had also grown substantially. After Torman had acquired the company, the pressure points would be dropped and the company would be free to grow once again unhindered. Torman didn't stop there though. He used the same cronyism to insist that the company's customers make use of services the company had to offer. So the pressure changed from one of keeping customers away to forcing them on board. Torman had become the major player in the city and quickly was becoming so for the world. Until Alicia Westen had unleashed the SY-349 program and had began a solo crusade on the streets against this cronyism.
She'd not known the politics of the situation or how the increase in gang activity throughout the city was connected to the big game. To her it was merely a means of testing the effectiveness of her newly developed technology for fighting muscular and tissue degenerative diseases. The fact that it had resulted in her superhuman abilities was inconsequential to her. More so it was her revisiting her past to deal with the demons there. Those that had bullied her in school because of her grades or her slight weight problem. Those who'd made her afraid to take part in society freely like everyone else. Over time she came to realize what she was doing by such and that she had much more to offer the world as a researcher than by dealing with the scars of her past as a crime fighter. After she'd fixed the problem she'd unexpectedly unleashed upon the world by recapturing the stolen SY-349 formula from Torman and Mr. Zek, she'd changed her life. She'd become unafraid and more importantly she'd met and fallen for Walton Norler.
Since the fall of Mr. Zek, his empire was consumed by another company of considerable reach and finances all of which was run by a mysterious character, much like Zek. This individual had, following Zek's model for empire building established a non-centralized database of similar blackmail material, much of it drawn from Zek's before the fall of his empire. One of Mr. Zek's technicians had managed to get the entirety of its contents onto a ten terabyte portable RAID, and had been lucky enough to find a buyer before he died choking to death on a drink on Treadwater Island. The buy had learned from Mr. Zek's mistakes and had immediately mirrored the database in ten different locations, each outside of legal jurisdiction of any country and well protected within this individual's infrastructure.
Since that time, this database had grown as a measure to contain the newly liberated world, keeping it from getting out of hand. Mr. Zek's legacy lived on. It was this database to which the video of Valerie lifting a tremendous boulder was added. As was her altercation with some assailants in an alley outside of a Toronto area lounge. Alicia's video depicting her climbing a building and leaping roof to roof in pursuit of a vehicle on the street was also contained therein. Monique's image and video had just arrived after some processing, it could be seen that she'd somehow transformed herself into a streak of light and passed through a sheet of double tension bullet proof transparent poly-fibre screening. Since the arrival of this video, the fashion business through which she was employed as a model had fallen under the scrutiny of Mr. Zek's heir to the throne. This individual wondered what the link was between a fashion agency and a super powered fashion model of this nature and set about to uncover this latest mystery. The search for the mysterious and ancient Dragon had stopped dead in its tracks recently, the trail having been lost. They'd acquired several pieces which held clues and they had it on good authority the nature and even the sex of the person they'd be looking for, but where she was was currently was unknown. For these plans to come to fruition, they needed to unravel the mysteries of both the mysterious super powered beings that had appeared in the last five years, and the mystery of the Dragon.
This individual had already neutralized two of these super powered beings, Alicia and Valerie, using the public against them to make them infamous. Now he would concentrate on this new threat that came from a young woman of twenty five named Monique Defleur. The fashion agency, West meet East would also be thoroughly examined and acquired if need be. The first order of this plan had already been taken care of and Monique's video was released to the press though her image on the video was barely discernible and her identity would be preserved for now. It would be enough to let her know that her fate hung on a thread so to speak.
Meanwhile, orders had gone forward to pressure the policy makers into enacting the powers needed to apprehend anyone seen to be exhibiting such unique abilities for the preservation of the public safety. There was no more gang threat in the city to make them into mythical heroes of the streets. There was no apparent criminal threat except for the threat that resulted from their presence in the city. How could one guarantee public safety against such super powered beings when the forces that protected the city couldn't even catch one of them?
These orders became manifest and the email had been sent to the primary policy maker of the city. He opened his email to read:
There are matters of the gravest concern that need attending and I fear that in the absence of action in these affairs, that the city may be cornered like a Marigold. When that happens and all see it plain as day on the news, there will be no place for anyone to run, not even into the arms of Patrice for peace. These citizens who exhibit these powers that not even the Police can deal with must be issue number one. For if they aren't then our great city will certainly turn to a white powdery dust and become our downfall.
Truly,
A Concerned Citizen
The Mayor quickly opened his desk drawer and unwrapped the antacid from its packaging popping six in his mouth at one. Then he opened the cabinet behind him and poured himself a glass of whiskey. It burned as it slid down his throat and he waited for it to take effect.
He was a married man and had been so for fourteen long years. There had been some bumps in their marriage and especially with the pressures of a public life but they'd done their best. Sometimes those pressures affected some in strange ways and during the greatest of pressures he'd often found his libido out of control. That was when he'd turned to a mistress named Patrice, one who'd been on his wife's best friend at one time and who had helped numerous times during his office tenure as a councilman and then as Mayor. During that time ten years ago, he rented a little flat on Marigold Corner, an obscure little neighbourhood off the beaten track where they could meet and fulfill their desires for each other. His wife had never found out about it and he'd long since broken ties with his mistress and the house where they'd meet. Being away from that situation and those memories as much as he enjoyed them was like finding his freedom once again. This helped to bolster his career and resulted in his successful campaign to make him Mayor just shortly before the Treadwater incident. The pressures of being Mayor had been a great and many and he'd once again found himself enticed when in the midst of such pressure. Instead of turning to a mistress, he turned to cocaine as a stress reliever and had still made use of it often though it was one of his best kept secrets. Even more so than the secret of his fiscal plans.
He poured another glass of whiskey and dared not risk his other habit in the office. Once he'd imbibed the glass, he put it on the desk and picked up the phone.
"Get me the Police Chief." he requested of his secretary.
"Hi, Harold. It's me, Norman. I want you to put together a task force and investigate these recent videos about the super powered women we've been seeing on the news. They're residents of this city, and we have a right to know what's going on." the Mayor told the Police Chief.
"Investigate? We're up to our teeth with the summer events in the city and you want me to put aside resources to investigate the Loch Ness monster?" the Police Chief shot out at the Mayor.
"Investigate and if there's any wrong doing, and I mean any. Then detain and question. I want to make sure that we have everything we need if we need to deal with them." the Mayor told him as he poured another drink.
"Detain? You want me to detain them? The public will eat us alive! You'll make them martyrs and we'll be dealing with not just one but two Joan of Arcs. Besides, what have they done? One of them took out a bunch of hoodwinks that tried assaulting her in an alley . There's a poster of that one on the wall of the Rape Crisis Centre with the words: Go Get 'Em." the Police Chief fired back at the Mayor.
"Look. We need an in with them so that we can use them if need be, or take them out if they're in the way. I just want you to build a dossier and try to get them on something if not just to bring them in for questioning. Get one of those hoodwinks to charge her with assault or something. We need something and we need it fast." the Mayor explained to the Chief.
"No rough play. We do this civil and by the books. You are going to send me over written instructions with a signature and official seal of your office before anything happens. Despite what you may think, they're making a difference. You have that couriered over to me or fax it, and I'll get on it but we're not going to do anything to harm them. No reputation attacks. Nothing. When you've got that, we'll talk." the Police Chief hung up.
"...I wish I could tell you the real deal Harold." the Mayor mouthed quietly as he hung up.
He thought about what the Police Chief said. His conscience would not let him be twisted by the bastard who'd sent him that email. The city had already been damaged enough by men like Mr. Zek. To fold to this kind of blackmail and corruption was to give it power and allow it to grow. He picked up the phone again and dialed a number he thought he'd never use.
"Yes, could I have station 6379." the Mayor spoke to the voice that answered.
A moment later the line was answered by another.
"6379. It's November. Response?" the voice spoke.
The Mayor pulled a pocket book and looked up a page with scrawled notes for the month of November.
"Soda pop." the Mayor replied reading from his notes.
"How can I help you?" the voice asked.
"I need a quiet investigation, intelligence gathering and a security assessment. I think that I may have some citizens that are being targeted by an unscrupulous organization similar to the Treadwater incident and one Mr. Alomera Zek. I'm caught in the middle with no real way to protect these civilians and the organization have got some dirt on me already from the past. I need you to set this in motion immediately. It might be big. Very big. It would be pertaining to the women with the unique abilities. The ones on the news recently?" the Mayor told 6379.
"Would you be referring to one Alicia Westen. One Valerie Aspen and more recently one Monique Defleur?" 6379 asked.
"I'd say yes to the first two, the third one I didn't know about." the Mayor replied honestly.
"The matter is already being looked into. Is there anything else?" 6379 asked.
"That's all." the Mayor replied.
"Alright. Your new inbound call line is 9615. Again, your new inbound call line is 9615. Goodbye." 9615 replied on final time ending the call.
Remember Valerie
He returned from another night out arriving slightly intoxicated at his front door. His vision blurred momentarily as he tried to the find the keyhole to his town home apartment in the West Queen Street community that he lived. He sang a line from one of the songs they played at the club that night and laughed quietly to himself as he stumbled backwards falling onto the lawn.
"...you know you make me feel like you do... and that's the way I feel about yoooooou!" he sang from his vigil on the lawn.
"...so baby open up your heart..." his voice trailed on.
"'Cause there's no better place to start?" she said to him from a standing position finishing his line from the song.
"...wow. Its the girl of my... Wait. You're that... that crazy bit..." he was jerked to his feet by her.
"Yes. You're right. It's me. That crazy and bitter woman from the Wyrm Wing West." Valerie said to her prey.
"How did you find me?" he asked.
"You don't remember leaving your name and address on my answering service? A face like mine and you forgot?" she asked him while struggled to stay on his feet.
"Baby, I'd never forget you... Oh. Wait. You made me donate my money to that women's charity..." he slurred.
"Now your on track. So do I have to wait until you're sober, or can we talk about that night right now without getting personal?" Valerie asked him.
"I don't know. That depends what you're asking... baby." she steadied him on his feet when he nearly fell.
"I want description of the people who paid you that night to send me to that alley." Valerie asked him in a level headed manner.
"You what? ...I'd never rat out a... He paid me a lot of money to be quiet..." he told her.
"I can give you even more to speak." she said to him earnestly.
"...what c-c-an you offer me baby..." he asked her.
"I'll go out on one date with you. One date and I'll pay." she told him.
"...ssseriously? wait... but I... What if they find out?" he asked her.
"They most certainly will. What do you say?" she asked him again.
"...Alright. ...we go on Friday night...?" he confirmed.
"Alright. But you can't get drunk until after our date and it begins at seven o'clock and ends at ten o'clock, and no getting pushy or feely or rude. If you do..." she said to him with stern seriousness.
"Ok. ...I can doo that." he answered.
"I'll be here to pick you up at seven o'clock Friday evening. You're going tell me everything then. I'm going to be wearing a disguise just to throw the crowds, a bit like what I'm wearing now. Be ready and you better not trick me. If they approach you before we meet for the date, I want you to wear a white shirt. Can you do that?" she asked him.
"Ok. but what if my shirt has a little white on it...? Oh... I can wear a button down shirt that's white... if they show up before..." he replied.
"But only if they show up before hand so I know when I meet you and I don't need to ask you. Ok?" she told him.
"Alright!" he held his fingers up signing ok.
With that she helped him to his door where he opened it and stepped inside.
"Are you sure that you don't want to come in for a..." he hung onto the doorway for support.
"No. I don't want to come in. Get some sleep. And be good or else..." she turned around and disappeared down the street.
"I sure hope the press and the public doesn't show up. For both our sake..." she said aloud to herself.
One of the street lights flickered and then went out. Moments later it flickered again coming back to life.
"Must be good luck?" she said aloud.
In the shadows something that had been following carefully circled her from the shadows. It watched her carefully, and from many different points of view. Ahead of her a lady approached walking in her direction. At first Valerie only heard heels and then she saw her. A fit lady dressed like she'd fallen out of a fantasy magazine or walked off the set of a music video. Her clothing was tight and revealing and her body a canvas of tattooed scales. She walked directly in Valerie's direction without wavering from her path. Valerie kept walking stepping slightly aside for the lady. She must have earphones on or something Valerie thought because she seemed to be oblivious to Valerie`s presence. Despite her efforts to avoid the girl, she still bumped Valerie.
"Ooops. Sorry, I didn't notice you. That must happen to you alot?" she said to Valerie, her eyes flaring as she spoke.
"Actually I kind of wish it happened more often." Valerie said avoid the conflict and insult altogether.
"I don't have time to chit chat. I've got a date..." the lady returned.
The lady kept walking not turning back to acknowledge Valerie. As Valerie turned to continue down the street to her rental car, she was bowled over by a brush of wind.
She stood brushing herself off. Strange she thought, watching the lady continue down the street. Then from the corner of her eye, she noticed something from the shadows. A streak of blackness that seemed to be following the lady. She shook her head and squinted realizing it was just an illusion.
"Must have had something in my eye." she said to herself as she continued to the car.
That night, her Friday night date met another woman who came to him in his town home apartment.
She looked like a music video on heels, like the lady of his dreams.
She did not however come for his love or affection.
She came for his life and left with nothing less.
Social Media Sensation
Kori had taken her pictures from their private portfolio photo shoot and posted them to her online photo album. This was the album she'd send to potential future prospects for gigs or for her WmE portfolio. Delia had given her the photos from her Butterfly Dragon shoot wearing Heylyn's Treadwater costume. The one Heylyn had put together for their investigation on Treadwater Island resort, which she'd since replaced with two new versions of the costume. Up until that point, Heylyn had been the only woman to ever wear the Butterfly Dragon costume until Delia had inadvertently discovered it. Of course Heylyn had no idea as she was currently on her way to Guangzhou, China with Warai to investigate the trail of leads regarding the death of Warai's parents. Heylyn was Warai's foster Mother now and she intended to know the truth for the sake of her little girl and her safety.
Up until that point, the Butterfly Dragon had managed to stay incognito and those who spoke of their encounters with her or Weltherwithsp often ended up in prison or the psychiatric ward and sometimes both. The few people she'd let see her in action were her quarry. They were the Rif Holgan, the infamous lead behind the international sex trafficking ring her and Monique had revealed to the local Police. They were Geoff Tate, the man behind an assassination attempt against the CEO of a medical firm whom Monique had sacked just before he'd detonated the lethal bomb made to take the CEO's and his family's life. They were a prominent local gang and Torman's former right hand, the Rocks whose crack cocaine cooking lab she'd led Police to while managing to disarm the sixteen of them armed with automatic weapons. Then she'd uncovered the trail of the arms importers supporting the gang, leading to a joint investigation by the Municipal, Provincial and Federal authorities. Those who'd seen her in action usually found their fate sealed in a court room shortly thereafter. That had made her the enemy of some very dangerous people. The kind who would solve problems by making people disappear.
Kori had taken her choice photos from her photo shoot and sent them to a boyfriend. Someone that she wanted to impress. Her boyfriend's best friend, Vance Stratos was a young add-on technology designer for a popular social media application and had become a millionaire at twenty five, making him a very eligible bachelor. Delia had taken a liking to him when she'd met him on a double date with Kori and her boyfriend, bringing her along to date Vance. Vance was interested in her as well though he'd been dating other women at the time and had not settled on giving up his single life quite yet. Kori being very much in Delia's corner had in hopes of enticing the man, sent him the photos from the Butterfly Dragon shoot they'd done the prior day. Within ten minutes of Vance receiving the photo shoot, he'd forwarded them on social media using his custom app to three hundred of his contacts thinking he was doing something beneficial for Delia's career. Of those three hundred, two hundred and seventy of them forwarded the photos to their friends and the same exponential math resulted in the photos becoming viral.
Ultimately they ended up on the phone of Chuck Stone, a friend and business associate of one of the gang members from the Rocks bust. He sent a copy to his printer, which he took and folded up for a visit to the penitentiary. He'd told the guards that searched him that she was the inmate's girlfriend. He was there as a friend delivering a picture to keep his spirits up. The inmate had received the photo printout from his visitor and said: "She looks just like I remember her. Oh I can't wait to...". The photo had made it through some of the prison heavies until it arrived in the hands of the protected ones. The people in prison who come out unscathed because they are protected both inside and out. One of whom had encountered a certain Butterfly before finding his life changed in front of a justice of the peace. He eyed the picture carefully and made a phone call from his private phone in the prison to an undisclosed recipient. From that point on nothing would be the same for the mythos of the Butterfly Dragon. More importantly nothing would be the same for Kori or Delia for they'd been plunged into a conflict for which neither had any way of comprehending the danger.
When Monique had arrived at WmE the next day she quickly stormed through the building looking for her friends and betrayers. Much to her relief she found them and she approached them both with a menacing look in her eyes like they'd never seen before. Monique ploughed Delia into the office wall of the creative room holding her there as she yelled.
"You posted the photos and I told you specifically not to! You promised me! You have no idea what you've done!" Monique yelled at her almost at the verge of tears.
Kori grabbed Monique's arm trying to pull her away from Delia but finding the Monique had a bit more strength than her thin frame gave indication of.
"Relax! I shared them! I wanted to help her with her man to be and her career! Why are you making such a big deal over this?" Kori yelled back at Monique in defense of her friend as Monique eased her grip on Delia.
"You have no idea what you've done... You have no idea what you've unleashed upon yourselves..." Monique said looking defeated.
"What? We can release of press statement stating the photos are of Heylyn. No big deal. What, do you think that she's going to sue us? Come on. We work together for crying out loud!" Kori tried to reason with Monique but there was no making up for this.
The tension eased and the others with them in the creative room turned their attention back to their activities. Monique sat quietly staring off into space unsure of what to do. She thought of what Heylyn had said to her before she'd left. About the ball and their tennis game. Heylyn was directing the ball around the tennis court making Monique run for the ball and tiring her, knowing that she'd miss sooner or later. Monique had found herself in another situation where she was being led around the tennis court chasing a ball that she would eventually miss. She had to take charge of the situation just like Heylyn was saying about her life.
"I want you to release a press statement. I want you to tell them the photos are of me in one of Heylyn's fashion designs. It was for a costume party of sorts. Tell those people on social media that the photo was of me and that it was a fraud photo that you sent. Apologize for it and we'll have done with it." Monique demanded of them thinking of their lives.
"We can't do that! Delia's career will be ruined! You know what kind of scorn she'll get from the modelling world if others think she sent a fraudulent photo set around claiming to be the subject! She'll never get work again. She'll be boycotted by the trade mags. The next time we'd see her, she'd be begging for spare change or working in sex trade. In the modelling that's like the lowest of crimes you can commit against another model. That's like Milli Vanilli all over again! or Shakespeare and Sir Francis Bacon! You don't do those kinds of things. What would you do if someone laid claim to your works?" Kori spoke in defense of her friend.
"You mean what would I do if I were Heylyn and someone took the credit for my designs? I'd try to have as many witnesses that could verify that they were in fact mine. I don't think that a bunch of people would gang up on someone to steal them and if they did, we they'd be wrong and they'd know it. I hope you don't use those people who saw those photos to do such a thing to us. Heylyn and myself. We need to solve this and it has to be me in those photos." Monique told them.
"Why you? Why does she have to sacrifice her career for this anyway? Its just clothing and a photograph! Its not like it makes a difference in the world or anything! How do they do things where Heylyn is from anyway? Maybe she should go back there!" Kori yelled at Monique to which the room went silent.
"It does make a difference. Every day. This art we create does make a difference. We're not talking about the Emporer's New Clothes here. A whole lot of hype about selling nothing for something. This isn't the placebo effect of what you wear! Heylyn told me that our confidence in ourselves starts with and comes from ourselves. That's how her parents raised her to feel despite being immigrants from the Far East of Asia. Her parents told her that we are complete even when we're naked. Heylyn told me: sometimes when we wake up we feel bad. A different kind of sick when we don't feel good enough for ourselves and for the world. When you wear something you like, its like training wheels for that confidence to return. Its not a replacement or a placebo. Its the place you put your confidence for safe keeping for the times when you don't have any, you can put it back on later. It is the place the designer puts their confidence for the benefit of the person wearing it. They are using their artistry and sharing their confidence in the people who wear their designs. When people feel confident they do well and they might even change the world in doing so. Confidence might lead to employment. It might lead to a relationship and even marriage. What we wear is like the cover of a book but it is all we have to speak for us until someone else reads that book. Confidence is like armor. There's people that might try to chip away at your confidence and you have to be healthy inside and believe in yourself. Sometimes confidence can make the difference between life and death. Like a Police officer or Soldier being confident that their body armor will protect them so they can do their job safely. So this clothing does make a difference. So do the people who design it. Whether for work or play." Monique lectured them in defense of Heylyn as much as she did in defense of fashion design and the arts.
"Look, there must be a way we can fix this. I don't want to give up my career. It was a mistake and I know it was wrong. But what can we do to fix this?" Delia asked Monique though it was clear to see that neither Delia nor Kori wanted to take leadership in this issue.
Monique thought long and hard about what was happening in this situation and how it could impact these women, who had both become her friends besides being her peers. Monique's efforts with Heylyn had put both of them in a unique situation of being wanted by some of the most notorious criminals in the world. They had gone from unassuming lives and a fairy tale like beginning to the grim reality of the fact that the world has no easy solutions and that sometimes it could be a very dangerous place. There were people that would go to great lengths to protect their corner despite the morality of what they were doing and how they were doing it. There was a big difference between reading about a story in the newspaper and being involved in the middle of the situation and still being able to lead a normal life. There were pressures that went along with infamy that few people could understand and likely that few could handle. Not to mention that the dangers that could sometimes befall a person in their position had seemed so distant, like watching a movie. The audience feels safe enough despite the fact that what happens in most action movies could be considerably dangerous in real life. The audience has to feel safe enough to watch otherwise nobody would go.
Being in the middle of such situations was far removed from standing in the audience. One almost needed to be superhuman to withstand the pressures. For Heylyn this seemed to come natural but for Monique it had come a bit more slowly. She had been a risk taker her whole life though never thinking about the consequences of her choices and their impact upon her life. She'd left home young and from that time she'd been a survivor living by the seat of her wits more so than her pants. She'd been apt and intelligent and an avid reader (a fact she'd kept secret from most of her friends). The kind of people she'd known had no place for Jane Eyre or Atlas Shrugged in their dialect. Ultimately though she was a restless soul seeking to find peace somewhere with someone of the same ilk and she thought she'd find that peace in someone else. Even if she'd have lived a meagre life of little money, she would have accepted it. Instead her life became a fairy tale and she'd been handed the opportunity of a lifetime when Heylyn had hired her as a model in training for WmE fashion. From that point it became more like Alice through the looking glass than the tale of Cinderella though she could relate with the latter better than the former.
When they'd left for Treadwater Island, taking her along as an assistant to Heylyn, she'd had no idea where that path led but being adventurous she had to know. Her life had changed when she'd taken on her alter ego Strawberry Eclipse, which was more of an inside joke to her than a nickname having come from her affinity for the wonderful fruit. From that point it quickly went from the lavish fairy tale to a grim return to the same streets she'd fled when she'd taken the modelling opportunity. She had found herself facing down against the same kind of people who'd tried to own her. "A" type personalities who'd lost their moral compass somewhere in their teen years and whom were too motivated by quick money than to correct their course for the long term investment. Many of those people had scorned Heylyn and herself for their interference in their activities and most had sworn they'd kill them slowly for it. Watch them beg for mercy before snuffing out their lives once and for all. Nobody ever told the story of what happened to Cinderella after she lived happily ever after. Maybe she was hunted down by her sisters, then tortured and held ransom for her Prince's fortunes. Though she'd not met Prince charming yet, she expected a similar fate as her imagination had introduced to her at the hands of those Heylyn and herself had helped to bring to justice.
These imaginings were now the fears that she had for her friends and especially for Delia.
"I posted the pictures. I stole the login for your account and posted those pictures of me, trying to win your boyfriend away from you. That's what you'll say. That way you won't lose your career or be lambasted by the modelling community." Monique told them.
She knew they'd not be able to handle the storm coming for them, either Kori or Delia. It would take a day or two but then it would be far too dangerous for them and they could not handle it. She on the other hand had abilities that made her nearly unstoppable to similar people provided she was not outnumbered.
"But what about you?" Delia asked her friend.
"Don't worry about me. I'm a survivor." Monique replied with a sense of resolve and a deep seated fear.
She hoped that she was right. She was about to become the Butterfly.
On the large screen television in the creative room someone had turned up the volume. Another video had been released in the string of video evidence about the super women. The new video depicted an unknown lady as seen through a security camera, turning into a streak of light or a cloud of gas, and passing through a pane of glass without breaking it. The streak then returned to the form of the lady once again on the other side of the glass pane and fled outside the view of the security camera. Fortunately her identity could not be made out and she'd simply been called the mystery girl.
Monique felt the pressure building upon her shoulders and tried to calm herself.
When she left that night for home, she took Heylyn's Butterfly Dragon costume home with her. She was going to need it.
History Lessons In Guangzhou
Heylyn stepped out of the taxi, picking up Warai and they both waved to the taxi as it left. She then proceeded up the steps to the front doors of the Museum Of History in Guangzhou, China. She'd received a heroes welcome at the airport upon her arrival, as she was big news in China. Many were proud that a woman from their homeland could make it in West and as such she'd done much to alleviate the stigmas and cliches associated with the Far East. She'd become an important icon to the Far East and an important symbol of women in the professional world. Many were surprised to see her with Warai and the questions started flying about the identity of her husband. Some were offended that she'd kept such a relationship from her homeland of China but she assured them there was no boyfriend (that she was willing to speak of) and that Warai was a member of her family and had recently become her daughter. When someone commented that Warai was a Korean name, the questions again began to fly, asking if she had a secret lover in Korea. She avoided the renewed questioning and proceeded on to her drive. She'd hired a taxi service to meet her in order to keep her expenses down and to steer clear of the sensationalism stirred by her arrival. There was a time and a place for limousines, and she clearly had to watch her budget on this trip despite the temptation to spend. She'd be paying for it back home and despite being successful, she was not without limits to her finances. This line of thought often kept her modest.
When she got to the top of the stairs, she put Warai down and they both skipped together into the building. The museum had just opened and though busy, it was relatively easy to get through and find the section she needed to get to. If she`d have arrived an hour later, she'd have been making her way through droves of school children who were often brought from far for a visit to the museum from a variety of schools. The building itself was large, almost bearing a striking resemblance to the Forbidden City, though much smaller though. The design mirrored the architecture commonly found in the Ming Dynasty from Chinese history though there were a variety of styles present. The museum was divided up according to the different years for which China had each named after an animal from which the Chinese Zodiac was derived. The section they were seeking coincidentally was the section of the Dragon.
{Ahhh. Nice to see two sisters out together to learn of our splendid history. May I be of assistance?}
"Āi āi. Hěn gāoxìng kàn dào liǎng jiěmèi yīqǐ chūqù xuéxí wǒmen de huīhuáng lìshǐ. Kěnéng shì wǒ de bāngzhù?" an elderly man approached them as they entered the pavillion of the Dragon.
{How flattering. I bet you say that to all the daughters and their mothers. It would be polite to ask who is offering as it would be to tell?}"Rúhé jiànguài bù guàile. Wǒ gǎn dǎdǔ, nǐ shuō yào suǒyǒu de nǚ'ér hé tāmen de mǔqīn. Zhè jiāng shì lǐmào de xúnwèn shì shuí tígōng, yīnwèi tā huì gàosù?" Heylyn replied in fluent the traditional dialect.
{That it would be. I am Lăoshī Keeper Of Books for this fine establishment. Honored to make your acquaintance.}
"Zhè jiāng shì. Wǒ Lǎoshí shǒuhù zhě túshū de zhè yī yōuliáng jiànlì. Róngxìng rènshí nǐ." the elderly man replied.
{This would be my daughter, Warai Butterfly and I am Ai Yuanlin Ying. Now we are met. If you are as you say, then I am looking for this text. I found out about it from a friend who is a fan of history like myself. Perhaps you might know?}
"Zhè jiāng shì wǒ de nǚ'ér, Warai húdié hé wǒ Ai Yuánlín Yíng. Xiànzài, wǒmen dédào mǎnzú. Rúguǒ nǐ shì xiàng nǐ shuō de, ránhòu wǒ zhǎo zhège wénběn. Wǒ fāxiànle tā cóng yīgè péngyǒu, shuí shì lìshǐ shàng xiàng wǒ zhèyàng de fěnsī. Yěxǔ nǐ huì zhīdào ma?" replied Heylyn introducing Warai and herself before asking the distinguished man her question showing him the name of the text on the note she'd found.
{Hello. I'm just a little butterfly. She is the big butterfly.}
"Nín hǎo. Wǒ zhǐshì yīgè xiǎo xiǎo de húdié. Tā de dà húdié." Warai replied in the modern dialect, of which she knew little.
{Well then you must still be in the cocoon but still just as pretty as the big butterfly. Maybe you'll like to read history as much as the big butterfly some day. As for the book you seek, if it exists we will find it here. I can take you there if you'd follow me.}"Nàme, nǐ réngrán bìxū zài jiǎn, dàn réngrán zhǐshì piàoliang de dà húdié. Yěxǔ nǐ huì xǐhuān dú lìshǐ bù yǎ yú dà húdié de yītiān. Zhìyú zhè běnshū nín xúnzhǎo, rúguǒ cúnzài dehuà, wǒmen jiàng zài zhèlǐ zhǎodào tā. Wǒ kěyǐ dài nǐ qù nàlǐ, rúguǒ nǐ yuànyì gēn wǒ zǒu." the scholar replied leading them both into the text archives.
They followed him through the maze of displays, each themed around the symbolism of the Dragon in Chinese history from its place in the Zodiac and calendar, to its symbolism to Imperial China throughout the ages and its return to the modern world as the bringer of wisdom and luck to the future generations.
He shuffled though an index file on a desk then when he'd found a code he was looking for, he entered it into the computer indexing system. A second later a list of entries were displayed and he checked them each in turn before replying.
{Being a reader myself, I must admit I find myself in wonder of computers and the many sources of information and good reading out there. Sometimes though when dealing with the absence of a thing in the real world, they aren't always aware of the absence or presence of that thing so quickly and in such cases, one needs to see for themself. That is what we must now do.}
"Zuòwéi yīgè dúzhě wǒ zìjǐ, wǒ bìxū chéngrèn, wǒ fāxiàn zìjǐ zài jìsuànjī hé xìnxī hé liánghǎo de yuèdú nàlǐ de xǔduō láiyuán de qíjī. Yǒu shí suīrán dāng yǔ quēshǎo de zài zhēnshí shìjiè zhōng de shìqíng chǔlǐ, tāmen bìng bù zǒng shì zhīdào méiyǒu nàgè dōngxī huò cúnzài rúcǐ xùnsù de, zài zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng xià, rénmen xūyào kàn dào zìlǐ. Zhè shì wǒmen xiànzài bìxū zuò de." the scholar smiled and gestured for them to follow him down some stairs and into a cellar.
In the cellar, the atmosphere was very dry and cool, kept ideally for such ancient texts as Heylyn had requested. He led them over to a locked cabinet which he opened and looked through a shelf which had compartments of individually sealed pages of these ancient texts until he'd found the one for which he was looking.
{It would appear that the dragon has approved and that you are in luck. Here is the text, though this one appears to be in very poor shape. You are free to read it if you would like. There's a private room in the environment that you can use for doing so. This text cannot leave this room.}
"Zhèyàng kàn lái, lóng yǐ pīzhǔn hé nǐ shì xìngyùn de. Zhèlǐ shì wénzì, suīrán zhè yīgè sìhū shì zài xíngzhuàng shàng fēicháng chà. Nǐ kěyǐ zìyóu de dú tā, rúguǒ nǐ xiǎng. Yǒu yīgè sīrén kōngjiān, nǐ kěyǐ shǐyòng zhèyàng de huánjìng. Zhè zhǒng wénzì bùnéng líkāi zhège fángjiān." the scholar indicated to Heylyn directing her to the viewing room.
She thanked him and took the sealed text pages into the room as Warai tagged along.
{Thank you Lăoshī.}
"Xièxiè Lăoshī." Warai waved to the scholar.
He winked at Warai and left closing the door behind him.
Heylyn browsed through the sealed texts, which were worn and faded having been written perhaps thousands of years ago. They were written in brush and quill, a very early style of writing though the symbol set was similar to the traditional symbols still in use today. For this she was thankful for she would be able to decipher them much more readily.
"Do you know what the symbol for air and wind is?" asked Heylyn asked Warai.
"Yes. It looks like this..." Warai took the pen from the holder on their table and drew on a scrap of note paper.
風
"Very good! Ok, I'm going to give you some of the pages. If you see that symbol on the page, I want you to put it in its own little pile. Like the Go! card game we played. Keep them separate from the other ones." Heylyn pushed a pile of the sealed pages over to Warai who began looking through them front and back for the symbol Heylyn had indicated.
It took about twenty five minutes before they'd found five pages of interest after going through all three hundred of them. Warai gave Heylyn the pages she'd found and they went through them together.
"From the road... old road... I can't read that part." Warai showed Heylyn what she'd found.
Heylyn read each line in turn, writing them on some note paper for her translation.
from the old road
從舊路
it came to find them
它來找到他們
and they found it
他們發現它
no horse did it ride
沒有馬也騎它
for it moved like the wind
它感動象風
as black as a night at sea
黑如夜在海上
it left them
這給他們留下
their graves unknown
他們的墳墓未知
"Well aren't you bright! We're on the right track." Heylyn told Warai.
Heylyn found another page that caught her eye and she continued the process of translation.
the wind met with the rain
會見雨風
they met with the earth
它們與地球會見
the sunshine came
陽光來了
the food did grow
食物沒有增長
as they sewed the land
因為他們縫土地
it taught them to
它教他們
protect their lives each
保障每一個生命
from the death spirit
從精神死亡
dirt from their land
從他們的土地污垢
...illegible...
clay from their hut
從他們的茅屋土
...illegible...
tears from their children's eyes
從孩子的眼睛淚
...illegible...
...illegible...
...illegible ...
the caterpillar graced it and there slept
毛毛蟲增光它有睡
when cocoon opened there emerged
當打開繭出現了有
the means to end the death spirit
的手段結束死亡精神
hid in lands both near and far
藏在土地無論遠近
taught them the way of the warrior
教他們戰士的方式
to fight with the spirits as the myriad creatures
與烈酒無數生靈打
the tears of the pain of children
兒童的痛苦的眼淚
became tears of joy
喜悅的淚水成為
and the lands were as one
而土地是為一個
Heylyn read what she'd translated as Warai rested her head on the surface of the table.
"Did you find it?" Warai asked.
"I found something. That's for certain." Heylyn told her.
"Is it enough to know what you want to know or do we have to keep looking?" Warai asked her looking up at her inquisitively.
"No. We're done looking here. We can go but first we're going to have a look around the rest of the museum. Then we're going to get some ice cream." Heylyn announced.
"Really? Can we look at the kites?" Warai asked.
"Yes we can look at the kites too." Heylyn assured Warai.
Heylyn pulled her phone from her pocket and began snapping photos of some of the relevant pages.
"Alright. I'm done little butterfly." Heylyn tweaked Warai's nose.
"Ok. Let's go get them big butterfly." Warai replied.
"Lets do just that." Heylyn took Warai's hand and they found the scholar and thanked him before seeing the rest of the museum.
When they were done, they bought some ice cream and spent the rest of the afternoon watching the kites.
Warai's favorite was an elaborate butterfly kite.
It had been chased for its whole flight by the dragon kite.
Eventually the two came down together.
A Return From Afar
After the weekend, Alicia had felt recharged and refreshed and had agreed that she was ready to return and deal with the sensationalism that would surely be there to greet her. She had been firm in her decision to keep her efforts focused on her research and her personal life. Night Style was to become a memory.
She'd talked with Norler and agreed that rather than stay the full three weeks, an early return would be the best thing. Norler had tried to play the other side, encouraging her to enjoy the time but she'd been firm in her decision. She needed to get back to her work at the Tynan And Associates Laboratory and deal with the press on the superhero issue.
Norler had already made plans for his return setting up a meeting in relation to an upcoming funding proposal he was working on. Alicia being curious about it had asked him, and he told her about it on the flight home.
"Well, we're trying to get some funding into education but we're not quite sure how to approach it. We want to give teachers what they need to be effective, and to peak their students' interests in the important life decisions they'll be making. There's some hurdles to overcome in this regard and I've been mulling it over." he told her.
Alicia had thought this issue over during her life in school and more recently since trying to reconcile her use of the Night Style alter ego to deal with her school life issues, most of which she'd regarded to be related to how she'd been treated and bullied by some of the students, often in relation to her slightly heavier frame. She had found in those days that when students were interested and involved in what was happening in class, that they'd bond more with the other students who were interested in the lessons and were there to learn. Feeling like you were welcome and were a part of what was being learned and what was going on is what it was about.
"Why not target specific programs that follow the research goals of the company?" Alicia offered.
"That's essentially what we're getting into, but it has to be consistent across the whole. So it has to support the same program in schools everywhere. That's a steep curve and very costly. The board of directors wouldn't go for it. The Government would, but they'd only cover minimal funding. So maybe match our investment at the twenty five percent level. This has to be a little bit different. We need something that reflects our goals as a company, and benefits education as a whole that makes effective use of investment money." Norler explained to Alicia.
"Why not limit the funding to educational plans. Say something that would take a student from beginner to expert throughout their educational career? An educational path that took them from grade six, and geared their education to a program that produced an area of expertise that they chose. Maybe having branching points every year so they could adapt with the more they learned in that field?" Alicia asked him presenting her thoughts.
"True. Then we could target specific areas of expertise required for our researchers so our funding money reflects our interests." Norler pondered her idea.
"Not only that, but it could open the door for other companies to get involved as well. So some students might not be interested in becoming a researcher or even a rocket scientist. Maybe they want to do something else. Become a design artist, manage a business or even work in a shipping company. Companies that were looking to target particular fields could pool their investment to support education in those fields." Alicia added.
"But then those companies might make such students to sign contracts, forcing them to work for those companies for a time. Not to mention that it puts teachers in a conflict of interest in relation to the educational system and those companies. No we want a solution that allows students to choose their education and the teachers to set the curriculum. We could have experts in the fields those programs would be supporting consult the educators about the design of such programs." Norler continued weighing her idea.
"Not only that, but if several companies are investing, no one company could force such contracts or force their educational plans upon the educators. They'd have to work together while remaining neutral to the educational needs. Meanwhile they'd benefit by having skilled experts available in high demand fields. They'd also have the positive public relations from investing in education in such a way. However they couldn't force any students to join a particular company's workforce. I think that teachers and parents would go for that." Alicia told him confidently.
"Students who wanted to do research work in universities could still go that path too. Even if we weren't the company funding that particular research. It benefits us if they choose our company, but we still get the benefit of our investment. That sounds good to me. Want a job?" Norler said jokingly to her rubbing her hand.
"Alright, but you have to hire a public relations consultant for former superheroes. You know, one that helps them adjust in their personal lives and public infamy." Alicia nuzzled over in her chair to him.
"Consider it done. Do you have time to join me at my meeting? You could present this idea yourself you know." Norler asked her.
"I've got to get back to the lab. I'm anxious to get back on the job with my new found vigor." she drew circles on his hand.
"Then how about dinner tonight?" he asked her.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." she replied, with a kiss.
On another flight, on the other side of the world two passengers on a flight from Guangzhou, China to Vancouver to Toronto sat together on the plane.
Warai still amazed with sky and the horizon stood on the seat with her face pressed against the window of the plane.
"It looks like another land out there." she said staring in amazement.
"That's because it is, silly." Heylyn said to her tweaking her pony tail.
"You mean there's people out there that live on the clouds?" Warai asked completely amazed and believing Heylyn.
"I'm just kidding. They're clouds. Nobody could live on them because if they did, they would fall through them and fall to the ground." Heylyn said as she went through her notes.
"You mean that's not where people go when they die?" Warai asked Heylyn.
Heylyn paused for a moment and thought about the question. One of the questions that children had that were often the most difficult to answer. She knew little of how Lee and Akito had raised Warai or what they had believed. She'd only briefly talked with Warai on the subject and now Warai had started getting curious, possibly seeing the clouds and thinking them to be heaven. She considered how best to answer the question.
"No honey. That's not where they go." Heylyn told her.
"Then where are they? Where do they go?" Warai asked.
"They don't go anywhere and that's because they are with you." Heylyn told her honestly.
"You mean they're sitting in the plane? I can't see them." Warai turned her face away from the window to look around.
A lady on the seat behind them smiled at her and waved. Warai smiled back and continued looking around the cabin of the aircraft.
"I mean they're with you and inside of you. They're in your memories and how they affected you is reflected in everything you say and do." Heylyn told Warai as best as she could explain.
"You mean there's no place you go when you die?" Warai asked her.
Heylyn thought carefully about the question, another difficult one in every parents life.
"We don't know sweetie. Some people think that if you were good, you go to a good place. If you were bad, you go to bad place. The truth is though sweetie that we don't know." Heylyn told her.
Warai turned and looked out the window again at the clouds and the beautiful scene spread out before her. She found it hard to fathom that her parents might not have gone to a place as beautiful as this. The land of the sky and the clouds and the setting sun.
"Then what do you think about where we go?" Warai asked Heylyn her eyes following the horizon.
Heylyn paused to think about the question and really about what she believed. She knew that she could not lie to Warai, especially about a question like this. When she was young, she'd pondered such questions and she too had asked her mother the same thing. Her mother too had paused to think about the question and had given her what she presumed to be an honest answer. She'd been able to sleep beyond that point so it must have been. Heylyn had grown to develop her own views over time and knew that Warai would too. The question was really about what might keep Warai awake at night worrying about things that she didn't yet understand and that she couldn't change.
"I think that we stay with the people that we care about. As part of their memories. Maybe that we try to guide them. Keep them away from danger. Keep them safe. Like Weltherwithsp does... oops! I mean like Welly does for you and me." Heylyn told Warai honestly letting her know how she felt and what she believed.
Warai remained quiet for a moment as she thought about it. Heylyn felt a bit of concern over whether she'd said not what she believed, but whether it was the right thing to say.
"You mean that they might be seeing the land of the clouds outside right now with me?" Warai asked.
"Yes, they probably are. Welly too." Heylyn assured her.
"Welly says thank you for telling me the truth. About what you think. Thank you Heylyn." Warai said to her turning and holding her arms open before her.
Heylyn returned a warm hug to Warai whose little face was marked with tears.
"I miss them." she said.
"I know you do, sweetie. They miss you too." Heylyn rubbed her back trying to sooth her tears.
There was a moment of silence between them and when Warai felt better she stepped back from Heylyn precariously balancing on the seat.
"You're going to like your new home." Heylyn said to Warai.
"I know. Do I get to meet all your friends?" Warai asked her.
"You most certainly will. We've got a lot ahead of us. You need to get some rest. So do I. We're going to need it. We still have another six hours before we're home and you get to see the big city where I live." Heylyn told her sitting her down in her seat and covering her with a blanket.
Heylyn went to close the window cover when Warai stopped her.
"Don't. I want them to be able to look out the window when I'm asleep." Warai told her as she fell asleep.
They both fell asleep and when they woke up they were home and safe in Toronto.
Summer Plans And Storms In The City
In a closed meeting between city officials amongst whom the Mayor and the Police Chief were in attendance plans were discussed. The city had been as safe as it had been in years since the Treadwater incident but recent circumstances had prompted the meeting. The mysterious deaths of an assailant and his two accomplices had signaled the beginning of the storm. A day later, a mysterious death under similar circumstance involving an intoxicated man who'd died under similar conditions to the prior deaths. Now in the west end two men both of whom had been deadbeat fathers were found brutally battered, as if by a lynch mob except witnesses had only seen a single woman at the scene.
Her tattooed body which found her arms and legs painted much like the scales of a dragon and a short mini-skirt and tight top her only armor had led Police to believe that she had been a sex trade worker but as they'd investigated the case, there was no evidence to confirm their suspicions. She was described as being too small to be capable of such an act by herself. Then the following day, in broad daylight another three were found dead, under the exact same circumstances bringing the death toll to nine in three days. All crime scenes except the first indicated a small lady by herself being in the presence of the victims prior to their deaths.
"What is going on Harold? This is getting bad. I though we had control of the city." Norman barked at the Police Chief.
"Give us a break. This is new to us. The trail is still hot and their bodies are still warm. No witnesses of the actual deaths. Nobody that can corroborate anything about their deaths. Nothing. We have one surveillance camera image of the woman in question talking with one of the victims. That's it. We think she's the sexual assault victim from the first deaths. The first crime scene." the Chief told the Mayor.
"What's the hold up? You obviously have one witness. Her. Find her and you have your case." the Mayor told him.
"We're on it and using all available resources on this case. Trust me Norman. We're on this and we'll have our mystery lady in a day. We have a great description of her and officers everywhere." the Chief responded to the Mayor.
"We have a major event coming up in the city by the way gentlemen. We received a bid last week that could bring a lot of revenue into the city. Some companies have put together this bid for a fashion festival that would see Dundas Square and a participating site on Queen Street West acting as site for the festival. We're talking about an event that's open to the public that will involve fashion and music sponsored by fifteen major companies in the industry, who put this proposal together. We can't turn down that kind of attraction and the revenue it will draw." Susan, one of the financiers from council stood waving the bid.
"That's the one for which we've set aside a four day weekend? In June or July. We're still nailing that down." the Mayor confirmed.
"One and the same. If we have a safe city." the financier continued.
"We'll have this solved before then." the Police Chief indicated taking on the full pressure of the situation.
"How are we going to be affected by this situation with these videos, the ones about the super women as the press is calling them?" the Mayor asked the question.
"The best thing that could have happened in terms of this fashion and music festival. There's sure to be bigfoot hunters and cosplayers from everywhere here for the show. Mixed markets and plenty of tourism. They do that weekend here and then they move the show to Montreal, New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Tokyo and Seoul who are all onboard so far. They're expecting the biggest one here thanks to the press resulting from those videos of these super women. I wouldn't be surprised if Geneva tries to get the show too after the footage they got of Walton Norler's girlfriend climbing a rooftop. It couldn't have been timed better." the financier explained.
"That's if we catch..." the Mayor interjected.
"We'll solve the case before then. We're on it. There's still the issue of these videos. Do we try to bring these women in for questioning or let this run its course?" the Police Chief defended.
"Let it run its course. They're sure be fine." the financier said.
"What if these murders are related? To the super women I mean?" the Mayor asked.
"We had a task force set up for this but we're stretched to the limit trying to find this lady from these crime scenes. We're going to keep the women in question under watch. For their safety I mean." the Police Chief assured the Mayor.
"Thanks Harold. Lets agree then that we'll have this case solved and approve the bid for the fashion and music festival. We'll let the press know about it ASAP, and get the advertising machine going. I think that's all for this meeting." the Mayor addressed the room.
By the time Heylyn's plane had landed she received the call from Kawaī kao Cosmetics about the show. She called the offices of West Meet East and left a message for the coordinator and told her to let the rest of the company know the good news.
When she'd finished, she then called Monique leaving a message to let her know that she'd be coming home with permanent guest.
A new member to their little family.
The watcher listened in on the call as he waited for his second quarry to arrive.
Monique still outside from the prior night and was outside and about to encounter the other woman who would change her life.
Eclipse Meets The Dragon Butterfly
Monique had spent the days after she'd taken the blame for the photo shoot of her wearing the Butterfly Dragon armor laying low. From the point she'd taken the blame, her colleagues had been treating her much differently, full of scorn for her. She bore it as much as she could and and continued home after her day. She'd been watching television when the news about the murders and the mysterious lady for whom the Police were looking. That was when she decided that she had to take the initiative. She had the kind of abilities that could help her track this woman down and she decided that she was going to use them. This time would be different however. This time she'd go in the Butterfly Dragon costume that Delia had worn for the photo shoot. The same one that Heylyn had worn when they'd broken the Treadwater operation.
The only question was how would the fact that it was a different costume affect her powers? When she'd taken the SY-349 formula, she'd been wearing the partially designed Eclipse costume that Heylyn had designed for her. Did the effects of the formula and her powers bind her powers to the costume? What would happen if she wore a different costume as all of their costumes were treated with a similar formula but all were a different design. She had no solid answers so she decided to wear her Eclipse costume while bringing the Butterfly Dragon costume along to test it out.
She packed up Heylyn's older Butterfly Dragon costume in a duffle bag before heading out the door. She decided that she wanted to get a bit of a distance from her neighbourhood before making such a test. When she left the condominium she quickly made her way up York Street, a street that linked Toronto's harbourfront to the downtown core. She found her way up to Wellington street in the night air and in behind the First Canadian Place towers never knowing that she was followed.
She put the duffle bag down in the park by a bench and began going through the bag and placing the piece meal costume on the bench beside her. She could safely wear it under her Eclipse costume, which hugged her body tightly in nylon and spandex while keeping her very mobile. As she got the costume out and onto the bench, she heard someone behind her. She jumped to her feet.
"A little jumpy, aren't you?" the lady asked her.
She stood before Monique like a dancer who'd stepped off the stage of a music awards show.
"Who the heck are you sneaking up on a girl like that?" Monique asked the mysterious lady as her identity struck her.
"You should know that by now, with all the news about me." the lady spoke stepping out from around the bench.
"Stay away. I can defend myself. You really don't want to mess with me." Monique warned the lady who paid her warning little attention.
"That's what they all say. What makes you so special?" the lady got around the bench as Monique backed away.
"Let's just say that (I'm) talented." Monique replied.
"How talented? I want to see." the lady moved with incredible speed at Monique who nearly instantaneously moved to the space behind the lady.
"Very good! But unfortunately not good enough." the lady reached out faster than Monique could see or react clasping Monique's neck in her grip.
Monique struggled against her grasp unable to free herself. The lady leaned over taking a look at the costume on the bench.
"You must be the one I've been looking for for sooooo long. Butterfly, Butterfly. In the night. In the sky. I finally get to meet the legendary Butterfly Dragon." the lady told Monique.
Monique struggled beating the lady's arm without any give.
"The only thing is that you don't smell like her. Like the one. You move fast nonetheless. Do you have training?" the lady asked her.
The lady released Monique throwing her to the ground.
"I'm not telling you a thing until you tell me who you are?" Monique got to her feet.
"Me? If you are the Butterfly then you'd already know. But I'll tell you just the same. I'm the one that the ancients told you to fear, Butterfly. Fear me you will for certain. If not now then soon." the lady picked up the Butterfly Dragon's mask from the bench.
"You put that down before I make you!" Monique demanded.
"I think that this costume would be perfect for my purposes. What do you think?" the lady held the mask up to her face.
Monique played into her ploy just as the lady expected she would. Monique transformed into a shadow and moved instantly to the lady's flank. There she materialized and struck at the lady's torso. She adjusted her stance slightly dodging the blow completely before tumbling into a cartwheel striking Monique back the ground as she did.
"That's unnatural Butterfly. That isn't like the training. Where did you learn that trick?" the lady asked her.
"Who are you?" Monique demanded again getting to her feet.
"Me. I am your reflection. I am your opposite, though we are so much alike. I am the Dragon Butterfly." the Dragon Butterfly said introducing herself.
"Well you're about to be taken down by the Strawberry Eclipse." Monique announced.
"So you aren't the Butterfly. No matter. I have no need of you then. But I will take the costume, thank you very much. Oh and there's someone else you might want to meet. My good friend Witherwyrm." the lady finished her sentence, the last one that Monique would hear for some time.
Monique moved to attack the Dragon Butterfly only to find herself held back by something vile that made her neck tingle and her arm hairs stand up. She struggled against it for a moment before realizing she was being constrained. She slowly turned as whatever had her had loosened its grip upon her. There she saw her worst nightmare as the blackness of night closed in and took her consciousness.
When the emergency crew had arrived, the lady, the duffle bag and the costume were both gone. They attended to Monique looking for signs of life detecting a faint heart beat. They loaded her onto a gurney and drove her to the hospital as Police examined the scene.
"At least this one didn't die. At least not yet." one of the Officers commented to Detective Nelson as he scoured the scene.
"Who is she?" the Detective asked.
"She's Monique Defleur. A model for a local fashion company." the Officer replied.
"Any history of substance abuse?" the Detective asked.
"Not that we could tell. No signs of any drug use on her, that's for certain. No paraphenelia anyway." the Officer confirmed for the Detective.
"Fingers?" the Detective asked.
"Clean. No signs of smoking or stains. No pin holes or burns on her clothing either." the Officer explained.
"I don't see any pipes or needles here. So once again, we have no correlation between the victim and the perp. The second attack was much the same. No motive. The other two involved a case with one of the deceased having a history of spousal abuse. Another two were deadbeat fathers. We recently pieced together that the three victims from the west end did not know each other. They'd each been lured to the same location. All three were prior convicted rapists." the Detective continued looking under the bench.
"Are you saying she's doing us a favor?" the Officer implied.
"Not if she's beating up on fashion models. The guy that survived from the first murders. Our first suspect took a bad turn years ago. Beat his wife up. Lost in their divorce settlement so he took it out on her. He did his time and cleaned himself up. The report was that he'd rescued the lady we're looking for from a sexual assault. That's strange because the same lady has been at every crime scene since. I think he's lying about what occurred that night, but the thing is the real perp let him live. There's a reason why that might be crucial to solving this case. Now this victim. As you said, a fashion model. Where's the link?" the Detective bounced some details about the case off the Officer for ideas.
"Do we know the lady is the perp?" the Officer asked.
"Not for certain and the evidence points away. In the west end case the perp took down three men over two hundred pounds each. One of them was a seasoned boxer who'd done a stint on the mixed martial arts circuit. I'm thinking that guy could probably handle himself in a scuffle against two, maybe even three guys. All three get taken down by one person and he was one of them. The perp's height matches the height of the woman we're looking for but that could be a coincidence." the Detective spoke as he recognized something under the bench.
"What is the boxer guy took down the other two and then was taken out by our perp?" the Officer asked.
"He was too tall to inflict the wounds. His fists were also too big. The wounds were precise which means the perp knew what they were doing." the Detective grabbed what he'd found under the bench.
"Have you checked with the local martial arts schools? What about questioning black belts?" the Officer asked the Detective.
"Statistically, black belts and brown belts are involved in fewer violent crimes than the rest of the untrained population. The large majority of them are rarely in altercations at all. Some might get attacked by the occasional wiseguy who has something to prove. Most of those situations end with no serious injuries besides the ego of the guy who started it. This is different. The perp has skill but is not a licensed black belt." the Detective explained.
"Maybe the perp studied underground. My little cousin was for a while until his old man found out. Grounded him for months." the Officer said.
"Thanks for the insight. I think that I'll be bringing a consultant in on this to cover that angle of this investigation for certain." the Detective said as he examined what he'd taken from under the bench.
It was a broken plastic butterfly.
Unusual Business
Valerie was on the verge of tears but she held them back despite.
"Look, I can match that price if price is an issue." she said professionally into the receiver of the phone.
"Price is not the issue here Valerie. We just think that we need a new face and a new firm in on this project. That's all." Don eased Valerie down gently.
"Alright. Fair enough. Could I ask then who undercut me? Who you're going to be using?" Valerie asked Don, whom she'd known for some time in the Corporate world.
"I really shouldn't do this but I suppose you have a right to know your competition. Pro Firm Analysts. They placed a bid yesterday with a presentation. They're taking over for your firm. I'm sorry Valerie." Don told her trying to keep it professional.
"Alright. Thanks Don. We'll be in touch, I intend to win your business back again you know. All the best to the gang there. Talk soon." Valerie hung up the phone.
She looked out the window to see that the morning crowd had died down. They'd been there every day hounding her about her super powers and though she'd been pleasant, it was wearing her down. Some had tried to press her into confrontation with words, which she ignored and others had refused to leave the public portion of the side walk. Now they had gone too far. To play with her business and her well being was just out of the question. She intended to get to the bottom of this right away.
She quickly looked up Pro Firm Analysts with a search on the internet and called their contact number and set up an appointment for the afternoon. Until that time she finished the bulk of her remaining project for Don, the last project she'd be doing for them. She was intensely curious to meet who'd managed to lure the company away from her services.
Hours later and she was sitting in the reception area of Pro Firm Analysts when the receptionist beckoned for Valerie to follow her.
"Miss Folia is ready to see you now." the receptionist led her down a hall to a door.
Valerie stepped in and was greeted by an attractive and fit woman in a striking business suit with a knee high skirt and heels to match. She stepped out from around her desk to see Valerie formally.
"How are you Miss Aspen. If you'd like to take a seat. Would you like a coffee or tea perhaps?" Miss Folia asked her.
"No thank you. I had one on the way over." Valerie replied cordially.
"Now what can we do for you today?" Miss Folia asked Valerie.
"I am interested in contracting your services. I've got a small company that does about fifty million annually gross with a twenty percent margin making our net about ten million annually. I know that's small for your firm, but I'm just interested in what your firm could do for me at that limited volume?" Valerie laid her question out for Miss Folia.
"That is a bit small but maybe we can strike a deal. Depending upon your market, sales force and the coverage of your territories, we'd be more than willing to do an initial assessment for a nominal fee of course. That would open the door to our projected growth report which would of course account for the market in each of your territories and of course your room for growth within those markets. For a bit more we'd check the cost benefit of growth into new territories as well. You could also sign on for our partners plan, in which we will guide you every step of the way through the process of expansion in each of your firm's sales territories and into new territories as well. For a fixed fee and a percentage of your first year or no fixed fee and a percentage of your second year." Miss Folia answered her without missing a beat.
"Very good. Can we talk pricing then? What kind of fixed fee or percentage would I be looking at?" Valerie asked listening carefully.
"We can't discuss that until we see some books of course and get a good picture of your cash flow. I mean we don't have super powers here Miss Aspen, Its not like I can read your mind." Miss Folia replied.
Valerie didn't flinch.
"I can't open my books without the standard non-disclosure agreement. I don't have one with me." Valerie replied.
"Then certainly you came here for other reasons than just to pester me?" Miss Folia adjusted her glasses.
Valerie noticed that part of the lady's exposed arm was tattooed with a solid pattern of what appeared to be scales. The lady wasn't wearing leggings then, he legs had been tattooed much like the woman she'd seen a few nights ago. The night she'd set up the date to find the men who'd set her up in the alley video.
Miss Folia had a smug smile on her face.
"How long has your firm been in business?" Valerie asked still keeping her composure.
"We've been here for five years in this same office. I believe that would be two years prior to the Treadwater incident? You surely must know of that?" Miss Folia asked.
"Why? Were you friends?" Valerie asked a slight edge to her question.
"Friends? You'd hardly know about that. Wouldn't you? I mean one of your friends is indisposed of in the hospital right now as we speak and you still don't know." Miss Folia spoke still smiling.
"What are you talking about?" Valerie started to break.
"How can you be good in business if you don't even know your competition? An area I'd not be willing to fail at." Miss Folia sat back in her chair.
"How dare you bring up my friends and then strike out at my business!" Valerie stood up and pounded her hands down on the desk, splitting it in two.
"It seems you still have issues Valerie. Do you think that someone of your great powers should be allowed to roam free much less have someone's business in your guidance? Maybe it was you who hospitalized your friend? Maybe you murdered the others?" Miss Folia picked up the phone and began dialling.
"What are you talking about?" Valerie asked her feeling trapped.
"You don't remember?" Miss Folia asked.
"What are you doing to me?!" Valerie screamed at her.
The receptionist burst in the door.
"Is everything alright?" she asked.
"Everything is fine. Have the Police come for Miss Aspen here. I think that she has something to tell the Police." Miss Folia told her receptionist.
"I'm not going to the Police!" Valerie barked.
"You see? Action. Reaction. You are like the strings of a finely tuned instrument. I pluck and you sing." Miss Folia laughed.
"You're with Zek. I don't know how but you're working for him. That's the only explanation." Valerie said heatedly to Miss Folia.
"Mr. Who? Zek. Oh. The one from Treadwater. Like your friend. I mean your former lover Torman. Dead lover. No, I'm a much bigger problem than either Zek or Torman from a much different age. They're nothing in the scheme of things. There have been many like them before and there will likely be many to come, though many less if I have my way. And even fewer of you." Miss Folia laughed.
"What are you talking about?" Valerie demanded.
"Why are you asking me? I'm already dead. I plunged to my death from this very office. Thrown through my window by a ruthless super powered killer." Miss Folia stood and walked over to a cupboard and pulled the body of a woman from it.
The body was lifeless and appeared to have been rendered as such recently. Miss Folia then tossed the body through the window of the tower and watched the body plummet to the pavement below.
"You killed poor Miss Folia. That was much easier than I'd anticipated. Goodbye Valkyra." the mysterious lady threw off her jacket to reveal a tank style shirt opened to her navel.
Her arms were marked with tattooed scales up and down her arms and her legs, which were muscular and defined. Ready for anything. Then she leapt out the window herself catching the side of it and shimmying up a utility pole affixed to the exterior.
Valerie fell to her knees unable to move or think.
She cried as they put the cuffs onto her and hauled her away for questioning.
Beside Miss Folia's dead body on the sidewalk below, the investigators found something they'd found at every crime scene.
A broken plastic butterfly.
Alicia Reclaims Herself
Norler had left for a two day trip in the afternoon, calling her at the research lab to say his goodbyes. She'd spoken to him for fifteen minutes before he had to make his way to his flight. She sent her kisses and told him she'd be waiting for him when he returned. She'd spent the day busy in her research and had felt elated to finally be free of her alter ego, Night Style. She was grateful for the role it played in her life and in coming to terms with her childhood and teenage years.
More so it forced her to think about those times and how great they'd been after meeting Heylyn and her early mentor Sylvia. Sylvia had been a tenant at an elderly home whom she'd befriended while volunteering there. Sylvia had a mysterious and alluring way about her and she'd taken Alicia under her wing as a protege. Most in the elderly home thought she was senile or even suffering from dementia but that was not the case at all. Those words were often found to accompany those who were eccentric and didn't walk the same stride as everyone else, though she forgave them. It's much better to keep one's understanding of reality safe than to have it rocked by too much truth at once.
Alicia had at the time been well balanced to look past such cliche. She was fortunate that others hadn't pushed her so hard as to lose her belief in some form of good. Sylvia had amongst many things taught her how to take things in stride while paying attention to the little clues life offers. She'd followed Sylvia's advice for most of her and into her adult life after her passing. When she'd gotten older, she began to get curious about Sylvia and had spent considerable time trying to uncover who she was. Sylvia in her lifetime had been a mother of one who'd lost her child and her husband to the same form of cancer. Her son Patrick had died at age eight followed by her husband Jeff in the year that followed. She'd spent two years in seclusion rarely speaking to anyone before she emerged and sent herself to night school.
She received her Doctorate, writing her PHD thesis on something she called Imposter Cancer. Cancer cells that were by their very definition cancerous cells but actually preyed on other types of cancer. Theoretically she surmised that by injecting the body with such cancer cells when one been diagnosed with cancer, the cancer itself could be consumed and eradicated by the body friendly Imposter Cancer. The Imposter Cancer would first reproduce through the body's own cells, hence having a pattern of the hosts' own DNA. It then could use this pattern to distinguish between the natural cells of the host, its own cells and other forms of cancer. It would then consume the Non-Imposter cancer replacing it all with its own kind. Once it had eradicated the cancer, it would die out itself as it was not being able to survive past more than a limited number of generations with the hosts' cells. The cancer cells that it had consumed would become immediately inert and unable to reproduce at all. All of the dead cancer would be ejected from the body through bladder or bowel movements. She surmised that enough safeguards could be engineered into the Imposter Cancer DNA that it would take ten billion years of natural evolution for it to overcome the generation limitation of its life cycle.
Sylvia had worked in research many years before retiring to a teaching position at the University of Toronto. When she'd reached retirement age she'd no family to care for her and she'd found herself completely alone and fell back into seclusion until Alicia had found her. By that time she`d become the subject of much scorn and ridicule at the retirement home much as Alicia had become as such at school. Perhaps that was the initial reason for their bond and there friendship was more than just a coincidence. She'd met Sylvia at the same time she'd befriended Heylyn and they'd both brought about the beginning of a big change in her where she'd found a sense of self confidence. One had taught her to love her body and her being regardless of what others had thought about it. The other had taught her to love her mind and her creative and intellectual pursuits, for they were a treasure never to take for granted. By being comfortable with the two, it leaves you free to enjoy life and to contribute to the whole while looking after oneself.
Sharon, another research associate stepped into the laboratory and tapped Alicia on the shoulder. Startled she returned from her memories.
"What is it?" Alicia asked him.
"Deep in thought? A good vacation?" Sharon asked her knowing her well enough to know when she'd been daydreaming.
"No. Just thinking. I have something in the centrifuge I'm waiting on. Just had a moment. So what's up?" She asked Sharon attentively.
"I think that you ought to see this." Sharon directed her to the lab computer opening up a browser window.
"What? I already read the morning funnies." Alicia told her honestly.
"The science and technology report. The announcement? Read it." Sharon gave her the chair.
She squinted looking at the screen. It was a media report about another research firm, a relatively young one that had been making strides in similar areas to those that Tynan and Associates had been funding. It was called the Hance Initiative. A research group who'd discovered a formula with similar qualities to the SY series. They were currently tight lipped about it but it has been deemed the discovery of the century, if not millennium.
"What? This is impossible? Its good if its true, but how did they come up with something to rival the SY so quickly? Not only that but it has to get approved. Were's already there part way." she said turning to Sharon.
"We're not at the top anymore. We've got to think about the future of this research. Sure we discovered it, but we wouldn't be alone for long. We knew that. Come on! Alicia. Look at all the other great discoveries and then how quickly they were overtaken by similar discoveries or people who uncovered the same thing. Pasteurization. X-rays. Splitting the atom. Semiconductors. LSI and VLSI. Genetics. Quantum topology. You knew it and I knew it. A breakthrough isn't forever you know. Someone else comes along with better ways to do the same thing." Sharon told her.
"We have protections in place to help those invest in research recoup their investment at least in part. We broke that ground first in this department. Its research and development. Its for the good of human kind. Its a given that others are going to have discoveries that rival ours." Alicia told Sharon.
"Yes, but research money doesn't grow on trees. You need results to get funded. The money follows the winners, not the losers." Sharon reminded her.
"First of all money doesn't grow on trees and that's because it is made of trees. Literally, though less and less each year with the introduction of polymers into the fabrication of paper. Money can also be made of magnetically charged iron particles and electrons and capacitance if you use a credit card. Secondly this isn't about trying to outdo someone else in the public eye. You're talking about a gladiatorial arena not research." Alicia responded.
"You know what I mean. Don't try and technobabble me honey. We're done here. Even Norler himself won't be able to bail us out. He won't be able to bail you out this time." Sharon told her.
"Look. I don't know what you're talking about. We're in a research contract. We're funded for the next ten years and we plan on using that research money to the best of our abilities. The SY series is a proven success. We have two classrooms full of children who've seen a nearly one hundred percent turn around in their condition. No side effects except for reduced sleep but that's only been minimal. We've seen a near one hundred percent remission rate in melanoma and leukemia, two of the most common types of cancer and we're currently doing a two year study on other forms of cancer. We've just seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we're going to accomplish with the SY series. This process is just beginning and will be going for years to come." Alicia reminded Sharon.
"Tip of the iceberg? Let's hope it does and not end up like the Titanic. I was thinking that you'd lose your funding from Norler more because of your sterility. Your inability to produce children by him. For him. Won't be much a wife without your eggs, will you?" Sharon said clearly rubbing it in.
"I don't know what you're talking about! You've stepped over the line!" Alicia stood fuming.
"Relax. Your career is already ruined. I'll bet that you're sweeping floors at the Hance Initiative in fifteen years from now. Then in thirty five years you'll be just like your dead friend Sylvia. Won't you? A crazy old hag in a seniors home who had a little too much time to herself when her husband and child kicked the bucket?" Sharon pressed harder.
Alicia found herself thinking of the Night Style costume and had to struggle not to strike out at Sharon. Why was she doing this? She'd known Sharon for years and she'd never been like this at all. Something was wrong. She'd felt it intuitively since this morning. She held her anger and her ground in disbelief that someone could be so vile. A moment later her cellular phone rang. She had been working in a part of the lab where she could retain her cellular phone without the worry of messing up experiments with its microwave antenna. She fumbled through her pocket and found her phone.
"Alicia speaking." she answered.
"Its me sweetie. How are you?" Heylyn asked her.
"Its so good to hear from you! How are you? When did you get back?" Alicia asked her.
"I've been back for a day now. I would have called you earlier but I've been very busy." Heylyn said.
"Its Alright. Things have been kind of hectic on this end too." Alicia said scowling at Sharon.
"You've heard I take it? About Monique and Valerie?" Heylyn asked her.
"No. What happened?" Alicia asked.
"Monique is in the hospital. She was attacked. Valerie is in questioning for the attack and possibly for the recent spate of murders." Heylyn told her.
Alicia held the phone away from her face in disbelief. She stepped away from Sharon's space and left the lab finding her way to her private office.
"When?" Alicia asked her.
"Monique was attacked last night, before my flight arrived. Valerie's incedent occurred sometime this afternoon. They just announced it on the news. I'm on my way to the hospital to see Monique. Do you want to meet me there?" Heylyn asked her long time friend.
"I'll be there. I'll leave right now." Alicia replied as she got the address from Heylyn.
"I've got someone for you to meet when you get there too. Someone new in our little family." Heylyn told her.
"That's wonderful." Alicia said sincerely.
"See you there." Heylyn said her goodbyes.
"Yeah. See you there." Alicia replied hanging up,
She ran to Alex's office, one of her most trusted friends at Tynan and Associates labs and told him to check on the centrifuge in an hour for her. She also told him to keep an eye on Sharon. Then she left.
Within twenty five minutes, she was parking at the hospital and making her way up to Monique's room to meet Heylyn.
The Watcher's Demise
That watcher sat in front of the monitoring console at his desk. It was in one of the units near Heylyn's and Monique's, as were the others under the employ of their very powerful contractor. The watcher sat in the condo seeing Heylyn and the little girl leave. He'd not expected Heylyn to return with a child in tow and it had caught him off guard. No matter, he'd still a job to do though the funny thing was, that someone seemed to be doing it for him.
He'd heard the news that Valerie had been apprehended and was wanted for questioning. There was going to be a statement from the investigators regarding the matter on the 6 PM edition. The younger girl, Monique had been hospitalized by an unknown assailant and was still in the hospital. Heylyn's case would be a bit more difficult as would Alicia's but he'd eventually figure it out. Everyone had their dirty little secrets and he intended to find them and dispose of them with theirs. They'd become a part of that new little database his employers were building. Insurance as he liked to call it.
A moment later, he watched Heylyn and the little girl get into her car and drive off presumably to the hospital to see Monique. That would give him time to make adjustments to the positioning of the internal cameras more to his liking. He had someone in the front foyer and someone underground in a car keeping a look out for her return in case it came prematurely. At the hospital they'd sent a lookout in order to keep an eye on her there too. That way he'd be in the know if she didn't arrive. He grabbed his tools, and pocketed his mockup work order in case he questioned by the neighbours. He didn't leave one a single hole in his protection.
He waited at console for the second call and twelve minutes later it came.
"She just arrived at the hospital." the voice came through on the phone.
"Thanks. Be sure to give me a call when she leaves." the watcher told him.
"Will do." the voice replied.
The watcher stepped out of his unit and proceeded to Heylyn's and was in the door a moment later. He had three watching points from three different condos. It made no difference which one he chose to watch from as long as he slept in the one he'd been assigned but even that wasn't set in stone. Occasionally if he did well on his contracts, they'd hire a beautiful lady to act as one of his support staff. Often in such a case she was hired for the sole purpose of a little night time reward. Just a way of telling him it was a job well done. Every once in a while he'd be the rooster sleeping in the hen house so to speak. The benefits of his dirty trade.
He made his way into the kitchen to adjust camera six. He pulled his phone and connected to the wireless camera selecting it from a long list of signals. He checked its position real-time as he adjusted it. He checked it for signs of exposure though that was a rarity because of its size and disguise. He'd been in situations where he couldn't find them until he'd connected to them with his phone. The cameras themselves were custom and his support staff had written the EPROM and DSP code themselves. The frequency at which they broadcast was much lower than conventional Blue Tooth or Wifi, giving them a much longer shelf life and greater range. In addition it was encrypted with a simple but effective cipher. That also meant that they wouldn't be picked up by someone scanning for a Wifi hotspot or Blue Tooth device.
Often after a job he'd just left the equipment in place and in two such jobs, he'd been required to return for touch up work. In one case, he even sold the connection keys and software through a go between to a voyeur living inside the same building where his target apartment had been. He didn't tell that person that they'd hang up the whole thing on him if they were ever caught. A nice touch he thought. They get their alibi if they were made and the voyeur gets his jollies spying on his neighbour. All for a little pocket cash that came to a little under one percent of what he'd often make for his eavesdropping gigs from his employer.
He made his way into the living room and adjusted two of the cameras there and then checked the one leading to the balcony so he could see them if they went out side and one camera facing off the balcony so he could see what they their field of view. He stepped back inside and made his way to her design room, a full sized room she'd set up with everything she'd need to create a design from start to finish. He checked the cameras and moved on to the bedroom where he checked the one over her bed, and the one in the bathroom which didn't include the shower. When he was thoroughly satisfied he made his way to the door and back into the hall. As he locked up he smelled a strong perfume permeating the air. He turned quickly to see a gorgeous lady, in heels. She'd had the kinkiest tattoos he'd ever seen stretching down her arms and her legs. She'd an opening down the middle of her tank top that extended right down to her navel only giving hint to the wondrous and shapely figure contained beneath fabric.
"Surprise! Now you've got the prize!" she said to him as she approached him and caressed his mouth with her succulent lips.
"...who are you?" he asked her getting his work order ready.
"Silly. You won't need that. I'm your reward. What the boss ordered for you. What do you say we take a break together. Maybe take the rest of the day off. You can do some sight seeing if you'd like." she ran her finger down the opening of her tank top seductively.
"Let's go back to ops and discuss this." he said feeling a little woozy as his heart picked up pace to match his pleasure.
"I was kind of hoping you'd like it right here. Against the wall maybe?" she ground into him.
"I think it would be best if we got back to ops." he said trying to maintain control.
"Ok. I'll go along with that. But I'm in charge. I like it that way." she said to him.
They quickly made their way back to one of the observation condos and found their way inside. Once they had the door closed they caressed with their bodies and lips.
"Why don't you be a good boy and head on into the bedroom and I'll be along in a minute." she told him.
He didn't reply and just made his way into the bedroom and quickly undressed himself and threw himself on the bed.
She took her time checking the cameras at his console, making sure every one was just right. Then she checked hers and found them to be perfect. Just the way she liked it.
She then made her way back down the hall to the bedroom and joined him in bed. There he had the best sex he'd ever had in his life, which was about to be prematurely shortened. If someone had told him that he was going to be dead roughly six minutes after of a heart attack, he likely would have said that it was worth it. The heart attack was not from the result of his pleasure.
It was a result of sheer terror.
After stripping his body of keys and personal items like his phone, she put his clothes back on and packed him up in a large wheeled case and made her way downstairs. She arrived at the parking lot where his car was parked and unloaded his body into the passenger seat. She then took the keys she'd taken from him and started it, driving to a downtown address. She pulled into the industrial area just south of Jarvis Street off the Queen's Quay East. She parked the car just outside of a cargo freighter where the workers had finished an hour ago. She then pulled his body from the trunk and sat it clothed in his day wear in the front seat of the car. Then she took his phone and quick dialed one of the numbers listed on it.
"What do you need?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Hi honey. I'm calling about your peeping Tom friend. You know the one I'm talking about. He's having a nap here at the pier at Jarvis Street and Queen's Quay East. You might want to send someone to pick him up before someone finds him." she hung up.
She concentrated momentarily and her bodily tattoos disappeared leaving her milky and muscular skin. Then she pulled a wrap around full length skirt that she'd found in one of the drawers of the condo unit, their base of operations as he'd put it. She put it on over her sexy attire and she was ready to go. She looked like a beautiful and virtuous angel with a darkened shadow that stalked behind her. Before she'd arrived at the street the shadow merged into her being disappearing completely. She made her way to a transit stop and grabbed the evening edition of the news paper.
There on the front page was Valerie Aspen.
The headlines read: Super Powered Cold Blooded Killer.
Friends Reunited
Alicia rubbed Monique's hand though she did not respond. She'd remained just as motionless as she'd been since she'd arrived. Alicia examined the meters which relayed her vitals, mostly in this case she was looking at her EEG, a realtime display of Monique's brain activity. Alicia examined it and quickly discerned what was being monitored. Monique's brain activity was normal for a sleeping person and she was sleeping heavily and possibly in post shock stress. Her body would keep her consciousness shut down while she recovered from shock. She'd probably been traumatized somehow during the attack though there were no signs of injury. Whatever had hit her had hit her inside, not out.
Heylyn walked into the room with a little girl by her side. Alicia turned and saw Warai. A big smile stretched across Alicia's face much the same as Warai's.
Heylyn gave a hug to Alicia which Alicia returned.
"Warai. I'd like to introduce you to my best friend from school. This is Alicia." Heylyn introduced Warai.
Warai bowed a few times as Alicia held her hand out.
"Hello Warai. I'm Alicia." this time Alicia bowed and Warai held out her hand.
They laughed a moment before they found themselves in sync. They bowed to each other and then greeted with a light handshake.
"Its nice to meet you Warai." Alicia said.
"Its nice to meet you too." Warai replied returning to Heylyn's side a still a little shy.
Heylyn turned her attention to Monique before Alicia spoke.
"She's still unconscious. No injuries. Whatever got her frightened her. Enough to render her unconscious for nearly eighteen hours so far." Alicia told Heylyn.
"Was she outside? Patrols? With strawberries?" Heylyn asked.
"I'm guessing. Her costume is in the dresser. She must have been wearing it when she was brought in." Alicia told Heylyn.
"Is she a butterfly too?" Warai asked Heylyn about Monique.
"Yes. She's a butterfly. A strawberry butterfly." Heylyn replied.
"Mmmm. I like strawberries. What about Alicia?" Warai asked.
"Alicia is a scientist. A researcher. She makes butterflies. Heals them too." Heylyn told Warai.
"Why is she sleeping? Its the day time?" Warai asked Heylyn again.
Alicia leaned down to Warai.
"She's had a very bad nightmare. She's resting to recover. Sometimes when people have bad nightmares or bad things that happen to their head, they just need to sleep. But you have to watch them." Alicia explained to Warai who seemed quite puzzled.
"Why doesn't Welly talk to her?" Warai asked.
Alicia stood and looked to Heylyn.
"She knows?" Alicia asked.
"Before I met her. She knew about Welly. You. Monique. Valerie. Me. She talks to Welly often. More than I do." Heylyn told Alicia looking down to Warai who returned a smile.
"I've not seen Welly for a long time. I had a dream too. A day dream and I think I lost Welly." Heylyn tried to explain.
"She can still speak to... it...? though. Right?" Alicia asked.
"Yes." Heylyn replied taking a look at Monique.
Heylyn lurched down making herself short like Warai.
"Warai. I need to ask you to do something for me. For Monique. I need you to ask Welly to talk to find her. Talk to her. Lead her out. Can you do that?" Heylyn asked Warai.
"I don't know if Welly's around. Wait. There's Welly. Welly? Could you go into Monique and talk to her in her dreams? If she's having bad ones could you bring her back to us?...Oh. Ok... Thank you... Welly says yes but it might be scary. Maybe Monique might be scared too much to come back." Warai told them.
"We need you to do it anyway. Please?" Heylyn asked again patiently.
"Welly? Did you hear? Ok. Welly is going now. We have to go with Welly though. Welly says that it might be dangerous for us too." Warai replied on behalf of Weltherwithsp.
Heylyn looked to Alicia who nodded in agreement. Alicia pulled three chairs over to the bed, one for each of them.
"Warai, if anything happens, I want you to try waking me up. If you can't then you go get a nurse. Do you understand?" Heylyn told Warai.
"Yes. I can do that. Welly will keep us safe though." Warai said.
"Lets. Do this then." Alicia encouraged them.
"Lets! Welly. We're ready to go." Warai replied.
Warai, Alicia and Heylyn leaned back in their chairs and closed their eyes. The world began to spin and they once again found themselves within the recesses of Monique's dream state.
Moments later they found themselves waking up on beds of burlap and bundled straw. They were in a clay hut of some form and dressed much differently than they had been. Heylyn to Alicia, whose hair was long and silky, much longer than her hair had been. It was tied in a bun atop her head and left to dangle down in strands that stretched down to her lower back. Hers too was long woven into an elaborate braided bun, with three strands that stretched down her body. Warai's hair too had been a bit longer, and was itself woven extravagantly.
"I thought we were going to get Monique, not in a Pantages Theatre presentation of The Three Kingdoms." Alicia said to Heylyn.
"You're close. I'd say by our surroundings we're somewhere a few centuries earlier." Heylyn said.
"What would be making Monique's subconscious mind be dreaming of this time in the Far East?" Alicia asked.
"Maybe its not Alicia's mind we're experiencing." Heylyn suggested.
"Do they have ice cream do you think?" Warai asked.
Alicia and Heylyn burst out in laughter.
"I guess that means no." she said with a look of disappointment on her face.
Valerie Meets Detective Nelson
Valerie sat in a chair in an observation room. Questioning room they liked to call it. She'd since regained her composure and felt much better. She though of her encounter with the Miss Folia impostor. The one who'd leapt out the window after their meeting. She'd scurried up the outside wall of the building like an expert climber. Like she'd seen Alicia do much the same as Night Style. Now she was the murderer. The prime suspect. They'd removed the cuffs and she'd kept them despite the fact that she could have easily broken them and escaped without breaking a sweat. She believed in the justice system and even though she had been set up, she believed that the truth would prevail.
The door opened and an average looking male, thinning hair and in his forties stepped into the room where she was being kept. He was dressed smartly, in a suit and tie, which he'd loosened some. He pulled up the chair that sat across from her and sat at the table with her putting a file on the table beside him. The two way glass a constant reminder that they were being watched.
"Do you smoke?" he asked her.
"No." she replied.
"Smart. My wife got me to quit a few years ago. Best thing I ever did. Though she gets the credit. She saved my life." he sat back in his chair and looked at her.
He paused a moment as he looked through the file and messed about with its order.
"I'm sorry to be rude. I'm Detective Nelson." he stood and offered his hand.
She accepted it shaking it lightly.
"So I take this means we're going to get started?" Valerie asked him.
"Looks that way." he said smugly sitting back down.
"Who starts in these things?" she asked him.
"Do you have anything you'd like to say first?" he asked her.
"Yes. I didn't do it." she said.
"Do what?" he replied with a question.
"Do whatever is is that motivated you to bring me in here." she explained.
"You mean Miss Folia? Miss Ursula Folia? Single. Unassuming business woman like yourself. Competing for the same contract. With you. A mysteriously super powered person who can smash desks apart. Who can lift in excess of ten tons like you were lifting a paper ball? What makes you think that I think that you murdered her? How do I know that she didn't break that inch thick safety glass herself and then jump out of the window in a bout of depression over the fact that she'd won the contract you'd been bidding for. Against her. Why would I think that you're a murderer?" he posed to her rather sardonically.
"Convenient. Too convenient don't you think?" Valerie asked him.
"Why?" he asked her.
"I go for twenty nine years in life without a single run in with the law." Valerie said.
"You forgot the thirty seven parking tickets and the two speeding tickets." he reminded her.
"I won in court against one of those speeding tickets. The other... well I was late for an important meeting." she explained.
"What about your ex-boyfriend. Torman. Grier Torman. Just a reminder that this file here is yours. That's why its so small. I didn't bring it in here for me. I brought it in here for you. In case you forgot who you are. If I'd have brought Torman's in here, they still be carting it in boxes at a time with two wheelers." he said to her in a vote of confidence.
"He was trouble. I didn't see it at the time. I was much more impressionable then." she said though she'd gotten over the mess Torman had left in his wake.
"So why is it that I should believe you? That you aren't the killer?" he asked.
"Because this isn't a reverse onus justice system. I'm innocent until proven guilty. Not the other way around. I should be asking you why you think I'm the killer." she said astutely.
"Because we have evidence. Lots of evidence. Most of it works against you." he said to her.
"What about the tattoos. The report said the woman you were looking for had a lot of tattoos. Up and down her legs and arms." Valerie asked.
"We found skin paint and a bunch of home tattoo kits in your car. In the trunk. Who says that you don't have a kinky hobby. Getting all dolled up and beating on deadbeat fathers and spousal abusers with your super powers. You're a hero in some of the women's shelters in the city in case you didn't know. The places they put women who've been discarded. Usually after they've been used as a punching bag by some schmuck. So you get an idea after you find out you have these powers. You'll get all dolled up and go out and beat the crap out of these creeps. Except you do the first one a little too hard. You kill him. The other two run for fright of their lives. The guy you let live, a former abuser himself tries to help you. So you give him his penance and let him live. A few nights later you kill again. Except this time you do a house call. We have witnesses that put you outside of the victim's residence before he was murdered. You get such a thrill out of it that you look through the personals and do a little background checking on your dates until you find three that all have a background of rape convictions. You call each independently and have them meet you in the same place. One of them is even a mixed martial artist. A regular winner in the competition circuit. Thirty one wins and one loss. You beat all three to a pulp and leave em for us to find. Then you do another two in much the same way. Then Monique Defleur. The fashion model. She tries to stop you from this murderous rampage and you knock her out." Detective Nelson briefly explained his case.
"What about the first guy. The guy I supposedly let live. He'd be able to ID me if I was the one he'd let go." Valerie told him.
"That was my thinking. Then I got to thinking that maybe he was too scared to point you out. Like women abuse victims are often too scared or played to point out their abuser. Maybe he's feeling the same way? I mean he sees you kill three people with your bare hands. He knows that you could probably plow through concrete walls to get at him. Where's he safe from you anyway? That makes an ID a lot harder. He won't come anywhere near where he thinks you are. He'll do it by video though. But how accurate is that? We'll show him your photo portfolio too. We've got a mockup of you tattooed as well. Computers can do anything these days. He'll have to sign off on that and you'll have to hope that he doesn't make a mistake and misidentify you thinking he'd be safe. If the killer really is someone else, then its in his favor to finger someone other than the real killer. To finger you. He's scared don't forget. The killer also gave him a reprieve for his abuse. He was likely the target but she let him live. He'll likely be siding with her. She's the first woman in a long time who gave him a break. A big one. His life. So his testimony isn't exactly concrete either way." the Detective elaborated on the witness dilemma.
"It wasn't me." Valerie told him.
"Prove it." he said.
"No. You prove it." she said to him.
"So no confession I take it?" the Detective confirmed.
"Nothing to confess." she replied.
"Your bail hearing is tomorrow at 9 AM. It doesn't look good, but you might walk out of the court with your freedom until the trial hearing." he said to her.
"I take it I haven't convinced you." she asked him.
"Something doesn't quite fit. I haven't figured it out. Yet. The city wants the case closed, so there's pressure to resolve it. That means that things might not go so well for you unless we get a big break or some new evidence. I have no further questions. You'll be kept here until your hearing. It would work in your best interests if you didn't break out and level the building as well. That's all Valerie. I have to say I'm rooting for you, but if nothing comes forth in this case to absolve your innocence, I'll be on the prosecution's team." Detective Nelson stood and shook hands with her again.
"We'll be talking again soon." he said as he walked towards the door.
"Oh. One more thing. Does this mean anything to you?" he tossed her one of the broken plastic butterflies.
"I need to make a phone call." she told him.
"I take it that's a yes." he replied.
Monique's Rescue
Warai, Alicia and Heylyn had found their way out into the living area of the hut. Though the building itself was solid, it still felt like they were outside. There was a draft which was building as the wind picked up outside. A storm was brewing and they'd still seen no signs of either Monique or Weltherwithsp. When they'd ventured out into the living area of the hut, they'd found a small ceremonial table with many statuettes surrounding a central point on the table. Each of the statuettes appeared to be a different form of serpent. Dragons each, and with a different face and personality that had been captured in stone. They encircled a candle holder which held a large gem in place of any candles. Heylyn looked closely at the statuettes and recognized Weltherwithsp.
"Weltherwithsp. The statue. This is familiar. I've seen this before." Heylyn said to them.
"Hey its Welly!" Warai exclaimed.
{Don't hurt us!}
"Bùyào shānghài wǒmen!" a voice came from under a silk blanket in the far corner of the hut.
Alicia made her way over and lifted the blanket to see three small children, two boys and one girl huddled up against two ladies dressed much like themselves. One mature and the other in her teens.
"Heylyn? What should we do?" Alicia asked her.
{Don't worry. We wont hurt you.}
"Bùyòng dānxīn. Wǒmen bù huì shānghài nǐ." Warai spoke to them.
{They are the protectors! The butterfly has returned!}
"Tāmen shì bǎohù! Húdié yǐjīng huíláile!" the teen spoke pointing to Heylyn.
{They are not the protectors. Do not give them the sword. It is a trick. The protectors know the winds of the south and the east too. If they can speak as do the winds then they are the protectors.}"Tāmen bùshì bǎohù. Bùyào gěi tāmen de jiàn. Zhè shì yī zhāo. Bǎohù zhě zhīdào nánbù hé dōngbùguò de fēng. Rúguǒ tāmen néng shuō de zuò fēng nàme tāmen de bǎohù zhě." the mature lady of their group grabbed hold of the three children protectively.
{Speak then. As do the two winds of the south. If you are indeed the protectors!}
"Ránhòu shuōhuà. Yīnwèi zhèyàng zuò nánfāng de liǎng gè quān. Rúguǒ nǐ quèshí shì bǎohù zhě!" the teen challenged them.
"Heylyn? Warai? What are they saying?" Alicia asked her friends.
"They called us the protectors. They believe that we're here to help but we have to prove it." Heylyn explained to Alicia acting as a translator.
"How?" Alicia asked as the storm winds picked up outside.
"We have to find the two winds from the south." Warai said.
"What could that be?" Heylyn asked panicking as a bolt of lightening shot down from the sky and stuck the ground outside the hut.
"What's in the south? Uhhhh... The United States? Uhhhh. Mexico? South America? The south pole?" Alicia said hurriedly.
"No. This is Southeast Asia. This dream." Heylyn said.
"Maybe its like where my mommy is from?" Warai asked.
"That's it! Warai. Tell them you are one of the south winds. In Korean. Tell them!" Heylyn told Warai as the hut began to shudder.
{The butterfly wants me to tell you that I am one of the south winds. Is that ok?}
"Ok. nabineun jega namjjog balam jung hana laneun geos-eul malsseum hago sip-eo . geu gwaenchanhseubnida ?" Warai tried to communicate with them as one of the south winds.
{Yes. That's one. What is the other?}
"Shì. Zhè shì zhī yī. Shénme shì qítā?" the mature lady replied asking for the other south wind.
"Ok. Now what's the other south wind?" Alicia asked.
"What's south of here. Let's see. The Angkor Wat. But that hasn't been built yet. Maybe we could try either Vietnamese or Khmer. I only know a very little Vietnamese. I don't know any Khmer." Heylyn told them.
"I can speak a little of Khmer. Mommy used to sing songs to me in Khmer. I'd ask her what they mean and she'd tell me. They have good stories too. Like Vietnam too. And Korea." Warai offered her assistance one again.
Suddenly outside they could hear a sinister laughter behind the wind and the thunder.
{Hurry! It's coming!}
"Gǎnkuài xíngdòng ba! Tā de dàolái!" the mature lady asked as the children huddled closer to her.
{I am blowing south number two the wind.}
"Tôi đang thổi về phía nam số hai gió." Heylyn tried her best to speak Vietnamese.
The children looked at the mature lady and they all frowned at one another. The children then nodded.
{That's good. A little confusing but well spoken all considered.}
"Đó là tốt. Một chút bối rối nhưng cũng nói tất cả xem xét." the mature lady replied in fluent Vietnamese.
{Now the east wind?}
"Xiànzài dōngfēng?" the teen lady asked.
"Warai? Do you know who she's talking about?" Alicia asked her.
"I sure do." Warai said proudly.
"Well honey?" Heylyn asked her patiently.
{I am the wind from the east. You know that blows down from the big mountain? I think its called Fuji.}
"Watashi wa azuma kara no kazedesu. Anata wa ōkina yama kara orite fuku koto o shitte imasu ka? Watashi wa sono to yoba reru Fuji to omoimasu." Warai spoke to the last rite of the wind for them.
{That is right! Get them the sword! They must face the bad spirit!}
"Zhè shì zhèngquè de! Ràng tāmen de jiàn! Tāmen bìxū miàn duì de jīngshén bù hǎo!" the mature lady answered a serene expression of hope finally on her face.
The teen lady got up and went into a crawl space. There she broke the seal on a wooden chest and found a sheathed sword within. She retrieved the sword, a bow and a quiver of arrows and gave them both to Alicia.
"What do I do with this?" Alicia asked.
"We need to face something. Outside. I'll take the sword." Heylyn offered to Alicia.
"Be my guest. I guess that means I'm an archer." Alicia offered Heylyn the sword.
{Go. Face the spirit. We will start the ritual. When the light penetrates the spirit, you will be able to banish it with the sword. Go!}
"Qù. Miàn duì jīngshén. Wǒmen jiāng qǐdòng yíshì. Dāng yángguāng chuān tòu de jīngshén, nǐ jiāng nénggòu yòng jiàn fàngzhú tā. Qù!" the mature lady stood and approached the ceremonial table with the statuettes and the gem.
There she began chanting as she contorted the fingers and her hands into various shapes.
"Warai. You need to stay in here. We'll be safe sweetie. We'll be right back to get you." Alicia pointed her towards the other children who were still hidden with the teenage lady under the silk blanket.
She went over to the blanket and slipped under it quietly.
Heylyn and Alicia stepped out the door of the hut and found themselves struggling against the wind.
"This must be the north west wind?" Alicia said.
"I guess it is." Heylyn replied shielding herself against it.
"We can't do much in this!" Alicia grabbed a hold of a tree to stead herself.
Inside the hut the gem started to glow and the winds of the south and the east stopped the wind of the north and the west. The air was much more calm and still as they winds remained in balance.
"That's better. Now what are we here to face?" Alicia asked Heylyn.
"I think that this is a clue to a mystery I've been working on." Heylyn tried to explain as a sole figure approached from out of the shadow of the clouds ahead of them.
"Butterfly. Butterfly. In the night. In Monique's mind. So here we are, all those years ago. Seems like yesterday doesn't it? But you won't remember it will you. Maybe you can't. Then let me remind you !" she leapt at Heylyn her hands covered in heavy steel gauntlets.
Heylyn unsheathed the sword and caught the first attack swiftly. She'd studied the weapons kata in Gojo Jujitsu-Ryu and sword fighting in Kung Fu. Both arts required knowledge of at least one martial weapon. Fortunately she'd chosen the sword in Kung Fu and the Katana in Gojo Jujitsu-Ryu. It had been many years since she'd used a weapon or done any of her weapons based katas but it came back to her as she fought with the mystery lady. The Dragon Butterfly.
Alicia meanwhile had tried to angle herself to get a clean shot at the lady with whom Heylyn fought. She'd studied archery at day camp and used a bow for all of about two hours. She fumbled with the arrow trying to find the line and draw the bow. Finally when she'd had it drawn, she let the arrow fly only to have it tumble harmlessly to the ground meters away.
The Dragon Butterfly spun into a series of back hands, Heylyn catching each one in succession though her wrists were getting sore and tired. She could barely hold the Dragon Butterfly. The Dragon Butterfly jumped in the air spinning around with her left leg knocking Heylyn in the chest and to the ground.
Alicia had just lined up an arrow and let it fly. The shaft sped through the air cutting through it like a screaming banshee as it plunged into the Dragon Butterfly's form. The Dragon Butterfly then turned its attention to Alicia who struggled to get another arrow ready to fire.
The Dragon Butterfly approached Alicia confidently ready to flay Alicia head to toe. Alicia lined up an arrow and fired. It connected dead center between the Dragon Butterfly's eyes sticking there. The Dragon Butterfly reached up and pulled it harmlessly from its head and threw the arrow to the ground.
"First I'll flay you. Dead. Then your friend. With her own sword too. Then history will be corrected and the true Butterfly history shall know!" the Dragon Butterfly swung wide and arc to finish Alicia.
Just then, a bolt of light shot out from the house and caught the Dragon Butterfly's arm stopping it dead in mid strike. Alicia fell back to see the outline of a wispy figure made of light striking out at the Dragon Butterfly and pushing it backwards away from Alicia.
"There. Now we're even again." Monique said to Alicia as she materialized.
"I can't say that you could have picked a better time to arrive." Alicia told her gratefully.
The Dragon Butterfly attacked again with renewed vigor as Monique struggled to keep up. Heylyn's training had been helpful but she was still far from a capable combatant as an experienced martial artist. The Dragon Butterfly was just as such an expert and master of the arts and of supernatural origin. The spirit of the Dragon and the Butterfly become one. The fury and ferocity of the Dragon holding prisoner the beauty and artistry of the Butterfly.
It struck out at Monique again and again until Monique herself fell to the ground worn and weary.
"I wasn't finished with you!" Heylyn shouted behind from behind the Dragon Butterfly.
"No matter. I can take you all three at once if you'd like?" the Dragon Butterfly said confidently.
Heylyn charged with the sword in hand and struck at the Dragon Butterfly repeatedly, catching her parries and counterattacks. The Dragon Butterfly struck Heylyn once again sending the sword flying and her tumbling backwards to the ground. The Dragon Butterfly advanced and stood over her.
"Butterfly. Butterfly. In the night. Now you die." the Dragon Butterfly said raising both her fists high into the air.
Inside the hut, the mature lady lay her hands upon the top of the gem. As she did, the statuettes' eyes glowed and a beam of light flew into the gem from each and then through the walls and into the Dragon Butterfly.
The Dragon Butterfly spasmed as the green light pierced its armor and cleansed it's vile powers from its physical form. When the light stopped, she took a deep breath and swung down with her fists.
Alicia had been lining up an arrow and let it fire. It plunged into the Dragon Butterfly's chest and she stopped, disbelieving for a moment.
"This cannot be. How? Nonetheless I shall still kill you all." she said as she raised her arms again to finish Heylyn.
Just as the did, Heylyn reached for the sword and just barely grabbing hold of it drove it into the Dragon Butterfly's abdomen.
The Dragon Butterfly screamed and fell to her knees as the skies cleared and her spirit flew into the sky.
"You win this time Butterfly. Just like you did in history. You can have Monique. Remember that I'm waiting for you in the real world. With your friend and ally, Weltherwithsp. Or should I say Witherwyrm." with that said the Dragon Butterfly fell backward lifelessly to the ground.
Monique got up and offered a hand to Heylyn lifting her to her feet.
"Thanks. For coming to get me I mean." Monique said gratefully as she caught her breath.
"Its good to see you. How are you feeling. Could you spare us a moment of your time in the real world?" Heylyn asked her friend.
"Yes. But there are some things that I have to tell you. Some things that you might not be able to forgive me for." Monique said to Heylyn.
"Like?" Heylyn asked.
"Like. The costume armor you designed for the Treadwater Island investigation. I found it and took some photos in it. Well, they're viral on the internet now. Of me in the costume I mean. Then I went out the other night to find the thing we just killed in my dream here, and well. The thing that put me here. It stole the costume. The Treadwater one." Monique told Heylyn.
"What kind of photos?" Heylyn asked.
"Just fashion ones. Kind of like cosplay I suppose." Monique told her.
"You're not naked in them I hope?" Heylyn confirmed.
"No. A bit slinky and sexy. But not naked." Monique replied.
"We can work with that. Let's get you out and get things patched up then. I've got someone that I'd like you to meet." Heylyn told her friend.
They stepped into the hut where the mature lady sat catching her breath from the incantation.
{I need to say thank you.}
"Wǒ xūyào shuō xièxiè." the lady said to Heylyn, Alicia and Monique.
{No. We need to thank you.}
"Bù, wǒmen yào gǎnxiè nǐ." Heylyn responded to the lady.
"Heylyn! You're back!" Warai jumped out from under the silk blanket and jumped into Heylyn's arms.
"Monique, this is Warai. She's my new family member. Our family member." Heylyn introduced the little girl.
They left the dreamworld and awoke in the hospital room, seeing that only five minutes had passed.
Monique had awaken and gotten up from the bed.
"I feel much better." she said stretching.
"Let's get home and deal with things." as they left the room together.
"I'll call you from home." Alicia told Heylyn as they parted.
"Thanks Alicia." Heylyn said.
"Don't mention it." Alicia waved.
Twenty minutes later Heylyn was opening the lock on her front door. She stepped in to see the television on. On it was an image from a surveillance camera. The camera was pointing at a series of large screen monitors all of which had images of the various rooms in Heylyn's apartment on their screens. The camera was showing her the room of someone who had set up surveillance upon her. On the top of her television a stick-it note was attached. She pulled it and read it.
It was an address, this address but a different apartment from hers. It had a little drawing of a butterfly on it and a note that said:
Don't thank me yet!
She immediately called the Police and then made arrangements for a room at a local hotel.
Out of one nightmare and into another.
Hidden Enemy
The man who'd called on the watcher's services sat at his desk. Moments ago he'd just received word that the watcher himself had been found dead in his car which had been dumped at the port pier at the Queen's Quay and Jarvis Street in Toronto. He'd called the auxilliary staff at the condominium only to find that the Police had turned it into a crime scene and had taken over the other units connected with their eavesdropping ring. They currently had a team of technicians who were combing the condos for hidden cameras and microphones while a digital forensics team went through the computers piecing together the breadth of the eavesdropping that had been going on.
This could be a costly miscalculation on the part of the deceased watcher although the man who'd employed him was insulated from any residual damage that might result from investigation. However he still was uncomfortable with the idea that someone knew about him and had dissected him so easily without them even seeing it coming. The watcher had been a professional in use for years, even by his predecessor Mr, Zek. Playing this game was no easy thing and the watcher had managed to stay alive against even the most voracious of targets, including many high profile politicians, law enforcement figures and even at least one intelligence operative from a particularly dangerous regime that had been known for conducting political assassinations when necessary. They would have snuffed the watcher out like a candle had they known about him. How is it that a professional of his caliber could be taken out by a relatively low level threat like the one they were tracing? Questions without answers only grew into more of the same. The man decided that it was time to do something about this before it ruined the bigger plan. It was time to send a message. He put a call through to the team that handled assassinations and put together a team who would investigate the threat and then remove it professionally without drawing attention to their operation.
The man he hired put together a team of twenty of the best people in the business for the job. Skilled in many different areas but more importantly they were skilled killers when need be. The person they were dealing with was no ordinary target and that was certain. He picked up the phone and called the archaeology lab.
"Lab. Estella speaking." Estella answered already knowing who was calling.
"Anything useful yet?" asked her employer.
"Nothing useful. Something new. There are still three more statues left. We've only been able to get information about one of them. Though we don't know its location. The clues are too ambiguous. We need more money." she replied.
"You mean that after all this time and the money I've paid you so far, you have not been able to get me an answer about this? I thought you said history never kept secrets from those who were earnest. Are you telling me you've not been earnest? Well maybe my bank account is too ambiguous to cough up the money!" he yelled in the phone frustrated by the lack of progress.
It wasn't the money because he had volumes of it and this hadn't even put a dent in his cash flow.
"Look. This isn't an exact science you know. It has fuzzy edges and sometimes we need to feel our way around in the dark." Estella replied.
"You have your money. If you don't find something in a week. You're all fired and I get rid of you and replace you with your competitors." he said.
"You'll have your answers." Estella agreed as he hung up.
He looked again at the blurry picture on his computer. It depicted the woman taken from a security camera in the parking garage of the condo getting into the watcher's car just before his body was discovered at the pier.
"I'm going to get you. And when I do you're going to tell me all of your pretty little secrets!" he pounded his fist on the desk.
Damage Control
Heylyn sat with Warai on her lap. Monique sat beside her. They'd taken over new condo units during the investigation and had moved most of their belongings into the new places. Heylyn clicked a mouse opening up the browser and checking out the image posts of Monique in the Butterfly Dragon costume.
"Who is that?" Warai asked.
"That's your Auntie Monique. I think." Heylyn answered.
"She looks pretty. She looks like a butterfly!" Warai said.
"Almost." Monique said more than just a little embarrassed.
"It does look good on you." Heylyn commented though it was easy to discern a hint of what might be jealousy.
"That's only because its designer makes clothing that makes anyone look good." Monique replied.
"That was the correct answer. But don't expect a raise anytime too soon." she said to Monique.
"So we have these photos out and all over the place. What about anything that links the name?" Heylyn asked her.
"What? You mean the Butterfly Dragon? No. There's no correlation and I didn't post anything about that online. But she or someone else put the name to it in a post." Monique replied.
"Ok. So how did this other lady know about it? Who is she? Where is she from?" Heylyn asked rhetorically.
"Maybe she's the same one from my dream world." Monique said.
"Weltherwithsp's dream world." Heylyn corrected her.
"You mean Welly?" Warai asked Heylyn excitedly.
"Yes honey. I mean Welly." she told the little girl.
"What do you mean?" Monique asked.
"I mean Weltherwithsp has memories that go that far back. Right to the beginning of the Far East in Asia. Weltherwithsp was trying to tell you something. Us something knowing we'd come into your dream to rescue you." Heylyn clicked the mouse opening another picture of the girl in the photo in an action pose.
"What would Weltherwithsp want to tell us?" Monique asked Heylyn.
"Maybe that they don't have ice cream in the time from then." Warai said honestly.
Heylyn smiled and Monique giggled.
"I think it was about the statues. Maybe the gem. Something that would be too hard to find out about now after thousands of years had passed. A hidden secret." Heylyn told them.
"So this lady that got me is tied to this secret?" Monique asked.
"Maybe? You said she had strange tattoos. Like she had scales on her arms and legs." Heylyn confirmed with Monique.
"Yes. They were very bizarre. But cool too. Kind of hip if you know what I mean." Monique said in admiration.
"So we have a very skilled martial artist with incredible powers and a hip looking tattoo on her amazing body that is connected to thousands year old mystery? Why did she come to Toronto?" Heylyn asked Monique.
"Don't they all?" Monique asked playfully.
"What? You mean super powered martial artists with hip tattoos and great legs?" Heylyn said jokingly.
"You did." Monique responded instantly.
"Har har har. Minus the tattoos of course. Thanks but you're still not getting the raise." Heylyn joked.
"Can't blame a girl for trying though. Want to come with me down the street to Lost In The Dessert Warai?" Monique said referring to the dessert shop just a block away.
"Can I go please? Can I?" Warai asked Heylyn who smiled at them both.
"Only if you come back with a brownie fudge sundae for me." she said laying out her terms.
"Why don't you come with us?" Monique asked Heylyn.
"Because I'm going to get to work on a design for the upcoming show at Dundas Square. You'd better be ready for it too." Heylyn said to Monique.
"I will. You can count on that. I was going to ask you to put something together for my Strawberry Eclipse costume. A sort of non-powered fashion costume. That I could wear outside for regular outings. Following the design motif of my costume though. Please." Monique said rubbing Heylyn's shoulders for her.
"We'll see. Getting me my sundae is a start." Heylyn said helping Warai off her lap.
Warai ran to the front door and put her shoes on.
"We'll be back soon." Monique said as she grabbed Warai's hand and walked out the door.
Heylyn pulled out her new Butterfly Dragon costume and held it up to herself in the mirror.
On the other side of the city the Dragon Butterfly checked herself out with the costume she'd stolen from Monique.
"Soon we'll stir things up just a little." she said as she patched the bullet holes in the armor.
Detective Nelson's Meets Fate
As chance would have it Detective Nelson felt a sense of relief though no closure. He still was not convinced they had the real perp. He'd seen enough killers in his life to recognize the killer instinct. That look in a person's eye that told him: they've killed. They've done it and enjoyed it. Most of his cases were to that effect and that is what set him apart from other murder investigators in his field. His most recent success had been with a cross border investigation involving a serial murderer who had a flair for stringing his victims up in complex presentations. He was a trophy murderer who took pride in his work so much so that he had to show it off. They nicknamed him the "predator" murderer for the similarities to the movie character's methods, though he bore no influence from any movie.
The real break in that case had come when Detective Nelson who had been working with a cross border Agent from Detroit, recognized a car used in one of the murders. It had a slightly damaged hood, in just the way he'd envisioned it would look at the same height for the bone breaking impact relayed to him by the forensics team. This find though was purely chance as they had been on their way to Waterloo from Niagara Falls after following a lead in the case. The car had been parked in a Fifth Wheel, a popular franchise truck stop and service area. Detective Nelson had pulled in and walked into the restaurant looking for the owner of the car.
He and Agent Carmen walked up to the kitchen and found the manager.
"Hi, I'm Detective Alex Nelson with the Toronto Police Service. This is Agent Carmen of the South Detroit FBI detachment. We're investigating a string of serial murders that have been happening throughout the U.S. and Canada. I need you to inform the restaurant that someone has left their lights on. A Cadillac Eldorado. We'll be watching from the corner there." Detective Nelson flashed his badge.
The manager waited for the two men to find their way to the corner booth where they watched carefully. Then the manager announced to the room that someone in a Cadillac Eldorado had left their lights on. A moment later someone got up and stepped outside of the restaurant. Detective Nelson and Agent Carmen followed out the back door attempting to cut the suspect off from the other side. When they got outside, their suspect caught them off guard, firing a shot at Agent Carmen who was hit in the side just under his body armour.
Detective Nelson tried to draw but the killer was already upon him with a tire iron. He narrowly escaped the brunt of the blow as the killer raised his hand gun to Detective Nelson's head ready to pull the trigger. Just as pulled the trigger, the killer was struck from behind and quickly dropped to the ground not moving. The round fired from the killer's gun just grazed the side of Detective Nelson's head, leaving a minor burn and a gash.
"You gentlemen looked like you could use a little help." the trucker said to the men rubbing his fist.
"You got that right Sir. We owe you big for that one." Detective Nelson wiped the wound on his head.
"I'll take a dinner here just after you check on your partner." the trucker answered Detective Nelson.
They secured the suspect and got Agent Carmen into the restaurant. When the Police and Ambulance arrived, Detective Nelson bought the trucker his dinner and a snack for the road. They had caught the killer alright and the killer had been on his way to pickup his next victim.
Fate is a funny thing at times. It remains hidden for years and then suddenly it shows itself in all of its glory much the same as it was about to do this night.
He had been driving by a park just up Broadview Avenue, a few blocks from the Don Jailhouse there when he recognized the lady as described by the witnesses to the murders and assaults. He quickly pulled his car off the road and pursued her on foot.
She walked the paved path in her heels through the park down a steep hill towards the Don River. She was aware of her new pursuer just as she was aware of her prey, this time they were a seven member local gang called the Sperz who'd gotten a little frisky with a local university student. She'd ended up in the hospital as a result of their inability to keep their sexual hormones at bay. Three of them had actually had intercourse with her while the others watched. That having happened nearly two months prior, they'd decided it was alright to come back to the scene and the same park. When they saw the tattooed lady walking the path they thought they were in heaven (or hell depending upon how you looked at it).
She took no heed of them and continued to walk while the Detective picked up his pace as he approached the path and proceeded down the hill after her.
One of the men approached her examining her open top, which gave him a peek at her naval. He stood in front of her blocking her path and progress.
"Where are you going all by yourself sugar?" he asked her still checking out her body.
"Why I came down here to see you guys of course. You didn't let me down either. Do you boys think you could handle a girl like me? If not why don't you show me the men." she responded to them showing no fear whatsoever.
"You've got the men. All of us. So why don't you show us your stuff, and we'll give you ours." another one said stepping in from the side.
"Yeah! This is going to be a ride! Ain't she?" another said stepping in on her other side and reaching for her arms in attempt to retrain her.
She barely moved, stepping aside just a little and arching her leg into his knee, which buckled and broke under the pressure of her kick. He fell to the ground screaming in pain.
Just as he fell, the Detective picked up his pace running full tilt for the group pulling his pistol.
"Freeze! On the ground! Hands at your side!" he yelled.
None of the gang complied, as one drew a pistol of his own and fired at the Detective. He ditched behind a picnic table in attempt to take cover.
"You are going to pay for that!" one of the gang members swung at the mysterious girl with the tattoos.
She stepped back slightly as the fist missed her face. She quickly spun backhanding his nose, breaking it clean. It spewed a mess of blood as he screamed. She then swept the cuff of her hand up at his face once again, connecting to his nose and sending the bone and cartilage of his bridge up and into his brain. He dropped dead instantly, his body spasming as he did.
She stepped back as another round came at her from the Detective's gun. There were only five gang members standing, with one incapacitated the other dead.
She ignored the Detective's intrusion.
"So tell me boys, how's it feel to pick on someone your own size? Enjoy it while it lasts because its going to be your last." she said as one of them swung at her from behind.
She dodged his fist with ease stepping again to the side as one of the Detective's shots missed her and ploughed into the side of one of the gang members.
Another swung his knife while the one with the gun turned and fired at her. She once again side stepped the gun shot, catching the arm of the gang member with the knife. She raised her foot straight up using her heel to pierce his eye socket. He instantly died as the heel found his brain cavity. She dropped her foot and cartwheeled to the gang member with the gun, dodging another shot from the Detective as she did.
"Oh shhhhhi..." the gang member with the gun emptied his firearm backing up in panic, all five remaining shots missing her.
She swung her fist at the dead center of his rib cage hitting the gun man's breast plate. His rib cage collapsed and he fell dying, gasping for air.
He stopped breathing a moment later a look of horror and shock on his face. Only two remained standing and one on the ground clasped his knee, screaming in pain.
The Detective stopped firing not able to believe what he was seeing.
She turned in time to see that one had hefted a large rock over his head and was going to crush her skull. She side stepped his attack and tripped him. The rock came down hard onto the skull of the one on the ground with the broken knee. His screams stopped immediately as his skull collapsed.
"And then there was one..." she said tauntingly to the last remaining gang member as she approached him.
"What the fff... ff... what are you?" he said crying as he backed away from her.
"I'm the big sister of the girl you raped that night a month ago. Don't you see the resemblance? Let me remind you." she asked him.
She didn't wait for him to answer.
"Now repeat after me. Please! Please! Stop! You're hurting me! No! Don't! Please don't! Why are you doing this? aarrrrrgh!" she feigned the cries of the rape victim as they'd heard them that night.
He backed up falling to the ground on his back as she approached. He cried and shrank before her curling up into a ball.
"Come on. Face it like a man at least." she stood over him.
"No! Please! Stop! Don't do it! Please! Don't!" he screamed.
"That's it, only she was a little more frenzied that night. She was also crying. A little more work on your performance and we should be able to take you on tour. The poster boy for the last moments of a violent rapist like yourself." she stared down at him without sympathy or remorse.
"M'aam. I am Detective..." the Detective was interrupted as he approached her from behind.
"...Nelson. Alex Nelson. Father of one. Beloved husband of Larissa Nelson. Tell me Detective Nelson. What would you do if you're daughter was raped?" she asked him the heartfelt question though she could care less what his answer would be.
"We're not talking about me. We need to get you some help. A place to sleep and to get this all figured out. Why don't you stand down and we can talk about this?" the Detective said calmly approaching her his pistol still in hand.
He felt something vile and dark brush his neck as it flew by too fast to be seen.
"No Detective. It's you who needs the nap. Now will it be a nighty night nap or a long dirt nap?" she asked him still keeping her attention on the gang member who'd curled himself up crying and whimpering.
The Detective saw it coming at him though it moved too fast for him to react in time. Before the blackness hit him he could have sworn he saw a face. Like the face of a Dragon. Then he didn't see anything at all except the cold blackness of sleep.
An hour later a Police squad car was driving Valerie home. It turned out that Detective Nelson's hunch had been right and that Valerie was innocent. Valerie thanked the Officers and they apologized to which she said nothing. She stepped into her home and settled herself right into her bed. She slept uneasily having nightmares about the girl with the tattoos and the black shapeless form that followed her like a shadow under the moon.
Detective Nelson was in the ICU unit of Princess Margaret Hospital as a team of physicians tried to revive him from his dark slumber. He had vitals and showed no signs of a heart attack or a concussion which puzzled the Chief Physician. His breathing was shallow and excited. Coming in short bursts and stopping suddenly. They watched him as he struggled to gain consciousness.
After a few minutes the Doctors stepped back as his breathing grew steady.
One of the Doctors could hear the Detective trying to speak.
"Quiet everyone! Quiet!" the Doctor yelled to his staff as they settled down.
The Detective's voice slowly rose in volume.
"...Dragon... Dragon... Dragon Butterfly... it was a Dragon Butterfly... it was... Dragon Butterfly... broken Butterfly..." the Detective struggled to speak.
Unraveling Mystery
He looked through the photos on his desktop integrated display, a touch screen surface integrated into his office desk. The pictures were taken from morgue showing the Watcher's body as he'd been identified and officially inaugurated into the Police investigation in Toronto which had been dubbed the Dragon Butterfly murderer. He panned the picture stack with his hand diplaying a row of seven photos, each of a deceased gang member of the Sperz, who had been a part of his reach in Toronto. Each had been dispatched by a single assailant only described as a tattooed lady in high heels and an extremely revealing outfit, likely a sex trade worker though Police had retracted that assessment recently based upon the most recent murders.
"She's proving to be a bit more than you can handle. I told you but you didn't listen." the advisor spoke.
"I listened and I made my choice to send a team to deal with her. Now we know how to find her. She seems to have a taste for killing rapists and murderers though there's more to it than this. My team can find her and all we need is bait. I arranged to have them take up arms with a group of prior convicted rapists. They'll be the bait. When she shows herself, they'll get her and bring her to me. Then she'll answer our questions about the statues and the location of the missing gem." Zek's heir answered the advisor.
"That's if she even knows. She's hunting for something too. She's playing with all of us. She's far too dangerous for what you have in mind." the advisor told him forcefully.
"For ten of the best trained killers that the world has to offer? I think not. I can't play the publicity against her. She already has that angle figured out and it would only serve to make her even more dangerous. Even like a folk hero. Like Che, or Cortez. We cannot afford that before we have the information that we need." he sat back in his chair looking to the advisor with impunity.
"Don't say that I didn't warn you because you won't get another chance." the advisor stood and walked to the door.
"Did I say you could leave?" he asked the advisor.
"I assumed you were finished." the advisor returned.
"Don't make another such assumption lest you find yourself finished. You may leave." he replied.
The advisor closed the door behind him as he left.
"Get me Doctor Estella." Zek's heir spoke through the intercom.
"Doctor Estella speaking." the voice returned from the speakers in his office.
"What is the news you called me about earlier?" he asked her.
"Its about the gem. We have another clue." Doctor Estella told her employer.
"What is the clue?" he asked her with interest.
"Well. We don't think its a gem at all." Doctor Estella told him.
"Then what is it?" he asked her impatiently.
"Its not a gem. Its a little girl." Doctor Estella replied.
The Gem And The Dragon
Warai watched with interest as the photographer set up the reflector taking readings of the lighting levels of the room.
"What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Well. I'm just making sure that when I take the pictures, that we'll be able to see them properly." he replied to Warai and Monique who sat beside her.
While Heylyn was in a meeting about the fashion and music tour. Warai wanted to see the rest of West meet easT. She went with Monique leaving Heylyn to her meeting, who had given her hug and sent her on her way, thanking Monique.
Heylyn's meeting covered aspects of the upcoming show and its presence in the city. They'd talked about the fact that a few big name musical acts had signed on, a few with their origins in the city. As well, the cosmetic giant Kawaī kao Cosmetics (Heylyn just having spoken to Hiroyuki on the phone) would set up a be doing free cosmetic makeovers before and during the show. They had mapped out most of the space from a plan the city had given them showing the available space after safety considerations had been factored in. The show would extend throughout the Dundas Square area, and on Queen Street West near John Street. As well, the world famous Eaton Centre would be host to a daytime activities for children and youth. They were making good progress in the meeting.
Meanwhile Monique was readying herself for a promotional shoot for the posters of the tour while Heylyn was working with a couple of the local cosmetics sponsors and the music agency for the show.
Delia and Kori stepped into the studio with Rose, one of the cosmeticians.
"Monique? Who's your little friend?" Delia asked.
"Hey Delia. Delia, meet Warai." Monique said presenting the little girl who jumped down from the couch she sat on to walk over to Delia.
She had a scrutinizing look on her face, somewhat disappointed.
"You tried to be the Butterfly. Shame on you!" Warai said pointing at Delia.
Kori and Rose burst out laughing at Warai's display while Delia shrunk in embarrassment.
"Warai? That wasn't nice." Monique said patiently though with a smile on her face as she spied Delia.
"Welly says that you didn't mean to. So I guess you're OK." she said still a little hesitant though a smile began to blossom on her face.
"I'm sorry? You lost me." Delia said taking her hand and shaking it.
"Welly is her friend. You know. A little secret friend she has. Right Warai?" Monique said.
"Welly isn't little. Welly is bigger than you even. Bigger than the picture man there too." she said pointing to the photographer.
"Yeah, but can Welly do a shoot in a dark studio with a bright little girl?" he asked her rhetorically to which she smiled shyly.
"I'm Kori, Warai and this is Rose." Kori introduced herself and the cosmetician.
"Its nice to meet you." Warai shook their hands like she'd seen Heylyn do many times already.
"Are you from Korea?" Kori asked Warai.
{Yes. Me and Heylyn butterfly just got here.}
"예. 저와 Heylyn 나비 그냥 여기있어." Warai replied excitedly.
{Well I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Kori. Kori Jonglyu little butterfly.}
"Well I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Kori. Kori Jonglyu. 작은 나비." Kori replied to Warai.
Warai giggled at being called a little butterfly.
"Just so you know, I'll be ready for you in ten minutes." Rose told Monique.
"Are you going to paint her face all up?" Warai asked Rose.
"That's right, sweetie. I'm a face painter." Rose said joking with her.
"Can I watch?" Warai asked her.
"Monique?" Rose turned to Monique forwarding the question.
"Well... OK, I guess." Monique said pretending to be hesitant.
At that moment there was a knock on the studio door.
"Entrez vous." said Monique.
One of the receptionists poked her face into the room.
"There's a bit of a situation at the front. There's some Police here to see you and Delia. Heylyn is on her way to meet them too. I think its very important." the receptionist spoke.
"Warai, you're going to stay here with Kori for a moment. OK doll?" Monique told Warai.
"Only if you promise that you're going to be back here." Warai said folding her arms.
"I promise. You can have some of my strawberries if you want. They're on the table there beside my purse." she said standing up and accompanying Delia to the door giving Warai a little wave.
Warai waved back already making her way to the table with Kori to retrieve the strawberries.
"Do you want some?" Warai asked Kori who returned a warm smile.
Outside in the office Monique and Delia met with Heylyn.
"What's up? What's going on?" Monique asked Heylyn.
"Let's find out from them." Heylyn replied still having a lot on her mind.
"How's Warai doing? Is she liking the studio?" Heylyn asked Monique.
"Well we've deemed that she definitely likes photography and cosmetics. She thinks they're going to paint a picture on my face. She's quite amused." Monique replied as they walked to the front reception area.
"That's good to hear. I'll be finished with my meeting in another half an hour so if she wants to stay with you she's welcome to. I'll leave it up to you and her." Heylyn said as they rounded the corner and entered the reception area.
"Heylyn Yates? I'm Officer Gavney. I just came to keep you up to date on the situation surrounding the surveillance equipment we found spying on yours and the condo unit of your neighbour. As well we have some information regarding the social media frenzy with regard to the Butterfly Dragon photoshoot that`s been sweeping the net. Do you have a moment and a place that we could talk?" Officer Gavney introduced himself, getting right to the point.
"Certainly Officer. Can we get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Chai latte? Spring water?" Heylyn asked him.
"Thanks kindly M'aam but no thank you." the Officer replied politely.
"This is Monique Defleur, my coworker and neighbour back at the condo. Beside her is Delia Minness." Heylyn introduced Monique.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance M'aam." the Officer shook their hands gently.
"We can go to studio 4. Its unoccupied right now." Monique suggested.
Heylyn led the way to the studio, unlocking it and turning the lights on. They took a seat around a table to discuss the situation. Officer Gavney started.
"First of all, the surveillance set up was a professional job, conducted by an expert whose been under investigation for years, though the Feds have never been able to build a case against him. Forty eight hours ago his body was found in an abandoned car at the Queen's Quay East and Jarvis Street port terminal in a parking lot. We suspect its connected to another case we're investigating but I'll get to that in a moment. We've swept all of the condos affected and retrieved every camera and microphone device we could find so you should be safe to move back in." Officer Gavney explained.
"That's good news. So we should be safe in there now? No peep holes or perverts trying to get a peek at us?" Heylyn asked the Officer.
"That's right M'aam. Here's the card of a service we use for such sweeps should you be suspicious. If you are, just call us to report the incident and give them a call to investigate. If they find anything they'll pass it on to us." Officer Gavney replied.
"Will do. Now with the other matters?" Heylyn asked.
"Alright. We have reason to believe that yourself and Monique here may be in danger. If not now, in the near future. As I stated, the death of the eavesdropper is related to a case we're investigating. The suspect in this case is extremely dangerous. We recommend that upon visual sight of the suspect that you do not confront or other wise deal with the suspect. Immediately contact us and we'll deal with the situation." Officer Gavney informed them.
"The same lady that attacked me?" Monique asked.
"One and the same. If you encounter her, immediately call for help and flee the area. Do not attempt to engage her in conversation and most certainly not in conflict. For your safety and for your lives." Officer Gavney informed them.
"We've got a large event taking place this summer at Dundas Square. How is this going to affect that event?" Heylyn asked the Officer.
"We're aware of the show and a security plan and budget for the show has been approved by the city. It shouldn't affect your safety there. There will be over two hundred uniformed officers onsight and another thirty plain clothes. You and your audience will be safe. The Police are going to have an official presence there as well, in conjunction with the Cancer research fund raising. The Canine unit will be present and part of our fund raising team." Officer Gavney assured Heylyn.
"I feel much better Officer. Thank you." she replied showing visible signs of relief.
Heylyn was not so much concerned for herself as she was for her staff and audience. She knew that she could handle herself if it ever came to that, but she could not protect everyone by herself and with Warai in her care, she was limited by her availability to assist in her city's protection.
"Now. The matter about the social media photos circulating with Monique in a constume of some form. We believe that may be related as well and connected to the theft of the costume." Officer Gavney expained.
"How do you mean?" Heylyn asked the Officer though looking to Monique.
"Well the social media photos bore the caption and I quote check out the butterfly dragon babe!" Officer Gavney said with clinical detachment.
"And...?" Monique inquired looking to Delia.
"Well the suspect we've asked you to avoid at all costs has a name." Officer Gavney said leaning forward with intensity.
"What is it?" Heylyn asked as all three Women leaned in to better hear.
"The Dragon Butterfly." Officer Gavney told them as their faces grew pale.
Starting Over
Valerie packed up the last of her belongings having emptied her desk. She'd decided last night in bed that she was just going to call it a loss. She'd recently lost her most lucrative contract and the one paying the bills. She'd already struggled trying to maintain this sinking ship in the midst of the infamy and videos of her using her powers. After her encounter with the tattooed Woman she was grateful to be alive but ultimately she had decided that it was time to pack it in and start fresh. She would never give up. She was far too resilient and motivated for any such outcome but she did need to adjust her bearings. Being an overnight media sensation was taking its toll upon her and though it had died down in the face of the media attention in relation to the recent murders, she still needed a break.
She took the box with her to the elevator and took it down to the front lobby of the building. She handed in the keys to security, thanking them and headed out the front door and into the fray.
She was hounded by a few reporters seeking a moment with her and decided to take the opportunity to use it to her advantage.
"Hi, I'm Ali Nemus with CLive TV. Are you planning on taking over for the mysterious tattoo lady?" Ali thrust the mic into Valerie's face.
"Take over? I'm not a murderer. Take over from what?" Valerie asked.
"In the latest string of murders all seven victims were suspects in the rape case of University student Nicole Reese. Care to comment?" Ali asked turning the mic back to Valerie.
"So she's a vigilante? No. I have no plans to murder anyone nor become a vigilante, but if I had happened to encounter anything I could prevent, I most certainly would take on the responsibility." Valerie answered.
"So no chance of you using your strength to smash convicted abusers or rapists? Then what's your social take on these issues?" Ali once again turned the mic over to Valerie.
"If I encountered such a crime in progress I would most certainly stop it and chances are I would not be too concerned over the well being of the rapist. I'm not a vigilante but I couldn't allow that to happen." Valerie said to Ali.
"So you could say that you're a hero of sorts? Like a superhero?" Ali asked her honestly returning the mic to her.
"I don't know about that." Valerie replied still a bit down by being forced to close her business.
"At the Women's Village Center, they have a poster of you that says and I quote: Go Get 'Em. You didn't know that you're having that impact?" Ali asked her.
"No. I mean, I thought that was someone else's doing. The heroic work. Police. Medical. Fire services. I just stopped an assault once. I think that they're reading too much into it. I'm off to start again." Valerie said to Ali unsure of how to take her.
"Thanks for talking and whatever you do. Don't give up. There's a lot of people that believe in you. This is Ali Nemus reporting for CLive TV." Ali wrapped up her report thanking Valerie once again.
Valerie's step picked up and her eye teared up momentarily. She'd been a little bit hard on herself and had not taken the time to evaluate her impact upon the world. Most career minded Women were often too hard on themselves and as a result expected far too much without taking the time they needed to recharge again. Superhero? Maybe. A Woman in need of a break or a new direction? She stepped into the taxi and asked the driver to take her to the offices of West meet easT.
The taxi dropped her off just outside of the colourful building and she made her way in the front door and to the reception.
"I'm here to see Heylyn Yates or Monique Defleur if they're available?" Valerie asked the receptionist who was a new face to her.
"And you are?" the receptionist asked.
"I'm Valerie. Valerie Aspen." she replied.
Heylyn and Monique came walking out a moment later, Heylyn opening her arms and offering a her a hug. Warai straggled along hanging onto Monique's hand, wiping her eyes with her other one.
"How are you? Do you have some time?" Valerie asked patting Heylyn's back while they hugged.
"Time? For you? Always. Maria, take any calls for me if you could. Have you met Warai? Say hello to Valerie." Heylyn conducted herself socially multitasking.
"Hi Valerie. You're looking very nice today. Still grouchy from last time we talked?" Monique asked her.
"Hi. Yoohoo. Hi. Miss Valerie. I'm Warai." Warai said waving at the new Woman that she'd not met.
"My gosh! Look! Its a little girl." Valerie said putting her box down on the reception desk and picking Warai up in her arms.
"You're the really strong one. Welly told me." Warai said as Valerie looked questioningly at Heylyn.
"Welly. Her imaginary friend. You know the one." Heylyn winked at Valerie.
"Yes but I haven't been working out so I'm not as strong today as you or Welly." Valerie said putting her down and picking up her box.
"That's alright. We'll help you." Warai said shying back over behind Monique.
The three Women made their way back through the halls to Heylyn's office, which was a mixed scatter of designer tools, three digital sewing machines three different mannequins each with half finished garments draped around them. A social table for meetings and her desk which though well ordered but still looked like the clutter of her design table. She took a seat at the social table with Monique, Valerie and Warai.
"So what brings you to this part of the runway?" Monique asked her.
"Look. The last time we spoke I was trying to track you down at the Wyrm Wing West. You were with the slimey guy who set us up. Of course I was a bit impatient with you." Valerie answered Monique's question from the reception.
"That's over with. A lot's happened since then." Monique told her.
"What do you mean?" Valerie asked.
"Well for starters, the tattooed woman you've been hearing about on the news stole the Butterfly Dragon armour I made at Treadwater Island," Heylyn explained to her.
"From who. You?" Valerie asked looking very startled.
Heylyn and Monique looked at one another, Monique looked down first.
"I tried to stop her but someone attacked me from behind." Monique told Valerie of her encounter with the tattooed lady.
"I know. She tricked me and set me up. I nearly got charged for her murders. She killed the most recent victims while I was still in Police custody." Valerie explained suddenly looking to Warai.
"...Sorry." Valerie had said too much.
"It's OK. The bad lady took my Mommy and Daddy. But Heylyn says they're here with us like Welly." Warai replied to Valerie's faux pas.
"Its alright Val. I know you've been under a lot of pressure lately. We have too. Our place was actually wired to the ceiling with surveillance equipment. One of Zek's prior contractors trying to get something on us so they could do the same thing." Heylyn explained about the watcher to Valerie.
"Yeah! That pervert had a camera set up right by my toilet! We found out before we used it thankfully. Not to mention that he'd done the same with the room that would have been Warai's." Monique said with disgust.
"The tattoo lady put him to sleep for us and left him down at the Queen's Quay and Jarvis Street pier. Left us a note too." Heylyn told her, masking the details for Warai.
"I think that its safe to assume then that someone has taken Mr Zek's place." Valerie proposed.
"Yeah. And they're using the press to take us out. Turning us into circus freaks." Monique replied to the two of them.
Valerie thought about what Ali had said.
"We have some people on our side. We just have to stick together." Valerie responded to Monique's observation.
"I thought that you gave up superhero-ing? We're still doing patrols, though we haven't done any in a while since..." Monique looked to Heylyn and then over to Warai.
"Get Alicia to give us some formula." Valerie said more jokingly than anything.
"What are you saying? We make her Wonder Warai?" Monique said.
"We have some different responsibilities now. We have to adjust if we're going to continue protecting the city." Heylyn said to Monique's suggestion.
"From what? Tattoo lady?" Monique said quickly.
"The Dragon Butterfly." Heylyn replied.
"The who...?" Valerie confirmed her hearing.
"Dragon Butterfly. Like Heylyn's opposite. She's like the mirror reflection of Heylyn." Monique explained what they'd learned to Valerie.
"Remember the human and sex trafficking ring we broke up." Heylyn reminded Valerie about the investigation she'd assisted the Police with incognito.
"Well just before the Police were on route to conduct the arrests, Heylyn and I did a sweep of the place. We wanted clean it. There were a lot of armed gang members there. We wanted to make sure it was clear. Get the last few Women and children away from the danger. I managed to clear a lot in the warehouse offices. Heylyn made her way into the warehouse itself and she found the cage. They'd been keeping six families locked up for not paying. They kept them to extort from the families back in Asia. The local gang members here. They'd send parts. Back to the family. When Heylyn found it..." Monique was interrupted.
"...when I saw it, something in me just... gave in... I broke the bars and chased the families out and out the side door. Then I came back. Looking. For them. I found them at the back of the warehouse. They'd gone to open their weapons cache. They were going to kill the families, Monique and I using the heavier guns. I was in a rage. One of them shot at me and missed and I hit him. Hard. Hard enough to kill him if not for the armour he was wearing. I sent his body flying into another one. The others I took out one by one. Breaking their weapons over them. Snapping their arms. Legs. The last one lay on the floor and though I'd defeated him. He just started laughing. He said to me that he used to ... with the ones who wouldn't pay. Young and old alike. I raised my fist and..." Heylyn said deep in thought and remembrance.
"You didn't...? Did you?" Valerie asked with intense amazement.
"...no. Monique caught my hand before I... I... struck him. She looked at me..." Heylyn paused.
"...and it was like I was looking at someone else... Like it wasn't Heylyn at all." Monique explained.
"We fled the building just as the Police had arrived. We watched as they rounded up the gang and made sure they got the families to safety. I even followed up and made sure they got to a fair immigration hearing. The public support and the city really pulled through for them. They had their status and the three months they had their citizenship. The sex trade immigrants who'd been forced to pay the gang for their immigration representation were rehabilitated. They have families now. A new chance. But that might not have been the case if I had..." Heylyn finished her story.
"Made the bad man go to sleep." Warai said.
"Exactly sweetie." Heylyn said, a tear dripping down her cheek.
"So you're saying that this tattoo lady is like your temper?" Valerie asked.
"Not my temper. Not even me. Just doing what I almost did. The living ability to take the most extreme action against... people like that, but I'm not so sure. There's still some things that don't make sense." Heylyn tried to describe what she was thinking.
"Like why she went after you Valerie. Or why she stole the Butterfly Dragon armour. Or why she made Warai's... Mommy and Daddy go to sleep." Monique summarized their investigation of the Dragon Butterfly.
"What's with the box?" Monique asked Valerie.
"I had a coming of age." Valerie told Monique.
"What? Like old age?" Monique joked.
"Sort of. I packed the business in. Just too much going on. I lost a big contract. I'd been struggling for a few months, especially since this video exposition of my powers. So I just decided to finish up and start again." Valerie explained looking down into her box of office memorabilia.
"Why don't you work for us?" Heylyn suggested.
"Is that a formal job offer?" Valerie asked.
"Start with the promotional venue for this tour. You can take over for me. I'll consult you with what you need to get it done. You know your business. You excel at project management. You can lift thirty tonne boulders over your head. I think that you're qualified." Heylyn set the offer out.
"I don't know... I'll take it." Valerie agreed.
"Good. Now we're three. We just need one more and we might be able to take this tattoo lady on." Heylyn said to them.
"Wonder Warai?" Monique said with a growing smile.
Tying Up Loose Ends
Prisoner 5372 followed the path back from the wash facilities to his cell. He'd been busy taking on laundry duty for the extra cash and mostly to keep busy. He'd learned that such efforts paid when it came keeping oneself fit of mind during incarceration. He returned to his cell and spent the rest of the day reading.
He'd fallen a long way from the shores of Treadwater Island and into the depths of hell in the penitentiary. He'd once been the master of a huge industrial empire centered around his tropical paradise on the island of his naming. Treadwater had been discovered fairly recently in terms of its recognized existence in maps throughout the world. The legend claimed that it was discovered by the survivors of a sinking ship, who during the night were able to remain alive by treading water in the warm tropical oceans. As the sun rose, it revealed the island hence landing its name as the savior of those survivors.
The truth was though and by large, that the young Alomera Zek had known about the island during his youth. In his twenty first year, he had accumulated enough material wealth to live out the rest of his life in luxury though his thirst for power was never quenched. Having known about the hidden island which had been a smuggler's paradise for years and a part of his family's legacy, he decided that it was time to share his little secret. So he'd commission a cruise ship to a very specific path nearing the island overnight, at which point he'd sink the vessel. Should there be any survivors by sunrise, they would remember it as their legendary savior. They'd never know though that the man who'd held knowledge of it had actually crafted their near demise. Of course he'd not been on the voyage himself after all, despite being twenty one years of age, he was still wise enough not to take a voyage on a sinking ship.
From the moment of its legendary discovery, it had become a tropical paradise and vacationer`s resort attracting the wealthy from the world over. Leaders from the new world could often be found there and it always managed to stay in the spot light. Zek had fought to retain most of the island himself, building his resorts on nearly sixty percent of the land. He'd spent little time there, having residences in South America where he'd spend most of his time and life, occasionally living in Europe. He was always welcomed as he'd never brought bad with him, and it was probably safer to be where he was rather than where he wasn't. Between the ages of nineteen and thirty, he'd already amassed wealth beyond his wildest dreams and power to go along with by the simple fact that many in power had secrets that they did not want others to know. Personal secrets. Dirty secrets. Scratches on the faces of their polished mirrors. Zek had developed both the allegorical language and the technique to deal with such people by knowing these secrets, and letting them know that he knew without letting others know the same thing. That was enough and all it took most of the time.
For the ones who'd resisted his efforts, he'd developed a system of dealing with them too. A database though he'd set this up long before the existence of digital computing. An efficient filing system containing typed pages of information and pictures pertaining to the proof of these personal secrets. When he'd needed someone dealt with, he'd have the photographic lab make a photographic copy of the documents and photos and just send them by mail to where they'd do the most harm. The press. A competing political party. A wife. Their children. It would be done and not long after so would their threat to him.
This system grew and was sizable at over five hundred entries pertaining to people from across the world, most powerful leaders of the so called free world. Free from everything except blackmail and extortion. This power to manipulate was effective, but it was nothing compared to the monster it was about to become during the nineteen seventies with the advent of digital computing. He'd bought his first computing system for this purpose in 1974, a computing system with 256 kilobytes of RAM storage and ten megabytes of offline storage. The computer itself took up all of the floor space of two offices in the basement of a condominium he'd owned and lived in. It's user interface was a series of dials and knobs, while a keyboard could be attached whose output would be echoed through a large printer. He'd hired a team to transfer his data onto the offline storage of this computer which he appropriately called SCAMTAC (System for the Collection of Attack Methods for the purpose of Theft And Corruption).
Over the years, SCAMTAC grew and from its early beginnings at that time, ten years later it had shrunk small enough to fit into one office while its computing and storage capacity had group exponentially. His entries had grown to include over ten thousand people from around the world, including the first digitized photographs to accompany this information. In 1988, he made the tremendous step of connecting it to the trunk, the main pipeline that linked many computers over a growing network that was being dubbed the internet. By the year two thousand, SCAMTAC had shrunk yet again several times over and increased exponentially in capacity. With the growth of the internet he could literally reach whomever he'd wanted to, stretching the threat of SCAMTAC to match the reach of his industrial empire. The irony was that he'd gained such information initially by spying on those guests who'd stayed at Treadwater Island all those years ago and grown it into one of the biggest threats to freedom the world over. He'd use the secrets kept in SCAMTAC to pressure any opposition to his plans or threat to his empire. Economic growth and prosperity is not a bad thing. Blackmailing opposition to quell resistance to one's expansion is.
When Torman had shown up at his retreat, Zek had already been cornered onto his island by a world that was almost upon him. The miraculous formula that Torman had brought with him had presented a solution to his growing conundrums and he had planned to exploit it to the fullest. When the Women had arrived at his island to retrieve the formula and foil his plans that too was another part of his plan. To be able to utilize the formula he'd need to wipe out all opposition against his having it. He'd developed a neutralizing radiation, that was capable of making the formula and its effects upon the body inert. He's won. Or so he'd thought.
Someone, or something had given them back their unique abilities. Returned those powers he'd taken away. The same thing that had probed and terrified him. Something beyond the powers of science alone. The powers of science were indeed magnificent, but this was something that had helped them overcome what he'd taken away, giving them back the powers they'd gained through Alicia's gift as a researcher and biochemist.
It took a year for the court proceedings to finish and for him to be sentenced to his twenty five consecutive life sentences for a list of charges too numerous to even begin to try to explain. The charges for which he'd been found guilty had been made available as a seven hundred and twenty six page public web document ironically. He'd become a victim of the very method he'd perfected to eradicate his enemies. His weapons were; ruining marriages by setting up and then exposing extra-marital affairs, photos of such affairs, prior personal secrets before being elected into office, anything that might pit those officials against their constituents. Most of what he did was attack the privacy and personal secrets of his victims. Now his entire criminal record was a legally available document for the public record as an effort to earn the public's trust once again by the many who'd been victimized by such tactics. He had no such access to the internet at his address for obvious reasons. His successor did and his successor had unique ways of communicating such information, even through prison walls to one of the most highly guarded prisoners within the facility. The time for Alomera Zek's usefulness had come to an end.
The contract itself was pricey, at over ten million dollars. Whosoever undertook it most certainly would need time and a place to spend it and even that was taken care of. For the inmate who took on such a contract would find themselves mysteriously paroled. Free by the very same methods that Zek had invented to pressure his opposition. Secrets that decision makers would rather not let get out lest they lost their career and possibly their life. Zek's successor had learned well. As it says in an Aesop fable; we often give the means to our enemies for our own destruction.
Alomera Zek sat silently and read. He did not know that death had snuck into the bunk beneath him, waiting for him to return from the laundry facility. Zek had just folded the book onto his chest and closed his eyes to nap when death struck swift and silent. Drawing no blood but only the breath so vital to life itself. He struggled against the stronger inmate to little effect and eventually he ceased, falling into an eternal sleep. Hence was the rise of Alomera Zek's estranged son into power solidified.
He intended to improve upon his dead father's short comings. He'd learned much in his father's absence. He'd learned about the Women who'd defeated him. About their lives and identities. He'd even learned about the Dragon. The great Dragon that had returned their powers through the will of the good people of the world. Now he knew of their greatest enemy and their only redemption. He knew of the Gem and the Dragon. If his father had been alive and they had been talking, Alomera Zek might have warned him that such overconfidence and hubris would lead to defeat. It was always the unknown that lay in wait in shadows to strike as Alomera Zek had learned earlier before he'd slept into the abyss. Watching, waiting for the moment to rend one into the their end.
Zek's son knew of everything except the one thing that he absolutely needed to know. The secret that he sought knew about him. It was just toying with him and his empire, in wait for the moment to strike. To take everything he'd accumulated, for it was meant to belong to her as was everything that Zek's heir sought. She had a name.
She intended to send a clear message to him. To allow the fear some time to find him and build in him. To let him know that even he was not safe from her. The Dragon Butterfly.
Midnight Encounter
They sat in their fort though it was more of a factory floor, much like Torman's chemical engineering plant though much smaller. They had set up in wait for their prey and their prey was not about to disappoint. They'd set it up just right with every defense they'd need to deal with the mystery lady. They'd been planning this since they'd received the orders from Zek II. He'd given them an account through which they could acquire any assets required to accomplish the job. Getting the bait had been the hardest part.
They'd been told that their quarry had an appetite for taking out violent rapists and others who'd victimized Women in a similar manner. The more extreme their crime in that regard, the more likely she was to show. The more there were the merrier. In her last attack, she'd managed to take down the core members of a local gang, all seven of them even in the presence of an investigating Detective, though she'd left him alive. Not out of mercy but more as a part of her plan.
Another Woman like the tattooed lady was searching the city too for the lady. To put a stop to this madness once and for all. So her adopted child could be safe from it and so that she could have peace of mind once and for all about her opposite to whom her fate seemed to be bound. The Dragon Butterfly.
At Heylyn's home, Monique sat with Warai on the couch as they watched a movie together. They were both silent, perhaps in worry that Heylyn had gone on patrol this night. They'd agreed she someone needed to deal with the Dragon Butterfly threat. Not because they wanted to protect her prey because they didn't. They wanted to preserve society and the means of dealing with such problems by means other than murder and terror. These questions perplexed Warai even as she sat and watched a story about a little fish who'd lost her parents.
"Monique? Can I ask you something?" Warai spoke as she though about the situation.
"You certainly can sweetie. What do you want to know?" Monique asked grabbing the remote and turning down the television to better hear Warai.
"If the other lady... I mean the bad one. She goes and hurts only bad people. People that like to hurt girls. Then why is the Butterfly going to stop her?" Warai asked Monique.
Monique sat and thought about that question. She was amazed at how Warai could get right to the heart of the matter at hand, with one simple question.
"Because." Monique stopped and thought about it.
Why was it right to stop the Dragon Butterfly from her one lady mission of dealing with these vile predators if she was ridding the world of their threat? She'd almost been victimized by her own prior boyfriend in such a way. Before she'd worked for Heylyn who'd helped to rebuild her life, she was in a relationship with a would be pimp. A guy who'd tried to get her to work for him as a prostitute. Fortunately she'd had enough self confidence to prevent herself from being manipulated into such employment under him, but he'd been persistent. She'd gotten away from him when Heylyn had ran into her on the street and observed that she had the exact look and body type to present one of her outfits at a fashion exposition. Heylyn offered her a chance at the job and had taken Monique under her wing, helping her to build the life that she'd earned. What difference would it make if so called men who'd done such things to Women were to suddenly just cease to be. Who would miss them?
"Monique?" Warai asked her bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Well... Because..." Monique thought about it again.
Who would decide who was to live and who would die?
"Because... honey. The lady shouldn't kill them. They need to be punished and severely for sure but she shouldn't be allowed to kill them." Monique said not certain that she meant what she was saying.
Warai thought about it looking down and then she looked back up as if she'd discovered something.
"You mean like... if she hurts or makes the wrong person go to sleep?" Warai asked Monique.
Warai was so deeply perplexed by the morality of this question that she needed in herself to find a good reason to explain why the Butterfly was going to stop someone who stopped bad people. The same someone who had taken her parents away.
Monique thought about it and wondered the same thing. What if she had killed innocent people already? The evidence suggested that she hadn't but what about future victims? What if by some mistake she'd murdered someone who was good? Someone who was a good husband or a good father (like Warai's had been). Warai's mother had most certainly been a good mother. Would their deaths be justified because The Dragon Butterfly had taken the lives of others who'd raped or brutally beaten Women? How many such people's lives did one have to take before it paid for taking the life of one innocent person?
"Yes Warai. They have to be punished for sure. Those people who treat Women like that, but not this way. The Butterfly is going out there to deal with the person who took your parents away because that person cannot pay for having done that to your parents by making other bad people go away. Your parents are innocent and they did not deserve that." Monique explained to Warai having grasped the morality a little bit more.
Monique's heart was in great pain for the little girl. Warai had been trying to find a good reason for her parents being taken from her. That they had been taken so that the person who did could pay for it by getting rid of all the bad people in the world seemed to make sense to her. Then nobody would lose their parents again. But it was not so simple and the fact was that it was wrong that her parents' lives had been taken at all. Heylyn, Ai Yuanlin Ying, The Butterfly Dragon was going out there to bring The Dragon Butterfly to justice for the murder of Warai's parents.
Warai moved in closer to Monique who put her arm around the little girl.
"Ok. Let's watch the rest of our movie. Ok?" Monique asked her quietly.
"Ok. I think I can understand now." Warai assured her.
She could relate with the little fish from the movie that had lost her parents and who'd gone on to discover that she needed to learn to survive in a much bigger ocean.
Somewhere near the water processing facility in an abandoned warehouse, the eight deadliest assassins had set up a fortress designed to capture one of the most dangerous ancient threats that existed. Heylyn spied the facility from the roof top of an adjacent building. Her senses let her see into the building and all around her for a distance of nearly fifty meters. She observed the situation from behind her mask and lightweight body suit.
They had set up with a group in the center of eight men, whom she assumed was their bait. The entire building was booby trapped and rigged with explosives. They were in possession or small, medium and large caliber weapons. They were trying to lure the Dragon Butterfly to them and they'd not gone unnoticed, for the Dragon Butterfly proceeded down the dark street towards the abandoned warehouse, in the Heylyn's own Treadwater Armour. The costume and armour she'd designed to take out Zek's henchmen on Treadwater Island. The very costume that Delia had worn whose video and pics had gone viral on a social media site. Tonight there were going to be two Butterfly Dragons.
When Dragons Collide
Hak drank back the last bit of his beer and put the bottle back in the case grabbing another.
"Hak. I told you to take it easy on the juice tonight. We're expecting her. This is a professional operation." Torrez said to his comrade.
"Using guys of our talent like this? Come on. This is a walk in the park." Hak said slamming his fresh bottle down on the table, causing it to froth over.
He quickly stuck it in his mouth in a panic trying not to lose any of his precious ale.
At that moment there were three loud and evenly pace knocks at the front door.
"Who's that. The grim reaper?" Rexx asked taking up his position behind cover with a high caliber light machine gun.
"You on the door Mark?" Torrez spoke into his headset.
"Yep. Got it." Mark leveled his sniper rifle having the door perfectly in sight through his scope.
He was tucked up quarter prone on a catwalk above the warehouse floor.
"Dagger? Torque? Slim? Knuckleball? You guys in position?" he queried the remaining force.
"I've got other side of the door. Ain't nobody getting by me." Dagger said leveling his assault rifle.
"Torque here. Got the upstairs and the windows just in case she manages to break through the cages." Torque said from the other side of the catwalk with his SMG readied.
"I've got him covered." Slim came back half prone behind Torque.
"I'm ready in case this gets a little close for comfort." Knuckleball replied.
Knuckleball was two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle.
He'd studied martial arts since his early childhood, arriving at a Master's Degree in several schools by the age of twenty seven. He'd conquered the World Mixed Martial Arts circuit three times over and now he was going to get the chance to test his skills out against a foe he could not even begin to comprehend. Someone the ancients themselves used to call a Dragon Spirit.
They had the bait tied up in the middle of the room. They were four . The deal was that if they lived, the assassins would let them go free.
"Hi Missy? We've been expecting you. The door's unlocked." Torrez keyed his headset switching channels to the intercom on the door.
His voice blared out to the Dragon Butterfly who stood waiting for their answer.
She reached for the handle and opened it, walking into the building. As soon as they saw her the started to laugh. She ignored them.
"Where are they?" she asked without losing her pace.
"That's them. Tied up. We made them a deal. If they live, they can go. Now seeing as we have this whole place rigged to the teeth with every kind of weapon that you can imagine and a few you've never even dreamt of, why don't you make it easier on us all and just give up. You definitely don't look like much to me and I've seen a lot." Torrez told her from his place at the back of the warehouse behind a sandbag.
"If I am not much, then why is this place so rigged with weapons? You jest. The truth is that you are terrified. You just do not know it yet. As for the bait. You will not have your freedom whether you die by my efforts or theirs. You are going to die. Remember my words just as you'll recall the night you dragged that sixteen year old girl into the alley behind your favorite variety store. Or how you disfigured Wendy with your pocket knife after you'd violated her. I don't need to remind the others because they already know that death has arrived for them." she spoke without fear or remorse for what she was about to do.
"Well I've heard enough. This one's off her rocker. That's very dramatic but you're dealing with professionals M'aam. We have no intent of letting you leave here dead or alive. You're our prize now. Mark, lights out. Let's the this party started." Torrez gave the signal and the lights in the warehouse shut down leaving everyone in complete darkness.
They switched on their night vision giving them an unobstructed and near perfect view of everything. After Mark had hit the WiFi switch, he aimed and took his shot. For the first time in his life as an assassin, he missed.
The Dragon Butterfly anticipated the shot as if she'd known the exact moment he was going to pull the trigger. She moved just slightly and the round screamed through the air an inch from her head. Unconcerned she proceeded to walk towards her prey as if the absence of light made no difference. For them it only made it impossible to see the thing they should fear the most.
From outside the building, Heylyn put the phone to her ear.
"Monique, I'm going into a difficult situation. Letting you know just in case. Its at Commissioner Street and Saulter Street. An abandoned warehouse facility. Call the Police and let them know that the tattooed lady is there right now. They might need fire and medical too. Do it and don't let Warai know what is going on!" Heylyn told her then hung up the phone.
She took deep breath as the sound of arms fire echoed in the dark warehouse making it appear like strobe lights in a dance club. She flew from the roof top towards the window she could see. It was sealed with bars though she would just break them if she had to. Inside pandemonium and panic had broken out for the assassins had no intel on the dark shadowy thing that was flying through the warehouse. Taunting and terrifying them. Playing with them like toy soldiers though soldiers they were not.
Heylyn smashed into the glass and the bars beyond, both shattered into splinters sending live shrapnel into the large warehouse room as she entered. Up on the catwalk Torque had opened up fire on her screaming into his headset.
"There's another one up here! I'm dead serious!" he screamed over the sound of munitions exploding from the chamber of his weapon throwing hot metal at supersonic speeds towards the Butterfly Dragon.
She moved stepping to the side leaping onto the hand rails of the catwalk to dodge the first barrage of automatic weapon fire. She leapt onto the hand rails of the other side cartwheeling their length the rounds narrowly missing her. She arrived at Torque's position grabbing his weapon and pushing it upon and into his face. The hot barrel impacted his forehead knocking him unconscious.
Slim backed away from her firing as he did. She tumbled under his fire coming out of the roll hands first up and onto the railing once again cartwheeling it following him back. she landed behind him as he spun to meet her. He pulled a combat knife from his waist belt and swung it at her face. She stepped back catching his arm as it passed and adding to its momentum. He tumbled over the side though she held his hand. She hefted him up once, pulling his head solidly into the hand rail of the catwalk knocking him too unconscious.
Her senses came to life when mark took aim with his sniper rifle from the catwalk on the opposite side of the warehouse. She jumped upwards into the hardware support beams for the roof, leaping from there to the catwalk he was upon. He dropped his sniper rifle and went for his hand gun. He pulled it firing a shot. She moved her head to side catching his hand in hers, twisting his wrist upward making his nerves release the grip. She threw it aside as he jabbed at her face. She easily dodged it side stepping his fist pulling his arm continuing his arc and direction over her, which she had spun to make a barrier to his. He fell face first onto the catwalk knocked unconscious. She hit him once in the ribs to ensure that he'd not get up. On the warehouse floor it had turned into a nightmare.
Outside the warehouse a group of cars sped down Commissioner Street to Saulter Street and ejected their passengers. A group of reporters and their crew ran out and towards the warehouse, which had turned into a combat zone. Amongst them was Susan Nemus. She and her camera man made their way to the front door where the Dragon Butterfly had made her entry to the building only minutes ago. The camera man prepared his camera as they expertly set up their shot.
"I'm Susan Nemus and this is CLive TV. We're live outside of a warehouse on Commissioner Street just near Saulter Street. Inside we've received reports that the mysterious tattoo lady is inside taking on her latest battle to stop crime." Susan stepped back and the camera zoomed in to the darkness of the doorway which was briefly lit by gunfire. They saw a lone figure dressed in a costume in combat with one of the gun toting assailants.
Dagger had been the first to face down the Dragon Butterfly. He'd emptied all hundred rounds from the ammunition belt of his machine gun into the wall trying to hit her. She'd just dodged them like it was a walk in the park. When she'd arrived at his position he'd discarded the bulky machine gun in favor of his smaller dual hand guns. He'd fired them continuously certain that he could not miss yet she still proceeded having side stepped and ducked every single shot.
"So you like close ups do you?" he said to her.
He swung his fist in a wide arc which she easily ducked, punching his now open face once but not too hard. His nose ebbed his blood.
"You're going to pay for that." He tried a direct punch at her chest.
She turned slightly stretching her arm out to span the length of his. She hooked her hand around behind his arm and stepped in towards him. His shoulder popped out of his socket and he fell to the floor screaming.
"I thought I was a joke you you. So here's the punchline." she laughed dryly as she drove her heel into his throat.
Susan Nemus had managed to get inside of the warehouse with her camera man watching from the corner. They'd found the warehouse light switch and once again returned the warehouse to its dimly lit state. By that time Rexx and Torrez had regrouped and thought if they could take the Dragon Butterfly out at the same time they might actually stand a chance.
They both ran in opposite directions opening fire with their assault rifles trying to flank her. Somehow she managed avoid their gunfire taking her steps very carefully as if she'd known the trajectory ahead of time of every one of their shots. She picked Rexx first and walked directly towards him as if completely oblivious to any kind of threat he still might possess. He tried to kick her though she just stepped aside. Catching his foot in mid flight. She lifted it high and higher walking toward him as he hopped in attempt to stay on his foot. When Torrez thought that he'd take a shot at her, she angled her upper body and stepped aside and let the bullet do its work upon Rexx. He shuddered momentarily and then fell dead with a hole in his head. She then proceeded on towards Torrez who backed away from her. He was afraid. In fact he was terrified.
Heylyn landed just behind Knuckleball. He turned when he'd heard her land.
"So you're the martial arts hotshot I've heard so much about. Do you want a shot at the title?" he asked her holding up his dukes.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing." she said to him without breaking stride.
"Only one thing. My Mother told me never to hit Women." he said to her standing down.
She relaxed her guard a little.
Then he struck at her as she dodged his fist.
"I lied." he told her.
They backed up into the center of the warehouse. There they got into stance and limbered.
"What are you supposed to be. Some kind of Butterfly or something?" he asked her checking out her costume.
"Why, what are you supposed to be. A man?" she asked him keeping her guard up.
"Heh, that's quite a sense of humour. No. I'm bug spray!" he said throwing a snap kick at her.
She backed up dodging his foot as his other leg spun from behind in a round kick. She ducked it maintaining her spin shrinking to the floor extending her legs into a foot sweep. Her foot connected while he was still on one foot. All two hundred and fifty pounds of his muscle fell to the floor. She somersaulted into a cartwheel and onto her feet.
"Point. Footsweep." she said as Susan's camera caught the moment.
He got up onto his feet.
"You're good. Alright lets go for real this time." he said to her.
He charged her with a barrage of rapid punches which she side stepped again. He followed up with a spinning back hand. She ducked catching his back hand holding his hand in the air and punching his arm pit where he hit the nerve with her two knuckles. He screamed in pain backing up away from her. A moment later he came at her again trying to clip her knees. She jumped placing both her hands on his shoulders using them for a hand hold and plunged her feet into his solar plexus. He fell forward onto her though she used his momentum lift him with her legs and to carry him over her head and onto his back. She rolled back onto her hands then cartwheeled onto her feet.
"Way to go!" Susan cheered her on as the camera man caught it all.
Torrez had pulled a pair of brass knuckles and was deep into combat with the Dragon Butterfly. He swung his fists just narrowly missing her. She taunted and toyed with him. hitting the bottom of his chin with her fingers in a "flick".
She'd noticed that the Butterfly Dragon was almost finished with the large one, so she speeded things up.
Torrez took another swing and this time she caught his fist twisting his arm. His body spun to prevent his elbow from breaking leaving his back to her. She arched her leg in a spinning kick plunging her heel into his shoulder blade. She then dropped her leg and punched his rib cage breaking four of them, sending one into his lung. He suffocated to death a minute later.
She then made her way to the prey she'd come here for. She made her way over to the camera standing before Susan Nemus.
"Well hello little miss Susan. You do know why those men were here and why I'm here? Because I'm the real hero. That one is a fake. A phony. She doesn't possess the will nor the determination to do what needs to be done. So I'm going to show you what needs to be done. Right now. Then I'll let your public make the decision yourselves. Who's the real Butterfly?" she asked the camera.
"These men tied up here are all convicted rapists. They were here as bait. Being protected by those men with the guns. I dealt with the gun men as I'm going to deal with those rapists." she said stepping back to where they were huddled, tied up.
She proceeded to kill them one at a time, breaking each of their necks.
"Now I'll let you decide. Whose the real Butterfly?" she asked the camera once again.
"You're finished." Heylyn said to her as she finished with Knuckleball, who fell to the floor and did not get up.
"You see! She's trying to protect the rapists! Is that what you want? A hero that protects rapists? Who's the real Butterfly?" she asked walking in circles seductively waiving her hands in the air like a private victory dance.
"You're wrong! What you're doing is wrong. I'm not here to protect any violation of any Woman. I'm here to stop you because what you're doing is wrong. You have crimes to answer for." Heylyn stepped towards the Dragon Butterfly.
"I'm sorry, but the main event isn't tonight. This was just the preview of what's to come. I wanted to send a little message to Zek's heir. You know Zek? Your old friend? Well he's hunting us. You too my dear. I've already saved your pretty little neck once. This is how you thank me?" the Dragon Butterfly approached her.
Beside one another they looked remarkably similar yet Heylyn's costume was newer, lighter and endearing to her body. The other had taken an about face with her appearance and kept her legs and chest hidden behind the armor of the prior Butterfly Dragon costume. She was toying with Heylyn and Heylyn knew it.
Heylyn stepped in attempting to grab her. She easily dodged it. Heylyn clasped again and she dodged again as their scuffled escalated to an expertly conducted series of strikes and blocks ending in a stand off.
"I told you. The main event has yet to come, Butterfly. Shouldn't you be at home protecting your precious little gem? You should get there before she finds out the truth about you. About you coming here to protect those rapists." the Dragon Butterfly leapt up to the catwalk and towards the window that Heylyn had destroyed.
Heylyn flew up and onto the catwalk blocking her from proceeding to the window. The Dragon Butterfly feigned and attack once then again, throwing her the second time. She hit a wall sliding down again as Susan's crew caught it on camera.
When she got up, the Dragon Butterfly was gone.
"The Police are on their way. Are you hurt?" Heylyn asked Susan.
"No. I'm alright." Susan assured her.
"I have to go. You'll be safe with the Police. I'll be giving them any information about tonight but anonymously. The men on the catwalk are alive. I didn't kill them. Same with the big one." Heylyn stepped out the door as she heard the sirens as the squad cars pulled up.
With that the Butterfly Dragon flew off into the sky and on towards her home.
When she'd arrived she was relieved to see that Monique and Warai were asleep on the couch curled up with one another. She quietly stepped into her bedroom to change and shower and emerged fifteen minutes later clean and in a silk house coat.
"Warai honey. Its time for bed." she stroked her hair gently.
Warai awoke a little tired and her face lit up when she Heylyn.
She jumped at her with her arms open.
"It's Ok. I know that you didn't go there to protect the bad people. You do good. Like my Mommy and Daddy." Warai held onto her as Heylyn felt a sense of profound relief.
"We're going to be alright sweetie. Everything is going to alright." Heylyn held onto her tightly as Monique stirred.
"Where's mine?" Monique asked her semi-sarcastically.
Heylyn and Warai both laughed.
News Spreads
Alicia watched the television in disbelief. They'd gathered in the lunch room of the research facility around the television which was usually turned down. Someone had noticed the first report earlier that morning and it had become the talk of the office. By lunch time they had been sitting and waiting for the mid day edition from CLive TV. Alicia usually only took the time to eat before jumping back into the lab kept a low profile amongst her peers. Some had been ribbing her about the footage of her from Geneva leaping onto rooftops in pursuit of those who'd made off with Norler. Most of it was meant in jest, however she still found it a little unnerving. She stopped and stared at the television as the midday report came on.
"This is the CLive TV midday edition news. Our top story: midnight mayhem at an abandoned warehouse last night. Our own Susan Nemus was there to catch it all. Warning, there is some imagery that might be disturbing for some viewers." Roland Selderson, the news anchor reported as they cut to the live video Susan and her crew had shot the night before.
"I'm Susan Nemus and this is CLive TV. We're live outside of a warehouse on Commissioner Street just near Saulter Street. Inside we've received reports that the mysterious tattoo lady is inside taking on her latest battle to stop crime." the camera remained centered on her and then quickly panned to the right to take in the action between the mysterious tattoo lady and one of the warehouse occupants.
She'd just dispatched Dagger with the heel of one of her shoes. She was now making her way to Rexx and Torrez, dodging their gunfire deftly and expertly. The camera adjusted in angle trying to take in the action. It caught the moment just as Rexx fell dead to the concrete of the warehouse floor and the Dragon Butterfly turned her attention to Torrez.
"To add to the mystery, for the first time caught on camera, we have the first look at the Butterfly Woman who seems to be assisting the mysterious Dragon Lady." Susan spoke.
Another mysterious costumed figure had just landed, blocking the camera's view of the Dragon Butterfly. Heylyn had just landed on the warehouse floor and was preparing to take on Knuckleball. The camera pulled back focusing on the two combatants, the larger male easily three times her size and weight. They spent a moment circling each other before the action began. He threw a few punches at her which she quickly dodged returning with a foot sweep. The camera image then blurred momentarily and Susan's voice cut accompanied by a side by side comparison of the two mysterious Women.
"Who are they? The Dragon Lady and the Butterfly Woman." Susan asked to an audience that she could not see.
"Well hello little miss Susan. You do know why those men were here and why I'm here? Because I'm the real hero. That one is a fake. A phony. She doesn't possess the will nor the determination to do what needs to be done. So I'm going to show you what needs to be done. Right now. Then I'll let your public make the decision yourselves. Who's the real Butterfly?" the Dragon Lady spoke into the camera her neck tattoos visible.
"These men tied up here are all convicted rapists. They were here as bait. Being protected by those men with the guns. I dealt with the gun men as I'm going to deal with those rapists." the Dragon lady walked away from the camera towards the men she'd pointed out.
The men who were all bound and gagged appeared to be panicking though they could not flee. The camera blurred as she went to each one in turn and broke their necks one at a time. They had edited the footage so that the Dragon Lady's efforts were not clear or visible but still disturbing nonetheless.
Onscreen the picture of the Dragon Lady filled the screen with the caption: Who is the Dragon Lady?
"We went to the streets to find out what people think about the mysterious Dragon Lady." Susan's voice interjected to the report before the screen cut away to the streets.
"She's a one Woman wrecking crew, taking down the members of society who prey on others. I say go for it!" the camera had cut to a lady on the streets from a series of public opinion interviews.
"She's just taking out the trash!" a man in his mid twenties stated.
"I think this is good for Women in general. It shows that Women will not be victims anymore. They took advantage and paid the price. Good for her." a lady in her late twenties spoke for the camera.
"I don't know. I think that what she's doing is still wrong." a man in his late twenties spoke on camera.
"Yahoo! Kick arse. You go for it girl!" another lady came on enthusiastically.
"She's taking the law into her own hands. That's what the Police and courts are there for. No good can come of this." a lady in her early forties spoke.
"That's just some of the opinion on the streets about the mysterious Dragon Lady." Susan explained.
The screen image then focused on the image of the Butterfly Woman with the caption: Who is the Butterfly?
The screen cut away to the video of the Butterfly as she spoke to the Susan before leaving the warehouse.
"The Police are on their way. Are you hurt?" the Butterfly Woman asked Susan.
"No. I'm alright." Susan's voice came from the report.
"I have to go. You'll be safe with the Police. I'll be giving them any information about tonight but anonymously. The men on the catwalk are alive. I didn't kill them. Same with the big one." the Butterfly Woman stepped off camera.
The screen image returned to the image of Heylyn in the Butterfly Dragon costume taken as a screen grab from the report video.
"Now we asked the public what they think of this new Woman. The Butterfly Woman." Susan's report continued.
"I think that she's doing the right thing. She seems to be. I don't know if they're working together. I mean they fought didn't they?" a guy in his early twenties said.
"I don't think that she's helping at all. She clearly showed up to save those rapists. I mean the Dragon Lady is thinking of our safety. The Butterfly one's protecting them." a Woman in her mid twenties gave her opinion.
"She's clearly a little girl in a lady's world. I mean come on, she tried to protect those rapists. What is that? The Dragon Lady is where it's at." a younger man told the camera.
"The Butterfly needs to be swatted. As simple as that. Get with the program. We need to clean those predators out of society and the Dragon Lady is getting the job done." a Woman in her early thirties spoke.
"I don't know what to think. I think that she's trying to do the right thing, but that's what the Police are there for. Maybe she doesn't know what she's doing." a man in his late twenties responded.
"The Butterfly is clearly trying to take the credit for what the Dragon Lady has been doing all along. I'll bet the Dragon Lady was the one who helped beat back Zek's gangs in the city during the Treadwater scandal. Not the image that we want to send to women." a lady in her mid thirties spoke.
The screen switched to the footage of the brief standoff between the Butterfly Woman and the Dragon Lady. They started their fight moving far too fast to be seen on camera, in a clear stalemate. The Butterfly blocked everything that the Dragon threw as did the Dragon. The circled each other for moments before the conflict stopped and the screen image cut back to Susan Nemus.
"We asked the Police Chief what he thought about this affair and what the Police are doing about it." Susan's voice interjected as the scene cut to an interview with the Police Chief.
"I want to remind the public that what both of these women are doing is unlawful and will be investigated fully. The Police do not condone or support violence against Women in any way or violence from Women. Either will be apprehended upon sight and the public is urged to give us any information regarding this situation or any related to these women. I also want to remind the public that a Detective is among those injured by the Dragon Lady, so please avoid interacting with this woman at all costs and call authorities via the 9-1-1 emergency response system." the Police Chief said professionally and tactfully.
"This has been Susan Nemus reporting for CLive TV News in Toronto." Susan finished her report.
Alicia's stomach cringed and she thought of her friend, Heylyn and what she must be going through right now. She was thankful that the fervor had died down with her scandal and she'd been getting a little bit of peace. She wondered if it would be dangerous for her to approach or phone Heylyn. Was either of them being watched? She decided that she should get in contact with her friend either way. At the end of the day she called Heylyn from her car.
"Heylyn. How are you honey? Its me." Alicia said as Heylyn answered the phone.
"I know who it is. I was expecting a call from you. Just a hunch. How are you?" Heylyn replied playfully.
"I'm fine. Really. I've been very busy with the new formula. I see that you've been busy too." Alicia insinuated to Heylyn.
"Yes, I've had my plate full recently, since we got Monique from the Hospital. I was actually going to call you and Walton about taking part in a promotional tour around the globe. At least getting involved in the Toronto wing of the tour. Warai, Valerie, Monique and I came up with the idea that we should get some charity work involved in the Toronto show." Heylyn suggested to Alicia.
"What's going on. Where is this going to take place?" Alicia asked.
"Downtown Toronto. Dundas Square and Queen West. Two sites set up with music, fashion and art. People can watch any of a number of free music concerts by top Canadian acts. There's going to be a few fashion shows as well available for the public. We're offering free makeup makeovers. Valerie came up with the idea of holding a charity auction too. We want to integrate this into one of the many research programs Tynan is involved with. Any suggestions?" Heylyn asked Alicia seeming to be unphased by the media beating the Butterfly Woman was taking.
"Ummmm. Well, Walton would know a bit about that aspect though there's a program we have that takes donations to make our treatment program available to low income households where it is not covered by health insurance. We also have another program for children that funds any care related costs that are hindering their education during the treatment program. You might want to talk to Walton though..." Alicia told her honestly.
"That's perfect! They're having one in New York this coming weekend and Los Angeles and San Francisco are having theirs the weekend after. Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok, Mumbai, Sydney and Beijing are in three weeks. Europe is having theirs the week after. Do you want to have a formal meeting here at West Meet East? The show is coming up in over a weekend in late July and one in early August. We should meet by next week to get the details down in writing." Heylyn suggested.
"That sounds perfect. Let's do it. I'm glad to hear that you're doing well. We'll call you either tonight or tomorrow night with details and a time." Alicia said her mood eased a little.
"Sounds great. We'll talk soon. Miss you sweetie." Heylyn said to Alicia.
"Me too. Bye." Alicia hung up the phone.
"And then there were four. Plus one." Heylyn hung up the phone addressing Warai, Valeria and Monique.
"Plus one pint sized, you mean." Monique responded rubbing Warai's hair who giggled slightly.
"She's on board?" Valerie asked.
"She's going to call with details. We'll be meeting sometime during this week or the next." Heylyn said unworried about the events taking place elsewhere.
"Well I'd say that we're back in action. Let's hope the Dragon Lady doesn't strike before then." Monique said to them.
At the 9-1-1 call handling center, they'd just received a call about an attack. The attacker, a lone lady with tattoos from head to toe who dressed like she'd walked off the set of a sleezy video had waylaid a group of drug dealers, those dealing specifically in crack cocaine. The caller, a frenzied user who had been in the dwelling of the victims screamed over the phone.
"She's the ####### devil woman. She killed them all. All of them! Please hurry! I think she's gonna come back and get me!" the voice exclaimed in a drug induced panic into the phone.
Of Gems And Zek
"What do you mean, all of them?" Roberto Zek questioned the messenger.
"All of them. Every last one. Four lived and are in the hospital under Police guard. The rest. Gone." the messenger hesitated while choosing his words carefully.
"What do you mean, gone? You mean they're dead? You mean that... thing... killed them all? By herself?" Zek confirmed leaning forward in his chair.
"No. Not really." the messenger said, afraid to continue the bad news.
"Then what aren't you telling me?" Zek's brows furrowed.
"There's another one." the messenger said reluctantly.
"You mean there's two of these things now?" he asked.
"Well. Yes. But one of them isn't quite a killer. From what we know she's... trying to stop the other one." the messenger told him.
"I hired the best mercenaries money could buy and that Dragon Lady took out all of them?" Zek leaned back taking it in.
"The Dragon Lady killed half of them we're presuming, and the bait too. The other one only incapacitated the other half." the messenger continued.
"Alright. That will be all. Send my advisor in." Zek told the messenger.
The well dressed messenger left the room and a moment later the advisor stepped into Zek's office. Zek watched him from his throne.
"I want you to make arrangements for the remaining mercenaries to this fiasco to have legal defense once they're out of the hospital. I'll take it off of their contract. Meanwhile, we need to be concentrating on getting our network set up in that city. Send a message to the streets that we're recruiting. I want us to be back at the same levels of influence in that city with the connections to distribute product as well. My father did it in less than five years. We'll do it in less than two. Now, what did you have to report?" Zek instructed the messenger.
"I'm glad you asked." the advisor spoke confidently with a slight edge.
Zek's eyes narrowed.
"We've found some information about the gem." the advisor told him purposely holding some back.
"Don't play coy with me. Go on." Zek asserted.
"It seems that a couple were were killed in a car accident along a mountain road in Japan. Their names were Lee Jeong-Min, a South Korean national, she was twenty eight at the time and Akito Tokama a Japanese male, thirty five years of age. This was three weeks ago." the advisor told Zek.
"Oh. My heart is touched. What a tragedy. I take it this is going somewhere." Zek said sarcastically.
"Do you want to hear this or not?" the advisor asked.
"Just cut to the chase." Zek said impatiently.
"Funny you should say that because that's how they died. Someone or something was pursuing them." the advisor stated.
"Go on." Zek retorted.
"Well they died trying to escape while en route to a temple near Mount Fuji. It seems they had a next of kin. A daughter." the advisor said luring Zek along.
"Don't toy with me or you'll be hanging from a tree in the courtyard." Zek said in all seriousness.
"The daughter's name, Warai Jeong-Min Tokama, five years old was picked up for adoption by someone from Toronto. A fashion designer and guru. You'll never guess who that is." the advisor told Zek whose interest grew a hundred fold.
"Heylyn Yates." Zek stated a grim look of amusement on his face.
"Precisely." the advisor told Zek.
"So we didn't know about this... little girl because our watcher was taken out before we got any of the video feed from her place. When she returned from a mini tour of the Far East, including South Korea, Japan and China, she had little miss Warai in her custody and care." Zek assembled the information.
"Which means..." the advisor continued.
"...that she's the gem. I knew there was a reason that I paid you so much. Don't ever toy with me again like that or its the bottom of a lake for you. I want you to get someone near them. Someone inside preferably to feed us information about what they're up to. I want to know everything about them. I mean we're going to need to if we're going to kidnap... I mean adopt this little girl. We need this gem for our little experiment." Zek ordered the advisor.
The Meeting Meeting Of Another Kind
They arrived discretely by cab at the offices and studios of West Meet East at two o'clock in the afternoon. They approached the building, Walton getting the door for Alicia as they stepped into the building.
"Ms. Westin. Mr. Norler. They're expecting you in the board room. If you'll come this way." the receptionist led them to the boardroom where five familiar faces were there to greet them.
"Good to see you again." Alicia gave Heylyn a warm hug.
"Good to see you too, honey." Heylyn returned the warmth.
"Heylyn." Walton shook hands with her then gave her a hug with the other.
"Walton you hunk." Heylyn flirted.
"My hunk." Alicia said playfully.
"Well you're just going to have to share him with us today." Valerie said shaking his hand and then Alicia's.
"Where's mine?" Monique said shaking their hands.
Warai was seated at the big boardroom table with crayons and a colouring book diligently working on a masterpiece.
"Honey? Are you going to say hi?" Heylyn asked her.
"Just a minute." Warai replied deep in concentration on staying inside the lines.
"She'll have her own staff within a year." Walton said in jest to the laughter of the Women.
"Help yourself to the pastries. There's coffee, tea and Chai Latte." Heylyn directed them to the tray set on a buffet in the board room.
They each grabbed a pastry and a hot drink. Heylyn took a strawberry roll for Warai who'd just finished her colouring book portfolio.
"See?" she held it up for them to look at.
"Very nice. I think I see a bit of the family in there." Alicia said to Warai.
"And I did this one too." Warai said as she put the book down, turned the page and presented it to them again.
"Hey honey. That's great. I might use that in a dress. If its alright with you?" Heylyn asked her.
"No. But if you give me a dress I can just colour it for you." Warai said turning a new page and starting her colouring again.
The room laughed for a moment and when they settled down, they got down to business.
"We'll discuss the bad first. Then the good. Warai already knows about this a little from our mutual friend." Heylyn said to them.
"You mean Welly." Warai responded.
"Yes. That's who I meant." Heylyn stated.
"So since last we spoke, here's what's been happening and what we know." Heylyn continued.
"Since Warai and I returned from the Far East, someone, presumably the Dragon Lady revealed an attempt to spy on Monique's condo unit, and my condo unit. Later the suspect from that case was found taking a long nap in a parking lot near a pier at Jarvis and the Queen's Quay. Again we presume that the Dragon Lady was responsible. During that time she's been scouring the city of convicts who've been guilty of abusing women." Heylyn addressed the room.
"Yes. It was very scary to get back home after being in the hospital to find that our units were wired like the set of a television station." Monique explained.
"Why would someone do that?" Walton asked.
"Information. Dirty secrets. Blackmail. Who knows. I mean Heylyn is a celebrity of sorts." Alicia said addressing the room.
"What about Zek's database? Remember? Like the one from the island." Valerie suggested.
"Maybe someone is trying to find out our secrets. You know. To use against us?" Monique continued Valerie's suggestion.
"Well judging by the incident staged in Geneva against Alicia and Walton, and the one here in Toronto against Valerie, that would be consistent. I mean look at the publicity we got from that. It ended up being like a destructive force in our lives despite the fact that we've been doing only good." Heylyn summarized.
"But Zek's out of the picture. He's in prison. No way he's going to set up another dirty secrets database in there." Walton said looking to the Women each in turn.
"So you're saying that there's someone else nudging in on his old turf? Who?" Monique said.
"We could run in circles for hours trying to figure that out with what little we know. What about the Dragon Lady. Where does she fit into this?" Valerie posed.
"Well since the incident in the warehouse two nights ago, I've leaned a bit more about her. For one she's an expert martial artist." Heylyn told them.
"Even better than you?" Alicia asked her in disbelief.
"Maybe. She's pretty fast. She's just like the old legends. The ancient spirit warriors. Like the stories I was told as a child." Heylyn told them unsure of whether she could hold ground against the Dragon Lady.
"Maybe we should be asking who she is? Where did she come from?" Walton suggested.
"She didn't really come from anywhere as much as she came from everywhere." Heylyn said.
"Oh no. Here we go again with one of your you can leave when you can snatch the pebble, colloquialisms. Come on Heylyn. What do you mean by everywhere?" Valerie confronted her on the ambiguity of her statement.
"I mean that she is not just a person. She's a spirit. She's like a force of nature in ancient times that would show up when things were not right. Something wasn't in balance or even when things were too much in balance, to throw them off again." Heylyn tried to explain carefully.
"Our world is pretty balanced. Why would she show up now? And why did she make Warai's parents go to sleep?" Valerie asked.
"Is it really? I mean there's rich and there's poor, but are they in perfect balance? What about the sick and the healthy? There's not a world that is half at war and half at peace. We're always imbalanced in some way." Monique asked Heylyn.
"Balance isn't about forcing a preconceived notion upon people that there has to be two equal sides to everything, because there isn't always. Its about letting the natural progression of things happen as they would while looking after your own affairs and protecting what you care about and believe in against the forces that wear away at those things. Like the tides. There isn't an equal amount of land on the planet as compared to ocean. Yet we are in a constant struggle to keep the things that we build from being eroded by the tides. Its not about trying to build a world of half and half of everything. That's not balance. Its not about just giving up and letting the forces against us erode what we've built. That's not balance either." Heylyn explained to them trying to give them a brief lesson in the philosophies of the Far East.
"So she's like the tides?" Valerie asked.
"No. She's like a force that stirs up the regularity of the tides." Heylyn told Valerie.
"She makes them... unpredictable. Unmanageable." Alicia said.
"So we have a harder time dealing with the forces that wear away at us." Monique said gaining a little understanding.
"Something like that. Even grasping at the idea of what she is creates imbalance. She just is and she stirs things up. That's the best way to explain it though I can't be certain of anything about her. Its like intuition versus over analyzing." Heylyn said.
"Yes. Some of our most interesting research has blossomed out of the relation between intuition and hard data. Like with the formula and how it's effectiveness can be shaped by the artistic influence what its applied to. A whole new branch of research has been emerging as a result of this discovery." Alicia tried to explain herself.
"Oh great. We just get our heads wrapped around Heylyn's philosophies and Alicia has to bring up quantum dum de dum er... aesthetical...ology." Monique said bringing laughter of the room.
"So we're agreed then that the Dragon Lady is something beyond what we can deal with right now?" Valerie confirmed with the room.
"We need to find out more about her and what she's up to." Heylyn said.
"What about her targets. If she's so bad, then why is she targeting those who've done that kind of bad?" Monique asked.
"She doesn't act on any notion of good or bad. Just on doing what she does. More than that I can't say because I don't know." Heylyn said to them.
"Well we'd better find out soon. She's already becoming a public hero and we're becoming the public enemies." Valerie stated.
"How do we fight that? Public opinion?" Monique asked rhetorically.
"We don't. We just don't give in with our values once we become rooted. To become rooted we have to understand ourselves." Heylyn said looking to Monique pausing for a moment.
"We're like trees. We might sway with the wind, but we're firmly rooted in one place. The stronger the wind, the more that we have to bend. If we become too rigid, we'll break. Being flexible doesn't mean uprooting what we believe. It is also like a large stone or the water in a river. The river might wear away at the stone and our ideas of right and wrong, the people we love and those long gone. The stone in the river is like our values and influence upon the world. It will be there long after we're done here, but eventually the moving water will wear it away to nothing but sand. Sometimes the river dries before the stone is gone and that is what we leave behind. So should we be more like the stone or the water? We have to be a little bit of both. Solid enough to stand our ground and flexible enough to move with change." Heylyn explained giving them a philosophy lesson once again.
"Alright. So we'll bend when necessary until we can find out more about our two mysterious adversaries." Valerie said to them trying to coax them back to the tangible.
"So do we try to stop her? I mean look at her targets? Those who violate Women. Not to mention the latest report has it that someone matching her description gave a nap to four crack cocaine dealers, leaving three of the users in the same vicinity unharmed. If we try to stop her..." Monique said to them still remembering her brush with that kind of life.
"No. It doesn't mean that we support Women being violated or crack cocaine. It means that we don't support murder. A corpse can't face a jury for their crimes." Valerie said heatedly.
"I agree with Valerie on that note." Heylyn stated.
"But what if nobody is stopping them anyway? I mean should they just be allowed to continue doing that? Selling that stuff that is ruining lives? I think that the Dragon Lady might have a point there. Even if we're doing the right thing by stopping her, those dealers are just laughing at us. They'll think of us as their... I don't want to say." Monique said, a little bit of edge to her voice.
"...excuse to sell more? That's true. Victimize more people? I mean they have a security force if we protect them from her." Valerie thought about Monique's point.
"Well kind of. In the streets they live by a different kind of rule. A whole different means of doing things. By us protecting them we would be their... bags although the hardened ones, they use a different B word." Monique said once again reliving her sordid past brush with that life.
"Bimbo?" Alicia asked naively to which the room laughed once again.
"Not that B word. But close. Think about it. If we try to stop her, in the eyes of the public we are defending what they do. In the eyes of the dealers and the previous violators we mentioned, we'll be nothing more than their defenses that will end up taking the public beating for what they did. All that for protecting them." Monique explained to them cringing at the idea of Strawberry Eclipse being cornered into protecting those who Heylyn had rescued her from.
"We're protecting more than just our reputations here. We're protecting an idea of what is right and wrong and the society we have built around those ideals. Like the field. We're both the butterflies and the dragon that the butterflies built with their cocoon. If we let her kill like that, then we're not protecting anything and as Valerie already said, a corpse cannot stand trial for its crimes." Heylyn told them firmly.
"Buy what about forgiveness? Having another chance at life? I mean if it weren`t for Heylyn, I might never have pursued life as a researcher. She gave me another chance by helping me build my confidence." Alicia asked.
"You weren't an abuser or crack cocaine dealer." Monique said.
"Wait. Alicia has a point. What about that. What about having another chance to start again? With the exception of Alicia, people do make mistakes." Walton agreed with Alicia who smiled at him slyly.
"Some of the Dragon Lady's first victims were those who'd already done their time. They were those who had prior convictions. I know that they had already paid for their crimes. The more recent ones were repeat offenders. People who don't stop for anyone and actually get a kick out of the risk, the thrill of doing it. Violating or abusing Women against their struggles. The gang who had violated the university student were those kind of offenders. They just didn't give a... Most crack dealers don't get caught. Not at the street level. They think the legal system is a joke and the rest of society are their... bimbos. Bags. That's how their gangs and gang colours work. To them, its a game of making someone else carry the weight of their activities while they steal the good of the person they do that to. They think its a big joke. That's how gangers get even if you stand up to them. I know because they used to do it to me all of the time. They break you down until you're alone and carrying their load for them and then they abuse you for what they did! The people who forgive them are the first people they use as their bags. That's their idea power and control over women or men. Even in the hood I was living in, many of the community would go along with the gang's activities like a social game in the hood. They break you down until there's nobody left. No family. No friends. Nobody. And then when they've done that, they try to sell you if you're a woman. If you're a guy, they send you packing with their garbage and use their gang members to continue to steal from you. They don't deserve another chance because they'll take that chance and do the exact same thing to someone else until someone doesn't put up with it from them and takes them out. Like the Dragon Lady." Monique said standing and at the edge of anger and emotional frustration.
"How could they get away with something like that. That's impossible!" Valerie said.
"Have you ever heard the no means yes rape defense? Well imagine a whole community in on that, but doing that in opposites with your pleas against them trying to whittle you down to being their bag. Meaning anything you say to them that is trying to stop them, really means that you are trying to encourage them to keep going. Anything bad you have to say about them they tell others that you like what they are doing. They always align it to the way that benefits them but is detrimental to you. And then like I said, they send you packing with their garbage. How would you know that's impossible. I'll bet that you grew up your whole life with money. Money from Mommy and Daddy. How would you know what it is like there?" Monique asked Valerie.
"I grew up in a middle class income home. Both my parents worked themselves to the bone so I could have a decent home and an education. Are you saying that you won't help us to stop the Dragon Lady?" Valerie asked.
"...I don't think that I can and I don't think that I want to. I won't you to protect them. They dug their own grave. Let them find their own way out of it." Monique answered honestly at the verge of tears visiting a trauma buried in her past.
"It's alright. You don't need to justify yourself Monique. Warai and I will take care of you together. Besides, whose going to look after you when I go out there to stop her." Heylyn assured her trying to inject a little humour unsuccessfully.
"I will. Don't worry Auntie Monique. I'll look after you." Warai said to her, not looking up from her colouring book.
"I know you will sweetie." Monique said to her wiping her eyes.
"Ok. Well what about the music and fashion event? What were your plans or ideas for that?" Walton took the cue and quickly changed the subject keeping what they'd learned so far on hand.
"Well, for starters. We have several spaces set aside for the charities to operate though we'd like to see a bit of overall integration with the whole event." Valerie stood taking the head of the table.
"We like the idea about the free makeovers. Why don't we try to integrate a charitable function into that? Maybe those receiving the makeover could be asked for a donation of a couple dollars to support one of the many programs sponsored by Tynan And Associates." Walton started elaborating on what he and Alicia had worked out the night before.
"The makeovers are being supplied by Kawaī kao Cosmetics. They've agreed to the charitable donation idea. One of the big name acts we've been lobbying for an appearance has also agreed that they will show for one free live performance provided that we donate fifty thousand dollars to a charity of her choice. That sum will be drawn from the show budget which is being funded by the companies participating as a marketing campaign but for a good cause." Valerie explained to Alicia and Walton.
"Why don't we do a survivor's show?" Monique asked.
"What's a survivor's show?" Heylyn asked her.
"I was thinking that we should do a fashion show, with Cancer survivors as the models. Maybe we don't need to say it explicitly. Maybe we find models, or paid volunteers who have survived a brush with Cancer. One of the diseases targeted by Alicia's recent research." Monique suggested.
"That's right. I'm impressed. That's the focus of the SY-369 program. That and reconstituting generational deterioration of..." Alicia was interrupted.
"...a great idea! We could do a show." Valerie said jumping on board.
"I think what Monique is saying and correct me if I'm wrong, is that we could use our pool of models in house, but supplement the the remaining fifty four models required by the show with cancer survivors. We'll advertise that more than half of the models in the show are cancer survivors but we won't say who. We'll use them in every show for the whole event. Is that right Monique?" Heylyn elaborated on Monique's idea.
"I think that's what I meant. Yeah. That sounds good." Monique smiled.
"And that goes well with the new focus of the SY-369 research." Alicia expressed her agreement with the idea.
"A very good idea. I'll put Tynan And Associates name on that for certain." Walton backed the idea himself.
"I'll just make a note of that here and get the word out that we're hiring for the show, seeking cancer survivors for the runway performances." Valerie jotted a note on her tablet.
"That last note was an idea that we came up with last night. This is just a suggestion, but Tynan would be willing to back this with a sizable donation. Hear the idea out first. We need to bring a little bit of audience participation into this. So we were thinking that we should make this like one of those reality television shows. Like whose got the best voice or who the best dancer et cetera. With this one we make it an audience choice runway fashion show. We pit the best designers in a multi tier competition. The winner gets a one hundred thousand dollar donation applied to the charity of their choice. That's right honey? A hundred thousand?" Alicia said reading from her tablet notes.
"We'll commit to a hundred thousand for certain, maybe more by press time for the show marketing." Walton agreed with Alicia.
"That's a great idea. Each designer would be allowed one design for casual, formal, swim and night wear for the whole competition. That's enough time for us to get this going. Most designers will have unreleased designs they can put into the show if they don't have the schedule to make one. That's four outfits per designer, one for each category men or women. We'll meter it by local audience response. We can run the shows at each one of the two sites, Queen Street West and Dundas Square. I'll get Kori working on that right away. She's nearly done the set design for the whole show. We'll have those details down by today and a press release by tomorrow." Heylyn replied her creative juices flowing.
"I agree. I'm on board with that idea too." Valerie gave her nod of approval.
"A couple more ideas for the show. One that the city suggested is doing a fashion show with city workers. Volunteers from each of the major services. We were thinking that we could somehow integrate this into the designer competition. Each designer teams up with a city service, and based upon the colours of that service, they design around those colours just like you said Heylyn. casual, formal, swim and night wear. Have the volunteers from that service be the models." Alicia suggested.
"I get it. So red and blue for the Police. Red and yellow for the fire fighters. Blue and white for the paramedics. Orange and black for the school bus drivers. Orange and yellow for the city cleaners, construction and utility workers. Red, black and white for transit workers. Green for the Government clerical workers. Green and yellow for the hydro workers. Blue and gray for the disposal workers. A way to get the city involved and more active in this idea. Oh I love this more an more." Heylyn continued with the idea.
"Count me in for that though I'd better make sure I have no outstanding parking fines." Valerie said in jest getting a chuckle from the room.
"That sounds good. Good for community too. Gets people more involved in the city's activities too. That's good for marketing. I'm in." Walton replied.
"Sounds good for my colouring book too. I'm in. See?" Warai said holding up a crayon drawing that she drew freehanded.
It was an elaborately drawn and coloured butterfly with a large dragon poised beside it with its mouth open ready to eat it.
The Exchange
The Detective sat in her car a distance from the point of their observation. She had been sitting in her unmarked car for most of the evening already and her legs tingled as the circulation dwindled. The operation had been under way for six months already and tonight was the money night. The big payoff for more than two year`s worth of intelligence collection and investigation. Her car, a decrepit gas guzzler from yesteryear appeared abandoned, its front window cracked, its body rusting sat inconspicuously amongst several other abandoned vehicles in the parking lot.
One hundred and fifty meters away, a van sat in the parking lot where the suspects sat in wait for their product and for the exchange about to take place. According to the intel, they liked to use this lot because of the other wrecks located within and because a group of young car enthusiasts often liked to come here to enjoy themselves before they'd race their project cars. The wrecks were perfect in case they needed to ditch in a hurry as were the young racers. Their lawyer would have a much easier time with their defense by pinning anything found by Police as the contents of the wrecked cars or the property of the racers themselves. The racers knew enough to stay away on certain nights, because the gang would put word out that there was going to be some private business dealings taking place. The same way the Police got their first leads and intel about the derelict parking lot. Two years later and Detective Mary Faxton was helming one of the biggest operations which sought to shore up the holes remaining since Zek's trade network was taken down.
The first six months after Zek had been sentenced to lifetime imprisonment had been quiet on the Policing front. Most of their resources had gone into intelligence gathering as experience dictated, when a large scale operation was taken down, many smaller operations rushed in to take over. They were often the most dangerous transitions as those edging in for their part of the illicit underground market would fight tooth and nail for their piece. Demand would only grow in the absence of supply and that demand would create fierce competition amongst the gangs who sought control over the market. The Police had worked on a program to alleviate the demand by immediately integrating treatment programs and referrals into their strategy, in hopes they'd curb the rebound effect. The micro wars that would break out to fill in the gap in distribution power, supply and demand. The strategy had worked to a degree and the market had been greatly reduced as the city healed some the prior scars left by a crack cocaine market that had nearly grown beyond control. The same market that Torman and Zek exploited fully to secure their power in the city.
Detective Faxton's investigation was the first in the after math of Zek's fall to stop any new distribution alliances from being forged within the city. The success of this operation could make or break the future of the city against such allegiances and was the spearhead to their new strategy to curb it altogether.
"The show is on. They've got one van on site already. The money wagon. Rusted. Gray paint. A lot of unfinished bondo. They're probably got some manpower in the back with the hardware to back them up. Our new arrival is a sedan, a black four door. Almost looks like one of ours. Good condition from the looks of it. Four occupants. Taking its place facing the van. Right in front of the UV and IR cameras. The prosecutor is going to love us." she said into her headset as she observed another car pulling into the lot from the entrance at the far end.
The car, an inconspicuous four door sedan pulled up twenty meters from the van taking a parking space adjacent to it. Three men stepped out of the car while the driver remained. The three began walking around examining the neighbouring derelicts for any signs of unwanted observers. The Detective had taken that into consideration and was well camouflaged within her derelict car. Even if they had looked into the car, they would have had difficulty making her out within. Their radius of observation was large enough that they would remain undetected. The plan was that they would make their transaction, leave the parking lot separately and get pulled over passing through one of two impaired driving check points. The truth was however that on this night, neither the van nor the sedan would even make our of the parking lot, let alone the check points.
"Please be advised they've done their search. Looks good. Looks like they're relaxing a bit before the exchange." Detective Faxton told the check points as she watched through her nightlite headset.
One of the men from the sedan stepped up to the driver's window and spoke for a moment. Then he proceeded around to the back of the car and opened the trunk and retrieved two heavy canvas duffle bags. He then proceeded around the front of the sedan and sat on the hood, placing the bags on the ground beside him.
"Here we go with the exchange. They're checking the product." Detective Faxton said quietly into her headset.
One of the men from the van stepped out of the passenger seat and approached the man sitting on the hood of the sedan. He then crouched and began going through the contents of the duffle bags. A moment later he stood and signaled the driver of the van. Two men then stepped out of the back of the van, one with a brief case. He proceed around to the front of the van and placed the suit case on the ground while the other who had accompanied him stood at the side of the van tactically.
"The money just came out. The dealer is checking it out." Detective Faxton reported.
The man sitting on the hood accompanied the passenger from the van. The driver from the sedan remained in the car while the other two each stood strategically about five meters on either side of the car watching carefully.
The man from the sedan opened the brief case and examined the contents and when he was finished, he signaled his men. Something dark and shadowy flew by one of the men keeping watch. He brushed at his ear thinking it was a mosquito or dragon fly. The passenger from the van who had examined the duffle bags grabbed them both just as the man from the hood of the sedan picked up the brief case. They each returned to their respective vehicles just as they heard the sound of her heels clicking on parking lot pavement.
The Return Of A Friend
Heylyn sat atop the roof of a building, watching for any sign of the Dragon Butterfly. She'd been nervous about doing another patrol but changed her mind when she thought about the upcoming events in the city. She wanted the city to be safe and for people's minds to be at ease about the mysterious Dragon Lady once and for all. She wanted Warai to know that she was doing the right thing despite the fact that from her point of view, she appeared to be protecting the very people she'd sought to apprehend so many times.
Lately, even Monique had been hesitant about taking this issue on. Just before Heylyn had left for her patrol, Monique had asked her sarcastically:
"Are you going out there to protect your friends?" Monique asked, an edge to her voice.
"No. I`m going out there to do what's right." Heylyn said to her calmly.
"Don't let the bad people take you away." Warai said to her as she left.
That statement affected her deeply. It meant that Warai assumed that her taking on the Dragon Butterfly really meant that she was protecting the bad people. She was perplexed that Warai could not equate the fact that the lady they called the Dragon Lady, had been connected to or even responsible for her parent's death. Now the infamous Dragon Lady was becoming a hero in her own right. Doing what needed to be done according to some. Heylyn on the other hand had remained largely unknown. Most of her efforts rarely made it into the public eye and those that did made no mention of her efforts or her involvement. Since the Dragon Lady had come along, it was as if she had taken all of Heylyn's efforts just by the public impression of her current ones. Slowly, she was being pushed to the other side of this equation, painted as a protector of those she'd formerly tried to bring to justice.
She sat on the small building overlooking the streets four stories below and thought about what the next step should be. She needed to confront the Dragon Lady and get some information from her about her involvement with Warai's parents. Their deaths. What was the link? When they'd ventured into Monique's dreams in the Hospital, the'd encountered the Dragon Lady, only that was the Dragon Lady from the past. Maybe a situation that really happened? She'd heard tales before from her parents about the magic and spirits that would roam the lands in ancient times. The ritual they'd set up with the dragon statues and the gem.
"You might try that poem you found in Beijing. Reading that clue may tell you a thing. Or two." the familiar voice spoke from beside her.
"Where have you been? I haven't seen you for..." Heylyn said, startled to see Weltherwithsp sitting on the roof beside her coiled as if ready to strike.
"Since the other arrived before which I thrived." Weltherwithsp spoke in woven language.
"Where have you been? Why have you been keeping me out of the loop? You speak to Warai. Why not me?" Heylyn asked the ancient Dragon spirit.
"Some things in the past that may have relieved you are now that which mostly serve to deceive you. There are two of you and two of me, while one is blind the other sees. One is gone so the other may be." Weltherwithsp spoke a riddle.
"Are you saying that while the Dragon Lady is around, you can't be?" Heylyn asked.
"I have you and you have me. She has it and it has she. While one thrives the other you cannot see." Weltherwithsp explained while Heylyn tried to grasp.
"Then why can Warai speak to you and even see you when the other one thrives?" Heylyn asked feeling like she was making the first progress in a long time.
"Ahhh. Now you're asking the right kind of questions and perhaps I can give you similar suggestions?" Weltherwithsp's wings fluttered as it extended itself into the air a little.
"Like?" Heylyn looked at the Dragon inquisitively.
"You are hunting a hunter are you not? To find the hunter you'll need to find its prey. Remember though that you are the prey with whom she plays. Tonight she seeks to bring an end a powerful message will she send. You may lose all should you not face your progress lost a public disgrace." Weltherwithsp explained.
"She's a killer. That's not serving the people or what we stand for. We become the monster by doing so. The people she's doing that with need to make it up to society." Heylyn stood gaining a little height next to the Dragon.
"Well put, though I understand what you say but her path and goal don't lead that way. Face her now and better you place or hide in shame and don't show your face." Weltherwithsp made no attempt match her stance.
"Where?" Heylyn asked the serpent.
"Where cars lay dead, they're parked for good. Some come to race, hearts under hood. Forgotten place in west depths right at this time that's where she steps." Weltherwithsp told her in its carefully constructed riddle.
"Racing? Parked cars? I heard something in the news about... You're talking the abandoned car plant. Thanks again. You're a honey my scaly friend." with that Heylyn turned and took to the air.
"Tonight a friend of yours will make a choice. From then on with her you've lost your voice." Weltherwithsp spoke and she heard the words clearly in her ears.
She didn't have time to debate it with the Dragon as it disappeared from the roof top and another one reappeared in an abandoned west end parking lot.
Battle Of Character
"Wait. There's something wrong. There's someone new. Just walked in. They didn't show up on the motion sensors." Detective Faxton radioed the check points.
The lady stepped into the illumination projected forth from each of the headlights of the two vehicles in the parking lots.
"Now that you've finished your transaction, do you care to take a little side trip?" the lady spoke.
She was wearing heeled boots and some kind of tight fitting armour. The costume still resembled the one Heylyn had made, though the Dragon Butterfly had altered it to suit her style. The front was now opened exposing a good section of her frontal anatomy right down to her naval. Her breasts held in place by the tight fitting costume alone. Her legs exposed revealed tattooed scales from her heeled boots up to her muscular thighs. The hem line of her skirt crowned the top of her legs seductively. She was now a sexual caricature of the Butterfly Dragon. She used her enticing appearance and her sexuality to enthrall them. They after all had given her the most potent weapon that she had and she knew this as such. She used it very much to her advantage. Had she been anyone else, she'd have been dead on the pavement by this time. The men only stared at her in amazement and lust as she devoured their memories.
"I don't know who you are Miss. But you picked a bad time to show up here." one of them spoke, breaking the spell.
"You don't need to know who I am. You don't need to know any of us really, do you? I mean you only need to get that few moments of pleasure from me without even knowing who I am. No. You only need to know what you've done. Let me remind you. Then the pleasure will be all mine." she spoke to him from behind her mask.
He pulled a firearm from his belt and pointed it at her face.
"That won't save you this time. They've all tried that and look where they are now." the Dragon Butterfly told him, a slight curve on her lips indicating amusement.
She was toying with him he thought.
"F... I don't need this..." he said as he pulled the trigger.
She had already known that he was going to pull the trigger. She merely pushed his arm upwards slightly with her firm grip and the round flew harmlessly into the air above her head. She then drove two of her knuckles upward from her other hand into his elbow, breaking it and his grip upon the gun. He fell to his knees cursing and swearing.
"You've seen the news. You know who I am. You're going to die. It's that simple." she said to them.
They stood petrified unsure of whether they should make the attempt and do what nobody else had been able to do. They'd heard that she'd single handedly killed four of the best mercenaries money could buy. They weighed their chances of survival and chose to hold their ground but made no moves for their weapons. As if to remind them a long and shadowy figure flew amongst them. Encircling them. It was death, the grim reaper there for them. She was the angel of death.
"Look. Let us go. You want money? We've got money. We'll give you half of what's in that brief case. That would be enough to leave the country and start a comfortable life. What do you say?" the one with the brief case put it down for her to examine.
"I could have had fortunes a thousand times over if that's what mattered to me. It doesn't. What I seek is far more... satisfying. Something earned." she answered him.
"What? Do you want our respect? You're freaking dangerous. We don't want to mess with you. You've got our respect and where we come from that means something." he said to her trying to negotiate.
"No. Besides it's counterfeit. Your respect I mean. It's not real. Its just a convenience you speak to avoid having to face the one thing in yourselves that lets you know that you aren't going to be around forever." she said to him walking over to another one seductively her heels clicking on the pavement and echoing through the night.
"We're going to be around for a while. You'll see." he replied to her.
"You don't really believe that. You're not trying to convince me. You're trying to convince yourself but you already know the truth about that. You're lying to yourself." she winked at one of the guards from the sedan.
He smiled back at her like they shared some kind of inside secret.
"One of you will live. That is for certain. Normally, you'd all have been dead by now. I am just waiting for a... peer to arrive so we can begin this fun. How many of you live will depend upon you." she said to them.
"Keep your guns if they give you confidence but they'll do no good. Ahhhh... here she comes now." the Dragon Butterfly stepped aside as Heylyn, the Butterfly Dragon landed just a few meters away.
"Give it up. We're going to end this tonight." Heylyn said to the Dragon Butterfly.
"You're speaking to them right?" the Dragon Butterfly looked around the solemn faces staring at the two of them.
"No. This is for you. You're going to come with me peacefully and quietly. This is going to be decided by the courts." Heylyn told her glaring at her intensely.
"What about them? They get to go free?" the Dragon Butterfly asked her looking back to the one with whom she had the private joke.
"They didn't do anything did they?" Heylyn asked.
"One side is the buyer. The other the seller. Probably a lot of candy to fuel the underground for some time. To fill the dwindling supply of crack cocaine. And you're here to protect that?" the Dragon Butterfly asked her.
"They'll get their time in court too and pay for their crimes. Murder is not justice and its not what we stand for." Heylyn approached her.
"What crime? I mean we're providing a service. Like the booze runners of old. Moonshiners. What's so bad about that. Providing a product in demand? Just because its not legal doesn't mean that its bad. Come one? Look at prohibition." the man from sedan asked Heylyn.
"We're not talking about alcohol. We're talking about crack cocaine. It's a rare thing that a Woman would spend her life selling her self to pay for a drink." she answered him.
"Used to happen all the time in Speak Easy's from what I heard. Back then it was liquor, now its cocaine and crack. Just a lower cost means to get the product to a wider audience. Besides, what happens when a product is banned?" he asked her.
"It's prevented from being sold and distributed based upon the harm and social cost." Heylyn answered him.
"So you're saying that the social cost of alcohol is less than the social cost of something like cocaine or crack?" he asked her.
The Dragon Butterfly looked over to the one she'd charmed sending him kiss. He smiled back at her enticingly.
"I don't know for certain. I do know that the majority of sex trade and human trafficking for the purposes of sex trade involved using that narcotic or opium as an incentive to keep them motivated to turn tricks in order to earn the money to pay for it. That or holding the sex trade worker hostage by threatening to turn them over to immigration. Forcing Women to earn their citizenship by sleeping with Men, whether they pay for it or not is wrong. Cocaine, crack cocaine and opium is and was a big factor in that. That doesn't happen with alcohol." Heylyn defended her ground.
"No, but what about the hidden damages of alcohol. There's addiction to alcohol. There's deaths and harm as a result of it being legally available." he said to Heylyn.
"The truth is that the majority of people who do partake of alcohol use it responsibly. Its sale is controlled and it is only sold to those of age. Street dealers make no assurances about the age of their customers. They don't conduct clinical tests to ensure their product is safe for their customers. There's no standards or guarantee for the product or its safety. Its all about three things. Subjugating a customer to servitude to pay for it, maintaining a steady customer base and tax free profit. The money leaves the civic and social money cycle where it doesn't earn interest or improve the economy just by moving around from hand to hand through the system. The money that is part of the system supports the infrastructure needed to keep schools, hospitals, essential services and a social system running and paid for. Beyond that, we're free to pursue a life and career according to our needs and desires provided it doesn't infringe upon the rights of another. That money goes to pay for protecting that way of life and those virtues." Heylyn said to him defensively.
They stood in silence listening to her and terrified for their lives.
"Now who do you think is the killer. Her or me?" the Dragon Butterfly asked them.
"I'd have to say that she is. I mean listen to how she's talking. She's on a crusade to get us for sure." the man from the sedan said to the Dragon Butterfly.
"There you have it. Butterfly." the Dragon Butterfly said with a little distaste and disgust.
"You see, these men were going to kill me tonight because they thought that I was you. They think that I'm the killer. I came here to defend them from you. You've been switching this around on me the whole time. The killer Butterfly." the Dragon Butterfly said to Heylyn a pit of pathos in her voice.
Heylyn could see what was happening. The Dragon Butterfly was turning the whole situation around on her. Trying to make her out to be the killer while taking her efforts to protect the city from the Dragon Butterfly.
"Now do you see why I disarmed you? I was only protecting myself from you. She's the real devil here. You might want to take her out before its too late..." she said to them as she looked to the man on the ground still clenching his elbow and then back to the one she'd charmed.
With that the men went for their guns. Thew drew them and started firing on Heylyn. She spun as the first barrage of fire just missed her. She skin instinctively welled up into harden scales as the bullets flew around her.
The Dragon Butterfly charged her, throwing a punch at her face. Heylyn quickly adjuster her stance dodging the Dragon Butterfly's blow just narrowly. Heylyn spun with a spinning punch striking her arm which had shot up to block the blow.
"I normally would have let that one go and used your own torque against you, but I thought it would be a little more showy this way. Let's give them a good one." the Dragon Butterfly said to her as she spun driving her leg upwards unseen towards Heylyn's jaw.
Heylyn backed away from her heel as it sped upward and grabbed her leg. The Dragon Butterfly took her weight off of her other leg leaning forward drawing Heylyn into the ground, as she struggled to keep a hold of her. The Dragon Butterfly pinned her with the other leg driving her heel into Heylyn's solar plexus. Her scales absorbed most of the impact though she was slightly winded grunting in pain. She rolled over backwards onto her feet then quickly spun, extending her leg in a reverse leg sweep. The Dragon Butterfly was caught off guard and fell into the ground tumbling back up and onto her feet.
"Impressive! That's more like it. It's been a very long time since I've met a Martial artist who could knock me down you know. You just swept me right off my feet." she blew a kiss at Heylyn.
"And its only our second date." Heylyn threw up her guard.
"With many more to come don't you think?" the Dragon Butterfly responded.
"No. I think this is going to be our last one." Heylyn said as they circled one another locked in a deadly game of strategy.
"Don't be so sure. You'll find I'm quite difficult to get rid of you know." the Dragon Butterfly toyed with her.
"Like a bad dance partner." Heylyn moved forward a little.
"Shall we?" the Dragon Butterfly charged her, in a series of flying forward summersaults connecting with her solidly and throwing her into the side of the van.
The van's side paneling dented inward as it rolled over onto its side, Heylyn on top of it. She quickly looked around the Dragon Butterfly but she was nowhere to be seen. The men around the van began firing once again at Heylyn and she threw up her guard as one of the rounds impacted her. The round shattered against her scales though causing her a bit of pain. She buckled looking for an exit point as one found her. The Dragon Butterfly's hand ripped up through the side paneling of the van pulling her down into the interior. For a moment there was a tremendous struggle inside of the van as the paneling dented and the van bounced around. A moment later the van lay still as the action inside subsided.
"Is she dead?" asked the man from the sedan.
A moment later one of them flew out of the vehicle ripping through the remaining paneling on the van. The body impacted a derelict car and remained unmoving. A moment later laughter could be heard.
"That was the most fun I've had in some time you know." the Dragon Butterfly said as she found her way our of the derelict car.
"It's over." Heylyn said to her as she approached.
"No. Its just beginning I'm afraid." the Dragon Butterfly said.
She began screaming.
"Help! Help! It's the one from the news! Help!" the Dragon Butterfly's voice carried all the way to the car where Detective Faxton had been watching in disbelief.
"I think its the Woman from the attacks. She's attacking the other one..." Detective Faxton reported to the check points.
"Confirmed. We're sending back up your way. Stay on site. Do not attempt to apprehend her." the voice came back over the radio.
A several minutes later the squad cars and their sirens could be heard speeding towards the parking lot.
The Dragon Butterfly fell to the ground, her bodily tattoos disappearing. She lay there crying and whimpering as the men kept their guns on Heylyn.
Heylyn realized that she'd been played the whole time and took off into the air realizing that to the public she would no longer be the hero she deserved to be. For her and Monique, the night had only just begun. For the men who had taken part in the exchange, their lives ended about a minute after Heylyn had taken off. The only one remaining was the one the Dragon Butterfly had charmed.
The Mind Of The Butterfly
She looked across the city from her perch high atop the First Canadian Place tower. She'd often come here in the midst of a patrol, just to collect herself.
Below was a city that sometimes didn't need her. Didn't want her as the Butterfly. But she still gave what she could because what drove her was beyond what other people thought of her.
She'd never been a people pleaser in the sense that she'd do anything for approval. She'd do something and if others liked it, that was just her good fortune (and their good taste she'd joke). Her designs and fashions had been much the same. Never trying to do exactly what people wanted, but to challenge it mildly as her competitors had noted of her.
She'd been used to from a young age. Her parents had taught her that the road paved by the multitude of minds, often meandered without direction. Their Chinese wisdom that had found home in one of North America's capital markets. A city of prosperity, tradition and new beginnings. If you could find your way through the meandering path set out by the multitude. She'd learned that by staying away from what she thought people wanted, and what she'd set out to do, that the path was often very direct. North American common sense meets the wisdom of the Far East. Sometimes they'd clash. Sometimes they'd meet and make love.
From this height there were many whom would have a hard time seeing the city below, but her eyes were more than just what she saw. Weltherwithsp had taught her about the shared sight. To see though to what everyone saw at that moment. Not to be there but still to see.
She looked into the night and saw the echoes of their sight below. No sign of her. The one who'd put this great weight upon her shoulders and though she was capable of carrying much, it still pained her to be known as the protector of that which she sought to liberate her city from. The other one. Her enemy. Mortal enemy like none she'd ever known. Even Zek was mild though slightly cantankerous by comparison. She was just as deft in manipulation as she was in combat. An expert martial artist of the likes she'd not seen on this mortal earth. Was she even mortal or was she of the spirit legends of which her Mother and Grandmother would tell her stories. Like a risen goddess here to claim the world by her ways.
The press had been cruel to her since the mysterious Dragon Lady had arrived. The most recent encounter had pit her against the Dragon in verbal combat. There, Heylyn had learned that she was most agile and deceitful. She'd even manipulated her prey to side with her. Together they'd fought the Butterfly in a battle of wits rather than fists.
Heylyn the next day had read the headlines that their bodies had been found by Police. Each of them murdered and left as a trophy display for the city to see. Even signed by the Dragon herself in an indelible marker on the shirts of each of the victims:
Butterfly = nothing. Dragon = results.
Like she was running for office. If you vote for me, I'll clean the city of every rapist, abuser and crack cocaine dealer that ever was. The Buttefly? She'll just protect them from me? Who do you want?
Heylyn had managed to hide it. Her feelings about this character attack upon the Butterfly Dragon but it still left scars without breaking skin. Some of those scars were sometimes deeper than any that could be rendered by weapon or fist.
Monique had began to feel nothing but contempt for Heylyn since that night. Warai had even been spending more time with Monique. It was like she was losing bits and pieces of her. Heylyn had tried to make it up to Warai, pulling out the photographs and videos she'd taken in Japan before the stage play they'd attended together just outside of the Emporer's Palace. Warai on the stage hiding behind one of the characters of the play, laughing and giggling. Warai had seemed to lose interest though and found it more in Monique and this had hurt Heylyn deeply though she never let it show. Warai was free and Heylyn respected that more than anyone but she also had a bit more life experience than Monique. Monique would never admit that.
Monique had learned a much different truth than Heylyn would even understand. Not that Heylyn wouldn't comprehend it, but it was a pride that those who'd grown up in much more earthy circumstances might delude themselves with. A shield against the privileged. A prejudice much the same as the privileged might hold against those who weren't. A wall built of bricks provided by the ignorance of each side. Never realizing they were looking at a mirror at each other. Though as a result instead they were looking at a wall. The same wall that separated Monique and Heylyn. Upon which Warai was poised as each side pleaded their case.
Warai's little mind could see far beyond what they'd imagined though she'd often purposely limit that potential for her own sake. When things got too scary, like when the big people would stop being themselves and get all mean and not understand. Her protection. Weltherwithsp might have said that no matter the age no matter the size, few of us do realize. What we know is built of sand. It might seem solid but does not stand. We make this pile, there is no doubt. Don't put in what you can't take out. Warai understood Weltherwithsp's words. Whimsical but sensible. Not like the adult people sometimes spoke. Like Monique. Like Heylyn. Like she was a trophy they were competing over. Two friends made enemies. By the Dragon.
Warai had no concept though of the Dragon Lady and could not distinguish her as being the killer of her parents. Instead to Warai, she'd become a symbol much like Welly. A symbol that grownups did not understand like Welly. She was doing something. Monique maybe knew. Maybe she didn't. But something was changing and Welly knew. She trusted Welly so Welly had to be right. Welly likes Monique and Monique must be right too.
Below on the street below, something shifted. The mood had gone and the night had become imperiled. People panicking somewhere and she struggled to see. The Butterfly looked and saw panic.
She leapt off the building spinning mid air into a dive into the source of the fray. Her aetherial wings opened leaving a sparkling trail behind her and she stormed down upon the unseen turmoil.
The Dragon's Mind
She walked, and her heels clicked. Marking the pavement with each step. Even if the pavement did not yield to her step, she'd make it. It would notice. They would notice. Her mark upon the world was her step, each in turn. Like a path. Each step placed indicated a future step at some point. One by one they painted a path that the Dragon would take and each for this Dragon Lady.
She'd hidden her tattoos, for they were ancient and none had known. More ancient than time could be measured. Like the constellations in the sky. Would any dare decry the stars themselves? How they spoke volumes of the future? The many farmer's she'd felled over two thousand years ago didn't. It was like screaming at the wind. The clouds were and the tattoos upon the earth. In motion and telling a story to the stars, who'd cry their interpretation back to us. The rain will come. The sky will fall. Women will be fertile. No seeds sewn. Death and famine.
Her tattoos would whisper to her for they were ancient enough to have voices. Every single one of them spoke to her, Protected her. Each a Talisman beyond the understanding of these Western ideas. It was merely ink to them. Tainted skin. Like a bruise. A mark that had been rendered in pain. Their ignorance of ideas they could never comprehend. Like pictures in a book, the pages could be torn from their bindings. Gone. Like their ideas from generation to generation. They had no concept of time and agelessness of the skies. Like her tattoos. They were real.
Not like the falsities of stories of the West. Movies. Books. Fake realities made to fuel and need in the soul that few could understand and never quench. The real performance was before the Gods of all. To risk it all before the glory of the spirits as herself. Might they be amused?
With every kill she'd accumulated she'd heard them. Sometimes silence. Laughter. Crying. Oration. Swearing in the ancient tongue? She'd never know who or what. Just that they would notice and they would respond. They would never steer her path, for perhaps they were beholden to bear witness to hers. A prison. An audience. The show at a dinner feast? Like watching dogs fight over scraps of food? Spirits were odd, and though she might be considered as such by mortals, she was far from. Heylyn had been right when she'd determine that she was more like a force of nature. Though a force of nature with a mind and ego all the same. Beyond understanding. Just the click of heels for now. A flower? There in a planter the city had made. Trapped in a cement container. All these things were made. By the city. A God of sorts. A spirit of its own. And like spirits and Gods, it needed protection. Protection was a word few understood. Complicated by laws. Rights. Freedom. Compassion. Like a meandering path woven through everyone else's misgivings. They were all guilty. Some more than others. Her tattoos told her. Those on her breasts spoke much of the time, for they represented those of carnal sin. Those who'd lust after her with desires she'd seen often. Men. Women. It was natural. When she'd become a symbol to them, it had increased a thousand fold.
Then there were those who'd lust after death. Theirs. Someone else's. Sometimes they'd plot murder. Their own. Someone else's. And it would be done. Sometimes failed. Sometimes not. Hey tattoos would laugh. The spirits would cry. But blood was spilled. It was the way. But not her path.
It spoke to her. The pain of those who the Butterfly had missed. Somehow that mysterious beauty had made a mistake. Did (the) spirits really make mistakes?. She'd secretly ask (Warai). Welly would reassure. She wouldn't say anything. Her tattoos would just smile and watch. The Butterfly.
Butterfly.
Butterfly.
In the night.
In the sky.
You missed another.
Now tell me why?
This Butterfly spirit. A mess. The city (spirit) needed (protection). She thought.
Her tattoos laughed. Dead.
Who?
You'll see. You will really see.
Bruises. On her face. How?
Them. That one. You see? A mark on his Aura? There. They all do. A mark. You'll know it.
They should?
You prod them enough. They will. The bruises and their place upon their rendering.
This mark? Upon all who...?
A mark. Not the same mark. But yes. Like a stain upon the soul. An etching of their deeds upon their unseen nature except by the likes of your tattoos. And (ancient) you. Dead (they'll be). All (of them).
One.
By.
One.
Hahaha!
When I feel that mark. It hurts. Not because I feel it. But because I know the myriad creatures will feel. A push.
Then I'll pull. Understand?
Maybe. Aren't you?
No. Know. Can't you feel the timing? The tempo?
You speak mysteries spirits. I do not understand.
You will. Like the wave in a pond. Your prey does. So will you them.
Her tattoos laugh. Then they cry and scream.
That should be them she thinks.
Exactly!
Then speak spirits. You have your audience. Though my heels etch a path that is my own.
Your path is already set. They lie in your path for all is happening at once. Can you not see the wave is everywhere and nowhere?
I see them cheering my name. Then they cry.
Her tattoos cry and then they laugh. Then they tell her that they're lying.
This is madness. You make no sense. She says.
Then you must. They must die.
I knew that. Not because you said as such. But because I knew by the path of my heels and the voice of my tattoos. Dead. And they will like it. All of them. Like the waves in the pond. They will fall low, and I will crest high.
Like the rhythm?
Like my own tempo, but still like the rhythm.
Ripples have direction too.
They only have one direction. Outward ever expanding.
Then so should you.
Like the path of my heels upon this artificial stone they've made.
She remembered the same ancient conversation she'd had thousands of years ago just as she walked into the alley.
"Who in the heck are you? You better going unless you want some of this..." the man who'd been in the middle of a deal pulled a small metallic piece from his belt.
"Maybe you want some of me instead of this child's play your selling to?" she spoke stealing the show.
"Who are you calling children b#tch." one of the purchasers asked her voice waivering as if she spoke in unfamiliar territory.
The Dragon Lady did not hear. Her tattoos swooned.
Just as the girl had spoken, a group of nine males entered the alley.
"Hey! That's that b#tch from the news!" one of them spoke in revelation.
"Now so many needlessly have to die." the Dragon Lady said as the dance began.
From a building blocks away, the Butterfly saw.
The Dragon's tattoos screamed: She comes! Hurry! Take them all!
As two had advanced upon her their guns drawn, the flying black snake dug into their soul.
They tried to (scream) but they could not (scream).
Then the Dragon's fists and legs flew as did their bullets. Death like their bullets always comes in numbers.
They were not fast enough and the Butterfly approached while the Dragon killed (them) each.
The Butterfly And The Dragon
Heylyn landed rolling to break her downward momentum converting it to horizontal force. She emerged from the roll leg first leveling the side of her foot blade style directly into the abdomen of the Dragon Butterfly. She flew against the far wall of the alley and impacted the wall full force then fell to the pavement.
Three of the gang members who'd pulled their hand guns in defense against the Dragon Butterfly quickly turned their attention to the Butterfly Dragon. She wasted no time and quickly dodged the first gunshot, which narrowly flew by her cheek as she ducked launching herself into an aerial strike downward upon the gunman. The force of her trained fist impacting his cheek threw him to the ground unconscious as the others opened fire. She quickly spun cartwheeling onto her hands extending both of her legs in a spinning scissor kick. Both remaining gunmen took the brunt of force of her extended heels sending them to the concrete unconscious.
"I'm impressed. I didn't think you had it in you." the Dragon had gotten to her feet, brushing herself off.
"They need to answer for their crimes before a court, not you." the Butterfly said after she'd pushed herself back onto her feet.
"I imagine they'll earn quite a name for themselves in jail. Having faced down against us and lived? You do realize that you just made them heroes amongst their own?" the Dragon approached the Butterfly.
"They'll tell lies to their peers to elevate their status in the group. A group that operates on the power of might. Might though, does not mean right." the Butterfly spoke.
"Very good. Literate too I see. E. B. White I believe? Now I suppose that you are The Once And Future Queen? Regardless, they'll be looked up to by the rest of those... social scraps. Table droppings. And that will unify them. Unified, they have power. Might is it not? The power of numbers is undeniable. Even us with our training, abilities and the spirit of our ancestors could not match the power of numbers. Might is right. The more you are, the more right you are." the Dragon challenged her.
"Theirs is just a dance before an audience of those who chase the next immediate gratification without the hope of a long term dream or goal of making this world a little bit better each day. Their survival will only ensure them pop status for a short time in jail until someone else challenges it. Then that person will be the figure head around which they rally. No reason to kill them. That makes us no better than them." the Butterfly spoke.
"Ahhhh. But you don't realize that we too do the same dance before the same kind of people. We're just a flavour of the month to others. We too have an audience who rally around us and if we fail to appease that beast, well then... you're starting to realize that. They have no loyalty because their virtues are founded of the same lust for immediate gratification. They're just on one side of the legal fence. So I'm euthanizing the others before they can threaten that. You could call it a... community service." the Dragon reasoned.
"They don't know now, but you're making them complicit in your acts of murder. When the balance has to be paid for your crimes, you'll be long gone and they'll be left with the bill. Then they'll know the true price of their complicity with your means." the Butterfly countered the Dragon.
"I'm very impressed, Butterfly. You're not just a vain beauty with a few splatters of make up and some tight clothing designed to garner you some cat calls. You're actually quite the philosopher. Who's that? Your Mother speaking? Your Grandmother? Wait, your quiet and hard working Father? Where did you earn that trait from? You're not still believing that children's tale about the Butterfly Dragon are you? That's nonsense concocted by a bunch of aging farmers who got sick of paying their due to the local land owners you know." the Dragon forced her knowledge of ancient history upon the Butterfly.
"They weren't land owners. They were murderous nomads. No land ownership because they called no land their own. Never having worked the land a day in their life. They'd never planted something to work it, nurture it, watch it grow and ultimately feed the people. They only showed up when they ran out of food to slash and burn the farming villages and steal their crops. The homes that were built upon the farmer's work growing rice in the paddies. They learned to defend themselves against those murderers, who'd murder the village artists and philosophers first, in attempt to gain the support of the hard working farmers. Pit them against one another in attempt to make it easier the next time they needed food." the Butterfly stood her ground.
"You still don't get it." the Dragon spoke walking around the Butterfly.
"There's people here who don't want you here either. Do you think that this is your land? Our land? Look at our tradition here, the two of us fighting a battle beyond most people's concept of time. Before even this land existed. They don't want us here. You fight to defend a land in which you are not even welcomed by the local population. You know the type. The ones whose ancestors only a few generations ago came here and conquered the indigenous people, segregating them to a small piece of land and giving them their table scraps as you say. All of the sudden they're lurching around on their fat laurels like they somehow nurtured the fertile land this country is built upon. Half of them steal the deeds of others to get by. Like the... nomads as you called them where our ancestors hail from? So now the Butterfly has emerged from her cocoon of our traditions to protect the virtues of the farmers of old, upon whose hard work the first artisans and philosophers were able to emerge. Now you come here and protect another group of nomads with a different name and background, who stole it all away from another group of people to build this land? The funny part is that there are many amongst those people who just inherited this land from those who took it. So you protect the descendants of the nomads now and not the farmers upon whose back the land is built?" the Dragon posed.
The Butterfly wavered for a moment, perhaps as a butterfly in flight might veer from its course from the force of a strong wind.
"This land has had its growing pains and injustices. Ancestors from my family on my Mother's side came here eight generations ago and helped build the national rail line. Chinese immigrants in a country which had just been born. In their memoirs they recounted working along side Irish immigrants who'd fled the potato famine. A man from Kenya whose ancestors had been liberated from slavery in the south just a three generations before. A Japanese immigrant who'd fled a struggling economy back in Japan just before the emergence of the first western industrialization in Japan, to seek work here. A couple of men from India who'd come here for the same reasons. Two Natives, one a Sioux national and the other Cree, who had lost family as a result of fighting against the expansion of the Commonwealth. A slew of Scottish and British hard backs as they called them, who reveled in hard work and a few stout French men, who'd been working as porters for a cartographer prior to the construction project. There they worked together laying every rail from Alberta to British Columbia for five years of back breaking labour. When they got to British Columbia, they had to start blasting which was very risky work. The men without wives or families to provide for would draw straws whenever a blasting charge would need to be set to remove obstructing rock. On one of those draws, the Cree Native came up with a short straw. As the story goes, one of the Irish men broke his straw to make it shorter so the Cree man wouldn't have to take the risk. The Kenyan man, who was without wife then broke his straw so the Irish man wouldn't have to do the task. One of the Brits broke his straw so the Kenyan wouldn't take the risk. Then the Japanese man broke his straw to protect the Brit. The Japanese man was about to grab the satchel with the explosives, when one of my ancestors, showed his straw, which was shorter than all of the others. He said to them I guess I win. He took the satchel and while setting the charge, the explosives which were far more volatile at that time, accidentally went off. He lost his life and his brother went on to take his compensation and married here. My immediate family came here generations later just after I was born. All of those railway men were friends and considered each other family even until this day, their families still work together in the interests of labour and safety in this country. This country which grew as fast as it did as a result of the construction of that railway. Much like a farm, whose fertility supported artists and philosophers to celebrate the beauty of life. I do not protect the thieving nomads who steal the hard work of the farmers. I still protect the farmers and the people here as my ancestors did in the land of our ancestors' beginnings. But this is my home and I will protect it. From them. From you." the Butterfly said taking her defensive stance.
"A touching tale but the real test will be in the hands of the people. Butterfly. You brought the fight to me while I was trying to clean up a festering problem in this city. I intend to bring the fight to you right in your back yard." the Dragon spoke and as her rage climaxed she charged.
She swung her arm wide and high first as Heylyn blocked, leaving her abdomen open. The Dragon spun quickly bringing her other fist around into her stomach. Heylyn flew back rolling over and back onto her feet just as the Dragon continued her onslaught. The Dragon threw five quick jabs in succession, Heylyn blocking each easily. When the Dragon spun for a spinning back handed punch, Heylyn ducked arcing her feet into a foot sweep once again catching the Dragon off guard. She collapsed to the concrete quickly rolling back up and onto her feet. The Dragon backed off.
"Very impressive. You bested me in the first round. I you in the second. Now you bested me in the third. I can hardly wait for the fourth... But that will have to wait, Butterfly. Ta ta for now." the Dragon leapt at a fire escape scaling it quickly towards the roof of the low rise building.
The Butterfly Dragon flew towards the roof only to impact a wall of flying blackness that emerged from nowhere. She suddenly found herself alone with something dark and furious stalking her. She backed up unable to see the walls of the alley way, tripping over one of the bodies of the gang members the Dragon Butterfly had murdered. It rose from its place on the ground reaching for her. She screamed backing away from it, suddenly feeling a sense of looming terror. One by one the dead gang members rose from their concrete graves and stalked towards her. She cowered away into the alley wall unable to move, petrified with fear.
She was a little girl again. She was in the corner of her bedroom at home crying and scared. She'd just seen monsters in a nightmare, much like the one she was facing now as a Woman. She shook as she remembered and as the dead gang members approached her slowly staggering towards her. She closed her eyes and cried. When she thought the monsters might get her, she felt someone stroking her hair. She turned and saw her Mother's face.
"It is alright, little one with a big heart. You are safe. You have to believe in yourself. I won't always be around to help you overcome your fears." her Mother said to her.
"But they're monsters. They're going to get me and eat me." little Heylyn said.
"Monsters might be scary, but they're the ones who are really afraid. That's why they need to attack you in numbers. You just have to face them and they'll back down." her Mother said.
"But I'm scared..." she cried again curling up into a ball.
"Don't be. You know why? Because you're the Butterfly. The Butterfly Dragon. Just like the story." her Mother said to her.
"...really?" she asked meekly.
"...you have to believe." her Mother whispered to her.
She sat thinking about it for a moment before fighting off that last urge to hide again, and then she stood as the monsters approached, taking a defensive stance like the one she'd learned in her first katas of the third kyu.
"I'm not running monsters! I am not afraid of you. You aren't going to hurt anyone anymore!" she yelled confidently.
She stood her ground and as the gang members approached her closing their distance, she began to doubt her confidence. She felt afraid, but she stood her ground anyway.
They progressed a little further before they began to shudder and then fell back to the concrete where they remained. dead as they had once been.
She turned to her Mother, who'd now taken another familiar form. That of Weltherwithsp.
"You see. There are Dragons not so vile as the one who'd death beguile on a whim the game begins where it ended last..." Weltherwithsp spoke to her.
"But you led me to a trap Weltherwithsp!" young Heylyn exclaimed.
"I did no such thing nor brought you suffr'ing. Monsters too there did you face, a different kind and without waste. You tried to reason, tried to save but while they left you, they found their grave." Weltherwithsp told her.
Heylyn thought about what had happened in the abandoned parking lot that had become home to disowned cars and scrap. It was true, she'd come there to take those men to justice, while the Dragon Lady had shown up to take them to their grave. She'd faced them both, another manipulation of the Dragon Butterfly.
"The battles you face aren't always fought with physical prowess, the fists you've wrought. Sometimes a battle is fought in word, a punching fist cannot be heard. Therefore it speaks to only one, you must reach many before this will be undone." Weltherwithsp said to her.
Heylyn thought about Weltherwithsp's statement and once again found herself as a mature Woman, standing in an alley. She looked around, seeing the three that she had knocked unconscious were coming around. She quickly secured the three of them together and then to the fire escape. She then pulled her cellular phone and dialed 9-1-1.
"Hello? Yes I need Police and paramedics to an alley just off Yonge Street and Temperance Street. I heard gun fire and I think the tattoo lady may be involved!" she said into the phone.
"Stay away from the conflict and try to get to safety. Police and paramedics will arrive shortly Ma'am. Just stay on the phone..." the operator assured Heylyn as Heylyn hung up.
She pocketed the phone and then took to the air and found her way back to her Queen's Quay condo, landing on the roof and dropping down the one floor to the penthouse. It was well after midnight and Monique had fallen asleep on the couch, while Warai was in bed asleep.
"She's in bed." Monique said to Heylyn, not really looking at her.
"I know." Heylyn responded.
"I'm going home, chief. I'll see you tomorrow for coffee. G'nite." Monique stumbled to the door and found her way out.
"Thanks Monique. Look I know you..." Heylyn started before Monique cut her off.
"You don't know. You didn't grow up like I did and you don't know what its like living that kind of life or with those kind of people. You're on the wrong side of this whole thing. They need to pay for what they do. I don't want to hear it. I'm going to bed." Monique closed the door behind her.
What Heylyn had made in progress against the Dragon Butterfly she'd lost in gaining the support of Monique. The Strawberry Ecclipse.
Warai too was having nightmares of her own. With monsters much like those Heylyn had faced. Only this time it was the Dragon Butterfly that saved her.
Warai's Night Visitor
Warai sat in the back of the car and she stared out the window as the landscape flew by. The car was accelerating and panic was in the air.
{You're going too fast! You're going to scare her!}
"당신은 너무 빨라요! 여기 겁 거 야!" Lee said to Akito from her passenger's seat.
{We're being followed. We have to make it with this message. If we don't, then all could be lost. Everything. We are doing this to protect her!}
"우리는 미행 당하고있어. 우리는이 메시지를 확인해야합니다. 우리가 없다면, 모두가 손실 될 수있다. 다. 우리는 그녀를 보호하기 위해이 일을하고있다!" Akito said excitedly trying to concentrate on the road and his driving.
Lee looked back at Warai and her face contained her sense of panic and fear.
{Its going to be alright, my little garden flower. We're going to be fine.}
"그 괜찮아, 내 작은 정원 꽃이 될 것. 우리는 괜찮을거야." Lee told her assuring her with a nuturing smile.
{Where are we going Mommy?}
"우리는 어디에서 엄마를가는거야?" Warai asked, sensing her fear and beginning to feel scared herself.
{We are going to a safe place. Mommy and Daddy are taking you there.}
"私たちは安全な場所にしようとしています。ママとパパがあなたを取っています。" Akito told her speaking in his native tongue.
Warai screamed and cried as another car reached them driving beside them and then crashed into the side of their compact car. Lee spun in her seat reaching over protectively to Warai. Warai was wearing her child's restraint, but Lee did not want her to be alone or feel alone. When they'd gotten in the car to take this trip, they had no idea they'd be fleeing for their lives.
The other car veered away to avoid oncoming traffic as they sped up the mountain side road. It then found its way back to their compact car. Warai watched in horror as the car once again sped up and caught them. The car veered into them, crashing the side as Akito struggled to keep the car on the road. It skidded just narrowly avoiding the edge of the road and the drop onto the rocky shores of the ocean below.
The attacking car fell behind momentarily then sped up, catching the compact car once again. As it did, something thumped on the top of their car. Warai looked up to see the Dragon Lady peering in through the sunroof of the compact car.
"Give me your hand! There's no time!" the Dragon Lady ordered her.
{No! Don't listen to her! Don't! Don't do it!}
"아니! 그녀의 말 듣지 마! 하지 마라! 하지마!" Lee yelled back to Warai, pleading with her daughter.
"Trust me. I can save you. I can save them. Hurry before..." the Dragon Lady stretched her hand to Warai.
The attacking car plunged into their compact car and Warai hit the release button for the restraint several times. The restraint rolled up releasing her as the attacking car impacted. Warai reached for the Dragon Lady's hand as Lee's eye teared up. She screamed as time slowed. Warai was pulled from the car just as it plunged over the side of the cliff. Mer mother still staring on as Warai hung on to the Dragon Lady as the car plunged onto the rocks and the ocean below.
The Dragon Lady pulled Warai in close to her body as they tumbled into a roll on the road and when the'd slowed enough, the Dragon Lady used the remaining momentum to roll onto her feet, Warai in her arms unharmed.
Warai hung on tight as tears filled her eyes.
"You see how easy that choice was? I'm not the bad person they're telling you that I am. If you hadn't hesitated, I could have saved them too." the Dragon Lady deceived her.
Warai cried, bearing the full load of that blame. She'd remembered this all wrong. The Dragon Lady had tried to help her. She had even tried to save Warai's parents, Lee and Akito. Because she'd wasted valuable time, her parents were dead.
Warai plunged her face into the tattooed skin of the Dragon Lady's chest and began to cry.
The Dragon Lady comforted her, a vile rictus spread from cheek to cheek.
"There, there Warai. You see. Your friends were lying to you. So was the lawyer when he put you in the hands of the Butterfly. Maybe the Butterfly is not even related to you. She's trying to be your Mommy, but she's not. Maybe even Welly has been lying to you too?" the Dragon Lady brushed Warai's black hair with her porcelain white hand.
"But she..." Warai cried.
"She's very convincing. But she's deceiving you. Now we need to help Monique get away from her and help us to save the city." the Dragon Lady beguiled her.
"But Monique is the Butterfly's friend? Welly likes her." Warai asked her buying into the authority of the Dragon Lady.
"Welly is wrong because Welly is lying to you. Who saved you? Who is right do you think? We need to help Monique to get away from her so we can save the city." the Dragon Lady's smile grew more and more devious.
"Maybe we could help Monique and then Monique would help us to help the Butterfly not to be bad? We could help Welly?" Warai suggested to her savior.
"Hmmm. Maybe you're right. But we need to get Monique away from her first. And whatever you do. Don't trust Welly. Ever." she told Warai.
"But Welly and the Butterfly are..." Warai started to defend her friends gaining a little courage.
"No. They're deceiving you. Us. We need to help them by getting Monique away from them. Besides, I've got a friend just like Welly. Do you want to know what its name is?" the Dragon Lady asked her.
"What? Like Welly? Really? I thought there was only one Welly?" Warai asked her.
"No. There's others. Mine is called Wither." the Dragon Lady told her.
"Really? What's a Wither?" Warai asked her.
"Wither likes to help me all of the time. When people try to hurt me. Hurt us. Wither just makes it so they can't. They can't hurt anyone. Ever again." the Dragon Lady explained about her dark and shadowy friend.
"So Wither protects people too? Like Welly? Does Wither like little boys and girls?" Warai asked leaning away and looking at the Dragon Lady's face.
"Wither just loves little boys and girls. Oh yes. For certain. Wither likes anything that's alive because Wither can see them very easy the more alive they are." the Dragon Lady talked like a little girl nodding her head for Warai.
"So maybe Wither will really like me?" Warai asked her, wiping her eyes.
"Oh yes. For certain Wither will like you. Wither has been trying to find you for a very very long time." the Dragon Lady explained to her.
"Then maybe Wither will be happy like Welly used to be?" Warai rested her head on the chest of the Dragon Lady.
"Yes, most certainly. Wither will be very happy. I can guarantee that." the Dragon Lady told Warai as she started to fade.
The Dragon Lady slowly disappeared and Warai was alone and in the dark of her room.
"You deceived me Warai!" something dark spoke from in the room.
"...Who are you?" she sat up in bed looking around.
"You don't remember Welly? You're old friend?" the voice sound like Welly's, but angered and with an edge Warai had never heard.
"Then why can't I see you? I can always see you. I'm the only one who could always see you?" Warai asked.
"Because you betrayed me. You betrayed us! Me and the Butterfly. I can trust you no more." the voice told her as a shadowy shape flew across the room.
"But you don't speak like Welly? You don't make words that rhyme and that are funny?" she looked around still unable to feel afraid as the last of her tears streamed down her face.
"Welly only says rhymes to good little girls. You're very bad. You betrayed us and now we don't like you." the voice said to her.
"Well if you're not my friend, then I'm not yours! The Dragon Lady told me that you lied to me." Warai said, a little bit of impatience in her voice as she folded her arms.
"Nooo! You talked to the Dragon Lady? Oh no! She's going to catch us in our plan and stop us! I'd better get away now while I can!" the voice stopped and the shadowy figure disappeared out the window.
"There. That takes care of you. Bad Welly!" Warai said angrily as she lay down.
"I don't need Welly or the Butterfly if they are so bad!" she lay down and pushed her head into her pillow.
She then cried again thinking about how she'd really been the one who was responsible for her parents death. She'd made them go away to sleep and now they weren't ever going to come back to see her.
Ever.
Fashion Registration
Heylyn arrived at the office the next day a little later than usual, with Warai in her arms. As she walked in, Warai spoke with a little bit of an edge in her voice.
"Put me down!" Warai said pouting.
"Alright sweetie. Do you want to nap?" Heylyn asked Warai as they walked from the reception area of West Meet East to the corridor which led to her office.
"No! I just want to draw." Warai said, an edge of grumpiness in her voice.
"Alright. I'll get you your crayons from my desk. You go get your drawing pad alright?" Heylyn pointed her in the direction of Warai's white drawing pad.
Heylyn ran her hands through her hair before reaching into her desk and getting Warai's crayons.
Warai then came over the Heylyn and accepted the crayons without saying a word.
"What do you say sweetie?" Heylyn asked her patiently.
"Where's the orange crayon!" Warai said examining the pile of crayons in her hand.
"Oh, let me see. Here it is. Where's your drawing pad?" Heylyn asked her.
"Here it is!" she said showing Heylyn the pad.
"Alright. Here you go." Heylyn handed her the orange crayon.
Warai accepted it and went over to the table and sat down, beginning to draw.
Heylyn thought that she must have had a bad sleep and forgave her for not saying thank you, though it was a habit she didn't want to see her develop.
There she remained for most of the morning without saying much of anything at all, just drawing and colouring.
The door opened and Monique walked in.
"Hi Chief. How are you today?" she asked her without any real sound of concern.
"I'm doing a bit better. It was a bit rough last night." Heylyn explained to Monique.
"Did you find her?" Monique asked her stopping to take her in for a moment.
"...Yes. But I wasn't able to stop her." Heylyn told her.
"Well I suppose that I should be grateful for some things." Monique said in response.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Heylyn asked her.
"It's supposed to mean that she's getting things cleaned up." Monique said to her.
"That's not going to clean things up. Its going to make things worse." Heylyn said without losing her cool.
"I came in to give you the new list of registrations. For the show. Its in two weekends you know." Monique said handing her a printout.
"You could have just emailed it. And don't give it to me. Give it to Valerie. She's coordinating the planning for this project." Heylyn told her as she logged into her computer.
"What about your designs. Aren't you going to need me to do some modeling for you. The shows going to be here sooner than you know it." Monique said to her.
"When your attitude is a little better, I'll use you and yes, I'll be ready for the show." Heylyn told her, looking over the schedule that Valerie had posted on their intranet.
"What should I do now then?" Monique asked her.
"You could draw with me?" Warai asked Monique a growing smile on her face.
"Oh I suppose I could take time out of my busy day and draw with you a bit honey." Monique said to Warai drawing a look from Heylyn.
"I'll tell you what, I've got to go over some things with Kori and Matthew about the show. Why don't you stay in here with Warai and I'll just leave you two alone for a bit. We're probably stressed a bit and just need a break. Alright? Then when I come back, we'll talk about the show and we'll try some outfits I've got in the works." Heylyn stood pushing in her chair and logging out before proceeding to the door.
"Sounds good Chief." Monique said purposely.
Heylyn slipped out the door almost bowling Kori over as she did.
"I was just coming to get you. Matthew's ready and Valerie's got some news too." Kori said excitedly.
"Oh really? That's great." Heylyn leaned in the door of her office and spoke to Monique.
"Give me that list of registrants and I'll pass it along to Valerie." Heylyn said as Monique complied handing her the list.
She then continued down the hall with Kori and into one of the studios where Valerie and Matthew sat chatting with one another.
"And how was your evening last night?" Valerie asked her already having an idea.
"It was a bit rough. I played a round of squash and almost got squashed." Heylyn said to Valerie.
"Well maybe next time you're going to play and you need a partner, you should give me a call? You can't win every game by yourself you know?" Valerie told her winking.
"I'll remember that. I could definitely use the hand. It doesn't seem to be Monique's game." Heylyn said to her.
"What about you, do you play?" Valerie turned and asked Matthew.
"No. I've never played. So are we going to get down to things here or what?" Matthew asked them mocking impatience with a smile on his face.
"Yes. Let's get this underway." Heylyn grabbed a chair beside Kori and Valerie.
"Alright. We've got the show organized and there's going to be the Fashion Showdown that we talked about. We have a lot of takers on that one too, so its going to be tight. The Cancer survivors thing that we talked about as well, that's all happening. We won't name anyone but we will announce that a number of our participants and models are Cancer survivors and are part of the Survivors show we'll be hosting. They'll be intermingled with everyone else and nobody will know who is who. We all do this together." Valerie told Heylyn witha big smile on her face.
"I have to admit, that Monique has some great ideas sometimes. We just have to get her by her past and she'll be alright." Heylyn said to them honestly.
"So how are we working the Fashion Showdown?" Kori asked interest in the mechanics of the show they'd be putting on with her sets.
"We'll be running people in threes, breaking them down to two and then to the winner before progressing to the next round. All audience determined with applause meters and a cellular phone voting app. It's already been tasked and designed by the way." Valerie told them checking another item off her list.
"Great. We can do that. I'll have a team of about ten photogs and four doing video for the show. We'll be broadcasting it live on the West Meet East site for the whole weekend. If need be, I have five more photogs and two for video on standby. We also have two roamers who'll do stuff from the crowd and during the day for some of the other charities represented there." Matthew reported to Heylyn.
"I want to get the free makeovers on video as well. Hiro might appreciate that as will the other cosmetics companies. Maybe have a three video or image star of the day, from the people who get the makeovers, and we treat them like a star for the evening part of the show. They get to sit with us or in a press box, and get the catering and a gift bag too at the end of the show. We put them up and on the West Meet East site for a month after the show as well." Heylyn suggested to Valerie.
"I like that. I've actually got a section set aside for VIPs, built into the set for the evening shows. We could reserve a section for the makeover winners too." Kori suggested.
"That sounds good. Valerie?" Heylyn confirmed with Valerie.
"We can most certainly do that too. One issue that we really need to discuss is..." Valerie started to reply with her own inquiry.
"Security. You mean like special security in case you know who drops in?" Heylyn asked her.
"Yeah. That. Exactly. That's a real consideration and we have to consider it and the safety of the people." Valerie told them.
"She's not a media seeker, at least she hasn't been so far." Heylyn said.
"But that could change. What if she does decide to show up and crash the party." Matthew asked the Women.
"I've heard there's another one. Someone that's like her and has been giving her a run for her money." Kori said.
"No, that's just make believe. Just someone trying to get their picture in the news." Matthew said.
"I heard the same thing too. think that we can assume that she's not into drawing attention directly. She seems to thrive public opinion though." Heylyn said.
"That's why I say, what if she decides to show?" Matthew asked.
"I think that we have to trust the fact that there's going to be a city presence there. There's going to be about a hundred armed officers from what I heard. Not to mention the ones taking part in the charity work." Kori said to them.
"I think that we have to assume that everything will be alright. We can't let being afraid of what could happen run our lives." Heylyn said to them.
"Besides, I think there's going to be someone watching over us on that night and that weekend. All of us." Heylyn said to them.
"I'll second that." Valerie added.
"Alright. Then I want you to make sure that all of the visual media coverage we'll need is ready. Anything else Valerie?" Heylyn told Matthew before confirming with Valerie.
"No. I think that covers it. Kori, just make sure we can accomodate up to six winners per night in your VIP section in the makeover star for a night contest. Everything else is settled." Valerie told them.
Valerie thumbed down the list of names in the fashion show registration passing a particular name though it stood out to her for some reason. She could not figure out why. Instead she continued on making sure they were all the same names she'd already verified.
She forgot the name that had stuck out in her mind though it left its indelible print upon her subconscious.
The name: Vanity Kymaera.
Faxton's Gambit
They sat in front of the digital workstation staring at a still image which filled the screen.
"So what do you want to do with it?" the technician asked.
"That's our girl. But that's not very clear and that won't get us anywhere. In every photo we've managed to get. Security cameras. Onlookers. No matter how good the conditions." Detective Faxton examined the screen.
"Well this one isn't bad because it just isn't. There's nothing to work with here. I hope you don't mind me asking, where'd you get this?" the technician asked her.
"It was a stakeout. I was the eyes and ears for a takedown of a local distributor. I was in a derelict car in camo. They were in the middle of the exchange and she comes walking up out of nowhere and starts chatting them up. Then the other one shows up. The one we've been hunting for years since the Treadwater incident except they're both wearing nearly identical costumes or armour or whatever its supposed to be. In less than two minutes, they wrecked a seven month investigation that lead to that night's takedown. The one we think is the Dragon lady, she sticks around then gets in the car and leaves with our mark. The other one flies away when I call in the cavalry." Detective Faxton's face cringed.
"And to top it off, your intel photos aren't so hot." the technician said to her.
"That's why I'm here and that's why the department pay you the big bucks." she said to him trying to charm him a little.
"Big bucks? I thought the Detectives made the big bucks?" he asked her.
"Not the ones who botch seven month investigations during an operation and come up with nothing to justify the tax payers money." Detective Faxton replied.
"So you want me to turn this mess around for you and come up with a photo out of this? Alright. Let's take a look." the technician accepted her challenge.
He opened a console and typed a few text commands. A window popped open showing the same image in a different temperature.
"Why didn't you say you were using one of the tactical ops progear cams?" he asked not waiting for her answer.
He began typing again and another window opened onscreen with another shading scheme for the same image.
"Well at least you had the infrared and the ultraviolet enabled. Now, let's see if you had the depth buffer on..." he continued typing and yet another image popped up onscreen.
"So can you do it?" she asked him.
"I don't know. There's plenty of information here to work from. Could take some time." he said looking it over once again typing into the console and bringing up a graph.
"I'll throw in a case of beer for you if you can." she offered.
"Well the histogram looks good. So does the depth information though if you didn't have the infrared and ultraviolet turned on I would have said no. I'll do it, but throw in a bottle of Merlot for my girlfriend." he said to the Detective.
"Alright. I'll be back after lunch. Around three or four. I've got to go over to the morgue and check out some bodies from the ally incident. She was busy again last night too. Some witnesses claimed to have seen the other one briefly as well though the witnesses fled when they saw them begin to fight." Detective Faxton told the technician.
"Bring me some photos or video and I might be able to get you some stills of our perps. The Dragon lady and the other one too. I should have this done by the time you return." the technician replied.
"Don't forget the Merlot." he added as she left.
"I want at least one of their faces visible of enough so we can do a mock up if we have to. You've got the infrared and that should see through those masks they're wearing." she stopped and added.
"You certainly don't make this easy do you?" he replied as she continued.
"Nope." she smiled back at him as the door to the lab closed behind her.
Warai And Monique
"You've been quiet honey. What's bothering you? Are you ok?" Monique asked Warai.
"Nothing." Warai said as she held the crayon carefully trying to draw the picture.
She thought about what the Dragon Lady had said and that they needed Monique to help them to save the city. Maybe they could even convince Heylyn and Welly to stop being so bad. Warai remembered the time when they were in that special place in Japan, where Heylyn made her cover her face so she couldn't see the stores.
When they'd found the abandoned apartment that they'd assumed to be the Dragon Lady's, Heylyn had even treated one of the neighbours like they were a bad person. Warai had to convince Heylyn that she was only making people bad so they couldn't be good. Heylyn had eventually saw what Warai was saying, but she was still making people bad. Heylyn afterward though had offered that lady an opportunity and had lifted her own stigmas about such things.
Heylyn's experiences in breaking down the human trafficking ring had made her sensitive to some issues. Women being forced to pay for their citizenship by criminal gangs was something she could not stomach or tolerate being a newcomer herself. Warai though had reminded her that the victims themselves needed a new start and that holding them in contempt was just as bad as luring them into such a situtation in the first place. This sensitivity had translated to many aspects of her life and especially to sexuality and her comfort about it. The lady they'd encountered in the district on that night was merely an erotic dancer. Heylyn based upon her experiences helping to dismantle the sex trafficking ring, had developed an attitude towards any sexuality. She'd had lovers in her life, and her personal life in that regard was sacred to her. However, whenever she'd encountered Women who were comfortable with their sexuality and sexual nature, it had made her uncomfortable. She presumed that such Women had usurped their own ability to determine what was right for themselves. This had translated itself into difficulty handling many aspects of what she'd found during that case.
She'd initially projected this attitude onto that dancer, and Warai being naturally intuitive had recognized that Heylyn had merely made the lady, who was guilty of nothing but trying to help Heylyn find the Dragon Lady, a party to it. Guilt by association. In the meantime, the lady herself had not been a part of a sex trafficking ring, but had merely been involved in erotic dancing to make an honest living because no other doors were open or available to her. Once you were marked, you were often marked for life. That had been much the same for many of the trafficking victims who'd been forced to work in sex trade to earn their citizenship with the help of the legal resources of a criminal gang. Heylyn had been instrumental in assisting the authorities to discover and dismantle the ring though she'd stayed well hidden throughout this process. The authorities from there had been responsible for helping every one of those Women rebuild their lives so they could start fresh and forget the nightmare they'd been through. The city had triumphed again after the fall of Torman and Zek. But Heylyn still carried the misunderstanding that sometimes the stigma is more damaging than the act. She'd automatically associated this dancer with the same kind of people who'd exploited those victims of the trafficking ring, though she was nothing like. Warai did not know about such things, and at that time had only seen that a kind lady who was helping them to find the Dragon Lady was subject to Heylyn's scrutiny unjustly. Warai did not understand that it was her being overprotective of Warai at the time and that Warai's intuition had helped Heylyn to overcome her application of stigma to the poor lady. Warai though remembered this as a situation where Heylyn had failed another person who was merely being kind and trying to help.
Warai thought about that carefully as she drew the picture. Warai did not understand many aspects of what Heylyn had experienced and could only think in simple terms about it. The Dragon Lady had used this to her advantage to manipulate Warai and that toxin was still taking effect.
"Do you think that the Dragon Lady is good Monique?" Warai asked Monique suddenly.
Monique's stomach did a somersault and she was terrified to speak. When Heylyn had confronted her, she wasn't afraid of being edgy with Heylyn because Heylyn did not understand what is was like in the situation that she'd left to come work for West Meet East. Heylyn was ignorant of the fact that life was different at that level. Heylyn had been too busy being a do gooder to pay attention to the details in life. She hadn't seen that before but the situation with the Dragon Lady had made her see Heylyn in a whole different way. Heylyn was being used to protect the very people Monique had tried to get away from and she didn't even know it. Jail was not going to fix these people and Monique had known it. She remembered the first time that her boyfriend had hit her. She fought back and hit him, then he'd hit her again. She tried to hit him again but he'd caught her arm and told her that she'd better learn her place. Not to embarrass her in front of his friends. He'd made her completely dependent upon him and then tried to run her his way. He wanted her to work the streets for him and he'd been a thug of Torman's as well, unbeknownst to Monique until after Torman and Zek had been taken down. Heylyn had helped her to get away from him but that was just for good press. She had no idea really. Now she was just protecting guys like him by trying to stop the Dragon Lady. The Dragon Lady was effectively getting rid of the problem and making things safer for everyone, while Heylyn was just using Monique as a token for the press to show her charitable deeds. Being punched in the face by a man that claimed to love you was not something that she could forgive or forget so easily. Then when he'd tried to force her to work the streets to pay for her share of the rent, that had been going too far. Heylyn may have rescued her from that situation but that was probably out of guilt for having grown up with a wealthy family, and her future all decided by the time she was ten years old. She'd probably only helped Monique and even Alicia because she'd felt guilty about her own privilege.
"I don't think that she's good. No. But I think that she's the kind of bad that we need." Monique said.
"But aren't bad people the ones that need to be stopped?" Warai didn't look at Monique but just maintained her concentration on her drawing.
"Yes. But sometimes bad people are needed to stop people that are more bad." Monique tried to explain to Warai.
"So you think that the Dragon Lady is less bad than the other bad people. The ones that she makes go to sleep?" Warai asked her.
"...Yes. I think that she is less bad. She is doing a good thing by making them go to sleep." Monique grabbed a crayon and began drawing beside Warai.
Warai stopped, took a piece of paper from the pad and handed it to Monique.
"Here. I think that you need this so you can draw." Warai told her.
"Thanks." Monique replied accepting the paper.
"If she wanted help to stop the bad people and that she asked you to help her, would you?" Warai asked her.
"I don't know honey. I don't know." Monique replied again thinking about the question.
"She asked me to ask you to help. To help save the city from the bad people." Warai said looking back to her drawing.
Monique stopped immediately.
"What do you mean, asked you?" Monique looked at Warai panicking.
"She came to me last night and asked me to ask you to help her." Warai said to Monique.
"What about Heylyn? Didn't she try to stop her?" Monique looked at her in amazement.
"She doesn't know. Welly is gone. Welly ran away when the Dragon Lady showed up." Warai said.
"Welly? The who do you speak to now?" Monique could not believe her ears.
"She wants you to help her. Do you want me to tell her to meet you?" Warai kept drawing.
Monique paused a moment, unable to figure this out. She couldn't let guys like her ex get away with what he'd tried. The Dragon Lady had been making the kind of changes that everyone had wanted.
"...Yes. Let her know that I want to meet her." Monique told Warai.
"But you have to go as the strawberry girl." Warai told her.
"I'll go meet her as the strawberry girl Warai. I promise. How do I know you're telling the truth and that you didn't just imagine this?" Monique asked her.
"Here." Warai handed her the picture she'd been drawing.
Monique cringed when she'd seen it.
It was the pattern of tattoos on the Dragon Lady's chest.
Alicia`s Emergency
Alicia had been busy since their meeting with West Meet East. She'd let Norler handle the business and material aspects of bringing Tynan And Associates into the city's show and the Fashion tour. Meanwhile Alicia had continued working on the SY-369 program, and an offshoot chance that it might be used to reconstitute cells that had become Cancerous. This process involved a series of many experiements and simulation through which she was about one tenth of the way. The whole process was expected to take another year and a half, and that was just too long for her. Since the success of the initial release phase of the SY-349, she'd become addicted to accomplishment and had pushed herself often too far to meet that hurdle again and again, never realizing that she was running a race against herself while she was raising the bar each and every time.
The fervor over the video footage of her acrobatic chase through the building tops of Geneva had died down and she was yesterday's news in comparison to the sensation that the Dragon Lady had brought. Heylyn and herself had managed to maintain a degree of anonymity from their superhero alter egos and had never drawn attention to themselves during that time or scrutiny from the press or the authorities. Since being exposed that had changed and the sensationalism that had surrounded her had made her reconsider the fact that there were other ways that she could affect the world for the better rather than throwing on her Night Style outfit and jumping from rooftop to rooftop in search of crime. The tension during the Zek and Torman years was much different comparatively to the streets now, despite the fact that the Dragon Lady always seemed to find someone in the midst of a deal or a rapist and abuser to enact her death wish style revenge upon. The media and the press loved it, and her though despite the fact that she was a brutal killer of another kind. Alicia had quickly recognized had she'd learned to manipulate that sensationalism to her advantage and almost had the city eating out of her dragon tattooed hands.
For Alicia, Valeria and Monique, the pressures of the press had been much different and had acted to harm her life and threatened to destroy her career. She was grateful that it was mostly over with but there had definitely been something or someone behind it all. There was a missing element that they'd not uncovered and since rescuing Monique from her nightmare coma, Alicia had considered the possibility that Zek may have had someone waiting in the wings ready to take his place. That was the only plausible explanation because they had been systematically targeted and the videos that had been used to expose them had ended up in the hands of those who exploited them immediately. Alicia trusted the press as in her experience, they'd been a great help to the success of the release and awareness of the SY-349 program. Most were gracious and though on occasion some went to lengths that were a little unnerving, she'd had mostly pleasant experiences until the Geneva incident.
Since she'd heard about Valerie's and then Monique's similar situations, she immediately began thinking about that possibility though it had remained at the back of her subconscious mind, never having made it to the surface. Caught behind the pressures of trying to achieve the hurdles of continuous success successively. That is where it remained for the current time for she knew little of the current pressures upon her best friend, Heylyn Yates, the girl who almost single handedly helped her to overcome her self consciousness and pursue the line of work that she was in now. If Heylyn had not been there, life may have turned out much differently for Alicia and she'd always remembered that. Always.
Heylyn was the first person she'd approached when she discovered the effects of the SY-349 and how it had imbued her and her costume, one of Heylyn's fashion designs with the superpowers of Night Style. Heylyn had been once again proven her loyalty as a friend and had helped her to recover the stolen formula, becoming a superhero herself. In essence, taking on the enormous responsibility, a responsibility there are few who could comprehend, and most who could would arrest you on site if they'd known you were a masked vigilante. Her intuition as Night Style nagged at her and told her something was wrong and that Heylyn needed her help or would soon need it. She had been just outside of the lab environment in the office filling out the data for the results of an experiment when her cellular phone rang.
"Alicia speaking." she answered already knowing who it was.
"Look, honey. I need you to come home quickly. There's an emergency here." Norlers voice spoke through her cellular phone.
"What? What is it? Are you alright?" Alicia panicked as she asked him.
"Everything's fine. There's just an emergency that I need you for. Here. Come right away." Norler kept it short.
"Honey! What is going on?" Alicia demanded.
"Really. Its important. Drive safe." with that Norler hung up.
She immediately scrambled off her feet thinking about her intuition grabbing her purse and keys from her desk and running out to her car. She jumped in and started it and quickly pulled out of the Tynan And Associates Research Facility parking lot. On her way there, she speed dialled the number for Heylyn's cellular.
"Heylyn here." her voice answered, somewhat chipper.
"Heylyn. Is everything alright?" Alicia asked.
"Everything's fine. Why? Are you alright sweetie?" Heylyn asked her.
"No. I mean yes. I'm fine. Everything's fine. I just wanted to make sure that you're alright. I just got a hunch is all." Alicia told her.
"No. Everybody here seems alright. Warai's a little grumpy and Monique... Well, Monique is just being her old self again." Heylyn told her.
"Well that's good news. Sorry. I meant better news than what I was worried about." Alicia explained.
"Why don't we meet after work for dinner. What are you and Norler doing tonight?" Heylyn asked her.
"I don't know. Let me get back to you on that in about half an hour." Alicia said.
"Alright. You take care then. Talk soon." Helyn hung up leaving Alicia a little bewildered.
She maintained her current calm as her fears subsided and arrived at their condo. She parked the car and made her way upstairs to their unit and opened the door.
If was quiet and her favourite song was playing on the stereo. A slow romantic tune that she just loved. Norler called it her cuddle song. The living room was empty though there was a note on the coffee table. She picked it up and read it:
Come to the bed room.
A smile stretched across her face as she slowly snuck down the hall into the bedroom where Norler was, with a bucket and champagne on ice.
"I take it the emergency was that there was no ice?" Alicia smiled taking off her shoes and the rest of her clothing slow and deliberate.
"We got the ice problem sorted out. The champagne is nice and cold." he said pouring her a glass.
"So what's the occasion?" she asked him.
"Well... I think we're going to need to get used to some late nights soon. We're pregnant." he said to her.
Her face lit up as tears streaked down her face. She accepted the champagne and sipped it delicately, then put it on the night table and climbed into bed with him. They did not leave the bedroom until 4 AM the next morning.
Zek Makes Heck
Doctor Estella handed him the map she'd drawn.
"And this will be the location of the last statue?" Zek asked her.
"Yes. We just solved the code this morning. Its the last piece." Doctor Estella assured him.
"No, the last piece is the gem. The little girl. We need this statue and we need the little girl. We're going to get both." Zek said from behind his desk.
"Our job here is done then?" Doctor Estella asked.
"Yes. You could say that. If you'd like to return to your research position at the University of Lima, I have arrangements for you already." Zek told her as he leaned back examining her map.
"Yes. I'd like that. And the arrangement?" Doctor Estella confirmed with him.
"Yes. Your department's research grant is taken care of for life. Twenty five years of funding for you to continue your research into ancient history. You'll become very close with it." he said, half smiling.
"Thank you Mr. Zek. I assume that you won't hurt anyone with this secret as we agreed?" she asked him.
"Nobody will be hurt." Zek comforted her.
As she left the office he spoke quietly.
"Though many will be killed." he turned his chair around.
Doctor Estella was marched down to the helicopter pad, and ushered into a light chopper.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked the pilot.
"We're taking you to an aero strip we have located a few miles outside of the city. From there you'll catch a flight to Lima." the pilot told her.
She stepped in and the helicopter took to the air. It quickly left the port city limits and was flying over the brush outside of the city. Off in the distance she spied an airstrip where the pilot directed the helicopter. As they approached, something on the field ignited and a billowing trail of smoke stretched from its origin towards the helicopter.
"RPG!" yelled the pilot as he took evasive action.
The helicopter veered sharply to the side as the rocket missed the canopy plunging into the tail rotor and exploding.
The helicopter went into a spin tumbling to the brush below having no stabilizing rotor to maintain its course. The pilot fought with the controls as Doctor Estella braced for impact. The helicopter hit the ground with a crash, the landing pods absorbing much of the force. The rotors shattered as they impacted the foliage around them. One piece flew into Doctor Estella's arm as she struggled with the door. She screamed in pain as the door to the canopy miraculously opened. She jumped out and ran to the other side of the helicopter yanking on the door.
"Open it! Quick!" the pilot yelled at her.
"I can't! Its stuck!" she screamed at him.
"Alright. Together. On three! One... two... ... three!" as she pulled at the door he pushed his body against it.
The door flew open and he fell out on top of her.
"Why did they shoot us? I thought they were going to get me to Lima?" she asked him.
"Don't ask me. I only work here. We have to get going. The choppers going to blow!" he got up grabbing her hand as they ran through the brush to safety.
A moment later the helicopter exploded sending debris and shrapnel flying.
"Are you injured?" he asked her.
"Something cut me. My shoulder." she said to him.
"Doesn't look too bad. We'll patch you up and then try to make it back to the city we just came from." he said to her.
As he proceeded to use some of his pilot's smock to make her a bandage, they heard the sound of approaching voices.
"Looks like we got her. Call Zek right now." one of them said as the other dialled a cellular they'd pulled from their pockets.
"...Hi. We're looking at the burning wreckage right now. They're cooking in it. Do you want me to bring you back some marshmellows?" the man said shouldering his rifle.
A moment later they left the crash site and proceeded back towards the landing strip.
"Why would they try to kill us?" she asked him.
"Like I said. I only work here. One of his firms hired an air taxi. A chopper. I got the job, so I came. That's all I know." he said to her.
"That scoundrel Zek!" she said.
"Let's get back to the city. We'll lay low from there until we figure out what's going on." the pilot told her.
"Don't bother. He's connected. If he knows I'm alive he'll kill us both. We've got to get to the States or Canada." she told him.
"Whoa! What about my chopper? What about..." the pilot asked as if the shock of the crash had departed him and anxiety had set in.
"We're alive. We have to warn someone. I should have known. I shouldn't have trusted him. We need to get there immediately." she urged him.
"Wait a second. Who's paying for my time?" he asked her.
"I am. I'll pay you when we get there. Please, listen to me." she pleaded with him.
He looked back to the burning wreckage and then back to her.
"Alright. I just hope nobody else tries to kill you. What did you do?" he asked her.
"I uncovered a secret." she told him.
"What, like how they get the caramel into the center of the..." he began sarcastically.
"No. The secret of the Gem and the Dragon." she told him as he helped her to her feet.
Monique's Date With Destiny
"You're sure its alright?" Monique confirmed with Heylyn asking more out of pragma than sincerity.
"Yes, its fine. Warai and I haven't spent an evening together in a while. Lets hope our Dragon Lady doesn't make an appearance tonight." Heylyn assured Monique.
"I'll be back by eleven. After one if it goes well. Good night Warai!" Monique said to them waving to Warai.
"Good night Monique! Have fun!" Warai replied enthusiastically.
"Remember what we agreed..." Heylyn reminded Monique.
"If I run into the Dragon Lady, I won't take her on by myself. I'll call for help and then come straight home. Ok?" Monique confirmed.
"Ok. Have a good night. Remember, we have a full day tomorrow. Take that into consideration if you have company." Heylyn reminded her as she closed the door.
Monique took the elevator down to the mezzanine and left, her heels clicking as she strode the distance of the lobby. She was once again dolled up, though wearing a variation costume of her Strawberry Eclipse outfit, one that had also been treated with the SY-349 meaning she was fully empowered for the night should she need it. She'd opted to take a cab to the meeting place, a small park near Wellesley Avenue just off of Yonge Street. It would be fairly visible and have frequent pedestrian traffic, which made her question why the Dragon Butterfly had chosen this place to meet. It was also close enough to her ex-boyfriend's old stomping grounds to send chills up her spine when she thought about it.
She stepped out onto Queen's Quay, which was busy at this time of eight o'clock in the evening. She quickly found a taxi which stopped politely at the curb for her and whisked her to her destination. When she arrived there were two benches not occupied of which she chose the first. She sat down as her perfume lightly wafted the vicinity catching the attention of someone at one of the other benches.
"That's a nice fragrance. Were you coming her for a date or for a meeting with a mystery that could very well change the fabric of your life?" her voice came from the occupant of the bench.
Monique craned her hed taking in the stranger who did not appear like the Dragon Butterfly at all. Her skin was silky smooth, like that of a porcellain goddess. She wore a short skirt much like the Dragon Lady might have, though it was white and a bit lower than what she'd seen her wearing before. Her dark hair was tied in a bun behind her head and her face was white as the clouds. Her brows were nearly non-existant, thinly penciled in while her lips punctured her colourless and pale skin brightly like blood. Her satin dress clung to her body and through it could be seen her toned and muscular form.
"It was the only way that she'd not get suspicious. I told her that I had a date." Monique replied to the Dragon Lady.
"And a date you have, with destiny as it were." the Dragon Lady replied.
"Why did you pick this spot?" Monique asked her.
"I think that you already know. This was his old hangout was it not? The billiards just down the street? The bar just around the corner too? That's where most of his customers would come looking for him and still do. He's got a new one you know. He managed to to convert her to his little harem by the way. Sells her regularly as he's mostly done with her and is already working on his next." the Dragon Lady laid the bait.
"Why are you doing this? Your little crusade?" Monique asked her stepping into the trap.
"Let me ask you a question. Why did you leave him?" the Dragon Lady asked her from behind her pale mask.
Monique paused, looking around at the other people sitting at the surrounding benches. There were a couple who'd just stood and left, walking out onto the Yonge Street strip. An elderly man had just fallen asleep, his head lulled down onto his chest. An effeminately dressed man, with a multitude of earrings on the lobes of his right ear sat reading a book. The earbuds of his music player in his ears as he sat in his own world.
"I left him because he was a dead end. Because he tried to sell me. Tried to convince me to work the streets to pay my share of the rent." Monique replied to her, feeling a little unnerved by the question.
"No you didn't. You left him because the Butterfly offered you a better place and position in life. You were destined for one path, which you narrowly escaped by the charity of the Butterfly." the Dragon Lady asserted.
"I would have left him anyway." Monique told her.
"Really? How? Find another boyfriend and sleep with him to pay your rent? When he dried up, find another and continue the cycle until nobody could stand the sight of you?" the Dragon Lady asked her.
"No! I would have left him and made a way for myself." Monique responded in anger.
"I don't think that you would have. I think that you eventually would have fallen victim to his plan, and that you'd be a boy toy for sale under his harem until you were used up. You would have been a part of what the Butterfly and that two bit hussie Night Style took down years ago. You would have been one of the countless trash that littered the courts for a year as the trials were sorted out." the Dragon Lady told her without losing her stride.
Monique struggled to maintain her dwindling emotional state.
"I would have left him and found a job. Doing something." Monique looked down a tear streaming down her face.
"Don't you see? Don't you recognize the pattern? You have a destiny! A destiny to betray!" the Dragon Lady told her, crossing her legs over to the other side.
"I am betraying anyone!" she responded to the Dragon Lady.
"You're even deluding yourself. Yes you are. Your problem is that you are struggling against it. Don't. Embrace it. Its a strength, not a weakness." the Dragon Lady told her.
Monique's head fell as she wiped her nose. She stood and started to walk away back to the strip to flag a taxi and escape her pit.
"The Butterfly is teaching you the way. The way to balance your path so you aren't chasing everything. The more you chase it, the more it moves, the more you chase it. Is that right? So now you're just going to run back to her so she can continue to take that spark away from you until you have nothing that drives you." the Dragon Lady asked her.
"She's teaching me to think for myself but she's keeping me beneath her too. So I progress, but only as much as she allows me to." Monique replied stopping but not daring to look back to the Dragon Lady.
"Your problem is that you think that your destiny, betrayal, is a liability rather than an asset. The truth is that your greatest strength is betrayal. If the Butterfly had not happened into your life, you'd have betrayed your ex-boyfriend and it might have prematurely ended a way of life for him. Victimizing Women by selling them on the streets. Luring them into using his product, that drug as the motivation to do it. You need to pay for it, right? You need money to pay for it, right? Once you get started, you always need it, right? What easier way is there to make money than selling your body?" the Dragon Lady asked her.
Monique's head fell again and she began to cry.
"That's what your destiny might have been if the Butterfly had not shown up. You'd be working to pay for a tiny bit of carbon and chemicals drawn from the leaves of a plant grown five thousand kilometers away from here that at that point, would have been more important than food to you. You know I'm right. Or you might have followed your true destiny. The destiny of betrayal." she suggested to Monique as Monique turned and stepped back to sit down on the bench beside the Dragon Lady.
"If you had followed that path, your betrayal of that man might have stopped a lot of unnecessary suffering on the part of your fellow Women. He might even be in prison. Or dead?" the Dragon Lady asked her.
"Instead, you became exactly what he was trying to make you. A protitute, though a prostitute of a different kind and working for a different pimp." the Dragon Lady wove her words carefully.
"I'm not a prostitute." Monique told her.
"Oh yes you are. That's exactly what you are. You are working for a pimp, who sells your body to make money. You get your cut of that money, but its you that does the work. You do it all to pay for a different drug though. That drug is your dignity and the impressions that you think others will have of you." the Dragon Lady reasoned with her.
Monique did not know what to say because when she thought about it, what the Dragon Lady was saying made sense, in the kind of street sensibility that Monique had tried to explain to Heylyn. The street sensibility that Heylyn could never understand.
"So he won. Really. In the scheme of things, he won. Though you didn't end up being his prostitute, you became someone else's." the Dragon Lady's expression showed only a grave smile.
"...that bastard!" Monique cursed.
"So in the end, you ended up chasing the ball and still are. She's lying to you and that's because she's holding the ball. If you had followed your original destiny, the destiny of betrayal, he might not be etching his path of destruction upon others. Instead you ran to another pimp. I think its time to end this charade, don't you?" the Dragon Lady fixed her skirt and stood.
"How... you don't mean?" Monique asked her already knowing the answer.
"You didn't come to meet with me because you wanted a different partner with whom to beat up the baddies did you? You came to me because you wanted to seek a more permanent solution. My solution. My way of dealing with social problems that need to be dealt with." the Dragon Lady told her confidently as she began walking out towards his favourite bar.
"I'm going to see what he's up to. Would you like to accompany me?" the Dragon Lady asked Monique.
"Yes. I'll accompany you. But I won't..." Monique hesitated.
"You won't let him live because you're going to do what you should have done all that time ago. Something that I don't need to teach you how to do, because I think that you're already a natural at it." the Dragon Lady told her.
When they arrived at the bar, Monique cringed at the smell. She'd been in it before in a different life time, but were her senses fooling her? Did it always smell this bad or had she changed so much? Walking in with the Dragon Lady, the denizens settled their eyes upon them like wild wolves might have kept their watch over stray deer.
"Would'ja look at that. Isn't that your old squeeze, Samis?" asked one of the people in the booth with Monique's old boyfriend.
"Damn! She's looking hot! Better than your old lady now. A lot less wear and tear too." said the other.
Samis stepped out of the booth, and started over towards the table where Monique sat with the mysterious lady.
"Where you going Samis? You're a little out of your league, aren't you?" one of his friends asked him.
"To collect up on an old debt." Samis replied.
Monique sat with her back to him as he approached. The Dragon Lady watched him every step of the way which unsettled him because she showed no fear or intimidation of his presence. No body language to suggest that he'd made any kind of impact upon them at all.
"Monique. Long time no see? What brings you back into this part of town from your new perch?" Samis asked her.
Monique turned her head and saw his face and cringed though not visibly. Instead she smiled politely following the Dragon Butterfly's lead.
"Samis? How are you. You're looking good. Have a seat!" the Dragon Lady slid over slowly giving him a place to sit across from Monique.
"You're looking like you've got some money, nice threads too. How about coughing over whatcha owe me?" Samis leaned over the table in a slightly menacing way that might have scared anyone else.
"I thought you came here to reminisce about old times. Didn't you?" Monique asked him.
"No. I came here because I smelled money. Now cough up." Samis said to her in all seriousness.
"Cough up what? For what? Do I owe you something?" she asked him disbelieving him.
"Yeah, you do. You owe me a lot. You left me hanging, nearly lost my place a 'cause of you. You were s'posed to be workin for me. So I say that you owe me some coin and a few tricks as well." he demanded of her.
Monique was disgusted to see how much he'd changed. When she was with him, he was just making his way down the road that he currently was so far along. He'd become a full fledged pimp and dealer from the looks of it and was running this small local bar as his turf. His breath stank and his teeth were stained of tobacco and his product. His cheering section watched carefully as three more of his crew entered the bar, perhaps as backup.
"Tricks? I can show you a few tricks if you'd care to step outside." Monique said to him a little of her street drawl finding its way back to her glossed lips.
"Was that you being sassy with me?" Samis asked her a look like the devil coming over his face.
His hand swung wide and just as it was about to clip her face, Monique's hand moved with lightning speed and caught it. For a moment, she saw fear in his eye and from what she saw, she liked it.
The three that had just entered the bar came over to the table.
"This girl being problem for ya Samis?" one of them asked.
"No, Chak, she ain't no problem. I can handle her. Now where was we? You better cough up something for the trouble you caused me or you're to be leaving without your purse." Samis told her very seriously.
"Gentlemen. There's a much better way that we can handle this, isn't there? We're ladies after all. You surely notice that. Don't you or are you pointing in the other direction? If so, there isn't anything wrong with that, is there Monique? This is the man you said failed to please you as good as I can." the Dragon Lady reached across the table brushing her hand lightly.
"You b..." Samis stood getting up from the booth.
"Come on out side, you. I'm a holdin' this back. You better get your ass outside and pay me something for that." Samis stood and marched outside of the bar followed by his gang, all seven of them.
The bar had become quiet, only two patrons sat at the bar half intoxicated. Monique looked to the Dragon Lady and giggled.
"Did you see him? He was actually afraid. I've only seen him get that mad that quick one other time. The time that he hit me." she laughed.
"He's done it a few times since then. Other women. One ended up in the hospital. Another ended up in the icu from his product. Don't you see the mess that you left behind? Does he really deserve even the life he has now?" the Dragon Lady asked her.
"...those women don't deserve it." Monique replied to her.
"That's the spirit." the Dragon Lady agreed.
Monique got up from the table and left the bar through the door Samis had just left. When she got outside, he was waiting with his seven, making them eight altogether. The Dragon Lady followed her though remained in the background wanting to see her protege in action.
"So do we do this with money, or with weapons?" Samis asked Monique.
"Weapons? That's low Samis, even for you." Monique told him.
"You know how it is. Tough competition around you know, since they took down Torman." Samis replied ironically pulling out a butterfly blade as he deftly flipped it with his hands.
She stood her ground and spoke.
"Come get it, chicken." she said to him.
With that he swung the blade. Monique disappeared taking the form of a sheet of blackness as the knife passed through her dematerialized body. She passed through Samis then reappeared behind him. She hit the bottom of his skull at the point where it connected to his neck just like Heylyn had taught him and he fell to the ground as the shockwave hit his nerves. That's when the other seven jumped in. Two of them grabbed Monique's arms, one she managed to fling forward onto the ground as the other twisted her arm around holding her in place. She winced in pain.
"Is that all you can do? I thought you were so much more... ecliptic. Goes to show that reputation can sometimes outweigh truth..." the Dragon Lady spoke manipulatively.
With that Monique's face grew angry and she instantly dematerialized once again reappearing behind the guy that had been holding her a moment before. She grabbed the top of his forehead from behind and braced her other arm behind his neck and pulled. There was a crack as one of his vertebrae momentarily dislocated and he fell motionless to the ground spasming. She then disappeared once again taking on the form of a beam of light instantaneously hitting and blinding three of the other men. They grasped at their eyes screaming in pain as their retinas had been singed. They stumbled falling to the pavement useless and powerless to hurt anyone.
She rematerialized in front of the remaining three attempting a kick Heylyn had been teaching her. She swung her foot in a wide arc not building enough speed to execute it properly. The first one caught her leg and struck her knee sending a shaft of pain down her leg. She screamed as she fell to the pavement grasping her leg.
The Dragon Lady watched unamused.
"Are you kidding?" the Dragon Lady mused.
"I think her broke my knee cap!" Monique rubbed at her knee.
"Yes, those are the risks of dancing with so many at once. Are you saying that you can't finish them?" the Dragon Lady asked her.
Monique once again dematerialized turning herself into a shadowy mass of darkness though less resolute than before. She moved through the air as the three remaining men backed away from her. By that time Samis had gotten back to his feet and put his sights on the Dragon Lady. He grabbed her and put his butterfly blade to her throat, she put up no resistance to his attempt to use her as a hostage.
"Monique! I'm going to carve up your old lady here if you don't quit screwin around!" Samis screamed keeping the knife against her throat.
"This is the most excitement I've had in a long while. That's not the first time someone has had a blade to my throat though." the Dragon Lady put up no struggle.
Monique reappeared before them, limping on her injured leg.
"Now you're just going to hand over all of your money and credit cards and get the f... out of here. Then we'll call it even." Samis demanded of Monique.
"Ok. Ok. Just a minute. Let me get my purse." Monique said feeling slightly defeated.
"No tricks either." Samis told her.
"I've got a trick. I do impressions. Want to see my best impression?" the Dragon Lady asked Samis.
Her skin slowly transformed as her tattoos reappeared on her arms and legs, filling her body from neck to toe. Her porcelain form was once again replaced by the caricature of heavy makeup and her tight and revealing clothing. Samis released his grip on her when he saw what she had become. The tattooed lady from the news.
"You held back Monique. This is what you should have done years ago to this waste of life and breath." the Dragon Lady spoke with determination and confidence upon her heels.
She walked over to the remaining assailants. The first two put up little fight against her instead paralysed with fear. She felled them quickly, breaking their necks and leaving on the sidewalk for the morgue to clean up. The last one, the one that had injured Monique's leg took a boxer's swing at the Dragon Lady.
"A boxer? Oh I've not had a boxer for so long. Are you going to sting me like a bee because there's only one butterfly you know, and she's not here to save you." the Dragon Lady put up her dukes mockingly.
He ignored her and threw a quick succession of three jabs like a boxer. She side stepped the first two and then centered herself for the last, just letting its momentum brush past her face. As it passed her, she grabbed the wrist just behind his fist and threw her weight in the direction of his momentum arcing her leg out behind her. He flew over her hitting the pavement face first, breaking his jaw.
"That's for the injured knee. Now this is what you get for sticking around." she said to him as she plunged her heel into the back of his neck with the force of a snap kick.
Only Samis remained.
"So Monique? What should we do with this... wretch? Poor excuse for a miserable and failed miscreant whose existence is undeserved. He threw away the greatest gift he ever had. Being alive. And he spent his doing this to Women? Monique, put him out of our misery, would you?" the Dragon Lady ordered her.
Monique approached him, still limping as the Dragon Lady went to each of the remaining fallen, ensuring that they were indeed done permanently. Monique looked into his eyes seeing only the face of a man that did not understand the pain that he'd caused others nor did he seem to care. He only feared for his life and nobody else's. Monique looked at him and felt pity, but not for him. For those he'd wronged in such a horrendous way, getting those Women hooked on the product so he could sell them like candy. She pulled her fist back ready to lay a strike upon him. Her hand dematerialized leaving only a shadowy form in its place. If she struck his skull, she could rematerialize her hand while in his head and instantly kill him. Instead she kicked him in his package and pushed him to the ground, kicking him again in the same place.
"I can't kill him." Monique turned telling the Dragon Lady.
"That will change in time. Not trying to stop me from doing it is the same as killing him yourself, isn't it? So let me help you." the Dragon Lady approached him her heels clicking the sidewalk as she did.
He swung hard with his butterfly blade, which is exactly what she'd wanted him to do. She caught his arm carrying the moment around spinning him and driving his butterfly blade into the back of his neck holding it there until the life had disappeared from his eyes and body.
"Now, you are a killer, Monique. Time for us to go. We'll meet again in three days at the same time. By that time you'll be a much different person than the one you are now. Ta ta, Strawberry girl. Oh, we'll have to change that name too. How's the Strawberry Betrayer?" the Dragon Lady immediately transformed back to her porcelain doll form and began her journey to her private oblivion.
Monique looked around as she heard sirens. She quickly transformed into the shadowy form of darkness and flew to her condominium balcony.
At home, she discarded her clothing and sat in her tub for an hour scrubbing herself, though the effort was futile for she could not get herself clean enough for her liking.
The Lady And The Trail
Detective Faxton walked the scene, examining where the boxer had fallen.
"He must have fallen hard here. Broke his jaw before she killed him." she said squatting over the scene which was still marked with chalk and crime scene markers.
"A witness in the bar said he saw all eight of them go down. Two assailants. He even said that one of them turned into black smoke or something like that. We assume he was drunk at the time. He's a regular and he's in there now.
"Any credible witnesses out here?" she asked the Officer.
"Nobody so far. There's been a few calls from what I understand, but nobody out here." the Officer informed her.
"The last one to go down, Sammy Dalmar was a regular too. Apparently he'd been running the bar as his harem showroom. He'd also been selling on the side too, though moving quite a bit we later found out. We got that tip from Vice. He'd been mostly small time, even working for one of Torman's cronies before that show went bust. Then about four months ago, he starts moving a lot of product. Enough to put him on the Vice Squad's radar. They'd been watching him trying to follow the trail back to the source. Led through a few suppliers down to the Keys, then to some islands just off the coast before the trail gets very blurry." the crime scene Officer told her.
"So he was selling in volume as crack cocaine and blow? Pretty small venue to be running all that from? What about the girls he was selling?" Detective Faxton asked.
"Oh he had it all figured out. He had take out and delivery. Both Women and product. Must have been learned something from Torman doing it that way. He ran it all from in this bar. It was his office." the Officer explained.
"So the tattoo lady shows up and marks him and his buddies?" the Detective asked.
"Ask the witness and the bar owner might talk, though he hasn't been too cooperative so far. I had nothing to bargain with. Maybe you do now that his establishment has been cited as a common baudy house and conspiracy to deal in banned substances. All yours." the Officer suggested.
She thanked him and walked over to the entrance and into the establishment. It was a small watering hole with booth tables and a small menu that was mostly liquor and a variety of food items that they had to offer to keep their liquor license. She approached the witness first as she didn't want the witness to follow the lead of the bar owner.
"I'm Detective Faxton. I'd like to ask you some questions about the murders." she asked him as he spun on the bar stool.
"I ain't never seen nothing like that afore. Two ladies came walkin in here, like they were right out of a movie or somethin. They sat just over there at that booth and ordered a couple of drinks." the man spoke hurriedly then turned to his pint pouring a healthy swaff of the liquid down his throat.
She observed him carefully.
"Who approached them first?" she asked.
"Oh that would have been Samias. Or Samis for short. He walked over to the two ladies like they were his, and sat with them. We thought at first that they might have been. Then he began talkin' to one of them. She looked familiar but I can't remember from where. They get into an argument a 'cause it turns out they came in as a couple and Samis don't like that kind of thing. He backed out to the sidewalk and waited for them to leave, demanding money from them." the man poured the rest of his pitcher into the pint glass and chugged the whole thing nervously.
"How many men went out there?" she asked him.
"Well there was Samis and his crew, so that would have been... five. Then two or three others showed up. He musta called for backup. I've seen him do that afore once when an angry father came looking for his daughter. Samis and his crew beat the snot outta him even left with his daughter too. Poor ol' guy. Harry here don't hurt none. That Samis was askin for it though. He dealt with everyone like he owned the place. I always used ta say, you don't own shat Samis. You don't pay rent here!" the man signalled the bar owner for another pitcher.
"How much time passed before the ladies left?" she asked him.
"Oh about two minutes. It was a looong two minutes though." he told her.
"What were they wearing? Describe the Women." she asked her witness.
"Oh, the one. She was a beautiful. Like a model. She had two colours in her hair. Black and white. her face was smooth and with bright lipstick. He clothing was tight though she wore a shall. The colours were black, white and red. There was an emblem too on the front of it. Like a half moon. Like when the sun is blocked by the moon. An eclispe." he said to her looking to Harry.
"An eclipse, Jonny. An eclipse." Harry corrected him.
"That's what I said: an eclispe." Jonny replied.
"What about the other Woman?" Detective Faxton asked Jonny.
"She was another beauty too. A tight shiny dress. Looked a too nice to just be rayon. Prolly silk. I used to work for a textile plant before I lost my two fingers." Jonny showed her his the missing index and middle finger on his right hand as he took another swig from the freshly poured pint.
"She had a white face. Like a doll you know. Flawless. Pure. Nothing but innocence at all. Then she was outside for a bit and it was like she became someone else." Jonny took another swig of his pint emptying it.
"You mean she changed her clothes? Her behavior?" Detective Faxton confirmed.
"Both. But she didn't just drop trow right there. It was like she became it out of thin air. She became that other Woman. The one the Police is still a lookin for." Jonny stopped and looked at the bar for a moment as he started to sweat.
"Then she just started twisting up those men. Their heads, arms and legs like they was rag dolls. Breaking them up in ways I ain't ever seen someone be broken up in afore." he continued to stare at the bar.
"What was the other lady doing while all this happened?" she asked Jonny.
"Samis tried to cut her. He carries a little pocket knife he'd always throwing around like he's a big shot. He tried to cut her and that's when she turned into black smoke and passed right through him like he wasn't even there. Then she reappeared and hit him from behind. That's when I closed my eyes cause I thought I was a seeing spooks or somethin. Harry never puts stuff in the drinks, do ya Harry?" Jonny said looking very stressed.
"And that's all you can recall about the fight?" Detective Faxton asked him.
"That's all I saw cause I was a too busy looking at the back a my own eye lids. Shakin... When I opened them again, that's when the white doll became that tattoo lady and she started tearing them up like they was nothin." Jonny closed his eyes again remembering what he'd seen.
"Harry? Can you fill in the blanks? It might help you to keep this establishment to cooperate on this investigation. We have several accounts of your establishment being used as a common baudy house and being used to distribute controlled substances. You could even be looking at doing some time. I suggest you cooperate." Detective Faxton laid it out on the table for him.
"It was exactly like Jonny said. They were fighting first though, the other eclipse one and the men. She was fighting all of them and holding her own until the boxer hit her leg. Then she folded. It was like she was in training or something." Harry said polishing the bar and removing some of Jonny's discarded pint glasses.
"Who started it?" Detective Faxton asked.
"Samis, most definitely. He tried to cut her for certain. I guess he got what was comin' to him. Cause the tattoo lady made a mess of him. She cut him with his own butterfly knife." Harry told her.
"Did you say butterfly knife?" Detective Faxton verified with the bar owner.
"Yes, he carried it around everywhere." Harry told her.
She thought back to the prior reports made by the former Detective on the case finding plastic butterflies at each of the crime scenes. She wondered if this wasn't circumstantial.
"So the tattoo lady did all of the killing or was it both of them?" the Detective asked Harry.
"I'd say the other lady, the eclipse lady had reservations about it. She bruised them a fair bit, but she didn't kill anyone." Harry explained to the Detective.
"Alright. I'm going to leave here. If you recall any piece of information that you've been withholding, call me immediately. It will affect the lifespan of this establishment and might guarantee your remaining out of prison. Do you understand?" she said handing them each a business card.
"Yes M'aam." the both said in unison as she left the bar.
She pulled her cellular phone and called in a report.
"Important information regarding case number 15634. Hi, this is Faxton. Our Dragon Lady has been using costumes. She's got an alias. She wears some kind of nylon body stocking that covers her tattoos that she removes at or when close to her point of attack. Description is 5'10" tall, pale white skin described as looking like a porcelain doll. Very well toned physique. Her hair tied up in a loose bun. She wears a white silk dress in this disguise. The heels are possibly the same. Get an artist on that right away and get that to the press." Detective Faxton hung up the phone and pocketed it.
"Thanks for you help Officer." she thanks the Officer as she left the scene back to the Digital Services Lab.
"She was going to put together a press kit with everything they'd need to identify the Dragon and the Butterfly.
The Big Trip
Zek sat at his desk reading his emails as one of his men knocked on his door.
"Come in." Zek said having already unlocked the door.
"Sir. We've received word from Toronto about the upcoming fashion show." the man began.
"And..." Zek said not looking away from his monitor.
"A map too. With full layout of the stage and surrounding stands. The approximate numbers of officers on duty too and other emergency personnel." the man continued.
"Excellent. You do know that you should forward that information to Signous. He'll be handling our little incursion. He thinks that he can incapacitate the whole show with thirty men in total. I told him he'd need at least forty five. His plan will need all the help it can get." Zek said, something devious going on behind his glasses.
"Right away Sir." the man disappeared out the door as Zek picked up his phone and pressed a single button.
"Hello. We just got the map. Everything is going as planned. So everything on your end should be fine." Zek spoke into the phone and then hung up.
A thousand kilometres to the north a couple made their way from a Mexican plane and onto the tarmac into the terminal.
"You thirsty?" asked the pilot, whose name was Alonzo.
"It's alright. I'm fine." Doctor Estella replied as they made their way into the terminal.
"We only need to wait another hour for the next flight. That will bring us to Phoenix, Arizona and from there we wait three hours before we catch our flight to Toronto. With any luck we'll be there by tomorrow morning." Alonzo told her as he finished the last of his water.
"So, tell me. What's a beautiful Doctor like yourself doing working for a monster like Zek, anyway?" he asked her as they sat down.
"I am a researcher for the Department of Archaeology at the University of Lima. I specialize in ancient civilizations. I'd done my thesis on the civilizations and dynasties of Asia, and covered a remarkable amount of research into local legends." she said to him as she leaned over and put her head on his shoulder.
"You don't mind do you?" she asked politely.
"Not at all. Make yourself comfortable." Alonzo replied.
The sat quietly for a moment before he asked another question.
"So what kind of legends were you investigating that caught Zek's eye, he being on the other side of the world from Asia?" Alonzo asked.
"Well mostly folklore and ancient fables and myths. Spiritfolk. Sprites. Spiritdaemons and Dragons. There's many legends about those creatures in the Far East, though each civilization has a different take on them. Zek needed me to investigate a particular recurring manifestation with a period of about five hundred years." Doctor Estella explained to Alonzo about their ancient legends.
"When you say recurring, what do you mean? Like they come back?" Alonzo asked more playing dumb because he liked to listen to her talk.
"Every five hundred years they return. In a different form usually depending upon the originating culture. In India that's the case especially. In Thailand, they have spirits with recurrence rates of ninety years that they believe are the recently deceased returning to well. In Korea, such spirits were thought to be harbingers or the carriers of omens. Predictions related to anything from the growth and fertility of the land to the fertility of Women. The outcome of a festival or even to warn about other spirits that might be a threat to the land. In Japan, such spirits are thought to be like Western poltergeists. Often bringing bad luck and trouble to those that they attach themselves to. There are of course also good ones that can bring years of fortune and delight, though it always has a price." Doctor Estella explained, her eyes closed.
"Is that why he hired you? To chase away bad spirits?" Alonzo asked.
"No. I don't really believe in anything like that. There's always an explanation. I do believe though that there are mysteries that need to be understood. He hired me to investigate one such mystery involving a tradition developed in China over twenty five hundred years ago. Strangely, the same tradition coincided with similar traditions in the area including Japan, Vietnam which was entirely a different empire at the time, and Goryeo or what we call Korea nowadays. There's evidence too of the same tradition making its way as far west as Thailand. There's even some evidence in the records of Marco Polo that he may have brought knowledge of this tradition back with him on his expedition to the Far East. My theory, and it still is very much a theory, is that this tradition actually spread throughout Europe resulting in an underground society of those providing a vigil against this five hundred year recurrence. The sages of the East had noticed it first, and had even devised a means of predicting it by the positions of the stars, by tea leaf readings, reading the health of rice plants. In ancient Korea, they believed that the birds could speak to us by their patterns of flight, and they developed a means of deciphering such patterns into warnings brought to them by the avian spirits." Doctor Estella shifted her head slightly finding a more comfortable spot on his shoulder.
He eased her head down onto his leg non-intrusively.
"That's ok?" he asked politely.
"It is. Thank you." she said feeling a bit more comfortable.
"So, why would he want you dead? Zek I mean." he asked looking around to make sure nobody was in ear shot.
"The end of that five hundred year cycle arrived recently. We'd searched high and low for any means to find out what such a creature might seek when they arrived. It turned out to be linked to their only known weakness. A gem according to legend. As pure as day yet secretive as night, its truth pure light and its mercy pure might. We searched for a gem that matched that description, thinking that we were looking for a thing. We tried every gem we could imagine. We even tried making a few with high pressure carbon. I stumbled across the answer one night when while I spied a constellation, Virgo to be exact. Virgo represents the Virgin, a symbol for purity that is always represented by Woman. I check the records and every occurrence in recorded history revolved around a single family. In each of those families, they always had at least one child. Often it was a girl, but occasionally this quality has manifested in a boy too. I realized that our gem wasn't a gem at all but a child. This child possessed something that the bad spirit needs or thrives for. Something that I don't know about or don't understand. I think that the person, the so called spirit we're looking for has convinced themselves that they are the manifestation of this so called Dragon spirit, and they're just playing out the delusion, and they're possibly a risk to the little girl. We tracked them down from Japan, then Korea, then to China, Vietnam for a short time, through Thailand and then to Toronto. The little girl must have gone to Toronto and the Dragon person must have followed her to in order to maintain her delusion." Doctor Estella told him feeling a little bit unnerved.
"If Zek is following this, there must be more to it than that. I mean the guy has so much money. Why would he be concerned with a little girl and a delusional Woman?" Alonzo asked her, brushing her hair with his hand.
"I don't know. Superstition? I've noticed that he's a very secretive and cunning man. He definitely holds some very deep secrets and beliefs that he doesn't divulge. I believe he's housing a complex delusion based around this myth, so much so that he's willing to bet a great deal of his fortune to benefit from this myth." Doctor Estella explained.
"Even commit murder? Are you saying he's not all there and tried to murder us both as a result?" Alonzo asked her stopping his hand.
"With a serious delusion like this, murder would be possible for certain, though that's not my area of expertise you know. I'm a Doctor but not that kind of Doctor." she closed her eyes turning her head on his lap.
"I'm a Doctor too you know." Alonzo said confidently concealing a grin.
"Really? What kind?" Doctor Estella asked him playfully.
"This kind..." he said as he pressed his lips to hers.
Warai And Kori
The news about the recent murders had really made Heylyn concerned. She'd been so busy between trying to manage her company, finish her designs for the upcoming show and still be a good Mother to Warai who really was her first priority that she'd not been able to keep up with her nightly patrols and attempts to thwart the Dragon Lady.
She'd been stuck inside and could not leave Warai when the attacks occurred only a few blocks north east of her condominium. At that time she worried and hoped that Monique didn't somehow find out and attempt to take out the Dragon Lady herself. It had been a bad night for her and when she'd heard Monique arrive without dropping in, she feared the worst though ultimately she'd resigned it to a bad date. Monique for the entire day at the office had been short with her, often avoiding her altogether. Kori had spent most of the day looking after Warai, as Kori had finished the designs for the sets and the additions requested of her by Valerie.
Kori had been a great sitter for Warai and Heylyn observed that Kori would probably make a great Mother if she ever chose to be. Warai had taken a natural fancy to her seeing as they were both Korean, they could easily communicate. Kori had a wonderful sense of intuition as well, and she seemed to anticipate Warai's moods accordingly. She handled Warai's occasional grumpiness by settling her into her little make shift bed for a nap and singing her a lullaby.
When Warai had awaken forty five minutes later, she wiped her eyes with her tiny hands and asked Kori a question.
"Kori, when you were a little girl, did you have a Mom?" she asked.
"Yes. I did, and she was beautiful and used to sing me lullabies too. Why?" asked Kori.
"Did you ever do something that might have hurt them, even made them go to sleep for a really long time?" Warai asked her.
"No. I didn't. But one time I left one of my toys on the walkway outside our home. When my Daddy got home from work, he didn't notice it and tripped on it. We had to take him to the hospital because he'd broken his wrist trying to brace his fall." Kori explained to Warai.
"Did he come back home again?" Warai asked her.
"Yes. We brought him home with us. He wouldn't talk to me for a day after that, and I remembered that because I never left my toys laying around again." Kori told her observing her carefully.
"What if he didn't come home and your Mommy too? Because you left your toy out and they both got broken. What would you do then?" Warai asked.
"I don't know. I guess I'd feel very bad about it. Why? Did you leave a toy out somewhere?" Kori asked her probing deeper to find the reason behind Warai's questions.
"No. I just wanted to know what you'd do. Because in case I ever..." Warai said thinking about her sleep.
"Just don't leave your toys out. Remember to clean them up when you're done. Then nobody will trip on them and fall and everyone will go home safely." Kori said to her, tickling her sides.
Warai screamed then writhed and giggled in uncontrollable laughter.
Kori chased her around the office for a moment before Heylyn came back in.
Heylyn was delighted to see Warai finally smiling. She'd been moody much like Monique had been though Monique had very little excuse.
"How are you two doing?" Heylyn asked looking to Kori and then to Warai.
"We're fine. We were just talking." Warai told Heylyn.
"That's good. We're going to get going soon. I've got a lot of things to do tonight smiley. Would you like to come over for dinner and watch Warai for the evening? I've got a meeting tonight with Valerie and we won't be able to have it at home. I need someone to look after Warai and Monique is busy tonight. What do you say? I'll pay you decent too. Pay for take out as well if you'd like." Heylyn asked Kori.
"Would you like me to look after you tonight, Warai?" Kori asked her.
"Yes, I would. Because Monique has a date tonight again." Warai said.
"Who told you that Warai?" Heylyn asked.
"Nobody." Warai said innocently obviously holding something back.
"Warai... Who?" Heylyn asked a little more firmly.
"Just a person like Welly..." Warai said twitching back and forth nervously.
"Who?" Heylyn asked again.
"The Dragon Lady." Warai told her sending chills through Heylyn's body.
Its A Dirty Job
"Well. It looks like your better half decided to join me." the Dragon Lady spoke from behind a thin veil extended down from a hat in front of her face.
She was once again in her Lady Purity state, not a tattoo to be seen on her and her skin as white as that of a porcelain doll.
"And which half might that be?" asked Monique who sat on in the table across from her.
The M'aitre D asked Monique if she would like a drink to start and Monique told him no. He turned and went back inside leaving the two of them on the patio of the five star establishment.
"This is much different from your usual hunting grounds." Monique commented.
"Not really, though I'm not hunting. Not tonight. I've already picked my prey. So I'm just killing. Doing the city a service you could say." she smiled taking a sip from her glass.
"Here?" Monique asked.
"No. This is one the places I come to collect my thoughts." the Dragon Lady answered her taking more of an interest in the attire of a lady passing by on the street.
"I thought that you didn't drink." Monique inquired.
"Who says this is that kind of drink?" she replied.
"What's you game?" Monique asked her craning her head around to see what she was spying.
"That's a nice design but personally I'd have gone a little shorter with the hem line. Maybe an opening that ran up from the back of the skirt at ever so slight an angle just a little bit too far. That way it would stay open just enough to be inviting to my kind of prey. Maybe drop the cleavage line a notch or two and catch them from the front." she said evaluating the dress to her tastes.
"What's with the sudden interest in fashion?" Monique asked her tilting her head slightly.
"Just another hobby of mine you could say. All the inviting ways that you can lure your prey. Design is the first step you know." she spoke taking another sip.
"I take it you brought me here for a reason." Monique said getting impatient.
"Just to talk a bit first. You see, you still have that inherent mania and hysteria about you. Though I kind of like it. I think that the Butterfly wants to correct it." the Dragon Lady looked at her and smiled cordially.
"Is this going to be another one of your games?" Monique asked her.
"A game? Do you want to play a game? I don't play games. I solve problems. I solved a great big problem when I took care of Samias for you. I carried out your secret wish for you. Did you know that? Him and his thugs were a mess that needed cleaning. Its as simple as that. How many girls do you think that he did that to? Running them on the streets like that? You weren't the first that he tried that with. You most certainly weren't the last. Do you think that anyone will cry at his funeral? If anyone does, it will be because they'll have to find a new supply. That's the legacy that people like him leave behind." the Dragon Lady played with the edge of her glass running her nails around it.
"You called the fashion industry a pimp the last time we spoke." Monique glared at her.
"You missed the point. You ran from someone that was trying to use you in a way that he'd used many other women. And that was to get you to the point of neediness and then force you to work to pay for the shortcoming. He might have done that with drugs but with you he chose to do it with the place he offered you, your rent and with your relationship. He was leading you down that road and when you were indebted to him, he tried to work you as a prostitute to pay for it. Instead of dealing with him you ran to a similar situation though admirably they haven't asked you to have paid sex with others for their benefit. So the insult was not directed at the fashion industry. It was directed at you because you let other women walk into the same trap by not doing anything about it when you left. You think you changed your ideals and social class. You've somehow become better than what you left. The truth is that you're just the same as you were because you did nothing about it. So you instead ran to another pimp when you took that job offer. By dealing with the problem last night we have essentially changed you. Now you are the woman that you'd imagined you'd become when you took the job at West Meet East International because you got rid of the problem instead of running from it." the Dragon Lady reasoned with her.
"You're saying that I'm to blame? For what Samias was doing?" Monique said half in tears.
"Exactly." the Dragon Lady said not dropping her eyes for even a moment.
"What was I supposed to do? If I'd have called the Police they'd have laughed and Samias might have had some of his gang hurt me!" she said in shock.
"So you left him doing what he was doing and didn't try to solve the problem any other way at all? That's like stepping in a bear trap, freeing yourself and then resetting the bear trap for the next bear to stumble into." the Dragon Lady reasoned.
"He's dead now! Why are we even having this conversation?" Monique asked her.
"Because you need to understand this game and your effect upon it. Its going to take more than a thousand Butterflies and all the Police in the world to clean this up because its a trap constantly left open for the next prey to stumble into. The prey in this case is usually young and vulnerable women escaping other problems in their life and ending up right in the hands of the monster." the Dragon Lady told her very seriously and somewhat ironically.
"So you're saying that you're doing something good? You're a murderer!" Monique mouthed her accusation in order to avoid drawing attention.
"No. I'm far worse than that. It just so happens that my current location and the situation of your city are of benefit to everyone. So I'm making myself useful to the city and proving that the Butterfly is nothing more than a band aid for a problem that needs to be cured!" the Dragon Lady smiled at her.
"So how do we cure this?" Monique asked trying to pull herself together.
"Now that's more like it. We simply make the price for such crimes punishable by death until there are no more crimes of that nature." the Dragon Lady told her.
"What if we kill someone who is innocent?" Monique asked her.
"Impossible. I can see you and everyone in this restaurant in ways that you can barely even conceive of. For instance the M'Aitre D is a married man and he has a mistress that comes in here once every two weeks. They leave together for lunch and go to a local hotel and..." the Dragon Lady said with confidence.
"So you can read minds? So can the Butterfly but she says that sometimes its fallible. Like there's some people who can remove the taint of a crime or even a person's identity and put it onto someone else completely different. Someone innocent. She says the people who can do that have a really strange aura. So there are people who can fool even your other special senses." Monique countered her.
"Then why did you let me kill Samias if you think that I'm so fallible?" the Dragon Lady asked her.
"Because I knew what he did and I saw it with my own eyes. I know what he tried to do to me." Monique told her heatedly.
"How do I know that you're not just saying that to get back at an ex-boyfriend?" the Dragon Lady asked her.
"My point exactly! If someone can fool your senses then they can trick you. They could even set up an innocent person and trick you into murdering other people! The wrong people!" Monique glared at her not backing down.
"I highly doubt that. Trick senses that are beyond your perception of time? Hah! You are dealing with a force of nature. Not a little girl who was told a story about butterflies and then drank a magic potion and became a flying freak. I think you give these ruffians and hoods too much credit. They are bullies and cowards which are usually one and the same because their confidence comes from the misconception that they are at the top of the food chain where they operate. Predators without another predator to counter them. Not even the Police will mess with some of them because they believe they are so well protected." the Dragon Lady said with a hint of disgust in her voice of ages.
"The Butterfly says the courts are the way to handle it and due process. She says that the more similar problems that we solve the more our law and penal system figures out real solutions and preventive measures." Monique told her finding herself once again seeing Heylyn's reasoning after having betrayed her.
"Jail is not the answer because the hardened ones regard it like a hotel. When they go in they practically run the place. So its not a place where people go to repent and suffer. Its a place where they go to share stories of their exploits and to make connections with others of their ilk. If we put Samias in, he'd have become a legend for having lived through my path of destruction. They'd have made him a hero and put him at the head of the pack." the Dragon Lady replied not even thinking about her reply.
"What about our leaders. Don't they solve those problems?" Monique spoke thinking that she'd come up with the solution.
"Hardly. They're hands are tied more than you know and they're just as alone in reality as Samias' prior victims. Look at what they did to one of your public officials too with that ancient parlor mind control trick. They made him the laughing stalk of the city if not the world. Its a parlor trick that's been floating around from civilization to civilization since the Sumerians discovered the psychotropic effects of directed social hysteria targeted a solitary victims. The victims behave in ways that make them seem possessed. Crazy. Call it what you will." the Dragon Lady's expression dropped as her eyes intensified.
"Psychotropic what?" Monique asked her.
"A mind control trick. Used by ancient civilizations and most often by their shamans. Like a ritual where a group of people get themselves really mad or upset and then try to hit another person with that same emotion, hoping that they'll react as if they had the combined reaction from all of the people taking part. So the victim behaves like a lunatic." the Dragon Lady explained to Monique once again amused by another lady's dress.
"Really? Like crowd psychology?" Monique asked.
"No. Crowd psychology is when a group of people can be regarded with the same behavior as a solitary person. No this control effect is something different. When a group of people rile themselves up and direct all of their emotions at a single victim. That victim can have the sum reaction of all the people taking part in the hysteria if they do it effectively enough. The ones who did it to your public official combined it with narcotics use to maximize the effect. In other words the ones doing it to him were the ones using the narcotics. Just like emotions can be transferred to another person so can the effects of the drug can be transferred by the same means even though the victim doesn't use them. The same effect has been used by countless civilizations since the dawn of so called order. As I've said, they've been practicing that and fighting wars over cocaine and heroin ever since they discovered that effect. So recently the people who'd been practicing that in the city had become so powerful they were actually a threat to the social order. In order to protect it they often hang the blame on a figure head they pick from a group of people rather than reveal the secret that its conducted by a large group. That way the public crucify the figure head in place of those really responsible. So consider it a convenience that a force of nature like myself showed up at just the right time to deal with it effectively though it is just a mere annoyance to me. I consider eradicating them one by one to be a stop along the way. They're not at the top of the food chain anymore either. I'm just doing the city and the world a service while I pursue a much greater legacy." the Dragon Lady smiled peering through her veil.
"Torman tried the same thing. I mean with the mind control. But he was alone?" Monique asked her about one of the most trying times they'd encountered against him.
"Alicia's sideshow freak. The one who stole the formula that gave him those abilities? His abilities depended upon other people just like the effects of what I described does. So the people around him acted as the amplifiers of that effect. Really you could say that his power was more likely the ability to talk to someone inside of their head. Didn't he mess yours up like that?" the Dragon Lady explained it all to Monique.
Monique's face compressed into a dire smirk when she thought about having that creep inside of her.
"Alright. What's next then?" Monique asked her new mentor.
"That's much better. Tonight we need to take care of another problem that is part of the whole. This one you might like because this one worked for both Torman and Zek as their right hand in the city. He was even as powerful as Torman at one point until Torman bested him with their buyout scam." the Dragon Lady reminded her.
"I remember. He set up the means devaluing a company's shares by using his men to sabotage the company's total net worth and employees until the share prices dropped low enough that Zek or even Torman himself could buy them out." Monique recalled the scam Samias had been lured into by one of Torman's subordinates.
"Very good. Then lets go turn some heads. Right around I mean. Its a dirty job but someone's got to do it. Then I'll have to send you along so I can find something to wear to an upcoming party you know. I wouldn't want to be upstaged by the Butterfly." the Dragon Lady smiled behind her veil as she stood leaving a crisp hundred dollar bill on the table.
The Butterfly Eclipsed
Heylyn had found out about the meeting point where she had planned to meet her mystery date with her ability to peer into minds. She rarely used such an ability as she had strong reservations about its morality except where life was at risk. This situation certainly applied though Monique might disagree. Valerie had managed to slip her mask on while in an alley with a little help from Heylyn. They stashed their belongings under a utility bin that nobody else could have possibly lifted without heavy machinery and left from there. The Butterfly Dragon flew Valerie most of the distance at high speed until they'd landed atop the roof of a short building overlooking the five star patio diner where Monique was to meet her date.
"There they are." Heylyn said seeing the porcelain doll sitting beside her.
"Are you sure you're not just jealous..." Valerie said stepping carefully.
Heylyn looked at her and smirked through her mask. Heylyn's aura darkened momentarily as she spied Valerie.
"Not at all. Monique is free to live her own life as she so wishes. Our friendship is not as you're imagining." Heylyn told Valerie.
"I wasn't saying that you were..." Valerie started.
"Close? We're good friends and I just want to see her find her way safely through this no matter her being and lifestyle." Heylyn said honestly.
"Enough to spy on her having a date? I think that there's more to this than you're telling." Valerie became suspicious of Heylyn's motives for the first time.
"So you're saying that I'm jealous of my Monique because she's my lover? I love her like a sister, not a lover." Heylyn assured Valerie of her intent and motives.
"I'm not criticizing you for it..." Valerie said defensively.
"Neither am I for your insinuation. I'm concerned for her life because I thought that she was hunting the Dragon Butterfly." Heylyn pleaded with Valerie.
"Look. I think that you have some issues to work out and as a friend, I'm trying to tell you that you should go home and figure this out. She's on a date with another woman and you're using your super powers to folow her. That's not right and you know it." Valerie told her.
"Are you telling me that I don't know or can't handle the responsibility that comes with having these abilities?! You....!!! You make me sooo..." Heylyn felt herself feeling more and more angry.
"What are you talking about? I didn't say that you can't handle the responsibility. I am saying that *you* aren't handling the responsibilities." Valerie countered her.
"You're one to talk! Running from the responsibilities of running your company and then to come crawling to me looking for a job!" Heylyn yelled back to her.
"You're not even the one running the company anymore! That's because you put the entire burden in my lap but you're paying me less than one of your models!" Valerie yelled back.
Heylyn stepped closer ready to attack then held herself back.
"What just happened? Did we just get in an..." Heylyn asked.
"We did... Strange. I was going to..." Valerie said as Heylyn interrupted her.
"So was I. We lost track of... Monique!" Heylyn ran to the edge of the roof looking over the edge to where Monique had been sitting with the porcellain doll.
They were no longer there. Heylyn took off into the air searching the streets looking for them on the streets below.
"Great! What am I supposed to do?" Valerie said jumping off the roof of the building and down into a neighbouring alley.
Heylyn circled the area looking for a trail and when she spied that Monique had ducked into another alley and was on her way over to Yonge Street. There was no sign of the porcellain doll. Just north of Queen Street, Monique ducked into a door and climbed a flight of stairs quickly to a second floor office. Heylyn dropped landing atop the building she'd entered. She then leapt over the edge and landed in a parking lot beside the building where she ran for the door Monique had gone in moments earlier.
She ran up the stairs to the second floor landing and the office that Monique had stepped into when she was hit from the side. The punch came far too fast for it to be an office goer and she flew into the wall. The drywall broke her momentum and she fell to the carpet. A moment later she stood and the chase continued to another flight of stairs which she took two at a time in pursuit of whom she assumed to be Monique. When she reached the landing, the office lights were off and the office itself was in a state of disrepair. It was midway through renovations with many hiding places. Heylyn's senses heightened and as she calmed enough to focus. Something from behind her impacted her shoulder with a monstrous force and she tumbled forward into a somersault landing backwards on her feet. Another kick landed in her solar plexus sending her flying once again to the wall. This time she impacted the outer wall and the brick itself buckled under the force of her impact.
"Monique! Stop!" Heylyn yelled as she stood.
"Monique? You mean your friend? Your little coworker? The one you've been using as a pushover for so many years?" the Dragon Butterfly stepped into view walking towards her confidently.
"What have you done with her?" Heylyn asked having gotten to her feet and readying her guard.
"Now what would make you think that I would do anything to her? Why don't you tell her for yourself, Monique." the Dragon Butterfly stepped aside and allowed Monique to pass.
"Its not what it looks like. She's trying to make it better. Believe me. We wanted you to see for yourself. She brought you here for a reason." Monique explained.
"Remember Treadwater? Do you remember that Torman was in competition for the second in command position with someone else. The court records I went through even discussed this as a big part of the case. He had control of Zek's business interests in the city and was running the show at that time. His name is Dany Carremi. You must remember." the Dragon Butterfly stepped away toward a small cupboard that had been left in the middle of the floor.
"Good thing that you didn't hit this one here. Meet Dany Carremi." the Dragon Butterfly lifted it hurling it at the wall revealing a man in his mid thirties gagged and tied.
"This is the man most responsible for the sex trafficking in your city Butterfly. You remember the trafficking network you helped the authorities dismantle? Don't you?" the Dragon Butterfly asked her lightly running her fingernail over the gagged man's scalp.
Heylyn looked at the man and peered into his mind. This was a business man and he'd had the taint of such a crime etched onto him but it was not his. There was something not quite right. His aura was all off like much of it was not his. Like someone had etched theirs onto him.
"That is not him. You've got the wrong man!" Heylyn said to the Dragon Butterfly.
"He's the one. I talked with him once on the phone. I'm certain it was his voice." Monique said referring to a time when she was still with Samias.
"No. This is not your man. He's not guilty of this crime. I'm sure of it." Heylyn said to them both.
"I've been doing this for more than five thousand years and you call me wrong? There is no force on the planet capable of knowing what I know. Even you Butterfly with your artificial power pill and costume are no match for my experiences. I wonder how many you've put away that are innocent? No matter. I am here to clean up your mess. Once and for all and to allow you to join us and our cause or you can eventually fall as they have and will." the Dragon Butterfly waited for an answer.
"Heylyn, this is working. Really it is! She's doing the right thing. She showed me how its changing things. Really. If you try to stop us then you're saving the kind of people who make these attrocities possible." Monique pleaded with Heylyn.
"No. It's not working. The price you exact right now will be paid for some point in the future and not by you or the Dragon Butterfly. It will be paid for by innocent people. This is not right and this has to end here. Turn yourself over to the authorities. Monique. You can come back with me and I'll try to help you get back on the right track but you have to decide. If you choose not to, I can't guarantee that we'll ever be able to fix this between us or your future." Heylyn urged Monique to reconsider her position beside the Dragon Butterfly.
"Monique. I think that you're friend is too set in her ways for such a modern approach to doing things. We need to move on and start handling this exactly how we've been doing it. To protect the children of the next generation too. Think of all the little Warai's out there that will never have to experience being ripped from their homes when they're sixteen and sold for pocket change to some sweaty stranger in the back of his car." the Dragon Butterfly teased Monique onto her side.
"Heylyn. I can't agree with how you're doing this. Its taking too long. The Dragon Butterfly is getting results and even the people are with her." Monique agreed with the Dragon Lady.
"I can't let you hurt an innocent person like you're about to. She's lying to you or she's been tricked like you Monique. Don't try it or..." Heylyn sensed the Dragon Butterfly's intent through her aura and flew across the room knocking the Dragon Lady off her feet with a tuft of the man's hair still grasped in her fingers.
They flew towards the wall impacting it full force falling breaking the wall and hitting the wall of another building on the other side of an alley way. They fell into the alley landing atop one another. The Dragon Lady jumped to her feet and leapt the distance to the hole in the wall climbing back inside and towards her prey. Heylyn flew from the ground straight back inside the hole in the wall finding her way back to the Dragon Lady as she approached the man. As Heylyn moved to intercept her she was hit by Monique who'd turned into a shadowy form and hit her full force upon rematerializing. Heylyn swung at Monique with a wide arc backhand to minimize the possible damage. Her hand passed through Monique as she took on a light form and struck at Heylyn's eyes with her free hand. Heylyn stumbled back blinded by the strike having only her innate aura sense to fall back on.
Monique continued her advance moving at seven hundred kilometers an hour around to Heylyn's other side. Once there she rematerialized striking at Heylyn from the back. Heylyn sensed her presence through her own aura quickly crouching and hooking her right leg around Monique's legs and rolling onto her side. Monique was thrown to the floor impacting it hard enough to cause her to become disoriented. Heylyn quickly got to her feet as her vision slowly started to clear flying at the Dragon Butterfly full speed. She'd just arrived at her prey and was about to break his neck when she impacted her. They tumbled through the air and the Dragon Butterfly grabbed at a passing metal pillar, grabbing hold and spinning around it several times before coming to a stop. Heylyn tumbled to the floor rolling back up onto her feet as the Dragon Butterfly cartwheeled into her. The Dragon Butterfly's heels impacted Heylyn's cheek just as she'd managed to turn her cheek to dragon scales. The heel miraculously broke under the impact and Heylyn caught her tattooed ankle in one hand. She twisted as soon as she had firm grip forcing the Dragon Butterfly to turn with her lest her leg break. Heylyn ducked as the Dragon Butterfly brought her other leg around in attempt to kick her using Heylyn's own force upon her leg against her. Instead the Dragon Butterfly's leg spun harmlessly by Heylyn's head and impacted the floor. Heylyn quicly wedged her arm under the Dragon Butterfly's knee and twisted again sending shots of pain up the Dragon Butterfly's leg. For the first time in a thousand years, someone had actually hit the Dragon Butterfly in a way that yielded an injury.
When Monique heard the scream she immediately got her bearings and turned to light form and sped toward Heylyn. When she arrived she stayed as she was throwing punch after punch at Heylyn. Heylyn attempted to block each one and they each passed through her arm. Heylyn arched her head back dodging Monique's light. Monique in turn materialized again just as one of her attacks passed through Heylyn's defenses. Monique's hand connected with Heylyn's jaw and sent a shot of pain up through her sinus.
Heylyn retreated tumbling backwards as the Dragon Butterfly struck at her leg from the side. Heylyn tumbled and went down a shaft of pain traveling up her leg and into her spine.
"I think I can just squash the Butterfly from here my dear. Why don't you go attend to that weasel." the Dragon Butterfly advanced on Heylyn.
Just as she got close the floor erupted and Valerie in her Valkyra costume emerged from the damage. She swung at the Dragon Butterfly impacting her stomach and sending her flying at high speed towards Monique. They impacted each other and flew into the wall.
"Take that, dragon breath." Valerie remarked scathingly at her victim.
Heylyn imediately flew from the floor grabbing Valerie with one hand and towards the gagged man with the other. She grabbed him and proceeded out of the building through the gaping hole in the wall they'd made earlier. She flew to the top of a forty story office where she dropped them both and landed falling to the paved surface.
"Thanks..." Heylyn said breathing heavily.
"Hey. Don't mention it. About that argument earlier..." Valerie continued.
"Its alright. Let's just forget it happened. I mean you too... I'm sorry." Heylyn said to her.
Valerie tore the gag from the face of the man.
"...I promise that I'll pay my child support payments on time! I promise! Who sent you? The courts?" the man burst upon having his gag removed.
"No. We're the fashion police. Pay your child support payments or else..." Valerie said to him.
"...we'll make you wear plaid and polyester for the rest of your life." bringing a bit of laughter from Valerie.
"Well that could have turned out a lot worse." Heylyn said.
"Do you remember which alley we left our belongings in?" Valerie asked her.
END DECEMBER 12, 2015 DRAFT
See you soon,
Brian Joseph Johns
This content is entirely produced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at 200 Sherbourne Street Suite 701 under the Shhhh! Digital Media banner.
This content is entirely produced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at 200 Sherbourne Street Suite 701 under the Shhhh! Digital Media banner.
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Produced at Shhhh! Digital Media
200 Sherbourne Street Suite 701
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Copyright © 2023 Brian Joseph Johns
Copyright © 2015 Brian Joseph Johns