RSB Proudly Presents...
ValBy the end of sixth period Erwin Harrow was beyond sleepy. In fact, he was in the midst of a rather intense dream involving three of his good friends and an arcade fighting game. The action began to slow, suddenly, inexplicably, as an indistinct sound began to intrude. Erwin was disappointed by the disruption; moreover he was beginning to feel an itch behind his right ear.
Erwin Harrow... Erwin Harrow... There was a kind of reverend cheer going up. Harrow... Harrow...
"...Mr. Harrow."
Erwin's neck straightened with the crispness of newly printed paper. A crink developed with the sudden movement, but it was far removed from Erwin's mind. His cheeks were red: both from having rested on his arms for several minutes, and from the embarrassment of being awoken by his Government teacher, Mr. Vadis.
"Good morning, Mr. Harrow," Vadis said with a dryly amused grin. The instructor turned his attention back to the rest of the class and clasped his hands behind his back. "Well, seeing as how it's Friday and all, I think I'm done for today. Feel free to do your other homework or boogey down or... go back to sleep."
Erwin put a hand to the back of his neck and turned his head from side to side to straighten it out. He briefly contemplated attempting to go back to sleep, but he had been so thoroughly awakened that the idea of sleep was a dream in of itself. Beside him, Irene chuckled as she began stowing her notes and binder.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Erwin, rubbing his neck. "Real funny, Irene. Laugh it up, fuzzball." He knuckled sleep out of his eyes. "Are we playing tonight?" He yawned.
Irene finished zipping her backpack shut. "Mmm, yeah, I guess," she yawned in sympathy. "I don't think Wendy's in town. Sidney's got her part."
"Sidney?" Erwin repeated. "Is that Sidney Poles, or Sidney Parsons?"
"Uhm, both, remember. Parsons is handling Wendy's spot, Poles is guesting, right?" Irene began playing with her chestnut braid. "Right, Harry?"
Erwin made a face. "Don't call me that, Irene. I don't play games with your name. Well, I haven't for at least... uh..." Erwin glanced up towards the ceiling and waggled his fingers as if counting on them. Irene smiled and laughed. "...at least three days!"
"Ah," Irene nodded, smiling. "Three days. I'll bet you couldn't... I don't know, I'm sure there's something annoying about you that you couldn't hold off on doing for three days!" She stuck out her tongue.
"Like what?"
Irene shrugged. "Ok, I give up." The bell rang, prompting a commotion of activity. "Let's go, Erwin. Clock's ticking, I'm not about to lose to Reggie and Lee two weeks in a row. C'mon, 'Archer', get sharp." She smirked crookedly.
"Pssh, way to blow my secret eye-dee," Erwin scowled good-naturedly. He paused a moment before adding, pointedly, "Pax".
Irene glanced to her left, where Reggie Random and Lee Howlett were heading out the door. The two looked up and Lee winked at Irene smugly. Irene scowled back at Erwin, pushing him out of the classroom and into the sunlight. "Not so loud, Erwin."
"You're the one singing like a canary."
Irene shook her head and headed away from Erwin. "Fourth street!" she called over her shoulder.
The game Erwin and Irene play is the ultimate nerd's game, a combination spy vs. spy-conspiracy puzzle that involves a lot of abstract and useless knowledge, not a little running around, and a healthy dose of not-quite-paranoia. Part of the fun stems from the fact that there might by any number of players and that apparently no one knows who all of the players are- callsigns are the only form of identification, and any number of "handles" can be used by a single player. Irene had brought Erwin into the game, and directed operations for their little cell. Their goal was simple- each other cell had a piece of a code, complete and decipher the code, win the game. The game hadn't always been played this way; the last round, during summer, had been so involved that players had begun losing track of reality.
Reggie Random and Irene Montague's cells had been playing against each other ever since Lee Howlett had approached Erwin with the prospect of being a double-agent. Erwin had worked at being a triple agent until he got confused and Irene had him stop. As a result, the two leaders, Reggie and Irene, had a rough idea of the composition of their nemesis's cell.
"The ironic part is that there's overlap," Erwin muttered, reflecting on the experience. A handful of tertiary players were regularly used as blind drops by both cells, though no one except Erwin, who'd realized it, knew. He continued to mutter to himself, running through the lists, trying to figure out who could be trusted and to what degree. There was a bit of the code that Irene was sending to a crypto-expert, Sid Poles, to work on. "This game is getting to be too much for me." He kicked a can dawn an alley, where it came to rest against a huddled mass of rags. A dirty face looked up slowly. Erwin stammered. "I-I-I'm sorry... miss."
"Don't be," she stammered, struggling to her feet. Erwin was surprised to see that she was wearing fairly new brand names. "I'm Valerie." She peered at from behind dirty brown locks with clear blue eyes. "Erwin, aren't you?"
"...Yes, have we met, ah, Valerie?" Erwin racked his brain trying to place her. He glanced at his watch. It was four o'clock, on First street, Irene would be by soon.
Valerie smiled. "No."
Struck by a quick burst of inspiration, Erwin stepped into the alley. Valerie stepped back. "Do you... have another name, Valerie?" he asked, licking his lips and pinching his earlobe.
"No." Valerie smiled again. Her eyes widened as she saw something behind Erwin. The ragged girl's breathing picked up and she suddenly stepped up close to Erwin and grabbed his collar. She spoke quickly. "Erwin, I know I look like something the cat dragged in and its very unsettling how I know so much about you and this is all very strange, but I need you to kiss me right now."
Erwin blinked in shock, his glasses sliding down his nose a bit.
Valerie's eyes were wide with fear. "Please."
Closing his eyes, Erwin pulled Valerie close. Long seconds passed. Finally, after an eternity, Valerie pushed back a little. She stood up on the tips of her toes and searched over Erwin's shoulder. She grinned, revealing intact, white teeth, then leaned forward and gave Erwin a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Erwin."
"Ah... what was... that... all about?" Erwin asked, pushing his glasses back up his nose. He put a hand to his cheek absently.
"You can't get an explanation and meet Pax at the same time," Valerie frowned. "You're gonna have to choose between the two of us," she added, holding her hands out and turning around slowly to show herself off. "I know which I'd pick."
Erwin frowned and grimaced. "I can't believe you're making me make this decision!" His eyes lit up. "Wait, I've got an idea."
Irene leaned to her right and spoke softly. "I don't know about this Erwin. Valerie seems like a nice enough... urchin. But this is all very... strange. I've got a bad feeling about this."
"She's definitely hiding from something, Pax," Erwin insisted, calling her by the name he was more used to using. "That's the reason we have these... 'safehouses'." The safehouse in question was a refurbished apartment in an abandoned complex on the scummier side of town. "Just-"
"I'll try to think of it as an adventure," Irene promised in advance, nodding. "Alright. Before you get your kicks though, we have business. Did you figure out how we're getting that code to Arc?"
"Still don't understand why we can't just give it to him," Erwin muttered.
"Because that's too easy," Irene smiled sweetly. "If we just give it to him, then Reggie knows who's got it. Now, I got faith in his ability to figure it out, but I don't trust him any much more than I trust my dad can dunk baskets. How long do you think it would take Reggie to make Arc an offer? How much do you think it would take to persuade him?"
"What if he decides to sell it?"
"He doesn't know to whom it should be sold," Irene smiled. "C'mon, who's it gonna be."
"You're not
gonna like it," Erwin advised.
"Archer..."
"Don't tell me I didn't warn you," he warned, wagging a finger.
"Archer!"
Erwin took a deep breath. "Mistletoe."
"Mistletoe!" Irene repeated sharply. "Are you crazy? Mistletoe! You must be crazy. Mistletoe. No, no way."
"Then who?" Erwin demanded, raising an eyebrow.
"Blackbriar."
"Oh you mean the same Blackbriar that talks in his sleep. And he sleeps with the enemy. Ursa, then."
"Too obvious. Canis."
"That could work," Erwin nodded.
"Alright, I'll set it up," Irene agreed. "Good. I'm glad we've reestablished who's in charge around here." She grinned. "I've gotta go, but be careful. Lee's been tailing me. Maybe I should mess up my hair," she mused slyly.
Erwin rolled his eyes and waved goodbye to Irene, then turned and sat down in the chair opposite Valerie. "Did you want something to snack on? Something else to drink?"
"I'm fine, Erwin," Valerie said, shaking her head. "Well, presently speaking," she added with an amused glimmer. Her smile disappeared. "I'm being chased, Erwin. Men in Black suits."
"Men in Black," Erwin repeated. "What do they want with you?"
"I don't know!" Valerie hugged her arms and frowned. "Three weeks ago I woke up in a dumpster. After I crawled out, I was... totally lost, no idea where I came from, why I'm here. I passed a bank, got cut off by some idiot thief in slick black threads and cool shades, being chased by three suits. But one of them looked at me, a second too long, and I knew I should be going somewhere else.
"I've been running about the city since then, stealing and such. The suits... they just seem to pop out of nowhere. I don't think they're looking for me particularly, but we cross paths a bit too often. When that happens... one of them sees me, and its like he's sizing me up. But they don't catch me too much if I'm really close to people."
"Wow," Erwin breathed.
Valerie scratched at the bank of her head. "There's something else..."
Erwin smirked. "Why am I not surprised?"
Valerie leaned forward. "You're nearsighted, Erwin. I can fix that for a short time, do you believe me?"
"What?"
"Do you believe?" Valerie repeated intently. Greasy brown here fell down and obscured half of her face. She held out her palm. "Take my hand, Erwin, if you want to see the world the way regular people do. If only for a short time, you'll be able to put down those glasses, and you'll be able to see."
Erwin hesitated. He reached up and took off his glasses, set them on his knee, then reached for Valerie's hand. Her dirty nails closed around his pale fingers. Erwin's vision swam into focus as Valerie began to cough. She let go of his hand and once again his vision failed. Valerie's cough trailed off.
"How did you do that?" Erwin asked, putting his glasses back on.
Valerie shrugged. "It's not just bad eyesight." She looked around, and picked up a cracked clock. Erwin watched in amazement as the shards of glass in the clock face began to weave together. The clock began ticking. Valerie dropped the clock abruptly and lurched towards the window, gasping for air. She pressed her palm against the windowpane desperately. The glass shimmered pale green for a brief second, indistinct lines spider-webbing out before the pane flowed and melted, a gooey mass spilling out the window.
"Sublimation... whoa."
Still breathing heavily, Valerie slumped on the floor beneath the window. She looked up at Erwin's slack jaw and managed a weak smile. "That was a pretty good kiss, by the way."
Irene picked her way effortlessly through the mess of her room, flipping through her notepad. There was a lot of mindless scribbling taking up most of the pages, and bits of names and numbers slipped into the midst of it. A lot to keep track of, all these ridiculous convoluted protocols. Ah well, that was part of the fun.
She brought her arm in, ready to carelessly discard the notepad into the depths of her room, then paused and thought the better of it. She shoved it into her back pocket and belly-flopped onto her bed. Something bright out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.
It was her class binder. Homework.
Irene rolled onto her back with a groan. The little voice of responsibility at the back her head was telling her to go take a look at it, to maybe do a bit of it so that while she was sneaking out of her room in the middle of the night to spy on people, she wouldn't have to worry about getting it done in the morning. Scowling, she got to her feet and knelt beside the binder, opening it up. A page from her notes fell out, prompting another scowl. It was from her psychology class, something about drugs, hallucinogens. She shook her head and put it away.
An electronic beeping saved her from actually beginning her homework. Grateful, Irene turned to her computer, where a new e-mail message had just arrived. It was from Erwin. Archer, she corrected herself amusedly. A request for her to run a search on "Men in Black suits". Great, more conspiracy theory.
Well, it was better than sitting around analyzing Hemmingway. She brought up a search engine and told it to automatically download and file any references to "Men in Black suits". Suddenly frowning with the realization that the process was automated, Irene turned her attention back to her homework. One of the drugs from her notes sprang to mind. Morphine. That didn't sound too bad right about now.
Reggie Random lowered her binoculars, mouth agape. She'd just watched that ragged girl melt a window pane. It was impossible. She knuckled her eyes, and let out a long breath, reached for the glass of water on the table beside her.
Movement on the street below caught her attention. A black sedan. Three suits stepped out, nearly identical in height and build. Now, that was interesting. They stepped into the apartment at a leisurely pace.
There was a prickle at the back of Reggie's mind. There was something about them that was wrong, all wrong; she just couldn't put her finger on it. Reggie licked her lips and considered. If those suits had been cops or lawyers, she might let Erwin get caught. He'd double-crossed her after all. But that was part of the game. All part of the game.
She reached for her cell phone. Erwin, he'd gone by Arrow while infiltrating Reggie's cell, was still on her speed dial.
"Expecting company?" Val asked as Erwin's cell phone rang. She'd managed to pull herself up and was downing a bottle of water, and scarfing down crackers from the pantry. She cocked her head as if hearing something far away.
Erwin pulled out his cell-phone. "Hello?"
"They're here," murmured Val, lowering the water bottle. She glanced at the window.
"Archer."
Startled, Erwin nearly dropped the phone. "Reg- Diamond?"
"Three suits just entered the building. I suggest you get out."
Erwin pocketed the cell phone and turned towards Val. She was already climbing out the window she'd recently opened.
Reggie stuffed her binoculars into her backpack, grabbed her snacks and headed down towards the lobby. She called Lee for a ride, beginning to feel anxious about those suits. She leaned up in a shadowed corner of the lobby. A few minutes later, the sedan left. Even once Lee showed up, ten minutes later, Reggie couldn't shake her anxiety, certain that there was something important she was skirting the edges of.
Val and Erwin sat in the food court of the mall, looking very conspicuous. Even though Erwin had given Val some money for new clothes, the cheap, clean shirt and shorts she wore already looked like she'd spent three straight days in the rain.
Erwin looked nervous, on edge. He kept pushing his glasses up his nose, and fidgeting with a straw, taking occasional sips from his soda.
By contrast, Val looked very relaxed. She sat back in her chair, licking the cheese from the nachos off her fingers. Val had an easy smile on her face, one she directed at passer-by's, as if getting a tacit boost of energy and confidence from them. "Relax," she suggested, leaning forward to put a hand on top of Erwin's. "Haven't you ever heard of hiding in plain sight?"
"I'm just a little unnerved by the fact that I'm running around with a girl who can melt things and is being chased by the Men in Black," Erwin offered flippantly.
Val grinned. "You've always wanted something interesting to spice up your life. Getting too spicy?"
"A bit," Erwin allowed. "You're right, though. All this excitement, this adventure. I can't say no to it." He made a sweeping gesture with his arm. "I've gotten caught up in a whirlwind. So what next?"
"Once I've finished using all your money to fill my stomach," began Val around a mouthful of nachos. "I think we should check in with your friend, Irene. I have a feeling she may have found something that can help me... remember. I'm here for a purpose, Erwin. And not the kind those door-to-door evangelists keeping talking about." Her eyes glassed over, and she seemed to be looking far away. "Something important."
Erwin nodded, not feeling reassured in the least.
Irene ushered Erwin and Val through the door and up the stairs, motioning them to be fast and quiet. Marianne Montague was a woman who demanded absolute cleanliness and perfection from all those in her sphere, whether or not she was vocal about it. Erwin grinned as he led the way to Irene's room, amused at Val's shabby appearance in Marianne Montague's spotless sanctuary.
Quietly shutting the door, Irene smiled sheepishly. The messiness of her room was her own sanctuary from her mother. Marianne Montague, no matter how imperious her bearing was, also believed in the sanctity of her daughter's privacy. And no matter how perfect and pristine she was around her mother, Irene Montague was a slob just about everywhere else.
She walked over to her printer, and picked up a thick folder. She tried to straighten out the papers in the folder then held it up. "So who wants it?"
Val raised her hand. "Thank you, Irene." She cocked her head to the side as if hearing something. Erwin tensed, prompting Irene to glance over at him. "There's an answer to your question."
"I have a question?" Irene repeated.
"That was one," observed Erwin, amused. He turned to Val, expecting her to elaborate, but she was already flipping through the sheaves of paper. Erwin turned back to Irene. "You won't guess who I got a call from today."
"Morpheus?"
"Who?"
"Nevermind. So who called you today, Erwin?"
"You want her real name or her other name?" Erwin asked, drawing the moment out.
"A girl called you?" teased Irene, grinning.
"Reggie Random."
Irene's eyes lit up. "Diamond? What about?" She kicked aside some of her dirty clothes and books and began pacing back and forth in front of her closet. There were too many things for her to keep track of, for once. Men in Black suits, shabby girls on the run, codes being traded back and forth, and now friendly enemies.
"She warned me to get out of the safehouse," explained Erwin, jerking a thumb towards Val, who was still sorting through the data Irene had collected. "Suits."
"You're kidding me," Irene replied. Erwin shook his head. "They knew where our safehouse was?"
Erwin laughed at Irene's mixed priorities. "Probably they were following you."
"What if they were following you?" Irene returned.
"I wasn't followed," said Erwin sweetly.
"Irene, have you looked at this?" Val asked, waving the closed folder.
Irene shrugged, leaning up against the wall her constellation starmap. Libra bracketed her head. "Glanced at it," she admitted. "Lots in there about those nerd-dork hackers we'll probably grow into." Erwin nodded proudly. "Silly names like Morpheus and Trinity, running around doing illegal hacker things to the feds."
The girls ignored Erwin as he asked, "And those names are better than the ones we choose, how?"
"Lots of conspiracy theory," Irene continued. "Crazy things about this world not being what it is and a government hoax and men never landed on the moon. Paul is dead." Irene twirled a strand of hair around her finger nonchalantly. "The stuff they make movies about."
"What's it say about the Men in Black suits?" Erwin asked, turning serious.
"More conspiracy theory," Val supplied. "Government fellas who cover up all the things we're not supposed to know about. Roswell, Area Fifty-One, Bermuda triangle, spaceflight."
"But why would they be chasing after you?" asked Val.
Val looked at Erwin, who shrugged and said, "Show her. It's safe."
"No," Val stood up and shook her head. She tucked the folder under her arm and started for the door.
"No?" Erwin repeated. "I think you can trust Irene, Val."
"Not here, though."
"I've never been to the mall so many times in one day," Erwin remarked, watching the people go by the food court again. He took a sip from his soda and began fidgeting with his second straw, watching the crowd.
"Nice scars," Val commented appreciatively, indicating the smooth, raised scar tissue on Irene's arms. Irene pulled her sleeves down self-consciously. "I can fix them. Do you believe me?"
Irene leaned back in her chair skeptically.
Val leaned forward and slid Irene's sleeves back up, then put her hand over the scars. Irene watched the scar tissue fade, replaced by unblemished new skin. Still aware of the presence of Val's hand on her arm, Irene looked up. Blood was dripping out of her nose and onto the table. Erwin looked over, alarmed, and pulled Val's hand away. Irene's scars, reminders of a car wreck she'd been in, returned, though not quite as obvious as they once were. Val brought her palm up and held it beneath her nose, dazed. Irene produced some tissues and wadded them up into Val's nose, while Erwin dabbed at the blood with a napkin.
Val pushed them away. "I'm ok, I'm ok. I'm not a baby." She finished wiping away the blood on her lips and chin.
"You've got the magic touch," Irene told her. "That's why the Men in Black are after you? Because you're some kind of... paranormal?"
Val began snacking into the nachos greedily. She shrugged, pulled the bloody tissue out of her nose and threw it away.
"Maybe," Erwin began then stopped. Val nodded at him to speak up. "Maybe she was... she was an experiment? Like we're knee-deep in conspiracy theory, it's not too far of a leap to bring genetic engineering or something into this. Like you said, Irene, she's got the magic touch. But it comes at a price."
"Balance," Irene offered. "If you take away some bad here, you have to put it somewhere else. Energy doesn't get destroyed, just changed." She nodded. "It could make sense." She paused. "Except that it doesn't."
Erwin started. He put a hand on Val's shoulder the same instant the strange girl jerked her head up. They'd spotted the Men in Black. "We need to go now," he said in a singsong voice.
"I hear that," Irene agreed, seeing the three black suits approaching through the crowd. People actually got out of the suits' way as they approached.
The three of them got up calmly from their table and started towards the nearest exit.
"If they're feds," Irene mused. "Shouldn't we be seeing the boys in blue?"
A pair of police officers appeared at the exit.
"Way to go, Irene," Erwin muttered. They stopped and looked around, suddenly feeling trapped.
Irene's phone rang. Erwin looked at her expectantly. "What?" Irene demanded.
"Aren't you going to answer it?"
"I don't think now's the time for that!" Irene hissed.
Val reached past her and snatched the phone, answering it. "Hello?"
" Left," a deep, calm voice instructed.
Val grabbed Irene and Erwin without hesitation and started going down past the shops to the left. The voice had kindled something within her. Confidence; it was a sense of the familiar. Someone she knew? At least, it was someone who knew her.
"Take the escalator down to the bottom floor, then turn down the alley between the candy and shoe stores."
"Val." Erwin grabbed Val's arm as they reached the escalator. The parting of the crowd coming from directly ahead of them signified the approach of one of the Black Suits. There were still two behind them.
"This one, come on," Val grabbed Erwin in return and lead him down the escalator, politely bumping past shoppers. "Come on, come on." The phone had gone dead when she wasn't paying attention, so she handed it back to Irene.
"Unreal," Irene muttered, slipping the phone into her pocket. She followed Val towards the alley between the candy and shoe store. A dark-haired woman in a black trenchcoat and shades was standing there.
The woman barely hesitated as the three youths made a beeline for her, directing them down the alley and out a maintenance exit. They were behind the mall, no sign of cops or black suits, and an idling car standing by.
"I think you two should go home now."
"I understand we're in the middle of a conspiracy theory movie," Irene replied evenly. "I don't think that going home right now is the best idea."
"I'm sticking with Val," insisted Erwin strongly.
The woman regarded them carefully for an instant. "I guess you're both already too deep in this particular hole." She opened the door to the car and ushered them in. The woman sat with Val across from Irene and Erwin. "Apoc, go."
A platinum blonde turned around from the passenger seat. "What's with the kids?"
"It's ok."
"Are you sure?"
The dark-haired woman glanced at Val. "The- Val will protect us."
Irene and Erwin exchanged a look that did not go unnoticed.
"Don't worry so much, Erwin," Val said reassuringly.
Erwin shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Sorry, Val. It's been an exciting day. A little more than I wanted."
"In for a penny," Irene said beside him.
"Tell me about it."
The car stopped in front of an old hotel not too far from where the safehouse was. Irene and Erwin got out before Val and the dark-haired woman. The blonde and the driver got out, but stayed beside the car. Overhead, the skies were growing dark.
Irene pulled her cell phone out and switched it on. The blonde grabbed her arm. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Calling home?" Irene replied, startled. "To let them know I'm alright?"
"No," the blonde shook her head. "You'll have to wait."
Hesitating, Irene stared back at the blonde a moment before pocketing the phone again. The blonde gestured for her to enter the hotel. Erwin was standing at the door, waiting for her.
"What's going on here, Erwin?"
Erwin shook his head. "I don't know, Irene. Val assured me it would be ok. The... woman in the black, she asked us to wait down here, in the lobby." Erwin sat down on a dilapidated couch. "This is too much for me, Irene. I know, I keep whining about having something to do, about wanting some excitement. But this is too intense, too much. Men in Black suits, conspiracy theory up the wazhoo."
Irene grinned as she sat down across from home. She put her elbow up on the chair arm and rested her chin in palm. "You're worried about Val, that's all. You think she's cute under all that grime."
"I- what?" Erwin's face turned into mask of confusion. "Would you care to repeat that?"
"No," said Irene, smiling.
Val felt like a child. She was being led by the hand, up the stairs, and down long halls, and into a very grand suite. A man with mirrored glasses was sitting in a red chair. There was a pair of similar chairs opposite the dark skinned man.
"Hello, Valerie. Do you know who I am?"
"You're very familiar to me," answered Val honestly. She moved to sit down, and the woman who'd led her to this place sat down beside her.
The man smiled thinly. "You've forgotten who you are. Do you believe I can help you remember?"
"I remember there was something important for me to do," Val said. She looked from the woman to the man, back and forth. "I'm afraid for Erwin and Irene," she admitted. "They've gotten caught up in something bigger than themselves."
"Mr. Harrow and Ms. Montague will be alright," the woman replied. "They'll be safe."
"I know," Val nodded. She hesitated. "It isn't so much the... men in black. I'm afraid for them... because of me." She looked at the two people whom she felt she could trust without doubt, or hesitation. "You know what I can do..."
"Yes," the man said. "It is a gift you have, a very special one."
"The magic touch," Val whispered. "I can help people... but that's not what I'm supposed to do, is it?" She lowered her face into her palms and shook her hand.
"You're wrong, Valerie," the man said. "You have a very specific purpose. And in fulfilling it, you will do more to help people than to correct their vision or heal their scars." He leaned forward and put a hand on Val's shoulder. "I can help you remember."
Val looked up at him. "Who am I?"
"Do you think we were followed?" Irene asked suddenly. Across the lobby, the blonde and the driver looked up. They stayed at the table together, but paid close attention to the conversation.
"I'm sorry, what?" Erwin had been staring out the window, lost in thought. He stopped shaking his leg. "Followed? By who?"
"Diamond, Joker, Reflex, pick one!"
"Well, Reflex has the flu," Erwin said thoughtfully. Irene gave him a look. He turned serious. "Reggie could have been following us. She knew we were at the safehouse, probably across the street. But I doubt she would have stuck around once the Men in Black showed up. She told me to leave, I figure she did, too. Val and I hustled out of there pretty fast. I think I would have noticed Reggie; I went into paranoid mode on our way to the mall. And I definitely would have seen her when we were in the food court the first time. Or when we got to your house. Or when we were in the food court the second time. Plus, I don't think she could have followed us on our way out. I barely could."
"Ok, ok," Irene relented. Across the room, the blonde and the driver relaxed. "I was just... you know, getting... bored."
"I wonder how much of the code we've got cracked," Erwin said, trying to keep the conversation alive. "Arc and Saturn should be able to get through most of it. And we swiped those code-sets from Hook's crew, and they'd gotten everyone else's. All we need is Reggie's set."
"And Reggie still doesn't have Apollo's codes or ours. She's too far behind," Irene nodded. "Unless the hand-off to Arc goes bad tonight. Canis can get distracted pretty easily."
"You worry too much," chuckled Erwin. "And sometimes you forget to explain things what did you mean when you said I thought Val was cute?"
Then it was Irene's turn to be confused by Erwin's sudden turnaround. "I- what?"
Val rocked back in her chair, toppling it over backwards. She rolled over awkwardly and stumbled to her feet. "No!" she panted. "No, I don't believe you!" Val tried to open the grand double doors, but the handle wouldn't budge.
"Wait, Valerie!"
The doors began to glow, but the woman grabbed Val and wrestled her away. She backed off as Val spun around and held up her palms menacingly. "No one wants to hurt you, Valerie. Please, just calm down." The words came out haltingly and failed to instill the intended calm and trust in Val.
Val backed up against the door. "Let me out," she demanded in a whisper. "Please."
The man, who'd remained seated, nodded once.
Something clicked and Val burst out of the room, feeling tears on her face.
Erwin shot to his feet as Val came pounding down the stairs and dashed towards the door. The blonde and the driver got to their feet and seemed unsure about whether or not they should try to catch her. The dark-haired woman came down in Val's wake, and shook her head. Erwin spared a glance at the strangers then sprinted after Val.
Irene got up slowly. "So. We all know who I am. Maybe it's time we found out who you all are."
"Val, wait up!" Erwin yelled. The effort of raising his voice and sprinting full tilt winded him even more. Val was running with the poise and endurance of track runners, and she kept ahead of Erwin easily. "Val!"
Val stopped at a street corner. She hugged her arms, and hunched in her shoulders, keeping her back to Erwin. "Go away, Archer," she whispered with the hint of a sob. "Please. I don't want you to get hurt."
Erwin took a step forward. "Lissen, Val. I-" He faltered. What was he doing? Erwin was running on automatic, what did Val mean to him, anyway? Why couldn't he just walk away from all this conspiracy theory? All this excitement. "Val, I just want to know if you're ok."
A shudder ran through her. "No, Archer."
"Well... how can I help?"
"You can't," Val insisted, almost pleading. "Please... just go away."
Erwin frowned, but he took a step back. "Ok, then... I... if you need...anything..." He trailed off lamely, then headed back to the hotel to get Irene.
"I don't think that's so important," the blonde said icily.
Irene was smirking smugly. She directed her smirk at the dark-haired woman and lifted her chin at her. "You're Trinity, aren't you."
Erwin leaned in half-way through the door. "Irene, let's go."
"Wait, Erwin-!"
"Now, Irene," Erwin repeated. He frowned to himself. Irene outranked him, in the game. He shook his head; they weren't playing the game right now. And when they weren't playing the game, Erwin got away with bossing Irene around all the time. Well, some of the time. Surprisingly, Irene came after him with some amount of promptness. She seemed a little bitter at having her fun interrupted.
"Where's Val?" she asked.
Erwin shrugged.
Irene opened her mouth to tease him, but thought the better of it. Erwin didn't seem in the mood to be made fun of. In fact, he didn't seem to be in much of a mood at all. He remained quiet, withdrawn, as they walked out of the shabby side of town, and didn't pay much attention when they crossed roads.
Glancing down, Irene stopped at a corner, and made a disgusted sound as she saw the grime on her new shoes. "Aw, dammit, Erwi-" Irene looked up, realizing that Erwin was gone from her peripheral vision. She saw him in the better than half-way across the street. Just as a car slammed into him.
Val heard the scream, it wasn't more than a block away. She recognize the voice, too, having spent time in its company only recently. It was Irene. Val's breathing picked up along with her heartbeat. The scream didn't sound like something had really happened to Irene, which meant that something had happened...
Val sprinted around the corner. The magic touch, she thought to herself humorlessly.
The car had already disappeared down the street. Numbly, Irene tottered towards Erwin and fumbled in her pocket for her cell phone. She reached the cell phone first, but couldn't get a signal; she dropped the phone absently, and knelt beside Erwin, as running feet caught up with her.
"Oh my-" Val's breath caught in her throat, and she dropped to her knees beside Erwin. Val took a deep breath then put her hands on Erwin's chest. "The magic touch, the magic touch, the magic touch. Please please please please..." she whispered over and over and over again.
A faint verdant glow enveloped Erwin, and his wounds, suffused with a weird green light, closed and healed. Val was bleeding from her nose, and ears, and eyes, and lips, but she kept her hands on Erwin. Green lines flashed over Erwin's body, and finally Val was thrown back. She was gasping for breath, twitching spastically. Val's hand blindly clamped down on a fire-hydrant, and a heartbeat later, the bright yellow hydrant had exploded with a loud pop and a flash of light. And then water was raining down on Val and Erwin and Irene and the handful of passer-bys.
Irene helped Erwin to a sitting position gently. "Erwin, are you-"
"I'm fine," Erwin shrugged her off and turned to Val, who was still bleeding and gasping for breath. "Val."
"They're coming," Val rasped. "Don't... don't stay..."
Erwin reached out and took Val's hand. "I'm not going anywhere."
"I think maybe we should," Irene said. She pointed down the street, where the Men in Black were walking up.
"Li-listen to her," Val coughed once, then closed her eyes. Her breathing had returned to normalcy. She struggled to her feet. "Archer, please, you need to get away from here. I'm masking your presence... but I have to do this alone. It's the reason why I'm here. The magic touch." She squeezed Erwin's hand. "Go! Pax, get him out of here!"
Irene dragged Erwin, stunned, away and down an alley.
Reggie Random and Lee Howlett watched as Irene and Erwin jogged down an alley and away from the healer. Reggie signaled for Lee to follow them, and her lieutenant was gone. She smiled, pleased. Turning her binoculars back to the mysterious girl, she frowned. The girl was walking down the middle of the street, which was eerily deserted, towards the suits like an old-western. What was she doing?
The girl tried to run past the suits, something exploded. Reggie wanted to scream as an alien sensation swept over her in a wash of green.
Val walked towards the Men in Black easily, confidently. They seemed to be having trouble keeping focused on her, good; she was nearly invisible to them. But they slowed warily as she got closer. Val sprinted, she closed the distance in a handful of long strides and passed the two flanking Men in Black, instinctively aiming for the leader. She thought she was passed the subordinates, but something strong and hard whipped into her jaw from the right, and she was stumbling to her left. The Man in Black to her left caught her, and Val slapped her hands against him. She was thrown off her feet as the Man in Black sublimed and exploded simultaneously. Val landed on her back, and was already scrambling to her feet when she felt cool metal touch her temple.
* * *
"What was it?"
"We aren't sure. The code is already destroying itself."
"Then it must be-"
"-A virus."
"File a rep-" The Man in Black put a hand to the transceiver in his ear, and listened intently. He turned his head towards the east, as if seeing something far away. Beside him, the other two mimicked the action. In another instant they were on the other city of the city, replaced by two confused joggers and Reggie Random.
Reggie came to against the base of a brick building. She had a killer headache, and couldn't remember how she'd gotten down there from her perch on the second story. Had she fallen? Unsteadily, she got to her feet, and the two things she saw started to jog her memory. The first was char and puddles of still bubbling goo that had been thrown from whatever had been charred; the second was the ragged young girl, lying dead in the street.
End.