Just a little snippet I wrote, the final "companion piece" to my agent series. Based
on a suggestion from a reader. It takes place after the end of Strength and A Thousand
Faces. And YES, I KNOW that SAaTF is not finished. But it WILL be!
As always, the old disclaimer applies. Don't sue me!
* * *
Luna Felis thumbed through the last of the photographs with a nostalgic sigh. Four
albums. Four sets of wedding pictures. Four beautiful, radiant brides. Four of the
most talented, smart, and courageous women that she had ever had the honor of knowing.
"Well, I daresay that I'll have them for a few years yet. But I'll have to start to
look for new ones within a year or two. Agents Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter will
be able to retire and live normal, civilian lives. And have families. And those girls,
bless them, deserve it."
A knock sounded at her office door. "Come in." Luna called out. The door opened, and a
tall young man with snowy-white hair and pale green eyes stepped into the room with
two cups of tea. "What are you up to?"
"Oh, just looking through the pictures that the girls sent. Have you seen them yet?"
"It's kind of nice how that worked out, eh? Especially Zack...never thought I'd see
him settle down." Artemis Cato chuckled, a wry smile on his handsome, angular face.
Luna smirked, then gestured to the spot next to her on the white leather couch. "Here,
sit down, we can take a look."
Artemis sat down next to the dark-haired woman, and set the teacups down on the coffee
table in front of them. Luna opened up the first album, one with a soft, scented cover
of ice blue satin. "Essence of lavender, mint and strawberry. Believed to represent
faith, rationality and love. The essences of the plants promote relaxation, peace and
mental stimulation." Luna murmured. "Rather thoughtful of Amy, not that I'm surprised.
She always did have a knack with both the harm and healing found in nature."
Artemis simply nodded as they opened up the album. Inside the front cover, written in
Amy's neat, flowing but unpretentious script, were the words, "To the best mentor and
guide I will ever have the honor of knowing: you are more than my boss, but my friend,
and I will always remember you for your wisdom. ~ Amy Cordelia Anderson Waterhouse,
Agent Mercury."
The first picture was of the happy bride and groom together. Amy, ethereal and lovely
in a snow-white gown, wore a mantle of velvet trimmed with ermine. Instead of the
usual tiara or flowers, she had opted instead for a cap of ermine matching her mantle,
adorned with a sapphire surrounded by glittering diamonds. Her veil streamed from the
cap, frosting her blue hair and fluttering slightly in the wind around her, like a
sheen of icy vapor. She looked every inch like a spirit of the winter, the effect
only enhanced by her unique coloring. In her gloved hands, she held a simple bunch of
lilies of the valley. By her side, Zack stood, grinning ear to ear, his fiery dark
blond hair the color of candlelight, fire up against her ice. Wearing a white tuxedo
with a vest of ice blue. He had an arm protectively around Amy's sylphlike form. 'Not
that she truly needed it.' Reflected Luna. She looked closely at the picture with a
trained eye, and, sure enough, there was a slight metallic glimmer at the opening of
his sleeve. Agent Zoisite and his knives will never be parted. Not even on his wedding
day. The two were standing up against a dark blue-green fir tree silver-dusted with
snow. More pictures came, pictures of the two dancing, of the other agents, both male
and female, resplendent in silver-trimmed navy blue dresses and tuxedos. Pictures of
guests, pictures of relatives, even pictures of Luna and Artemis. After looking
through that album for a bit, Luna set it down and got the next one.
This cover was cheerful, plastered with yellow happy faces. Something a teenager might
have chosen to put her pictures from senior year in. But Mina was like that. Despite
all the violence, the bloodshed, the horrors of humanity that she had witnessed, Mina
somehow managed to not let it turn her into a cynical, pessimistic person, to the awe
and amazement of all. Inside, scrawled with what seemed like one of those gel pens
that were so popular these days, was Mina's message, "Luna - You're one hell of a
woman. You taught us, all of us, all the important stuff we know today. Not the
educational blah blah, but the survival skills. The ability to work as a team.
Courage, loyalty, grace under pressure. Thanks for that, always! - Love, Mina Aurora
Angell Knighton, Agent Venus."
Like with Amy's, the first picture in the album was one of the bride and groom. Mina's
bright golden hair fell down to her waist unrestrained, bearing a coronet of lovely
spring blossoms with pink and gold ribbons streaming to her bare shoulders. Her gown,
made of cream-colored satin with layers of golden lace, was off the shoulder, romantic
yet sexy, and she carried a bouquet of blossoms and baby roses. Around her waist, Luna
saw, much to her amusement, a golden chain. "As if she would have any occasion to use
it." Kevin, standing next to her, had a rare smile on his usually solemn face, and his
eyes were so bright they resembled polished Mexican silver. Cutting quite the dashing
figure in a pale silver-gray tuxedo, a pearl-white shirt gleaming underneath. The
happy couple was standing under an archway of blossoms, under the open powder-blue
sky of springtime. This album was crammed with pictures of a lot of people that Luna
had never met before. Old friends and acquaintances of Mina, mostly, and the four
girls that the two agents had rescued from their hell were all in attendance, all
smiling widely in one picture with the bride. Also, the other agents were there, her
bridesmaids and his grooms-men, the girls dressed in dawn gold, the men in star-shine
silver. The last picture was of Mina, Kevin, Luna and Artemis, all waving happily at
the camera. Luna smiled. Then she picked up the next one.
This one was decidedly expensive and classy, although in an understated way. The cover
was made of simple, butter-soft black leather and embossed with the names of the happy
couple in gold. Luna opened it up to reveal a note written in Raye's favorite red
fountain pen. "We've had all of our tumultuous experiences under your care, and
because of your care, we were able to make it through each time alive and sane. You're
a great person to look up to, even and especially for snotty little brats like me who
don't listen to anyone. Thanks for always lending us your courage. ~Raye Scarlette
Warrington Byrne, Agent Mars."
Raye, on her wedding day, had eloped. There were the other agents there, to be sure,
and Luna and Artemis. But besides them, no other guests were present at all. Raye had
decided, not much to anyone's surprise, to not make a huge spectacle of her marriage
ceremony. In the picture, she wore a simple strapless white dress that barely brushed
the floor, slit daringly up to mid-thigh on one side. Around her waist was a girdle of
vivid scarlet silk, and in her hair, which was blowing wild and free in the summer
breeze, her veil was held by a deceptively simple strand of rubies and two crimson
poppies behind her ears. The rubies matched her earrings, and Luna knew that it was
quite likely that both cost quite a pretty penny. In Raye's slender hands, instead of
the typical white or pale pink bridal flowers was a bunch of fiery Oriental poppies
interspersed with radiant white Casablanca lilies. Next to her, arms securely around
her waist, stood James Byrne, sharply dressed in a black tuxedo with a red cummerbund
and a poppy in his buttonhole. He had a very goofy expression on his face, a look so
love-struck that Luna chuckled quietly. The two stood in the exotic panorama of a
tropical paradise summer, palm trees and birds of paradise all around them. Raye wore
an ornate ornamental dagger at her waist. "Hmm, at least she didn't bring her katana." Artemis chuckled. Luna laughed softly, then picked up the last album.
This had been one of those finish-your-own photo albums. The originally very plain
and very undecorated, but the brown cover was now covered with a feathery sprig of
ferns and a single pink Cosmos, a pretty wildflower, both carefully pressed. The
album itself was bound with thin green silk ribbons. Opening it up carefully, Luna
read, "Luna: I have known you for many years. In those years, you have become like
my family. Thanks for your strength, and for always being there. - Lita Sylvia Woods
Steller, Agent Jupiter"
"High praise indeed, to be likened to her family." Artemis mused. Luna nodded. Lita's
wedding picture smiled up at her, the tall woman dressed in a white dress with a
peasant-styled top, green ribbons lacing the short sleeves and cinching in the waist.
The full skirts of the gown fell to the ground. Lita's luxuriant hair was crowned with
ivy and berries like a dryad's, and her hands, emerging like lilies from her long
sleeves, held a bouquet of bright blooms in every color. Standing next to her, long
rosewood hair a stark contrast against the vivid autumnal background, was Nicholas
Steller, dressed in a white tuxedo, with accents of green. In the album were pictures
of all their loved ones. Luna searched the first picture.
"Well, surprise, surprise. Nick has no weapons on him." She exclaimed. Artemis looked
at her, green eyes full of amusement.
"That's because he doesn't really use WEAPONS, per se. Nick likes to just grab
whatever is lying around and use it as a weapon." He explained. Luna nodded
thoughtfully. Then, after another instant of silence, shut the album.
"They're lucky, aren't they?" She mused softly. "It's so rare for someone in this
line of occupation to find love like that. To find someone who knows what your life
is like, someone whom you don't have to lie to for fear of endangering them."
Artemis nodded. "That's true. They're lucky indeed. To have found each other."
Luna smiled, "I'll have them for another two years at most. They'll want to start
families sometime. Live normal lives eventually. They can get work in regular civilian
fields. I've already been searching for new recruits, and I'll have my agents help
train them."
"Yes, I'm pretty much doing the same." Artemis said. Suddenly, he turned and looked at
Luna, "We have a helluva line of work, don't we? No matter for how long, while you're
doing it, you can't live a normal life. Everything is veiled in secrecy. There's
danger on every corner. And yet, these promising young individuals never seem to have
any objection to doing it. No complaints, no depression."
"That's because we all have something in common. Call it idealism, chivalry, or
whatever, but all of them, your boys, my girls, they're the type who grew up wanting
to be superheroes. They are WILLING to take the risks, high though they may be, to
fight for the greater good. You know, of course."
Yes, he knew. Art Cato and Luna Felis had known the same lifestyle as the others. Even
though, after they had recruited the four most promising members on their teams for
new agents, they had not been going on missions themselves, they had once been in the
same type of position. He looked at Luna. She was now 31 years old. No longer the
young, fiery little vixen that he'd begun his career working with, but still a
beautiful, majestic woman with a sharp intellect and a fearlessness that many a
soldier would wish for. Her voice broke him out of his reverie.
"I wish that everyone who does this sort of work could be that lucky." She said
softly. "I wish that no agent would wake up one day to find themselves growing old,
and lonely, jaded and hardened and bitter, with no one in sight to share their lives
with. No one who understands."
Artemis gazed penetratingly into her slanted, wine-colored eyes. She really did have
beautiful eyes, he reflected. "Speaking from experience, Luna?"
Luna grinned. "Perhaps." Artemis reached out a long, elegant hand, the knuckles
grazing her cheek, and twirled a strand of blue-black hair around his index finger.
"Don't be so sure."
* * *
Okay, that's that. *retarded*
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on a suggestion from a reader. It takes place after the end of Strength and A Thousand
Faces. And YES, I KNOW that SAaTF is not finished. But it WILL be!
As always, the old disclaimer applies. Don't sue me!
* * *
Luna Felis thumbed through the last of the photographs with a nostalgic sigh. Four
albums. Four sets of wedding pictures. Four beautiful, radiant brides. Four of the
most talented, smart, and courageous women that she had ever had the honor of knowing.
"Well, I daresay that I'll have them for a few years yet. But I'll have to start to
look for new ones within a year or two. Agents Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter will
be able to retire and live normal, civilian lives. And have families. And those girls,
bless them, deserve it."
A knock sounded at her office door. "Come in." Luna called out. The door opened, and a
tall young man with snowy-white hair and pale green eyes stepped into the room with
two cups of tea. "What are you up to?"
"Oh, just looking through the pictures that the girls sent. Have you seen them yet?"
"It's kind of nice how that worked out, eh? Especially Zack...never thought I'd see
him settle down." Artemis Cato chuckled, a wry smile on his handsome, angular face.
Luna smirked, then gestured to the spot next to her on the white leather couch. "Here,
sit down, we can take a look."
Artemis sat down next to the dark-haired woman, and set the teacups down on the coffee
table in front of them. Luna opened up the first album, one with a soft, scented cover
of ice blue satin. "Essence of lavender, mint and strawberry. Believed to represent
faith, rationality and love. The essences of the plants promote relaxation, peace and
mental stimulation." Luna murmured. "Rather thoughtful of Amy, not that I'm surprised.
She always did have a knack with both the harm and healing found in nature."
Artemis simply nodded as they opened up the album. Inside the front cover, written in
Amy's neat, flowing but unpretentious script, were the words, "To the best mentor and
guide I will ever have the honor of knowing: you are more than my boss, but my friend,
and I will always remember you for your wisdom. ~ Amy Cordelia Anderson Waterhouse,
Agent Mercury."
The first picture was of the happy bride and groom together. Amy, ethereal and lovely
in a snow-white gown, wore a mantle of velvet trimmed with ermine. Instead of the
usual tiara or flowers, she had opted instead for a cap of ermine matching her mantle,
adorned with a sapphire surrounded by glittering diamonds. Her veil streamed from the
cap, frosting her blue hair and fluttering slightly in the wind around her, like a
sheen of icy vapor. She looked every inch like a spirit of the winter, the effect
only enhanced by her unique coloring. In her gloved hands, she held a simple bunch of
lilies of the valley. By her side, Zack stood, grinning ear to ear, his fiery dark
blond hair the color of candlelight, fire up against her ice. Wearing a white tuxedo
with a vest of ice blue. He had an arm protectively around Amy's sylphlike form. 'Not
that she truly needed it.' Reflected Luna. She looked closely at the picture with a
trained eye, and, sure enough, there was a slight metallic glimmer at the opening of
his sleeve. Agent Zoisite and his knives will never be parted. Not even on his wedding
day. The two were standing up against a dark blue-green fir tree silver-dusted with
snow. More pictures came, pictures of the two dancing, of the other agents, both male
and female, resplendent in silver-trimmed navy blue dresses and tuxedos. Pictures of
guests, pictures of relatives, even pictures of Luna and Artemis. After looking
through that album for a bit, Luna set it down and got the next one.
This cover was cheerful, plastered with yellow happy faces. Something a teenager might
have chosen to put her pictures from senior year in. But Mina was like that. Despite
all the violence, the bloodshed, the horrors of humanity that she had witnessed, Mina
somehow managed to not let it turn her into a cynical, pessimistic person, to the awe
and amazement of all. Inside, scrawled with what seemed like one of those gel pens
that were so popular these days, was Mina's message, "Luna - You're one hell of a
woman. You taught us, all of us, all the important stuff we know today. Not the
educational blah blah, but the survival skills. The ability to work as a team.
Courage, loyalty, grace under pressure. Thanks for that, always! - Love, Mina Aurora
Angell Knighton, Agent Venus."
Like with Amy's, the first picture in the album was one of the bride and groom. Mina's
bright golden hair fell down to her waist unrestrained, bearing a coronet of lovely
spring blossoms with pink and gold ribbons streaming to her bare shoulders. Her gown,
made of cream-colored satin with layers of golden lace, was off the shoulder, romantic
yet sexy, and she carried a bouquet of blossoms and baby roses. Around her waist, Luna
saw, much to her amusement, a golden chain. "As if she would have any occasion to use
it." Kevin, standing next to her, had a rare smile on his usually solemn face, and his
eyes were so bright they resembled polished Mexican silver. Cutting quite the dashing
figure in a pale silver-gray tuxedo, a pearl-white shirt gleaming underneath. The
happy couple was standing under an archway of blossoms, under the open powder-blue
sky of springtime. This album was crammed with pictures of a lot of people that Luna
had never met before. Old friends and acquaintances of Mina, mostly, and the four
girls that the two agents had rescued from their hell were all in attendance, all
smiling widely in one picture with the bride. Also, the other agents were there, her
bridesmaids and his grooms-men, the girls dressed in dawn gold, the men in star-shine
silver. The last picture was of Mina, Kevin, Luna and Artemis, all waving happily at
the camera. Luna smiled. Then she picked up the next one.
This one was decidedly expensive and classy, although in an understated way. The cover
was made of simple, butter-soft black leather and embossed with the names of the happy
couple in gold. Luna opened it up to reveal a note written in Raye's favorite red
fountain pen. "We've had all of our tumultuous experiences under your care, and
because of your care, we were able to make it through each time alive and sane. You're
a great person to look up to, even and especially for snotty little brats like me who
don't listen to anyone. Thanks for always lending us your courage. ~Raye Scarlette
Warrington Byrne, Agent Mars."
Raye, on her wedding day, had eloped. There were the other agents there, to be sure,
and Luna and Artemis. But besides them, no other guests were present at all. Raye had
decided, not much to anyone's surprise, to not make a huge spectacle of her marriage
ceremony. In the picture, she wore a simple strapless white dress that barely brushed
the floor, slit daringly up to mid-thigh on one side. Around her waist was a girdle of
vivid scarlet silk, and in her hair, which was blowing wild and free in the summer
breeze, her veil was held by a deceptively simple strand of rubies and two crimson
poppies behind her ears. The rubies matched her earrings, and Luna knew that it was
quite likely that both cost quite a pretty penny. In Raye's slender hands, instead of
the typical white or pale pink bridal flowers was a bunch of fiery Oriental poppies
interspersed with radiant white Casablanca lilies. Next to her, arms securely around
her waist, stood James Byrne, sharply dressed in a black tuxedo with a red cummerbund
and a poppy in his buttonhole. He had a very goofy expression on his face, a look so
love-struck that Luna chuckled quietly. The two stood in the exotic panorama of a
tropical paradise summer, palm trees and birds of paradise all around them. Raye wore
an ornate ornamental dagger at her waist. "Hmm, at least she didn't bring her katana." Artemis chuckled. Luna laughed softly, then picked up the last album.
This had been one of those finish-your-own photo albums. The originally very plain
and very undecorated, but the brown cover was now covered with a feathery sprig of
ferns and a single pink Cosmos, a pretty wildflower, both carefully pressed. The
album itself was bound with thin green silk ribbons. Opening it up carefully, Luna
read, "Luna: I have known you for many years. In those years, you have become like
my family. Thanks for your strength, and for always being there. - Lita Sylvia Woods
Steller, Agent Jupiter"
"High praise indeed, to be likened to her family." Artemis mused. Luna nodded. Lita's
wedding picture smiled up at her, the tall woman dressed in a white dress with a
peasant-styled top, green ribbons lacing the short sleeves and cinching in the waist.
The full skirts of the gown fell to the ground. Lita's luxuriant hair was crowned with
ivy and berries like a dryad's, and her hands, emerging like lilies from her long
sleeves, held a bouquet of bright blooms in every color. Standing next to her, long
rosewood hair a stark contrast against the vivid autumnal background, was Nicholas
Steller, dressed in a white tuxedo, with accents of green. In the album were pictures
of all their loved ones. Luna searched the first picture.
"Well, surprise, surprise. Nick has no weapons on him." She exclaimed. Artemis looked
at her, green eyes full of amusement.
"That's because he doesn't really use WEAPONS, per se. Nick likes to just grab
whatever is lying around and use it as a weapon." He explained. Luna nodded
thoughtfully. Then, after another instant of silence, shut the album.
"They're lucky, aren't they?" She mused softly. "It's so rare for someone in this
line of occupation to find love like that. To find someone who knows what your life
is like, someone whom you don't have to lie to for fear of endangering them."
Artemis nodded. "That's true. They're lucky indeed. To have found each other."
Luna smiled, "I'll have them for another two years at most. They'll want to start
families sometime. Live normal lives eventually. They can get work in regular civilian
fields. I've already been searching for new recruits, and I'll have my agents help
train them."
"Yes, I'm pretty much doing the same." Artemis said. Suddenly, he turned and looked at
Luna, "We have a helluva line of work, don't we? No matter for how long, while you're
doing it, you can't live a normal life. Everything is veiled in secrecy. There's
danger on every corner. And yet, these promising young individuals never seem to have
any objection to doing it. No complaints, no depression."
"That's because we all have something in common. Call it idealism, chivalry, or
whatever, but all of them, your boys, my girls, they're the type who grew up wanting
to be superheroes. They are WILLING to take the risks, high though they may be, to
fight for the greater good. You know, of course."
Yes, he knew. Art Cato and Luna Felis had known the same lifestyle as the others. Even
though, after they had recruited the four most promising members on their teams for
new agents, they had not been going on missions themselves, they had once been in the
same type of position. He looked at Luna. She was now 31 years old. No longer the
young, fiery little vixen that he'd begun his career working with, but still a
beautiful, majestic woman with a sharp intellect and a fearlessness that many a
soldier would wish for. Her voice broke him out of his reverie.
"I wish that everyone who does this sort of work could be that lucky." She said
softly. "I wish that no agent would wake up one day to find themselves growing old,
and lonely, jaded and hardened and bitter, with no one in sight to share their lives
with. No one who understands."
Artemis gazed penetratingly into her slanted, wine-colored eyes. She really did have
beautiful eyes, he reflected. "Speaking from experience, Luna?"
Luna grinned. "Perhaps." Artemis reached out a long, elegant hand, the knuckles
grazing her cheek, and twirled a strand of blue-black hair around his index finger.
"Don't be so sure."
* * *
Okay, that's that. *retarded*
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