Author's intro: Wow. I know, long time no update… This chapter was a bit tough to write. Not just in content, but also in making it connect to the next set of events I have planned coming up in later chapters. Ok, first off, this chapter has lots of fluffy, lovey-dovey stuff in it, mostly near the beginning. So, if you wanna skip it, fine, but interspersed in that, is GC's origin story in a nutshell. Closer to the middle and end of the chapter is where the action picks up again. Soooo, enjoy! R&R, please!
Chapter 7
Dash stands on the beach gazing out across the water as the sun sets, turning the sky shades of burnt orange, red, and purple. He had come out here once the training was over for the day and everyone was free to go. He felt apprehensive ever since Frozone was called away to the secret meeting. Despite several reassurances from the NSA staff and Frozone himself, Dash still felt uneasy. He wasn't sure nor did he have any proof whatsoever, but he knew that somewhere out there, another one of those robots was out there, wreaking havoc. He could feel it, deep down inside in the pit of his stomach. He'd tried to forget about it, put it out of his mind, but the little nagging feeling just kept coming back. Even GC tried to help him forget, but even she couldn't fully drive it out. Now, Dash finds himself staring out across the seemingly endless vastness of the ocean at sunset. Before, all he could think about was being here on the island, training with supers from across the globe but now he finds that all he wants is to be in Metroville. He even thought about running all the way there, just to see if anything was going on, but Metroville was nearly 2500 miles away and he'd never ran that far in one straight shot before. It would be embarrassing if he got half way there and have to call for someone from Nomanisan Island to come and pick him up.
"There you are," comes a voice from behind him that interrupts his train of thought. Dash instantly recognizes it as his sister's and crosses his arms but doesn't turn to look at her, instead he continues to stare across the ocean.
"Yep, here I am…" he replies dryly.
Violet, who is still in her super suit, walks up next to him and asks, "You ok?"
"Sure," is the bland reply.
"Really? I get the feeling that you are still concerned about that emergency meeting earlier. Well, you shouldn't be," Violet replies.
"Easy for you to say," he replies with a grunt.
"Look, if there was something going on, they would tell us. I mean, we're all supers here! Besides, it was probably to discuss some change in the training schedule. From what I hear, you were having a bit too much fun during your urban combat training!" she says, trying to lighten his mood. "It was probably to figure out a way to actually make you work!"
Dash rolls his eyes and sighs but doesn't reply.
Violet eyes him for a second before continuing, " Ok, well, think about it, Dash. If it were a true emergency or if another one of those robots showed up, wouldn't Dad or Mom gone off to take care of it? Let me answer for you: yes, but they didn't leave, therefore, it is nothing to worry about."
Dash frowns slightly but part of his brain said that his sister was right. "Ok, fine. You win. Now, please, can I watch the sun go down in peace and quiet?"
She smiles at him and he gives her a side-glance with a small smile. "Alright, but I think there's a certain girl who would like to join you!" Violet says quietly to him. He gets wide-eyed and blushes, causing her to giggle. She turns and leaves him, seeing GC standing a few yards away. Once Violet gets within earshot of her, she says, "I got him back to reality for you."
GC smiles softly and nods. "Thank you, Invisi-Gal."
"Please, call me Violet."
GC looks up at her slightly shocked but sees a confident smile on Invisi-Gal's face. As Violet passes her, she feels Violet give her an approving pat on the shoulder, which refills her with confidence. GC then hears Violet say, "Don't keep him out too long! Wouldn't want either of you to get into trouble! Besides, he still has a bedtime!" GC turns to look at Violet and sees that she is giggling. Realizing that Violet was joking, she too begins to chuckle.
"Alright, I'll try not to keep him up past his bedtime!" is her reply then turns to walk down the beach towards him. She stops and looks down at the white sand then decides to take off her boots and walk barefoot the rest of the way. As she unlaces her left boot, GC spots a large, near perfect sand dollar lying nearby. Once she reaches over and gently picks it up, admiring the disk like object, she gently tucks it away and finishes removing her boots and socks.
As Dash stands watching the sunset, he hears GC shuffle up behind him and then feels her rest her chin on his right shoulder. He turns to look at her warm, smiling face. It was different to see such warmth from someone that a mere few hours ago seemed to want to take him out. He slowly gets a smile on his face then says quietly to her, "Hello there!"
She smiles bigger and replies back, "Well, hello to you too!" GC lifts her chin off his shoulder and steps around him to stand next to him. She gently nudges him with her left elbow playfully and says, "I'm glad you're back to your old self. I… missed that cocky side of you, believe it or not."
He raises an eyebrow at her as she uses her toes to dig one of her feet under the sand. "Well, to be honest, I don't. No, I take that back. I do believe you. You seemed to take great joy in trying to take me down," Dash says and notices that she carrying her boots.
GC chuckles and smiles before replying, "Well, to be honest, I have to project confidence and hardness when around other supers. Not only because the only one I have is impeccable aim with bow and arrow, but…" She stops, hangs her head, and sighs heavily, indicating that what she is saying is hard to do. "But that not only am I the youngest active super in all of Northern Ireland, I am also the only girl super." She lifts her head to look at Dash and he can see that she has exposed a very sensitive and personal thing to him. "I have to sometimes work with much older men supers and be able to hold my own as not to be… barred from hero work. I have to be harder and tougher than I really am around them. Even more so around villains. You can imagine just the look of shock on their faces when they realize that a woman half their age or more just took them down." She pauses and smiles for a second. "I have to admit, it felt good knowing that they knew who took them down! At least, for a while. Then, the other supers all but came out and said that if I couldn't keep up that level of work, then I'd have to stop hero work until I turned 21. According to laws in Northern Ireland, that's the 'legal' age for a super to be able to do hero work. Of course, there are extenuating circumstances, for example, like for me who took down a mob boss. I guess that hardness and extreme competitiveness bleeds over into my personal life. And that's hard to admit, believe me. It has also affected my ability to make friends… and… and… I don't…" GC drops her head again, this time her face turning red. She struggles to force herself to say the words. "I don't want to lose…"
"You won't."
Dash's sudden interruption causes her to jerk her head up and stare at him stunned. She tries to speak, but her words fail her.
"It's going to take a whole lot more than you acting all tough and domineering to drive me away!" he continues giving her a big smile. "Besides, I can dish it out too, ya know! Heh, I have to put up with my sister…"
GC bites her lower lip and gazes at him, her eyes threatening to tear up with joy. "I knew it…" she says quietly.
"Knew what?"
"That I could be myself, my true self, around you, and not feel pressured to be someone I'm not," GC says and fidgets with one of her shoestrings on her boot.
"Well, yeah, of course you can. In fact, my Dad said once told me that our powers or lack of powers don't define who we are, but what's in here," Dash states tapping his chest over his heart. "That's one of the reasons Syndrome went bad. There wasn't anything inside him except revenge. We're kinda encouraged to be us, even under the masks, to a certain extent. We can't do anything that would jeopardize a mission or a civilian or each other," he continues and taps his mask.
"You're pretty close to your family then," GC says.
"Yeah, but there are times when we've been 'close' for far too long… and we get on each other's nerves. Family vacations come to mind…" he replies, glancing down at the sand then notices she is barefoot and has buried her feet in the sand. He gets a quizzical look on his face but before he say anything, GC lets out a sad sigh.
"My family used to be like yours. Well, not exactly like yours. I am an only child," she starts.
"Lucky you…" Dash interjects jokingly.
"Don't say that. Enjoy your siblings. I envy you slightly. I'll never know how it feels to be a big sister like your sister is," GC says. Dash sees a wave of sadness wash over his new friend. "You see, my father was killed about four years ago, by that same mob boss I told you about. And my mum was… is in a coma still today. My dad was a president of an import/ export business on the Belfast Lough shoreline. He found out that one of his dock foremen was being controlled by a mob boss and tried to stop it himself. Well, the mob boss threatened to hurt my dad and his family if he didn't leave them alone, but my dad was a stubborn one. Then one night, my parents were one their way to pick me up from a friend's house when someone lobbed a firebomb at their vehicle from the side of the road, causing them to swerve wildly and crash into a brick wall. Dad was killed instantly and Mum was thrown from the car. The car caught on fire from the bomb and from what I could tell and understand, the petrol tank ruptured and the fuel caught flame then blew up. Forensics confirmed that the firebomb was made by that particular mob boss's gang but no charges were filed for anyone."
GC pauses and looks solemnly down at the sand. Dash puts a hand on her left shoulder and says sorrowfully, "I'm sorry, GC, I didn't know…"
She places her right hand on his hand that is on her shoulder, allowing her boots to fall to the ground. "It's not your fault. I always knew I had a special ability since I was a little girl. I could use the bow perfectly, as if it were an extension of my body. I even competed in several archery competitions but after a few years, I chose to stop competing because it became obvious to me and the people around me that something was different about me. Then, just over two years ago, you and your 'incredible' family saved Metroville, and perhaps the world, and made it possible for supers to come out and do what we were meant to." GC stops and gives him a warm smile before continuing, "Thank you for that. You allowed me to be able to bring my dad's killer and the one who put my mum in a coma to justice. The mob boss and all of his lieutenants are all sitting behind bars, where they belong! And before you ask, no, revenge wasn't my motivation. It was justice. The police has their hands tied, but as The Green Celt, I did not!"
Dash smiles and says, "Well, I wasn't going to ask. I can tell that there's more to you than that. As evidenced by your leadership skills today in training. Good job, by the way."
"Thank you. That means a lot to me," she replies then digs her feet deeper into the sand.
Dash notices this and sighs heavily, unable to keep quiet about it any longer. "Ok, I have to ask, what's the deal with you burying your feet up to your ankles in the sand? You've been doing that ever since you came down here!"
GC blushes and looks down at the ground. "Um, well, I just love the way the sand feels on my feet. We don't have anything quite like this in Belfast. Too mountainous and the majority of the waterways are used for shipping. Besides, I don't want you to see my feet…"
She blushes deeper as Dash gives her a confused look at her last statement. "And why not, may I ask?"
GC tries to hide her face with her hand. "It's really silly. I… don't have my toenails painted… That's why." She then turns and lays her forehead on his shoulder and he hears her giggle embarrassedly.
Dash sighs and rolls his eyes. "Really? Lemme guess, it's just a 'girl thing', right? You know, I get enough of that from my sister and Mom, GC."
GC lifts her head and replies, "Yes, it is. And to you, I'm not just The Green Celt." Dash looks at her, slowly getting an astonished look on his face. GC reaches up and slowly takes her green mask off then smiles warmly at him, staring into his blue eyes. "I'm… Anabel. Anabel Glenanne, to you and only you. And maybe your sister… but mostly you." She searches his eyes to try to glimpse any hint of what he could be thinking or feeling. After a few seconds that feel like hours, Anabel sees his face soften and a small smile form on his lips.
He glances around quickly before reaching up and removing his mask. "Dash. Dashiell Robert Parr, the one and the only!" he says giving her a big grin.
"Dash. Suits you," Anabel says, contemplating his name.
"It better. I'm stuck with it for life!" he jokes. "Anabel. Hmm. I like it! Fits you!" Anabel gives him a smile then sees him bend over. "Now about these feet…"
She gets a shocked look on her face and squeals. "No! Leave my feet alone!" Anabel says and tries to stop him. She squirms away, trying to keep her legs out of his grasp, but finds it hard to do while laughing. Then she remembers the fragile sand dollar in her pocket. "Dash, stop, please! I have something fragile in my pocket."
Dash stops and raises up. "Oh? What is it?" he asks curiously.
Anabel buries her feet in the sand once again and sees him roll his eyes. She sticks her tongue out at him then carefully reaches into her pocket and pulls out the sand dollar. "Oh, cool! A sand dollar! And it's almost perfect!"
"I found it here on this beach right back there," Anabel replies pointing back up the beach a ways. "It was lucky that it hadn't been stepped on and broken," she continues holding the sand dollar in the palm of her hand. The two of them gently run their fingers across the former sea creature's disk like surface.
"No doubt. And that's the biggest one I've seen that wasn't in a gift shop somewhere. I found one about half this size almost a year ago. Different spot on the island, though. Great find, Anabel!"
"Thanks. I wouldn't have found it if I hadn't decided to go barefoot," she says and glances up at him warningly. "Don't you dare…" Anabel says as a devious grin forms on his face.
"Alright, alright. Fine. You win this round. Still…" Dash says then turns to look at the sun. He notices that it is almost completely set now. Anabel smiles at him then steps closer to him, wrapping her arms around his right arm and resting her head against his shoulder. She lets out a happy and quiet sigh as the two watch the sun disappear completely over the horizon. "Beautiful…" Dash says quietly.
"Yes, it was. We get pretty sunsets in Belfast, but none quite as beautiful as that one."
"I wasn't talking about the sunset…"
Her heart skips a beat and feels her face grow hot with embarrassment. She looks up at him and finds it hard to distinguish his facial features in the dark. Before either can say anything more, a voice interrupts their moment. "Aw, go on! Kiss'em! Ya know ya want to, GC!"
Both instantly recognize Dingo's accent and groan in annoyance. "What are you waiting for? Go on!" comes another.
"Intangi-Bill too? What the heck? Why…." Dash starts then hears Megumi cheer like a cheerleader for them. "Why are they here?" he finishes.
Anabel buries her face in his arm and replies, "I have no idea. I didn't tell any of them I was coming here."
"Oh, I'm not blaming you. I blame either my sister, my dad, or Dingo's dog-like sense of smell. Probably the latter, Dingo's nose," Dash replies gently giving her a single arm hug.
Anabel looks up at him and says, "Masks."
Dash nods and returns, "Masks." Then the two quickly put their masks on. GC then finds and picks up her boots, which she dropped. She pockets the sand dollar carefully and then the pair heads back up the beach. Once he and GC are close to the three "intruders", as he sees them, he says, "You guys have horrible timing, you know that?"
Dingo gives him a wide grin and replies, "Depends on how you look at it. Though, you two were taking your sweet time, so I thought I'd speed things along!"
GC presses her lips together and eyes them intently. "Who's idea was it for you three to come down here?" she asks sternly.
Dingo's face freezes in a goofy grin as the other two slyly turn to look at him accusingly.
GC nods and says, "I'm not surprised. Are you surprised, dear?"
Quick Flash shakes his head and replies, "Not in the least. Come on. My parents would love to meet you again. Besides, it's getting close to curfew."
"Sounds like a wonderful idea, Quick Flash. Let's go," she says and the two walk past the group.
"I told you, you shouldn't have yelled at them! You shoulda let things take their course, but noooo! You got impatient!" GC and Quick Flash hear Intangi-Bill say to Dingo.
"We'll deal with them later, Dash. Promise. Right now, are you really taking me to see your mum and dad?" Anabel whispers to him.
"Yeah, if you want," he replies.
"Of course! I'd love to! Your little brother is soo adorable!"
"You can take him back to Belfast if you want…"
Anabel elbows him in the ribs then slides her arm around his lower back.
Meanwhile, an analyst stands before Rick's desk nervously as the director skims the most recent report. After a moment more, Rick hands the analyst the report back. "Tell the surveillance team to continue to monitor things and keep me apprised, especially if anything changes. Also, keep a lid on this. Don't want anyone doing anything rash. Dismissed." He turns to the phone sitting on his desk as the analyst leaves his office. Rick picks it up and pushes a couple of buttons. "Mirage, I need to see you in my office. There's a new development regarding our mainland situation," he says.
The next morning, Anabel walks out of the bathroom and sets her shampoo and other toiletries on the bed then picks up an empty suitcase from the foot of the bed. A tall, grey haired gentleman in a black suit walks in from the living room section carrying a stack of neatly folded clothes. "Your civilian wear, Miss Anabel, washed and pressed," he states in a noble Irish accent. He then glances at her and frowns, seeing that she is in her super suit, save for her mask, but noticing her skirt above all. "I do wish you would let me press your skirt before you go out, Miss Anabel. It still has a wrinkle in it…" he starts but she cuts him off.
"No, Edward, that's ok. It's just going to get even more wrinkled as the day goes on and no amount of that famous Edward Caddwell obsessive-ness with appearance is going to matter much," Anabel replies and takes the stack of clothes from him then places them in a second suitcase that is larger and partially full of clothes already.
"That may be so, but a person's appearance is important, Miss Anabel. It projects confidence, stature, and maturity. I just want you to look your best. Especially if a certain young man continues to come calling on you," is the reply.
Anabel smiles and blushes slightly. "I know, Edward, and I appreciate all that you do for me, something that I don't tell you as often as I should. As for the 'certain young man', I still believe it wasn't necessary to scare him last night when you answered the door. Keep that up and it will be a sure way he won't be around!"
Edward smiles slightly and replies, "Yes, well, I do consider myself a father figure in your life since your father and one of my best friends died. I feel obligated to protect you, Miss Anabel, despite your gift." He indicates her green bow sitting nearby. "I can't just let anyone escort you home. I have to make sure they are proper and well mannered. Unlike that Dingo chap from Australia. You'd think he was raised by a pack of dogs!"
Anabel laughs as she turns to the dresser and opens the drawers to get more clothes to pack in the suitcases. "I wouldn't be surprised if he were. And please, don't worry so much, Edward. I know you are just acting in my best interest and doing your best to fill my dad's shoes, but last night, I think you went over the top just a bit too much! I never thought you could be such a convincing actor."
Edward smiles to himself and says, "Yes, I was, wasn't I? Perhaps I found something to fall back on if being a butler does not work out."
"If you did that, who would make sure my appearance is at its best, hmm?" asks Anabel with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. "I don't think anyone would do as good a job as you!"
Edward raises an eyebrow and ponders the question. "I see your point, Miss Anabel. Perhaps I will put off my dreams of the theater for a little while longer, until you learn to maintain your appearance at its highest all by yourself," he replies and the to share a laugh. "Tell me, Miss Anabel, will the young Master Dash be joining you for breakfast?"
Anabel thinks for a moment before answering. "I don't think so. He may come by later, before we leave for the mainland, though. Speaking of breakfast, I hope you didn't go all out. I'd like only a light breakfast. Juice and a piece of toast with strawberry preserves, please."
Edward sighs to himself and replies, "You know, I will start having too much free time if you keep up having these light meals, Miss Anabel."
"Heh, I'll make sure to fill in that extra time by supplying you with copious amounts of laundry to do!" she answers back jokingly.
"Hmm. I see. Well, I will go and prepare your breakfast. Should the young master come by early, be sure to have your 'unmentionable undergarments' packed away out of sight!" he says sternly, to which Anabel blushes then rolls her eyes. After Edward leaves the room, she glances around and realizes the referenced 'unmentionables' were in plain sight. Anabel quickly packs them under her other clothes in the largest suitcase.
An hour later, the Parr family plus the only attending Glenanne family member, all clothed in their super suits, enter the large transport hub, which was formerly the rocket bay when the island base was under Syndrome's ownership. A few supers are mingling, all waiting for the time to board the NSA's personnel carriers- the repurposed Manta Flyers that Syndrome built to ferry unsuspecting supers to their untimely demise at the hands of an Omnidroid.
"Hey, look! There's Frozone!" states Dash. "Oh! There's Bolt! I haven't had a chance to meet him yet! Is it ok if I go, Mom?"
Helen looks at him then glances at her watch under her glove. "Sure, honey. Just don't be too long. We'll all be assigned our transports and given our mission objectives soon," is her reply.
"Great! Thanks, Mom!" Dash says thankfully then turns to Anabel and asks, "You want to come? If not, that's ok, you don't have to…"
Anabel smiles and adjusts the strap of her quiver. "Sure. I haven't had a chance to meet him either," she replies and the two start walking to where Bolt is standing. Dash sticks his right arm out and Anabel takes it happily.
"Aw, don't they look adorable together, Honey?" asks Bob. "Our Dash is growing up fast!"
Helen grunts but can't deny the fact that Dash is growing up. "I have to admit, I was hoping we could stave off that particular aspect of his growing up for at least another year or two. He still is a little boy to me," she says indicating the obvious budding romance between Dash and Anabel.
"Why? You still have Jack-Jack to call a little boy," states Violet dryly. "And that's a more accurate statement because he is still a little boy. Move on, Mom." Helen turns to give her daughter a slightly stunned look. Violet hands Jack-Jack to her mother and continues, "I'm going to go find Ebony. I want to see if my suggestions to her yesterday in training helped any." Without another word, Violet walks off, leaving Helen speechless.
She turns to look at her husband and he gets a slightly dumbfounded look on his face. He shrugs and says quickly, "I'm, uh, going to go talk to Frozone. Maybe he's heard something about the 'situation'." He quickly walks away while giving Helen a sheepish grin.
Helen stands there, holding Jack-Jack in her arms, now dumbfounded about how she just ended up in her current state. "Wait a minute. What just happened?" she exclaims. She then looks at her youngest son and asks, "You're not going to take off, are you?"
"Mommy, I have to poo…"
Helen narrows her eyes and sighs. "Thanks for putting things into perspective for me, kiddo," she says and locates the nearest restroom.
A half an hour later, Dash sits on the NSA transport glancing over the brief that he was given by Mirage. Anabel sits next to him, reading it as well. "OK, Quick Flash, what's the mission?" asks Dingo, who is sitting across the aisle from them. Intangi-Bill sits on his left while Megumi sits on his right.
Quick Flash glances up and replies, "Well, look's like got a hostage situation to take care of."
GC frowns and raises an eyebrow. "That's sounds familiar," she states blandly.
"Yeah, but this time, they've appointed me team leader. According to the brief, it's going to be a joint-op with another team. We're Team 2 while they're Team 1. We'll be providing intel and a rear guard. Oh, and since we're odd-numbered, we'll be picking up another team member," Quick Flash says.
"Any idea who it is?" asks Intangi-Bill.
"Hmm. It looks like someone who recently graduated to the higher age bracket. Goes by the hero name, Technica," Quick Flash replies glancing over the dossier on their new teammate.
Intangi-Bill perks up and says, "I've heard of her. Able to control and manipulate technology. They call her a technopath, in scientific terms. I think she comes from India."
"Yeah, and I think you've taken a bit of liking to her, Mate!" teases Dingo, which causes Intangi-Bill to blush.
"And what makes you think that?" he retorts finally.
Dingo sniffs and smiles. "Well, for starters, your heart suddenly sped up upon hearing her name. Now, your sweat glands are working over-time…"
"Ok, let's move on, shall we? We have a lot to cover before we reach our LZ," says Quick Flash, redrawing their attention to the task at hand.
Then, the door to the transport opens and a light brown color skinned girl with dark brown hair in a long braid down her back wearing a red with gold trim super suit that is loose fitting, except around the neck and cuffs where it is tight, and a red with gold trim mask and a matching backpack, enters the transport. She looks up and visibly blushes as her dark brown eyes glances around the room nervously. "Oh, dear! I am sorry for being late! I was in another transport when Mirage came and told me I was transferred to another team. Forgive me!" she says sheepishly.
"It's alright. Come on in. We've just got started, so you haven't missed much," Quick Flash says, motioning for her to join them. He extends his hand and continues, "I'm Quick Flash, team leader during this mission."
Her face brightens and replies while shaking his hand vigorously, "Oh, you do not need to introduce yourself! Everyone that is a super knows who you and your family are! It is a great honor to be working with you!"
He nods and says, "Well, take a seat where ever and we'll get started again."
She glances around for a seat then Dingo suddenly pops up out of his chair. "Oh, uh, you can have this one, sheila!" he says slightly flustered and with a goofy grin on his face. "It's all nice and toasty for you!" he continues, offering his seat to her. Intangi-Bill looks up at him with a smirk on his face, trying not to laugh at Dingo. She takes the seat hesitantly and thanks him quietly, then Dingo glances around and spots the last empty chair on the right side of Megumi. "I'll just take this one!"
Quick Flash eyes Dingo blankly and once Dingo is seated, he asks, "Are you good to go now?"
Dingo pauses for a second then replies, "Yep, good to go, boss!"
"Glad to hear it," Quick Flash states then turns to the rest of the group. "Ok, in case someone hasn't realized it yet, this is Technica," he says indicating her. He pulls out a foldout map from the brief folder and lays it out where everyone can see it. "Here's our LZ, where we will rendezvous with Team 1, which will be headed up by… Invisi-Gal…" he says, trailing off at the end.
Ten minutes later, the transports are airborne and Quick Flash sits back in his seat then glances around the group. "Ok, that's about it. Any questions? Comments? Haikus?"
Megumi giggles at him, as everyone shakes their heads no. "Actually, I have a question, unrelated to the mission," pipes up Intangi-Bill.
Quick Flash regards him hesitantly, unsure if he should allow it or not, but then says, "Go ahead…"
"So, when are you and GC gonna make it offici~" he starts but stops when he sees GC glowering at him and fingering an arrow menacingly.
Technica blinks in confusion and looks between them, wondering what is going on. Quick Flash frowns and places a hand on GC's shoulder to calm her down. He hears her exhale heavily and sit back in her seat hard. "Not the time for questions like that," he states. "Focus, people. We'll be at the LZ in about twenty minutes."
"Just trying to lighten the mood…"
"I know, but that sort of stuff is for off-duty time," Quick Flash replies. He then turns to GC and says quietly to her, "And you need to lengthen your fuse a bit and refrain from doing bodily harm to him."
GC gives him a pouty look and replies, "But I wanna. I want us to be, you know, a bit of a secret until we get a handle on things. Ok?"
Quick Flash gives her an understanding nod and says, "That's fine, but I don't think you need to kill anyone to keep it that way." She smirks playfully at him and chuckles. "Besides, I think we've made our new-comer uncomfortable enough for one day, don't you?"
Technica gives them a strained smile and tries to find something, anything to change the subject. "Well, um, is this anyone else's first international training day?" she asks finally.
"Me," GC replies raising her hand slightly.
"Really? I would not have guessed with the way you and Quick Flas… ohhh…" Technica says, stopping herself upon realizing what she was implying. "Um, you were so comfortable around… You know what, never mind."
GC gives her a gentle smile and says, "It's ok. Don't worry about it."
Quick Flash sighs and runs a hand across his face, then reopens the mission briefing and tries to look it over once more. He feels GC wrap an arm around his then he glances at her. She gives him a playful pouty look that causes an involuntary smile to appear on his face. He returns his attention to the briefing after GC releases his arm and begins to double-check her bow. "Ebony… I think that's the girl that my sister mentioned helping yesterday," he states absent-mindedly.
"I heard that this is her first time training here as well. Do you know if your sister said if she was able to help her or not?" GC asks while checking the tension setting on her bow.
"No, but she did say that Ebony was really shy and nervous about being there," he replies.
"Knowing that, makes you wonder how she's gonna do out on the field," states Dingo, trying to join in on the conversation.
"Not really. Her combat score is pretty high which tells me that once it comes down to it, she gets the job done. Plus, she's got a vast array of powers to use and…" Quick Flash pauses as GC's face suddenly appears next to his. "… seems to be proficient with most of them." He glances at her and asks, "Yes? Can I help you?"
GC turns her head slightly to look at him with a big grin on her face. "No, I'm fine!" she replies and rests her chin on his shoulder.
"Ok…" he states uneasily then he glances at his watch. GC notes this and sees him get a curious look on his face. "Should we have heard from the mainland base by now?"
GC checks her own watch and replies, "Yes, we should have."
Quick Flash gets up and hands her the briefing then heads to the controls of the automated transport. He sits down in the vacant pilot seat and glances out the windshield then silently counts the other transports in the air with them. "Something's wrong…" he whispers and checks the radar screen.
"Quick Flash? What is it?" GC asks walking up behind him.
"I'm not sure…" he replies then activates the radio. "Transport 12 to Transport 7- Invisi-Gal, do you copy?"
For a moment, there is silence but then Violet's voice comes back. "Transport 7 to Transport 12, I read you, Quick Flash. What's up?"
"I'm just double-checking, but shouldn't we have heard from ground control by now?"
After a moment more of silence, Invisi-Gal's voice returns, "That's affirmative, Transport 7, but we've been experiencing some static over the radio, so it's possible that they could be too. Since we are closer to the LZ than you in the fleet's current formation, I'll… ht …. Yo…. Zzzztttt…. Quick …ash…. Int…erence….." Then the radio goes silent.
"Um, is that supposed to happen?" asks Intangi-Bill. "No where in the briefing did they say that communications would go down!"
"Maybe it is part of the training. Something spontaneous, just to see how we'd react," states GC. "After all, in real life, things like this can happen and we need to be able to handle it, right, dear?" she continues, placing a hand gently on Quick Flash's shoulder. Despite her calm outer demeanor, he could tell through her touching him, she was seriously concerned.
"Yeah, that has to be it," Quick Flash states, patting her hand and then stands. He feels the rest of the group's eyes on him, looking for reassurance and confidence. "What's our ETA?"
GC quickly turns to the mission clock on the dashboard of the transport and answers, "We're still five minutes out."
"Stations, everyone. Game-faces on. Technica, you might want to suit up," Quick Flash states confidently. Technica nods and slides her backpack off her and down to the floor. She unzips it, revealing a mass of various electronic and mechanical parts inside. Technica stands and stretches her arms out to the side. Her eyes begin to glow white as pieces of the electronics begin to rise out of the bag, enveloped slightly with the same white glow of her eyes. Dingo and Intangi-Bill watch in awe as bit-by-bit, a rudimentary mechanical suit forms around her body.
Once a helmet is formed on her head, the suit suddenly powers up and Technica says through the suit's intercom, "Ready to go. Systems check is green across the board… wait, I'm picking up some com chatter from the other transports…"
"Can you patch it through the transport's com unit?" asks Quick Flash.
She smiles confidently and replies, "Please, I manipulate tech all the time! It will be easy!" Technica walks over to the radio and touches it with an outstretched hand. After a few seconds, she states, "Rerouting signals… oh, my…"
The radio crackles to life with multiple voices, all of which seem slightly frantic. "Can you boost signal to my sister's transport?" asks Quick Flash.
"Just a second… Done."
"Invisi-Gal, Sis, do you copy?"
"Quick Flash? Is that you? How are you getting a signal through? All the transports have ran into a jamming field of some sort that is preventing communication from ship-to-ship and ship-to-ground!"
"Technica is boosting the signal. What's going on? Is this part of the training?"
"I don't know! The last transmission we got before you called us was from Dad's transport. We got cut off similar to the way we did. He said not to worry, but I could tell he was seriously concerned about something. Quick Flash, um, is this signal private?"
Quick Flash glances at Technica. "Give me a second, Invisi-Gal. I have to rig the transmitter itself with a booster," she states. "Done."
GC quickly turns to the rest of the group. "Clear the bridge. He needs privacy," she states.
"You can stay, GC, if you want," Violet says. "You're second in command of your team and you, for some off the wall reason I may never know, like my brother."
GC blushes and nods but then shoos everyone else away. Once everyone is gone, Dash picks up the headset and Anabel grabs the spare set and plugs it in. "Sis, what is it? What did Dad say?" Dash asks.
"Not much, but from what I've heard, something's happened to the training ground on the mainland. Transport 1, which carried the scout team, went dark shortly after landing, and honestly, I don't think anyone except Dad was supposed to hear that."
"How'd you find out then?" Dash asks.
"One of my squad mates, Triage, who has the ability to heal people quickly, super hearing, and x-ray vision, overheard someone say that in the background of Dad's transmission when I was talking to him."
Dash frowns and starts to say something but a sudden bang over the radio stops him. "Violet, what was that?" he asks.
"We've been hit! We're going d~" is the only reply he gets from his sister. He looks out the windscreen and sees her transport heading towards the ground; smoke billowing from the starboard side.
"VIOLET!" Dash exclaims. Suddenly, the ship lurches and he catches himself on the console. Anabel stumbles to the floor and yelps. Technica bursts into the room and starts to speak but suddenly gasps. Dash looks at her then follows her gaze to the windscreen. Outside, a redheaded, yellow-eyed humanoid figure in black gi pants with a 9 printed on a white shirt, lands solidly on the nose of the ship and grins maniacally. Technica flinches as the figure punches the windscreen and rips out a massive chunk from it. Anabel, upon seeing the figure, instinctively retrieves an arrow from her quiver and shoots it at it, but the arrow deflects harmlessly off it. It was then that she realized that what she fired was one of her practice tip arrows. Technica then brings her arms together in straight out in front of her, her eyes glowing, and pulls pieces of tech from around her to form a sophisticated gun barrel of sorts. The figure pauses upon seeing this, but its curiosity is met by a concentrated energy blast, which sends it flying backwards off the ship.
Dash brings the ship off of autopilot and several alarms blare, informing him that the ship is damaged. As he tries to level the craft, an elongated arm with a balled fist smashes the nose of the ship, causing it to veer wildly. Anabel and Technica yelp in surprise as they are tossed around the cabin. Dash fights the controls, trying to right the ship, mentally noting that his mom made it look much easier to do than it actually was. Then an explosion rocks the transport and an engine alarm blares, indicating that the port side engine was… well, gone.
Suddenly, Dash gets the sensation that time slowed down to a crawl, as the ground suddenly comes into view. He turns his head to see Anabel desperately clinging to the back of the co-pilot's seat and Technica form rudimentary locks for her armored feet to lock down to the floor. Then, the sound of metal being ripped apart brings his perception back to normal speed. He looks back forward to see the ground growing bigger, very quickly and he yells, "Everyone! Get strapped in! We're gonna cra~"
The ship striking the ground and everything going black for him cuts off his sentence.