Chapter 4: A New Friend, A Coming Storm, and A Wild Card

"Gimme my quarters back, you useless piece of junk!" Irma exclaimed as she pounded her fists on one of the pinball machines at Callaway's Arcade, prompting a nearby Taranee to cringe. "It's not rocket surgery here– coins go in, I get a play in exchange. So why aren't you upholding your end of the bargain?!"

"Maybe you should, I dunno, take this up with the manager or something before you get kicked out?" another patron said.

Irma clenched her teeth as she stormed off, ignoring both the siren's call of a nearby Street Fighter II cabinet and a friendly wave from an approaching Will. I swear to God, the next time this happens, that thing's getting turned into spare parts… she thought, muttering a string of curses under her breath at a rate usually reserved for machine guns.

"So, what's her deal?" Briar asked as a girl around her and Will's age with an extraordinarily irate expression, shoulder length, light brown, slightly wavy hair and wearing a Wonder Woman t-shirt passed the duo by.

"Oh, her?" came the reply. "That's Irma. She's usually a bit less…cranky than this. Though now that you ask, what's gotten under her skin?"

"The Attack from Mars machine, that's what."

Briar's head swiveled around, her gaze soon focusing on a bespectacled black girl with brown eyes, blue-black hair, and wearing a sweater vest ensemble. "I take it you're one of Will's friends?" she asked.

"Yes. You?"

"Briar. Briar Cordell."

"Taranee Cook."

"Pleasure meeting you." Briar said as she reached out and took Taranee's hand, the latter taking notice of her tight grip.

"Same here." came the reply.

"So, I've been thinking." Hay Lin said as she leaned in over Cornelia's shoulder, the latter currently seated in the deluxe Star Trek cabinet.

"Thought I smelled smoke." Cornelia replied, earning a sour look from her teammate.

"Anyways, I've been thinking about a certain old coot."

"Can we not?"

"It's not about– well, you know."

"Then what is it about?"

"His…for lack of a better word, his theories."

Cornelia sighed. "Tell you what– we'll discuss this later, preferably back at your place. Because the last thing we need is to come off as crazy ourselves." Her eyes soon shifted away from the game to an approaching Will and Briar. "Especially in front of the new girl."

Trismegistus Field Outpost Lima– Rec Room

"And in our top story tonight, things are heating up in the corporate scene over in the Big Apple as Xanatos Enterprises, Nightstone Unlimited, and newcomer Cloudtower Industries are all vying for one of the most lucrative defense contracts in the past five years in the form of an experimental X-ray communications satellite. According to Cloudtower CEO Darcy Finlay…"

One of the base's personnel swallowed as the newscaster continued. "Wait, how's she still alive? I mean, she was in the same room as her sisters wh–"

"Considering their track record, I'd be surprised if at least one of those three hadn't found a way to escape." another agent replied. "Question is, what happened to the other two?"

The first agent's eyes drifted from the TV to her PDA and back again. "Think we should call in those 'Guardians' Heston brought onboard?"

"No."

Both agents turned around to see Heston himself standing in the doorway, whereupon beads of sweat began to run down their faces. "Sir?"

"In case the both of you forgot, taking down that trio of ice queens cost us ten of our best agents, tens of thousands of dollars in materiel, and nearly exposed us to the general public!" he snapped. "We came this close–" he continued, lowering his index finger until it was barely hovering above his thumb, "–to the three of them managing to get enough of a foothold for an attack on Avalon so they could have a prime spot to mess with us foolish mortals! And they'd have pulled it off if not for some…high school club giving us a hand!" He exhaled through clenched teeth. "The Guardians may be experienced when it comes to the forces of Meridian– but against the Fair Folk? They wouldn't stand a chance."

The first agent gulped. "Sir, if you're going where I think you're going, you do realize that said club's long since dissolved, right?"

"Trust me, it won't be that hard to fix that. All we need to do is make a well-worded phone call, and then she'll do the hard work of getting the gang back together." Heston said, a smile forming on his face. "And if we play our cards right, then Yan's granddaughter and her friends'll have some damned good mentors."

Sullivan's Tavern– Heatherfield

"According to Cloudtower CEO Darcy Finlay…"

Old Man Nicholls' eyes drifted up to focus on the TV set above the bar, a glass of scotch in his hands.

"CEO Darcy Finlay…"

His eyes went blank as the picture of said CEO materialized on the screen, and his hands began to shake.

"Darcy Finlay…"

His grip slackened, and the glass fell from his hands.

"Darcy…"

The glass hit the floor and shattered, the shards and whiskey flying off in all directions.

"No…it can't be her…"

"Travis? You okay?" the bartender asked.

"She's not supposed to be here!" Nicholls screamed. "She's supposed to be in Fairyland with her sisters!"

"Travis?"

Nicholls leaned in and grabbed the bartender by the lapels. "Now listen good, Nate old buddy! Speaking as someone who saw them firsthand, I can tell you with good authority that the things they do to the folks they snatch up are unnatural, unethical, indescribable, and downright cruel! Don't be fooled by them naming their group after a breakfast cereal or how they act in that cartoon– their leader'll put you on a St. Andrew's cross and give you frostbite just for pre-breakfast entertainment!"

"Travis."

"And now one of 'em's here on Earth?! We're all doomed!"

"Travis!"

"Surround your homes with iron! Paint your yards' perimeter with the ashes of burnt ash wood and salt! Get yourselves some church b–" The words died on his lips as the bartender slapped him upside the head. "What was that for?"

"You're scaring the other customers with your sensationalist hooey again."

"Hooey, my foot! I know what I seen all those years ago! And mark my words– you'll be in a heap of trouble if and when she gets her plans rolling!"

Weisman's Creamery– same time

"So, Briar– what do you do for fun?" Irma asked as she set down a half-full glass of chocolate ice cream soda.

"I collect old books, go for long walks in the woods, and I've recently started my own little herb garden. And before you ask, what I grow there is my own business. Same with the books I collect." came the reply, a distinct edge on her words.

"I'm just curious!" Irma exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "No need to get so defensive about it! Seriously– it's not like we're the Spanish Inquisition or something!"

An awkward silence soon settled over the table, and the girls shifted their attention to their drinks, each one trying to think of the best way to move on from the freshly ended outburst.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Before anyone asks, the communications satellite thing is going to be the focus of its own arc at some point down the road, if for no other reason than said arc is going to have major repercussions for all parties involved. As for more immediate events, you can definitely expect the first arc to be a low stakes affair, and that's all I'm going to say for the time being.

And much like Nicholls' ramblings next chapter, try and figure out which references are foreshadowing and which ones are merely shout-outs.