Ch. 3
You can choose your enemies
"You're who?" I asked the man standing in my living room. He stood roughly my height, his long brown hair hanging roguishly over his face, framing his deep blue eyes. A light blue shirt clung to a small frame and led down to a pair of faded jeans.
"Robin Goodfellow. Jeez, John, I thought you had good hearing," he quipped.
"Whoa! How do you know my name, Robin? Or whoever you are," I shot back.
"We all your know your name, John. You're quite famous, at least in my circles," he replied nonchalantly, making himself comfortable on my couch.
"Circles? What circles?" I asked becoming more and more confused as our conversation progressed.
"You don't know, do you? Here I thought you were smart, Cous. The Seelie Court. You know; Oberon, Titania...all that fun stuff," he responded, waving his hands playfully.
For a second I wanted to tell him, "yeah, right." Then I started thinking. In my life, I had met several Norse gods and even Hercules. Why not the Puck? God, where was Ronnie when I needed her? She's the Shakespeare expert.
"Okay, so then why I am I famous in the Seelie court," I questioned.
"Well, I could tell, but that would take all the fun out of it," he mocked, his smile growing wider.
I sighed. "What is it you want from me?" I asked, trying to multi-task by keeping my temper and get somewhere with him.
"That, I can answer, Cous. I'm here to help you apprehend Hi."
"He who?" I asked back, somehow becoming even more confused.
"Hi, not He...Okay. Hi, with an i, is what we call an Unseelie Fae. Have you heard of the Fae at least?"
"Fae...you mean fairies?"
"We HATE it when you humans call us that," he snapped irritably, ignoring the look of apology I was trying to send him, hoping he would continue. "We are Fae. Now, there are the Seelie, like myself. We are the...happy-go-lucky ones. When we play with humans, it's mostly harmless. Then there are the Unseelie Fae. They're your goblins, trolls, and other nasties. Our friend Hi is one of those. I've been sent to help you stop him."
"Who...never mind. You won't tell me who sent you, will you?" I asked. He shook his head, the toothy grin still disturbingly wide on his thin face. "Okay, why is Hi here? What does he want?"
"He needs children. Human children. He must collect thirteen children by the next full moon. I know, I know...sounds trite, but it's true. Thirteen pure souls must be sacrificed on that night," he explained, leaning back so that it appeared that he was actually melting into the deep gray suede behind him. "If he succeeds, he will have the power to make his utmost wish, to light the world aflame. Now I like a good fire as much as the next guy, but that's a tad ridiculous. We of the Seelie Court don't want this to happen. You as a human and a superhero don't want this to happen. Ergo, we work together to stop Hi in his tracks." He actually looked serious for almost a second.
I shook my head for a second, trying to comprehend exactly what Robin was saying. This man wanted to kill thirteen children and then burn the world. No matter what personal turmoil I was going through, I had to stop this. "Let me get a hold of the X-Men, they'll be willing to help, or the Arisen." I offered as I headed toward the phone.
"Nope. Gotta be just you and me, my dear cous," Robin interjected, seemingly stretching his arm over to place his hand over the phone. "Those are the rules, and don't blame me, I didn't make them. And before you ask, even I can't break these rules."
He didn't look at all happy disclosing that fact. I nodded. "Fine, Robin. So what's the plan?" I asked with a sigh.
"Good question...what's the plan?" he solicited with a shit-eating grin.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy..." I muttered as I slumped into a chair near him, rubbing a grimy hand over my eyes.
"You'll do great, Cous; we all have faith in you. Well, I'll let you get some sleep. Give some thought to our great plan. Hi shouldn't strike for a few days, even with your interference. I'll...pop in tomorrow evening. Till then, dear cous." With a bow he disappeared from my apartment.
Great, now had some new quest from the Seelie Fae. I was being forced to team up with Robin freaking Goodfellow. And I still haven't had anything to eat!
You can choose your enemies
"You're who?" I asked the man standing in my living room. He stood roughly my height, his long brown hair hanging roguishly over his face, framing his deep blue eyes. A light blue shirt clung to a small frame and led down to a pair of faded jeans.
"Robin Goodfellow. Jeez, John, I thought you had good hearing," he quipped.
"Whoa! How do you know my name, Robin? Or whoever you are," I shot back.
"We all your know your name, John. You're quite famous, at least in my circles," he replied nonchalantly, making himself comfortable on my couch.
"Circles? What circles?" I asked becoming more and more confused as our conversation progressed.
"You don't know, do you? Here I thought you were smart, Cous. The Seelie Court. You know; Oberon, Titania...all that fun stuff," he responded, waving his hands playfully.
For a second I wanted to tell him, "yeah, right." Then I started thinking. In my life, I had met several Norse gods and even Hercules. Why not the Puck? God, where was Ronnie when I needed her? She's the Shakespeare expert.
"Okay, so then why I am I famous in the Seelie court," I questioned.
"Well, I could tell, but that would take all the fun out of it," he mocked, his smile growing wider.
I sighed. "What is it you want from me?" I asked, trying to multi-task by keeping my temper and get somewhere with him.
"That, I can answer, Cous. I'm here to help you apprehend Hi."
"He who?" I asked back, somehow becoming even more confused.
"Hi, not He...Okay. Hi, with an i, is what we call an Unseelie Fae. Have you heard of the Fae at least?"
"Fae...you mean fairies?"
"We HATE it when you humans call us that," he snapped irritably, ignoring the look of apology I was trying to send him, hoping he would continue. "We are Fae. Now, there are the Seelie, like myself. We are the...happy-go-lucky ones. When we play with humans, it's mostly harmless. Then there are the Unseelie Fae. They're your goblins, trolls, and other nasties. Our friend Hi is one of those. I've been sent to help you stop him."
"Who...never mind. You won't tell me who sent you, will you?" I asked. He shook his head, the toothy grin still disturbingly wide on his thin face. "Okay, why is Hi here? What does he want?"
"He needs children. Human children. He must collect thirteen children by the next full moon. I know, I know...sounds trite, but it's true. Thirteen pure souls must be sacrificed on that night," he explained, leaning back so that it appeared that he was actually melting into the deep gray suede behind him. "If he succeeds, he will have the power to make his utmost wish, to light the world aflame. Now I like a good fire as much as the next guy, but that's a tad ridiculous. We of the Seelie Court don't want this to happen. You as a human and a superhero don't want this to happen. Ergo, we work together to stop Hi in his tracks." He actually looked serious for almost a second.
I shook my head for a second, trying to comprehend exactly what Robin was saying. This man wanted to kill thirteen children and then burn the world. No matter what personal turmoil I was going through, I had to stop this. "Let me get a hold of the X-Men, they'll be willing to help, or the Arisen." I offered as I headed toward the phone.
"Nope. Gotta be just you and me, my dear cous," Robin interjected, seemingly stretching his arm over to place his hand over the phone. "Those are the rules, and don't blame me, I didn't make them. And before you ask, even I can't break these rules."
He didn't look at all happy disclosing that fact. I nodded. "Fine, Robin. So what's the plan?" I asked with a sigh.
"Good question...what's the plan?" he solicited with a shit-eating grin.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy..." I muttered as I slumped into a chair near him, rubbing a grimy hand over my eyes.
"You'll do great, Cous; we all have faith in you. Well, I'll let you get some sleep. Give some thought to our great plan. Hi shouldn't strike for a few days, even with your interference. I'll...pop in tomorrow evening. Till then, dear cous." With a bow he disappeared from my apartment.
Great, now had some new quest from the Seelie Fae. I was being forced to team up with Robin freaking Goodfellow. And I still haven't had anything to eat!
