Bueno Nacho for Six
Neil moved about his home like a silent shadow. The moon was high in the sky, casting a faint silver light on everything. He peaked into the open door of his newest guest's room. The two were sound asleep, Kim's arm draped across Ron. He knew the couple were discovering something about a vacation – at the end of the day you were just as exhausted as a hard day of work. They had fallen asleep on the couch again as the four of them engaged in conversation after dinner. This time, however, he was there to wake them and chase them into a proper bed. He wasn't even sure Ron had even awakened, simply sleepwalking into the darkened room he kept cool with the powerful central air system. He cringed as the wooden floor creaked under his two-hundred thirty pounds, something even his practiced stealth couldn't control. He needn't have worried, the two didn't stir.
He discovered something surprising that evening. If the two young women had not been mortal enemies they might have been best friends. They were actually so much alike. Strong, willful, independent. They both had a pair of twin younger brothers. Both had spent their teen years fighting evil. He watched as the two of them talked, perhaps for the first time ever. Sure, there was the verbal sparring that took the place of physical combat, but there was something else there. A single question formed in his mind, directed at Shego; "What are you, her sister?"
He could also detect a combination of respect and jealousy coming from both of them.
Shego's door had been left open as well. She still guarded her privacy rather closely, but had taken to leaving it open recently. He stood there a moment, watching her sleep. It wasn't an invitation or anything like that, he thought it may be her way of casting off the bonds that had formed in her mind. When asked about it, she simply said it kept the room more comfortable in the summer months. He knew not to pry any further.
So beautiful. So much of her waking life she had her face screwed up in rage and bitterness, or hiding those feelings with an evil glare. Asleep all of that melted away, allowing him to see her as she once was.
He knew he loved her enough to help her get back there if she wanted to.
He wanted to touch her hair, perhaps to lightly kiss her cheek but that wasn't his place. Also, she was a light sleeper and might mistake his affection, for good or bad. Sadly, he silently turned on his heels and went into his room, closing the door. He touched a key on his open laptop and scanned his email messages. Chat room buddies were wondering where he had gotten to, but he didn't feel like sitting there, typing conversations into the night. Instead he shut the computer and let himself out onto his private section of the screened deck through a door in the back of his room.
He had walled up the section of porch some months ago. There was no furniture at all, the only furnishing a single tatami mat. He sat down there and cleared his mind, the feeling of power within him washing over him. The outside world, the moonlight, the quiet breeze, the chirp of night-time insects all faded away until he was again in the silent place he sometimes went to. Sometimes he went there for peace, sometimes for answers. The first time he came here he was ripped from reality, the power blazing and new inside him. Two other figures had stood with him that time, though he did not know who they were. He still didn't. They had not returned in all the many months he had been doing this. He was alone in a large grassy field. Wind whipped around him, but did not stir him.
Something new caught his attention in the dream-place. A sword appeared before him, bathed in blue/violet fire so bright he almost had to shield his spirit eyes. The golden hilt was gently arched, the tips turning sharply toward the long, slender blade. The grip was wrapped in soft, dark leather, tied expertly near the elongated octagon shape of the pommel. It slowly descended to the ground some ten feet in front of him, the tip penetrating the dreamscape earth several inches.
He remembered the sword. It had been called into existence by a woman who turned out to be another universe's version of Shego. It was a relic of an ancient religion of sorts in that world, the weapon of an avatar of the collective ascended beings known as the Effurien.
She had called it The Sword of the Fury.
Somehow, in this universe, Neil was somehow tied to that power as well.
Something in the back of his mind told him this was not truly the sword. It was not his place to take it. This was a sign, a guidepost that he had been looking for, a clue about his destiny.
The sword slowly changed form, into that of a finely crafted, ancient Japanese katana.
As he reached for the sword it blinked out of existence.
"Who are you?" a blonde-haired girl asked him. One moment he had been alone, the next she was standing off to the side.
"Wha?" was all he could gasp before his dream-place winked out of existence, replaced with the darkened porch of his beach house.
"Bueno Nacho?" The dirty-dishwater blonde said disdainfully, looking at the plasticine menu above the counter.
"All we can afford here." The tall young man with long brown hair answered.
"Isn't this, like, the junk food of the fast food industry?" She asked, not caring if the orange clad teenager at the counter heard her. "and what the hell is a Naco?"
"Just order something, Maria."
"Cool your jets, Space-boy. I'm still thinking."
Seeing her hesitation the couple behind them stepped up to the register. The young man looked like he could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty. He was just as tall as the man with Maria, but his dark hair was cut short in what could be referred to as a generic five dollar haircut. The style didn't help his ears, which stood a little further out from his head than most. The girl with him, despite being almost the same age, was quite the opposite. She was the shortest of the group and quite petite, her long brown hair gathered up in a loose ponytail. "We'll have two Chimiritos, a Naco Salad and a large diet cola." He turned to Maria and her companion. "What are you two having, Michael, we're buying this time."
"Same thing, Maxwell. With extra hot Diablo sauce."
"What did Isabel and Kyle want?" The shorter girl asked in a slightly husky voice.
"Just make it three full orders like the first." Max said to the teen behind the counter.
"That's thirteen ninety two." He said, pushing his glasses back up on his nose.
The quartet carried their tray to a booth table, where the other two waited for them. The food was handed out, the women naturally taking the salads. The young woman at the table was taller and somewhat more voluptuous than the other two, despite being only slightly older. Kyle was the shortest of the three teens, but more broadly built, having once been a high school football player. Max, Michael and Isabel took the lion's share of the Diablo sauce packets, spreading the contents liberally on their food. They each took a bite, looked at the food again, and produced small bottles of Tabasco sauce which they liberally doused on their fare.
"Tell me again why we're in this burg?" Michael asked their apparent leader.
"Liz found a mention online of a real space ship landing here last summer. There is a Space Center here, so I thought we should at least check it out."
"That sounds risky. It also sounds like the 'Special Unit' setting up another trap for us." Michael said between bites of his Chimirito.
"I agree with Michael." Isabel said. "The last ship we found led to you and Liz getting arrested and later your costing us any real help from Langley."
"I don't think so." Max said in his always serious sounding voice. "For one thing, this all happened out in the open and involved some kind of crime-fighting team that's based here in Middleton."
"Oh, so now we're following fantasy stories about supposed teen-aged heroes?" Michael complained with his usual intensity.
"Teenagers roaming the world, helping people when they can. Sound familiar, anyone?" Kyle finally broke in.
"We're just going to take a look. We don't even know if it's still here. For all we know it just picked the group up and moved on." Max said.
"So we're just going to waltz up to this 'Space-Center' and ask 'Do you have any interstellar starships parked here with your rockets? Cool, can we see it, maybe take it for a spin to Antar?" he was having a hard time keeping the sarcasm out of his voice.
"Something like that. They have a visitor center, that can't be any worse than what they usually hear from the tourists."
"Unbelievable, Maxwell. What about this town being the world headquarters for Global Justice?"
"We won't be breaking any laws. Besides, they have their hands full fighting real bad guys. I don't think they would have time for us. We're fortunate the Special Unit can't operate in the open, that limits their resources…" He stopped as he realized Liz was staring off into space, her salad forgotten. "Liz?"
She blinked twice, as if she was having trouble remembering where she was. "I…I think I just got a flash." She sometimes had the ability to see flashes about people close to her. "What I don't understand is it looked like…Tess…was in some kind of danger!" She almost spat the name.
"Tess?" the rest of them said in unison.
"I thought you said she died in that blast at the Air Force base." Michael whispered urgently.
"She did, but the more I think about, yes, I'm sure it was her I got a flash about. She's in some kind of…swamp, I guess, and she's in danger.
Something clicked behind Max's eyes "Ava!" he proclaimed, getting up from the table.
Shego stirred her coffee, wishing the caffeine would work its way into her system faster. She slept fitfully once the snoring started. Even getting up to close her door hadn't been enough to drown it out. She was used to Neil's quiet log sawing – but this was beyond that. It literally rattle the walls. Some time around 3 in the morning she stomped into the adjoining bedroom, about to bestow Ron with a new name – Snorable!
Her jaw about hit the floor when she realized it was Kim making all the noise.
She ended up back in her own room, holding her sides, trying not to laugh out loud. That was just too much! How she was managing not to wake Stoppable, she had no clue.
None of the mirth helped her get back to sleep.
The attempts at "girl-talk" and holding back her true desire to smack the smug little princess right off the island were starting to get to her. Patience. She had to have patience. At least until Neil could find a way to make her change permanent. Oh, to have her powers and to look like a normal person! Once that happened she'd disappear for good!
Why did that thought fill her with a vague feeling of sadness and guilt?
She put that off to lack of sleep. Maybe she'd catch forty winks once the kids were up and off to the beach or something. That'd be great, she thought. The Lady Chablis was doing a show tonight in Savannah and she tried to catch her every time she was there the last months. Now that was true bitchiness! She smiled, dozing lightly at the kitchen table.
Her eyes snapped open. Something was wrong. She didn't need her powers to access her battle-honed senses. Three things jumped into her mind: Man. Rifle. Silencer.
She was fully awake in an instant, reflexes taking over, saving her life. The bullet emerged from the M4 with a slight 'phut' as she shot backwards from the table. Her legs swung upwards as she back flipped away. There was a loud crash as another black-clad attacker smashed through the kitchen door wielding a strange, boxy looking weapon, also decked out with a large silencer. She spun in mid-flip, sending her bare foot into the man's midsection.
They had found her! And this time they were actually aiming to kill her!
Any pretense of who and what she was went out the window with the blast of green plasma that fried the assault rifle in the first attackers hands. She felt the power surge in her and she didn't need to look at herself to know that she had changed back to her old green self.
Better green than dead!
The man who had smashed down the kitchen door recovered and was leveling his P90 at her. She jumped to one side, springing off the refrigerator before crashing into his chin with her heel. He went down as if he had been shot himself. Dimly, she was aware that more men in black SWAT gear were ready to charge in, blocking any escape that way. She took the only way out she had.
"She's one of them!" She head the nearest shout as she blasted through the interior door into the living room.
More of them were already there waiting for her. She hurled a bolt at his head, knocking the black helmet and visor clean off of him. She sprang from the floor, grabbing the open rafters to swing above the other three men.
A blur of orange hair and pink pajamas joined the fray, along with a black-clad body being thrown from the couple's bedroom. He crashed into another of the attackers. Ron was close behind, his arms and legs flailing in some strange combat pose.
Shego dropped, side-kicking the nearest strike team member. In the same motion she round housed with her flaming fists, causing the man to try and block using his weapon. Her plasma-engulfed hand passed through it like it wasn't there, rendering it inoperable.
There was a shout from outside "We've got him, let's go." The remaining attackers suddenly withdrew, dragging their unconscious companions with them.
Got him? A knot suddenly formed in the pit of her stomach as she rushed for the one door still closed. She nearly ripped it off its hinges as she looked inside.
The room was empty. The door leading to the patio was splintered in two. Beyond she could see the where the screen had been ripped away, leading into the darkness of the early morning.
She screamed, her hands flaring until they were nearly white hot "NEAL!"