Chapter 32 – Aversion and Conversion
Jungle Trek, Day 2 - 2pm West Africa Time
The Congo River snaked through the jungle, and the Doc Squad hugged its shores as they cut through reeds and deep green undergrowth. Lauren Lewis strode purposefully in front, a full twenty paces ahead of the others. Every few minutes, her entire body gave an inadvertent twitch.
Bo followed behind, head hung low. Every time Lauren twitched, Bo flinched. It was like a synchronized, involuntary post-traumatic dance. Bo felt guilty about her momentary weakness the night before. Both her fight and flight reflexes had abandoned her at the sight of that creepy crawly monstrosity. "But really," she thought to herself. "REALLY?" Bo couldn't see how Lauren didn't understand. When faced with giant spiders, all reason and loyalty goes out the window.
"Lauren will forgive you, you know," Dyson said, letting out a deep chuckle. He hiked a still sleeping Kenzi up to a more secure spot on his shoulders. Hale had overdone it a bit with his Siren whistle, leaving Kenzi stuck in an extended REM cycle, punctuated by the occasional snore and a few mumbled Russian curse words. "She'll definitely forgive you, but it might take a while. You're in the doghouse. So to speak."
"Why are you even talking to me? I don't like you."
"I'm just trying to help."
"Help?" Bo laughed. "How am I ever supposed to take you seriously, EVER again? You fainted, Dyson. The big bad wolf, fainting at the sight of a spider."
"In my defense," he replied, "I had a bad childhood experience with a spider in the early 300s."
Bo looked over at the wolf, eyes narrowed. Still relatively new to the Fae world, she was often caught off guard by certain offhand comments Fae made. Like, for example, being a child in the 300s. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself saying, "Go on."
Dyson grinned, and began his tale. "There was a Djeinne attack in our village, when I was still very young. I was bitten. I almost died." He pulled up his sleeve to display a strange tattoo – to Bo it looked like some sort of runic bar code. "This was tattooed onto my skin by a shaman. It counteracts the poison…I still have it in my blood, you see. They never found the Djienne's heart, and I was one of only a few who survived long enough to be marked." He pulled his sleeve back down, and hiked Kenzi up again.
"Intense."
"Yes, it was."
"But you're still a little bitch."
Dyson laughed heartily, causing Lauren to turn and shoot them both a nasty look. He waved to her. She responded by flipping him off. "But going back to my original point," Dyson continued, "she'll forgive you. She can't help it. She likes to act tough, but really her heart's bigger than this whole continent." He looked Bo up and down. "She's way too good for you, Succubus."
"Chush sobach'ya," Kenzi mumbled in her sleep. Bo smiled – somehow her best friend had managed to defend Bo's honor, even in her sleep. Bo was becoming something of an expert in Russian curse words - 'bull shit' being one that frequently erupted from Kenzi's mouth.
They kept walking. Occasionally, Hale would sneeze. Occasionally, Ciara would trip over a root and let out a hilariously British string of swear words. The kilometers dragged on.
"How long have you known Lauren, anyway?" Bo finally asked.
Dyson took a deep breath, and did some simple math. "Almost six years."
"How did you meet?"
"As a matter of fact, the first time I ever saw Lauren was at the First Annual Dark vs. Light Community Softball Game."
Bo actually stopped walking. "The what?"
Dyson laughed, and gave Bo a shove to get her moving again. "Ever since the new peace treaty was signed – almost a decade ago – the Morrigan and the Ashes have been looking for ways to foster a 'spirit of cooperation and community' between the sides. Some genius in the old Ash's Human Resources department thought that a 'friendly' softball game would be a good idea."
"Let me guess…it wasn't very friendly?"
"To say the least." Dyson chuckled. "Lauren hadn't been working for the Ash very long, but he brought her to the park with him. Officially she was there as the Light's athletic trainer, in case anyone suffered any minor injuries. Really, I think he brought her to give her a crash course in Light/Dark relations. I'll never forget the first time I saw her, standing there slack-jawed with this ridiculously tiny first aid kit in her hands. Between all the bench clearing brawls and some rather aggressive pitching and base running, she was extremely busy throughout the day."
"My first time up to bat, I struck out. Somehow I'd managed to miss the ball entirely on my first three swings, and somehow on the last swing I also managed to hit myself in the face with the bat – surely due to my own incompetence and NOT because the catcher for the Dark was a Mesmer named Vex. As if it wasn't embarrassing enough to break my own nose in front of the Light Fae elders, I had to go with my tail between my legs and get cleaned up by Lauren. While she was wiping the blood off, I got a lecture from the Doctor on my improper batting stance and 'pussy grip'."
"Pussy grip?"
"Her words, not mine," Dyson replied. "In fact, as I recall, her first words to me were 'hey dumbass'."
Bo laughed. "So she wasn't intimidated at all? A human in the middle of all those Fae?"
"I didn't say that," Dyson corrected. "You could tell that she was nervous, but she was putting on a brave face and trying to hide it. With everyone else she was completely deferential. I'm not sure why exactly she picked me out to insult."
"It was probably your beard."
"Nah, not the beard. It's so rugged and manly." Dyson smoothed it out with one hand, still gripping Kenzi with the other. Bo just rolled her eyes. "Anyway I told her about Vex, and she gave me an amulet that would block his Mesmer abilities. I threw it around my neck and the next time I was up I adjusted my batting stance and grip, and I hit a homerun. She gave me this look like, 'I told you so', we bumped fists, and have been friends ever since."
"Cute story." Bo said. She delivered the line with sarcasm, but really she was interested to hear as much about Lauren as she could.
"I asked her out, once."
"You WHAT?" Bo hissed.
"This was three years ago. I busted a witch for illegal distribution of a powerful Love Potion. Her extremely vindictive mother slipped me an overdose of the potion in my mid-morning cup of coffee. I had to go to the lab, to check with Lauren on some test results for a different case. I saw her, and fell deeply, deeply in love. I asked her out. She laughed in my face for about six minutes straight, then told me to go away. Twenty minutes later I came back with flowers and chocolates, singing 'Let's Get it On' by Marvin Gaye. She thought I was messing with her, and kicked me out of the lab again. It didn't occur to her that something might actually be wrong until I came back two hours later with 'I love you Lauren' tattooed in Runic characters on my back, then proceeded to dry hump her leg."
Bo stared blankly, mouth agape.
"I still have that tattoo also, but I covered it up with something else. Anyway, she ran some tests and whipped up a vaccine, and I was back to normal a few hours later. She hasn't let me live it down. If we're working together, or there's a quiet moment, every once in a while she'll start humming 'Let's Get it On'." Dyson glanced over at Bo. "She really likes you. I can tell."
"I hope so," Bo replied.
"I mean it. I've never seen her act so…girly before."
"You say 'girly' like it's a swear word."
"I don't mean it in a bad way. I'm happy for her. Thrilled, even." He stopped walking, and grabbed Bo's shoulder. "I swear to the gods Bo, if you break her heart I will break you in half. Do you understand?"
"Is this the big brother treatment?"
"It's the best friend treatment. I'm sure this one," he hiked Kenzi up, "will be saying the same thing to Lauren soon, if she hasn't already."
"Good point," Bo chuckled. "But none of that is going to matter if I can't get her to talk to me. She might have already dumped my ass."
Dyson scoffed. "You guys were made for all that fairy tale nonsense. One run in with a scary monster isn't going to change that. Don't most human fairy tales have big scary monsters anyway?"
Bo forced a laugh. "I'm pretty sure that Sleeping Beauty never got attacked by a giant spider."
Kenzi's eyes shot open at that last word. "Spider? SPIDER? KILL IT KILL IT, KILL THE MOTHERFUCKER! ALL SPIDERS MUST DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She yanked at Dyson's hair, pulling out a clump of it before passing out again.
"OW-CH." Dyson growled, rubbing at the small bald patch on his skull. "She ripped my hair out! How bad is it?" He bent over so Bo could take a look.
Bo tapped her chin. "Hmmm…it looks like you've got a three by three inch bald spot…."
"Are you serious?" Dyson almost dropped Kenzi.
Bo rolled her eyes. "Man up, Wolf, you're fine." She ruffled his hair a bit. "There. You can't even tell." She turned to begin walking again, and almost ran smack into a very annoyed Lauren.
"Is there a problem back here?" Lauren asked, her voice a remarkable facsimile of a stern ninth grade English teacher.
Bo shrank back a little. "No ma'am."
"Are you sure?" Lauren frowned.
"Y-yes?"
"I ask because you stopped, Bo. We still have eleven miles to hike before we reach camp. We cannot afford to STOP and pick at Dyson's hair like a grooming chimpanzee. Do you understand?"
'Stern Lauren' was having quite an impact on Bo's nether regions. Bo tried to ignore the sensation. "Yes," she replied. But she was unable to keep the sultry tone from her voice, and subconsciously licked her lips.
Lauren's eyes narrowed. Dyson took the cue, and started walking, leaving the two women to themselves. "Are you getting turned on right now?" Lauren asked.
"Ummm…" Bo's eyes wandered toward the river, trying to avoid the question.
"Unbelievable. You're unbelievable." Lauren shook her head.
"What do you want from me?" Bo threw her hands up. "I'm a sexual creature, okay? I'm a sexual creature who wants to have sex with you. You could probably say any word in the English language, and it would turn me on."
"Any word?" Lauren raised an eyebrow.
"If you said it the right way, yeah probably," Bo admitted.
Lauren thought for a moment. She leaned in and, in her most seductive voice, whispered in Bo's ear, "Pimple. Pustule. Panties." With each aspirated 'p', Lauren's warm breath struck Bo's ear and yes, it was turning her on. "Ooze. Moist. Coagulate. Phallus. Slacks." Bo licked her lips again, as Lauren made each and every word sound like heaven. And by the time Lauren finished her list with the word "Crevice", Bo was just about ready to rip the Doc's clothes of and start exploring some crevices of her own.
Lauren leaned back, and looked at Bo. The Succubus' chest was heaving with deep breaths. "You have GOT to be kidding." She watched, highly amused, as Bo blinked and opened her eyes. "I just listed off the most common terms on Psychology Today's 'Word Aversion' list, and you look like you're ready to jump into bed with me. You never cease to amaze."
"So," Bo regrouped, "Does that mean you're not upset at me anymore?
Lauren thought about this for a moment. A small breeze blew by, tickling her skin and making her twitch again. "No." She turned on her heel and walked away.
Bo sighed. "Weirdest fairy tale I've ever read," she said to no one in particular. She jogged to catch up with the others.
The Dal Riata, 8am Eastern Standard Time
The Morrigan and The Ash sat upon the bar stools at the Dal Riata. The Morrigan swiveled back and forth impatiently, and tapped her stiletto heel against the bar. "Do you know why Trick asked us to come here?"
Val frowned. "No idea."
"I don't like the idea of being summoned by a Light Fae bartender. It's so…common, to say nothing of its impact on my credibility."
"Without Trick, we wouldn't have found the last of the stones. I think we owe him our gratitude and the benefit of the doubt. Don't you?"
The Morrigan reached over the bar, and grabbed a bottle of vodka. She poured herself and Val a shot. "I don't give anyone the benefit of anything. Obviously everyone is inferior to me, darling. To us, I mean." The Morrigan grinned slyly, and held out a glass. "To being the bosses."
"To being in charge." Val clinked the Morrigan's glass, and downed her drink. Trick emerged from his store room, smiling in a friendly fashion.
"Your excellencies. Glad you could make it." He set a box down in the far corner of the bar.
"Are you going to tell us what this is about, old man? Or are we here to help you stock up for an enthralling evening of serving watered down beer to alcoholic leprechauns?" The Morrigan smirked.
Trick ignored her, and turned to the Ash. "Arthur Naia," he said.
Val winced. The Naia case was still unsolved, and for every second it remained so she lost more and more standing with the Light Elders. "What about him?"
Trick held up a folder. "Before she left, Lauren was kind enough to show me the autopsy report. She concluded that his death was caused by fire from an indeterminable source. She includes photos, that indicate a very interesting pattern of burn scars."
"Are we playing CSI now, Trick? Have you abandoned your quest for the perfect pint in favor of a little detective fantasy?" The Morrigan snarked. "What do you know about forensics?"
Trick frowned. "I don't need to know anything about forensics to know that I've seen a similar pattern before."
Val and the Morrigan both leaned forward. Trick had their full attention. "Where?" Val breathed.
"I've seen it twice. The first was, as in the case of Naia, of indeterminable origin. But the second was the direct result of a friend of mine being burned," He paused for dramatic effect, "By a Garuda."
The Morrigan rolled her eyes. "If you're old enough to remember a Garuda, then you're too senile to contribute to this conversation. Everyone knows the Garuda died out thousands of years ago."
"Are we sure about that?" Trick raised an eyebrow.
The Ash shook her head. "The Garuda feed off of strife between the Light and the Dark. But right now, we're in an unprecedented stretch of peace and cooperation. There's no way a Garuda could survive."
"Unless it found an alternate food source," Trick replied.
The Morrigan caught the drift right away. "What, humans?" She scoffed. "How do you go from feeding off of Fae to feeding off of humans? That's like going from Kobe beef to rump roast! It's the difference between gourmet and junk food!"
"An unlimited supply of junk food," Val noted. "Humans outnumber Fae by a significant margin. It would certainly be easier for a Garuda to feed."
"You have absolutely no proof of any of this. The Garuda are dead." The Morrigan was becoming annoyed. "Give me some solid evidence sweetie, or shove your theories where the sun doesn't shine."
Trick smirked. "If there is a Garuda out there, we have methods of tracking it down." He gestured for the women to follow him. He grabbed a large book from the countertop, and they headed into Trick's study.
"What is that smell?" The Morrigan covered her nose and mouth with her palm. She didn't have to wait long for her answer, as the chair swiveled around to reveal a pudgy, poorly groomed cyclops, grinning from ear to ear.
"A most pleasant evening to yon maidens fair. Eye am Ronald, and eye am del-eye-ted to see you." He giggled at his own cleverness as he opened his briefcase and removed a laptop.
The Morrigan directed a piercing gaze at Trick. "You've got to be kidding me."
Trick grimaced. "Eye…I mean, I am not. Ronald here is going to help us find the Garuda."
"For a small fee, of course. Just a trifle." Ronald winked at Val. Or maybe it was a blink. It was impossible to tell. He turned his attention back to the screen and began typing. He snorted, and spat a loogie onto Trick's floor.
Val dug around in her purse, looking for her pocketbook. One benefit to being the Ash was having unfettered access to a nearly unlimited slush fund, acquired over the centuries by powerful and nefarious Light Fae. "How much do you want?"
The cyclops looked up at her, his eye narrowed. "I don't understand, madam. I would have thought Mr. Fitzpatrick had laid out the terms of our agreement for yon beauties – otherwise I would not have come."
Val and The Morrigan turned to Trick – who had suddenly become very preoccupied with his fingernails. He mumbled something under his breath.
"Is there something you need to share with the rest of the class, Trick?" Val asked. She was rapidly losing her patience.
Trick cleared his throat, and looked down at his boots. One was scuffed. He'd have to polish it later, if he was still alive. "Ah. Well. Ronald agreed to help us, in return for…a kiss."
"Hee hee hee." Roland giggled, clapping his hands together. Val's annoyance quickly morphed into disgust.
"Not a chance in the seven hells," The Morrigan answered for both of them. "I'd rather dip my head in untreated bog water than run the risk of catching lip fungus from this festering pile of waste."
Ronald's face turned beet red, but he plowed on. "Why your greatness, I would never ask nor expect one such as yourself to deign kiss mine own lips. No, twas something else I had in mind…." He looked back and forth rapidly between The Morrigan and The Ash, and waggled his eyebrow.
Val was the first to catch on.
"You want us to kiss each other?" She asked, incredulously. He nodded his head and giggled again. Her jaw dropped as she turned to face the Morrigan.
"Weeelll…" The Morrigan grinned slyly, looking over Val from head to toe. She raised an eyebrow, and licked her lips. "I could do worse."
"Ugh." Val rolled her eyes. Before anyone knew what was happening she was behind the cyclops, with Trick's letter opener to his throat. "Listen to me you little shit," she hissed. "I am the Ash. You do what I say. I don't ask, I tell. And I'm telling you that if you don't help us, you're going to have one ear, one arm, and one ball to match your one eye. Are we clear?"
"Y-y-yyyyy-yes." The Cyclops whimpered, nodding frantically with his eye squeezed shut.
"Good." Val shoved him away, and grabbed the book out of Trick's hand. She slammed it onto the desk in front of the cyclops, and turned it to a page that the barkeeper had bookmarked – a finely detailed drawing of a Garuda from the early 1st century AD. She grabbed the back of Ronald's head and shoved his face toward the picture. "Find one. Now."
"Yes ma'am." Ronald frantically began typing, his eye whipping back and forth along the screen as he searched out security cameras, helicopter footage, online video, news footage…any image he could possibly get his paws on. Val circled the desk, and sat back down next to the Morrigan.
"That was hot," The Morrigan teased, as Val rubbed her forehead with her fingers.
"Shut up."
"I mean it. I think I just came."
"Shut. Up."
"Honestly, I want you to bend me over the table and f –"
Val flicked her wrist, and the Morrigan's voice went silent. The leader of the Dark cackled noiselessly, as The Ash steamed next to her. She poured herself a shot from the bottle of whiskey on Trick's table, and downed it. Just as she was about to ask Trick where he kept the Aspirin, the cyclops sat back in his chair and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I found him."
Val and the Morrigan circled the desk, to look over Donald's shoulder. Trick nudged his way next to them. All stood, staring at the screen, mouths agape. Val flicked her wrist again, returning the Morrigan's voice.
"That's him?" She rubbed her throat. "Really? That's the big bad Garuda?"
"This is not what I was expecting." Val shook her head. "At all."
"Come on," Trick gently grabbed Val's elbow. "We need to get to him before he leaves."
Jungle Trek, Day 2 – 6pm West Africa Time
Lauren took a deep breath, and exhaled deliberately, taking time to really feel the air as it whooshed from her lungs. That was a medical term, of course. Whooshed.
She felt good.
Really good.
Almost TOO good. The involuntary tics had stopped. And as the day had worn on, she could feel a change happening within her body. She couldn't quite explain it, other than to say she felt strong. Even after hours and hours, and miles and miles of travel, it seemed that the deeper into the jungle they walked, the better she felt. While the others still dragged behind, she felt as though she could run the rest of the distance and not even break a sweat. She cracked her knuckles, made two fists, and punched at the air.
"Boxing the invisible man, are you?" Ciara asked.
"He insulted my family." Lauren grinned and threw a haymaker. "I need to show him who's boss."
"Hey guys hold up!" Hale shouted. "Kenzi's finally coming around!"
Lauren and Ciara backtracked to where Kenzi was seated against a large rock, blinking her eyes and groaning. Lauren kneeled next to her, and opened Kenzi's eyelid with a thumb to check her pupils. "Kenzi? Can you hear me?"
"Why are you yelling? And why are there six of you? One of you is bad enough." She groaned, her head flopping to one side. "I feel like someone smashed my skull with a hammer." Lauren grabbed a small canteen from her bag and twisted the lid, holding it up to Kenzi's lips.
"Here, drink this." She tilted it back, as Kenzi sipped greedily.
"What is it?" Bo asked, sitting on the grass next to Lauren.
"An alkaloid plant toxin containing ethylphenol, quinic acid, dimethyl disulfide, diacaffeolyquinic acid, acetymethylcarinol, trigonelline, and water."
"Well, I understood 'water'," Bo muttered. "Is this some freaky power juice you cooked up in your lab?"
Lauren grinned slightly, as Kenzi grabbed the bottle and started gulping. "Most people refer to it as 'coffee'."
"Coffeeeeee." Kenzi sighed contentedly, handing the canteen back to Lauren. Finally she managed to open her eyes enough to look around at the team members hovering over her. "I had the strangest dream. You were there." She pointed to Dyson. "And you." She pointed to Ciara. "And all of you and…holy cheesus I saw the freaking Arnold Schwarzenegger of spiders. Was that real?"
"Uh…" Hale looked for the right words to explain, but Lauren was distracted by something else. Somewhere far above their heads and to the east, she could hear a faint flapping sound. She got up and wandered away from the group, following the noise. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. Hale cleared his throat. "Well li'l mama, what happened is that I saved your life…"
"It's a lie Kenzi, don't listen to him," Lauren said, staring up at the sky and searching for the source of the noise. "Hey Dyson, do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Dyson followed Lauren's eyes toward the sky.
"It sounds like a flock of birds, or something."
"All I hear is Hale trying to bullshit his way into being a hero." He got up and stood next to Lauren, leaning on his walking stick for support. He shot her a concerned glance. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine I just…you really don't hear that? Wait look…I can see them now!" She pointed to the sky, where twenty or so miniscule dots were flying in formation high above the jungle. "You're a wolf! What happened to your wolf senses?"
"Lauren I think maybe you ought to lie down and…oh!" He used his hands to shield his eyes from the sun. "Yeah you're right! What the…how did you notice those things? They're miles away!"
"It's because I pay attention." She elbowed him lightly in the gut. "What do you think they are? I did extensive research of the area's flora and fauna prior to setting up my research base, and I don't know of any indigenous species of bird that behaves that way. The flocking pattern…it's very odd."
"They're moving fast, too," Dyson noted. What was once a series of tiny specs on the horizon was proving to be an 'H' shaped formation of very large…
"Bats." Lauren gulped. "They're not birds, they're bats."
Dyson frowned. As the flock grew closer, he got his first good look at the wing shape. "Those aren't just bats."
"Occultus chiroptera desmodus rotundus," Lauren whispered. "Oh shit." She turned and sprinted back to the rest of the group. "Everybody in the water! Now! Get in the water!"
"Are you crazy?" Bo yelled. "You want us to jump in the Congo River, with the snakes and the leeches and the who-knows-what crawling up our shorts?"
"Trust me," Lauren heaved Kenzi up by her armpits. "What's coming is much worse." She gestured over her shoulder, and Bo caught sight of the bats for the first time.
"What the?"
"Congolese Vampires. A very deadly type of UnderFae. Even the smallest drop of poison can be lethal within twenty seconds." She grabbed their backpacks and began tossing them under a natural shelter of buttress roots. "Once they've sucked all your blood they can transform into a perfect facsimile of the person they've killed. Walk, talk, and look the same as you. Now, are you going to help me? They're afraid of the water, we need to get Kenzi to the river."
Bo sprang into action, grabbing her best friend's feet. She and Lauren shuffled towards the river, while Kenzi shook her head. "Wait a minute. I thought vampires were supposed to be all sexy and broody and sparkle in the sun and tell me how beautiful I am! I saw the movies! Edward Cullen, goddamnit!"
Bo stopped moving to shoot Kenzi a look, almost making Lauren drop the human on her butt. "What?!" Kenzi shouted.
Bo shook her head. "I just lost so much respect for you…"
"Bitch, please. I saw that copy of '50 Shades' under your pillow."
"HEY!" Lauren shouted. "You're BOTH have horrible taste in books, now can we PLEASE get moving?"
"Twenty bucks says she's a comics geek," Kenzi muttered. Bo nodded, and they got moving again. The others were already at the river's edge, having stowed the rest of the gear. The women gently laid Kenzi on the shore. The bats were within a few hundred yards, and to Lauren the sound of their wings beating was as loud as thunder. Her team began wading into the shallows of the riverbed, accompanied by an occasional complaint from Kenzi. Lauren was about to join them…but a nagging voice stopped her in her tracks. 'Why run?' It seemed to say. 'You can take those freaks'. So instead of doing the smart thing, the logical thing, and hide in the river until the bats were gone, she grabbed Dyson's hiking stick, ran into a clearing, and held the five foot wooden pole high in the air.
"Lauren!" Bo hissed. "Get back here." The bats were less than 100 yards away, screeching like banshees, each one the size of a bulldog. Lauren winked at Bo then turned her attention back to the bats, spinning the hiking stick like a baton twirler. Bo made to leap out of the water and help, but Dyson grabbed her arm and held her back. "What are you doing? She's going to get herself killed!"
Dyson shook his head, mouth agape. "No. Look."
Bo looked. And her expression turned from one of terror to one of dumbfounded amazement. Lauren wasn't 'twirling' the hiking stick. The world 'twirling' wasn't nearly strong enough to describe what was happening – it was like the pole was a propeller blade, and Lauren's arm was the motor. Bo couldn't even see the damn stick, that's how fast it was moving. It was like 'Majorettes on Acid' meets Bruce Lee. Bo covered her face with a palm, peeking through her fingers, as the first of the monstrosities dive bombed her girlfriend.
But they didn't even get close.
Lauren's whirling twirling stick of death chopped the first wave into pieces – safely at arm's length, she kept the deadly fangs at a distance. Lauren swapped hands without ever breaking speed or concentration, taking out five more bats before the rest of the Doc Squad could even blink. The Doctor was grinning now, as she tossed the stick in the air, caught it, whirled around and took out two more UnderFae with a baseball swing to rival a roid-ed up Barry Bonds. She clocked another one with an overhead smash, one more with a golf swing, another with a backhand slice – until finally the few remaining members of the colony flew away, screeching and squawking in fear. Lauren struck a kung fu pose and watched them go.
The others stood in stunned silence, up to their waists in scum-ridden river water.
It was Kenzi who finally spoke up.
"Crouching tiger hidden BADASS!" She shouted. "How the hell did you DO that?"
Lauren shook her head, as if emerging from some sort of trance. She looked at the others with something like confused awe. "I have no idea," she replied, standing up straight. Dyson waded out of the water, and she handed him back his hiking stick. "Sorry. There's a little blood on it."
"That's ok," Dyson replied. He couldn't think of anything else to say.
Lauren cleared her throat. "We should…uh…we should probably get moving again. It's getting dark, and we're almost to my old research camp." She began walking again, following the same path up the bank of the Congo River. The others followed, dripping water as they went, not really sure what else to do. A million thoughts ran through Bo's mind, but one in particular stood out clearly above all the others. Bo grinned, and whispered in Kenzi's ear.
"I told you she could do amazing things with those fingers."