Captain Planet: When Twixt Two Lovers Shall Meet

Written by: FossilQueen1984

Disclaimer: Hey again, sorry about the lack of updates, but I was trying to figure what I wanted to happen next. So, I am appeasing my muses and updating. No romance between Cap/Callan and Laila this time, but definitely next chapter. So, I am putting in some long awaited Wheeler/Linka. On with the story!

Chapter 9: New Friends En Route to New York City

Suggested Soundtrack: Silver Inches by Enya, Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin

The landing was going to be rough, Min could sense it already. The lack of landing pods and general shape of the ship suggested two things. First, a plane like landing breaking the sound barrier, and secondly, several days readjusting to gravity was going to seriously hamper her search efforts. How was she going to escape without injury, and without detection. Thinking for a few hours, Min debated teleportation again, and finally decided on assembling an escape pod out of abandoned tech.

Building a sound landing pod out of decades old steel and other odds and ends is not as easy as professionals make it look. Indeed, Minerva got rather cross when pieces would not fit exactly like she wanted them. However, time was of the essence and just before Space Shuttle Atlantis began its final loop around Earth, Min successfully completed her pod.

The total area was not much bigger that the average go-kart, but for a one-person stealth launch, it would do. The banged up metal looked like it would fall apart, but Troika tech had also built up among the Space Race era trash, so Min was able to make it actually work. As soon as she landed though, it would have to be abandoned. She got the feeling that Earthlings would be too susceptible to mass hysteria if it was found. As she was making her final trajectory plans, the astronauts buckled up and alerted Mission Control that re-entry was imminent.

This is it, one small step for me, and one giant leap for kids everywhere, Min thought excitedly as she teleported herself aboard her starskiff. A roar of engines was heard as Min ignited the ion drive, and down, down, down she sped towards Earth.

Faster than comets, faster than Donner and Blitzen she flew! Minerva let out an excited yell, what fun to fly incognito over such a mysterious, slightly sinister planet. Her monitors indicated the shuttle was about 5 minutes from landing at Cape Canaveral. She figured on landing well north of there, in a large forest or near a lake. The Skiff would make a good habitat for fish. Her starskiff began slowing down south of New York City, and she landed in a series of gentle thuds on top of a manmade reservoir in the middle of a well-kept county park.

Removing her helmet, Minerva commented, "Phew! What a trip, and it only took me… three and a half hours. Fishpaste! Hoping it would take a tad longer, but know that I'm here, wonder where I should go?"

Consulting her recorder, the nearest metropolis was New York City, about a two hour drive from her current location. She had money with her, but since Earth was unknown to most Immortalius, she was going to have to use the Money Converter app. Walking along the newly paved path, she relished the sights, taking pictures of the exotic wildflowers and animals.

She was nearly a quarter mile from an overgrown picnic area, when a sudden flash of color knocked her over. The figure was a girl about her own age. The girl was small and scrawny, her jean capris and baby blue blouse were torn and covered with mud stains. Her face was on the thin side, as though she had not eaten in several days. Glancing down at Min, she huffed angrily, "Watch where you're going, Goth!" Standing up, the girl's face was flushed, even though her complexion was darker than usual.

Min frowned, "Goth, what's that? I'm not anything, just Min. Short from Minerva." Offering her hand, the other girl relented and helped the alien to her feet. Min explained that she was spending her summer holidays reporting on local people and places. Min learned that her companion was Tamsin Gregory, fourteen years old from the New York City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. She had run away a week ago because she had gotten into a fight with an older girl at the summer camp they attended. Tamsin was used to getting in fights, but usually with boys when they got too fresh. This particular girl, a one Bethany Garcia, was also a foster child, but she ran around with rough high schoolers who pushed drugs and ran errands for low end mobsters. Bethany had threatened her foster parents and all the other kids at Edward Kennedy Children's Home.

Minerva was shocked by these revelations, how could students partake in illegal activities, and not get caught? She asked about this, and Tamsin explained about the stigma around ratting out gangsters and how for every one locked up, three more would take over. On top of that, the national economy was going through a rough patch, and lots of good programs that kept kids safe were either being cancelled or scaled back. She also explained what a Goth was, and admitted that the whole movement was becoming more acceptable and a parody of itself.

Min asked, "Okay, I understand why you ran away. But don't you think your foster parents are worried about you? And what are you doing for food? People would probably turn you over to the police for stealing food. Do you have any money on you, or do you eat wild berries and fish?"

Tamsin shamefully admitted that she had blown all her money on easy open junk food from corner stores and shady looking gas stations. After eating the food, she would get violently sick and throw up everywhere. She had repeated this process every three days, and now she was hungry again. The new friends ambled away from the picnic area towards an abandoned bathroom. There were several opened cans of "EEZ EATS PASTA FRESH!" and "DOLLOR-RAMA VEGGIE PIZZA! NOW WITH 5 SERVINGS OF VEGGIES!" Min picked up a pizza box with a stick, and began scanning the ingredient list.

"Wheat (wheat germ, sodium benzoate, asparatinefin, folic sulfide), cheese (transcarbonated sheep bladders, cow tails,)….RED 40, Yellow 17… animal byproducts…There's nothing in here but… gross stuff."

Min documented as she showed Tamsin on her recorder what all the ingredients were. "This is all junk, not even good for us humans, or animals for that matter."

Tamsin made a face, I think your right, Min. All that stuff made me sick. Ugh! Why are companies allowed to sell that shit? People could die." Minerva shook her head in agreement.

"Well, probably because lots of people can't afford or won't buy fresher foods, or they don't have access to a nearby supermarket. So, they buy this sort of food instead. For low prices, the company can sell more for a bigger profit. And people consuming this junk get dangerously overweight," she explained.

Tamsin nodded, "Thanks Min. I'm really glad I ran into you. To be honest, I haven't been better off at all. Ever since I ran away, my life has been horrible. The homeless people scare me, and every so often, creepy dudes try to abduct me. Lucky for me, I run away. See? I have a knife." Showing off the Bowie knife, Min conceded having one was a good thing, but that it was not wise to have it out willy-nilly. Tamsin and Minerva headed out towards the main parking lot.

"Min, I wanna go home. My foster folks, Mister and Missus Wheeler are real good folks. I don't get yelled at if they're angry, and if I mess up, I get my internet time revoked. Besides, they used to kick butt all the time. Back in the late 1980's and early 1990's," Tamsin announced softly. Min heartily agreed. So, after locating a near by pay phone, Tamsin dialed a familiar number. A frantic, Eastern European voice picked up on the other end.

"Edward Kennedy Children's Home. This is Linka Wheeler speaking."

"Missus Wheeler?"

"Tamsin… is that you? Praise God, you are safe! Why on Earth did you run away? You're not in trouble, the principal told us about Bethany, and she is getting help upstate. However, we will need to talk when you get back. Who told you to come back?"

"My new friend Min did. She's on holiday from her folks, but I don't think she's from around here. Can she stay with us for a while? She told me why running away was bad. Wanna talk to her?"

"Certainly. Hello, is your name Minh?"

Min frowned, "Its short for Minerva. Minerva Hector. Are you Tamsin's mother?"

"I run the orphanage with my husband, Wheeler. It's not as strange as you think, calling your husband by his nickname. Thank you so much for convincing Tamsin to come back. We will pick the both of you up at Union Station at four o clock, all right?"

Min agreed. With that settled, She used her Money Converter app to change forty Gallifreyan denarii into eighty American dollars. This was more than enough for bus fare into the city.

As the commuter bus lumbered up from the Lower East Side, Min was agog at the mixture of everything! The high rises, the tenements, the local shops and chain stores, how wonderfully mixed up everything was. Music blasted from loudspeakers and people argued on the sidewalks, maybe people were violent towards each other as Immortalius theory held. Tamsin inquired, "Hey Min! Are you all right? You're acting like you've never seen a large city before."

Min chuckled, "Of course I've seen metropolis before, and not this… scrambled though. Everything is a mash of old and new." Her brows furrowed in embarrassment.

Just then, the PA announced, "Next destination is Union Station." The bus lurched to a stop as everyone departed. Inside the ornate terminal, Min started taking pictures.

Tamsin noticed that in her friend's excitement, Min was levitating. She asked, "Wow! How do you do that? Will you teach me?" Shocked, Min forced herself back onto the ground. Shamefaced she rambled, "Fishpaste! I was not doing that on purpose, I mean not everybody levitates on this planet, right? Whoops, shouldn't have said that.."

Laughing, Tamsin pulled her aside, "Its' all right, you know. You don't have to share your magic trick, it's a secret." Min forced herself to smile, that had been a close one!

Just then, a cheerful voice called out, "Tamsin Parker, ready to go home?" Standing just behind them was a lanky man in his mid thirties with short red hair, teal blue eyes, and an excited smile. Tamsin laughed, "Poppa Wheeler!" She gave him a large hug, before introducing her friend.

"Poppa, this is my new friend, Minerva Hector. Min, this is my Poppa, Keith Wheeler." Wheeler grinned at the brunette, "Pleased to meet you, Mister Wheeler." She curtseyed after shaking his hand. After this, they all piled into Wheeler's revamped Suburban hybrid.

Unlike other SUV's, the Chevy Hybrid could get 500 miles per gallon, and could run up to 240 hours on a single charge. The only downside was that it took 6 hours to fully charge, and it ran on cheap gas that did not contain ethanol. As a result, American farmers were revamping crops and turning back towards sustainable farming, much to the disgust of the Agribusiness companies. But, the American public supported this move, over 96% said so. But the other four percent still had a good hold on the market.

Tamsin was telling this to Minerva as Wheeler made the commute back to the city's residential outskirts where the orphanage was located. Min inquired, "So, Mister Wheeler? Tamsin was telling me about how you and your wife kicked butt back in the day. Were you officers or part of the military?"

Wheeler couldn't help but laugh. This little girl was so old fashioned it was adorable. He was about to ask her if she had ever heard about the Planeteers and Captain Planet. He was surprised that she had not. He felt she was kidding, but the serious and curious fire in her multicolored eyes indicated she was not. Nearly everyone on Earth knew about Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The Planeteers had long ago retired and had become private citizens. But, they still remained good friends and would Skype and send letter at least every two or three months. The last real get together was six years ago at his and Linka's wedding.

Min was surprised by Wheeler's adventure as a Planeteer. His mention of the superhero gave her pause, did he know if Captain Planet's origins? She asked about it, and got yet another vague answer. Laughing, he apologized, "Sorry Minerva, but none of us Planeteers ever asked him or Gaia. Doubt they know anything, either. Don't worry."

Min let out a loud sigh typical of fourteen year olds and pouted in the back seat. Through the rear view window, Wheeler caught a glace of Min's reflection and was thrown for a loop. The way her brows furrowed in frustration was exactly how Cap looked whenever he had been vexed by any of the villains he had faced. Come to think of it, they had a very similar speech pattern. Was it a coincidence? He would discuss it with Linka later, as they were coming up to the entrance.