Ballyhoo

Hello, everyone, and thank you all so much for waiting for me like this. I've been incredibly busy, and I hadn't been able to get it touch with my co-author, Spadefire, but I'm back on track and ready to churn out the next couple of chapters. Thanks again!

Kimiko Tohomiko awoke with a jolt. She sat up in bed, lightly brushing a hand to her forehead to check for a temperature. Though having a fire elemental caged inside her did make her have hot flashes every now and then, a fever was a possibility. But other than the thin layer of sweat, she felt herself beginning to cool down. So the dream had been a dream, and nothing more. She laid back down, trying to settle her mind, but nothing could still the flurry of thoughts kicked up by the dream. After another half hour of attempts at dozing, she sighed, got up and pulled on a cardigan. At least this gave her an excuse to work on those shipping orders for her papa.

Raimundo gasped. He had just awoken from a strange dream that seemed all too real. He slowed his breath, trying and failing to process what had just happened. Making no attempt to go back to sleep, he leapt out of bed to grab some Pop-Tarts and get to the computer. He needed to talk to Kimiko.

Omi was not unused to visions. He knew that others had experienced them, and he understood that he might as well. But the dream he had just had did not feel like a vision, like some hazy future event. It felt like he was getting a glimpse into something that was happening right as he slept, beneath the foundation of the mortal plane. And it would have to be dealt with accordingly. He doubted that the other three would be awake at this hour, so instead of trying to contact them he began to meditate on what he had seen. When dawn came he would consult the others.

Clay awoke silently and with little movement, as he always did. He remained still, brain trying to churn past the fog of sleep and crash headlong into the chill of reality. Once he was sure that he was fully awake, he got out of bed and glanced at the grandfather clock at the far end of his bedroom. Three in the morning. Oh, well. He didn't need sleep when he had coffee, and he had research to do.

"Rented out the whole back section-"

"- do you suppose he's doing here?"

"Millionaire-"

"Billionaire, from what I've heard-"

"- very solitary. Not much of a playboy, according to-"

Snippets of conversation caught in the wind and carried to Raimundo, who couldn't help but smile. The people on the pier were discussing his best friend, who had suggested the seaside restaurant as a meeting place. Open tables on a huge beachside pier made up the seating, and the restaurant itself was a small building where the food was made and brought out. No security cameras, no hidden mikes, just a perfect place for the four of them to talk about what they had dreamt. Kimiko had been hesitant to talk about it in the Citadel, and Omi had agreed that maybe meeting in public was the best course of action. So it was on a warm, sunny Friday Raimundo found himself headed for the lone table at the very back of The Pier, a Keystone favorite of his, hands in his pockets and wind carrying him the surprised chatter of those watching him sit across from Clay.

"Clay! How are you?" Raimundo asked, grinning jovially. His attire was a green t-shirt under a fake letterman jacket that took a few years off him, plus cargo shorts and Toms. Clay wore sunglasses and a black jacket, a black muscle shirt, worn blue jeans and a deceptively sturdy pair of cowboy boots that had traversed on roofs as well as streets.

"Just fine, thanks," Clay replied, nodding at the Brazilian. "And yourself?"

"Doing great. Just beat my high score on Super Smash Brothers Brawl III," he replied, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back.

"Aren't you a little old for video games?" The voice made Raimundo's smile grow, and he glanced over at a Japanese woman wearing a bright red blazer and a black pencil skirt, as well as some knee-high boots that hinted at an inner childishness.

"Kimiko! Aren't you a vision," Raimundo said, standing to pull out her chair. "And as for your question, you're never too old for video games. You of all people should know that, running a video game company yourself and all."

Kimiko smiled. "Point taken. Where's Omi?"

"I am here," Omi replied, looking a little sick as he approached them. He clutched his stomach, paler than usual. Even in the street clothes he wore when in public- a navy t-shirt with a golden dragon on it, jeans, a beanie and sneakers- he looked a little off.

"You okay, Omi?" asked Kimiko, concern written all over her face. Omi sat down, sighing in relief and slumping into the chair.

"The driver of my taxi was most… overzealous. I do not like normal transportation, you know."

"Then why have us meet out here?" Raimundo asked, taking a seat again.

"Um, hi." The four turned to see their waitress, a young woman whose nervousness was apparent. "May I take your order?"

"Coffee. Black. An' keep it comin'," Clay said, barely glancing at her.

"One of those big muffins, with all the cinnamon on top, and a Coke," Raimundo said, flashing her a smile.

"I'll have half-caf/decaf non-fat latte, with a shot of chocolate syrup," Kimiko said, kicking Raimundo under the table.

"Just a glass of water, please," Omi said. "Actually, some pancakes as well, if you make them."

"We do," the waitress replied, nerves beginning to calm. "I'll have your orders out in a few minutes." Once she had walked out of hearing distance, Clay turned back to the others and answered Raimundo's previous question.

"Given th' condition of our current situation, Ah think it was best. An' we're all here now, so let's get down to business," Clay said, glancing at each of them in turn with a steely gaze. Even with sunglasses on, each of them could feel his eyes pausing on each Dragon. "The dreams. Ladies first."

"I saw… an inventor, of sorts. A scientist, brilliant, driven, but angry, because he had been wronged. Or at least, he felt like he had. And he was held captive, but he wanted out. And was getting closer to it. I mean, it was all hazy… it wasn't like I could actually see him," Kimiko added. "Rai?"

"I saw an alien. Well, kind of. Like a big face in the cosmos, screaming to be let go. He was furious, and his efforts to escape were screwing with the fundamentals of the universe. What'd you get, Omi?" he asked, glancing at the water elemental.

"In my dream, the being was an ancient deity. He was more a force than a physical being, but he was fettered nonetheless. Though, he was managing to claw his way out when I saw him. And you, Clay?" Everyone turned to their strongest member, who had been silently gauging the dreams as they spoke.

"Ah only saw shadows. But there was a prisoner in 'em, jailed fer his crimes." He fell silent as the waitress approached, delivering their drinks and food. He waited until she was out of earshot again before continuing. "But he'd almost escaped. An' it was an almost that couldn't be stopped."

The four young adults sat in silence, trying to contemplate what their respective dreams meant while finishing off their meals. "Maybe we should check in with DOJO about it?" Raimundo suggested, brushing muffin crumbs from the front of his shirt. "He might have something in his database about all of this."

"DOJO is a logic engine. An Artificial Intelligence, sure, but something like this? I know my way around computers, and no computer- not even DOJO- will figure this out if we can't. Besides, it's supernatural, and even though DOJO has a nose for Wu, he won't be able to really process this," Kimiko replied. Raimundo pouted, but didn't stay too morose.

"Okay. So, until we figure out what the freaky dreams mean…" the Brazillian began.

"… We will continue our daily duties as protectors of Cathedral," Omi finished. "And, for you three, your daily jobs, correct?"

"Speakin' of, Ah got a meetin' at 11. Keep in touch." With that, Clay stood and walked away.

"I wish to return to my meditations," Omi said, nodding. "I wish you both a good day!" He, too, left, leaving Kimiko and Raimundo. He glanced at Kimiko, smiling coyly.

"So… got any other plans for the day?"

Kimiko didn't bother repressing her smile, and pretended to check her phone calendar. "Nope, looks like I'm free."

"Hey, Jack. What's new?" Inque sat in front of an outdated laptop, staring into the web camera attached on top. "Other than getting your butt kicked by the Dragons, of course."

"Shut up, Inque. They've taken you to jail more often than they've gotten me," came the reply. On the other end of the web connection sat a young man clothed in black, with very pale skin and a shock of red hair, matching his eyes.

"Only because I'm the better escape artist. If I wasn't so good at getting out of jail, I wouldn't let them take me so often. But let's get down to business, shall we?"

Jack nodded. "Fine. Friend, foe and foundation. What does that mean?"

"It's easy. They're needed to isolate, define, and then bind the Dragons. Just take something- a special trinket or a meaningful object- from a friend and a foe. The foes can be us, but we'll need to dig deep for that. As for foundation, it's where they began. Something from where they grew up, or a childhood toy. Real foundation, if you can get it, since we're tying them in to Wuya's spell pretty hard. We'll need as much as we can get."

"Hmph. That'll be a lot of digging… computer-wise, I mean. But I can take care of getting the information out to you all if you can get the objects," Jack replied.

Inque nodded. "Excellent. So you'll relay the information to the other two and we can get to work." Jack nodded back, and Inque cut off the connection. Closing the laptop, she swiveled around to Scrawl, who had been watching the exchange. "I'm supposed to be getting the objects for Earthshaker. That'll leave you free to try and get back Krona's egg from the Dragons. If they have him, anyone can take him."

"I still don't get what's so important about this Krona," Scrawl said, crossing his arms. Inque reopened the computer and pulled up a file on Krona, with a picture of the egg they had stolen.

"Krona is an immortal. His lifespan reaches back to the Guardians of the Universe." Scrawl's eyes widened, and Inque nodded. "Big powers at play, here. Krona was a scientist, but he was a little less… moral than others. He was trying to find out the secrets of the Big Bang- how everything began. In doing so, he killed off a bunch of galaxies, several races, bad stuff. Since they couldn't kill him, the other Guardians took away his physical form. Banished him to wander the universe forever. And since he's immortal, forever's a long, long time.

"So Krona, a comet now, watches civilizations grow, rise, die, and do it over and over again. He wanted the secret to creation, but all he's getting is death, over and over again. Obviously, he was bored. So he got out- I still don't know how, just that he did- and he continued trying to figure out the secret of creation. Now, Green Lantern Hal Jordan stopped him the first time-"

"First time?"

"Oh yeah. He kept working, kept trying to figure out what it was that made the universe tick. He escaped countless times, always working, searching for answers that weren't there. Then he finally got it. Each universe is alive."

"Each?"

"Hush, I'm telling a story. Anyway, yeah, there's more than ours. But right as he figured it out, he was torn from the universe. The League was there, along with… others. After his revelation, the closest he'd ever gotten to getting to the secrets of the universe was there. But he didn't. At least, not all the way. They managed to trap him in a cosmic egg, (which is what the Heylin had us steal.) The idea is that it will grow into a universe, he'll get to watch it being born, and all his questions will be answered. However, the JLA was supposed to have it by now, so the Dragons taking it impedes our progress. We're funneling crap readings through their security, which we can only do for so long."

Scrawl nodded. "Huh. So, if this falls into the wrong hands- which, I guess, are Chase and Wuya's hands- they could do… what with it?"

Inque facepalmed and Scrawl winced. She spoke again, this time slowly, like she was explaining something to a simpleton. "Wuya is a witch, right?" Scrawl nodded. "Right. So if she can, say, use a spell to sap Krona's power into her and Chase, then what?"

"Then… they… get rich?" he asked.

"Exactly," Inque said, nodding. "Rich and powerful. World-domination powerful. And as much as I'd like a cut of that, they'll kill too many people."

"I thought you didn't care about people dying?" Scrawl said, crossing his arms.

Inque was quiet for a moment before replying. "… No. I don't. Of course I don't."

"So why aren't you telling anybody the truth?" Scrawl asked.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." She turned back to the laptop, opening another link. "I'll tell Young we've spread the word. And then we move on to phase one."

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