Ma-Ti waited.
The Hunters were in their duck blind, lining up for the day.
Ma-Ti closed his eyes, and called the animals. The jaguar was the top predator in the Amazon; and was thus the most highly prized by poachers. Ma-Ti could feel them, sense them, their hearts eager, but without malice.
Ma-Ti could not understand it. They didn't need anything, didn't hate; but still they killed with glee. He could feel their excitement spike when they saw a jaguar.
And that was when Ma-Ti; a boy barely five feet tall, calmly walked out of the brush and stepped between the Hunter's rifle, and the jaguar, as it dipped it's head to the stream to drink.
He could feel the frustration, and no small amount of concern. A Jaguar was a wild animal; a super-predator of the jungle, and Ma-Ti was calmly standing next to it, petting it happily.
"What is that kid doing?" Hissed the man with mismatched eyes.
"I have no idea." Arjay said in disbelief, surprised that someone would be stupid enough to cross him twice. And to do so in such a… suicidal way.
"I mean, forget about being between our gun and our target, that's a freaking Jaguar he's playing with!"
"I know."
"Should... should we... get out there, try and save him?"
"I don't know if we can. I mean, that's a pretty fast cat down there with him. If we spook him-"
"LOOK OUT!"
Arjay spun and noticed a huge anaconda had slipped into their duck blind, and had coiled itself around their weapons, around their equipment. He spun with the gun, aimed at the snake...
Quick as a whip, it struck, and caught the hand holding the barrel of the gun. An anaconda was slow and patient, but it could still move like a snake when attacking.
Gasping in horror, the two Poachers lost their weapons, as their duck blind was invaded by one snake after another... three, four... five...
And they just kept coming in, each one of the five of them dozens of meters long, and they moved in, unhurried, unchecked, as the poachers backed up, until they had nowhere else to go, and then the snakes just... took them.
They were both horrified, expecting to be eaten any second, as the coils of the immense snakes wrapped around them, legs and arms tied.
The Poachers could each feel the exact moment that they lost their balance, but they did not fall to the ground, did not hit the dirt, supported by their long living ropes, which trussed them both tightly, moving them out of the duck blind, up off the ground, to the trees.
Both men were turned upside down by their scaly bonds, till they were hanging from the trees, the snakes coiling around them, their flat diamond heads coming around to face them eye to eye, forked tongues flicking over their terrified expressions, actually licking over their skin.
And then Ma-Ti came over, close enough that they could see him properly. He was now a little thinner than was healthy, his hair a little messy, his skin bathed in a light sweat, his face glowing with a ferocious inner fire and his eyes vacant like he was in a whole other place as he took them both in. What was laughable or strangely pathetic a moment ago was now patently terrifying.
Hanging headfirst, about four feet up off the ground; Ma-Ti calmly stepped directly into their line of sight, carrying their weapons. His eyes fixed on Arjay first. "I almost hoped it would be you." He drawled. "Tell me how to unload the weapon."
"Go to hell." Arjay croaked.
The Anaconda squeezed their coils a little tighter, demonstrating that this was not the correct attitude.
"The button on the left of the stock!" His partner babbled instantly.
Ma-Ti did so, and the ammo-clip dropped out of the rifle. Ma-Ti picked it up and threw it in the stream.
"There's still a bullet in the barrel. Pull back the bolt to eject it."
Ma-Ti did so, and he did the same with the other rifle. "Drop them."
The snakes suddenly released their prisoners, and they dropped the four feet, landing hard.
Ma-Ti stood over them. "These jungles, and her creatures, are under my protection. You will leave now." It was not a request.
Neither of the hunters knew what to say. Their weapons were worthless, they had been taken hostage by animals, and this boy was commanding them, both of them twice his size, to get out of the jungle.
"Kid, I don't know how you're doing this, but those guns were worth a lot of money! You owe us for what you-"
There was a sudden chorus of howls and roars, as the entire jungle came to life. Ma-Ti watched, as cool and calm as a mountain lake.
"You will leave now." Ma-Ti repeated. "And you will be escorted, to ensure you do not change your minds." Those hollow eyes seemed to cloud for a second. "Odd that I cannot change your minds for you..." He shook his head. "No matter."
"C'mon Arjay, lets get outta here before the snakes come back." Arjay's 'friend' begged, and they headed off into the jungle.
Arjay turned to Ma-Ti. "The keys to the jeep are in the pack. Can..." He cleared his throat. "Can you get the snake to... um, give it back?"
The anaconda in question uncoiled its tail and let the pack drop next to Ma-Ti. "I have need of your jeep for now. The walk will be good for you. It'll let you get to know the jungle." Ma-Ti opened the pack and collected the keys.
The other paused. "Can we have our compass back? It's not hard to get lost in the Jungle."
Ma-Ti gestured. "They'll show you the way. They'll take you by freshwater too."
The hunters started to ask what he meant, and they saw a pride of jaguars came up behind the boy, neatly covering his back, glaring balefully at the unarmed hunters. Two of them broke off from their pack, and stalked ahead of the demoralized poachers, leading the way. One of the jaguars, a huge cat with golden eyes and one missing ear, turned and snarled.
"No," Ma-Ti said to the big cat, as though answering him. "None of the others will bother you on your journey. They will allow you through their territory."
"Who are you?" Arjay yelled. "Who the hell ARE you?"
Ma-Ti smiled serenely; and started stripping away the camouflage from their jeep as they were marched away.
BREAKING NEWS:
"Firefighters were quickly on the scene tonight at Eighth Street, responding to a 911 call about a fire in a loft space, scheduled for demolition. Upon entering the building, firefighters were surprised to discover that the fire was localized in one room on the top floor; raging completely out of control.
The building was evacuated with no casualties or injuries; the fire was amazingly, somehow contained to only one room. Reports indicate that it extinguished itself the second the Fire Department entered the building.
But that was just the very beginning of the story. While attempting to discern the cause of the fire; forensics teams found little to no combustible material, but many traces of high grade narcotics, as well as recovering several articles of stolen property.
An anonymous tip led police to a member of the infamous DemonZ gang; found heavily intoxicated in the area. His name has not been released, but he was quickly taken into custody.
Within three hours of his arrest, warrants were issued for twelve members of the DemonZ street gang. More on this story as it develops."
Wheeler turned off the TV, satisfied with this, and went back to his room; checking his computer again...
The email had a reply. It was a link to a webpage he didn't recognize. Wheeler hesitated, and clicked it. The screen changed and opened up a video-chat. Gi's face was immediately visible.
Wheeler scrambled for his webcam and plugged it in, hoping that whatever video-chat she was using; it had a microphone built in like his camera did. He could see the exact moment she saw his face and both of them started talking at once. "I have been waiting for you for over an hour now! Who called who here?"
"Hey, listen lady, I had no idea how long you were going to be; and it's not easy what I've been doing-"
After several moments of both of them yelling at each other, Gi snapped her fingers a few times and both of them shut up.
"Is this really happening?" Wheeler said finally.
Gi was fingering her ring. "I think so."
"What do we do?"
"Well, I'm a Surfer, and I just made a fantastic pipe happen from nothing. So that was fun. What do you want to do?" Gi asked lightly.
"I don't know. What's the 'fun' thing to do when you're Lord of Fire?" Wheeler asked and suddenly yelled, stamping out the fire that spontaneously appeared in his garbage. "Ahh! Jeez!"
Gi laughed. "Wow, you drew the short straw there."
"I know." Wheeler whined. "We have to meet."
"Where are you?"
"Home. Brooklyn, New York." Wheeler said.
"Me too. Home, I mean. Shinagawa City." Gi said. "I've been looking at plane schedules while I was waiting for you to call back. New York has the most incoming flights out of all the cities I can think of. The places where the five of us might live anyway... Lots of outgoing flights too. Wherever we decide to go, even if only to go home again… If you can set up a place for us to stay when we get there, it would be logical for us all to come to you... Do you speak Spanish?"
"A little. Why?"
"I speak English, but if we're going to get everyone together again, we're going to need Ma-Ti, and I have no idea where to look for him. Don't most South American nations speak Spanish?"
"Spanish or Portuguese. I can wire some cash to get Ma-Ti a plane ticket, but I don't know if he has a passport. I don't even know where he is; but I'd bet the cost of his plane ticket that he'll find us."
"And the others?"
"Linka... I have no idea where to look. I found Kwame's mine, but with the time difference, they aren't open."
"Can you send me the number? I'll see if I can find any other contact details for him."
Wheeler typed it in and sent it on. "On the way."
"We still need Ma-Ti if this is going anywhere." Gi looked aside from her webcam. "I have another email. It's Linka!"
Wheeler sat up straighter. "What's her email?"
"It's a public access account. I think she just set it up. I don't speak Russian; let me run it through the Google-Corp translator."
Silence for a moment.
"She says she hitched a ride to Moscow and found a library with internet access. She says she found me through the Tokyo Tech website."
"That's how I found you too." Wheeler agreed.
Gi was silent a moment. "That offer of a plane ticket for Ma-Ti? Can you send it to Linka instead?"
Wheeler nodded. "Can you tell me where to send it?"
"Let me send a reply to Linka." Gi said. "In the meantime, I'm still looking for ways to get myself to America. There's plenty of flights, but I can't just walk out on may family, and I have no idea what to tell them."
"Me neither." Wheeler agreed. "Don't stress about it. We'll find each other one way or another. What about Kwame?"
"I don't know. But if Linka gets to New York and we don't have Ma-Ti, what will you do with her?"
Wheeler smirked. "I'm sure I'll think of something."
Linka opened her email and grinned. A wire transfer, made out to her? She had a passport, but had never used it before.
She sent a quick reply to Gi and left the library.
Now... how to find a way to the airport?
Gi was rehearsing all the way home. "Mom, dad... I've been offered a job. It has its benefits, but I'll have to leave. I won't get paid much... but you'll never guess who I'd be working for!" She chuckled a little. "No. Okay... um... Mom, dad; you know how you wanted me to get out and see the world? Well, I've just done it, vision-quest style…" She rolled her eyes. "No. Ahh, how am I going to tell them this?"
She came back onto the houseboat and found both her parents still there. They had very serious looks on their faces and Gi felt a chill.
"Have a seat Gi." Her father said firmly. "We need to talk to you."
Gi sat, nervous.
"Gi, we both love you. But there's something you need to think about. We've been meaning to talk to you about it for quite a while now."
Gi tried to read where this was going. "What do you mean?"
"Gi, this has got to stop." Her mother explained. "You're so smart, and you have so much potential. And you spend your mornings surfing, your afternoons sleeping, and your nights on the internet. After you left school, we knew how exhausted you were. You graduated though it so fast, we were worried you might have burned yourself out so we gave you all the time you needed..." Her mother looked quickly to her husband for help.
"We're worried that you might be getting left behind." Her father picked up the narrative. "When you graduated, you got all these offers from technology firms and such... but that was over a year ago now. And I would bet that most of them are now invalid. They won't wait for you. The world will not wait for you. You have to think about your future now Gi. It's time for you to stop hiding behind us."
The young woman took a breath. Talk about perfect timing. Gi fought not to let the relief show on her face. She had to play this one cool or her parents might figure out there was more to this than they knew. "Mom, Dad... I love you both. And I appreciate the time you've given me. You were right. I was pretty baked after Graduation... The truth is, it was never about the money. There was just little out there that kept my attention long enough for me to want to work there. I've been getting some offers from... some sources. There's one that interests me. But... it means I might have to leave."
Her parents traded a look. "And go where?"
Gi took a breath. She didn't know where she'd end up, but she knew where to start. "America."
Her parents were stunned. "Well... hold on a minute. Let's not go overboard here!"
"Mom... it's a very short notice offer, I know. But as you said, I can't afford to expect everyone to wait for me. And I was trying to figure out how to tell you... but if, as you said, you've been trying to have this conversation a while now..."
The addition of the phrase 'as you said', neatly forced her parents into a corner. They may not have liked the timing, but they couldn't very well argue with their own words could they?
As the older couple fought to straighten out the sudden surprise, Gi hid a smirk of victory.
Kwame knocked on Mallik's door, and let himself in. Maliik was on the phone, and apparently trying to calm down whoever was on the other end. "Look, there's not really a whole lot I can do for you. Our agreement was for the tunnels. My part in this is very clear. There's not much I can do for you. Go ahead and blackmail me; you'll be hurt worse than I will if this comes out. Hm? Yes. We'll still be ready here."
Kwame sat down as the phone call ended. "What was that about sir?"
"The... late night shipments ran into a problem."
"Oh?" Kwame said; the picture of innocence.
"There must have been a landslide of something, but the road was torn up a bit closer to their factory. They say the trucks carrying the barrels are trashed. Broken axles and mangled wheels on all of them. Nobody can figure out what happened."
Kwame nodded sagely. "Well, it's hard to be upset about that."
Maliik nodded. "Mm. I know. Still, I don't like it when the unexpected happens. Not when we're trying to keep a secret."
"Probably shouldn't have made a phone call then."
Maliik chuckled mirthlessly. "Well, in any event; speaking of phone calls; we got a call last night; before business hours. Caller ID says it was a number in New York. The voice was in English, and once we got the message translated; we found out it was for you. He didn't give any personal details; he said he'd call back."
Wheeler. "Huh. That's odd. Sorry Mr. Maliik, I cannot help you with that one."
"Mm. Probably some online scam that found your name somewhere. If it was something official, I doubt they would have called first. Or at the very least, they would have had someone who spoke the right language."
Kwame fought not to let the relief show on his face, suddenly feeling a little less lost. It was not a dream. The others were real. They were looking for him. Now he had a direction.
Kwame slid over a piece of paper. "This is for you."
"What is it?"
"My resignation."
"What?"
"I'm leaving the mine, effective immediately. I like working here, but it's time to make some changes."
"If this is about the shipments coming in from The Corporation, I told you that it's only temporary, and once you take over..."
"It's not about that." Kwame promised him. "My sister Kunto is..."
Maliik nodded, suddenly somber. He knew about her condition. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Between that and the mine going dry... My father bought the mine because he knew it would outlive him; and set up a future for me and my sister. And now the mine's gone dry. It was just... we figured it would last. And now it's run out. Everything changes all at once, and I... it just feels like it's time to move on." He cleared his throat. "I've signed a waiver with our legal department. When I turn twenty five, it'll still be yours. The mine is yours for good now. I won't need it where I'm going."
Maliik considered the younger man. "Kwame... I was there when we started this mine. I'm sorry I couldn't keep it all together the way you wanted."
Kwame nodded. "Well. I guess this is goodbye."
"Do you know where you'll go?"
"Not yet." Kwame lied.
"Well, if you need anything, let me know."
Kwame did not answer that directly when he answered. "I wish we did not have to part this way."
"I know. There's a lot of history between us my friend, still more between your father and I. I would like to think that would be what we remember."
Kwame seemed very old all of a sudden. "Me too."
Kwame stood to leave, and then paused. "If the shipments have been stopped by damage; is there nothing that can be done to stop them from dumping illegally?"
"They'd deny the shipments were coming here. We would have no way to prove it. Anyway, we'd still never have a reason to get them in court without destroying ourselves with them." Maliik finished.
"There are higher courts." Kwame said quietly. "Ones that demand justice and action, and not just legality."
"Maybe, but the Corporation doesn't answer to them. And neither do either of us."
Kwame nodded at that and left the office. Outside, unheard, he sighed again. "I used to think so too."
"Remind me again why you're flying West?" Gi's father pressed.
"Because, I'm meeting some people who have also been approached by the… Institute." Gi answered. It was getting difficult to keep her stories straight. "I told you all this last night."
"Last night I was drinking and toasting and trying to corral your friends and… you know, mourning. Remarking on how fast kids grow up and how we should put a stop to it." Her father answered, giving her another hug. Her parent's hadn't let go of her for more than five minutes since Gi declared she was leaving.
"But Africa? Why Africa?" Her mother repeated. "I thought the job was in America."
"The Gaia Institute is multi-national." Gi repeated. "A lot of prospective employees are coming in, and we're sort of collecting each other as we go."
"Listen Gi, I've thought it over and I've decided that I can live with having an uninterested surfer for a daughter." Her father suggested. "So, how about we call this off and go home?"
"Men do not take these things well do they mother?" Gi chuckled.
"Not at all dear."
"Flight 847 to Cairo now Boarding at Gate Nine." The PA announced.
"That's me!" Gi announced cheerfully, trying to pry her parents' arms off her. "I promise, I'll write."
At first, Linka was enjoying her first time on a plane. She was lucky enough to get a window seat, and spent the entire climb with her nose pressed against the glass. Looking around the plane, she had to admit that a number of passengers seemed scared to fly; but not her. Doing a gymnast flip over the high branches in the great forest was nothing compared to actual flight.
Linka, Lighter than air. She thought to her old forgotten nickname.
But the higher she got, the more aware of her own fear she was. Not of the flight, not of the altitude; but of what she was doing. Down below the edge of the forest came into view. If she strained her eyes, she could see the road and the river...
That was her whole world, everywhere she had ever lived, too small to be clearly visible. And she was leaving it all behind with no clear direction ahead. It was intimidating in the least. Added to the fact that she felt as though she was on the run after the Chemical Plant; Linka couldn't quite bring herself to relax and enjoy the flight.
What had driven her to do it? It wasn't just Ruby's family, it was... what? It was the fact that there was no other way to make them stop? What would her grandmother say to that? She would have asked Linka what gave her the right to summon a tornado.
And what would Linka say? That she had been chosen to wield this power by... by what? The planet? By Gaia? By God? Mother Nature? She could crash this plane right now; summon a gust of wind with a gesture, a word...
These thoughts chased her as the plane flew, and she looked down at the Ukraine. She could see the Aral Sea… what was left of it. Back before the Soviet Union, the Aral Sea was the largest inland water supply in the Region, a massive source of irrigation and fishing, fed by two great rivers. During the 1960's, the Soviet Government declared its intention to become self sufficient cotton and rice producers, and dammed up both rivers for agriculture. But with the Aral Sea was all but wiped out, the fishing industry of 40,000 people went bust almost at once, and from what was once one of the largest inland lakes in the world, only a tenth of it remained, the water left now far too salty and contaminated to drink, or to hold living creatures like fish in it.
Linka saw the salty desert below her plane, with the huge abandoned fishing ships left lying in the sand for twenty years, forgotten and useless.
The thought hardened her heart and calmed her doubts. She pushed the nerves away. Emotion couldn't be part of this. There was work to be done yet.
Maliik looked up in shock as the ground shook, harder than usual. It went on, and on, and on. He jumped up and ran to the door, hiding in the doorframe from the sudden earthquake.
Outside, he could hear men shouting, running frantically away from the mine, and charging away from the tunnels, until the shaking slowly stopped.
After a long silence, the shouting outside changed tone suddenly, there was still yelling, but now... it was astonishment, not fear.
Worried, Maliik ran quickly out of his office, out of the building, toward the Mine.
The tunnel mouth was apparently untouched, but one of the tunnels, had apparently reached the surface. There had been no drilling, the ground had simply... opened with the quake, and the barrels within had risen to surface level, unbroken, upright... and visible for the whole world to see.
More than a few people were looking to Maliik, confusion, even suspicion in their eyes, at the clearly visible warning signs on the barrels.
Maliik looked around, seeing his own future come apart, and saw what looked like Kwame walking away, too far to be sure, too far to pull him back.
Ma-Ti rocked back and forth in the driver's seat, still getting used to driving. He had done it before, out of necessity, but had no drivers' license of his own. He was heading north, and didn't know exactly where he was going. He was relying on his new ability like a second sight, guiding him where he needed to go.
He eventually left the jungle completely and found his way to a proper road. Traffic was visible, and Ma-Ti was not so confident in his driving skills to head into town. He pulled over and started to hitch-hike.
It was not long before a large truck came their way. Ma-Ti raised his ring and... Listened. He could sense the driver... No. This man would not help. In fact, Ma-Ti could sense that he might...
The truck pulled up alongside him. "Hey Kid. Need a ride?"
Ma-Ti recoiled. "No. Thank you."
The driver shrugged and drove off. Ma-Ti kept walking. Twenty minutes later, another car came along the road. Ma-Ti waved it down. He could sense... uncertainty. The driver wanted to do the right thing, but was worried Ma-Ti might be dangerous.
The car stopped. "You okay there?"
Ma-Ti raised his ring. "I am. May I get a ride with you?"
His ring glimmered, the uncertainty on the man's face faded instantly and he smiled. "Of course you can. Hop in."
Kwame had spent the last of his money getting to Johannesburg. It was a long hike, mostly hitchhiking his way across the country and across border lines, trying to get to a larger city, with a bigger international airport Hub.
But finally, he had made it to Johannesburg. The largest of airports in Africa was Tambo International.
That left the little matter of actually getting onto a plane to New York. Flights were fairly common, but getting aboard was a difficult matter without money. The cheapest flight he could get took many stops. Kwame travelled across a full day and night, catching cat-naps on the various planes as he connected from Johannesburg to India and from there to Thailand and from there to Taiwan.
Kwame rarely carried money on his person, but when he went to the bank, he discovered that his accounts had defaulted.
Kwame kicked himself. He had shut down the mine and all his money was in company accounts!
He wondered briefly, if he should try and contact Gi or Wheeler, and ask them for a loan, when he turned around and found quite possibly the last thing he expected.
"Kwame!"
Kwame felt his jaw drop in surprise, as a familiar face left the Enquiries Counter and came running through the crowd toward him. "Gi!"
The two of them met in the middle and gave each other a hug. Gi said something in Japanese, and Kwame looked back helplessly. Gi held up a hand and pulled out her smart phone. She said it all again and showed Kwame the screen. "I found an app for my phone. It can translate for us now."
Kwame grinned. "Ma-Ti miniaturized."
Gi read the screen and chuckled. "Do you have any reservations yet?"
"Not yet. I was trying to figure out who to look for. I knew Wheeler had tried to get in touch with me; but New York's a big town."
"I have been waiting for you for a full day and a half." Gi responded through her phone. "I lied to my parents and told them I was getting a flight to Cairo. I originally thought that I would meet you there. Or at least go there and then try and find you at the mine. But when they told me you quit, I knew you'd be looking for us, so I looked up the flight times, found out how to get from there to New York, and changed my booking to take me to Taiwan at the last minute. I raced you to the connecting flight." She spread her arms, very pleased with herself. "And it worked; here you are."
"Clever girl." Kwame admitted. "Do you have a flight yet?"
"Why? Got a better one?"
"Nope. In fact, I just sort of realized that I don't have any money left." Kwame admitted sheepishly. "My savings were in a corporate account, and I... may have done some damage to the copper mine's business plan on my way out."
"Yes. They mentioned that something interesting was going on this week." Gi deadpanned.
"It was the right thing to do, given what we've got to do now; but... I'm wearing everything I own." He wasn't looking for sympathy. He was just telling it like it was.
Gi rubbed his shoulder sympathetically. "Come on. I've got a way to America. I'm taking a ship."
"A ship?"
"I had some Cargo. Way too big to take on a plane." Gi explained. "I put it on a cargo ship, and figured I could catch a connecting that would take me to it. Want to see?"
Wheeler checked everything again and sighed. There was no way around it. He left his room, adjusted his ring absently and went into the living room. "Bro?"
"Yeah?" JJ didn't even look away from the television.
"I need a favor. I need you to stay with a friend for a few days."
JJ looked over. "Got a hot date?"
It would have been easier to say yes… "No. Some friends of mine are coming through New York, and if they crash here then they don't have to spring for a hotel."
"Okay." JJ shrugged. "Martie's good for it."
"Not Martie."
"Why not?"
"Because he figured out how to unscramble his dad's cable box and has a TV in his room."
JJ flushed and turned back to the TV. "How do you know about that?"
"I know everything. Find a place would you?"
"Yeah."
"And clean your room before you leave. These people don't need to sleep in your usual filth."
"Yes dad." JJ drawled. "If there's more than one of them, they'll probably need your room too."
"I know. I have to go buy a vacuum cleaner. Later."
"Later." JJ returned as Wheeler walked out.
Ma-Ti came into the airport, and looked around. Having been on the road for a while, he went to the cafe first, and ordered a meal. Over at the next table, two men were having lunch; both of them in very expensive suits. They were talking heatedly about something. One of them put some money on the table, and made his goodbyes.
Ma-Ti felt something shiver through his senses, and watched their table out of the corner of his eye. The one left behind reached across the table and collected the tip left behind; putting it into his own pocket, and he stood to leave with a cold smile.
Ma-Ti snorted at the greed and lifted his ring.
The ring glimmered... and nothing happened.
Surprised, Ma-Ti tried again. Nothing.
The Power of Heart didn't affect the stone hearted.
Ma-Ti shivered. It was a lesson in humility. And more than a little bit worrying that the only hearts he could manipulate were the kind that could be taken advantage of.
Communicating via the view screen of a smart phone had been awkward, but Kwame and Gi quickly got used to it. Neither of them had ever been so far away from home before, and though neither of them spoke a common language, and though they had only known each other for a day, it was nice to have something familiar they could hold on to for the journey.
Once they got on the ship however, there was a new complication. It was a cargo ship, not a passenger liner. Gi had reached a deal with the Captain, and apparently such exceptions were not uncommon. But the result was that there was little room for them, and they had to share a one person bunk.
As it happened, it wasn't that uncomfortable. Both of them were still on a different time zone, and essentially time shared the cabin.
Gi was at home on the waves. Kwame was not. He was of the earth. The waves did not help his feeling of isolation at all. He had walked away from his job, his family, his home, his friends, his country... and now even the ground he walked on.
Gi had to admit, she enjoyed his company, but the truth was, the language was still a barrier. Her phone could let them agree on plans and living arrangements, but carrying on a casual conversation was something far more awkward.
On Gi's advice, Kwame had spent most of the trip on deck, watching the waves, getting his sea legs. He spent the rest of the time in his cabin trying not to be sick.
Gi spent the time he was in the cabin down in the hold tinkering with the Wave Rider; working overtime, trying like mad to have it ready. Her new abilities meant that it was suddenly a viable option; and she wanted to have it set. The big question was how to get it moving, and with that riddle solved, Gi could focus on making the craft travel ready.
There was only so much she could do in the cargo hold of a ship however. She had left all her tools behind. A Cargo ship had more than enough tools of its own, and Gi went to work.
Kwame was impressed by the diligence and eagerness with which she threw herself into the project, even if he didn't have a clue what it was; the phone having run out of battery power the night before.
The next morning however, Kwame came down to the cargo hold, and tossed Gi the recharged phone. She smiled and outlined the purpose of the Wave Rider, and how she had built it. What Kwame could understand of it, left him very impressed.
After a while, they ran out of things to say, so Gi opted for the first thing that came to mind.
"My parents were stunned when I told them I was leaving." Gi chuckled.
"I bet they were."
"They barely let go of me for a full twenty four hours. They both went on and on about what I would need, and what I would wear, and did I have enough money, and when was the plane leaving. I was making it up as I went along about where I was working and what the weather was like there." Gi chuckled and rolled her head back. "The night I was supposed to hop my first plane they had all my friends gather together and have a big party. Some of my schoolmates were theatrical about how they were going to miss me... I almost strained something I was laughing so hard." She wiped her eyes a bit from the memory. "How about you? How'd your family take it?"
There was a pause as Kwame read the translation. And then a longer pause as he sat stricken, trying to summon an answer. "The same Gi. They were pretty much the same way."
Ma-Ti had to admit to a sudden uncertainty about himself. He had this power for less than a week; and in that time, he had used it to solve Kwame's fear of heights, stop two hunters, and then he hypnotized his family not to care he was leaving; get free rides; get a plane ticket...
Ma-Ti shivered a little. He could do a lot of damage with this. He needed to get to the others. They had a stronger resistance, probably because of their own rings. They would keep him grounded.
The closer he got to America, the worse he felt. He was moving away from the Web that he had felt in the jungle. He wanted to go running back to it. But he knew he had to meet up with the others. Where a thousand thousand strands of life had brushed against him, there was now only the barest hints far below as he sat crammed in this artificial box.
Being among the rest of the team would help. He was not worried about them finding each other. His power was leading him; and he knew it was the convergence he was going to. He was on the way.
JFK airport was a chaotic scene at the best of times. Wheeler was seriously considering starting a quick fire just to get them out of his way, but decided it wasn't worth it.
He was studying the board, taking note of which flights would be landing and when. The flight from Russia... the plane with Linka was still half an hour away. His eyes lingered on the one that had just landed. The one from Brazil.
Over here.
Wheeler turned. He didn't see anyone. But he started walking anyway.
He saw Ma-Ti at a Customs check. The boy was stuck with a Customs agent. Wheeler came in as close as he could without drawing attention, mindful of the kind of security that New York Airports had these days. He wondered if he was stating to get paranoid.
"Listen young man." The Customs agent was saying. "You don't have any luggage, carry-on or otherwise; you don't seem to have any Identification... you don't even have a passport. I can't let you into the country! You shouldn't have been able to get on the plane in the..." The Customs agent trailed off. "What was I saying?"
Ma-Ti smiled. "Nothing at all." He moved on without another word; heading toward Wheeler. "Hello my friend."
Wheeler fell into step with the boy. "That's creepy, how you do that."
"If it helps, I think that I can't do it to you." Ma-Ti said. "The Ring keeps me away I think. God, how do you people live like this? There's nothing here!"
Wheeler looked around the loud and chaotic scene, then out the windows at the Manhattan skyline. "You may be the first person to say that about New York City. What the heck are you talking about?"
Ma-Ti waved his hand irritably. "Nothing but sheep and stone hearts. No life, no web... nothing like my jungle!"
Silence.
Wheeler reached out and turned the boy around to get a good look at him. His eyes were glazed, his face was flushed and somehow pale at the same time, his legs trembling a bit... "When did you last eat something?"
"Before the flight... I think." Ma-Ti whispered.
Wheeler studied him carefully. "Ma-Ti... I think you may be a little bit unwell."
Ma-Ti sniffed and nodded. "I know. Wheeler... I wish I could describe to you what it felt like back home. Like every plant and tree was a spider web brushing me, every animal a bright firework of light... here in New York there's only the people. Lots of them I'll admit, but they're so... confusing. It's not nearly as... alive."
"But you'll take what you can get; until you can get more." Wheeler said, knowing the answer. "Ma-Ti, would you do me a favor and stop trying to see it all for a while? Just... pull yourself back and be human again for a while, okay? For me?"
Ma-Ti sniffed again and nodded. "O-Okay." He said, taking in one deep breath after another. When he opened his eyes again, they no longer seemed so distant. "Wow." He trembled a bit. "Ooh. I'm thirsty."
Wheeler smiled. "Let's get some food into you. Come on. I'll buy you something to drink while we wait for Linka. She'll be another few hours."
Linka had just stepped through Customs, and was making her way toward baggage claim, when she noticed some of the security teams heading toward the Terminal. They were resting their hands on their weapons, and the one in the lead had a photograph. They were wearing Corporation uniforms.
Feeling a chill, Linka turned away from them and walked faster.
"There she is!"
Linka broke into a run. She got less than fifteen feet before another team of guards caught up to her from the other end of the Terminal and cut her off.
Trapped, she spun, looking for a way out as they surrounded her.
The head of their team came forward and checked her face against the photograph he was carrying. "It's her!" He reached for his handcuffs.
"No it's not." Someone said.
The guards, somewhat spookily, all turned as one to look at a young man coming up behind them.
"Ma-Ti!" Linka breathed.
The boy smiled at her and turned his gaze back to the guards. He had his left hand over his heart; and the yellow stone in his ring was glowing brightly. "This is not her. You have the wrong woman, now apologise and get back to work."
The chief guard turned back to Linka. "My apologies for the inconvenience Miss. You really can't be too careful these days."
"Of course." Linka said politely. "Think nothing of it."
At that moment, Wheeler came up behind Ma-Ti and took in the situation at a glance. "One question, who were you looking for?"
The guard was still smiling as his men shuffled off, without a care in the world. "Oh, we got a call from Moscow that a suspected eco-terrorist was on the plane that just arrived from Russia. They sent a picture; and it looked a lot like your friend here." He gestured after his team of guards. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to it."
Once they were left alone, it was clear Wheeler took that a lot more seriously than either of the others. "Bad." He said quietly. "Somebody in Moscow somehow connected Linka to a tornado; and it was somebody who could get Interpol into it."
Linka shivered. "I'm never getting on another plane again, am I?"
"Probably not a good idea."
Linka, lighter than air. Suddenly grounded. Linka thought with worry.
Wheeler suddenly had a big smile. "Guess you'll have to stay here forever then. Welcome to New York!"
"Does anyone know how to find Kwame and Gi?" Linka asked once they were out of the Airport.
"I haven't spoken to Gi for a day or two. I think she's en route. Kwame… I don't know. I found the mine he was telling us about, but there was nobody there. I called back this morning, and once I found somebody who spoke English, they told me he had quit a few days ago."
"They will find us." Ma-Ti said easily.
Linka nodded, accepting that. "What do we do until then?" She turned and pointed a finger at Wheeler. "I'm anticipating every possible suggestive remark you could make to that, and I find none of them amusing."
"I'm sure I could think of one or two you couldn't imagine." Wheeler quipped. "Seriously though, it's hard to get hotel rooms at such short notice. Well, there are one or two places that rent by the hour, but I assume you wouldn't want to stay there."
"You assume correctly." Linka put in.
"So I figured you could crash at my place!" Wheeler continued cheerfully.
"But on the other hand…" Linka muttered under her breath.
"There are some places that have a room available in a few days, but I didn't know how long you'd be staying. I'll book it anyway, because if Kwame and Gi do get here… there's not enough room at my apartment for five."
The others nodded, looking around constantly.
Wheeler finally noticed. "Ever been to New York before?"
Neither of them had.
"Well then, let's start with the tour!"
Linka had to admit she felt better about the long journey when Wheeler was showing them around. The man clearly had a lot of pride in his home and wanted to show it off to the new visitors. He had an almost natural ability to put people at ease, which made it seem less like they had left home and more like they were seeing the world.
Having come from places where skyscrapers were impossible, or for that matter, places were roads were never paved over; something like Manhattan was unbelievably immense and intimidating. Wheeler sensed this and took them on the Staten Island Ferry first, letting them get a good long look at the city from the outside, before they took their chances in the city itself.
The Grand Central Station, The New York Public Library, Times Square, Madison Square Garden, The Chrysler Building, The Empire State Building lookout… it was a great little tour.
Ma-Ti fell in love with Central Park, and asked to stay there a little longer. Linka had noticed St Patrick's Cathedral and asked Wheeler if they could split up and visit both.
If it were anyone else, Wheeler wouldn't have said yes, but he had confidence enough in Ma-Ti's ability to find them again, and showed Linka the way there.
Linka felt like she could breathe again. Churches were something special in their atmosphere; and the noise of Manhattan seemed far away within the huge and majestic stone walls. She sent a quick glance over at Wheeler and saw how uncomfortable he was. "You're not catholic." She observed.
"Not for a long time." Wheeler said quietly. "My mom was. I don't think I've been back in a church since she died. Especially not one like St Pats."
Linka nodded. "My parents were Catholic. But when they left, I was raised by my maternal grandmother, she was Russian Orthodox. It was… confusing for me. It's was nice of you to visit this place with me."
Wheeler nodded. "Ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How does Catholic faith fit with Earth Spirits and Gaia and Elemental Powers?"
Linka almost smiled. "I've thought that over. And… Gaia said that Her Domain was the Earth, and nothing beyond that. But we cannot comprehend how much more is out there. Something had to create Gaia too. The things that She showed us… how small were we compared to that? And how small is that compared to what's out there?"
Wheeler thought about that for a while. "Suppose so." He was silent a beat. "I read a study on the environment once. They say that every species has a clear part in the ecology of the planet. Except people. You take any species away, and it'll disrupt things. Except humans. When I read that, it felt like we were more like those people wandering around Central Park. We don't own the park, we just happen to be here."
Linka nodded. "If you saw someone treating Central Park the way we treat the earth… what would you do?"
Wheeler was silent for a long moment, and finally nodded. The two of them made their way out. Wheeler noticed someone trying to light a candle and having trouble getting it to catch. He made a quick gestured and the wick flared to life easily.
Ma-Ti was watching a street theater team doing a performance in Central Park when his sense tingled and he looked over to see Wheeler and Linka waving him back. He joined them and they started walking again.
"Well, you guys are starting to glaze a little, so if you want we can wrap the tour up…"
"What's over there?" Linka asked suddenly, gesturing at the way people seemed to be moving suddenly in one direction.
Wheeler winced. "Yeah. I guess you could call that a sight to see in New York. As much as I hate to end the Tour on a downer… It's probably something important."
They headed that direction, when Ma-Ti suddenly put a hand to his head. "Oooh."
"Ma-Ti?" Linka asked in alarm. "You all right?"
Ma-Ti wavered a bit, and then just dropped. Wheeler caught him, propped him up. "Whoa! Easy!"
"Take me away from here!" Ma-Ti begged. "Please... just... away from this place."
The boy could not even walk. Wheeler picked him up and carried him back the way they came as quickly as he could. "Okay, we're going."
"What is it?" Linka demanded. "What's wrong?"
"Too much. Just... too much." Ma-Ti moaned slowly, holding his head.
Wheeler bit his lip. "Sorry kid. Didn't realize."
"S'okay." Ma-Ti croaked. "Its better right now... just a little further."
They made an odd little group, even for New York. Ma-Ti with dark olive skin and black hair, nearly catatonic; being carried by Wheeler with freckled skin and red hair; both of them being fussed over by Linka, tall and thin with snow pale skin and hair as they strode up the street. They were such a mismatched group that people glanced at them as they passed.
"Will one of you tell me what's going on?" Linka demanded as Wheeler set him down.
Wheeler jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Ground Zero. Bad place to sense thoughts and feelings."
Ma-Ti had his usual calm back in place by the time they made it to Wheeler's apartment, but he was exhausted. Wheeler shoved everything off the couch and Ma-Ti curled up without a word, asleep in seconds.
Linka smiled just a little as Wheeler put a blanket over him. A move he had pulled before whenever JJ had dozed on the couch.
Wheeler noticed her watching. "Boy, they grow up so fast don't they?"
Linka rolled her eyes, and looked around. "Let's not wake him."
Wheeler gestured, and they left the lounge room; heading for JJ's room. JJ had tidied it, but you couldn't really consider it clean. Linka looked around at the posters, the kids' books... "Yours?"
"My brother." Wheeler chuckled. "I figured Ma-Ti could take this room. The bed's about his size."
"And your brother?"
"Staying with friends." Wheeler promised. "Aaaaand, you can stay in my bed. Room. Bedroom." He cleared his throat. "I'll take the couch."
Linka smirked and hefted her backpack. "Such a gentleman. I don't really have much, but I've been flying for a good while. I would appreciate..."
Wheeler stood. "Sure. You can leave your stuff in my room; I'll get you a towel."
The water was hot for far longer than she was used to, and Linka enjoyed it so much she felt somewhat boiled before she could force herself to finish. Ma-Ti was still asleep, and she found Wheeler... surrounded by plants. He was wearing dusty, somewhat dirty work clothes, wearing a pair of thin working gloves. The room smelt fresh and alive.
Linka was stunned. She simply could not wrap her brain around the image of a small apartment room filled with wall to wall plants, all of them in varying stages of growth; fruits and vegetable ripening; with Wheeler, or all people, hunched over one of the pots on the floor treating the soil around the base of a cucumber plant, who's vines had been wound back and forth around a grillwork that Wheeler had planted in the pot.
Linka did not speak. She saw a seedling tray next to Wheeler, and an empty row of those string loops on the wall. Wheeler's bench was covered with a row of small pots. Linka saw a spare set of gloves and went straight to work.
Wheeler heard her, smiled, and didn't turn. He finished treating the soil with a liquid fertilizer, and went over to the table, helping her finish. With the sprouts in the seedling tray transplanted, they hung the pots against the wall, like all the others, and started the cleanup.
Linka helped to gather up the leftover soil and keep things neat. "Back home, most of the people live in this old Tenant block that has been there since my grandmother was born. The market closed long ago, so we basically pool our resources. One man can repair, one man can sew... my grandmother and I grew the fields. We kept them mostly fed. Gets cold there, even in spring. Hard to be sure the seedlings will survive." She gestured around. "If I could have rigged up this room back home..."
Wheeler shook his head. "Would have been a lot harder, getting enough seedlings to feed a town planted instead of seeds."
Linka nodded. "Very fragile at that age." She sighed. "I think my grandmother would have liked you. She's an insufferable old bird sometimes."
Wheeler laughed. "Well, when you get back, you can tell her all about me."
That made Linka sad suddenly. It was possible that she would never go back. She took her mind away from that unpleasant thought by gesturing at the clearly labeled pots along the wall. "No potatoes? No garlic? Herbs? No radishes, beetroot, silverside?"
Wheeler shook his head. "Herbs I have in the window boxes. They don't take much room." He explained. "I grow this stuff for me and my neighbor; because she can cook. I've never eaten a beetroot or Brussels sprout in my life. Potatoes I can get dirt cheap, so it's not worth the space it'd take up. Garlic takes forever to grow, so it's not worth the effort either."
Linka gestured. "You could probably afford most of this pretty comfortably."
Wheeler shrugged. "Sure, but that's not why I do it. It's not about the money. It's about..." he shrugged. "It's just something I do."
"You always eat your own supplies?"
"As much as I can. Sometimes I get stuff from the store. It's easier but... I don't know. There are two kinds. The hunters and the growers. Out there, a fair chunk of this town gets preyed on by the Gangs. They steal stuff for their dinner. And you hear them talk about it... about their gang... they're so proud of themselves." Wheeler nodded. "I can be proud of this. And I don't have to hurt anything to do it. And millions of people in this city; they figure that food come frozen in plastic packets. When you do it yourself it's more... Real."
Linka nodded. She knew exactly what that meant. "It means more doesn't it? When you can say that nobody helped you? You did it yourself, and you eat well tonight."
Wheeler smirked. And then paused. He was looking in Linka in a whole new way; as though there was something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Linka looked back the exact same way. There had been a moment of connection here. One she didn't expect. One that felt familiar and easy...
Silence. There was a moment of eye contact as both of them tried to say something else.
The sudden awkwardness was broken quite nicely as Ma-Ti knocked on the door. "Ah, here you are-Whoa!" he stopped short. "Wheeler, this is great!"
Linka grinned. "It is. Well, I'm going to turn in. Good night."
"Good night Linka." Wheeler called after her, and turned his gaze to Ma-Ti once she was gone. "You lied to me."
The boy looked sheepish.
"You said you weren't using the Ring any more. You said you were going to stop for a while."
"I did. For a while." Ma-Ti protested. "But it's... It's another sense I have. Telling me not to use it at all is like me telling you to keep your eyes closed the whole day. I promise, I wasn't... going into it too deep. I just... feel my way around now and then, they way you check to see if you're about to trip over something."
Wheeler nodded. "I got my eye on you."
Ma-Ti smiled. "I knew you would."
Ma-Ti had grown up around wild growing fruits. Cultivated in a garden like this was something very unusual. So he took a closer look at a number of them.
"Let me ask you something." Wheeler said, very casual. "This little translation trick that your Ring gives us... do we always have to have you around? Because while you were asleep, we were still chatting away in here."
"I think... I think it's gone beyond just my proximity now. I think I just have to know where the circle of us is. I found the two of you. Back before, I didn't know where you were. Didn't even know what country you were in."
Wheeler nodded, still ever so casual. "So, if I wanted to…say..."
"Ask Linka out on a date?"
Wheeler grinned. "Hypothetically. Would you have to come along?"
"I do not think so." He smiled. "But you still don't have a hope."
Gi was still fiddling with the controls in the cargo hold, when Kwame came down. "We've got a problem."
Gi pulled her phone and checked the translation. "What is it?"
"This boat is going to Washington, not New York."
Gi nodded. "Well, we knew that was going to happen."
"You did. I hitched."
"I had to take this ride for my cargo. That and it was the cheapest ride available."
"And how exactly do we get from Washington to New York? As you say, we've got cargo, and we're on a budget."
Gi bit her lip. "Well..." She said slowly. "I have an idea."
Gi led the way up to the deck and looked out over the waves. Clear sailing all the way, still out of sight of land. "Kwame, I am sorry."
"For what?"
"For the sudden rough weather that's going to divert this tub to New York."
"Oh. I hate you." Kwame muttered and went back toward the cabin.
Gi smiled and lifted her ring out toward the ocean, as far away as she could see. "Water!"
AN: Once again, I don't want to bring religion into this, but in trying to make it more realistic, I figured the question of how to fit Gaia into the world had to be asked one way or another. Since Linka was the only one with a declared faith, she seemed the logical choice.
I'm sorry it's taking so long to get to the action sequences, but remember that this is an Origin story. I've tried to keep it interesting. Let me know if I'm succeeding?