Here's the next chapter! A little longer, I think!
"Welcome to New York City." Cloak announced as he reopened his cape and allowed the group to collapse out of his cloak.
Chase face-planted, Gert landed on Old Lace, Nico landed on Chase, Molly splashed into the snow, and Trini collapsed onto Jake and Victor.
"Yup, I'm gonna hurl." Trini stood up; trembling.
"Well, it beats flying America West." Gert commented as she rubbed her eyes.
"Wh-whaat was that?" Victor gasped. "Felt like those things were trying to eat my soul."
"You'll be alright, Victor." Nico assured as she helped Victor up. "A couple of us have been through Cloak's portal before, and we survived. Right Chase…? Trini…?"
"Sorry, Trini can't answer on the count of puking up her guts." Jake answered as he watched Trini hunch over a vomit.
"Sharks. There…there were sharks in space. Space sharks." Chase whispered; curling up into a fetal position.
"Smells like he wet his pants." Molly poked Chase's knee.
"Forgive my hastiness." Cloak apologized. "I realize that the Darkforce Dimension is not the most…comfortable way to travel , but time is of the essence."
"You could have given us a second to grab a coat or something!" Chase snapped.
"Chase, we lived in Los Angeles our entire lives." Nico intervened. "Do we even own winter clothes?"
"Jake does." Victor pointed at Jake, who was wearing a black hoodie.
"Yeah only for me." Jake gloated.
"I'm sure Father Lantom will be able to supply you with donations from our last clothing drive." Cloak informed.
"Is that your dad?" Molly questioned.
"Father Lantom is a Catholic priest who has been providing Dagger and me with sanctuary for the last several months. Come, I will introduce you."
"Whoa, can we just take a moment to appreciate this?" Victor waved his hands around. "I mean, we're in the Big Apple, home of Spider-Man, Daredevil…The Fantastic Freakin' Four live here! This is hallowed ground, people!"
"Are you possessed!" The Father shouted. "Tyrone, after all the trouble you've found yourself in this week, you decided to drag seven wayward children into the situation?"
"Don't forget their wayward pet?" Gert added.
As if on que, Old Lace popped her head from one of the pews; sniffing the priest. "Ahh!" He jumped.
"And our wayward Vampire, who refuses to come inside." Chase jabbed his thumb through the door.
"He's a afraid of a little Holly Spirit." Victor joked.
"I'll die in there!" Jake shouted from outside.
"What…What the hell is this? Who are you people?" Father Lantom backed away from the kids.
"Old Lace is kind of our Guardian Angel, Sir." Victor informed. "And we're just good Samaritans who want to help you guys uncover the truth."
"The truth is that Tyrone is innocent. I've known him and Tandy long enough to know that he would never hurt her." Father explained. "But I fail to understand why he doesn't surrender to the police and let them clear his name."
"Father, surely you never would have aided Cloak and Dagger's crusade these past few months if you had any faith in the authorities of this land." Cloak argued. "I know it is unorthodox, but these runaways represent our last best hope at justice."
"Don't be afraid to put us to work, Father." Nico answered. " 'Children are like arrows in the hands of a warrio', Right?"
"Your Zen parables carry little weight in this house, young lady." Father narrowed his eyes.
"Actually, that's from the Bible, Psalm 127. Former alter girl here." Nico blushed.
The Father's face softened.
"That's it, boys…step into the light." Dagger smirked triumphantly as three glowing Daggers appeared in her hands.
"This is the Surveillance tape that convinced everyone in New York that Cloak was responsible for Dagger's attack." Father crossed his arms.
"Despite the fact that I was miles away at the time." Dagger defended.
"I don't get, those dudes look nothing like Blacula here." Chase commented.
The video continued with Dagger defeating the three men.
"I don't think they're the ones we have to worry about." Trini leaned forward slightly.
Suddenly, another figure loomed into the video. "Greetings, my love."
" 'Cloak' Says something here, but I'm afraid it's inaudible." Father Lantom stated.
"Oh hey, Ty. Don't worry I took care of-." Dagger stopped.
Trini narrowed her eyes. "Stay still, beautiful." Trini heard.
"What? What's wrong with you?" Black smoke began to swarm around her. "Get away from me! Get-!" It swirled around her; her arms the only things exposed. "No! No!"
Trini gasped as the next picture depicted him groping up on the unconscious Dagger.
"Oh, God. Is he-?" Victor started.
Chase covered Molly's eyes. "Don't look, Molly."
Father shut off the tape.
"That's not Cloak." Trini stated.
"No, duh, Trinket." Chase looked up at her.
"No, I mean the one in the video is taller and wider. Our superheroes must be bigger idiots if they can't tell the difference." Trini explained.
"But you could?" Gert questioned.
"Ty is skinnier." Trini shugged.
"Even so, that still doesn't prove beyond the shadow of doubt." Cloak reached into his cape and pulled out a small baggie with a glove inside. "This glove, for example, was found at the crime scene…and never in my life have I worn one like it."
"Where'd you get this, Cloak?" Nico asked as she reached out to grab it from him.
"Before leaving for California, I teleported inside an NYPD storage locker to retrieve clues that might aid in our search for the real culprit." Cloak stated.
"So you stole evidence from an investigation where you're the prime suspect?" Gert cocked a brow. "You're not exactly helping your case, O.J."
"Who was Dagger fighting before you…before someone assaulted her?" Nico questioned.
"A gang of narcotics peddlers who've started working out of Washington Square Park." Cloak informed.
"Don't they sell like, MGH and all that shit?" Chase questioned.
"Indeed." Cloak nodded.
"So we got a start." Trini shrugged.
"Interrogating drug dealers? Regardless of whatever gifts you might possess, I'm not going to let you take this little girl into harm's way." The Father intervened.
"Hey! Who you callin' little?" Molly pointed an accusing finger at the Priest.
"Padre's got a point. If we're going undercover, Molly should stay behind. At this hour, an eleven-year-old will stick out like…"
"An Eleven-year-old." Trini finished Chase.
"Speaking of things that don't belong…" Gert pointed back at Old Lace.
"Don't worry about her, Gert." Nico pointed her staff at Old Lace. "I think I can kill two birds with one spell."
"Old Lace to Old Yeller!" Suddenly, Old Lace poofed into a small Yorshire Terrier.
"Awww!" Trini tilted her head to the side.
"What…what did you do?" Gert gasped.
"Obviously turned Old Lace into a Blood thirsty monster." Trini nodded.
"It's not permanent, but you, Victor, and Trini can use her to track down the person behind this glove, while Chase and I shake down pusher's for leads." Nico explained.
"What about Jake?" Chase questioned. "And how come Victor gets to go with Gert and Trinket? Why can't I go with them?"
"Jake can grow a pair and stay with Molly inside the Church. God knows he needs a little faith." Trini crossed her arms.
"And all you and Gert would do is make out. This is a mission, Chase, not Spring Break. Now let's move." Nico ordered.
"I can't thank you enough for your assistance my friends." Cloak thanked.
"Godspeed, all of you." Father placed his hands on Molly's shoulders.
"If you guys don't come back with souvenirs, someone's gonna get a beating." Molly grumbled.
"Where the hell did Gert go?" Trini crossed her arms. "She keeps disappearing."
"She said she was gonna get some food." Victor jabbed his thumb back. "Are you sure you're not cold?" He looked down at her badge off the shoulders, long sleeved shirt, dark brown skirt, and black knee high boots.
"I'm actually perfectly fine." She looked down at her hands. "I don't feel cold in the least. I feel pretty warm. See?"
She reached up and brushed her hand against his cheek. "Why is that?"
"Probably has to do with my 'all the powers in the world' Shtick." She moved his hand away but he caught it.
"No, I'm freezing. Please." He placed the palm of her hand against his cheek.
Trini narrowed her eyes. "Are you trying to flirt with me?"
"What? N-no! It's just you're…you're warm. Really. I just…I-it's not." Victor stammered.
"Relax Robo-dork. I'm joking." Trini chuckled.
"O-oh…"
She then started laughing.
"Alright, love bird. I have returned." Gert stated as she walked over with burritos in her hand. "Victor said he didn't want one. And I didn't know if Trinket wanted one so I got one for her."
"Thanks Gerty." Trini stated as she let go of Victor's face to reach for the Burrito.
Gert led the way; walking across the street. "Whoa what?" Victor looked both ways before crossing after them. "If we jaywalked like this back home, the cops would be all over you."
"Yeah but this is New York. No one's gonna care." Trini shrugged.
"That's so cool." Victor smirked.
"If you think this is such a Utopia, try my burrito." Gert glowered at the food. "For a town that supposedly has so many great restaurants, their Mexican food is a crime against humanity."
"Says you." Trini argued. "This is great."
"Then have mine." Gert handed hers across Victor to Trini.
Victor looked down. "Is that a pickle in there?"
"No offense, Vic. But I think you love New York because your evil 'dad' taught you to love it."
"Gert," Trini growled.
"Yeah, well, no offense, but maybe you just hate New York because you're not so special out here." Victor turned to three girls walking the opposite way with purple hair the same as Gert's.
"ARF ARF ARF!" Old Lace ran forward; towards an alley way.
"Easy girl!" Gert tugged on the leash abit.
"Looks like she finally picked something up on the glove." Victor noticed.
"Maybe this is how she gets when she smells-."
"Someone's here." Trini interrupted. "I can hear their heartbeat."
"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know a fella named Cloak, would you? Tall, dark, and billowy?"
"Who said that?" Victor's hand began to light up.
"I sorta figured Ty might pull something like this, so I planted a tracer in that glove the cops found at the scene." He paused. "I've been from Harlem to Coney Island trying to find the signal…and then it leads me to a couple of kids."
"Kids?" Trini sneered.
"Don't call me kid, Freak." Gert snapped.
"Wow…" Spider-Man slid down his web upside down to face the teens. "I was telling a hairy little Canadian guy the same thing."
Well, that's it! Another chapter coming up soon!