Defenders of the Earth: This Is Their Side Story

"Part of the Solution"

Earth B

The clock alarm rang. 6:50 am. Rick silenced it and moved the covers aside.

Amy stretched an arm as she got to her feet. She even looked cute at this time of the day, but Rick told himself to ignore that now.

He pulled his shirt off and yanked his shorts down too, tossing both of them into a hamper nearby.

Amy tugged the straps of her silk nightgown, stepping from the garment as it pooled on the floor.

He left the little room and sauntered straight to the tub. The shower started running just before he could reach it, Amy's 'kinesis moving both of the knobs.

Once they were in, Amy ran the soap all along his back.

Rick turned around and started washing her thighs. He knelt at her feet and caressed her calves.

She scrubbed shampoo down the sides of his head.

After they had both finished toweling themselves, they each donned a robe and headed into the kitchen.

Rick began mixing the egg whites up.

Amy pulled the cheese and started sprinkling it in. She used a bit of power on the pancake stack, floating a plate into the microwave.

Once breakfast was eaten, and dishes were washed, they each brushed their teeth, side by side, then spit the paste out and got dressed for the day.

A warm breeze awaited as they stepped outside, both of them heading for their vehicles. Amy would depart for the kindergarten, aiding a teacher as she cared for kids. Rick would be driving to the motor shop, helping to patch vans up all shift.

They had a certain ritual before they left. They shared a quick kiss, and then held hands, palms bound together as they walked to their cars, neighbors looking on while they clung to each other.

9:30 pm

He held her by the back as they left a loud club, a smooth tune blaring on the crowded street. He'd had a lot of fun. Amy had too. They rarely spent nights on the town like this.

Just as they were heading to his vehicle, Amy paused a moment, frozen in place.

"Jane?" she said, calling someone. The girl looked to be about Amy's age. She stood across the street, donned in a skirt, red hair resting on her leather coat. She was leaning toward an older man in a car, looking seductive as she smiled at him.

Then she noticed Amy, and jerked backward. "Ames?" she said, appearing ashamed.

The man looked too.

Amy started glaring. "What's going on?"

Rick was pretty certain that she already knew. He had an idea, but hoped he was wrong. It looked like Amy's friend was prostituting herself.

The man turned to Jane. "You getting in, babe?"

Jane held still, looking quite tense.

The man drove away. "You just blew it, hun."

Then another man rushed up behind Jane, a guy in a jacket with a black leather cap. "You cost us that money! What's wrong with you?" He grabbed her by the arm and threw her into a car. He got behind the wheel and started driving away.

Amy shook a little, and then leaned forth. It looked like she was planning to halt the car.

"Wait," Rick uttered. "Let's see where it leads."

The car was moving off.

She eyed it with a glare.

"Maybe we can help somebody else as well." Rick motioned her toward his vehicle.

Amy got in. They followed the car. He pressed a hidden button and a little square launched. The target now sported a tracking device.

"So how do you know her?" Rick asked Amy.

She seemed to be stewing as she studied the road. "I met her at my old foster agency. You have to sleep there when you're in-between homes."

Rick recalled Amy telling him about that. He'd had such a nicer upbringing than her. He wished ardently that hers could have been different.

"My foster mother May was about to choose Jane...but then a social worker asked May to take me. She made this big speech about my difficult past." Amy shook her head. "I could have convinced May to just take Jane. But I held quiet, so she'd pick me."

"Because you were hoping for a nicer life. No one can fault you for wanting that."

"But look at how Jane's ended up since then. This wouldn't be the case if I'd been generous."

"You don't know that."

Half an hour later, the pimp's car pulled into a parking lot. He took Jane into what looked like a clinic.

Rick parked too, then followed with Amy.

A square room awaited, with stark white tiles. The woman at the desk wore a nurse's suit. She asked quietly if she could offer them help.

Amy made a squint. "I'm looking for a friend who was brought in here. She's got red hair. Around my age."

The woman twitched a tad. "Sorry, miss...you're in the wrong place. We don't have any patients who look like that."

Rick glanced about. Where was Jane hidden? He wished they had a telepath like Duffy here.

"This is a small psychiatric home," the woman continued. "We rarely get any teen patients in."

Amy glanced over toward a closed white door. It looked to have a pretty heavy lock attached. "Where does that lead?" she asked the woman.

"Listen..." The nurse rose up from her chair. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to go."

Amy seemed to focus. The lock flew off.

"Hey!" The woman looked perplexed as she shook.

Rick followed Amy as she rushed through the door. It led downstairs into a wide dark room.

He flinched as the sights of the place sank in. It looked like a chamber of prison cells. Teen girls sat behind chain-link doors. Every young woman had a face full of gloom. All of them were stripped to their panties and bras, and most appeared frail as they leaned on their cots.

"Amy!" Jane called out from a corner. It seemed she was living here along with the rest. She hadn't been placed into her cell just yet.

The pimp in the leather looked confused and tense. Then he started rushing toward Amy and Rick.

Rick threw a fast high kick at his head, knocking the thug right onto his back.

Amy studied him, then looked around the room. She was clearly smitten by everything too.

Rick pulled his phone. "I'm calling Aunt Abby."

Forty Minutes Later

"A clever operation," Abigail said, standing by one of several vans in the lot, each of which had carried her troops to the scene. Local police had arrived as well. "They used the basement as their 'business' hut. The patients above never posed much threat. Who would believe them if they ever talked?"

Rick was absolutely appalled by this. He saw the pimp in leather being thrown in a car. "So he paid the staffers to look the other way..." The cuffed nurse was sitting in a back seat too.

"It sure seems so," Abby replied. "Because of you two, we've shut this down. We'll get them to talk, and follow our leads."

Amy took a breath, eyeing the scene.

All of the captives had been set free.

"Jane!" Amy called out to her friend. She ran over to her, and gave her a hug.

Jane hugged back. "Thank you, Ames."

Rick held Amy as they cuddled in bed. "You going to be okay?" he whispered to her.

"Mm hmm," she uttered, facing the wall.

He reached toward the light, turning it off. "Goodnight, Amy."

She turned to him. "Goodnight, Rick." She made a warm smile.

They shared a long kiss, and she closed her eyes. Rick snuggled up, then slept as well.