"A Friend in Need"
Part Three: "Reflections"
by
Aaron Storck
|
Los Angeles, California
"Yes, of course," Nightsable replied, relieving Dyna Girl of her charge. Opening a portal large enough for her and the truck driver to pass through, she carried the man into the violet pool of swirling energy and disappeared. Dyna Girl turned to her counterpart. The woman wore a red costume covering her entire torso with long sleeves that ended in gold metal wristbands. From the thighs down to her gold knee-high boots, her legs were exposed. Off of her right shoulder hung a half-cape of gold cloth that attached to the costume with a golden lightning bolt insignia. The shock of seeing an alternate version of herself from the future not withstanding, Holly was immediately struck by the regal sophistication with which this Holly Wood carried herself. Slowly, she shook off the shock of the moment and addressed her counterpart. "Where are all of the fire trucks and, um, emergency vehicles... Dyna Girl?" "Actually, it's Dynamo," the other Holly Wood smiled. She too was entranced at the sight of her younger self. "Traffic is a disaster. There are cars blocking just about every major intersection in a two-block radius. It'll take a while for the police to get them clear... unless WE give them a hand," Dynamo said with a twinkle in her eye. "What about the fire? It's spreading pretty fast." "We've got that covered." "We?" Dynamo spoke into the golden gauntlet on her left wrist. "Penumbra, it's all clear for you." A streak of onyx energy blazed through the sky overhead and caught Dyna Girl's eye. At the head of the dark contrail was a striking young woman with her dark hair in a ponytail. She wore a black bodysuit that gradiated into gray at an angle across the chest, leaving the right shoulder and sleeve a brilliant pearly white. She swooped low over the fiery wreckage of the two rigs and spread her hands wide. Instantly, the entire fire was contained within a dome of dark energy. "C'mon," Dynamo said to her younger self, "let's clear a path for those trucks."
"Let's go out on the deck," Dynamo suggested to her counterpart and Nightsable, who had joined them after rushing the truck driver to the hospital. The hostess carried a pitcher of iced tea and a tray with glasses, lemon and sugar out onto the back patio. The back yard had a large pool surrounded by a wooden deck. There was a small wooden gazebo covered in ivy with a hot tub inside. "Should we really be outside dressed like this?" Dyna Girl asked, noticing that none of them had bothered to change out of their costumes and the relatively low height of the yard's fences. "Oh I don't really bother hiding my identity anymore. Besides, the neighbors are a retired federal agent-turned news analyst on one side and a police captain and his wife the attorney on the other side. Needless to say we don't get many gawkers," Dynamo smiled as she sat down under the awning covering the large glass patio table. She began pouring tea into chilled glasses for her guests. "Sam, you're lemon and sugar, right?" Dynamo didn't wait for an answer from Nightsable before turning to Dyna Girl. "And I'll bet you're two lemon, no sugar." "How'd you guess?" Dyna Girl answered with a broad smile. Dynamo laughed and turned back to Samantha, who saw nothing good coming from this little sit-down. "Sam, I was so proud of Clair today. You should have seen her. "Clair Kent, Penumbra, the daughter of Captain Thunder and Eclipse. Have you met her, Holly?" the woman asked her younger counterpart. "No, but I've seen the pictures," Dyna Girl admitted, taking a sip of her tea. "She and her brother are the cutest kids..." "Holly," Samantha said quietly, but to neither one in particular. "They sure were, and boy do they grow up fast. Take Samantha here," Dynamo said with a nod, "I swear it seems like a few months ago, but I remember sneaking her off campus while she was in high school and taking her to the mall. Let me tell you, Holly, I may have taught her everything *I* know about shopping, but this girl has a GIFT for it." "Oh, I've seen her in action. It's a thing to behold," Dyna Girl said with a laugh. "They were such great kids, all of them. Sam, Nikki, Monique, Andy, Dom, Clair..." "Holly," Samantha said again, this time directed at the older of the two and in a much sharper tone. Ignoring the teleporter, Dynamo leaned in toward her other self and sighed, "I'm going to miss it all when I have mine, but I think Penumbra and the rest of Force will get along just fine without me." "What???" Nightsable asked with a slight squeal. "Oh my GOD! You're..." "Yup!" Dynamo said with a broad grin. "I'm going to have a BABY!" Dyna Girl simply sat there stunned while her best friend and the alternate version of herself embraced. As difficult as it was for Holly to accept the fact that she was sitting face to face with a future version of herself, not to mention the fact that her best friend never mentioned to her that she and her future self were apparently good friends for YEARS before the two of them had ever met, she was now having to contend with the thought that roughly eleven years from now, she would be excited about motherhood. Dyna Girl had never seriously considered starting a family, mostly because she had never found anyone worth starting a family with. Well, maybe I finally have, she pondered silently, and smiled at the thought. For the next moment or two, she sat there quietly sharing in the joy that the other two were feeling. "So," Dyna Girl said, gently interrupting the celebration, "Who's the lucky father?" Before Dynamo could open her mouth, Nightsable looked sternly first at Dyna Girl, and then at the older version. "Holly. No." It was a warning to both of them. The tone was firm, and both incarnations of Holly Renee Wood knew that there was no way that Samantha Parker would budge. "We'll talk later when 'Mom' isn't around," Dynamo promised. The older heroine gently patted Samantha's hand and flashed a broad grin at her younger self. It was Dyna Girl that had to break the bad news. "We don't have time. We have to get back as quick as possible. A very good friend's life is at stake." "It always is, isn't it?" Dynamo mused gently, but in a way that displayed understanding. "What's the matter? Is there something I can do to help?" As succinctly as possible, Dyna Girl tried to relate what Grav had told to her. She went on to discuss Franklin Richards and his temporal shift to the past after the first attempt to save the Armor founder had failed. She told her future self all about the research that was being done to save Grav, and that without the sample that they came for, a good friend and a great hero would be lost. "I don't know what I would do if I lost Miguel," Dyna Girl admitted, standing up from the table and turning away to look at the view once again. "Since Mom died, I've been lucky enough to have a lot of good friends. A lot of them are like my family, and Miguel is... he's..." the Forte powerhouse broke down, and quickly the other two came over to embrace her. "It'll be okay, hun," Nightsable promised. Dynamo said nothing for a few moments but simply rubbed the back of her younger self. The embrace broke up naturally after a bit and all three had residual sniffles and damp eyes to attend to. Dynamo put her hand on Dyna Girl's shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. "Sam, I need to talk to you for a moment," the older Holly said. "Let's go into the kitchen." To Dyna Girl she added, "We'll be right back, okay?" "Sure." The two old friends walked inside, leaving Dyna Girl alone with her thoughts. She leaned against the fence railing at the back of the yard and looked out over the city. -----------------
"Oh, you're one to talk," Dynamo shot back. "You got your dad back. You can see him any time you want to, all you have to do is sit down to dinner." "That's not fair, Holly. THEY asked me." "I could vid my folks RIGHT NOW and you know as well as I do that they would insist that we come over." "I know, Holly. But last night she started something special with a very good guy. On top of that, she is just starting to reach her potential. She's never even gone through the training and mystic rites that you did, but already she's on the verge of discovering the true nature of her abilities. You know what I'm talking about" Sam said, trying to reason with her old friend. "If you tell her that her Mom is alive just a teleport away, you know that she's going to insist that I bring her back. "And you know as well as I do that I'd never be able to say no." The older Holly resigned herself to the fact that the woman that she sometimes still saw as a little girl was right. "It's not fair, Sam." "I know, Holly." "I love you. And God knows I loved your Dad, but why should you be the only one to be able to reclaim a dead parent?" The question was harsh, but the tone was not. It was gentle and sorrowful, and Nightsable knew exactly what her dear friend meant. "I ask myself that question almost every day I see her." -----------------
Boyfriend. Wow. Still kinda hard to get around that, Holly mused silently, a soft smile on her face. Caught up in quiet reflection, she never heard the footsteps behind her. She continued to stare blankly out at the scenic view, not really looking at anything. The shadow that was cast over her shoulder and onto the railing never registered with her. But the hand on her bottom did. "Hey, the old costume still looks good on you," a man's voice with a rough but playful tone said quietly from behind her. "Maybe I should get out my old Mariner's uniform and we can..." Her brain finally registered the hand that was groping her gently and familiarly. The voice seemed familiar but because she was focused on the hand, she failed to recognize it. Spinning quickly, Dyna Girl grabbed the man's wrist, pulled his hand off of her, squeezed and twisted the wrist firmly and forced the man to the deck. When she had finally managed to get a look at the man, it took her a few seconds to recognize him in the sharp-looking suit and tie he was wearing. "Triphammer?" Dyna Girl asked mostly to herself, continuing to hold his wrist tight and maintaining leverage so that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to regain his footing. "What the hell are you doing?" Before he could answer, Dynamo and Nightsable sprinted out of the kitchen. They had finished their conversation and were heading back out to collect Dyna Girl when they saw the pair tangling on the back deck. When he looked up and saw his wife and their old friend Nightsable, he then looked back at Dyna Girl, and what was happening finally began to dawn on him. "Hi, honey," he said with a broad grin, still laying on the patio deck, his wrist held fast by Dyna Girl. With a look of mock disappointment and a sigh, Dynamo shook her head at her husband. "What did you do?" "He grabbed my ass!" Dyna Girl answered. "I didn't GRAB it," the man protested from the ground. "I caressed it... respectfully." "You took a NICE HANDFUL. I'll be shocked if I have any left after what you grabbed." Making full use of his vantage point on the patio, he craned his neck around to get a glimpse of Dyna Girl's backside. "Don't worry. It looks okay from here," he assured her with a grin that reminded Dyna Girl of the cat that ate not only the canary but the rest of the bird's buddies as well. Infuriated, mostly at herself for walking into that one, Forte's petite powerhouse tightened the grip on the man's wrist and changed the angle with which she held him so that he was forced further onto the deck. "Honey," he said in a muffled voice as his face was pressed close to the decking, "I thought it was you." Dynamo turned to her counterpart. "Can I have my husband back? He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I'm still training him." The younger Holly released her grip and Michael Blaine climbed to his feet, dusting himself off. Proving that he was not a complete idiot, he quickly gave his wife a kiss and put his arm around her. "Yup, for almost ten years now. Still pitching for the home team and no sign of being traded anytime soon," he added with a grin. "Don't be too sure about that," Holly Blaine chided her husband. "You're just lucky you knocked up the GM. She can't afford to trade you." Nightsable smiled broadly at the man. "Holly told me the news! I'm so happy for you guys." Michael squeezed his wife gently. "Thanks. We've missed you, Sam." He raised his voice a bit, "See what happens when you stay away for so long? If you came around a bit more, you'd be in the loop." "I know, I know," Samantha said indifferently. "I just got the same sermon from her," she added with a nod of the head to Dynamo. "Hi." the man said turning from Nightsable and extending his right hand, "Sorry about the confusion earlier. I'm Michael Blaine, and you must be Sam's other friend Holly." She took the man's hand in a much kinder manner this time and shook it. "I don't know what you mean, Holly," she said, turning to her older self, "he seems pretty sharp to me." The four laughed for a moment and Michael returned to his wife's side and put his arm back around her waist. "You're wearing your work clothes," he observed. "I thought you were going to lay off the 'heavy lifting' for a bit." His tone he chided his wife with was soft but serious. "It was just a traffic accident," Dynamo assured him. "And besides, Dyna Girl here did all the tough stuff." "Uh huh," the man responded, not quite believing her, and realizing that this was not a fight he would win. He turned to look at Samantha. "I imagine I'd just be fooling myself if I thought that you and... uh, Holly... were just dropping by for a visit. What's THIS week's crisis?" he asked, half-jokingly. "Believe it or not," Dyna Girl answered for her friend, "we ARE just visiting. But, I'm afraid we have to get going. I have a friend in trouble back home and that's why Sam brought us here." Briefly, she explained to Michael the reason for her journey across dimensions. "And he should be back in his office about now, so we really ought to get going," Dyna Girl said in earnest with a hint of regret behind it. "You know, I might be able to help you," the man offered. "Since Dad retired, Michael has been running the Forte Foundation," Dynamo explained. "When I moved from Seattle and founded Force here in Los Angeles, Michael suggested that we move the Foundation's operations down here. Since Forte, in it's various forms, is almost a global organization now, putting the Foundation here made sense for media exposure alone, if for no other reason. Since the move, Michael has made some impressive contacts and even talked a few into sitting on the Foundation's Board of Directors.” "Wow," Dyna Girl said, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "It's all gotten so... big." "In some ways, yes. But Wally and the members of the original team have all had a hand in helping shape the vision and direction of the Foundation," Michael said, assuring her. "Let me go vid a couple people and I'll see what I can do to help you and your friend." Dyna Girl watched Michael walk back into the house. "So, what about the museum? Is it here in Los Angeles too?" "No way," Nightsable said, sensing her friend's unease. She put a hand on the younger Holly's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "It's still in Seattle, and your dad... well, Wally... is still very involved. Seattle will always be a part of Forte as much as Forte is a part of Seattle. Only the Foundation's business operations have moved," she said, assuringly, "not the heart or soul. That will always be in Seattle." That last statement made Dyna Girl smile. She put her hand on the one that Samantha had resting on her shoulder and returned the squeeze briefly. Then she turned back to her counterpart. "So, has Samantha ever told you about the Michael Blaine that *I* know?" "No," the older version responded with a wicked grin, "but I'd love to hear all about it." "Why don't you tell me all about this 'Force' team of yours first? Who's on it? Is Vortex? You know, Sam had quite a thing for him over in my universe." "Vortex? Really?" Holly Blaine asked, drawing out the question in a way that showed her deep curiosity. "FORGET IT!" Nightsable declared emphatically and stepped between the two Hollys for effect. "This conversation is NOT happening!" Both Dyna Girl and Dynamo began laughing. It took a moment, but soon Nightsable found herself caught up in the laughter as well. She realized that regardless of what universe she came from, her friend Holly knew how to push her buttons.
"It's hard to say 'no' when the Cardinal's office calls," he responded with an equally warm laugh. Dyna Girl was looking around the priest's office, casually noting the
man's personal effects. She saw a photo of a newly commissioned Lieutenant
Chaplain Miguel Garcia, United States Army, surrounded by the family
that she had seen in a number of pictures belonging to the Miguel Garcia
of her world. This one, however, included the brother that Grav had
lost in a gang shooting. She looked fondly upon that picture for a moment,
seeing the look of pride on Elena Garcia's face as she smiled at her
son. Dyna Girl had seen this look before in person a number of times,
whenever Grav's mother came over to the Armor Security offices with
a surprise meal for the team. "You won these?" Father Garcia looked over at the Golden Gloves plaque that Dyna Girl was pointing to. "Why is it so hard for people to believe that a priest boxes?" he said with a chuckle, standing up and walking over next to Dyna Girl, as if to get a better look at the trophy that he knew very well. "I was All County Champion for two straight years," he announced proudly. "I got beat at State by a couple of fellas that went pro and did quite well at it. Of course that was several years AND several pounds ago." He patted his almost non-existent paunch for effect. Dyna Girl believed correctly that Father Garcia still worked out regularly and kept himself in good shape. "Now, what can I do for you ladies?" he asked. "The call I received made it sound quite urgent." Explaining as best as she could about the parallel universe that she came from, Holly began to tell the priest about the Miguel Garcia that she knew. The difficult part was trying to explain why they needed his help so badly, because while she did her best to maintain her composure, she ended up breaking down and Nightsable had to finish. Dyna Girl had done everything she could to save her best friend, but she realized that ultimately she could do nothing to save him. In the end, it was up to Father Garcia, the team of scientists back home, and perhaps even divine intervention if Grav was going to live. Samantha could see that her friend was spent, emotionally and physically. Dyna Girl had been awake for almost thirty-six hours straight, and while she hadn't told Samantha everything that had happened, the Forte teleporter knew enough to realize that Holly Wood was running on fumes. She put her hand on Holly's shoulder and let her have her cry. Father Garcia found a box of tissue in his desk and brought it over to the distraught heroine. "Here you go," he said softly. While Dyna Girl blew her nose and wiped her eyes, the man looked over at Nightsable. "When do we go?" "Oh, there's no need for you to come with us," Samantha assured him. "We've arranged for the samples to be drawn by a physician friend of ours." "I want to meet this man, this other me," the priest demanded gently, but firmly. "I would like to see just what kind of man inspires such emotion and dedication from a friend that she would travel across time and space just for a CHANCE to save him. He smiled warmly at the two women and added, "This is, of course, not an ultimatum, but merely a request. Even if you say 'no,' I will still help you." Without even turning to Holly, Samantha opened her teleportation portal. "Thank you, Father." Father Miguel Garcia gazed into the swirl of violet hues and regarded it for a moment. Then, he walked over to the closet and retrieved a small bag and his coat. He watched as Dyna Girl stepped through the shimmering disc of energy and was about to follow when he paused and looked over at Nightsable. "I do have a Christmas Eve Mass this evening. I'll be back in time, right?" "In plenty of time, Father." -----------------
"Doctor Quest, Franklin, this is Father Garcia," Dyna Girl said. The elder scientist extended his hand toward the priest, "Father Garcia, thank you for coming." Johnny waited for the man to return the handshake before continuing. "If you don't mind, I'd like to have you come with me so we can draw some blood and run a few tests." Dyna Girl watched as Johnny Quest led the other Miguel Garcia down the hall, then she turned to Franklin, "How's Grav?" "Not good, Dyna Girl. While you were gone he suffered an attack that appears very similar to the one that killed the original Miguel Garcia. Fortunately, we were able to stabilize his condition, due in no small part to Stephen's abilities. "It was really close," Franklin admitted, "but he seems to be doing better now." "I'll go stick my head in there and check on him and my dad." "Oh," the young genius said with a start, "Wally left as soon as the reinforcements showed. He wanted me to tell you to call him as soon as you got back." "Okay, thanks." Reinforcements? Holly wondered, walking toward the private room where her friend was. Franklin Richards was left alone in the corridor with Samantha. Because they hadn't really spoken much over the years since they had stopped dating, he felt a little awkward. However, he was determined to say SOMETHING, because he might never find the opportunity or courage to do so again. "Um. Hi, Sam," he managed. "Hi Frank," she said, feeling almost as awkward in the moment as he was. It's not as if things ended BADLY between us, she reasoned, they just ended. Mostly because I quit calling. She winced to herself on that last realization. "How've you been?" He set his brilliant brain into overdrive looking for the right thing to say. "Busy. You know. Work. Lots of things." Franklin was annoyed that despite his intellect and his many accomplishments in the world of science, he could not put together more than five words. Finally he managed to add, "And I've been seeing someone. Well starting to, at least. We'll see." "That's great," Nightsable said genuinely. "How about you?" "I've been dating, too, kind of." Walked right into that one, Samantha admitted to herself. "Nothing really, well, I mean..." "I meant, How are you?, Sam." Franklin said quietly and smiled, realizing he just got the upper hand in the conversation. "Oh. Fine," she said, smiling, relieved that the topic had changed. "Busy. Business is getting better. And there's always, well... you know... this!" Nightsable held her cape up and gestured toward her costume with her other hand, indicating the responsibilities of her costumed persona. "Franklin, I'm sorry," she said quickly before he could respond. "I've wanted to say that for a while now. Things with us should have ended better." "Well, just KNOWING there was an ending would have been better." There was no malice in his tone nor was any intended, only simple, analytical reason which had been the foundation for much of his life. "Yeah, I know." Nightsable began fidgeting with her hair, trying to avoid eye contact. "I guess I've always been bad with breakups." "So... we're officially broken up, then?" the young scientist asked with a smile, trying to add a little levity. "That's good to know." In spite of her desire to feel lousy, Samantha chortled and smiled. She shoved him in the shoulder playfully. "Jerk." "Friends?" Franklin asked, opening his arms wide to invite her in close for a hug, which she quickly accepted. "Yeah." The two held each other for a few seconds longer than was necessary. The empty hallway provided a temporary sanctuary where each could attain closure that was overdue by a couple of years. -----------------
While she was gone, Grav had almost died. That was reality. And now she had to hope that her trip across universes would result in a cure for him. She took another breath and composed herself as best as she could before opening the door. The room was very busy with activity when finally she peeked in. People were crowded around Grav's bed. As for the Latino himself, he sat upright, and though he appeared tired and pale, was managing a smile. Everyone in the room turned at the sound of the door opening. "Hey, guapa," Grav said, and motioned her over toward the group. Riptide was leaning against a wall on the other side of the bed. When he saw Dyna Girl enter the room, he came around the foot of the bed and wrapped her up in a tremendous hug, which the heroine returned with a small grunt of happiness. The aquatic hero finally released his grasp after a moment and stepped back so he could get a look at her. "Good to see you, DG." "All right, you lazy deserter, get over here and give me a hug," Leo "Sarge" Selman barked at Dyna Girl from the corner and she immediately complied. The leader of the Armor Security agent force let her go after a few moments and gave her a cursory inspection. "It doesn't look like you've gotten too soft in civilian life." "I'm still tough enough to whip your old ass." "HAH! You're welcome to try any time you like, missy," Selman said, leaning in toward her with a steely glare that he had crafted to perfection back in the Marine Corps thirty years ago. After a moment of trying to stare down Dyna Girl, the old drill instructor allowed a smile to break out and he ended up chuckling. "Hey Sarge, how is it she gets away talking to you like that?" Shockwaive asked in her Australian-accented English from over on the bed where she sat next to Grav. Sarge Selman leveled his overpowering gaze at the stunning blonde seated on the hospital bed. "SHE gets away with it because I LIKE HER!" he said, raising his voice, indifferent to the quiet of the hospital surroundings. "SHE was never LATE FOR TRAINING! When I gave an order, I never had to TELL HER TWICE! THAT'S why she can give me a SHITBURGER FOR LUNCH and I'll ask her to PASS THE KETCHUP! "ANY MORE STUPID QUESTIONS, FLETCHER?!?" The room fell into silence until Grav turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Shockwaive. "You asked." "I know," Beth Fletcher admitted quietly, fearful of raising the old combat instructor's ire once again. When she realized that Selman was not going to bite her head off, she dared a look over at Dyna Girl and smiled, "Hi." "Hi, Beth," Holly, too, was walking on eggshells just in case "Mount Selman" decided to erupt again. She glanced over at the man who was now as calm as could be and looked more like someone's grandfather than a hard-nosed Marine. She watched as the man even managed a smile and Holly was once again amazed by his ability to turn his taskmaster routine on and off at the drop of a hat. Shockwaive got up off the bed and walked around to where Holly was standing and gave her a hug as well. "Good to see you, Hol." Dyna Girl was surprised at this display of affection from the blonde Armor heroine. The two of them had never been particularly close and there was actually a bit of a rivalry between them while Holly was at Armor Security. Though she never was quite sure of the reason for the friction between them, Dyna Girl often believed that Shockwaive was jealous of the relationships that she had made in such a short time with the other members of the team. Particularly so because the blonde had known the others for years and did not seem to have the same deep friendships that Holly had cultivated. "Good to see you too, Bee," Holly said, returning the hug. The embrace ended and Dyna Girl looked over at Riptide. "Where's everyone else?" "Pixie and The Voice are back minding the shop. Tracker's with Doctor Richards, Franklin and Mark Kellerman helping the science guys over in the lab. I don't know where Triphammer is," The brawny man looked over at Shockwaive, "Do you know where he is?" "Probably annoying the nurses." That seemed as good an answer as any and one that was completely reasonable to everyone in the room. There was a knock at the door and everyone in the room turned to see the older incarnation of Miguel Garcia stick his head in the door. "Do you mind if I come in?" he asked Grav. "Um, no... of course not. Please." Grav and the rest of the Armor Security contingent had, of course, been told where Dyna Girl had gone and what she was intending to do. It had been assumed by everyone involved that she would have brought back the samples that Franklin Richards, Doctor Quest, and the science team had told her were necessary. In each of their minds they had reconciled that there was likely an alternate version of Miguel Garcia, and each one of them as well, living on the parallel Earth that Samantha Parker came from. Yet none of them ever expected to actually meet one of these otherworldly duplicates... much less one that had joined the priesthood. "I'm Father Garcia. It's 'Grav' right?" the man of the cloth asked, extending his hand toward his opposite. "Or may I call you Miguel?" "Either one is fine, Father," the younger one said with as much of a smile as he could muster. "May I sit?" "Sure." "I'm just waiting for Doctor Quest to finish his tests," the priest said, taking chair close to the bed. "After all of the amazing things that your friend Dyna Girl told me, I have to admit that I wanted to meet you. Imagine how amazed I was to find out that there is a world in which Miguel Garcia became a superhero." "About as much as me when you walked into this room and I found out that there is a FATHER Miguel Garcia living in an alternate universe." The priest smiled and was genuinely glad that his counterpart was as intrigued and surprised as he was. He looked around the room and saw all of the others watching this exchange between the two of them. "I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself to all of you. I'm Father Garcia." He greeted each of the others in turn and shook hands with them. "Well, Padre, if you'll forgive me, I'm going to visit the latrine and get some air," Sarge Selman said, shaking the man's hand again. "Good to meet you." "And I've got to call my father... um... Father," Dyna Girl said with an embarrassed grin. Looking over at Grav, she promised, "I'll be back in a bit." One by one each of them thanked the priest for his help and took their leave. Soon only the two Miguel Garcias were left in the room. They looked at each other, quietly contemplating the lives each one of them must have led up to this point. Finally it was Grav who broke the silence. "Can I ask why you became a priest?" "I felt the need to answer to a higher calling and to do something about it, so I became an Army Chaplain. Is that why you became a superhero? The need to serve a higher cause?" "I was born with these powers, Father. I'm sure Hol... er... Dyna Girl told you that I was created in a lab." The priest smiled at the way in which people who could lift buildings and fly accepted things like cloning and alternate universes so readily. "I meant your... um..." the older man searched for the right words, but found himself at a loss, "I meant the FIRST Miguel. Why did he choose to become a superhero?" "I don't have his memories Father, just an interpretation of them." "But you've lived his life for years now. Why do you think he chose the life he did?" he pressed Grav to answer. "Honestly?" Grav waited and his older doppelganger nodded that he wanted to hear the truth. "I think Miguel Garcia became Grav because he was angry. He was angry that his drunk of a father left when he was eight years old. He was angry that his brother was killed over a twenty dollar bag of pills in an alley. Angry that his mother worked two lousy jobs and never complained a day in her life taking care of three children. And he was angry that he was robbed of what he believed was his one chance to make something of himself when he lost a boxing match. "And in that moment of weakness and frustration, he sold his soul to a devil of a man for shortened life and a lot of empty promises." Grav's eyes were beginning to tear up. It was true that he had not lived the first eighteen years of Miguel Garcia's life and that he was an impostor to the family that in public he claimed as his own, but for the last thirteen years that family was a part of him and he loved them as if he had been born into it. When the money from Maxwell Ravenscroft had stopped coming to Elena Garcia and Armor Security had folded, Grav had found a way to make sure that the mortgage was paid and that the family was provided for. College tuition for Rosa and Mera was paid for by any number of odd jobs and a failed attempt to re-launch Armor Security. And when their mother injured her back and couldn't work for a month, Grav agreed to appear in that disastrous television show, "Nightly Orphaned Armor Rangers." His pride had been wounded, but Mrs. Garcia was able to get the rest she needed and not worry about the mortgage or the bills. Grav may not have been born to Elena Garcia, but is every way that mattered, he was her son Miguel. And for the first time since discovering the truth about his past, he truly believed it in his heart. "Father," Grav finally said, blinking the tears out of his eyes, "I'm not ready to die." "You have a lot of people working hard to make sure that you don't, Miguel, but ultimately God decides when our time has ended." "No, Father, I mean I've never been baptized in the church. Miguel was but I haven't been. I don't even know if a clone has a soul." "Neither do I." The priest smiled at the statement. It was a warm smile, one that both found the question amusing and appreciated the seriousness in which it was made. "But I do know that you know the difference between good and evil and that you strive to do what is right. The official position of the church may differ eventually, but until then I'm convinced that you do." The older Miguel reached into the bag that he had brought with him and produced a number of items, setting them on the bed stand. "I brought these with me in case you needed them." The priest did not need to say the words "last rites" for Grav to know what the man meant. He donned the cope and asked, "Miguel Garcia, are you ready to be baptized?" "Yes, Father." The priest closed his eyes and began to pray aloud, and Grav prayed silently along with him. Moments later, Johnny Quest opened the door to the room and was about to enter when he saw the priest and his younger self praying together. The scientist quietly backed out of the room and closed the door as gently as he could. He could tell them later that the tests were successful. ----------------- "Dad, that's a wonderful idea," Dyna Girl said with a yawn. "I'll make sure to ask them." She paused a moment while she listened to her father at the other end of her cell phone. "Just let me know what I can bring." Pause. "Let me know okay?" Another pause. "I love you, too," she added and then closed her phone and placed it in the pocket hidden in the golden sash around her waist. "Aw, that's sweet," Triphammer said coming around the corner. He was busy chewing on a sandwich. "Which loser are you dating this week?" he asked with his mouth full. Dyna Girl was amazed that the Michael Blaine of this universe could be so different from the one that Samantha Parker came from. "I was talking to my dad." "Figures you're not dating anyone," Triphammer stuffed another bite of his sandwich into his mouth. There was a strand of sliced lettuce hanging out that he scooped up with his tongue. "You look like crap." Triphammer smiled, figuring he just scored a point in their ongoing game of "one-upsmanship." Holly was about to go off on him about not having any sleep in the last day-and-a-half, about the emotional roller coaster she had been on, and about the fact that she DID have a love life, thank you very much, but she was way too tired to spar. Instead she walked right up to him, used a good deal of her impressive strength, and smacked him hard on the bottom. "What was that for?" the confused Armor Security strongman asked, his jaw still working on his last mouthful of food. Dyna Girl just walked away laughing.
"The good news is that the Reed Richards of the MAGIC universe was able to provide us with a delivery system. It seems that there's some sort of anti-mutant terrorist group on his world that had developed a retrovirus that would attack a target's genetic code and rewrite it. It was supposed to deactivate the abilities of anyone who derived their powers from mutation," Franklin explained to the heroes from Armor and Forte that were gathered in the waiting room. "And we're going to use THAT?" Shockwaive asked in disbelief. "After it's been modified, Beth," the young scientist assured her. "It's more advanced than anything we've been able to model in the lab, and the good news is that all of the work has been done for us. We've just saved days of lab work and months of research." Triphammer had finished his sandwich by now and asked, "How long is it going to take for it to work?" "Probably a week to ten days," Tracker answered his old friend and teammate. "Doctors Quest and Strange want to keep him here for observation. Mark and Franklin think it's a good idea, too." "Looks like we'll be around for a while," Riptide observed. "I'll have M*ber get us some hotel rooms nearby." "I say we stay with Max," Triphammer suggested with a devilish look, cracking his knuckles for effect. Dyna Girl quickly changed the subject before anyone else thought that
dropping in on Maxwell Ravenscroft was a good idea. "If you guys
are going to be around, my dad wanted to know if you wanted to spend
Christmas dinner with us tomorrow." She waited a moment before
adding, "And he says 'no' is not an option." "Hey!" Holly said with a yawn, feigning offense. Nightsable put her arm around her friend and gave her a quick squeeze. "You need to get some sleep, Hol. Let me 'port you home." "Okay," she responded with another yawn. She turned to her friends while Samantha opened a doorway of purple-hued energy, "Call me tomorrow." -----------------
"Mmmmm... wha?" he said, startled as she wrapped her arm around his waist and snuggled close, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped her up in his arms and held her close. "This is the best Christmas ever," she said sleepily, her face buried in her boyfriend's chest. "Why?" he asked in a soft voice. But she was already asleep. |
