Chapter 17 - "I Need a Hero

Chapter 17 - "I Need a Hero!"

The roar of engines faded away into the night as Michael listened to them from the back of his mind - literally. When the Demons stormed into the hall, he had stood shocked at the violence that had suddenly erupted in his face. His young mind had been incapable to adjust fast enough to the sudden intrusion, the blasting firearms, and the screams of frightened people. The fire at the school had been a different situation. That had been a single disaster point and his mind was already in a primed state due to his fight with Dan Harper. This time, with dozens of armed men rushing around firing guns into the air, there just wasn't enough time to mentally prepare an appropriate response. The few seconds he had when first Big Bro and then May warned him was not enough. He had allowed himself to be herded with the rest of the students and teachers to the rear of the dance hall. When Diablo stalked into the hall, virtually radiating with animosity, Michael was once again struck helpless. He couldn't even speak up when May sacrificed herself and started walking towards Diablo. Fortunately for him, Big Bro slipped into control while he was still in a state of shock.

"Leave her alone!" cried Big Bro in Michael's voice. Even though Big Bro had anticipated some sort of violent response, the smooth and uncaring way in which Diablo drew his gun and fired almost caught him by surprise. On the night he had saved May from a hail of automatic gunfire, he had several luxurious seconds to reach out with his senses to all the guns and snag the bullets as they left their gun barrels. Tonight, he had barely a second - if even. The bullet leapt from Diablo's gun and Big Bro barely caught it in time. He was almost too late. The bullet managed to impact his chest but failed to penetrate. The sudden pain from the impact drove him to his knees. Quick thinking after that prompted him to lie on the ground, as still as death.

As the Demons left with their captive, Michael spoke up for the first time. <<Hey Big Bro, thanks for the save back there.>>

You are welcome, young one.

<<Oh, and thanks for not blowing my cover. I realize that you could have easily defeated all the bad guys and prevented May from being kidnapped.>>

Not quite so easily as you might think, young one. There were simply too many enemies for me to guarantee a clean engagement that would not involve innocent lives. Besides, their leader, Diablo, is an unknown quantity and highly unpredictable.

<<Yeah, he's one scary dude! Do you think it's safe to get up yet? Tracy sounds like she's about to have a break down.>>

Yes, I do believe it is time to leave to rescue May. Without any more innocent bystanders in the way, I can easily overtake the Demons before any harm comes to her.

Big Bro got slowly to his feet. Beside him, Tracy gasped in surprise and threw her arms around him. <<Whoa, Big Bro, I know you want to rescue May. I do too, but we've still got a situation here.>>

"Michael! Are you alright?!" cried Tracy. She started running her hands up and down his body, looking for any injuries. "Quick lay back down. You've been shot and the paramedics should be on their way. Where are you hit?" Tracy frowned at the lack of blood.

Big Bro gently removed Tracy's wandering hands. Her touch was generating responses from his human body that he just wasn't ready to handle. "I am fine, Tracy. The bullet did not penetrate. It was...stopped by my wallet." Big Bro started to head to the door, obviously anxious to start after the Demons.

"Wait! Where are you going?" exclaimed Tracy. She dug May's cell phone from May's purse and flipped it open. "Don't think that you can go after them! They'll kill you! I'm calling for help right now." She hit the 1 button and then the Send button.

<<She's right, Big Bro. Please, I know you want to go, but I don't want to leave Tracy all by herself too. Besides, if Diablo wanted to kill May, he would not have taken the trouble to kidnap her. He's obviously got a plan.>>

I know, young one. But I feel a certain amount of unrest. I...I...need to go after her!

<<And you will, I promise. Let's get Tracy home first. Once she's safely there, you can officially go after the Demons and put a serious can of whoop ass on their butts!>>

Very well, young one. But if the Demons harm May, I will turn every last one of them into ash!

<<Calmly, calmly, Big Bro. We need a level head now!>>

Tracy hung up and called out, "Michael, help is on the way."

Michael slipped back in control of his body and looked back at Tracy. "Great! Come on, I'll take you home." He turned back and started heading for the door.

Tracy started to follow but her toe hit a small object that bounced several feet with an odd metal clinking sound. Frowning at the sound, Tracy scanned the floor until she found the object. She picked it up and her eyes widened in surprise.

Tracy's father, Richard Adams was a gun enthusiast. Though not a hunter, he owned several rifles and often took them to a shooting range to shoot them at distant targets. Tracy had not quite shared her father's enthusiasm until the first time her father brought her to the range. It had been nothing more to her than a chance to spend some quality time with her father, but from the moment she pulled a trigger and actually hit the paper target down range, she was hooked. There wasn't anything quite like the challenge of leveling her rifle, breathing slow deep breaths, aiming down the sight at a target that was barely visible, taking one final long breath and slowly releasing it until her rifle was steady. Gently squeezing the trigger of her Anchutz bolt-action rifle was like fitting the last piece on a complex yet satisfying puzzle. Her father preferred to use a scope but Tracy enjoyed the challenge of using only the rear and front sights.

Thanks to her familiarity with firearms, she had no difficulty recognizing what she now held in her hand. It was a bullet, but unlike any bullet she had ever seen. All the bullets she had ever handled were in their shell casings. The only bullets out of their casings she had seen were the occasional ricochets that she had picked up whenever she went down range to pick up her target. These were barely recognizable as bullets as they were usually flattened out of shape. The bullet in her hand was obviously out of its casing, but still perfectly formed - almost as if something or someone had caught the bullet in mid-flight. She stared hard at Michael's back. The wheels were slowly turning in her head.

The drive to Tracy's house was a quiet one. Both Michael and Tracy were silently lost in their own thoughts and worries. The police were already starting to arrive when they left the hall, but Michael had managed to avoid them on the way to his car. The last thing he needed now was to be stalled by the police. He drove quickly but carefully, pushing the speed limit but never quite breaking it. Inside his head, Big Bro raged at his slow pace until Michael pointed out that being stopped by the police for reckless driving would definitely slow them down even further.

Michael pulled up in front of Tracy's house and Tracy leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. "Michael, I know you're worried about May. I am too." Tracy let out a long frustrated sigh. "I wish there was something I could do! Her friends are better equipped to handle this though."

"You mean the Children of the Night?" asked Michael quietly.

Tracy looked startled and looked at Michael in wide-eyed surprise. "How do you know about them?"

Michael shrugged and said, "I heard that Diablo guy call May 'Child of the Night'. Now you say that May's friends can help her while we are unable to. I just put 2 and 2 together."

"I -" stammered Tracy.

Michael raised his hand and stopped her. "I know it's not your secret to tell. I understand. But do you really think her friends can get to her in time?"

Tracy paused a second before replying. "I hope so. I mean, they're trained for this kind of thing, but that Diablo guy really scared the daylights out of me! May's pretty capable in her own right, but she was totally helpless against him. On the phone, they told me that May's got a pendant with a homing device built in. They should be able to track her down." Tracy looked at Michael's intent expression and suddenly thought back to the bullet that she had found, and the apparently unhurt Michael who had taken a bullet in the chest. She opened her mouth to ask the question that was half formed in her head but then restrained herself. What was she supposed to say? Instead she said, "Michael, promise me you won't so something stupid, like going after May, OK? I want to help May too, but I know my limits. Besides, I've got enough on my plate worrying about May. I don't want to worry about you too."

Michael returned her gaze and said simply, "I promise I won't do anything stupid."

It wasn't quite the response that Tracy was looking for. She peered into Michael's face, looking for anything that resembled deception. Not for the first time, she wished she had May's gift of empathy to tell if someone was lying to her or not. Then, she decided she didn't want to know after all. If Michael was the kind of guy who could stop a bullet, then maybe he was the man for the job to rescue her best friend. She caressed his face with her hand and said, "God speed, Michael." She got out of the car and ran into her home before better sense could make her turn around and forbid Michael from risking himself. Once inside, she prayed that both Michael and May would be all right.

As soon as he walked into his own front door, Michael wasted no time. He quickly stripped off his clothes and threw them haphazardly on the floor. He concentrated for a second and transformed into his other form. All right, let's get this show on the road!

<<A moment, young one.>>

Moment? You've been harassing me the whole trip home and now you want a moment? Make it quick.

<<Have you any idea where the Demons may have taken May?>>

That stopped Michael in his tracks. Um, actually, no, I haven't thought about that. I suppose I was going to check out that dump where you rescued her last time.

<<She is not there.>>

How do you know?

<<Logic for one. That place is too public. Secondly, I...I can feel her and she is definitely not in that direction.>>

Feel her? What do you mean?

<<I am not sure myself. Earlier in the night, I had a conversation with May and she confessed that she could feel my presence. I must admit that I too can feel her presence as well. Right now, she is currently somewhere south west of us.>>

Are you sure?

<<Absolutely.>>

Let me guess, you want control, right?

<<Please, young one. I need to do this.>> There was a tone in Big Bro's voice that Michael had never heard before. It sounded like desperation.

Sure, no problem, Big Bro. This is a pretty delicate situation anyway. I'd feel better if you were in the driver's seat. Besides, once we get May, there's the possibility that she will recognize me with her power. With what was becoming almost second nature, Michael relinquished control of his body and slipped into the dark recesses of his mind. You might want to recharge before you head out though. No telling what sort of trouble we're going to run into.

Big Bro recharged his body at the power socket by the front door. With his body at full charge, he draped his transparency around himself, opened the door and leapt into the sky. A quick tug with his senses shut the door behind him. He spread his senses out ahead of him like a net and could feel a warm pulse somewhere out there in the night. He was becoming accustomed to feeling this pulse and knew without a doubt that it was May. He swept his wings back and pushed out behind him with his power. Like an invisible rocket, he arrowed over the city, heading unerringly towards the warm pulse.

Please, Elders, keep her safe until I get there!

<<Sorry, Big Bro, was that directed at me?>> asked a slightly confused Michael.

I am sorry, young one. I was...saying a prayer.

<<A prayer? To whom? I didn't realize you were religious.>>

I am not. However, I am familiar with the concept - both from your memories and my former masters.

<<Who are the Elders? Are they the ones who first created the Shiza-harans?>>

Yes. The Pracetorians regarded them as gods and practically worshipped them. I feel such an enormous sense of need to reach May and yet I feel so uncertain about my ability to rescue her before she is harmed that a prayer seemed appropriate.

<<So you said a prayer to the only beings who is almost like a god to you. That is a very understandable, and surprisingly, very human response, Big Bro. You're sounding more and more human everyday.>>

Must be my close association with you, young one.

<<Must be. Wait, is that it up there?>>

The being known as Big Bro slowed down until he hovered unseen over a large warehouse. The entire local area was covered with warehouses, but his senses had guided him straight to this one in particular. As warehouses go, it was very generic and looked no different from the dozens of other warehouses in the area. The only difference was that the warm pulse associated with May was in it.

I believe so. I will confirm if May is here or not.

Big Bro stretched his senses out and into the warehouse. Walls and doors were no hindrance to him and he slid through them effortlessly. As he got closer to the pulse, he began to sense other bodies close by. Eventually, he entered a room. The first thing he noticed was a body on the floor. A quick scan showed that it was not May. In fact, he did not recognize the body, even though it was dead. May was lying spread-eagled on a bed. Her hands and feet were tied to the four bedposts. She was still asleep, but Big Bro could sense that she was starting to wake up from the drug-induced sleep that had enabled her capture. Her blouse was ripped open but her bra was untouched. A full body scan showed that May was unharmed and unmolested. If he were able, Big Bro would have sighed in relief. Then, he turned his senses to the man that was sitting on a chair by the bed. Up in the air, Big Bro allowed a shiver to run through his body. There was something about this man. Something wrong. Something malicious and not entirely sane. Something natural yet at the same time, completely unnatural. Big Bro scanned Diablo and felt fear.

There were dozens of straight surgical scars running all over the man's face and baldhead. Someone, at many times in Diablo's life, had operated over and over on his head and presumably the brain inside. Diablo was watching May sleep the way a child would watch a sleeping pet, anxiously waiting for it to wake up and play. The grin on his face bordered on the insane and his eyes never blinked. Big Bro was tempted to reach out with his senses and pound the grin from Diablo's face, but something stopped him. What he had said to Michael earlier was true. Diablo was an unknown quantity and highly unpredictable. Big Bro doubted that he could put Diablo down quickly enough without endangering May.

<<Let's wait a bit, Big Bro. That guy is seriously scary. I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, powers or no powers. Heck, I wouldn't want to meet him in broad daylight!>>

I agree, young one. I cannot guarantee that May would remain unharmed if I affected a rescue at this time.

<<He's not doing anything right now except watch May sleep. Sheesh, that look on his face gives me the creeps. The minute he does anything to May, we'll make our move. Otherwise, let's see if he'll get distracted and leave on his own.>>

Agree. If he vacates the room on his own, that will give me a clear shot at May. This building will not provide too much of a hindrance to me.

Big Bro continued to hover while his senses kept watch.

The jet-black helicopter sailed through the night sky almost silently. Almost silently, that is, for a helicopter. Not for the first time, Brandon Lau wished that the Children of the Night had the resources and the technological ability to make a completely silent running helicopter. As it was, he was flying as close to the ground as he dared in an effort to stay off the radars of the various local airports in the area. His flight plan was definitely not registered.

Earlier in the night, he had caved in to demands of the teenaged Jade Li, the sister of Jared, to take her up in the Night-copter. Jade had snorted in derision at the name Night-copter. It was such a cliché name, but after one look at it and she had to admit that the name fit. It was a modified Bell 430 and it was painted completely black. The tinted windows meshed almost seamlessly with the black paint such that to the casual observer, the side profile of the helicopter looked uniformly black. There was a rounded bulge underneath the nose that was not there when the 430 first came off the assembly line, and the enlarged aerodynamic pods on either side were definitely not standard issue.

Brandon was in the process of taking Jade in a lazy circuit around Sifu Chang's school when the urgent call came over the radio. May was kidnapped by the Demons. Since he was already up in the air, Brandon was tasked with the mission of tracking down May. He was to find her location via the homing device in her pendant, assess the situation, and affect a rescue if possible. Not for the first time during that urgent flight, Brandon wished that he could have dropped Jade off somewhere safe. However, since time was an issue, added to the determined look on Jade's face, Brandon knew that it just wasn't possible. Also not for the first time that night, Brandon wished that he were carrying a more effective ordinance. Sifu Chang absolutely forbade the use of live ammo, so usually the Night-copter was outfitted with gas rockets, sonic grenades and rubber bullet loaded sub-machine guns. Tonight, it was armed with nothing.

Brandon glanced over at Jade. She was silently focused on her terminal. An electronic representation of the streets below them was showing on her screen. The top of the screen blinked red, showing the direction that May was in and the fact that she was not yet in range to fully triangulate her position yet. Brandon cursed under his breath. Tonight was a hell of a time for Leigh Adams to tender his resignation from the group. Brandon could not really blame Leigh, after what had happened to Jared, but Brandon could have used Leigh's telepathic gift now to let May know that help was coming. In fact, all the regular and occasional members of the Children of the Night had quit the team after Jared's death. Sifu Chang had thanked them all for their past contributions and wished them luck with their future endeavors and sent them on their way. Jared's death did influence one person to join, though. Jade had jumped at the chance to follow in her brother's footsteps. Always functionally small, the Children of the Night now consisted of him, Jade, and May - and May was currently held captive. After May was safe and sound, the Children would have to focus on recruiting new members. Another telekinetic or two or three would certainly beef up the group's offensive capability. Unfortunately, it would not be Brandon's decision to make nor would it be Sifu Chang's. It would be May's. Brandon fervently hoped that they would find her alive and well so that he could officially pass the reins of leadership to her.

"I've got her!" exclaimed Jade from her console.

Brandon looked over and sure enough, Jade's console now had a bright red light that was blinking regularly. The light was somewhere in the warehouse district and Brandon made a beeline for it. If they were lucky, they would be able to make a single flyby to confirm May's actual location before setting the Night-copter down on a nearby warehouse roof. Then, it would be a short hike and a possible rescue. Maybe, he could even the score a little with Diablo. Brandon frowned at the thought. There was something about Diablo that just didn't fit right. First of all, Jared was able to sense a psion, but was never able to pinpoint whom. Jared may not have been as powerful as May, but he was very skilled with this gift. The way Diablo - and Brandon was assuming the Demon psion was Diablo - hid his presence from Jared meant that Diablo was very cunning. The fact that Diablo even knew to hide his presence from Jared meant that Diablo knew that Jared and Brandon were psions and always did. It also seemed awfully convenient that Jared was pumped full of lead, but Brandon only suffered a shoulder wound - as if the shooter had explicit orders to kill Jared because he was an empath and the larger threat. Then there was the apparently easy way that May got captured. Brandon didn't have all the details but he had trained with May and he knew just how capable she was in a fight. It was possible that May willingly allowed herself to be captured to spare any hurt to her friends, but it was also possible that she was overwhelmed somehow. Put all of it together and it smelled like a trap. Instead of heading straight for the blinking red light, Brandon banked the Night-copter so that it approached the blinking light in a long curve.

Jade noticed the course change immediately. "What're you doing, Brandon? This is no time for games!"

Brandon glanced a Jade and wondered how much of his reasoning he should offer. Jade was known to have a hot head and he wasn't sure she would listen to his reasons. "I'm going to circle May's position first and scout out a secure landing zone."

"What do you mean? I can pick out a good spot right here." Jade emphasized her point by gesturing at her console.

"I need a place where I can leave you safely behind," said Brandon.

"Forget that!" snapped Jade. "I'm coming with you! I'm not staying behind again and watching someone I love die!"

"You also don't have my training, Jade. I can move faster and take care of myself if I run into trouble." said Brandon.

"Ha!" snorted Jade. "With that shoulder? You couldn't even protect yourself from a fly! Besides, I may not be as good as you and May hand to hand, but I'm pretty handy with this." Jade pulled out a dark object from her bag on the floor.

Brandon hissed in surprise when he recognized it. It was a sub-machine gun from the Sifu Chang's armory. "Where the hell did you get that? Give me that! Do you know how dangerous that is?"

Jade laughed and batted away Brandon's seeking hand. "Relax, it's loaded with rubber bullets. I told Sifu that I had a 'funny feeling' and he allowed me to take it."

Brandon stopped his attempts at snatching the weapon from Jade and returned to flying the helicopter. What Jade said about his current fighting ability had scored a sore point. His left shoulder was still heavily bandaged and flying the helicopter took every ounce of his concentration. "Do you even know how to use that?"

Instead of replying, Jade took a magazine from her bag, slapped it in and cocked the gun. She gave Brandon a meaningful look and he sighed in resignation. A girl with a gun. Somehow, that phrase didn't sound as funny or corny as it once did! Under his breath, he started to sing softly, "Jadee's got a gun..."

May was dreaming. At first, all she dreamt of was Diablo's sneering face as he pulled his gun and blasted Michael with it. Over and over, the scene played out in her dream. She could still hear Tracy's scream and the sound of Michael's body as it hit the floor. Suddenly, a warm loving light replaced her nightmare of darkness and violence. The light forming into a single shining being and she recognized the winged form as her personal guardian angel. Her Da Gueur had come! As he approached, she noticed something odd. His head looked different. It was not the fierce war-like avatar that she had seen before. Instead, Da Gueur had a face. It was covered completely in silvery skin like the rest of his body and was not one that she recognized right away. <<Da Gueur? Is that you?>>

<<Yes, May. It is I. Are you all right?>>

<<I'm fine, but I failed!>>

<<How did you fail, young one?>>

<>

<<Do not worry, May. My brother is fine.>>

<<Brother? Who's your brother?>>

Instead of hearing a reply, May found herself waking from her dream. She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was a dirty, spotted and pitted ceiling. When she tried to move her arms and legs, she found to her dismay that they were tied securely to the bed she was on. Her chest area felt breezy and she knew that the nice fancy blouse that she had worn to the dance was ripped wide open. She felt a trill of fear and she imagined all the evil liberties the Demons must have taken on her helpless body, as she lay helpless.

"Relax, Child of the Night. No one touched you as you slept. It would not serve my purposes if you were harmed before the time was right."

"What purpose is that?" May twisted her head as best as she could. Although she recognized the raspy voice of her enemy, he could not locate him. She heard footsteps and Diablo stepped into view.

"Here, Child of the Night. I am here. Perhaps you would like to look around?" Diablo gestured his hand and the ropes that held May's hands secure suddenly slackened and fell off.

With her hands free, May suddenly leapt into action. She bolted upright and her right hand lashed out with her palm open towards Diablo's midsection. About an inch from Diablo's groin, an invisible force stopped her hand.

"Uh uh, you naughty girl!" Diablo pushed out with his power and May slammed back against the wall. She sat upright glaring daggers back at him. "Oooh. If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under and pushing up daisies!" Diablo danced a little jig, all the while laughing maniacally.

"What do you want?" demanded May. She had forgotten about his telekinesis.

Diablo stopping laughed and stood stock-still. His eyes bored into May's as he said one single word. "Revenge."

"Revenge? Against me?"

Diablo threw his head back and laughed again. Then his eyes bored into hers. "No, little girl, not against you."

May felt a chill run down her spine. Diablo's voice had changed. Not just his tone, but also his whole way of speaking. Now, he had a vague English accent and sounded more like Mrs. Doubtfire than an evil gang leader.

Diablo sat on the edge of the bed. Even his body language resembled a matronly grandmother. "Little girl, I have nothing personal against you. It's that little group you belong to that I have a grudge against." Diablo's body language shifted again. His face turned mean and his shoulders stiffened up. "Especially that rat-fuck traitor Chang!"

"Sifu?" asked May. "What do you have against Sifu Chang?"

"Sifu?" imitated Diablo. "Is that what that yellow bastard is calling himself these days?" Diablo jumped off the bed in single bound. His demeanor now resembled a petulant and sulky child. He raised his right hand up and something from the corner of the room rose up into the air.

May gasped when she saw the dead body. The body had casts on its right arm and leg and a brace around the neck. Even through the agonized expression on its face, May recognized the body as the man who had tried to assault her almost two weeks ago. Beyond the various casts on the body, there was no obvious sign of the cause of death.

Suddenly the invisible force that levitated the body threw it against the wall. It hit the wall several times before falling limply back to the ground. With his immediate anger spent, Diablo turned back to May. Seeing the expression on her face, and no doubt feeling her horrified emotions, Diablo spoke reassuringly in his matronly voice. "Oh, don't worry dear. I'm sure poor Billy didn't feel that. In fact, I'm sure poor Billy won't be feeling anything ever again!" He threw his head back and howled his laughter at the ceiling.

May tried to shrink back against the wall. She crossed her hands in front of her in an unconscious attempt at covering herself up. Diablo noticed her movement and sat back down on the bed. The matronly grandmother was back.

"Silly girl, you don't have to do that with me. I have no interest in such things," he said. "Part of the price I paid for my ticket to godhood." Diablo nodded in the direction of the dead body. "Billy there, on the other hand, seemed to have a grudge against you. Maybe it was because you scared the shit out of him and he ended up running off the roof. Falling three stories did nothing to improve his disposition or his looks. He couldn't wait to get his hands on you and I had to make an example of him. All in good time, I told him. But did he listen? No, he had to go and rip up your nice blouse."

"What did you do to him?" May asked fearfully.

Instead of answering right away, Diablo asked in his grandmother's voice, "What do you know about merging?"

May frowned before replying. "Merging? That's just a myth. When two psions have...relations, it is said that if their love for each other is great enough, they can sometimes merge their minds together."

"Love?" exclaimed Diablo. He started laughing again, and May started to wish that he didn't find every little thing so funny. Diablo stopped laughing and then raised his voice and sang, "What's love got to do, got to do with it!" Whatever else Diablo was, he did a pretty good Tina Turner imitation.

"Love has nothing to do with merging, and it's not a myth." Diablo held up his right hand with his palm facing up. He focused on his hand for several seconds and suddenly, his hand burst into flame.

May gasped in shock. It wasn't possible! The flame in Diablo's hand was reddish in color and seemed translucent, almost ethereal. "That's...that's...psychic fire!" stammered May. "That's impossible!"

"Oh, it's very possible, Child of the Night," Diablo said with a triumphant grin. "You've been lied to your whole life and you never knew it.

"But no one's been able to create it before!" cried May.

"They just didn't know how," said Diablo. "Empathy, merged with Telekinesis will create psychic fire. It doesn't burn like a real fire, but as Billy over there can attest, it sure feels like it."

May was speechless. All her life, she had believed that merging was just a psion myth. Jared had once confessed to her that he and Brandon had tried to merge their gifts but only managed to give themselves migraines.

Diablo tossed something on the bed. May looked and saw a familiar dart. Suddenly, the invisible force that held her back was no longer constraining her. Her hand began to inch towards the dart.

"Go ahead, Child of the Night. Pick it up. I'll make you a deal, if you can ding me with that dart, I will let you go free." Diablo grinned evilly at her. "Heck, I'll even turn my back to you!" Diablo go off the bed and walked several feet away. True to his word, he kept his back to May.

May snatched up the dart and threw it in a single smooth motion. The dart flew unerringly to its target, but before it reached, Diablo slipped to the side and the dart sailed harmlessly past. May gaped in disbelief. She had seen only one other person do something like that- and that person was blind. "How did you do that?" she demanded.

Diablo turned back and looked at her. "Your precious Sifu never told you, did he?"

"Told me what?"

"Merging!" hissed Diablo. "The ultimate in psion evolution. Empathy merged with Clairvoyance creates a 360 degree sixth sense ability. Call it a spidey sense!"

The ramifications of what Diablo just said slowly sank into May's brain. "Empathy and Clairvoyance...That means -"

"That Chang has Empathy and Clairvoyance!" shouted Diablo gleefully. The petulant child's voice was back. "But he was jealous of me. I was an Empath, Clairvoyant and a Telekinetic! He started the psion rebellion before I could attain my final psion gift. Telepathy would have made me a god!"

"How...how can this be?"

Diablo looked at May almost affectionately. Even before he spoke, May knew that the matronly grandmother was back. She was starting to get used to Diablo's moods. Diablo indicated his scarred head. "Surgical experimentation wasn't enough. The good doctors at the Centre went through many psions before they found the key."

"What key?"

Diablo lunged forward until his face was inches from May's. "Empathy!" he cried. "It was empathy! Empathy is the heart of the psion gifts. Only empaths have the ability to augment the other gifts and merge with them. Telepathy and Telekinesis together will do nothing but kill the psion being operated on. But put Empathy with Telepathy and guess what you get?"

Realization dawned slowly on May, but she still had to ask the question. "What do you get?"

The maniacal gleam came back to Diablo's eyes. His demeanor shifted back to the crazed gang leader that May had first encountered earlier that night. He raised his face to the ceiling and howled, "Mind control!"

May leaned back in stunned silence. Diablo alone was master of three psion gifts and two additional skills that were previously thought to be impossible. If he acquired the ability to control other people, then he would in fact be unstoppable. All her life, people had been telling her that her gift of empathy was particularly strong. Even Jared, the only other empath that she knew always told her that he didn't even begin to approach her level. Tonight, during her capture at the dance hall, Diablo had easily demonstrated that not only did he have three gifts; he was also stronger in each than any psion she knew. Now that she knew about his ability to merge his gifts together, she wondered if perhaps the Children of the Night were completely outclassed. Diablo was well on his way to becoming a Psychopath - pun intended.

Diablo suddenly cut off his unearthly howl. He stood up and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. He cocked his head to one side and smiled his crazy smile. "Ahh, we have visitors. The rodents have taken the bait!"

"Bait?" asked May incredulously. "Is that what I am?"

"Of course! Empaths are rare enough as it is. After I killed one, I knew the Children of the Night would have to react. I never dreamed they would send another Empath to come looking for me. But they did. Now that I have you, they definitely would have to come to rescue you. If I kill enough psions, Chang himself would have to act, and then I will have my revenge!" Diablo paused and said, "Too bad they got here sooner than I expected. I wanted to ask you about the angel that attacked my men."

May finally understood Diablo's plan. She was the bait to lure and kill off as many psions as it took to get Sifu Chang to come after her in person. Suddenly, she wasn't sure she wanted to be alive anymore - not if it meant a lot of people dying for her sake.

Diablo headed for the door. When he opened it, he turned around to face May one more time. He gestured with his hands and the ropes at the head of the bed snaked out and wrapped and tied themselves around May's hands. They pulled themselves taut and May was forced back onto her back. "I must go now and prepare a warm welcome for my guests!" Diablo walked out of the door and it shut behind him.

May could do nothing but stare at the ceiling. Tears of frustration poured down the sides of her face. She wondered who had come to rescue her, and who was about to die in the attempt. She cried silently for several minutes until she heard the door open again. At first she thought that Diablo had come back to gloat, but the lustful emotions coming from two individual sources proved that it was not. Two ugly sneering faces came into her limited view.

One of the men giggled excitedly and said, "I've got dibs!" He unbuckled his belt and quickly stripped of his pants. "Come on, we don't have much time before the boss notices that we're not on the roof with him!"

The other man copied his friend's actions and quickly stripped off his pants too. "I get sloppy seconds, but I want first dibs on her ass!"

"Deal!" exclaimed the first man. He finished undressing and leapt onto the bed. He positioned himself between May's spread-eagled legs and started jerking her pants down.

May writhed and struggled as best as she could but to no avail. She tried to gather her fear in order to throw it back at her attackers, but couldn't concentrate enough to do it. Her pants were now down to her ankles and the man between her legs had apparently lost patience and was currently ripping her panties to shreds.

Both men were giggling like schoolboys tormenting a cat. The man between May's legs finally got the remnants of her panties completely out of the way and he lay down of top of her. There were a series of loud thumps coming from above and he paused his actions long to enough to look quizzically at the ceiling. He yelped in surprise as he was suddenly picked up and thrown across the room. The other man had just enough time to watch his partner's flight when the ceiling caved in.

Brandon and Jade made one circuit around the target warehouse. They had just picked out a likely landing spot on the warehouse next to the target one when dozens of dark-clad figures rushed onto the roof of the target warehouse. The Demons were all armed with assault rifles and they pointed these up at the Night-copter. Brandon was worried. The Night-copter had some armor plating welded on in certain key areas, but there were obviously places on a helicopter that could not be bulletproofed. With that many guns firing on the Night-copter at once, it was sure to take a critical hit on an area that was not protected.

It was a stand off of sorts. The Demons seemed content to merely threaten the Night-copter with their guns. They seemed to be waiting for something to happen, but Brandon was sure that if he tried to escape, they would open fire and bring him down.

Brandon cursed inwardly at himself. Diablo was an empath. He must have sensed Brandon and Jade long before they reached the warehouse. However, in order for Diablo to sense them, he had to have been scanning with his gift, which meant that he was expecting a rescue party of some sort. Which meant that this had all be an elaborate trap with May as the bait. Just what kind of trap remained to be seen.

A lone large figure stalked out of one of the rooftop entryways. Brandon hissed in recognition. Jade looked sharply at Brandon and then looked back at the figure. "Is that him? That's the guy who killed my brother?"

Brandon nodded.

"I'm going to get him," said Jade with a snarl. She opened her window and grabbed her gun.

"Jade, no!" cried Brandon. He reached over to stop Jade and almost missed what happened next.

Diablo raised his right hand and a bright red light seemed to flare up in it. He pulled back his arm and then swung it forward as if he were pitching a baseball. A red fireball left his hand and flew unerringly at the Night-copter. Brandon saw the motion out of the corner of his eye and was just turning back to face the front when the fireball passed through the windshield as if it weren't there and hit him in the chest.

Brandon screamed! It felt as if his body were on fire! He writhed in his seat. His hands were flailing at his body, trying to fan out flames that weren't there. The helicopter pitched out of control.

"Brandon! What's wrong?" cried Jade. She swayed with the motion of the helicopter and she tried desperately to grab the co-pilot's controls to steady it.

Brandon recovered and grabbed the controls just before the helicopter crashed down on the roof below. With shaky hands, he steadied the helicopter into a rising climb. Jade stuck her gun out of the window and cut loose with the sub-machine gun.

On the opposite roof, the Demons scattered before the sudden barrage. A few were knocked senseless by the rubber bullets, but not enough. Diablo threw another fireball and this one hit Jade. She screamed in pain and dropped her gun.

Brandon gunned the engine and turned the Night-copter around. They had to escape this death trap! "Jade," he cried. "It's ok, the burning is only in your mind!"

Jade quieted down after several seconds. "What the hell did he do to us?"

Brandon shrugged and said, "I'm not sure, but I think it was psychic fire."

The Night-copter had reached a cruising altitude when the first bullets rang off its armor-plated fuselage. Escape was not going to be that easy! More bullets hit the Night-copter and Brandon prayed that none of them would hit anything vital. Just as he opened the throttle, there was a loud clank and the controls suddenly stiffened up. The Night-copter lost altitude rapidly as Brandon fought with the unresponsive controls.

Whether it was fate, luck or a momentary return of control, the Night-copter slowed its decent and rotated back so that it was facing the opposite roof once more. With an ungentle bump, it landed on the rooftop. Brandon and Jade were thrown against their seatbelts but were otherwise unhurt.

The hail of bullets increased as the Night-copter sat grounded on the rooftop. Brandon was less concerned now of bullets hitting an unprotected area than he was of the windshield's ability to withstand multiple bullet hits. Already, the windshield showed several spider line cracks.

"What do we do now?" asked Jade grimly. She looked surprisingly calm for a fourteen-year-old girl about to face death.

Brandon looked across to the other rooftop where Diablo was readying another fireball. "Either we go out and get shot full of holes, or we stay in here and get burnt to a crisp - in our minds at least."

"At least until the windshield breaks and we get shot full of holes anyway," said Jade. "Well, I for one am not in favor of cowering until I die."

Brandon looked at her and marveled how much she looked and sounded like Jared. "Me neither," he replied. Brandon reached into his pocket and pulled out a curved, sheathed knife. Jade's eyes widened when she saw it. "Hey, you're not the only one who gets funny feelings sometimes," quipped Brandon. He drew the knife out of the sheath. Instead of a regular knife handle, the handle of his throwing knife was a round circle. Brandon held the knife by the circle and gave it a good solid flick. Two more curved blades snapped out from beside the main blade. If he was going to die, he would at least avenge Jared and take out Diablo!

Jade reached into her bag and pulled out another sub-machine gun. She slapped another magazine in as she sang, "Jadee's got another gun..." She reached out and touched Brandon's knife. "For luck," she said. Then she leaned over and kissed Brandon on his lips. It was not a passionate kiss, but it wasn't a chaste one either. They shared one last smile and each one prepared for their final stand.

A sudden commotion on the other roof drew their attention. There was a huge explosion somewhere behind the line of Demons and the roof exploded upward. A silvery figure flew out of the hole in the roof and hovered in the air. Brandon could just make out a small lithe figure in the newcomer's arms.

The Demons fired upon the angel - for Brandon could think of nothing else to call it - but they never came close to hitting it. A deep blue aura seemed to surround the figure, making it glow in the night. Diablo threw the fireball he has been preparing at the angel, but the angel deftly dodged it. Diablo threw more fireballs, but again the angel managed to dodge all of them.

Brandon allowed himself a sigh of relief. "Looks like the Calvary's arrived," he said sardonically. He leaned back into his seat to watch the show.

May kept her arms wrapped tightly around Da Gueur's neck as he crashed through the ceiling of the warehouse and out over the roof outside. Strangely enough, no debris seemed to come close to hitting her or Da Gueur. There was a chill in the night air and she was glad that Da Gueur had allowed her to put her pants back on before blasting through the building. It was strange. This was now the second time that Da Gueur had seen her in some state of undress - if she didn't know better, she'd think that she was getting some of Tracy's traits! The strange thing is that she had felt no embarrassment or modesty in his presence.

She scanned the tabloid below her. All the Demons were looking up at them. They seemed to be in a state of shock. She looked around until she located Diablo. She didn't need use her gift to know that Diablo was close to panic. She tried to imagine what he must be feeling right now. For all his posturing and bragging about his various powers and his road to godhood, he must feel almost insignificant in the presence of a being that was truly godlike in appearance and ability.

Her assumption proved to be somewhat accurate as Diablo yelled out in a shaky voice, "Fire! Shoot down that abomination!"

Startled out of their state of shock, all the Demons on the roof-opened fire with their automatic rifles. May squeezed her eyes shut reflexively but opened them up again several seconds later when she realized how silly she was being. She was in the arms of her guardian angel! What could possibly go wrong?

No bullets hit her or Da Gueur. In fact, now that she looked harder, the scene below seemed to have a bluish tinge to it - almost as if she were looking through a pair of blue tinted sunglasses. A shield, she thought in awe. Da Gueur was using a shield of some sort to block the bullets.

A flare of light drew her attention. Diablo wound up his arm and threw a fireball in their direction. Just before it hit, Da Gueur swerved to the side and allowed it to pass harmlessly. Diablo threw more fireballs but again Da Gueur dodged them easily. Suddenly, a bright spark seemed to ignite a couple of feet in front of May's eyes. It grew rapidly in size until it was the size of a large grapefruit. It hovered for another instant and then leapt out towards the roof. It hit the rooftop with loud crack and the section of the roof caved in and burst into flame. All the Demons the in area scattered. Many of them dropped their guns and ran. Da Gueur's power sphere seemed to make a mockery of Diablo's psychic fireballs. Another spark ignited and grew in size. This one struck the roof where a group of braver Demons were still blasting away with their guns. They were tossed around like rag dolls by the explosion, but as one, they all managed to get to their feet to run for their lives.

May was impressed. The normally stoic Da Gueur was feeling a storm of emotions that he usually kept in check. The foremost emotion he was feeling was anger - anger at the Demons for abducting May and trying to harm her. Yet, even in the midst of this rage, he still endeavored to spare the lives of the Demons. All of his attacks were focused on the warehouse, as if he wanted to destroy the Demons' base of operations and convince them not to come back.

There was, however, one Demon in particular that May would have liked to see Da Gueur attack personally. She scanned the chaotic and burning roof, but could find no sign of Diablo. He had apparently fled when he knew he was outclassed.

Soon, the burning rooftop was devoid on any sign of the Demons. Da Gueur fired off several more of his power spheres into the warehouse until the fire within burned out of control. May remembered what Diablo had said about a rescue party from the Children of the Night. She looked around until she spotted a black helicopter on the rooftop of the warehouse next door. <<Da Gueur, can we head over there? I think my friends might be in there.>>

In response, Da Gueur floated over across the gap. He touched down several feet away from the downed helicopter. The doors opened up and Brandon and Jade jumped out. May felt a surge of relief as she saw them. She jumped down from Da Gueur's arms just in time to receive a huge hug from Jade.

"Oh, May! I'm so glad you're alright!" cried Jade. Tears of joy and relief were streaming down her face. "I tried to see you with my gift but I just couldn't! I'm sorry! I guess I'm just not strong enough."

May stroked Jade's hair and patted her back. "It's ok, Jade. You're stronger than you think. That Diablo guy is a powerful Clairvoyant as well as an Empath. He was probably blocking you somehow." She looked up at Brandon and any residual anger she felt towards him for the death of Jared drained from her when she saw that he was unharmed. "Are you ok, Brandon?"

Brandon nodded and said, "We're both fine. Diablo did a number on us though. He hit me and Jade with those fireballs of his. They burned like hell but didn't leave any marks."

"It was his psychic fire," said May. "Diablo is a Telekinetic as well. When he merges Telekinesis with Empathy, he can create it."

"Psychic fire? I thought it was just a myth." Brandon looked dubious. "When Jared and I tried -"

"You probably weren't strong enough," said May. "Or maybe, it was Jared who wasn't strong enough. I don't know enough about it now. I have a lot of questions for Sifu when I see him next."

Brandon gave her a questioning look. "Sifu? What's he got to do with this?"

May shook her head. "Later. Now, I just want to go home."

Meanwhile, Jade released May from her bear hug and was staring at the winged being who rescued May in open mouthed amazement. May noticed her fascination and said, "Brandon, Jade, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine." She gestured with her hands as if she were introducing a celebrity, "This is Da Gueur. My very own personal guardian angel."

Brandon nodded his head and said, "Pleased to meet you."

Jade, on the other hand, was looking at Da Gueur with a dreamy expression on her face. "Do...do I know you?"

<> came the reply in all of their heads.

Brandon touched his hand to his head. "Telepathy too? What are you?"

May shook her head again. "Later, Brandon. Is that thing flyable?" She gestured to the grounded Night-copter.

"No, I don't think so. The controls seized up and I think I smelled gas. We're damn lucky it didn't catch fire."

<<YOUNG ONE!>>

At the mental exclamation, May and Brandon whirled around to see what was going on. Da Gueur was still standing where he touched down, but Jade had approached him and laid a hand on his chest. Now, Jade was rigid as if in shock. Her hand was still on Da Gueur's chest but her entire body was stiff. May and Brandon rushed to her side.

<<Hurry, May. I am supporting her weight right now, but I think she should lie down.>>

May reached out and gently tilted Jade back. Brandon reached out too, and together, they laid Jade on the rooftop. May whirled back to face Da Gueur. "What happened?" she demanded.

<>

An eerie voice drew May's attention back to Jade. Her eyes were open but they were staring at nothing. The voice spoke familiar sounding words but the tone frightened May.

"From Demons home comes an Angel wreathed in light

With the Demon Lord the avenging Angel will fight

The Angel will banish the Demons from the Earth

And lead us to a world not of our birth

From the Angel's hands, an Empress is crowned

What was once lost will then be found

From his own ashes, the Angel will be reborn

Rise like the Phoenix of yester' morn

The Demons return from the depths of hell

The child of the Empress must be guarded well

Or else the Demons will prevail and all will be lost

Beware the coming of the Demons; beware of the cost"

When it finished, Jade's eyes suddenly focused and she said, "What? What's wrong? Why are you two looking at me like that? Why am I lying down?"

May helped Jade to sit upright. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Jade frowned and said, "I remember walking towards him," she gestured at Da Gueur. "The next thing I know, I'm lying on the cold ground and you guys are looking at me as if I were dead!"

May and Brandon exchanged a look. Then, as one, they both turned back to look at Da Gueur. It wouldn't take a Telepath to know that they were both considering the same thing.

A sound, not unlike the sound of a throat clearing intruded on their thoughts. <<Excuse me, young ones. Perhaps you can continue your discussion at a later time? Units of your law enforcement are on their way.>>

That got their attention really fast. "Da Gueur, can you carry all of us?"

<<You mean if I am strong enough to hold all of you and still fly?>> came the amused reply.

"Well, yes."

<<Perhaps the young one named Brandon and the young named Jade can re-enter their vehicle. I will take care of the rest.>>

"But it won't fly!" said Brandon sharply.

<<Trust me, young one.>>

May looked imploringly at Brandon and he and Jade made their way back into the Night-copter. As soon as they were strapped in, the Night-copter began to lift. Startled, Brandon looked around but could see no obvious signs that the Night-copter was fixed. Instead, as he looked out of the windshield, it appeared as if the whole helicopter were floating in mid-air. He shuddered inwardly. He was considered to be a fairly strong Telekinetic by the psion community. But even at his peak, he would never have been able to lift something as large and heavy as the Night-copter! What in the world were they dealing with?

May watched the Night-copter lift up. She smiled at thought of what Brandon might be thinking at this moment. Her smile turned into a whoop of surprise as Da Gueur swept her off her feet and into his arms once more. Without any noticeable effort, Da Gueur leapt into the air. The Night-copter followed dutifully behind.

<>

At the mention of her friends, the events of the night prior to her capture hit May like a falling brick. Tears streamed down her face as she thought about poor Michael and the hell that Tracy must be going through.

<<What is wrong, young one?>>

<<I...I failed!>>

<<In what way have you failed?>>

<> May was suddenly aware of a sense of déja vu. Didn't she have this conversation already?

<<Your friends Michael and Tracy are fine, May. I arrived in time to intercept the bullet before it could cause permanent damage.>>

<<Really? Thank you!>> Relief flooded throughout May's being. However, she still could not shake the nagging feeling that she was missing something. Before she could put her finger on it, however, another thought occurred to her. <<Can I ask you a question?>>

<<Of course, May. Would you like to ask another one?>>

May laughed out loud. "You smart ass!" <<It just occurred to me that you could have told me to sit in the helicopter back there with Brandon and Jade. Why didn't you?>>

Da Gueur didn't reply, however a mixed jumble of confused emotions managed to leak out. May felt the emotions and laughed out loud once more. <>

The leakage of emotions stopped and Da Gueur replied, <>

<<Do too!>>

<<Do not!>>

<<Do too!>>

The pair continued their silent playful banter as they flew swiftly and silently into the night.

Mary Wellington awoke as if from a bad dream. She looked around the room but it was totally unfamiliar to her. Memories came flooding back and she put her face into her hands and cried. There was a hissing sound and she looked up in time to see an alien walk into the room. The alien had a grayish complexion and the face looked vaguely lizard-like. It held a strange object in its hand. It gestured with it and Mary took the object from it. It gestured towards its own head a couple of times until Mary finally understood. She placed the object on the side of her head by her ear. The alien spoke in a rasping whisper but actual words came out of the device by her ear.

"I apologize for any inconvenience you may have suffered but we are unable to bring you home at this time."

Mary frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Our mission has gone awry and we must return home for further instructions."

"Home? You mean in outer space?"

"Yes, we did not wish to leave you to die back there, so we had no choice but to bring you."

Mary thought for a minute. The man in the lab coat had known about her. He had even implied that her and David's capture was something cooked up by her own superiors. If it were true, there was going to be hell to pay. "I can't go back home anyway. I think I have been betrayed by my superiors. If I go home now, they may kill me to keep me quiet."

The alien nodded in a very human-like gesture. "I thought as much. Our enemies have changed tactics somewhat. They are now gaining the support of primitive governments in order to breed their army. This has allowed them much freedom on your planet. We are unsure on how to proceed. If we escalate, many innocent lives will be jeopardized. We must consult with our god before we proceed."

Mary frowned. Did the translator just say god? "What do you mean god? Do you mean leader?"

The alien shook its head. "No, I meant god. Soon you will understand. Soon, you shall meet him. If our enemies are really enlisting the aid of your planetary governments to build their armies, then we may require your help."

"You won't even need to ask for it!" said Mary harshly. Part of her regretted her words because it meant a longer separation from Michael and Serena, but this was for their own good too. If there was a worldwide conspiracy with an alien civilization, then no one on Earth was safe. "When do we leave?"

"We already have."