Gasp! Cough! I... made it... through... FINALS!! Wahahaha! And then
spring vacation cut my net.access like a melting torch through year-old
cheese. Ahem. But I'm back, and still alive, and attempting to regain
some semblance of a schedule.
And while I was out of action, it seems like a whole lot of people left...
good luck in RealLife folks, and I hope y'all keep hanging around, drop
in for the random post every once in a while... you will be missed.
As always, I thank those who sent in comments and stuff on issue #27:
Jamas Enright, Kelly Pekrul, Rory Bryant, and Jaelle! Thanks too, to
James "Mechaman" for making sure I was still alive out there in the vast
desert of cyberspace. =)
Enjoy!
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DERELICT Press Presents
The twenty-eigth issue of
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" Boy "
Crows: Part 3 of 7
A psuedo-Acraphobe title
._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.'COVER`._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.
Savannah and Bryan on either side of the cover, heads down, shoulders
hunched. They do not face each other. In the background, springing up
between them, is the Dave Thomas Deluxe University Science Library.
)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Someone was pounding on her door. Enthusiastically.
Paytan stuck her head out of the closet, glowing green eyes
narrowed thoughtfully. The pounding continued. "WHAT!? Brittany, get
the hell away from the door!"
"IT'S NOT BRITTANY!"
Paytan stumbled out of the closet and cursed, pulling a couple of
knit tops from her shoulder and throwing them behind her. She finally
got to the door and yanked it open. "What?"
"Hi." Nei stood in the hallway, feet close together, hands behind
her back. She looked like a nervous sixth grader. Paytan waited for a
moment, but nothing else seemed forthcoming.
"What do you want?"
Nei looked up and met her eyes, then glanced away. In the days
following her mid-combat introduction the neo-net.heroine had done her
best to integrate smoothly, from a written apology to Paytan about
mistaking her for a villain to acting as the Holder Of Incense in an
obscure ceremony for Binky. She still smelled vaguely of peppermint.
Paytan had forgiven her, after a few days, and even warmed up to
her a little. No one had ever given her a written apology before.
"Brittany, um, asked me to -- she wanted us both, you know, if
it's okay -- "
"She grabbed you by the shoulders and said it was imperative that
we all go to lunch?"
"Yeah," Nei grinned, "Pretty much."
"Give me a sec." Paytan turned back into the room. Nei followed
her through the doorway, and stopped to take everything in, including the
large cardboard box sitting in the middle of the carpet.
"Whatcha doin'?" she asked.
"Goodwill," said Paytan, and dove back into the closet. Nei
picked a turtleneck out of the box.
"But there's not anything wrong with them."
"I never wear them anyway. And the neck's not wide enough to fit
over the horns."
"Oh."
Paytan scanned the nearly bare shelves, then stood on tiptoe to
peer at the dusty top shelf. She remembered someone leaving a hat in her
room, and if she hadn't thrown it out... there. She pulled it down and
winced. It was one of the blue knit gangsta caps that had been popular a
while ago.
"Paytan?"
"Yeah?" She beat the hat against the wall a couple of times, then
coughed at the dust cloud and dropped it. The thing was too small to fit
over the horns anyway. It would look silly.
"Do you like it?"
"What?"
"Being changed," said Nei. Paytan stopped and took a good look at
the other girl, long enough to make Nei nervous. "No, I mean, you look
different on the outside than you are on the inside, right? You're not a
demon, but you... you look like one." Nei dropped her gaze to the
turtleneck, staring as if it were the center of her world.
"Thanks," said Paytan dryly. She glanced at herself in the
mirror, hair hanging down just beneath the base of her shoulder blades,
brown and tangled like always. The ram's horns began just above and to
the back of her ears, then curved back around until the points hovered to
either side of her face, lit oddly by the neon glow from her eyes. "Why
do you want to know?"
Nei came to stand beside her, looking in the mirror at them both.
"I'm going to be a hero. Stuff like this happens to heroes a lot, right?
Someday something's gonna happen to me, and --"
"So you just wanted to know what it was like. My suggestion?
Don't let it happen to you," said Paytan. "C'mon let's go. Did Brittany
get anybody else, or just you and me?"
Nei brightened. "She was looking for Kismet, and I think she
already found Allen."
A warm feeling flooded through Paytan's stomach when she thought
of Allen. Damn camping trip. She grabbed a sweatshirt off the bed and
headed for the door. "Best not to keep her waiting. She'll decide to take
the hovercycle." Nothing to do about the horns. Maybe she'd be scary
enough to get them a discount at lunch.
Paytan left, and for a moment Nei was standing alone in the room.
She looked into the mirror, meeting her reflection's gaze dead on,
silent.
Then she broke out in a wide smile, and turned to dash after
Paytan.
-=ð=- -=ð=-
Savannah and Bryan hunched side by side over the microfiche
machines, eyes glued to the screens of speeding letters as they skimmed
through newspaper after newspaper, checking articles.
"This one's weird," said Bryan, and Savannah leaned over to peer
at his screen.
"Don't hit the dials," she said, "You'll knock me out." By now
her powers were back to their normal levels, though she still had a bit
of trouble with focusing in and out with any speed.
The article concerned the death of Lewis Echelon, the third name
on the Margotti List they'd found using the LNH search systems. All
victims supposedly taken down by the Reality. Savannah and Bryan had gone
through article summaries of all the murders, and none of them had been
reported as such. All the victims had been alone, and all had fallen prey
to 'a mugging gone wrong' an 'accident' or some other form of random
occurrence that wouldn't warrant further police investigation. This one
was different.
The others had been killed alone, but Lewis had been gunned down
with a man he had been conversing with on the side of the street, someone
the reporter said was not a friend or a relative. One Dr. Dan Drisby, a
sociologist.
There was a picture of the doctor, a man in his late fifties with
wispy hair and a timid little smile. Savannah squinted at the picture.
"You're right. The article says Lewis had just turned in an
application to Sidekicks R Us, but Dr. Drisby was a respected member of
his profession, and there isn't any mention of him having powers. He's
the oldest victim by far. Are you sure this is a Reality killing?"
"I think so," said Bryan. "Two guys gunned down on the side of a
street in midday? The few gangs that hang around Net.ropolis are scared
to death that they'll attract the attention of some wandering LNHer, so
most of their activity is subtle and hard to track. There were no gang
members in the area to inspire a rival to attack. Lewis and Dr. Drisby
weren't wearing any gang colors. There weren't even any Mimes or Clowns
around."
"What did his research focus on? Does the article say?"
Savannah closed her eyes and heard Bryan start to spin the dials.
He hrm'ed to himself. "He was studying the effect large groups had on
society."
"Like a secret society, maybe?"
"And he found out something he shouldn't have," said Bryan.
"After we're done here I think we should pay a visit to the University."
-=ð=- -=ð=-
"No, really," said Nei. "Allen's right. The horns are pretty
cool."
"Kinky. He said they were kinky."
Nei shrugged. "Same thing."
"No, it isn't. That's why he has bruises." Paytan gave Allen an
evil grin. They were sitting in a corner of the Pizza Pit, with an extra
large pepperoni and pineapple pizza laid out before them on the table.
Allen smiled back, just as evil.
"Soooooo... Lord Corvine?" Nei smiled, raising her eyebrows.
Brittany bit into a piece of pizza and said something completely
unintelligible.
"Where's everybody else? Swallow before you say anything," said
Paytan. Brit glared, and chewed harder, finally swallowing a moment
later.
"Entropy Kid said Savannah went out."
"Did he know when she was going to be back?"
Brit shrugged. "That was all he could say. And Kismet wasn't
hungry."
Paytan frowned. "Have you seen her eating anything lately?"
"Mmm, an apple. Last Wednesday. She hasn't been asking for much
lately, you're right. She seems okay though." Brit took another bite and
chewed thoughtfully.
"Yeah." Paytan frowned. "Yeah, it's just weird."
"Soooooo... Lord Corvine?" said Nei.
"Do you think villains like anchovies? Nobody I know does."
Nei considered that.
"Just ignore her," muttered Paytan.
"No, she's right. Maybe Corvine does like anchovies. Maybe the
reason he became a villain is because he liked anchovies and no one else
did. It alienated him."
"Exactly!" Brit motioned with the pizza, sending a piece of
mushroom hurtling off into the next booth. "If I liked anchovies and no
one else did, I'd consider turning against the forces of good."
"You worship a goldfish and no one else does," said Paytan.
The pepperoni hit her square on the nose. "Religion is not a good
reason for evil. Anchovies could be."
"Look, maybe we could talk about what he's plotting?" suggested
Allen. "He's controlling Censor Girl, and in the past she's proven pretty
dangerous."
Paytan leaned back in her chair and looked out the window. "He
probably wants to take over the world. Or kill every LNHer there ever
was. Whatever, he's a villain. They're all the same that way."
"If we could find Censor Girl, we could probably track her and
find him," suggested Nei.
"Son of a bitch!" Paytan yelled.
"I didn't think it was that bad."
"Look!" Paytan pointed out the window. "It's the guy. That
bastard from the mechs!"
Brittany leaned across the table to peer out the window. "You
mean that manga guy?"
"No, from Sidekicks R Us! The one with the dart gun. I got a good
look at him right before I, uh -- "
"Knocked yourself out?" suggested Allen. Paytan glared at him.
"Let's go kick his ass. If we catch him we can ask what they were
doing over there," she said.
"Aren't we supposed to be concerned with one villain at a time?
What's with the twosies?" asked Nei.
Brit shrugged. "Busy week."
"But what about Censor Girl and Lord Corvine?"
Paytan leaned toward the window, eyes narrowed. She licked her
lips.
"Screw Corvine."
-=ð=- -=ð=-
Savannah and Bryan crossed the main quad of Dave Thomas Deluxe
University. Upon their arrival on campus they had gone to the main office
to inquire on the whereabouts of Dr. Drisby's papers. The main office had
sent them to the Social Science buildings, but no one there knew anything
about the research. They had suggested the Main Library. But a thorough
search there had proven fruitless, and after checking back in at the Main
Office, they were now headed toward the Science Library.
Savannah held the list of victims in her hand. "Maybe we should
have stayed at the public library longer. There's gotta be a pattern in
here we're not seeing."
"I think the Drisby lead's a good one. The others all looked the
same."
"I don't know... maybe while we're here we should look into it a
little more. Next on the list is Jenna Torrel."
There was a long moment of silence. "We don't really need to do
that one," said Bryan. Even she could hear the pain in his voice.
She closed her eyes and swung around to face Bryan, then opened
them again. She saw him flinch, and knew what kind of power she was
pouring into this. She had stared into a mirror once, dead on, and almost
looked away from herself. "Bryan, what's going on?"
"What do you mean?" He glanced away. She could see the blood
vessels running through his skin begin to dilate, as a red flush filled
his cheeks.
"You're searching for a secret vigilante group that kills
superheroes. You know a sorceress. And you left a dozen white roses in my
room. You say you're just a fan of the LNH, and you're lying. I want to
know what I'm getting myself into." Savannah crossed her arms.
"You knew I was lying all this time? Then why - "
"Because you were still trustworthy. Evidently Brit's had
something up her sleeve for quite a while, and I'm not bothering her
because I trust her and she hasn't gotten us into anything dangerous with
it. But this is different. If these people discover we're looking for
them, I doubt we'll see them coming. I know I won't."
Bryan stammered. "I know I should, but really, the way things
are, I can't - "
"Bryan," she said softly, "I don't want to die because you
wouldn't tell me who you are."
He jerked away from her. For a second she wanted to take it all
back, just get the research over with and go home to stare at the roses.
But life didn't let anyone get away with inattention, let alone her.
"You'll have to tell me eventually."
Bryan's shoulders clenched. "Does eventually have to be now?"
She said nothing. After a moment he turned around to look her in
the eye. All the embarrassment was gone, swept away by the fear and pain
in his eyes. She almost took a step back.
"Fine," he said. "You're right. Jenna Torell... I knew Jenna. Her
code name was Floatation Girl, and she and I were both members of
Sidekicks R Us. We were friends, but I wanted... I wanted us to be more
than that."
Savannah closed her eyes. She didn't want to hear this.
Bryan continued, oblivious to anything but the flow of words from
his mouth. "They killed her, first. Right in front of me. They nearly got
me, too. But a man saved me... he's been saving a lot of people from the
Reality.
"He gathered us together, and he... protected us. But he wouldn't
tell us anything, and in the meantime we were just getting into trouble.
But if I hadn't met him, then we wouldn't be here now."
She heard him take a deep breath.
"Because the first time I ever saw you, you were unconscious.
Because my friend KC had knocked you out. I didn't mean to, but somewhere
along the way I became a real member of the Junior Brotherhood of
Net.Villains. And that's how I met you."
"Oh." She felt very small, all of a sudden. Bryan reached out to
her but she shrugged his hand away.
"I should go."
"Savannah -- "
"No really, I should go."
She turned, hands wrapped around her middle, eyes glued to the
ground in front of her as she walked away, moving her legs as fast as she
could.
She wished she had more control of her powers, then. She wished
she could have ran.
-=ð=- -=ð=-
Paytan charged out of the pizza shop, with Brittany and Allen
following at a mildly more sedate pace. Nei brought up the rear.
"You notice how enthusiastic she's been about the whole superhero
thing lately?" asked Allen. Brit looked thoughtful.
"Worried?"
"Mildly. A couple of months ago you had to pry her out of the
LNHHQ with a crowbar. And now --"
A neon green bolt tore through the air, shattering pavement and
sending a lamppost flying. Brittany, seeing that nothing more needed to be
said, began to run.
All three of them rounded the corner and headed down an alleyway,
Brittany in the lead. They charged into the middle of a fight scene.
Paytan stood with her arms outstretched, while a businessman struggled to
get out of the neon green cords that pinned his arms to his sides. A
young boy of about fifteen or sixteen lay on the dirty pavement,
coughing.
Nobody was in costume. Brittany didn't even have her stuffed
fish on her, let alone Binky. He was back on the shrine in the LNHHQ,
taking a nap. But Paytan seemed to have a good handle on the situation.
Paytan tightened the cords and kicked the man's feet out from
under him. He hit the ground hard, grunting as all the air burst out of
his lungs. She disengaged the spell, and left him wheezing for breath on
the pavement. Brittany stepped forward, pointing grandly.
"Now that we have you, villain -- "
Nei overrode her. "You must tell us everything that you -- "
"Have planned! From your nefarious scheme to next week's grocery
list -- "
"The LNH will emerge victorious!"
There was a long moment of silence.
"Tell me you're not going to do that every time." Paytan looked at
both of them.
Brit grinned. "Oh no, most of the time people will probably be
shooting at us, so if we work out a shorter version -- "
"Hey!" shouted Allen. During the... distraction, the businessman
had rolled to his feet and stumbled into a run down the alleyway.
"Dammit!" Paytan sprinted after him, her fingers twisting in
strange patterns through the air. Nei and Brit looked at each other, a
little embarrassed, then ran after Paytan.
The kid picked himself off the pavement and shook his head. "You
guys are superheroes, huh?"
Allen nodded. "You okay?"
The kid waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. That psycho just pulled me
behind the building, you know? I mean, a guy's just trying to make a
living here." He turned back and stooped to pick a ratty backpack. A
couple of plastic baggies were scattered around, and he snagged them and
tossed them into the backpack's main compartment. One had been torn open,
and a spray of fine white powder had worked its way into the uneven
blacktop. The kid looked at a well-polished gun lying forgotten on the
pavement, then picked that up, too.
Allen watched him. The gun didn't look like something the kid
would own. It looked more like something an adult man, a little more
familiar with firearms, would buy. The kid stood up, and turned to go,
waving goodbye.
In one smooth movement Allen's wallet jerked from his back pocket
and sailed into the air, directly toward the kid's upraised hand.
Allen cursed, and as the kid broke into a run he pulled his gun
and fired once, the bullet ricocheting off the brick wall near the kid's
head. "Freeze!"
The kid froze.
And at the other end of the alleyway, hearing Allen's shout,
Paytan stopped her spell and turned. Brittany cannoned into her and sent
them both sprawling. Nei managed to leap the both and land on her feet,
but it slowed her down. That businessman was _fast_.
Nei would never make it, she was far behind and already losing
ground. Brittany moaned and rolled into a sitting position. As soon as
she did that, Paytan started muttering again, her fingers working wildly.
Out of thin air, a green mist began to solidify around the
businessman. But it was slow, and the power faltered and surged
erratically. The man lunged forward just one last time just as the green
mist turned sticky around his clothes.
He slipped out of his jacket and tore himself loose, bolted
around the corner and was lost in the crowd. Paytan growled, and clenched
her fists, discontinuing the spell.
Nei trotted to a stop and let the jacket fall into her hands as
the green sphere disappeared. She sighed, and looked forlornly at the
excellent example of Armani design draped over her left arm.
Meanwhile, Allen still had the kid at gunpoint.
"Drop the wallet."
"Okay, man, okay. Stay calm." The wallet hit the ground.
"Now kick it over to me."
The kid kicked the wallet across the pavement and Allen jammed
his foot down on top of it. "Get out of here."
The kid backed away for a few steps, arms still raised, then
turned and bolted out onto the sidewalk and out of sight.
Everyone met back in the middle of the alleyway. Both Paytan and
Allen were seething, while Brit and Nei just managed to look
disappointed.
No one said anything. They just stood there for a moment, looking
at each other. Then Nei, who had been rummaging through the jacket,
brightened.
"Hey guys, look!" She pulled a steel case, a little bit bigger
than a 3.5" floppy, from one of the jacket's inner pockets. Paytan held
out her hand.
"Here, lemme see it." Nei handed it over. Paytan turned it over
and over in her hands, then popped open a little clasp on the side. The
case sprang open, revealing a single floppy disk inside. Everyone looked
at it.
"It's labeled 'grocery list'," said Brittany.
"Yeah and he keeps his grocery list in a bulletproof case.
Wouldn't want to forget the eggs," said Paytan. Allen nodded.
"She's right. Let's get this back to the LNHHQ and take a look at
it."
"Guys?" asked Nei, "Please don't tell me this is another
villain."
"I hope not. If we're lucky it has to do with one of the ones
we're already dealing with," said Paytan, cheering up a little. At least
they'd gotten something out of this fiasco.
-=ð=- -=ð=-
<Report to Lord Corvine> Censor Girl sighed, and regarded the arm
the new net.heroine had bent. Most of the systems still functioned, but
she didn't have the strength in her real arm to bend it back to shape.
Some of the circuits felt strange.
She leaned against the inside of the storm drain and stared out
into the evening air. She was at the outskirts of Net.ropolis, the spot
the voice in her head had led her to. There didn't seem to be much of
anything there.
<You will destroy the LNH> She hadn't had the heart to tell the
superheroes she was still pretty much in control of her mind. It was too
embarrassing. As if any fool in the universe could just take her over
with a couple of programs and a transmitter.
Outside a something whup-whup-whupped through the air, shattering
the silence. She watched as an unmarked helicopter settled gently to the
ground, the side door sliding smoothly open.
<Report to Lord Corvine> Censor Girl grimaced.
This sucked.
________________________________________________________________________
Binky, Kismet, Mr.Fossavellus, the Junior Brotherhood of Net.Villains,
Out-of-It Lass, Perdition, Weirdness Girl, copyright Jennifer Whitson,
1995. Censor Girl is Public Domain. Everyone else is someone's.
Next Issue:
Lord Corvine in a face to face! And Nei is not all that she
seems...
It's double trouble as the team deals with two different
villains, at the same time!
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