by Eurostar
Venice, Italy, February 22, 1999, at midnight:
On Piazza S. Marco, the Carnevale di Venezia was in full swing. Hundreds of thousands of masked people dressed in colorful costumes from every corner of the world danced amidst the ancient medieval palaces. From dozens of orchestras, hundreds of musicians, and thousands of stereos came every kind of music heard the world over.
But as one walked along narrow sidewalks lining the canals, passing around a few corners, the noises and colors were quickly left behind, and the silence and darkness of the night were undisturbed just as in other times of the year.
In a little campo, as the Venetians called small squares that opened on the sides of the canals, two young people -- a boy and a girl -- were making out in the only way Venetians who lived with their parents could: in the open, hiding in the darker parts of the corner of a piazza. It wasn't all that great, sometimes, to live in a city with no cars. Holding each other in a tight embrace, the two didn't at first notice a change of pattern in the canal's waves.
Then a slight noise caught their attention. From the dark-shadowed corner where they were, they saw one hand, then another, reach out of the water to grab the edge of the sidewalk. Finally, out of the canal came a man. Fully covered by silver scales, the man stood up, turned his head to see if anyone was around, and, without noticing the two young people, walked off toward Piazza S. Marco.
Clever idea to send an invitation to metaheroes for a meeting on a day like this, thought the Trout, the legendary metahero of World War II who was the first aquatic hero the world had known. A hero of the Italian Army at the beginning of World War II, responsible for sinking several English boats, he later changed sides and became a spy working for the United States government. The reason why was never revealed.
With all these masquerading tourists, nobody will notice a gathering of metaheroes in the town. And with that thought, the Trout entered the crowd, walking quickly toward the Palazzo delle Ostreghe, where the meeting was scheduled to be held.
He didn't notice, however, that the boy and girl, along with their dog, began following the strangely dressed man out of a sense of curiosity more powerful than the hormone-driven feelings they had for one another.