by Danny and The Eurostar
Danny Hearn sat slumped in an armchair in the team's living room, flipping through the morning's paper and taking note of the storm warnings. To his left, Grimm and Edulcore "the Eurostar" Cicciotto sat on the couch, talking.
"Where's the remote?"
"I think it's on the top of the TV."
"Why would it be there?"
"I was cleaning up!"
"Having to walk to the TV defeats the purpose of having a remote control!"
Eurostar sighed and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a five-cent coin and flicked it at the TV. It struck the on button perfectly, and the TV came to life.
"This is Mike Curtis, reporting live from the Channel 6 news 'copter. We're currently flying over La Perdita bay, where howling winds and crashing waves are the first signs of the impending Hurricane Jason."
Danny put down his newspaper and paid attention to the television. There were aerial pictures of the La Perditan shoreline, shots of beaches, beach front property, and the island's marina. The area was covered with sheets of rain and hail, and high winds threw around debris as if it were confetti. Emergency services were already on the scene.
"While the full force of the hurricane may still be a day or so away, the warning signs are upon us and creating havoc here by the shore. Boats are capsizing, and beachside homes are already being subjected to damage. And we have reports of people being trapped down there, amidst the storm and the wreckage."
Danny stood up. "We're going," he said, and rushed out of the room. Grimm and Eurostar followed, having come to the same conclusion themselves.
Danny hastily scribbled a note that read: "Guys: gone to the beach." He left it on the fridge. He then ran out the front door, sprouted wings, and headed off.
"Nice weather we're having today, isn't it?" Grimm said as they traveled.
"Yes. Maybe we could even go to the beach," Eurostar replied.
"That'd be nice."
"See you at the beach, then!" Ed shouted to Grimm, and while quickly beating his arms, full feathers sprout out. Taking flight was easy compared to all the previous times that he had tried to fly from the ground. The wind was strong, and it pushed over the great surface formed by his feathers, bringing him up, straight to the gray and violet clouds. The rain pouring down was cold and hit his eyes. I need to add a sort of helmet to my field gear, realized the man now known as the Raptor.
But riding the wind was a joy. It was all in the fingers. The relative position of every finger determined how each row of feathers was pressed over the other. When they were like a whole surface, the pressure of the air was high, and Edulcore gained velocity at the cost of lesser control over his direction. But if he separated each row, a lot of air passed between, and he slowed down, but he gained much more control. And flying became dancing on the wind.
The beach was below him. Danny was flying just a few feet in front and below the Raptor. He made his forearms come closer to his body, and the shape of his wings took the form of a capital M. Their surfaces narrowed, and the lift lessened. Edulcore dived, gently, and in a second was at the side of Danny. He noticed him and pointed his index finger toward some boats at the mercy of the fierce waves a few miles from the coast. Ed nodded.
The look on Danny's face was serious and determined. He had chanced so much since the time Edulcore last spent with him, so many months ago. He seemed to have found a reason to be in this time, to have found a purpose. And his control over his changing powers had grown formidably. Eurostar still remembered the first flight he had with him over the Mandelovian desert. He had been in ghost form then, floating at the mercy of the wind. Danny created a pair of bat wings and was awkwardly flying, he, too, at the mercy of the air currents. Now he was in control.
Danny's huge vulture's wings, much more bigger than those of the Raptor, were so wide to sustain his usual mass, while Ed's, when he flew, decreased, were managed with the grace of a dragonfly. Edulcore had seen few birds flying with the power and at the same time the lightness that Danny was showing.
They were now over the boats. Danny turned to Ed and asked, "Are you ready?"