by thedoctor, Captain Sammitch and T5
If it isn't one thing, it's another, Dirk Bell thought to himself as he was pulled up from the ground by Devlin of the PSI-Unit. His elbow came back and connected with the bridge of Devlin's nose. In the shock, the PSI-Unit leader let go of the gunslinger, who tumbled to the ground.
Dirk returned to his feet as a surprised Devlin landed in front of him, examining the blood that was now collected in his hand. "I don't understand, citizen. I'm here to rescue you," he said with an uppercrust English accent.
"You're here to piss me off," Dirk replied. "And you're doing an A-1 job of it, too. Shouldn't you be out sellin' cookies or something?"
"I am with the La Perdita PSI-Unit. We are protecting the citizens of this island from the powerful hurricane. The PSI-Unit is La Perdita's main line of defense in these matters. I must insist that you co-operate."
"Listen here, Sunshine. I'm not co-operating with a damn thing. It just isn't in me. I was doing just fine before you decided to play hero. You want to be of some help? Go back to your tee-pee, put on your jammies, say good-night to John Boy, and leave this to those of us actually doing something." He turned to walk back to his duty.
"Citizen, I--" Devlin shouted after Dirk in an attempt to regain the metahero image that he'd had before.
"Damn it!" Dirk cried out as he turned back around. "If you're psychic like you claim, then you know that you're about three seconds from having my boot up your ass." His concentration left the psychic twenty-one-year-old. Something from beyond their area had caught his eye.
"I must insist..." Devlin tried to continue before Dirk held his hand up to silence the youth. "...I insist that you... I insist that you accompany me to the nearest shelt--"
"Would you shut the fuck up!" Dirk finally yelled and then turned his gaze back toward the road behind Devlin. Several trucks and cars passed by. The occupants looked armed and crazy. "Fan-fucking-tastic."
Phil Smith wasn't sure of what to think, or do, or order from the Chinese take-out when he got back to the apartment. The weird figure called Ton-Ton loomed over him, muttering some odd incantations with his eyes closed. Phil couldn't trace the exact dialect of gibberish this character was uttering, but he didn't feel like sticking around for an introductory course.
Slowly picking himself up very quietly, Phil gathered what physical strength he had left. He reared back and punched Ton-Ton in the face.
And then, in true heroic fashion, he ran like hell.
Although small, the airport at La Perdita still had the dignity to have a even smaller hotel called La Perdita Paradiso. Its thin structure had by some miracle been saved from the onslaught of the weird weather.
Four people resided in one of the rooms. They were still debating about their ability to help the poor people outside.
The elder man put his fist down and looked at the older woman and the children. "We have to get out there and help them! We have the abilities, so why shouldn't we?"
The woman sighed. "You know why. When our prey comes back, we will need all our power to contain him."
"I thought you said he would be one of the good guys."
"Usually yes, but consider for a minute what he's composed of: an angel, a demon, a being from outside of this reality, an otherdimensional alchemist, and a young boy. He is unstable at best. We have to help him regain his original psyche, or we will all be lost."
The two children looked at them with worried eyes.
Ameristar regained her wits and saw that the people of the house she had crashed into were taking care of the girl, and so she stood up, relaxed and happy that her first attempt at living like the MBL Consulting people was a success. It was very different than what she was used to. Here she would be doing her work openly, not hunting Giorgios in the dark or men in cloaks living underground.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she looked out the window and saw the light from a small boathouse as the door opened and a group of people came outside. She recognized the girl immediately: Maria.
Without hesitation, she drew her two guns and teleported just eight feet in front of her. "Okay, people, freeze! Put your hands where I can see them!"
Chance was getting irritated. Now what? This group seemed more like a Mafia than anything else, and who was this girl trying to be?
Ameristar saw the check in Chance's hand. "Aren't you a member of MBL Consulting? So is this how you define loyalty? By taking money from the enemy to be their little spy, eh?"