by Danny and The Eurostar
Berlin, Germany:
His heart pounding and his wings beating, Danny Hearn threw himself up and over the wall of the cemetery, and he began to think about the past.
Danny Hearn:
I remember the first time I met M'xy.
We were at an airport in Chicago. I'd just flown there with Edulcore, after meeting him in the Mandelovian desert. We ended up getting chased by K'tl, in the body of Ed's old running rival. And then... there was M'xy.
He was floating around in his top hat and his big black coat, oblivious to the chaos he was causing around him. That was the first thing that struck me about M'xy. The rest of us -- me, Ed, Tobias -- we were always acutely aware when we were causing a scene. We knew that people were staring at us. We knew that reporters would snap pictures, and onlookers would gasp and point. But M'xy... he just didn't seem to notice. Or care.
The first thing he said to me was, "That word that means I'm meeting you now having not been meeting you before!"
And then I just paused, staring at him. After a moment, I offered, "Hello?" as a suggestion.
At which he just smiled and said, "Yes! Hello! That!" Then he grabbed my hand and shook it hard, in the manner of someone who'd never done it before but had seen other people do it and just assumed it was the right thing to do.
That... that was the first time I ever met M'xy.
And now it seems like he's in trouble. Which, for M'xy, is unusual. He's never in trouble. He's powerful enough to take care of anything... except K'tl, his other half, his opposite number, the one thing in the universe that could match him.
And even more worrying than the prospect of losing M'xy is that of losing Mick.
I remember the first time I met Mick. It was after the airport incident, and we'd headed back to this little lakeside cabin to regroup. Tobias had roughly explained to me the situation involving Mick and M'xy, but I'd yet to see the change myself.
I looked to the side of the room, where M'xy was staring out the window, yellow light crackling from his eyes. He looked over the lake and sighed, then smiled contentedly and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the light had gone.
He shouted, "Where the hell?! Shit! Again?!"
And this had confused me for a second. Until I remembered what Tobias had told me about Mick and M'xy, and the sharing of their body. I walked over and introduced myself.
"Hi. I'm Danny," I said, offering my hand.
"Mick... I think," he'd replied.
And this was a time when I was unsure of anything. I was in a new time, and a new place, with these new powers. I was scared and alone and sad and angry. But meeting Mick, this normal guy, just seemed... well, normal. That was what Mick was like.
Mick was never a superhero. He was never the one with the zany powers who'd stand at the front line and yell, "CHARGE!" He was the normal guy, the guy who'd hang around the headquarters eating Cheetos while the rest of us stressed about the people we'd seen killed that day.
Because, of course, any time he saw action he'd have to change into M'xy. Still... Mick always hung around. He could have walked away. He could have refused to ever summon M'xy again. But he didn't. He stayed. Just in case we ever needed M'xy.
Even though he knew that every time M'xy went into battle, he was risking his own body... he stayed.
More than anything, I hope that Mick will be okay.
The first to return to the hideout in Berlin was Pneuma. A good half an hour later, Rose entered the apartment with the book.
She put the envelope on the shelf next to the vacuum device. Ancient books were very delicate artifacts and needed careful attention to be preserved. Sadly, not all the needed care could be used at the graveyard because of MBL Consulting's interruption.
Rose suddenly froze. What had Sheik done there? He had opened the book to confirm it was the real one. Rose began wondering if the Arab did the right thing. There was only one thing to do. She went into the bathroom, opened the hot water tap, and let the humidity of the air rise. Sure, it wasn't to be considered a controlled atmosphere, but at least it was much more humid than the dry air of the main rooms, and also of the air outside the apartment.
With trepidation, Rose opened the envelope. Sheik was going to call the contractor. She had to be sure the book was intact.
The leather-bound object was in her hand. She carefully opened the first page, and all the pages suddenly wrinkled, ripping and turning into small pieces, falling on the floor.
"Arghhh!" cried Rose as Pneuma rushed to her aid. It was the latter that noticed, among the dust formed by the remnants of the page, a small piece of paper still intact, because it was parchment. Fully colored, it showed mountains, a lake, and many trees. A map. Half of a map. And in one corner was the small illustration of a city carved in a mountain, with a flying dragon above, just like in the painting of Tanfo da Perugia.
"Not all is lost," said Rose, wiping a tear away from her right eye.