by Grimm, The Eurostar, T5 and Danny
The Amazon jungle, Brazil:
"Maybe we should send M'xy to get the other team before traipsing off into the jungle," Danny Hearn suggested to Raptor, who was pacing back and forth.
"No! We must catch up to Omicron! We will need M'xy if we run into them," the former Eurostar exclaimed loudly before traipsing off into the jungle.
"Is it just me, or is he getting worse?" Danny asked, turning to look at Tobias Christopher. T.C. looked at Danny, then turned and looked at Chance. Chance looked at Marv Velo. Velo looked at his bunny. They all looked at each other.
Edulcore Cicciotto:
"ED! STOP! NOW!"
I turn. It's Velo, shouting at me.
"You can't wander off into the jungle. By foot it will take months to arrive at the lost city."
That's true. But now that the book is so near, I can nearly smell it. "What do you suggest?" I ask.
The man's eyes run to Chance and then to Danny, as if to assure himself he is not stepping on anyone toes. Then: "Chance knows half the map. Previously, Grissom identified an area of Peru with analogies to Tanfo's picture. Chance will confront the two things, and with his metahuman-enhanced holistic abilities -- what you call superluck -- he will find the right spot to which M'xy will teleport us. Not on land, to avoid any casual contact with locals or the Omicrons, but at one mile high above. The ones able to fly on their own, the others on Drax's back. Then, from the air, we'll locate the lost city, see if there are any dangers in sight, and then land. Chance, Danny... do you approve?"
The two nod their heads.
Velo looks at everyone else. "Any objections?"
No one speaks.
I look at my sword. At the time of the circus, I was the one that came up with these sorts of plans. Now I go straight across the trees.
Ah, who cares...?
Elsewhere:
The ancient man looked out the window of a sterile white hospital room. It was raining.
The sound of the iron lung pumped a rythmic sound that was quite soothing. He knew that as long as that machine worked, Ameristar would have a chance at life again... one day.
She had been like a daughter to him ever since he had found her. She had been one among many children that he had sired among the different continuums. And she proved to be one of the best, one of the most dedicated to the cause.
He frowned. The cause... bah.
The cause seemed hopeless. The Hoods and the Cloaks/Futurists had ears and eyes almost everywhere. But with the help of the book, he was sure to find at least some hope to defeat these evil men and women who would be world leaders. And he knew that his chosen champions were the only hope he had.
He sat down on the floor to meditate. He was sure he could find some peace in dream-time until he was needed.
And in the bed, the comatose form of Ameristar slept her dark, dreamless sleep.
The Amazon jungle:
The team made its way to a nearby clearing, where Drake Marshall would be free to turn into Drax, and he and the other flying team members could all take flight without the interference of dense tree growth.
The Raptor was at the front, hacking furiously at tree branches with Ladnikia. Behind him walked Drake, Tobias Christopher, Mick Harrison, and Crasher. At the rear were Danny Hearn, Chance, and Marv Velo.
"I'm not a hundred percent certain about this plan," Danny said out loud.
"How so?" Velo replied.
"Chance is lucky, yeah... but it's never a certainty. I don't like relying on it. No offense, Kris..." Danny said.
"None taken," Chance answered.
"You're probably right. But it's the only plan we have right now," Velo said.
"Perhaps. By all means, we can try it. But I don't like the idea of all our hopes resting on it," Danny responded. Velo nodded, and Danny continued. "All we have to go on is a memory of half a map, a rough satellite image location, and the hope of Kristofer's luck."
Velo raised his arm and pushed aside an overhanging branch that crossed his path. "I agree it's a long shot. But sometimes a long shot is all we have. You got anything better in mind?"
Danny paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Maybe," he said. He then walked forward to where the rest of the group was walking.
"Mick... how're you doing?" Danny asked.
"I'm okay. Tired," Mick replied.
"All that stuff with K'tl. Didn't it ever scare you?" Danny said.
Mick stopped walking for a moment and looked up. Danny followed his gaze upward to the patches of blue sky visible behind the thick forest canopy. He seemed to be thinking about something. Or remembering something.
"It terrified me," Mick answered, and kept walking. Danny walked with him. Tobias, walking just ahead of them, suddenly appeared right next to Danny.
"What's that thing on your hand? You get bitten by something?" Tobias asked.
Danny looked down at his hand. The back of his left palm had a red and swollen patch in the middle, where his ID chip was embedded. He realized he'd been scratching it continuously and not even realized it.
"That... that's my ID chip," Danny replied.
"Your what?"
"ID chip. Has all this information about me. It's like my passport and credit card and everything all in one. Everyone had them where I come from. Has all my bank account information and everything on it," Danny explained. "I can't believe you noticed it... it's just a tiny lump."
Tobias shrugged. "The world moves a lot slower for me, I guess. I have a lot of time to look around me. I tend to notice stuff," he said. "You ever think of getting rid of it?" Tobias asked.
"I dunno. I guess it's useless now. And it does get kind of itchy sometimes. But... well, you know," Danny said.
"What?" Tobias asked.
"It's the last thing I have. From home. The last proof that my world even existed outside my head..."
"The last proof, that is, except for you," Tobias said.
Danny looked at him for a moment. "I guess so," he said, smiling.
A shout from the Raptor drew the attention of the whole group.
"Here! Here will do," he yelled. Danny walked ahead farther and stood next to him. Ed was peering through some overhanging vines at a grassy clearing. It was an area about twenty feet across, with a gap in the forest canopy above it: a good place to take off from.
"Well... here goes our long shot," Danny said. Ed just turned, glared at him for a second, and hacked away the last of the vines.
Drax took off with a jump, and Crasher almost fell off, but Chance managed to grab her jacket just in time. She blew him a kiss, and then she concentrated on the flight itself.
It was wonderful, soaring up there in the breathtaking fresh air. For a moment she envied Ameristar, who could take off anytime she wanted to, but abruptly she pushed those thoughts away. How could she? Her best friend and love lay in a hospital with a piece of her brain missing. And here she was feeling envy. Anger rose in her chest. Whoever that guy had been that had done this to her would pay in blood.
Below the group, a man ran at incredible speeds following them, camoflagued to have the same colors as the jungle around him. He had witnessed the battle at the tower but thought it best to scout around a bit first, to gather information about who they were and who were the bad guys. It seemed this group were at least not the bad guys.
Relámpago was determined to see that nothing would harm his native grounds.
Continued in Chapter 87: A Logical Explanation for Everything