Action at last. Watch our heroes use their powers as a team for the first time!

For the benefit of all the readers who are having difficulty telling who is who and who can do what, this first section describes the heroes, their powers, and who their creator is.

The Players:
Erin- Aura/Molly
Cathy- Graviton/Janet
Grover- Starshield/Meagan
Maggie-Winter/Elise
NPC- Tesseract/Tess (NPC=non player character. Originally the creation of Sasha Nexus, who found she didn't have the time to dedicate herself to this project, but allowed us to continue using her hero and her name.)

RECKONING HEROES POWERS SUMMARY

JANET/GRAVITON: STRENGTH: Spiderman class. SPEED: Mach 2 flying, Spiderman on foot. REFLEXES AND AGILITY: Almost instantaneous. INVULNERABILITY: Almost total. Immune to all known gasses, poisons, chemicals and radiation. VISION: Fog, smoke, darkness, is the same as in normal light. Control over gravity. Can increase or decrease gravity in specific locations up to 200 feet from her. Effects indefinite in duration at her control. Can effect areas up to 200 square feet. Increase can be up to 20 times normal gravity in effected area. Can also increase or decrease gravity effects on herself or others, as well as objects.
APPEARANCE. Very attractive 25 year old female. Does not age visibly and has complete health until death.

MEAGAN/STARSHIELD: STRENGTH: Normal human unless assisted by her energy powers. SHAPECHANGER, Including clothing, to genetic level. FORCE FIELDS: visible or invisible. Matter creation by use of internal energy, rechargeable from any normal source like electricity, or simple rest. FLIGHT: By means of internal energy, using force fields. FORCE FIELD: Can be generated by use of internal energy...personal or area. SENSE OF SMELL: Equal to best canine. VISION: Night vision as feline. APPEARANCE: Normal attractive 21 year old female...changeable with shapechange power.

ELISE/WINTER: Cold based powers. Like Iceman or Ice Queen from X-men. Can use moisture from any source, or generate ice internally with no ill effects.. Empath and precog. Regenerator. Can foretell death and possible rebirth. Very tough but can be hurt. Former Nurse. APPEARANCE: 5'9” 135 lbs. Vibrantly white hair. Blue eyes, almond shaped. Slim, graceful, athletic. Pale almost white skin. Oval face, high cheekbones, small straight nose, full mouth but not pouty.

MOLLY/AURA: Automatic, invisible forcefield. If surprised, eliminates clothing left with gold bikini and heels and gold colored forcefield. Can use forcefield to fly or hover, shaping it into wings. Can jump approximately 1/8 mile, line of sight or straight up. SPEED in flight, 180 mph. Can form forcefield into a weapon. Can extend forcefield up to ten feet in bubble shape. Forcefield will absorb kinetic energy used against her and is proof vs. acid or fire. Can also resist nuclear energy. Can swim twice as fast as an olympic swimmer and run at about 30 mph. Can increase strength by use of forcefield. Can lift up to 3000 lbs on foot, 500 lbs flying. Can resist being knocked down or back by use of forcefield spikes. APPEARANCE: 5'9” long golden hair and hazel eyes. Deep tan, slight overbite, 26 years old. Very voluptuous. 41-23-35.

TESS/TESSERACT: By use of internally generated tesseract can instantaneously transport alone, or with passengers and equipment to any point on planet Earth. Internal GPS enables transport without error. Uses ability to open “windows” to look at different points outside tesseract. Being inside tesseract heals and the longer people remain inside it, the more they will be healed. Outside time suspended while inside tesseract for those inside it. Has inertia dampening field. Anything inside tesseract must remain in contact with Tess or it/they will not travel with it. Empathic with respect to things/people touched or used by the Observer, also to otherworldly things on Earth. Can use tesseract as forcefield and/or weapon. APPEARANCE: Normal, attractive mid 20s female.
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Meagan was still modeling things for Elise when something on the television caught her eye and riveted her attention.

“A huge multi-car accident on the Tampa Bay bridge, probably caused by the heavy fog, has just happened. Details are still….” She lost the rest while going back to the form she generally wore. She also plugged in the electric core ending in bare wires to take a quick recharge.

Full of energy, healing the minor burns from the sudden application of electricity as she charged down the stairs she shouted, “Hit the deck girls! Emergency!”

In the kitchen, Janet got out of the chair she had been relaxing in while enjoying a cup of coffee as Meagan skidded/tumbled into the kitchen. “What?”

“Huge accident on the Tampa Bay bridge!” Megan managed to get out between gasps for air. “We gotta do something! We need to go get the others up now!”

“You get Elise, I'll get Molly.” Janet nodded as they both started up the stairs at a charge old-style cavalry would have been proud of. “Their rooms are closest, then we get Tess.”

“Right.” Meagan agreed.

* * * *

“Elise! Medical emergency! Up girl!” Meagan shouted as she slammed the door to Winter's room open without using the door knob.

Elise swore, but used to such things given her former profession rolled out of her bed and immediately started getting dressed. “What is it?”

“Huge multi-vehicle pileup on the Tampa Bay bridge!” Meagan answered then added. “Heavy fog and emergency people can't reach them in time to do much. Need to go wake Tess up!”

“Go!” Elise waved her away. “Meet you in the kitchen.”

“And I thought all this was behind me.” Elise sighed, then grinned. “But it feels good being able to do something again.”

* * * *

Janet burst into Molly's room but didn't see her. Then noticed the bedclothes were not on the bed and that the dresser in the room was pulled away from the wall. On checking, she found Molly comfortably sleeping with the bedclothes piled around her in a sort of fort.

“Molly! Up and at 'em! We have things to do, places to go!” Janet told the girl. “Huge accident we need to go help with.”

“I'm awake.” Molly answered while squirming out of her comfy nest.

“Kitchen.” Janet told her as she left to wake up Tess.

A few minutes later Molly was in the kitchen looking at Winter looking at her. “What? It's an emergency.”

Looking at the sexy Halloween costume-style police uniform, with very low cut top, short, tight skirt and knee high boots with four-inch heels, Elise just shook her head and answered. “Nothing.”

As usual, Molly's outfit was in black and gold except she had somehow managed bright red lipstick and green eyeshadow this time.

“I thought it would work for this.” Molly pouted. She remembered the Halloween her mom had worn this, both to the club and out trick-or-treating with a five-year-old Tommy. A tear trickled down the side of her nose.

“It's fine, hon.” Elise reassured her.

Once all of them had arrived, Meagan went over the news again. “We have to do something!” she finished.

“I could increase the fog and mist in our general area. To, you know, keep anyone from seeing us while we work,” Winter told them. “Or get rid of it if needed if we need visibility, but my range is pretty limited. Only about a hundred yards to a side, and even if I do increase the fog, someone is bound to notice that and wonder why. If I clear the fog, then they'll know for sure.”

“But if we don't do anything people could die!” Meagan answered.

“Never said we shouldn't do anything.” Elise pointed out. “Just what could happen if we do is all. I'm all for going to help out.”

“I think,” Janet shrugged, “that no matter what we do someone is going to take notice of us whether we like the idea or not. At least the authorities don't know where we live right now.”

“Okay, so let's do this.” Molly was almost jumping up and down she was so excited. The bosom of the fake police uniform was under a lot of stress.

“Besides.” Janet shrugged. “If the government does show up, Winter could probably slow them down enough for us to get away without really hurting anyone.”

“I could probably do that.” Elise nodded but with a little shudder at recalling some of the things she could do. Icicle spears, hailstone barrages, frozen hearts; she had reason to shudder but she pushed those thoughts away; she was a healer first.

“Okay, here's the plan.” Meagan nodded. She gathered their attention with one commanding glance then told them what she thought they should do. “Tess, you get us right in the middle of the bridge on the big hump, that's about two miles from either shore, so we would have time to get some things done before anyone can interfere.”

Tess nodded, reaching out with her power to locate the real place that matched the images on TV.

“What do you think we should do with the people who are critically injured?” Janet asked.

“Winter could do triage, she used to be a nurse.” Meagan answered while asking.

“I could give immediate first aid, yes.” Winter nodded. “And find the ones who need more help right away.”

“Don't forget that my Tesseract can heal people." Tess interjected. "but I should still transport the critically injured to a hospital because they'd have to spend some time inside the tesseract to get any real healing done, and we won't have that kind of time.

“Found it.” Tess told everyone while Molly just watched everyone else do the planning.

“Then let's go.” Elise joined Tess and took her hand then waited for the others to join them.

“I hate this part of getting there.” Janet sighed as Tess opened the window.

“Oh, my gawd.” Elise gasped as they saw a morass of cars, trucks, buses, and people tangled in a metal jigsaw with moving parts still grinding against each other. The screams of metal, and people were horrible. Especially with the burning vehicles adding black, oily smoke to the fog.

“At least it doesn't look like the bridge is damaged.” Janet noted then ordered, “Tess, set us down.”

“So who does what, other than Elise giving first aid and doing triage?” Tess asked, looking around.

“Get the fires out first.” Meagan answered.

“I got the fires!” Molly shouted and immediately headed for the closest one.

“Oh, crap.” Meagan sighed. “Someone follow her and help.”

“Okay, you two work on the fires.” Janet nodded. “I'll start pulling people out of the wrecks. Elise you know what you're supposed to do.”

Molly, thinking the fires woudn't hurt her just rushed right in, trying to find people who were hurt and needed to be gotten out. As she did that a thought occurred to her and she shouted back. “Winter! Would snow put out the fires?”

Janet was already working to pry open stuck or crumpled doors on the nearby vehicles.

Elise had already had the same thought as Molly and isolated snowfalls, right on top of the fires, slowed the burning down, but didn't quite put them out. Snow doesn’t actually have much fire-quenching ability, she realized.

“Guess that answers that one,” Molly sighed after seeing the same thing Winter had seen. She tried something new with her force field, covering trapped people with it to protect them from the fires; not like with a dome but like a coat of spray paint. To her surprised delight, it worked as Aura's golden force fields covered victims from the fires, each with only a gesture and a thought from Molly turned into gleaming fireproof figures still able to move and get themselves away from the flames.

“I can't put the fires out!” Winter shouted out. “Someone get those things out or they'll spread!”

Meagan tried to surround a fire with her force field to see if she could smother it.

Molly got people out of the fires, soothing and telling them. “You'll be okay. Help is on the way.” As soon as they got more than a dozen feet from her, the golden coating peeled away like spray paint in reverse.

She started getting other people out, bending, breaking or just tearing doors off to get to the injured. Her own strength amazed her. “The force fields are doing all the real work!” she told herself.

The arrival of the first casualties distracted Winter from trying to summon more humidity to create perhaps a drenching downpour. She grimaced while tending to some of the injured.

The snow, which she could keep up without much effort or concentration, had slowed down the fires, but not completely stopped them. She pulled more fog in and more while she worked at stopping the bleeding and making slings from torn clothing for injured arms. An old man who looked like someone’s retired drill sergeant had started tearing cloth into strips and supplying them to her.

Slowly the fog thickened to heavy mist and the mist began to fall, hissing in places where it hit the fires. And then the mist turned to real rain, the drops getting larger moment by moment.

Elise patted one child after bandaging a shoulder. “If the rain doesn't stop the fires, at least it will damp them and cool things off a bit.”

“Are you making it rain?” the little girl asked, awed.

Elise stammered out a non-committal answer and called to the others. “Bring all the injured this way, I’ve got people helping me tear bandages.”

Meagan did manage to put out one fire, but when she pulled her force field away it started again, even more fiercely than before, as if it had been banked coals. She wanted to cuss but restrained herself to a mild, “Snake oil and sugar lumps!”

“The rain works!” Molly shouted back as cold rain started to fall on the fires.

“Things are too hot!” Meagan complained. Her invisible forcefield protected her and she could use it as a shield but she couldn’t do Molly’s spray paint gimmick. Besides, she’d been too busy to notice that. Instead she twisted her field into a sort of corridor to guide people and protect them at the same time.

“Just keep getting people out!” Winter called back. “That first. Fires we can deal with later. Just get the people out!”

Molly had already figured that out, and was working hard to get people out of the real danger areas. “I got it! I got it!” She extended her arms and strength with crowbars forcing her way into the wrecks.

Janet got Elise's attention. “Got a couple for you here, Winter.”

It was a woman and a girl about four years old. Both looked as if they were in shock and not really understanding what was going on.

Elise smiled at them and checked for injuries which were thankfully few. “You'll be alright, just sit down, get something warm to drink, and you'll both be home in no time at all.”

From somewhere, the old man had produced blankets and he and Elise wrapped the two in them. “If we had something hot for them to drink,” she muttered. “Can you do anything about that, Sarge?” she asked the old man.

He smiled at the little girl and her mom and repeated the assurances Elise had given them. “Someone will have something,” he told Elise. “We’re doing what we are best able to do.”

Molly had seen what Meagan had tried to do with the fires and tried that herself, surrounding the flames in golden force did seem to strangle the things while she still worked at getting injured people out. But she didn’t have Starshield’s reach with her powers and could only put out fires within ten feet of her.

Winter looked at one man that was brought to her and shook her head sadly at what she saw and felt. “Make him as comfortable as you can, there's nothing anyone can do for him now other than that. Not even Tess's tesseract can help him now. Even if he made it to the hospital, he'd only die there, and probably in a lot more pain than he was before I "helped" him.

“I'll do it.” The woman with the child said. “Give me some blankets and I'll do what I can.” Sarge handed her the blankets and helped her wrap the dying man in them.

“Thank you.” Winter nodded and handed her the items, then turned back to the deeply injured man and gently touched him. “I can't save you, and you're going to feel a little cold for a bit, but you won't have to suffer.”

Her touch numbed the man's nerves, as if he were in the last stages of freezing to death, and she watched the agony on his face fade into an almost peaceful expression. “Don't fear it, everything has to go sometime, look forward to what awaits once this has passed.”

“Why didn't you help him?” Janet had overheard and was angry and outraged.

“I did.” Winter sadly answered. “He won't live an hour, the damage is too much. At least now he won't suffer.”

“How do you know that?” Janet asked.

“I was an ER nurse.” Winter quietly said. “As for knowing, I just do, one of the more uncomfortable, heartbreaking things about my powers. I can see when living things are going to die.”

“Oh my gawd.” Janet swallowed and impulsively gave Elise a hug. “That has to be terrible.”

“But I can see what's going to come after they die, too.” The white haired young woman nodded with a faint smile. “Don't worry, what he's going to will be a good thing.” Elise looked into some invisible distance before straightening up. “But now we have more to do.” She tilted her chin at all the chaos around them.

“Best that we get back to it, don't you think?”

“Damned right.” Janet nodded then flew off to find more trapped people.

* * * *

Molly heard whimpering from a vehicle that was so crushed that it was hard to believe anything could be alive in it.

Carefully applying her force field by using it like a giant pair of gloves, she managed to straighten enough of the mangled metal to make an opening and reached in for the person that was whimpering.

To her surprise it was a dog. A frightened Malamute that still enthusiastically licked her face in thanks before looking back at the twisted mass that had been a high end SUV with another whimper.

“I know, girl.” Her voice caught in her throat. She’d always wanted a dog but the way she had lived all her life meant it would not have been fair to the animal. Molly gave the dog a stroke. “We can't save everyone or bring back the ones who died, but we can help the living.”

The dog hesitated, tilted her head and yipped before charging off into the chaos.

“Sheesh.” Molly shook her head. “It's almost like she understood me.”

Then she went back to searching the wrecks for people who needed help.

* * * *

“Meagan!” Janet bellowed. “I have a truck on top of a car here and there are people inside! I need some help here!”

Meagan heard, finished cutting open a really twisted up pickup so the less injured could pull the driver out and flew to Janet. “What do you need?”

“I can lift the truck, but I can't do anything else while I'm doing it.” Janet grimaced. “I need you to get the people out of that car while I do this.”

“Do it.” Meagan nodded.

Janet wasn't all that sure that she could do what she'd said, but focused on the large truck and concentrated on what she did to lift herself into the air, only on the truck.

And it lifted off the car with a groan of abused metal, but it lifted. An inch at first, then a foot, then a yard, then hovered over the half crushed car.

“Get them out!” Janet grated while all her abilities were concentrated on the floating truck.

Meagan immediately started tearing at the sides of the car, ripping off doors, and even some bodywork to reach the people inside. Miraculously, all of them were still alive and she quickly used her force fields to pull them out. “Got 'em!”

With a sigh of relief, Janet let the truck crash back down on the car.

* * * *

Molly soon realized, just as Meaghan had, that though she could stop the fires so long as her force field contained them, they started back up even more fiercely once she let up. Only the rain could cool things down enough to actually put out the flames.

“Give it up, girl.” She told herself and began concentrating on getting injured people out of the crumpled vehicles.

* * * *

“I need first aid kits!” Winter shouted as more injured were brought to her. “Bandages, antiseptics, anything!”

Molly yelled, "Big trucks will all have first aid kits," and headed for the nearest one. “How many do you need?”

“She’s right,” said Sarge.

“All of them you can find!” Winter shouted back.

“Should we have Tess take the really badly injured ones to a hospital?” Janet asked as she brought another injured woman to Winter.

“Yes,” The white haired caregiver nodded then pointed at three people. “Have her take them first.”

“What about them?” Janet waved towards another group covered with blankets and with the less injured tending to them as best they could.

Winter simply shook her head with a sad look in her eyes.

Recalling their earlier conversation, Janet lowered her head for a moment and nodded. “Okay.”

With her powers of location and observation, Tess had been finding trapped people and pointing out the most urgent cases to the others. Somehow, though, she knew that Winter needed her and just exactly what she was needed for. She arrived in a blink, touched the people Winter had indicated and vanished with them. Once at her destination, a nearby hospital's emergency room, she shouted. “Bridge casualties!”

Then she ported back to the bridge, thinking as she did that she would take people to a different hospital on the next trip to avoid overloading any one emergency room.

* * * *

As Molly handed Winter several first aid kits, Meagan remembered one store she had been in the other day. “I can get all the kits we need if Tess can get me there!”

“Do it!” Winter nodded. “We can pay for them later but we need them now.”

“You got it, but I brought cash, thanks to Janet.” Meagan nodded and went to Tess the moment she reappeared and talked with her for a moment before both of them disappeared.

Meagan had to use a force blade to get to the things she needed and felt bad as the ultra thin blades of energy parted the lock of the cage where the kits, and medications were kept.

The pair found what Winter needed and gathered everything together using Meagan's forcefield — with the store logo prominently shown on them, then ported back to the bridge.

* * * *

The cold rain continued to fall, at least damping the fires as Tess and Meagan appeared and dumped twenty or thirty plastic bags on the ground beside Winter. Meagan grinned and said. “First aid kits and some meds!”

“Here you go!” Meagan told Elise as they dropped the bags.

“Great!” Elise smiled. “Unpack them so I can use them, or find someone to do it. I'm a little busy right now.” Sarge held a young man down while Elise anesthetized his wounds with cold and reduced the compound fracture of his lower leg.

Meaghan tried not to look and was grateful for the distraction as more than a few willing hands grabbed the kits, unpacking and opening them and the meds, so that Starshield could go back to finding more people in need of help.

“Thanks, Sarge.” Winter nodded then pointed at some more people. “Tess, get them to a hospital, NOW!”

Meagan went back to getting trapped people out of vehicles as Tess touched the badly injured and winked out of sight with them.

Janet drafted the unhurt people into helping to search for more injured and getting the ones they could out of the wrecks. Then she went back to cutting, tearing, and lifting to get others out.

Molly, frustrated at not being able to reach a couple trapped in what had been a high end sports car, focused her force field into a blade-shape and discovered she could cut things with it. She immediately cut away parts of the car and dragged the occupants out.

“Cool!” It took a lot less time and effort that way than by using crowbars to bend the metal — and she discovered that she could order the blade not to cut into any flesh or clothing so she slice away with no worry about hurting anyone. If the blades touched someone, they just changed shape to go around them.

* * * *

Amid all that was happening, Sarge led a man and woman up to Elise. “Tell her,” he ordered. The woman said, “We're both nurses, what do you need us to do?”

“Clean wounds, bandage, stop bleeding, give painkillers if needed.” Winter gestured to the mass of supplies now available. “If someone is really bad let me know.”

The pair nodded heading to the supplies and getting to work like the professionals they were. Sarge went back to the job he had adopted, directing traffic around the impromptu aid station.

“I need to get rid of this damned fog.” Elise muttered and push her ability higher. Surprisingly, the entire center of the bridge cleared as the rain got heavier, but the fog was gone for half a mile either way. The effort tired her and the effect surprised her a bit; she decided that was about as good as it got for the moment and saved her energy to help the wounded. The rain, she knew, would continue until it ran out of the moisture she had gathered for it.

She heard the screech of brakes in the distance and stopped to look, thinking more help had finally arrived. But it was just another truck broken loose from the chaos and a driver frantically using the brakes to keep from hitting other vehicles or going over the side of the bridge.

Tess popped back in beside Elise and asked. “Any more to go?”

“Those.” Winter pointed to another pair then shook her head. “There are too many, I have to see them to decide and I can't see all of them!”

“You're doing good, hon.” Tess assured her before moving to touch the pair that Winter had shown her and blinking out again.

* * * *

Meagan saw a large fire involving three cars and a bus as she was searching. And it was growing as she watched. Afraid of what it would do to her, she still reached out to the fire to absorb its energy before it could do more damage. She hadn’t tried this before because she thought she knew what would happen.

Her scream of agony was loud enough to get past the general mayhem around her, but the fire went out. It perhaps was not the best way to do that.

Tess was close when it happened and hurried to where a badly burned Meagan was staggering around.

“Come on Meg.” She said as she carefully touched the badly injured Meagan. “I can fix this.”

Once in the tesseract that Tess used to travel from place to place, another of its properties kicked in and Meagan's burns faded to be replaced with healthy skin.

Meagan drew in a breath and shook her head. “Man, that hurt.” Her own self-healing powers had been overwhelmed by the pain.

“You stopped a really bad fire, though.” Tess told her.

“Yeah.” The other woman gave a weak chuckle. “Remind me NOT to do that again if you aren't around, okay?”

* * * *

“I see police cars, and ambulances!” Molly announced after jumping high for a look and seeing half a dozen police cruisers, and three ambulances reach the east end of the bridge. “Help is here!”

She landed back on the level of the bridge near Winter’s aid station. “Not a good idea to show myself, I know, I know. But help is here!”

Winter nodded and hollered to the rest. “Others are coming now! Help for these people is here!”

“But there are still trapped and hurt people here!” Meagan shouted back.

“A lot of medical help is here or on the way!” Winter replied, with more coming, and others too. “We have to get out of here now! There will be more than police and emergency personnel here in a few minutes and we don't want to be here when they get here!”

“I don't think they saw me up there.” Molly told them, then brightened. “But I am dressed like a cop!”

“Well, sort of.” Janet agreed. Like the other girls, Janet figured that Molly’s forcefields were the only things keeping her in her skimpy costume.

“The ones arriving behind the police and paramedics will be real alphabet agencies!” Winter almost shouted. “They'll try to capture us and more people would get hurt. We found the most critical ones we could, it's time to go!”

Tess nodded, reached out to all of them and took them out of there.

* * * *

When they arrived back at the castle, they found that any injuries the had suffered were healed by the tesseract effect. As they touched down, Tess dissipated her multi-dimensional construct and staggered, looking like she'd been beat up. She had kept going, even when she didn’t think she could.

Meagan dropped to her knees, overwhelmed by all that had happened, staring at her healed hands and arms and not noticing Tess’s exhaustion.

Elise looked like she'd been in a war, and even Molly was somewhat subdued, but Janet seemed angry.

“I should have done more!” she kept saying.

Molly chimed in. “We did good, and I'm tired.”

Winter answered. “We all did what we could, and I'm tired as well.”

“Next time we'll do better.” Meagan added. “We have to.”

“More just wasn't something we could do.” Winter said quietly. “We saved people, helped everyone we could. That's all anyone could ask in a situation like that.”

Janet lit a cigarette and stalked off, muttering to herself. She stopped when she looked at Tess the first one to notice her friend’s trembling. “You okay, Tess? She asked, but Tess just wearily shook her head and sank to her knees. Janet threw her smoke away and moved to support Tess.

Molly sniffled. “I thought we did real good.” She cried a bit, though she wasn’t sure exactly why. Her costume changed to something that looked more casual, a beach wrap and high heel sandals. “Did anyone see what happened to the dog?”

Winter told Molly that the dog was fine and still looking for injured people which seemed to satisfy Molly a bit.

“It was a really nice dog. I'm glad I could help her. Oh, and all the people too.”

Tess said, “You did wonderfully Molly. We all did, but now we all need to rest.”

Meagan moved to help Janet get Tess off the floor.

Winter continued. “We aren't Supermen, or even Superwomen here. We get tired, we have limits and can't do much more beyond them. We did good people, we did good. For a first outing, that went pretty well.”

“I did stuff I didn't know I could do!” Molly answered, sounding pleased.

“So did I, Molly.” Meagan added. “I learned some things from you.”

Molly nodded back. “And me from you. I wish I could reach as far with my forcefield.”

“We all learned some things about ourselves I think, and that's a good thing.” Winter said.

Meagan and Janet began helping Tess to her feet, prepared to carry her into the castle, but just then, Winter staggered. She stiffened and her eyes went cloudy.

“Uh oh. This can't be good.” Meagan observed.

“Don't let her swallow her tongue!” Molly blurted out, excitedly. One of the older women in her troop of homeless people back in L.A. had said that was the first thing you should do when someone had a seizure.

Winter began speaking slowly, in a hollow sounding voice. “We need to find things. There is stuff that will help us do what we've been tasked with, and we haven't been left completely on our own. There is something, a machine, an artifact, that will increase our powers and help in other ways. I see it! I can touch it! There are more than one of them too. We need to find them! Mexico, Peru, Central America, Africa...a canyon, very deep, very dark! Arizona. The first one is there...Arizona.” Elise's eyes rolled up and she collapsed on the ground.

“What the hell was that?” Janet shouted.

“I don't know!” Molly cried. “Is she okay?”

Meagan rushed to Elise's side and checked her over. “She's breathing. I think she just fainted.” She picked Elise up and carried her back to the castle, taking her upstairs to Elise's room, followed by an anxious Molly, while Janet followed with Tess in her arms.

“I'll get Tess to bed and be back as soon as I can.” Janet said.

“Okay Janet.” Meagan replied. “I think you can take your time. She seems to be breathing okay and isn't hot or anything...I mean, I can't feel any fever...I mean... oh, just go! I'll take care of her. Molly? Do you think you can go find Tanisha and ask her to come up here right away?”

“I sure can, Meagan.” Molly said. “I'll be right back with her.” She bolted from Elise's room.

Janet took Tess to her room and gently placed her on the bed. “Are you okay Tess?” She asked concernedly.

“I'm fine Janet. Just very worn out from all that activity. I'll be okay in a while. If you would, ask Tanisha to put together a meal of some kind in about three hours, okay?”

“Okay, Tess. You just rest here and I'll take care of everything. I just want to check on Elise first, then I can let Tanisha know about food.”

She left Tess' room and went over to Elise's. She saw that Tanisha was already there attending to Elise, with a very worried looking Molly watching closely.

“How is she doing Tanisha?” Janet asked.

“Oh honey, she's okay I think. She's just worn down to a frazzle and, from what Molly and Meagan told me, from that vision thing she had. She just needs to rest a bit and she'll be right as rain.”

Janet breathed a sigh of relief and then asked Tanisha about getting some food together in a few hours.

“Oh, sure I can, honey.” Tanisha replied. “I'll have some hot soup and sandwiches ready for all of you whenever you are ready for them. Why don't the rest of you go ahead and catch a nap while I take care of things for a while? I'll wake you all in about three hours or so, all right?”

“Thanks, Tanisha. That sounds good to me. Tess is right...you are a treasure.”

FROM THE AUTHORS: Our heroes are napping, while the world outside wakes up to the fact that heroes are real!

Later that same day:

THE PRESIDENT'S CHIEF ADVISOR, CHARLES DUNCAN.

“Oh shit!” muttered the President's chief advisor, as he perused the stack of pictures. “Well, the… the fecal matter has definitely impacted the rotating atmospheric oscillator. I don't know how Frank is going to explain this away. Too many people and too many photos of these heroes who don't exist.”

He tossed the photos on his desk, disgustedly. “He had to go on television and make himself look like a complete ass! He's going to be more than pissed off about this! I'll bet my ass, and my job, are going to be in the crapper if I don't figure a way to turn this around in his favor. Shit, shit, shit!”

There was a knock on his door.

“What? I mean, come in.”

A Secret Service man opened the door and said, “The President wants to see you...now!”

'Well,' he said to himself, 'you knew this was coming. You'd better think of something fast, or begin drafting your resignation.' Charles Duncan got up from his desk and followed the Secret Service man to the Oval Office Conference room. He straightened his tie, shook his suit coat straight, checked his fly, and knocked on the door.

“That better be you, Charlie!” The President yelled. “Get your ass in here!”

As Charles entered the room, he noticed the photos scattered about the room as if they'd been thrown in the air and littered the room.

“Mr. President,” Charles began. “I... “ but The President didn't give him a chance to finish what he was going to say.

“How the hell could this happen?” The President asked, in a disturbingly quiet voice. “The press is going to destroy me when they get wind of this. Why didn't that damned Colonel from McDill confiscate all these damned pictures the way he was instructed to do? Son of a bitch, Charlie! This could ruin me politically and in the eyes of the public! I damn sure hope you have some good news for me!”

“I wish I did, sir. As it stands, there are countless witnesses to what happened on that bridge, and some of the photos got out to the papers and broadcast media. I've got every intelligence agency working their asses off on this, but I don't believe that there is any way out of admitting that these heroes do exist. Your best bet, I think, is to go on television immediately and make a statement, acknowledging that your information was in error. If you continue to deny their existence, it'll only get worse for you. Blame your service agencies, blame your advisors, but for God's sake, don't continue on this course of denial! If you do, I can guarantee that you'll be out of office before you know what happened!”

“You really think that's what I need to do, Charlie? You think that I should go in front of the American public and the fucking world and admit I made a mistake? Maybe the biggest mistake in the history of the fucking world?! Jesus Christ, Charlie! If I do that, I make myself out to be the biggest fool there has ever been! No, I'll tell you what I need to do. I need to get all over some asses and threaten some prestigious jobs, and get these so-called heroes rounded up and in custody! Now, you get your, about to be unemployed, ass out there and get me some results, and fast, damn it! If I don't hear anything by tomorrow morning about us having some or all of these fucking “heroes” in custody, I'll expect to see your resignation on my desk by lunchtime, is that clear?”

Knowing he was better off by far to get out of The President's sight, Charles did a quick about face and left the office, closing the door behind him. “Now what do I do?” He asked the air. Covering my own ass comes to mind, but if I do that, I'm abandoning the leader of the free world. He's wrong though, and his ego just won't let him admit it. I'd hoped that he could get through this last term of his Presidency without any major crisis, but that's out the window at this point. All I can do now is disseminate his orders and prepare a fallback plan to save my butt and my career.” So saying, Charles Griffin re-entered his office and picked up the phone, issuing orders to his various secretaries and aides. Some of those orders were as the President wished, but others were to ensure that he didn't go down with the President's ship. This is not going to be good.” he mused. “CYA is the order of the day from here on.”

Joint Intelligence Group

“Have you ever wondered,” Gene asked not really expecting an answer, “What were they thinking?”

“Getting re-elected, falling in the polls, and covering their asses?” Petty Officer Martin Zayas replied.

“There were pics of Golden Girl on the web, but no, the POTUS has to go on TV and say there aren't any superheroes.” The Air Force Tech Sergeant sighed, “Do you ever have the idea that no one really looks at this stuff.” He paged down the report he was working.

“Now the powers that be want to know where they are.” Gene felt like banging his head on his desk. Ever since 'The Bridge' the Brass had lost their minds demanding answers where there weren't any.

“Well,” Martin sounded as tired as he was. “Golden Girl does get around. Two days ago she's in LA and then in Atlanta, but now she's in Tampa. The others are all new although there is a report of Butterfly being seen with Goldie in Atlanta. We have no idea of how many there are. Reports are saying between a half-dozen and a dozen. There were so many others out there helping too, everything is confused.”

“There is that, but they did get much better pictures of your girlfriend this time Martin.” Gene rubbed his eyes. “Guess what?”

“I'll bite, what?” Martin shot back.

“Running the national facial recognition data base, the FBI was hoping to get a hit from the airlines to explain how she got from coast to coast so quickly. They nailed her, but there's a little bitty problem.”

“They ID'ed her?” That's great,” Martin exclaimed. “Who is she?”

“You were right about her being golden.” Gene said flatly. “Molly Golden, exotic performer, and she's been dead for five years.”

“Err, Gene,” Martin interrupted, “Did you say dead?”

“Yes, I did, and she sure is.” Gene stated. “I'm reading the forensic report as we speak.”

“Well,” Air Force Sergeant Karen Lee giggled, “I always knew you would go for anything with arms and legs, but dead?”

“Hey, Gene,” Martin turned serious. “I just ran across something for you. The FBI came though again. They traced the serial numbers of those emergency supplies to a burglary in, guess where, Atlanta.

“Security video caught the red head using some kind of telekinesis to just snatch up the entire display. She left a wad of cash and then poof! Plus, Butterfly was seen there too as well as at Tampa General Hospital where bridge accident victims just appeared as if stepping out of thin air.” Gene could nearly see his friend making quotation marks on the other side of his cube.

“Geez,” Karen sneered. “This Observer is as bad as you, Martin.”

“Why do you say that?” The Navy PO asked curious.

“Just listen to this. First we have Golden Girl dressed as a cop stripper. Number two we have, the red head who was seen putting out that fire. For three, there's Gene's Butterfly,” do you get it now?” she demanded.

“They're all women, Martin.” Gene smiled to himself.

“That's not all,” She kept going. “Two more unconfirmed reports have a white haired nurse being involved as well as yet another woman who was yanking doors off of cars like they were made of paper. I'm not sure about the rest of these possibles.”

Opening up the reports his co-workers sent to him, Gene gave them a quick look over prioritizing where to put them.

“Alright, Good work guys.” He closed his eyes knowing that this report was going to be feeding a buzz saw of crap. It wasn't as if anyone else probably hadn't already put two and two together. After all, most of this stuff came from the FBI anyways. He guessed that they had people already rolling.

“Well, it looks like they're somewhere in Atlanta.” Martin said what they were thinking.

“Were,” Karen corrected. “No, they're smart. Either they have already moved or they're getting ready to. Look at the Bridge. They arrived and set up a triage point. Butterfly is their transport element who zapped the most badly injured right to the hospital. Several different hospitals. Running out of supplies or simply caught unprepared, they raided a store for more. We'll have to check the time line to be sure, but the point is that they organized themselves quickly and got the job done.

“Then they left just as soon as other first responders got on the scene,” she concluded. “I don't think we're going to find out much more besides just filling in some details. Any more clues were lost when they began cleaning up the wrecks.”

“Except for the obvious.” Gene sighed.

“What's that?” Martin rose to the challenge again.

“Knowing they weren't going to be warmly received, they exposed themselves to help others in need anyways. Hell, they even paid for the stuff they took in the middle of the emergency.”

He paused before continuing. “I know I shouldn't criticize the Commander in Chief, but he is wrong.” Gene wondered if anyone was going to have the balls to say that to the man's face. “There are Superheroes.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

A Newspaper headline, Evening Edition.

SUPERHEROES ARE REAL! PHOTOS ON PAGE 3!
BY SAMANTHA HOWARD.

Any doubts about whether or not there are real superheroes were dispelled today. Following a horrendous multi-car accident on the Tampa Bay bridge, before authorities and emergency help could arrive, a group of unusual people appeared, seemingly out of mid air.

Without being asked, they immediately began helping the injured people from their mangled cars and trucks, in some cases, literally tearing doors off vehicles. They formed a triage point and, using some unknown means, transported the most seriously injured directly and instantaneously to a nearby hospital. This newspaper has obtained several photos, both from digital cameras and from cell phones, taken by witnesses to the actions of these heroes.

The news of these heroes directly contradicts the speech delivered our President just hours before. Neither the President or his Chief advisor could be reached for comment, but this reporter believes that they are very busy trying to confirm the rumors and reports of so-called “gifted” individuals.

Their identities are, as yet, unknown, but they all appear to be female. No rumors or sightings have have been reported of any males who might be a part of this group, but it seems likely that there must be some males. In this reporter's opinion, whoever they might be, and whatever their reasons for remaining secretive, they proved to be favorable so far.

Mr. President? Perhaps you might look a bit closer at the reports you must be receiving and re-evaluate your position about heroes. As far as I, and a lot of people who might not otherwise be alive this evening are concerned, they're real, they're welcome, and seeing as how they are real, that means that the Observer was real as well. His dire predictions must be given much more credence now.

This newspaper and all of us who work here simply want to say thank you to these unknown people who risked a lot in order to help out in a bad situation. Well done heroes, and welcome.

{The opinions expressed by Samantha Howard are her own, but they do express the overall feelings of this newspaper and its employees.}