Dark Waters (Warriors S1B5)

Chapter 4

Earth date: 01/03/2012, 18:01

"Can we get Coney while we're here?" Frazz canvassed.

"This is business, Frazz, not a vacation," Bette sighed exasperatedly.

The eight of us stood on the Detroit side of the Detroit River. Bette was knelt down discreetly in front of the safety rail, putting the final touches on what we were there for. It was a scouting robot, made for underwater scouting. "If we're going to beat the Hautik, we're not going to beat it in the water. We'll need to draw it out," Mr. Cole had said.

"What is a Coney?" I enjoined to no one in particular.

Frazz's head snapped towards me so suddenly I took a step back, thinking he was going to run towards me. "What is Coney?" he squeaked in a high-pitched voice. "What. Is. Coney?"

"Yeah, dipsh*t, that's what she said," Max growled gruffly. "You gonna tell her, or you gonna stand there and look stupid?"

"Language, Max," Bette warned from the ground.

"Coney Islands, they're these restaurants that serve everything," Kristi construed to me.

"What do you mean?"

"We have them in Chicago," Joey supplemented. "They make everything: breakfast, burgers, Greek food, soup, salads..."

"Don't forget about Coney dogs," Frazz said.

"Yeah, Coney dogs!" Kristi squealed excitedly. "They put a bunch of chili and cheese on top of a hot dog and it's amaaaazing!"

"Oh. That sounds...nice."

"Ready," Bette said.

She stood up and walked over to the railing. The scouting robot looked like an ordinary fish. It was only when she passed under a light that I could see a faint shine of the fish's metallic scales reflecting some of the light. She threw the robot over the railing and pulled out the controls, disguised as a smartphone.

"Time to go home," she said.

"With Coney?" Frazz said.

"Frazz!"

"I had to try."

Bette sighed. "Only Coney dogs, OK? I'm between paychecks."

Earth date: 01/03/2012, 18:29

"So what's so dangerous about the Hautik?" Joey queried inquisitively.

The eight of us were on top of a high-rise building across the street from the Coney Island, sat in a circle. As soon as we were up there, Max had asseverated on shelter, so Frazz had erected a dome of green light, which closed us off from the cold January wind. We were eating Coney dogs.

It was a hot dog, covered in a meat sauce, with diced onions and mustard. It was delicious.

"Do you all know what invasive species are?" Bette asked.

"Yes," Margaret and I said. She looked at me. I motioned for her to continue.

"They're when animals or plants come to a habitat that's not theirs," Margaret explained. "It's bad because they take food and space from native species and can make native species go extinct if no one does anything to stop it."

"Correct," Bette said. She bespoke in the direction of the river. "The Hautik in the Detroit River, or any body of water on Earth, is an ecological crisis waiting to happen. Most invasive species need numbers to pose a threat to ecosystems. The Hautik doesn't; something that big eats in a day what twenty native fish eat in a week." She checked the robot's controls and grimaced. "In fact, the scout bot is already picking up serious drops in the population of aquatic life."

"So?" Kristi bounded to her feet, almost dropping her Coney dog and barely avoiding giving Joey a meat sauce shower. "Let's get in there and get it out!"

"Not that easy, Blake," Max grunted hoarsely next to me.

"He's right," Bette confirmed. "The Hautik's dangerous wherever it is, but the danger factor climbs if we were to take the fight into the water. We'll have to draw it out."

She turned her phone back on, and the sound of water came from the speakers.

I listened to the sound. The sounds of water flowing and bubbles popping.

Of my hands slapping the water and the muffled sounds of Mother screaming prayers...

"Daphne?" Joey asked. "Are you OK?"

"What? Yes! Fine."

"You're invisible," Max said.

"I'm not--" I looked down and realized the container my hot dog had come in was floating in midair. "I'm invisible." I concentrated and slowly became visible again.

"Food's so good you turned invisible, huh?" Frazz said.

I gave a giggle that I hoped sounded authentic. "Yeah, I guess."

Bette kept talking, but I didn't listen. I felt eyes on me and looked up, expecting Bette to notice I wasn't paying attention. Instead, Joey gave me a quizzical gaze. You alright? he mouthed.

I did my best to make my nod look convincing.