7. Evleyen is on her seventh and-thankfully-final mission for the month. Crossing the silvery grey moon, Harooo, on her trusty Steed to deliver urgent medical supplies, she takes an unexpected detour... . Round Seven (tie-breaker) - Lost World...
(Author's Note - My formal entry for Round Four of the smackdown - Sub-genre: SuperHuman
Prompts were to include 5 out of 20 quotations. Quotations used are in bold.
In two parts - total word count - about 2400)
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FBI Agent John Masters scrolled through the screens on his laptop, searching for the news image that had caught his attention. His partner, Alison Durbin, waited patiently, peering over his shoulder at the screen. She had learnt from experience that there was no point trying to distract John when he was focussed on something.
"Here it is!" John froze the image and pointed at a slightly blurry figure on the screen. The man, Alison thought it was a man, was holding one arm out in front of his body-from this angle it looked like beams of light were shooting out of his fingers.
"Neat!" Alison said admiringly. "How is he doing that? A torch tucked up his sleeve?"
John frowned impatiently. "No! Can't you see? It's coming out of his fingers!"
Alison shot a dubious glance at her partner. He sounded serious, but he had to be joking, right?
"I can see it looks like that, John, but it's just an illusion, a trick. He's obviously some sort of performer. Heavens, the last magician I saw had some tricks you wouldn't believe! He had this woman lying-"
"I don't think he's a magician, Ali," interrupted John. "I think he's for real. This isn't the first time I've seen someone like this-someone with special... powers. I had one of them cornered once, trapped in a dead end alley, but when I came round the corner, he just disappeared, right into thin air."
"You're kidding, right?"Alison stared at him.
John shook his head, determinedly. "No, I'm not. I tell you, these people are out there, hiding amongst us in plain sight." An odd expression crossed his face. "I'm going to catch one if it's the last thing I do. Don't you see? We need to know if these people are for us or against us. Just think, if they're on our side they could be a valuable asset, especially to our organisation, or even Homeland Security. But if they're not... We need to take steps before it's too late."
Alison tried to keep a neutral expression on her face. It sounded unbelievable-too much like the sci-fi programs her nieces and nephews liked to watch. She knew how hard John had been working lately-had he finally lost the plot?
~~~
Hunched down out of sight in the front seat of the car, John peered over the top of the car door as a slender man left the After Dark Club. The light spilling from the doorway shone on his face for an instant and John stiffened in his seat. That was his target, Guy Travers, he was certain, the man who had disappeared in front of his eyes a couple of months ago. It had taken him weeks to track him down and discover his identity. Working days as a teacher at the local high school, spending most nights quietly at home except for Fridays and Saturdays when he went to the After Dark Club, he had seemed harmless enough. Except, John knew better-he'd seen him in action.
~~~
"'It means we're the line between the world and the much weirder world. We protect people from news they aren't ready to hear. And when we can't do that, we keep them safe.'" The familiar words drifted out from the lounge room.
Mariah Travers left the saucepan simmering on the stove to poke her head around the door and cast a quick eye over her children.
Kitty, short for Katerina, sat with her green eyes fixed on the TV set, the remote held high above her head, out of reach of her little brother's scrambling hands.
"'S my turn. Scooby Doo is on NOW. Gimme!" Unfortunately, Billy caught sight of Mariah standing in the doorway. His eyes lit up. "Muuuummmm! Kitty won't give me the remote!"
Reluctantly, Mariah went to the rescue. "Kitty, give Billy the remote please, you know it's his turn. Your program is recorded, you can watch it later."
"But Muuummm! It's getting to the best bit!"
Mariah rolled a derisive eye in the direction of the TV program. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. They had no idea. If only real life were as easy and straightforward as that. Sparks were now flying, literally, from Kitty's fingers and Billy yelped. Then he screwed up his face and blew a large blue bubble from his lips. In less than a second it expanded to encase him in a protective shell. Water dripped from the surface, soaking the sofa.
"Billy! How many times have I told you not to bubble inside?" demanded Mariah, crossly. "That's it. No TV for either of you until this mess is cleaned up. Kitty-you dry the sofa and do it carefully this time without burning the material. Billy-come out of that bubble right now and mop up the floor!" Mariah switched the television off with a snap of her fingers, waited until both children, grumbling but obedient, set to their tasks, then returned to the kitchen. She threw a last word over her shoulder. "Let this be a lesson to you. The next time you feel like showing off-don't."
Kids! Agent Coulson didn't know the half of it.
She had just added chopped tomatoes to the saucepan when there was a brisk knock at the door and the next minute, Guy's cheerful tones echoed down the hall.
"How's my favourite sister?"
Her younger brother picked Mariah off her feet and swung her around in a circle.
"Put me down, idiot!" Mariah was smiling. Guy's mouse brown hair was sticking up on the back of his head as if he had just got out of bed, or teleported through a wooden door.
"What's for dinner?" Guy sniffed. "Spaghetti Bolognese? Any room for a fourth?"
Kitty and Billy came out of the lounge in a rush. "Uncle Guy! Are you staying for dinner? Did you bring us something?" The questions tumbled out.
After they'd eaten and the dishes were washed and put away, and the children safely tucked up in bed, Guy sat down with Mariah for a quiet word.
"Do you remember that FBI Agent I told you about? The one who's been sniffing around the Gifted?"
"John Masters?"
Guy nodded. "That's the one." He paused to take a sip of coffee. "He's getting too close, I'm going to have to do something about him. He almost caught James the other day, lifting the car to get that child out of the wreckage-would have, if he'd arrived on the scene a bit earlier."
Mariah put down her coffee cup, her eyes wide with worry. "What are you going to do?"
