Friday, 08/05/2011 2:05 PM
Hampton Inn & Suites
377 Cedar Court,
Craig, CO 81625

The Hampton Inn had recently undergone a complete renovation. It had originally opened up only ten years ago but questionable construction issues, poor maintenance, and an uncaring management quickly put the hotel underwater and forced the franchise to be taken over by the Hampton Inn parent corporation.

The reopening had been in June, at the beginning of the 2011 summer vacation season. The clean and crisp newness of the building added to its luxurious feel. It was the only hotel in Craig that had a heated pool, a sauna, three hot tubs, a fitness center, and a full day-spa. The attentive staff did everything possible to help award the hotel its five star customer rating. In fact, for such a small city as Craig, it seemed a bit much.

Callista was surprised at the size and quality of the room when she entered. Her parents made a very decent, upper-middle class living but she knew this had to cost quite a bundle. There were five people staying here with two queen-sized beds and a sofa-bed as well. She would be sharing a bed with her sister Elessa, and her younger brother James would be taking the sofa-bed with her parents taking the other queen-sized bed.

She looked at herself in the mirror and considered how she was going to explain her apparent, instant boob-job, her complete loss of freckles, and the removal of two moles. There had been a small gap in her teeth that was gone. One of her teeth had been chipped in a skateboarding accident when she was fifteen. That tooth was perfect now. And she could find no evidence of any of her filled cavities. A scar on her elbow from surgery when she was eighteen was gone. Her ear piercings were closed up completely.

She held her driver’s license in her hands and was glad she had used makeup when she took that picture. Hardly any of her freckles showed in the photograph and her hair had been in a ponytail. She had always hated getting her photograph taken and was incredibly self-conscious about her self-image. But now, strangely, she realized that little quirk was gone. Not her concern for her self-image, which had hyped up quite a bit and taken an unforeseen and unfortunate direction, but her shyness concerning cameras. She would have to watch herself very closely.

She had already called down to the small boutique shop they had in the hotel and no, they did not have a wide selection of clothing. She was going to have to go to a nearby JC Penny’s store, the only major chain of its kind in the area.

Kyle had suggested that they quickly get settled in and meet at his room and discuss what they were going to do before their families arrived. He was the only person in the group that had his own room. Everyone else shared a room with their family.

Prepaid, Virgin Mobile cell-phones were available in the shop in the hotel, though they were limited to calls and texts only. They knew that they could do much better if they went to Radio Shack, which was pretty close by. It would be nice to have a data service and the closest Best Buy or other major electronic gadget store was in Boulder. Besides, it was best to pay in cash so they had to hit up an ATM or something and Callista groaned at the $3.50 charge for the withdrawal fee for using the Hotel’s ATM.

The last of them arrived in Kyle’s room as he was hanging up the phone. A quick phone call had confirmed that the rest of the family was only ten minutes out and should be here soon. They had been delayed due to the horrendous amount of traffic on the roads. Either people were fleeing the area or swarming to it like locusts.

There was some confusion about how Kyle, Danny, and Callista could have gotten here before the rest of their families, but Kyle assured his mother that they would explain as much as they could after they settled into the hotel.

“Well, let me start by saying that we’re in quite a pickle.” Began Judith Sheppard. I have very little cash on me and any use of my checkbook, ATM card, or credit card can be eventually traced. I don't think I will be able to get a room here since I will need an ID, though I checked and they do have a couple of rooms still available.   And wherever the three of you go there will also be records if you use anything other than cash. I know you three are more street-smart than I am. Any suggestions?”

Kyle nodded, "We've already used our plastic and our phones in the area. We're going to be on a fairly short list pretty soon even if we don't spend another dime. In fact, it might look more suspicious if we suddenly stop using them.   We'll just have to use them for mundane purchases.  We won't be able to hide from the feds for long. But the feds might help cover our tracks from the local law enforcement if we loop them in fast enough...if they haven't already. I'm planning to identify myself to the feds anyhow. I've got some savings. I can float us in the short term. I'll just grab some cash from the ATM and we can do some shopping."

"Judith, it's probably in your best interest to identify yourself to the feds too. They can get your ID situation straightened out. And that way they won't be looking for you or thinking we kidnapped you or anything. I'll cover your room. "

Judith shook her head.  "I don't know what I was thinking.  Maybe I'm just being paranoid.  Ok, lets go shopping.  I know there's a Walmart and a J.C. Penny's around here.  I can go ahead and withdraw some cash too, "in for a penny" and all that.

Callista nodded.  "Oh how I need some new clothes.  Lets get out of here before our parents arrive.  We can catch up with them when we get back."

"I hope you don't mind dea...I mean Callista, if I come with you?"  Said Jude.  "You can point out the latest fashions and whatnot."

Kyle smiled. Just a few seconds before Calli spoke up, he had been about to suggest the girls go shopping for clothes. They both needed them and they didn't have a lot of time before their families arrived. The only reason he hadn't spoken the thought was that he didn't want to be accused of being sexist for suggesting the girls shop for clothes while the guys shopped for gear. He was glad they had come to the conclusion without his help.

With plans made, they had the hotel front desk call for a taxi while they made their way down. Kyle took a good look at the room before leaving, being sure to try to memorize as much as possible so they could portal back. They took one taxi, which arrived in the form of a silver minivan with a magnetic sign on the sides bearing the name "Around Town Taxi" company. The group had decided on dropping off Jude and Calli and continuing on to Radio Shack, having the taxi circle back to pick up the ladies. It took them around a half hour to get all the supplies they could find. Kyle and Danny picked up some prepaid phones and a police scanner, paying in cash. There were a few items that Radio Shack had that Kyle hadn't thought of and he ended up putting down his card to pick up a few exta items. Among them were hand-held Garmin handheld GPS receiver, a tablet, four small led flashlights, an external hard drive, a car charger with ac output, and a power strip. The prepaid phone hadn't had a camera, so Kyle picked up an inexpensive digital camera in addition to the other items.

Danny added several thumb drives, an sd card reader, a few basic electronic tool kits, including amp and voltmeters, some soldering tools, extra cables, particularly USB, CAT5, and power cords. He suggested several tuneable wide spectrum walkies as well.

Danny also suggested a trip to an Army surplus store or Sports supply store for some basic survival gear as well. Something he was surprised that Kyle hadn't thought of. There was one addition that Danny insisted on that seemed exceedingly unusual. Danny wouldn't go anywhere with out a towel.

Once the two had picked up enough gear, they walked outside to look for a place where they couldn't be seen opening a portal back to the hotel room.

Predictably, the two women took a lot longer shopping for clothes than the men took shopping for gear.  But in the end they managed to get back to Kyle's room without difficulty.  

"Kyle, this is definitely the way to travel."  Said Callista as she stepped through the portal.  "Well, flying may be more fun but this is far more convenient.  I think it may be a little like choosing between a standard transmission and an automatic.  And I'm sorry guys, it turns out mid-summer is the worst possible time of year to shop for ski masks in Colorado.  We had no luck there, not even for something close."  

The phone in Kyle's room had a blinking message light.  It was three messages actually, all wondering where he and the others had gone and why no one was answering their cell phones.

Callista carried her bags to the door but waited for Kyle to hear the messages before leaving.  "I'm going back to my room to change...."  She put her bags down and frowned.  "Damn!  I suppose my mom and dad will be pounding me with questions as soon as I walk through the door.  So what's our cover story and how are we going to be dealing with family members and our little secret?"

Callista immediately thought of the series Smallville.  She did not watch much television, but that show really had her attention for a while.  What she remembered now was the acidic lying that was a constant theme and how it poisoned and destroyed relationships.  She had lost interest before the end of season four.

Kyle looked over at Calli and cocked his head thoughtfully, "No worries on the masks. We'll figure something out. As for our 'cover story', I was planning to tell our families the truth. I'm not planning to tell the whole world, just close family and certain people in the government. Hell, the whole world probably knows that people exist with 'superpowers' now. They watched a flying woman catch a falling helicopter and lower it to the ground on live television...speaking of which..." Kyle picked up the remote and switched on the television. "Maybe we should start by having them watch this. They have been on the road, so they may not know what's going on. So maybe I should ask this now, do either of you want to keep this from our families?"

Callista spoke without thinking.  "Of course not.  I believe in full disclosure.  And my dad's a cop anyway.  I'm sure he'll probably be a font of advice and requests."

Kyle nodded, "Good." He looked at Danny. Danny had seemed the most keen to keep his identity from being known. "How about you Danny?"

Danny sighed. He knew he was probably going to lose this battle, but felt he had to fight it just the same.
"Actually I do. You guys got some pretty fantastic gifts out of this, and so did I, but mine are ... not necessarily as easy to accept. Especially since it's tantamount to gross invasion of privacy, and the government... All I can see is 'National Security Risk' stamped across my forehead. I have 15 people to protect, any one of which is a potential weakspot, and/or leak. I don't know man. I just don't know what to do at this point."

Kyle nodded. "Well, telling our families and telling the government are two different things. I'm asking if you want to keep it from our families. It's not my secret to tell."

"Yes, and no. It still amounts to letting our identities beknown, and the risk of exposure that entails." Danny replied. "I can't explain exactly hwy I feel this way, but I feel very strongly that our identities need to be protected. Mine especially because of the abilities I've gained. Put yourself in my place." Danny was feeling a bit worked up, the pull between needing to do what was right and protecting his identity at war within him. "My abilities allow me to read minds, what normal person is going to want me near them, including family? It's a great tool for being a 'hero', but no one wil ever trust me again. I don't know if I can go through that with my family. We're all tight you know, I don't think I could go from that to being a parriah."

Kyle paused with his brow furrowed.  He knew it wasn't a secret he could keep without lying, and he couldn't refuse to speak about it or it would draw attention and accurate supposition. He could sense that Danny felt strongly about this and didn't want to be insensitive. "Danny, I still trust you - and they're your family.  They'll still trust you. Our identities are probably already known to the feds, and if they aren't it's just a matter of time.  Right now, this is the hottest story in the world and you can bet a fair amount of intel bandwidth is being dedicated to finding out exactly what happened on that ridge and who was involved.  With Brian's ATV Rental being the only ones allowed to tour on that land and ATV's scattered all around, they'll be looking for whoever rented from Brian.  The harder we make them look, the less trusting they will be when they find us.

"Listen, I understand.  The very thing that makes you dangerous, also makes you very valuable.  They'll want you on their side - but they may be careful who they let you in a room with."

"All that being said, it's in the government's best interest that our identities be kept highly confidential. Top Secret need-to-know only.  So they'd protect your identity from all those other people that might start digging, like the media, or intel services of other countries."

He paused before continuing, "And I don't want to lie to my family or my country." 

Danny could understand where his friend was coming from. It was wrong to lie, especially to people who loved you. He felt that in his bones. But just as strongly, he felt the need to keep his two lives separate and secret from each other. The dichotomy was tearing him up. "I don't want you to either. For that matter, I don't want to, its just wrong, and I have this need to do what's right. It's been that way ever since the portal. It's like my world view has shifted the way Brice and Judith were talking about. That's why I don't know what to do right now."

Danny sat down and buried his head in his hands. "You may trust me, because you know what happened, and you've been changed. And yes they're my family, but come on, honestly, if you hadn't been changed, would you want to be near someone who could read your mind, know your every secret? No matter how honest a relationship is, there's always something that isn't said, feelings and thoughts that aren't expressed. Even if I'm not reading their minds, there's always going to be the doubt, the fear that I am. That doubt and fear is a nasty weed, and I can see it tearing the foundations of my family relationships apart." 

Danny looked up and met Kyle's gaze. The fear and sadness in his eyes struck Kyle to his core. "I'm afraid Kyle. Very afraid."

Kyle sat down next to Danny and thought about it for a moment. He remembered that Danny's life experiences had been very different than his own. He hadn't really had time to think about it - so he hadn't considered if he should be afraid. But he knew Danny was talking about being afraid of it destroying his family, not of the thing itself.

He shrugged, "I don't have all the answers Danny. I just know I don't want to start off by lying about it. No one can win in that situation. And everyone will just have to learn to trust you. It might make everyone a bit more honest." He chuckled at the thought.

"How about if every time you demonstrate the power to them, you do something like squint your eyes or cock your head or something. It wouldn't be lying if they assumed you had to squint your eyes every time you used your powers, and they'd feel more comfortable thinking they could detect when you were reading their minds." He smiled slyly at his friend, trying to reassure him and lighten the mood.

"A false tell?" Danny asked. "You really think that will work?" Danny looked at Judith. "Mrs. Sheppard, would that make you feel more comfortable in my presence?" 

Jude closed her eyes for a moment and took a small breath before answering.  She turned to Danny, still a a bit of a loss for words.  "Before you started talking about it here I had no idea.  I'm pretty sure you should not give an outward sign.  I mean, speaking as objectively as I can, any special tell you provide should not make it any less scary.  If the word 'scary' is appropriate.  If you're deliberately demonstrating your power to someone, perhaps it might be a good idea to give some outward sign in your body language to indicate the start of it and the end.  Or you might even show some sort of artificial limitation, like having to touch someone to affect them.  But I'm hardly the person to ask about this."

"Mrs. Sheppard, you're exactly the person to ask. I"m sorry if I put you on the spot. You don't know me very well, and while obviously affected by the portal, in a secondary way, you weren't 'changed' like Kyle, Calli and myself. It gives you a unique perspective. You're the closest I have to the 'average person's reaction." Danny replied in as soothing a tone. It was meant as much for her as it was himself.

"It's not the active demonstration I"m worrying about. It's moments like right now. You didn't know, now you do. Does it make you feel any differently about me? Aren't you worried that I"m reading your mind, right now?"

"Actually...um, I'm really not worried at all.  And it's difficult to say if I feel any different about you since I just met you.  But no, I don't think it would make any difference.  Maybe its because I trust you for some reason.  You have to admit I'm a little closer to all of this than the average Joe on the street.  And I think you're really adding too much into this.  It's like you're borrowing trouble.  Why don't you just play it by ear.  If it...what ever it is your're concerned about crops up, worry about it then."

Danny nodded, still uncomfortable. Mrs. Sheppard had apoint, but Danny still couldn't shake his dread. There was stil some time before the rest of their family would hit the hotel, so Danny teleported back to his rooom. Once there he changed his clothes, and pulled out his laptop and the tower from Brian's computer. A few short minutes later, Danny had the tower up and running, and networked with his laptop. He quickly copied out the files he'd saved to a second thumb drive, intending to give it to Kyle's mom.

Now that he was drving the search from his own computer, Danny activated several programs. The first was his firewall, a modified version of a hacker version he'd found. He'd cleaned up the code, removing several back doors the original hacker had left, and created a few of his own. One of the coolest features he'd found and built into it was the ability to falsify his own IP address, effectively making his computer anonymous. Or so he'd hoped. He'd never been in a situation like today's so it wasn't fully tested, but Danny suspected it would get a good workout shortly.

Once he was sure everything was in place, Danny connected to the Hotel's Wi-Fi network and set about grabbing the back-ups from Brian's Carbonite account, his prodigius memory easily supplying the log-in and password from his brief glimpse of Brian's list. It was as if he had just looked at it a few seconds ago, rather than over an hour. 

Danny was immediately alerted that there was a serious problem.  First, the site told him that the account did not exist.  But then he saw that a worm had backtracked him and was basically in the process of penetrating his firewalls.  He isolated the malware easily enough and cut his internet connection.  Examining the code it was apparent that it's purpose was to not only scrub any information regarding the ATV business, but also any information regarding Brian Sheppard.  It would seek out backups and any connected storage devices.  

The code was truly brilliant, smooth, normally undetectable, and insidious.  Anyone who accessed the Carbonite website would be infected.  Any site that the victim contacted for the next 12 hours would be affected and then the code would be gone from the victim's computer.  Danny imagined that by now it had infected millions of computers and websites world-wide.  Luckily his program alerted him of the problem or else it would have eventually penetrated his laptop's firewalls.  If he ever plugged in one of those thumb-drives, the information would have been immediately wiped from the drive.

Somebody was covering his tracks. 

"Well, shit." Danny said. He sat and gazed at the computer, his mind racing. Someone had remotely accessed Brian's computer back at the house. Which means someone knew about the connection between the portal and Brian's ATV business. The fact that Brian was in custody, apparently dead, lead Danny to the conclusion it was probably the 'authorities'.  This latest bit though, that smacked either of governmental cover-up, or possibly corporate. UEI, maybe? The level of skill necessary to actually track back to his computer even with the ghosted IP was interesting. Thank god he'd copied out the files before he'd tried to crack the carbonite back up.

Danny was always curious, and the way things were falling out, he itched to find out anything that might shed even more light on what was going on. Brian's computer, with its big warranty warning labels just begged to be taken apart and it's secrets revealed.

Danny, rummaged through his backpack until he found his field repair kit; basically, a precision screwdriver set, a grounded matt, a set of needle nose pliers, a soldering iron and some solder. Thus armed, Danny set about coercing the secrets out of Brian's computer.

The computer came apart easily enough just like any other.  But inside there was something else entirely.  The first thing he noticed was that there was a backup hard drive.  He had not seen it in the directory listing, which meant that it was masked from BIOS somehow.  But there was another serious problem.  The computer was not plugged in and yet there was a flashing light on the drive.  Looking closer he could see that the hard drive was just a case for something else.  He took it apart and saw that nestled inside was a smaller hard drive used in laptop computers.  There was a lithium battery backup like he had never seen.  And there was a wireless device attached.  Someone was accessing this backup drive.

It was a brilliant setup.  A simple push of a button ejected the small drive, which cut the power to it.  If the computer were ever to be serviced by a UEI technician, all they had to do was quickly switch out the lap-top drive and they had a hard-copy of all the data.  The other drive was connected normally and had no power at all at the moment.

Examining the computer even closer he could see there was a GPS chip installed on the custom motherboard.  It had a line to the same backup power source as the mini-hard drive.  Wherever he had been carrying that tower, someone had been tracking him.  GPS chips are not usually installed on PCs.

It was a simple matter to remove the primary hard drive.

Danny cursed under his breath. he popped the back up drive from it's cleverly hidden shel, cutting power and stopping the access. He could only hope that the data on it was still intact.  This was getting freaking ridiculous. There were daggers inside of cloaks inside of daggers. What the hell had they stumbled onto? Nobody put GPS chips in desktop computers. Nobody. He'd only heard of it once, in a customization package for a laptop he'd been considering and that was an over the top security feature. Danny traced the power line to the gps chip and disabled the power to it as well.

Danny hoped whoever might be capable of tracking the gps chip wasn't looking right now. Because if they were, then his friends and family were compromised. It would be his fault too. All because he was paranoid. He'd have to set up a clean system at some point, and review the data on the hidden hard drive but knew he didn't have time.

Danny looked at his watch, realizing that he only had a few minutes before the rest of his family were due to arrive. He scanned the interior of the computer for any other oddities, chips or devices that didn't belong, or weren't standard for desktops of this general make.

Danny now felt comfortable that the computer was clean of any data.  The RAM was top of the line, three months ago, but that was memory, not storage.  He had taken the hard drive and the mini-back up drive.  He had disabled the GPS chip.  He had backed up the data onto a thumb drive and as far as he could tell someone else had deleted the Carbonite account.  But that did not mean the data did not exist in a Carbonite, Inc. server somewhere.

While Danny worked his magic with the computer, Kyle took out the map he had taken from Brian's ATV and opened it up to take a look.

The map was of the geographical area south of his house.  It outlined the path he would take for the tour and there were notes written here and there about points of interest.  There were two other lines or paths he might take but they were obviously for longer tours.  Various other points were listed as well, in case there was time for detours.  There were time markers at points along the trails for each of the three tours that obviously indicated the expected amount of time it would take to reach those markers.  Other than that, there was nothing special about the map except that it was taken from a land survey and created by United Property Management Services, a subsidiary of UEI.  

?

******************

It seemed that normal programming had ceased.  Kyle could only find one or two channels that did not have on-going news coverage of the portal and its implications.  Each channel had some talking head offering an opinion or images of what happened there.  A few were focusing on the flying people with video of Callista and her rescue of the helicopter.  

There was some coverage of a flying man in West Virginia.  Several people had captured video with their cell phones and showed a man nearly fall out of the sky and impact a parked car.  The man was clearly the boy they knew as David Jennings but his face was embedded in the body of the car and was mostly obscured.  From the audio it was clear everyone assumed he was dead.  The video skipped a head an unknown amount of time and showed David start to move and moan to the shock of the gathered crowd.  

They heard him tell everyone to get back a couple of times, though the words were rather muffled due to his face being planted in the metal.  When he started flying away he pulled the car with him.  Then the car ripped open and fell to the ground as David flew quickly away.  None of the camera angles captured his face very well.  When he first started flying the car itself blocked the view.  Then, as he jetted away he was just a blur.  There were no reports of injuries but several houses suffered substantial damage as David flew in at an angle, not straight down.  And that one car was totaled.

There were also reports from the diner in Maybell.  Someone, possibly a resident in the neighborhood or an employee of the place had captured video of the scene as the trooper surrounded the diner.  Then the person talking said it was from a waitress who had been told, by the cook, that Carl Richardson was inside the kitchen and to take everyone out of the diner.

This video continued while the attack helicopters arrived and soldiers were dropped off in the back of the nearby elementary school.  The apparent explosion caused by Brice's fleeting movement was also captured.  The diner was soon entered by the soldiers.  The scene skipped ahead and Lou could be seen exiting the place and getting into an ambulance.  The statement from the state police said that Carl Richardson had somehow escaped.  The state police chief blamed the general confusion caused by the U.S. military's intervention for the escape of the fugitive.  There was no comment from any representative of the military.

There were injuries from the incident at the diner but the number and severity of those injuries have not yet been disclosed.

***

There was a knock on the door.  Since she was closest, Callista turned and opened it a crack.  Standing there were Anita Walker, Donna Wells, and Sarah Bulloch.  She blinked a moment and opened the door all the way.  "Hi mom, Mrs. Donna, Mrs. Sarah, how was the ride?"

Callista was wearing a short-sleeved, a brightly colored, patterned t-shirt and jeans.  Anita raised her eyebrows, her mouth was agape.  "Um, Callista?"

"Yea.  It's me mom."  She replied.  

"You look, um, different.  A lot different.  I mean, really different.  What happened?"

Callista sighed and backed away from the door.  "Alright, come on in."  Anita approached and briefly gave Callista a hug and a peck on the cheek before moving further into the room.

Donna continued in behind Anita and looked at Callista with wide eyes as she passed.  She then took in Kyle and Danny.  "Well, she's not the only one whose changed.  What's going on?"  she said as she gave Danny a hug.

Danny gave his mom a hug, but she could sense he was bothered about something. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

Callista motioned to Judith.  "Hey guys, this is Judith Sheppard.  She came with us from Mabell."

Somewhere in all of this the three women acknowledged Jude's presence with a smile or a wave accompanied by a brief "Hi, I'm...."

Sarah approached and hugged Kyle as well, giving him a kiss too.  "Ok, start talking."  She said almost immediately after breaking the brief embrace.

Kyle smiled reassuringly. "Well, that's a long story, and it's a bit incredible. Have a seat. Tell me, have you seen the broadcast of what is happening in Maybell?"

Sarah Bulloch looked over at the television, which drew many glances in that direction throughout the room.  An image of the portal was prominent there.  The voice of the announcer was muted at the moment.  She turned back to Kyle.  Her first thoughts were to say something quippy like "So, you tore a hole in the universe?"  or perhaps a pun like "Tell me the Whole story young man."  But she saw the looks on the faces in the room and decided to play it straight.

"Yes, we've all been listening and watching.  The whole world has.  I got a call to report to Washington, but when my boss found out I was in Colorado he said to stay here.  I'm leaving in..."  She pulled out her cell phone to look at the time.  "...an hour to catch a shuttle to Denver where a field office is being set up.  Now you know my timeline Kyle.  I've only got an hour.  Start talking.  

The police and media had shown up shortly after the portal had opened, so there wasn't likely to be any video of it happening.  Kyle smiled. "We were there when this thing happened, not even twenty feet away." He paused to let that sink in.

"Well, you all survived it well enough.  That's a plus."  Sarah said.  She knew there was more to it than that.  "So...you were that close huh?  And..."  She turned to Callista as she started putting some of the pieces together.  "Cali?  Was, um, was that you that caught the helicopter?"

Callista made a slight "O" with her lips as she rocked back on her heels.  Then she spoke.  "The air pressure difference between the two worlds was pretty steep.  It created near hurricane-force winds that knocked us on our asses.  I'd have to guess that the storm out there was due to the added localized humidity and an increase in air pressure.  But like I said, that's just a guess.  But something else happened that I can't explain.  It was like an electrical discharge from the edge as it got bigger.  At that moment it was like we were all connected somehow.  I knew all the people caught up in that...blast, or whatever it was.  Not a lot about them, but something.  And when it was over I was turned into Super Girl or Power Woman or something."

She put her hands into the pockets of her jeans and continued to rock a little forward and back from the balls to the heels of her feet.  She looked at Kyle to continue.

Kyle nodded at the appropriate moments as Calli spoke, agreeing with her answers. When Calli had finished and looked to him, Kyle looked back at his mother and picked up the thread, "We were all changed in some way, to varying degrees. That's why we look different. And, obviously there's more to it. I don't yet know what we're capable of. For starters, we can probably get you to your field office quicker than your shuttle - and I'm guessing you want to take us with you anyhow..."

Anita quickly spoke up with "What do you..." nearly simultaneously Donna Wells said "Why would she..." but Sarah held up her hands to forestall them both.  "Kyle, you know I'm a doctor but you don't know what I do for the Department of the Defense.  It's nothing nefarious but based on what I know, and after listening to the news for the last couple of hours, I can easily guess why I have been redirected to Denver.  But if you come with me I will not be a participant in whatever you become involved with regarding the DOD.  And if I were to become involved my part would be so compartmentalized I would be clueless as to its role in any project or plan.  That level of exclusion has a direct bearing on my relationship with all of you."  She said indicating the three portal-affected people in the room.

"I can still help you, though.  And as much as I want to hear the rest of your story, what you all think you can do, and what your immediate plans are, at this point you should stop talking to me about all of that.  Instead, give me some contact numbers so I can reach you.  I know you're careful, but my agency is going to find out about you, who you are, and my relationship with you, Danny, and Cali.  They will reach out to me to get to you.  Only then can I make a play to stay involved.  If I bring you in now they will not need me in that role.  Don't call Oliver with this either.  I just got a call from him.  He's being recalled from Cairo and he doesn't know why.  And he was recalled before the summit he was attending had been cancelled by the Egyptian government."

She reached out and grasped his shoulders.  "The world is moving quickly on this, Kyle.  It's the same in Germany and Russia.  All talks of trade or arms have stopped.  It's like the political world is holding its collective breath to see what shakes out here in Colorado.  You three are going to be at the heart of whatever goes on, you can bet on it.  I can play a little interference, I can help in some ways, I...I just don't know yet what I can do for you.  But you have to stay low for a while."

She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope.  "Here is some money.  It was what we had saved for this trip."  She turned to the other women.  "Sorry, ladies.  We're going to have to skip that spa adventure tonight."  She turned back to Kyle.  "Don't tell me or the rest of us where you are going or what you are doing just yet.  I have no idea what plans are behind the set-up of our field office.  It's the first such field office for my division." 

Kyle took the envelope with a heartfelt "Thank you" and pondered this for a moment. He hadn't considered that his mother might be called in until she had said so. She could learn more if she wasn't associated with anyone involved with the event, and while Kyle didn't expect her to violate the terms of her security clearance, she could advise them in other ways that could be valuable. But that meant keeping their identities a secret a little while longer.

He considered his immediate objectives. Making sure that Amy and her family was safe from Carl Richardson topped the list. That meant finding her. He also wanted to stop Carl Richardson. The man had proven himself to be dangerous and had to be dealt with.

Finally, he nodded his agreement. "I know it is only a matter of time before they figure out who we are and we're prepared to stay on the lamb until our money runs out - and I think we can manage to scare up a little more cash if needed."

Kyle walked over to the desk in his room and used the pen and hotel stationary to write out the numbers for the prepaid phones he had gotten from Radio Shack. "I took the liberty of picking up some prepaid cellphones and other equipment, so we've got that covered."

His expression turned serious as he continued, "I know you said not to tell you where we are going or what we are doing, but there are a couple of things you should know about a few of the people involved in this. I can make a couple of guesses why you were called in. I'm betting at least one of us is in custody..or at least they've got a body they want you to do an autopsy on. First, he might be dead, but it isn't permanent. He seems like an okay sort, but I don't know how he'll react to his circumstances, so take precautions. Second, I'm sure you know about Carl Richards...he's looking for some of the others. We want to make sure they're safe from him. It'll be a mother and her two kids, a late teen girl and a boy. If they're safe, can you let me know? That would be a huge load off my mind."

"So, Carl Richardson is involved in this?"  Asked Sarah.  "I had some hint with the standoff at the diner, but whats this about a dead body?"

Judith Sheppard spoke up.  "I think he's talking about Brian Sheppard.  One of my great nephews.  Kyle said he died but it's not permanent.  I'm still not sure what that means."

"Great nephews?"  Anita asked, blinking at Jude.  "But you can't be..."

"Old enough to have great nephews?"  finished Judith.  "I'm actually in my late 80s.  But that's a story for another day."

"Amy, get back to her and her family."  Said Callista.

"Right."  Said Sarah.  "Amy, that must be the mom with two kids.  What information do you have on them that can help us track them down?"

Judith spoke up again.  "Amelia Carrolton was born in Maybell, though everyone knows her as Amy.  Besides her children the only real family I know she has is a grandmother, Sidney Carrolton.  They live together in Sidney's house in Maybell.  Emma is seventeen and Daniel is ten.  They have lots of friends in Maybell so there are lots of people the kids call Aunt or Uncle, but the're not blood relatives that I know of."  She has a boyfriend in town named David Travers.  From what Sidney told me, they were once high school sweethearts.  He lives in town with his parents though Sidney said that he might as well be living in her house since he's there so often.  He also spends the night there regularly."  She turned to Kyle, Danny and Callista.  "Did I miss anything?"

Kyle was glad his mother had asked questions. He had purposefully been vague in case she didn't want to know names. The feds had resources he couldn't hope to match in finding Amy. He hoped they already had. He spoke up when Judith turned to them, "Her phone is going straight to voicemail. I don't know if the kids had cellphones. My next move was to try to find that out. Amy's grandmother Sidney works at the library in Craig. She said Amy and the kids were not at home and that there was a big hole in the back of the house. She worked at Lou's Diner. That's all I know at this point...except that Richardson is looking for her. If you find her, I'd say hide her."

His face turned serious and he emphasized the next words to his mother, "Richardson is powerful - and dangerous. If you see him coming, run, hide; do whatever you have to do to get away from him."

Callista stepped forward to add more information.  "And there are at least two others with powers.  Phil and Chuck.  I think they're locals, but I know they're assholes."

"Right on target with that."  Said Jude.  "Phillip Kruger works as a miner somewhere and is Charles Jantz is freeloading off of him and his own father, the Sheriff of Moffat county.  They have a long history in Maybell and the surrounding area as thugs.  They've been hooked at the hip since before high school.  Rumor has it they raped Amelia Carrolton sometime in high school and that Emma is Charles Jantz's kid.  She's never been able to prove anything though, given Charles' father's status and connections.  If they have some powers they will likely be trouble of the worst kind."

Sarah took all of this in.  She pulled out a small pad of paper from her purse and started taking notes.  She wrote down some names and some other information.  She then pulled out a card from her wallet and handed it to Kyle.  It was the business card of a lawyer named Frederick Jostens.  The plain-white card contained a number, a name, and his title.  Nothing else.  "If there's no other way to contact me, go through Fred.  Your father and I have known him for years.  His office is located in Baltimore City and he does a great deal of pro-bono civil and criminal defense work.  But his specialty has to do with something about estate planning.  You can trust him to be discrete with regards to passing messages or packages between us, but do not open up to him about anything else.  I do not want him to get in too deep."

"I will do what I can to find and contact Amelia Carrolton and her children.  If I do I'll contact you somehow.  I suggest changing phones and phone numbers regularly.  Pre-paid or not they can be traced eventually.  As a last resort, contact Fred.  If I can't contact you any other way I will leave information with Fred with the hope you can get to him somehow."

"Jesus Christ!"  Said Donna Wells.  "What the hell is all this spy stuff about?  Next thing you'll be discussing is blind drops and code-words."

"Um, Donna, our kids have superpowers."  Said Anita Walker.  "Get with the program.  Everyone's going to want a piece of them.  We live in a comic book universe now or something, secret identities and all.  Next these kids will be wearing costumes or something to hide their faces."

Sarah turned to Anita.  "They're hardly kids anymore, Anita.  And it looks like we all have to do some paradigm shifting here."

"I don't feel like I'm living in a comic book world."  Said Jude.  "I don't think I'm in a four-color frame with a text bubble over my head.  What these new heroes and villains do will have serious consequences in the lives of millions of real people.  I just feel fortunate enough to be caught up with it at the beginning."

Sarah nodded but looked around at the three superheroes.  She included Jude in her gaze because she didn't know any better and just made some base assumptions.  "Is there anything else I need to know before I catch my shuttle to Denver?"

Kyle took the card and put it in his wallet. "Actually, there is. The reason we know all these details about each other is that we were somehow connected for an instant. That means Richardson may know about us too. If he's recruiting, he might come looking for us. Which means he might show up in Baltimore..."  He guessed his mother would come to the same conclusion he had, that Richardson might cause problems for their families to get to them.

She nodded and hugged Kyle again, also giving him a kiss on the cheek.  "I've got a few things to do before I go."  She looked over at Callista and Danny.  "You two keep him out of trouble, will you?"  She moved to the door and spoke to Jude.  "It's nice to meet you Ms. Sheppard.  Be careful."

Danny stopped Sarah before she left. "Umm. Look into a company called UEI, United Enterprises International, a Dr. Edward Jenkins. He's got an unusual business deal going with Judith's nephew, Brian Sheppard." Danny handed her a thumb drive. "There's a bit of documentation on here, I scrubbed it as much as I could, but it's definitely unusual and I think it ties in to the portal. I also included some e-mails as well. I'm not really sure what's going on, but there's some odd 'cloak and dagger' stuff, especially regarding the equipment given to Brian to start his business. All the ATV's, helmets, and even his computer are 'property ' of UEI and I think there's more to them than there appears to be."

Sarah took the thumb drive with a bit of a shocked expression.  "Wow.  So where have you been hiding all these years Danny?"  She looked at the flash drive with some curiosity.  "UEI, huh?  Well, that's something concrete to work with."  She smiled brightly.  "This is starting to get better and better."

"Anita?  Donna?  I'll see you two in Maryland when I get back.  Take care."  She said.  And Sarah Bulloch was gone.

There was a moment of silence in the room and Donna Wells looked around to see everyone was still standing.  She sat down on the couch.  "I feel like this is some sort of movie or novel we're living in here.  I'm not even a real part of it and it's pretty exciting.  I..."  She looked over at Anita.  "...we have so many questions.  First off, Danny, what powers do you have?  All we really know is that Callista can fly and is super strong."

Anita Walker moved and sat down next to Donna.  Sensing the trend, Judith Sheppard took one of the two comfortable chairs in the room.  "I'm interested to hear this as well."  She said.

Callista blinked and moved to sit in the other chair.  Now only the two men in the room were standing.  "Me too, actually."  She said.  "I'm very straight forward, as far as I can tell.  I think Danny was talking about Archetypes earlier today.  I don't know about comic books, but I fit in somewhere near Super Girl.  I can fly, am very strong, and am pretty tough to hurt.  I've got super hearing and vision as well.  No heat vision, yet anyway.  Well Danny?  What've you got?"

Danny looked decidedly uncomfortable and shot Calli and Kyle a pleading look. Unfortunately, he knew his mother, and she never let anything go, especially once it piqued her curiosity. With 10 children, she had to be in the know and relentless. "Um.. Well, I'm not sure I know the full extent of everything, but like Calli, I've got better vision and hearing. I feel a ton better than I ever have before. stronger and fitter, though no where near what Calli can do." 

Danny paused, still unsure of how much to reveal, the war in his mind still burning bright. "I can teleport, at least short distances, I have a sort of remote viewing ability as well." Danny paused again, this time blushing deeply. When he spoke his voice was barely above a whisper. "And I can communicate mentally, at least with Calli, and Kyle, and Mr. Jennings. I haven't tried with anyone else yet."

Danny wanted to hide.


Donna Wells blinked at that.  "Wow, so you're, what?  A telepath or something like that?  My son the clairvoyant, teleporting telepath.  Can you like, teleport us home or something like that?  It would be nice to avoid the long drive back to Maryland.  Though we will miss the stuff in Tennessee we were planning.  I think our time would be better spent watching the news and being with friends and family than exploring the Lost Sea or the Smokey Mountains.  They seem rather pale in comparison to the Portal and what it might mean."  

"Something like that, Mom. I don't think I have that kind of range and I'm pretty sure I can only teleport myself, and maybe one other person, a small one." Danny still refused to meet anyone's eyes. He didn't feel comfortable telling them this. "Can you keep the telepath part between us please?"

"Sure.  You can bet everything said here stays between us."  She looked at Kyle.  "So, what has the Bulloch blood brought the world?  Care to share your new special talents and powers?"

Kyle chuckled, "To tell the truth, I'm still not one hundred percent sure I know. I seem to be able to... It's like I have this connection to the universe, and can somehow exert my will on it and my place in it. I can be super strong, tough, and fast, or I can blend in with my surroundings...and I think change my features, and I can open small portals to places in the distance...and best of all...I can heal others beyond imagining," he gestured to Judith. "There may be more. I don't really know the limits yet. We haven't had much of a chance to explore. We've been pretty busy since this afternoon."


"Wow."  Said Anita Walker.  Those with heightened senses in the room knew that both Anita and Donna's hearts were thrumming away pretty fast.  Their world had changed drastically and now that change had shown itself to be more closely tuned to their personal lives than they thought possible.

Donna turned to Judith.  Her face showed a little confusion.  "Do you have any powers?"  She asked.

"Only the gifts of age, wisdom, and hopefully common sense.  I was not affected like the others.  I was an eighty-nine year old cancer victim with a broken hip before Kyle here changed my life forever.  He took away the cancer, healed my hip, and every ailment associated with old age."

Anita got up off of the sofa and rounded on Kyle.  "You've got to be careful!  That power alone will make you a hunted man.  If people know someone out there can heal like that everyone will want a piece of you.  Many will begin worshiping you while others try to use you."

Danny suddenly felt vindicated, but being who he was he kept it to himself. It was just a simple acknowledgement that the part of him that was warring with being honest was truly a valid point and not him just being insecure an paranoid.

Callista stood up.  "Hey, mom, chill out ok?  He's...we've all been caught by surprise with all of this.  You've been listening and watching the news, has anyone shown close-ups of our faces, reported our identities?"

"No, thank god.  Not yet anyway."

"Holy shit!"  Said Callista suddenly thinking of something.  "I saw a security camera covering the entrance to the diner as I went in.  I'm pretty sure my face was captured on video there."  She sat back heavily in the chair.  "Damn!  Now what are we gonna do?"

Kyle frowned, "That adds a wrinkle, doesn't it? Well...it hasn't been shown on the news, so the media doesn't have it yet. Maybe they haven't gotten around to checking it, but I doubt we're that lucky. The feds have probably stepped in and locked that down by now. We still have to warn Amy about Richardson, so I'm planning to go back to Maybell. Maybe we can erase that video before they offload it if we hurry."

With that, Kyle began loading the newly acquired gear into his backpack and pocketed the new phone. He handed the hotel key card to Ms. Wells. "Looks like I'm not going to be needing this."

Kyle turned to face his friends, "I agree with Mrs. Wells. These abilities make us both valuable and dangerous at the same time - which means some people will want to control us, use us. And that puts our families at risk if our identities get out because they might use them to get to us. We'll need to be careful who we share with. I can't speak for everyone, but I feel that these abilities shouldn't be locked away. They don't do any good if they aren't used to help people...you know? That whole 'with great power comes great responsibility' thing - but it's more than that. When I used that portal power to heal Judith, it felt...right. It feels right to use these abilities to help people. But we can't be everywhere at once."

He continued, "I'm of the mind that we go back to Maybell, warn Amy, and find out what that portal is and what's on the other side. And I want to know who's in charge. I've been assuming the three of you will come with me, but it's not my call to make." He looked at this friends expectantly. "Who's with me?"

Callista stood up again with some exuberance.  "Hell yes I'm in for that."  She reached for one of her bags and pulled out a white jump suit with a wide belt, a white long-sleeved turtle-neck sweater, some white leather driving gloves, a pair of white tennis shoes with matching socks, a small white backpack, and a large makeup case.  She threw similar leather gloves to Kyle and Danny, though they were black, not white.  "I had to guess on your sizes, but I've always been good at that.  We can't be leaving our prints everywhere.  I'll be right back."

Danny smiled. Then clapped Kyle on the back. "You know I'm in. I can extend my vacation, as long as I check in remotely. I've got so much comp time built up I could take an entire month off and still get paid, but the project would probably collapse around me, so I'll have to do some actual work."
 
"I'm in too."  Said Judith Sheppard.  "I may not have any special powers, but I know Maybell like the back of my hand"  She said this as she looked at the back of her hand.  "Well..."  and she laughed.  "Perhaps better than the back of my hand.  I can be your tour guide or something."

Callista walked into the bathroom and the door closed behind her.  "Holy Mary Mother of Christ!"  Came her shocked voice from the bathroom.  "I'm alright, its ok.  I'll be..."  And she came out of the bathroom.  "...right out."  She was fully dressed in the new clothes and her face was covered in thick white makeup, even her lips, eyelids, and ears.  Every millimeter of her skin was covered.  Her eyebrows were combed through with something that made the hair look white as well.  Even her eye-lashes were white.  Her hair was held back a tight bun but now also combed through with some substance that made her hair look pure white.  Despite the odd appearance her beauty still shown through.  She had her backpack on as well.  She had only been in the bathroom a couple of seconds.

"I didn't think I could do that.  The...I don't know what to call it, super quickness?  So, what do you think of my first attempt at a superhero costume?"


Kyle had stood there staring when Callista had come out of the bathroom as he tried to come up with a reaction that wouldn't deflate her ego and still allow him to answer truthfully. He had enough presence of mind to close his mouth, but his surprise was still evident. He glanced at Callis' mother as he phrased his words carefully.

Judith Sheppard noticed that the others were just looking at her so she spoke up.  "It's...well, it's a valiant first attempt, sweetheart.  Why white?"

Callista almost sagged.  "Well, heroes wear positive colors, right?  I don't know, I just thought it was a good idea."

Judith brightened a little bit.  "Perhaps a flag theme.  Red, white, and blue?  There are three of you after all."  Though her smile and expression suggested she was just kidding, Callista's eyes widened at the thought and the light humor passed her by without catching on.

"That's an excellent idea.  What do you say guys?"  Said Callista looking at Kyle and Danny with some enthusiasm. 

"Wow! You're going the whole super-hero route complete with costume and everything aren't you? Well, I wouldn't want people to be distracted by me wearing an American flag cape or anything." He chuckled, hoping that humor would lighten the tone of his response. "I need to blend in, so I'm going to be sticking with 'civvies' for a while longer."

Callista deflated a bit as she considered the expressions of those in the room.  "I can see this get-up does not meet with general approval.  "Ok, I'll be right back in a sec or two."  She walked back into the bathroom and closed the door.  This time it took her at least a minute.  At one point the sound of water hitting the walls was quite audible.  When she came out she was drying her hair.  "It turns out water does not like to cooperate with that super-quickness power of ours."

She started brushing her hair as she asked Kyle about their plans.  "So, how are we gong to find Amy and information on the Portal?"

Judith spoke up.  "Maybell is a small town.  We could try to find David Travers or Joseph McDonald.  Joe was the best friend of Amy's father and served with him in the first Gulf War.  Her father died there and he came back to Maybell to look after Amy.  Amy's closest friends are Stacey Beauford, Elizbeth Newton, and Sherrie Cassidy, all waitresses in the diner.  That's about it for Amy.  In terms of finding information about the Portal, you guess is most likely better than mine."

Kyle beamed, "That's great information Judith. I'm thinking we should start at her house. I want to look for clues as to what happened to her. A big hole in the wall is a bad sign, but not proof-positive. All three of them were affected by the portal, so they can probably take care of themselves pretty well. Maybe we'll find something there; maybe not. We'll check with her friends too. Good thinking Judith."

"As for the portal, I was thinking that we should get close enough to see it and then make up our minds. If anyone seems to be in charge or know something about it, we try to find out from them. And I'm thinking maybe I can open a portal through the portal to the other side. We could bypass the perimeter.  We can decide what we want to do when we get there and see the situation on the ground."

Kyle was anxious to go.  He was glad they had been able to tell their family, but now they were wasting time.  They weren't the only ones after this information, and it would only get more difficult as time went by. Picking up his gear, he turned towards an open part of the room and gestured.  A portal opened up to a rain soaked hilltop, it's edges lined with a glowing thin blue ring, more stable than the crackling energy that had existed around the large portal.  

"Well? Shall we?"

The room filled immediately with the fresh, moist air of the hillside.  The sun was shining but there was still some cloud offering its last burst of moisture and a mist-like drizzle reflected the sun's rays to add a sparkling, golden aura to their destination.  Combined with the thin blue ring surrounding the opening, the sight was amazingly beautiful.

Donna and Anita gasped with intakes of breath.  Donna held her hand to her mouth.  "Oh my God!"  She said.  Her eyes were wide with wonder and shock.

"Holy fucking shit!"  Said Anita Walker in an uncharacteristic expression of her own shock.  "Jesus Fucking Christ!"  she shouted.  Her hands were shaking as her view of the world was at last, completely shattered.

"Mom!"  Said Callista as she grabbed hold of her mother's shoulder.  "I've never heard you talk like that before.  It doesn't sound right coming from you."  And she thought that, strangely, it didn't sound right coming from anyone.  It made her feel really uncomfortable for some reason.

Callista rose a foot in the air so her feet were off the ground and looked at her mother.  "Mom, look.  Your girl can fly.  Kyle can open portals to distant places.  Danny can communicate with his mind alone and teleport.  You have to get a grip on this new reality.  Really mom.  Get a hold of yourself.  She bent down and kissed her mom on the cheek.  We've gotta get going now.  Love you."

Without touching the ground she moved with amazing speed.  She emptied her shopping bags into a pink colored tote bag she bought.  She then grabbed one of the duffle bags Danny had her carry back from their shopping trip.  It was the one with the heaviest gear.  She slowed down and also grabbed her backpack.  She looked very over-loaded but it appeared effortless for her.  "Ready when you are boss man."  She said with a smile to Kyle.  She had yet to touch the ground.

Kyle replied with wry smile, her barb hadn't been unnoticed, "Let's do it." He smiled at Donna and Anita, "Enjoy the rest of your vacation. We'll meet you back in Baltimore and we'll sort all this out. And don't worry. We'll be all right." With that, he stepped forward to stand on the hilltop and look for his next portal destination.

The display of power had seemed to drive the point home to their parents. Their lives had changed. He had watched the exchange between mother and daughter with interest. It had almost seemed like their roles had reversed somehow. Calli had somehow grown as a person since the portal event, and it was evident. Kyle wondered if he was exhibiting the same signs, but if anything, he felt less sure of himself. The world had just become a larger place, and yet at the same time, smaller; and he was still trying to figure out his place in it. He knew the role he wanted to play, but he didn't yet know he was up to it.

This game continues here:
www.nextgenrpg.com/content/age-heroes/return-maybell-colorado-age-heroes-page-9