Aayla. She had something to do with what had happened to Myra. Ben thought. Myra hadn't been right in the head. Maybe she still wasn't. It wasn't her fault. But Jason....
He was still hovering there helplessly, between rage and self-pity, when Ann returned. She took him by the hand, guided him to the ground where Paris awaited them.
Ben looked pale beside her.
"Ben, please listen to me. I have to know. Did she tell you about Myra and Jason? Everything?"
"She's lost to me," Ben said in a monotone. "What else is there to know?"
Skietra!
"Ben, I don't know how to tell you this. I hate to tell you like this. But she lost the baby. When Aayla drained her--"
Speak of the Devil. Here now was Aayla, returning home after having outflown her mother. Well, there'd be the devil to pay.
***
Klara flew back towards Aayla's home. I hope Mom manages to calm Ben down. Klara was thinking. Well I should know soon.
As she got close she could see Ben floating between her Mom and sister. Closer and she could hear Ann talking to Ben. Aayla seemed to be silent but she could be adding comments mentally and Ann would never know. Aayla would probably stop before she was close enough to detect it and she would have no direct way of knowing if she had been commenting or not.
Something seemed to have been resolved, for when she arrived, Ann gestured to her.
"Here is Klara to resume her week with you Ben. I'm sure she'll help you gain perspective on things Ben. Go to her arms."
Ann then turned to Klara, "Can you take him somewhere safe and let him work out his grief and anger? I still need to deal with the author of this debacle." She finished by jabbing her thumb at Aayla.
Klara nodded and took Ben's arm. His anger seemed to have passed, replaced by grief over the death of his unborn child. She led him northward to beat it out among the crags of an unpopulated mountain range.
His eyes lit up as he she told him why she'd brought him here and went to it with a will. He smashed into nearest mountain at full speed sending cascades of boulders raining down into a valley. As they fell he beat at them with his fists smashing them smaller and smaller. He followed the landslide down and smashed rock until even the largest of the boulders was sand.
Then he sank to his knees and wept. Klara put her arms around him and he wept against her as she cradled him tenderly. She didn't love but he was a good man and the father of her beloved son. She cradled him until he was finished crying then made gentle love to him in the sunshine under the wide blue sky. As he drifted off to sleep she made a mental note to ask him when he woke, all about what Aayla had told him.
Back at the hill, Ann had finished lecturing Aayla on responsibility. She shook her head hoping some of what she had said penetrated and flew And'ril home.
"Where did we go wrong with her?" Ann asked her husband.
"I think she has too many Galen genes not to want to sculpt societies and planets and too few to do it wisely." And'ril replied. "You are not at fault for what she did. You were the best mom she could have had."
"Thanks but if I really had been she'd be more responsible. I'm afraid she turning out wrong."
"Turned you mean. She's almost thirty. She's an adult and responsible for her own actions. And any consequences they have caused or may yet cause."
And'ril was worried. Ann had a bit of a blind spot where her daughters were concerned, she still thought of them as little kids. While this might be natural for mothers to do it posed problems with a daughter as powerful as Aayla. As soon as he arrived home he called Klara's phone to talk to Paris.
"Are they up and around yet?" And'ril asked Paris.
"Not quite but they're stirring." She replied watching them closely. She had put down her book when the phone rang and now she finished her brandy. "Do you want me to try to hurry them? Is there an emergency?"
"Not at the moment. Klara is with Ben and Aayla is seemingly chastised. Still I wonder if you could do me a favor?"
"Certainly." She wondered what he could have in mind.
"As soon as they are coherent bring one or both them to that jail cell and have them thoroughly probe the minds of the men with the gold paint and strange guns. I won't sleep well until I know more about that. I'll meet you there ok?"
"Sure, it shouldn't be too much longer now."
"We heard." Jason said turning in bed to kiss Myra before sliding out from beneath the blankets.
"Yeah." Myra added, "We weren't really unconscious you know just overwhelmed." She tossed back the blankets and stretched her skin, looking pale and perfect in the warm, golden sunlight.
As she got out of bed Paris looked her over carefully seeking evidence of Myra's ordeal but hoping not to find any. Myra did a slow twirl with her arms over her head.
"Looking for horns or devil marks? I'm still me although I've lost some of my body acceptance issues."
"You used to have body issues?" Paris sounded amazed. "You've always been beautiful. You can't not be lovely, you're Supremis!"
"A Supremis who just lost her child. Nothing like that to give you a sense of perspective. I used to be so jealous of you blondes. Can you believe it? It all seems so trivial now. But Jason helped a lot. He helped me through it, helped me unburden myself. But when I saw myself through his eyes, through his memories-how much he loved my body, how absolutely hot I made him.....
"I always thought he must be fantasizing about you when we were making love. But to see, to feel how much he adored me, how he treasured every square inch of my body, how much he cared about me and how I felt, even when I was half-crazy with my loss... that all his kisses and caresses were for me, that his every thrust was for me. It was so... I can't even find words for it.
"Can you forgive me my envy now?"
"Of course!" Paris hugged her sister and kissed her on both cheeks. "But if we are heading to the police station you should both stop off along the way and dress. I don't care if you never wear a stitch in your life again but the police probably will."
Jason shook his head, "I don't think we can afford the time. I have a bad feeling that time is critical. I can't say exactly why but I trust my instinct. So we'll be clothed in illusion and furthermore I'd like to ask your help."
"Anything I can do to help I'd be happy to do." Paris replied, "Do you need a lift to the city?"
"Actually I'd like to gate you into the city with us and then have you fly us to the police station. Gating will get us to the city fastest but I don't know where the station is."
"Myra has been there more often than me. Can you teleport too Myra?" Paris asked, unsure of her sister's new abilities.
"Yes, I have been to the station enough to be sure of doing it even if it's my first time." Myra turned to Jason, "I'll share the image with you and we can get there directly. I feel some time pressure as well." Myra concentrated briefly and using her new abilities she clothed them both in illusion. Then she hugged her sister again, "Thanks for all the help Paris. We'll let you know what we find."
"Thanks, I'd appreciate that. If you need help with the bad guy behind this don't hesitate to call me!"
Both Jason and Myra nodded. They held hands and then vanished with a small pop of inrushing air.
They appeared in front of the Police Station clothed in Myra's illusion with another pop of air displacement. Entering they were received by Detective Zelda Whiskley who was in charge of the investigation.
"I'm happy to be of help Myra. All of us here at the station owe you a lot. Some of us owe you our lives. Anything we can do to make you safer we'll do."
"Thank you Detective. I'm more grateful than I can say."
Myra was shocked at what she was feeling from the detective. She really meant it! A quick sampling of minds around the station proved it to her. They really appreciated what she did for them even if it was less than what her sisters could do. It made her color a bit knowing it but it also made feel so warm and loved inside. She was getting to love these powers.
"Could we have the loan of an interrogation room and do you think you could bring the suspect to us there?"
"Certainly. I go arrange for him to be moved. Did you two want to be alone with him? It's not strictly by the book but for you we can manage."
Myra hugged the woman, being careful not to squeeze too hard. "Thank you! Really and truly, but I don't think that's necessary. You can watch if you want, either from inside the room or from behind the one way mirror."
Detective Whiskley led them to an interrogation room and then went to go get the attacker they had in custody.
"This is the one who was sleeping in the basement. The other living one is still in ICU at Esplanade General. If you decide that this piece of scum doesn't know enough I'll get you in to see the other piece of scum." She directs the nervous looking man to a chair and cuffs him to the arm. "I'll go get myself some coffee. If you are done before I'm back just lock the door when you go. He'll keep."
With one last look of contempt for the man she left the room.
"Normally I'd spend some time putting you at ease but I doubt I have the time." Jason started, "So we aren't even going to ask you any questions. We'll just read your mind." As he spoke Jason moved towards the man with his hands spread. Myra came up on the other side and together the touched the man's bare skin with theirs and sent probes into his mind.
In a few minutes they found his memory of being hired from a dive bar where he was working as a bouncer and occasional muscle for hire. He had been given a large sum of money and an explicit set of directions to a care in the northern mountains.
The man, whose name they finally learned was Melvin Wode, had considered not going but in the end he was too scared not to go. The man who had first contacted him was the guy Jason electrocuted in the house but they had the directions to the cave and a good description of the man he met there.
Most alarmingly the three who set the trap for Myra were only one team. There were others supposed to target other McCloud's. Jason broke from the man's mind first and mentally relayed the information to And'ril, Klara, and Paris mentally.
Paris replied <<I think I've found the attack meant for me. >>
<<Do you need help? >> Jason asked.
Myra caught the tail end of his query and sent her own thought along. <<What's wrong Paris? >>
<<There is an unseasonable hurricane bearing down my island. I'm flying everyone to safety but I wouldn't have noticed it until too late if I hadn't flown extra high on the way back. It's very strong and definitely unnatural. I'll get back to you when I'm done ferrying people out of the way. Good luck. >>
Myra and Jason left the interrogation room, locking the door behind them.
Detective Whiskley came up to them, "You get what you need?"
"Yes, thank you." Myra said. "We're leaving now to follow up a lead. I'll let you know how it goes."
"Thanks and good luck. We're all rooting for you."
They were headed north to the mountains. Not too far from where Klara had taken Jason but they didn't know that. They gated to the edge of the city and stated to run. Jason mentally called Paris, <<Paris? >>
She was a bit startled, <<What? Oh, is that you Jason? >>
<<Yes, we have a lead. It's a place in the far north where they and 3 other groups met and were given weapons and assignments. We are heading there now but we could use a lift. >>
<<I wish I could but I'm heading out to my island. I have to go tell them about the storm and evacuate as many as I can. It's weird though since it's the wrong season for such storms. >>
<<Be VERY careful. I don't see how they could manage it but that storm is very suspiciously timed. It may be a planned distraction. >> Jason replied.
<<Wow, now that's paranoid. For the first time I can believe that you were a spy. >> Amusement came through in her mental tone. <<You are the ones who need to be careful. I'll tell Mom and And'ril your news before I go. Take care! >>
Paris was clearly signing off so he withdrew his thoughts. He turned to Myra running beside him, "Paris can't help. She says there is a storm heading for her island. She'll tell your mom before she heads out to evacuate them but she can't help." He grimaced, "Klara is in the north with Ben, think we should contact her and see if she can help?"
Myra looked uncomfortable, even guilty.
"No. I know you could be professional about all that's happened if you were in his place but I doubt he could ... or that I could either. We'll go it alone." She smiled and grabbed his hand, "I think the two of us are a match for anything we might find."
Jason squeezed her hand, "I think you may be right about that." He looked around and smiled, "We are far enough out of the city, so why don't you drop the illusions and saved your energy? Nobody is around to see you but me and you may need the energy."
"Not to mention you enjoy the view." She grinned at him as she dropped the illusion covering their nudity, "Well you know what? So do I."
He grinned back, "Glad to hear it."
As they approached the location they found in the criminal’s mind they starting scanning with Diaboli minds and Supremis eyes. They eventually found the concealed mountain hideout where groups had been prepared.
“We have to be very careful. They have weapons meant for Supremis here.”
“I’m not letting you go in alone!” Myra shouted upset at the idea of possibly losing him.
Jason sighed, “Well I couldn’t for you to get hurt in there so be very careful and watch out for more traps.”
Jason raised a fist to pound the smash open the concealed door then turned back to Myra. “Oh, and I’m going first!”
He hit the concealed door a tremendous blow and all the rock covering it turned to dust and pebbles. However underneath was a door of supersteel like the bank vaults Klara used to force open.
“Looks like you need my help after all Mr. Superspy. You’ll need to ask very nicely too.”
“I’m sorry if I sounded arrogant, I’m only trying to protect you.”
“I can handle anything you can and you can kiss my ass if you think that apology will cut it.”
“Well since that would too distracting…” he started and she laughed. “I’m sorry. You are my equal in every way. Please help me open this vault door?”
“Alright, you can kiss it in bed later.” She stuck her tongue out at him and stepped forward to help.
They set their fingers into the small crack where the door open and they both pulled with all their might. It resisted so they added telekinesis to physical strength and eventually the door yielded and came open with a horrific squeal of metal and hung open.