Two Days Ago…
“Brian
honey, are you coming down for dinner?” Brian’s mom waited at the bottom of the
stairs for thirty seconds before calling up again. After a few moments of
silence, she walked up the stairs and went to knock on Brian’s door. However
reaching his door, she picked up the smell of burning wood and cloth.
“Brian?”
She asked nervously as she gently pushed open his bedroom door. The door slowly
swung open, revealing a horrific scene to the teenager’s mother. Brian’s
bedroom was charred; his desk and dresser burnt while his bed was melted to the
floor. Scattered about the room were the remains of Brian’s wardrobe and ashes
glided softly through the air. Brian’s mom screamed as she looked past the
destroyed room and out the burnt hole in the wall which led outdoors into the
quiet suburban neighborhood.
Today…
“Well
that was awkward. God I hate the overprotective mothers.”
Lin Valentine
walked down the pathway leading from the two-story house located in the suburbs
of West City. She had on her leather work jacket, unzipped halfway down to
expose her low-cut undershirt. Female psychics didn’t have to dress in
revealing clothing; it was just the style Lin preferred to wear in the summer.
Behind her, Dylan Holland was stuffing his notepad into a pocket on the side of
his briefcase. Dylan didn’t really need to write anything down, but it helped
to take the edge off of normal humans to pretend.
“She’s
just worried. Sometimes I wonder why you got into the public service business
if you’re so damned heartless.”
Lin
laughed at the thought. “I didn’t expect to be put on babysitting duty when I
signed up, Dylan. I wanted to be in the thick of things, maybe doing some recon
or fighting in the east.”
Dylan
shook his head and sighed. Lin was a tough girl, but he knew full well her
abilities wouldn’t help her with jack shit in the turbulent eastern countries.
Scrambling a person’s thoughts was very useful in day to day activities,
though.
“I
think I’m going to take offense to that babysitting remake. If the powers were
switched I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”
Lin
threw a flirtatious smile back at Dylan. “That’s cuz I make you all hot and
bothered.”
Dylan
put up his hands and shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever helps you sleep at
night, Aphrodite. Let’s just check out the locations the mother gave us and
find this kid before he burns anything else down.”
Dylan’s
codename is Database. He has the amazing ability to remember everything he
experiences, filing it away in his brain and pulling the information out with
the ease of a supercomputer. When they first became partners, Lin was thoroughly
freaked out by his seeming omnipotence; but after a good year working together,
she has gotten used to Database. So it came as no surprise to her when Dylan
pulled right up to an abandoned warehouse near the docks of West City without
consulting a map or the remaining locations given by the hysterical mother.
Lin
stepped out of the car, her heel landing in a puddle. She picked her foot up
and shook off the water. “He better be in there. It’s starting to rain, plus
it’s getting late. We’ve been looking for him all day.”
Dylan
pulled up the hood on his poncho. “What’s the matter Lin? I thought you were
used to staying out late and getting-”
Dylan
didn’t have time to finish his joke. From inside the warehouse an explosion
occurred, blowing out the glass windows and sending flames shooting into the
night. Dylan dove to the ground while Lin crouched behind the car, screaming
Dylan’s name.
“I’m
fine!” Lin heard Dylan yell over the ringing in her ears. “He must have ignited
a propane tank! He should be fine, but we gotta get him before this happens
again!”
Lin
was going to respond but her attention was diverted. A figure ran into the next
warehouse, trailing embers behind him. “I got him!” She yelled over to Dylan
before rushing towards the empty building.
Dylan
struggled to get up, but the blast knocked him down harder than he previously
thought. Suddenly a hand came down in front of his face. He took it and looked
up; the young man before him looked normal enough, besides the ashes and dirt,
except for an enlarged, red lobster claw where his right hand should have been.
“What
are you doing here?” Clawman exclaimed as he lifted Dylan up and helped him
lean on the car.
“Me?
I’m doing my job. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Same
thing buddy,” Clawman said brushing the dirt off his body. “I saw this naked
kid run into the warehouse and went in after. He was scared shitless, but we
talked for a bit and I calmed him down. Then out of nowhere he exploded. Lucky
he’s just a scared kid or I’d give him a good whack.”
Dylan
shook his head. “Agent Scramble chased after him into the next warehouse. I
should probably go see if she needs help.”
“No
need,” Lin said as she walked back to the car. “But the kid’s out cold. Just
call for backup and have someone pick him up. Preferably a burn unit.”
Clawman
broke out laughing at the joke, but Lin silenced him. “What the hell, man. Last
week a bank, now a warehouse? You keep destroying shit and they will revoke
your license in a heartbeat!”
“Nice
to see you too, agent. I guess I’ll just be going then, no need to thank me.
See you two around!” Clawman ran off towards the water, diving in off the dock.
Lin
grinded her teeth while Dylan adjusted his glasses. “Unfortunately he’s right. I
was waiting to tell you until you were in a better mood, but we’ve been
permanently assigned as his GMA contacts.”
Lin
cursed under her breath. “Well this is just a crappy end to my day.”
Dylan
smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. “At least the kid’s in good hands.
That’s a job well done, partner.”
Lin
looked away, but she knew Dylan saw her grin.
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