---

 
 
Bishop Allan O'Toole sat at his beautifully appointed heavy mahogany desk and stared unseeing at a bottle of expensive Cabernet. It sat there unmoving, as it had for several minutes past, it had yet to offer an answer. A glass of Cabernet each day at this time had become something of a tradition for Allan, but today he just couldn't relax for it.

The Talks, as he called them, had started when he was a young man, three days after his sixteenth birthday. Nothing more than the vaguest whisper at first, he hardly even realized it was more than his own thought. But the Talks grew stronger as time passed, the whispers and images growing into speech, then commands laden with so much power, what else could it be but the voice of God? God's voice told him of his duty, his destiny: seek out the sinners and the devils, and show them the Light. Some were saved, others destroyed, but always the evil must be overcome. Everything God told him came to pass, further proving His Divinity. Following God's Plan brought him wealth and influence, power over his flock.

But Something Went Wrong.

God spoke to him of three angels who would enforce His law among mankind, under Bishop Allan's guidance. They were to carry the Holy Fire, The Light of Grace, and the Force of His Will. The Fire and the Light had already been found, children among the Bishop's flock, born to faithful and devout parents and brought to him by his leaders, Reverends Abernathy and Cordell from the eastern and northern branches of the Fellowship of the Voice. But the third angel, known by the name Andrew Cartwright, escaped thanks to the bumbling of Reverend Marshall from the western branch. Marshall was dealt with quickly and quietly, and Bishop O'Toole started a citywide manhunt, with missing child posters and flyers, newspaper listings and media alerts. For weeks no sign of the child angel could be found, and time was growing short. A quiet but deadly cancer was growing in Bishop O'Toole's pancreas, and God's Voice told him nine months ago that he had to finish His work in one year or all would be lost. The pancreas was his timer, and it was ticking down.

He put the bottle of wine away. It was time to do something he'd never done before... It was time for him to address the Voice, call on the Vision. He had to ask God for help.
 

*          *          *
 
Perseus stepped out of the office of His Holiness the Bishop, dialing the number to reach his brother, Cain as he passed the line of supplicants to His Holiness. They shied away as one from Perseus, clearly awed by his power and righteousness. He paid them no attention as his brother angel answered.

"Yes."

"Cain, we have God's work to do. Our brother angel has deserted the fold, and must be returned. He is Fallen, and it is our duty to help bring him back to the path of righteousness, or stop him before he can corrupt the world."

"Ten minutes." Perseus hung up, knowing Cain had used up his allotment of words for the day, and collected his vestments and bible. This day, the city of Topeka would see the Light and feel the Fire. The Force would be led back to the path of righteousness.
 

*          *          *
 
Deb packed the three small suitcases into the rear hatch, while Amie and Andie talked about the upcoming train ride. Andie was so excited she could hardly keep from jumping around.

"The trip's going to take a long time, so I kept out a few books we can study some on the way, and some light reading for fun."

"Andie, you're such a nerd! I'm gonna sleep the whole way, unless there's a hottie in our car to flirt with."

"Just watch your feet, people might stare if you start walking on air again."

"Hey, that only happened once!" Andie defended as they climbed into Deb's old but well-kept Subaru station wagon.

"Omigawd, seriously? That must have been hilarious! You should have got a picture, Deb! But, how are we gonna get on the train? I thought they didn't usually let kids travel on trains alone without their parents." Amie couldn't help poking fun at Andie, but quickly moved on to the question that had been gnawing at her curiosity button for a while. Deb started the car and pulled out into the light traffic before answering.

"Oh, ol' Deb has her ways. I got a friend at the station, security guard who checks that kinda thing. I made a deal with him to let you guys on and 'assume' I'm yer guardian." Andie was stunned, what kind of thing would make a security guard let things by?

"You're blackmailing him?" Amie seemed to have the answer clear enough.

"Oh, I dunno I'd call it that. I jus' let him know I wasn't the kind to tell his girlfriend about his other girlfriend, or vice versa." Deb smirked.

"Yup, that's how blackmail works." Amie laughed and Deb joined in, as she finished loading up.

"I guess it is, at that, huh?" Deb smiled good-naturedly at the kids, though it was obvious to the girls that she was sad to see them go. She went back into the shop to lock up, and Amie followed to grab her purse while Andie watched the car. The last thing they needed was to be robbed before the trip.

As they drove, Andie did some people-watching. It was still one of her favorite pastimes. She felt bemused about the whole thing, it was harmless, and helped them out. Deb always did have a handle on things, something Andie really looked up to about her. In fact, she worried a little about this whole thing, going out on her own with Amie, without Deb to take care of things. For the first time in her life she felt like she had a real family, and letting go of any of it seemed crazy. But she needed to learn to control her power, and learn all the other things school could teach. She needed to know what it was like to be normal in at least some small way, go to school, make friends, be a girl, instead of a runaway or a victim.

When they pulled into the train station parking lot, Andie noticed two boys getting out of a stretch limousine at the entrance. The car caught her eye by dint of being so large, but its occupants seemed creepily familiar. They were wearing matching white trenchcoats with thread-of-gold and black leather collars, plain white pants and sandals. One had short, spiky-blonde hair and a big black book with a silver cross set in it. He was wearing some sort of designer sunglasses with metallic frames and very dark lenses. The other was nearly twice the blonde boy's size, with light brown straight hair and a ridiculously large silver cross on a chain around his neck. Something about the larger boy reminded Andie of the various Latino gang members she always tried to stay away from. Passersby gave them both a wide berth, which Andie could understand well. The pair just radiated danger. Before she could look away, the blonde turned and made direct eye contact with her and she shivered from his eyes, they burned with a cold yet consuming zealotry that made her think of Reverend Marshall.

And yet, just as she braced herself to run or fight, he turned away, apparently unconcerned, and started dialing on a cell phone. She watched, but the two boys in white simply walked into the terminal, the one talking calmly on the phone while the other followed.

"Hellooo, Andie, you in there? Hey, you're white as a sheet, you okay?" Amie poked Andie and she jumped in her seat.

"Uh, yeah, just a little nervous."

"Well, suck it up, cuz we're here. Grab your suitcase, Deb's gonna be busy getting us on, and our train leaves in an hour. Should be plenty of time, but if you're all scared someone might think something's up, and stop us from boarding, so get a grip."

"Okay, yeah, I'll be alright." Andie grabbed her things and followed Deb toward the station.
 

*          *          *
 
The building was a madhouse, people moving in every direction. Some carried bags, others suitcases or boxes or even big carts full of luggage. Lines of people stretched across the way from one platform to another in a chaotic jumble. Andie couldn't imagine how anyone made sense of the whole mess. Before she ran away, the biggest crowd she'd ever seen was church on Sundays, and even that was nothing compared to the throngs in this building.

"Feelin' a bit overwhelmed, Andie?" Deb tapped her on the shoulder and smiled comfortingly.

"Yes... It is a bit disconcerting."

"Pssht, you think this is bad? Try an airport. Or a concert! I snuck in to a club to see Green Day like six months ago, there was barely room to stand, you couldn't take two steps without running into someone or getting groped. It was great though, the music was so loud!"

"I'll... take your word for it. I don't think I could get used to that kind of crowd though. This place is crazy enough!"

"Okay, girls, park it over here on these seats, I'm gonna go chat up my friend an' getcha squared away."

As Deb walked away, Amie let a little of her own worry show.

"You really think this is a good idea? I mean, it's a small town, there's no guarantee I can find a place to live, or any kind of a job. And just showing up at a secretive mutant school unannounced? I got to say, you got serious steel.

Andie gulped nervously, she couldn't stop going over some of the same worries herself.

"Well, it can't be any worse for you than it was before, right? And you'll be closer to Stephanie. I checked a map, Boston's not too far away. And we have Deb's number, so if everything goes to hell, we can always come back, right? But... I have to do something, I have to get better control of my powers, before I kill someone. I mean, I can do some stuff well when I concentrate, but when I get scared or mad, really weird stuff keeps happening, dangerous stuff. Who knows what I could do if I got really scared? Kill someone? Collapse a building? Or worse! What if it you or Deb got hurt."

"Yeah, I kinda know what you mean. And I really want to see my sister."

Andie turned to give Amie a reassuring hug, but stopped cold. Her heart started hammering and her stomach dropped to somewhere in the vicinity of her knees.

"Andie?! What's wrong?" Amie sounded scared too, but Andie didn't turn to look.

"We have to get out of here, right now." Andie whispered softly staring across the station, her eyes once again locked with the blonde boy in the white trenchcoat. The hair on the back of her neck was standing straight up and she knew without a doubt that boy and his friend were there for her, and their intentions were anything but friendly. Then she realized why the two had seemed so familiar when she saw them outside. About a year before, her parents had taken her to the main branch of their church for a special service. The blonde boy was Perseus, some major deal in the church like a saint or something. So was the bigger boy. She didn't remember very well because she hadn't really paid much attention, the sermon was pretty much the same thing Reverend Marshall always said.

"Andie, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

"Just trust me. We have to find Deb and make a run for it." Amie nodded in the corner of Andie's vision, just as the blonde boy Andie was staring at mouthed something she couldn't hear across the crowd. She slowly started to back away, dragging her suitcase with one hand and Amie with the other. Not once did she take her eyes off the blonde boy. Amie didn't resist, though she gave Andie an odd look.

"Who would pull something here? There's witnesses everywhere." Andie ignored her to concentrate on where she was going. Deb had gone this way to meet her friend, she just had to get to Deb and get them out before things got bad. She knew it couldn't be done, not staring into those impossibly cold blue eyes. It felt like he was freezing her with his stare, her fingers and toes felt like they were going numb and the air felt as thick as gelatin. Still she fought the terror and glanced away for just a moment, certain he would be right on top of her when she looked back. There was Deb, in animated discussion with a security guard. It seemed like either he wasn't going for the whole blackmail thing or maybe they were just working out the finer points. Right that moment Andie didn't care, getting out was the highest priority. If the church found her again, who knew how far they would go!

Looking back again, she found the blonde boy exactly where she left him but now he was talking on a cell phone. Instead of staring her down he was scanning the crowd calmly. Then with a cold smile, his eyes once again settled on her.

"Andrew Cartwright, Fallen One, you face the Angel of Redemption! Repent and rejoin the fold, and you will be saved. Run and I shall be forced to strike you down!" His voice rang loud and clear over the noise of the station. Several people nearby turned to look at the boy in white, but he seemed entirely oblivious. His lips quirked in a smirk; he was clearly quite certain he had her trapped. The mind numbing terror she'd struggled against every time she met his eyes sharpened to a white hot spike in her head.

Andie dropped her suitcase, dropped Amie's hand, and bolted. Her need to escape those cold cold eyes eclipsed all else, though her stomach churned with revulsion at herself for leaving Deb and Amie behind. She felt almost like she was running down the side of a cliff, her feet barely touching the floor as she fell toward the exit slipping past confused people.

"Cain! The door!" That clear voice rang out again, and the glass double doors leading to the parking lot burst into searing blue flames. The glass melted out of them instantly, splashing onto the carpet as the aluminum doorframe sagged and dripped in the heat. Andie threw her hands in front of her and backpedaled from area that suddenly poured out painful heat some ten feet in front of her. The falling sensation reversed sickeningly, but pulled her thankfully away from the fire. Screams filled the air as people shrank away from the fire.

Scanning for another exit, her eyes gravitated toward the boy again. The hand not holding a big black bible held instead light, leaking out between his fingers from a tightly gripped fist. The milling chaos parted around him as scared people shoved away from him, pouring out of the area around them both.

"Will you not renounce Satan's influence and turn to God's Holy Light to save you from the very jaws of sin? Will you instead walk the wide, easy path to hell's gates? Nay, for I, Persueus, am the Angel who bears the Light of His Way and will guide you to the path of righteousness, cleansing you of the taint of wicked ways! Look into the Light, and become the Force of His Will!"

Andie broke eye contact just in time to throw herself to the side, barely avoiding the searing burst of light that accompanied his punch. Stars filled her vision for a moment and she thought maybe he had connected, but the heat of his light only burned her cheek. Somehow he had closed the distance while talking, and she hadn't even noticed. She stumbled backwards still stunned from the blindingly bright light and only barely registered the crash of the ball of light passing through a newsstand and wall explosively behind her.

The boy, Perseus, grabbed her by the shoulder in some sort of nerve hold that flashed agony down her arm. While she was busy with the pain, his leg caught hers and dropped her spinning to her knees as his arm snaked around her neck. She felt him do something with the bible but had no chance to do anything but catch herself short of falling on her face before his other arm caught around her shoulder in some sort of lock. She was completely trapped, and they were going to take her back to Reverend Marshall for more torture in the name of exorcism. Utter desolation creeped in and she felt a tugging in her stomach, an otherworldly sucking sensation pulling her in.

Until a loud popping sound distracted her. She didn't know what she'd been close to doing, but she knew it would have been Bad. The gripping arms loosened, but did not release.

"Let go of her you motherfucker or I'll pop your head like a fucking melon!" That was Deb's voice. Andie was suddenly terrified for her; the woman was brave, but these people would kill her.

"Cain!" The arms loosened further as Perseus called out the name again. Andie took advantage and slipped free, though Perseus did manage to keep a hold of her skirt. Dropping upward enough to reach her feet in an instant, Andie turned just in time to see Deb jump screaming from another blue fire just as it sprouted up. She was obviously burned, and Andie had no idea how badly. Terror melted into rage.

"Sinner repent, for you have felt the Flame of His Wra-URK!" A maelstrom of loose objects flew at very high speeds to impact Perseus as he spoke. Suitcases, portable electronic devices, and assorted detritus slapped and stuck to him.

"Don't you TOUCH HER!" Andie focused on Cain. He wasn't hard to find, being the only other person in the whole building wearing a white trenchcoat. He raised his hand to point at her but in an instant fell to his knees. The fireball obviously meant for her instead hit the floor under him, setting the area ablaze. She focused on him with all her rage and he slumped flat, but before she could crush him a blast of searing hot agony knocked her over. She stood up to refocus on Perseus, dimly noting her right arm wouldn't move and something hot was dripping down it.

Another blinding bolt flashed, but simply bent around her to blast another hole in the wall behind her. Perseus stared wildly at her and launched another and another in vain, they slipped around her again. She took a slow step toward him, but before she could act, a new voice boomed out.

"Cease and desist by order of A.R.M.O.R. Midwest!" Andie looked up at the voice, her left hand still pointed at Perseus. Three figures in gold and silver hovered above, little jets of flame spouting from belts at their hips.

"Cain! Withdraw!" A flash of light accompanied Perseus' command and he sprouted wings of light, as a flash at his feet propelled him forward and out one of the holes his light blew in the wall. Cain, having gotten to his feet, sprouted a halo of fire and ran incredibly fast after him. Two of the three flying figures zoomed off in pursuit, as the third drifted slowly down to point some sort of high-tech bracelet at the lingering blue fires. A spray of foam coated each in turn, and they guttered out hissing and smoking nastily.

"Okay, everybody, please remain calm. Is anyone hurt?" Andie stared at the man in what looked like armored tights. It was a surreal moment, she'd read about these things on the internet over the last few weeks but it was nothing compared to the real thing. Amie's voice calling out over the crowd spurred her brain back into function.

"My friends are! Deb's burned and Andie got shot by that guy with the light!" The words brought back the reality of the pain in her arm, and Andie gasped. Her head throbbed in counterpoint to the shoulder, and she could feel blood dripping down her arm and hand. Just as worryingly, she could taste it on her lips.

"This is A.R.M.O.R. calling in an emergency, I need police, fire, and at least two paramedic teams at the train station. Situation secure, Starbeam and Escapist in pursuit of two unknown mutant suspects, Shieldman on location to secure." The station began to dim as Andie listened to the real live superhero. "One mutant on site, wounded, not resisting. It's okay, Miss, you can relax, we have everything under control. Do you under-whoa!" Strong arms caught her as the darkness crept in.

---

 
To Be Continued...