Greywind

Kris set a mug in front of Jason and took her seat. “We don't know what happened or when. It was small things at first. Things easily overlooked. And then there came a day when I guess we all realized that you had stopped looking for Marlene. You and Leah were spending time together again. We figured you had just decided it was time to get on with your life.” Jason pulled his mug closer. “I haven't given up looking. It's been two months for me.” He took a drink. “Gah! What is this?” Quirking a smile at him, Kris said, “It's what we have that passes for coffee.” “It passed through something unhealthy.” He closed his eyes for a moment. Lifting his hand off the table a box appeared under it. He pushed that over to Kris. He did it twice more. “Tea, coffee, and, ooh, hot chocolate! Although you're apt to get me robbed if people find out about this.” She took both mugs and dumped their contents into a sink. “The fact that you haven't given up tells me we got to you early enough.” “I don't...didn't have a lot of leads. There is...was...times that the depression was overwhelming.” “Present tense is fine. You're still dealing with it. I'll understand. Preference?” Jason shook his head. “Let's leave the major issue aside for now. I'm still trying to figure out why I'd contact the Tharians and invite them back. Killing Dargod was enough.” Jason thought for a moment and then looked at Kris. “He is still dead, right?” “As far as I know. The main problem here on Earth is the Praetor and his guard.” “How do you survive?” “Scavenging and barter, mostly. There are food depots. They do give us enough to make sure the accounted for bodies survive. There are clinics, but they are interested in monitoring the populace. Who is pregnant, who is good breeding stock, how many warbred pop out. That's their primary goal. More warriors.” Pouring hot water into the mugs, Kris said, “If we had a way to get in touch with whoever they're fighting...” “Why me? There are a lot better options to choose from. Why pull me forward?” Jason asked. Kris returned to the table and slid his mug back in front of him. “Honestly, because Melner remembered the accident. That gave us a window. We don't know of when something might have happened to someone else that we could have used. If Leah had been closer, we would have gotten her, too.” Appearing a sketchbook and a pencil, Jason opened it and began drawing. “How many capes are there still active?” “If they weren't captured, killed, or otherwise neutralized, they've all gone to ground.” Jason glanced over Kris' shoulder. “Yeah, neutralized.” “How did that happen?” Kris toyed with her mug. “Early supply raid. As you can see, I lost most of the wing and my ability to fly. With only one wing I wasn't deemed attractive enough for the Praetor's harem. And only being the chick with one wing, I wasn't considered enough of a threat. They let me go to serve as an example to anyone that might consider rebelling against the new order.” “You sure that it was me?” Jason asked, leering at her and waggling his eyebrows. She laughed. “Like I said, we don't know what happened to you or when it happened.”

Disney Plus Customer Accounts & Password Information Already Hacked, Found For Sale On Dark Web

Paramount Setting Noah Hawley To Write & Direct Next ‘Star Trek’ Film Apparently with Pine returning.

What does Nana Visitor have to do with Xanadu and a role played by Olivia Newton-John?

Might be more "Suburban Fantasy Hero".

Considerably less if you miss the bone.

It isn't a matter of weight. It's the recoil.

...but no one bats an eye when Frank Castle uses a .50 caliber in each hand.

From the manual: All you have to know is where you stored the character packs on your computer so you can point to them.

Jason awoke. He was still lying in the infirmary. Curtains had been drawn around his bed. He saw an eye peeking between them. He smiled. “Hi.” The eye disappeared, the gap closed. Kris pushed through. “How do you feel?” “Better.” He saw Kira looking around the edge of the curtain, her eyes wide. “Hi, Kira.” Turning to the girl, Kris said, “Come on in. He won't hurt you. He helped you.” “Some of the others, they said he was going to hurt us and call in the monitors.” “Well, in order for me to do that, first I would have to have reason to hurt you. And second, I would need to know who the monitors are. How are you?” Kira came closer and looked from behind Kris. “Better. Why did you help?” Jason smiled at her. “Because you would have died if I hadn't.” Kira looked at the floor. “Jason, how did you pull that tank out? With the negators on you shouldn't have been able to.” Kris handed him a bottle of water. He cracked the lid and drank it down. When it was empty he put the lid on it and handed it back. “The negators keep me from throwing the energy. They don't stop me from doing things internally with it. I can still pull things out that I have stored away.” To demonstrate his point, he appeared a drawing pad and a charcoal pencil. He flipped open the pad and began to draw. “What else you got socked away?” Jason glanced up at her. “Looking for anything in particular?” “Supplies.” Jason nodded. “I have a lot of the medical supplies you asked me to carry.” Kris smiled. “I hoped you did. Can you start pulling them out? I can probably use just about everything.” * * * * * “I appreciate it.” “The way I see it that was all under your purview. I was just holding it against the obvious need you have here.” Smiling, Kris said, “I feel like I've got an honest clinic again.” On the wall next to the door it indicated they were on the 46th floor. “This should be high enough. After all, we need to walk back down. Too much higher and we risk stumbling into some of the evil overlords.” Jason looked down. Godson was following, always staying one landing behind. “Evil overlords? What happened?” The floor of the building they were on seemed to be office space to Jason. There were still a few desks and cubicle partitions. Most of them laying on the floor. Pulling something from a pocket, Kris handed it to him. Jason found them to be compact electronic binoculars. She flicked them on. “Take a look out there and tell me what you see.” Jason brought them to his eyes and began scanning outside. “What am I looking for?” He shifted position, moving closer to a blown out window. “Stay in the shadows.” The binoculars registered something in the distance. A reticle bracketed the item. Numbers appeared at the bottom of his view, indicating the distance. The view automatically zoomed in. “Son of a bitch,” he said quietly. “That's a Tharian monitor ship.” “We estimate there are around one hundred of them just in the LA area. We can't get an actual read. The ships move. There's no way for us to mark them. You know how that goes,” Kris said. “What are they monitoring for?” Jason asked as he pulled the binoculars away. His gaze fell on the negator. “Warbred,” he said, answering his own question. “Yes,” Kris affirmed. Jason handed the binoculars back to Kris. “Keep them.” She moved back towards the stairwell. “Sometimes the first indication we have of someone going through realization sickness is a monitor appearing overhead and a squad kicking in the door.” With a last glance out the window, Jason followed. “Okay. Major question. What are they doing back? They weren't supposed to come back at all.” “Apparently having one of the people that was responsible for them not being allowed here inviting them back steps around their whole honor thing,” Kris answered as she went down the stairs. Jason stopped. “Invited? What small-minded, inbred, asstard invited them back?” Kris turned back, giving Jason a pointed look touched with some amusement. “You did.”

If you once again try to harm me or one of my companions, my patience with you will expire.

Not in my world.

“Alright, let's say I believe what you've told me so far,” Jason said, releasing Kris. “What do you need? How can I help? How do you plan on sending me back? And what's the bug up his ass?” Kris waved off Melner and two others. They followed Godson. “We need a lot of things,” Kris said. Heading towards the curtain, Jason stumbled. “Are you okay?” “Double jolt from a neural whip. At least I didn't fall.” Kris gave him a curious look. “Never show weakness to an enemy.” “He isn't your enemy. He's damaged. Most of us are.” She led him through the curtain. On the other side, it looked like a shanty town built up inside a warehouse or a factory. People were scattered about. Some looked at him with curiosity. Others with anger or hatred. All of them looked ragged. “Where are we?” “Los Angeles.” She went over to an old woman. The woman held up something to Kris who took it. “Thank you,” she said with a nod. The old woman smiled. Turning back to Jason, she held it out to him. “Here.” Jason took it. It was a dark, loose corded sweater. When he pulled it on the sleeves covered the negators. “It's seen better days.” “We all have. Hoping that we'll see some in the future.” “So, what happened?” “As I said, it's a long story.” Jason stopped. “Kris, at some point all these 'long stories' need to become 'tales told'. You ask me to trust, and yet for all I know, Mind Warp could be playing games with me.” “That would be a neat trick considering he's dead. After the sun sets we'll go to a place higher up so that you can see for yourself before I tell you the tale.” Jason took a deep breath and held it a moment before releasing it. “Have patience. Please.” Jason nodded. “Doc,” Godson said approaching. “They need you in the infirmary.” “All right. Let's go.” Kris headed off increasing her pace. Jason made to follow. Godson blocked his path. “Where do you think you're going?” “With her.” “I don't think so.” “Godson, we've got two lashings from a neural whip between us. That already puts you on my bad side. I doubt you want to find out what I'm capable of while I'm wearing these negators. You sure as hell don't want to find out what I'm capable of if I choose to take them off.” “You can't. It isn't possible.” Jason loomed closer. Godson had three scars on the right side of his face. The uppermost began just below his eye and ended at the bottom of his chin. His eyes were gray. “If it isn't possible, then why did Kris ask me to leave them in place? Now, get out of my way.” Godson swallowed hard. * * * * * Looking up when Jason entered the infirmary with Godson in tow, Kris said, “Keep the mask on for now. Increase the flow the notch. Godson, a word if you don't mind.” Kris turned and went to the far end of the room. Godson shot a look at Jason and followed Kris. “Doc?” he asked when he joined Kris. “You know why he is here. Stop antagonizing him. You are very lucky he trusts me enough to restrain himself.” “I don't like him,” Godson said defensively. Shaking her head, Kris said, “You don't know him. I want you to watch him.” “For you?” “No. For you.” Kris turned and walked back to where Jason stood. “What's wrong with her?” “Some of the kids were playing somewhere they shouldn't have been. They messed with something they shouldn't have. I've got four kids with chemical burns. I had them sent to the showers and their clothes, what was left of them, burned. Kira here got a face full. Her sinus linings and esophagus are burned. Probably her lungs, as well.” Kris turned to Godson. “I need another oxygen tank.” When she turned back to Jason he had one held out to her. “How? The negators?” “Learned a long time ago,” he said, smiling. “What was she dosed with?” “Exactly, I don't know. Not all hazards are properly marked anymore.” Kris watched Jason run his fingers through the girl's hair. Her eyes fluttered open and then went wide. “Hi,” he said. The girl mumbled something, tried to scream, and ended up spitting blood. “Get her on her side!” Kris watched the monitor. Kira's stats jumped and dropped. “Damn. We're losing her!” “Get a bucket half-filled with water.” “Why?” Godson asked. “Get it!” Kris ordered. “What are you going to do?” Jason smiled, reached across and trailed one finger down the side of her face. “Damn. You don't know what effect it will have on you.” “Kris,” he said, “I do know what effect not trying will have on her. Hands off...” “...until you release her. I remember the drill.” “I've got your bucket,” Godson said, coming back in. “Where do you want it?” Jason grabbed a rolling stool. “Set it on here.” After Godson had done so, Jason slipped his hand into the tepid water. He slipped his other hand on Kira's back under what passed for her hospital gown. “What's he doing?” Godson asked. “Helping,” Kris answered without glancing at the man. Jason coughed. Blood rolled down from the corner of his mouth. Kris glanced at the clock on the wall. “I hope it doesn't take you down before your body starts dealing with it,” she whispered. * * * * * “How do you feel?” Jason was sitting on a bed. His arms, braced as they were to hold him up, were shaking. “Like I'm short of breath.” Kris nodded. “Neat trick shunting it into the water.” Jason nodded. “Lie down for a while. Let your body deal with the damage.” “How is she?” Kris smiled. “She's fine. Don't be surprised if some people come calling wanting you to lay hands on them.” Jason rolled himself back on the bed. “We talked about that a lifetime ago.” “I know. Rest.”

We weren't discussing "knocked out" beyond it being said that being knocked out is better than just being stunned.

Actually, it is. They get unstunned. Only.

...which is what I was saying.

Isn't getting unStunned the end all and be all of that first Recovery?

Consciousness returned slowly. Wherever he was smelled heavily of water, much like an indoor pool only without the heavy odor of chlorine. Water dripped slowly nearby to splash in a small puddle. Jason was strung up spreadeagled. A small improvement over his memory of kissing concrete. His shirt was gone and he was chilled. A minor annoyance. He opened his eyes to darkness. There was nothing across his eyes, but an added weight made him think of a helmet of some kind. He reached out with his other senses. Beyond the dripping water he heard nothing. Under the scent of water Jason smelled filth. Not the stench of an open toilet, but that of dirt, neglect, and possibly unwashed bodies. Jason released his power only to find it blocked. He wasn't collared, so he probed. His power flowed only to be stopped at the point of release. He smiled. Tharian negators. A chain rattled, link against link. “He's awake,” someone said. Fire lit up his back sending a charge up his spine. Jason writhed. “Godson stop!” a woman's voice cried out. “You know what he is!” Another blow fell. “Better than you! I know who and what he is. We brought him here to help.” “It's a hell of a way to ask for help,” Jason managed to spit out. “I swear to God if that neural whip strikes me one more time I'm going to get loose and shove it up the ass of the person swinging it.” “Do you know who I am?” the woman asked. “You sound like Kris Tyler.” He heard her laugh. “You laugh like her, too.” “By now you realize how you're being held. Do you trust me?” “I trust Kris Tyler with my life.” “How did he know it was a neural whip?” another man asked. “Melner. I know what it is because I've been struck with one before. And if that is Kris Tyler she can tell you what I did to the creature that was wielding it.” “It wasn't a pretty sight. I would suggest, Godson, that you put it away before he does exactly what he said he would. Jason, I'm sorry. This isn't how I wanted this to be, but the others wanted assurances. I am going to release you. Please, leave the negators in place for the time being.” “Release me and I'll consider it.” Jason heard her laugh again. “Fair enough.” Jason sensed movement before him and behind. The chain rattled again and his arm fell heavily. Followed by the other. “I can't believe you're doing this,” Godson said. “If we want his help we have to ask nicely,” Kris said. “Release his legs.” Jason raised his hands to the helmet only to find someone else's hands already there. Together they lifted it off his head. “Hello, old friend.” Jason looked at her. Her dark hair was streaked with gray. Laugh lines and worry lines covered her face. Her eyes were still clear. “Old? How?” The helmet was an old flight helmet. The visor had been painted black. Kris set it aside. Kris wrapped her arms around him. “I've missed you. As for how I got old, well, the passage of time does that. At least to us normals. We pulled you forward in time. Melner remembered the accident when you were testing the transport device. We used that.” Jason held her close. “What happened to your wing?” “It's a long story. One that we'll have time for later.” “Melner, I hate to break it to you, but we weren't testing the transporter. You are the accident that happened,” Jason said. “And proved Leah right. We find a way to send me back and you'll be lucky if I don't fire you.” “Yes, sir,” Melner mumbled. A figure walked past, tall, muscular, brown curly hair. Jason's eyes narrowed. “Godson.” “Asshole.” Godson walked through a hanging plastic curtain that separated where they were and whatever lay beyond it. “She let him loose,” Jason heard him say. “Alright, let's say I believe what you've told me so far,” Jason said, releasing Kris. “What do you need? How can I help? How do you plan on sending me back? And what's the bug up his ass?”

By all means... To Hell with us.

Well, I played 18, I shot 18. Just can't seem to miss.

Actually, he was a Vertigo character. Hellblazer and Swamp Thing mostly.

Except that Kate is hung up on the fact that Alice is her sister Beth.

That's because Perez didn't do it.