* * *
When Karis arrived at the scene, Diz was racing around the mouse keeping its attention and corralling it in one location. The mouse had grown taller. At this point, it was approximately the same height as Diz. It was also becoming more feral in appearance, but perhaps that was because Diz was taunting it.
Diz stopped his running and just bent over laughing. Karis wasn't sure how to respond even when Diz started pointing in her direction. She did decide to act when the mouse swiped its tail. She swooped down and scooped up Diz before the blow landed.
"What are you thinking?" she demanded. "You could have gotten seriously hurt down there."
"I didn't know you cared," he continued to laugh. "Besides, do you know how ridiculous you look right now?"
"Let's not talk about it," Karis suggested. "You look just as ridiculous except that helmet covers your face."
"That’s not true," Diz argued. "I make this look good. Now, let's just get this done, and then we can find you something else to wear."
"At least one of us got to wear something dashing," Karis groaned.
"It does look impressive, doesn't it?" Diz asked as he struck a pose.
"Enough of this," Karis demanded, "We’ve got a mouse to catch."
Diz ran off as Karis took to the air. Hopefully no one was watching her in action today. The mouse was hidden in the tree cover, but she could follow its movements as the trees shifted from its passing. She flew above the rodent and waited for a signal from Diz.
The signal came quicker than she expected as there was a strange squeal and the mouse rushed into a clearing with Diz close on its tail. He caught up with it and started looping around it. The mouse slowed down confused about which direction to take. It came to a stop and Karis and Diz placed themselves in front of the creature. They weren't sure what its next move would be, but it seemed reasonable to expect it to flee again since that was in its nature.
The mouse stood on its hind legs and spread out its front paws like Mornigan had done when they had first met him. Then they heard Mornigan's voice coming from the mouth of the mouse.
"I see that you have survived your last battle, but it will only get harder from here." the mouse declared. "Better for you to accept your role as my servants and help me in my conquest of your world."
"You must have a screw loose in your furry head," Diz taunted. "So far you haven't shown us much to fear, and aside from turning yourself into a mouse, there's nothing that sets you apart from any other comic book villain."
"I suppose I should do something more impressive," the Mornigan/mouse mused, "perhaps a further demonstration of my genetic control."
With those words, the mouse began to change. It grew several feet and its fur changed into metal spikes. The mouth extended, and the teeth grew longer. Its claws changed into curved blades. The creature that was a mouse had now become something terrifying.
"What do we do now?" Diz pondered. "I certainly can't hit this thing without hurting myself more that I hurt it."
"I can probably mange to hit it," Karis offered, "but I won't be able to hurt it much."
"We have to figure out a way to work together," Diz insisted as he slammed a fist into his empty hand.
"Any bright ideas?"
"None."
"I think I've got an idea," Karis said looking thoughtfully at the sky. "Can you make another vortex?"
"I suppose that I could," Diz remarked.
"Get ready for that," Karis replied, "and I'll do the rest."
Karis flew in front of the former mouse and around its head dodging blows that were meant to incapacitate her. Karis was able to stay ahead of the blows and keep the monster from moving away. It was enraged and acting as if it was no longer in control of itself.
Diz ran a few miles away. He knew he needed to build up a good head of steam to develop this vortex that Karis had wanted. He didn't see why it wouldn't form, but it would be hard to control once it was going. He wasn't sure he wanted to be around to see what his creation would do.
As Diz approached, Karis couldn’t avoid a blow and was knocked out of the sky by one of the claws. As she hurtled out of sight, Diz got a mental message, "Keep going!"
Diz decided to listen to his partner and continued to approach. Just as the metallic creature was about to move again, Diz turned his run and started looping around the mouse. He moved faster and faster shaping the winds his movements were creating. Soon the creature was trapped behind a wall of wind, but Diz didn't understand how that was going to help.
Karis flew back into the action and through the wall of wind and straight into the air. Diz was tempted to watch her flight, but he knew she was depending on his vortex. Diz grew uncomfortable as the air started to chill. A few seconds later he had to stop running because it became freezing cold. It didn't seem to matter since Karis had done something to freeze the air.
Karis considered her position. She had flown the edge of the vortex as close to the atmosphere as she dared to travel and freezing air was travelling towards the ground, but that would only contain the monster. She had to do something to end the threat and the vortex. She sent a mental message to Diz telling him to move out of range and she dove straight towards the ground at full speed. She adjusted her trajectory as she descended to make sure she was on target and hit the former rodent at full speed.
Diz was able to use his super speed to avoid any debris that flew his way, but there was still the question of what had happened to Karis after that impact. There was a huge crater where the mouse had stood and bits of debris and ice scattered around as well. He scanned the area and found Karis at the bottom of the crater she had created. She moaned and rolled over.
"Did it work?" she moaned.
"Better than I would have expected," Diz laughed. "I wasn't sure you would survive a shot like that."
"Honestly, I wasn't either, Karis revealed as she picked herself from the ground.
"Invulnerability-check plus,” Diz said as he offered her a hand up.
"What happened with that costume?" Karis wondered.
"Sadly," Diz joked," it's still in one piece. Let's just tell them that it didn't survive the battle."
Chapter 12
What is going on with the weather here in New York? It seems like the world is going crazy. There is two feet of snow piled up in my front yard, and it is the middle of May. In all my years, I've never seen the like.
I blame it all on those crazy mutants that have been tearing up the City. Who knows what kind of scheme they have going on. It just isn't natural I tell you. In my day, we took what was there and didn't ask for any super heroes to save us from our problems. We solved them or suffered on our own.
Now there is talk of strange monsters Upstate. I never did trust them up there anyway, but couldn't they keep their troubles to themselves?
"No more from Upstate" is my new motto. What have they ever done for the city?
I bet these mutants are from Upstate too. It would make sense for those Upstaters to send us all of their problems. Don't we have enough as it is?
Sure these mutants have been helping people escape from fires and stuff, but where is the overall benefit to the City? Do they even have decent jobs in their regular lives? I bet they don't even bother to pay their taxes. What is a tax-paying New Yorker supposed to do? It just isn't right. That's what I say.
This has been an opinion piece brought to you by Timothy Yates of Brooklyn. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of our station.
"Welcome back," beamed the cheery voice of the male reporter. "In other news, Karis and the Diz were busy helping with a cleanup of hazardous materials on the 495 today. Here you can see them in their new costumes keeping the dangerous material from spreading into the sewers, while the cleanup team is doing their job."
"The look is very stylish," the female reporter commented. "The green looks very nice with Karis' red hair."
"If you say so," the male reports chortled.
Cacy
turned down the volume on the television and settled back into the couch.
"I was watching that," Gavin complained as he reached for the remote.
"There isn't much point," Cacy muttered and threw the remote at him. "I'm sick of hearing reports about us."
"Don't you want to know what people think?"
"Like that Timothy Yates?" Cacy scowled. "I'm not interested in hearing from him. Why do they keep calling us mutants? We don't even know what we are yet."
"It's a label," Gavin suggested. "People like to label things they don't understand."
"Your new costume does look much better on television that that old one,” Cacy laughed.
“I’m glad we were able to convince Michaels to design something else.”
“I don’t think he wanted to deal with Karis in the mood she was in. So what should we do with ourselves?” Cacy asked. “It’s been quiet for a little while, and I want to do something that doesn’t involve our super powers.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?” Gavin joked.
“Why not?” Cacy asked a little offended.
“I’m sorry,” Gavin tried to cover, “I would love to go on a date with you.”
“Then it’s settled,” Cacy declared.
* * *
Gavin was nervous for several reasons. First, he'd never gone on many dates. Second, aside from Cacy, he didn't really know how to talk to girls. Third, he'd never been asked by a girl to go on a date.
Gavin had offered to plan the date, but Cacy had insisted that since she was the one doing the asking, that she should be the one to take care of the arrangements. It was a simple affair of a nice lunch and a walk around Central Park. They had seen the Park in passing during their adventures as Karis and the Diz, but they had never actually visited it.
Lunch was at a nice little bistro where they shared a pot of Oolong tea. Gavin had ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup, and Cacy had ordered a BLT with a salad on the side.
"This is a nice place," Gavin noticed while they were waiting for the waiter to bring them their lunches.
"I've seen it a lot running around," Cacy hinted, "but I've never had time to stop. I always thought it looked like a nice place."
"I don't suppose either of us has really had time to explore," Gavin lamented.
"We should make a point to do more," Cacy suggested.
"When we aren't busy with other concerns," Gavin amended.
"I suppose you're right," Cacy agreed. "Have you thought about how strange our relationship has become?"
"Just because I know your body almost as well as you do?" Gavin inquired.
"That and having two separate relationships," Cacy pointed out. "We have a relationship on this side, and another when we are..."
"Don't say it," Gavin interrupted. "That is a conversation for another place."
"So you haven't felt anything?" Cacy pressed.
"Let's just say that looking at those two," he evaded, "I can't help but think that there are some sparks there."
"Most definitely," Cacy acknowledged, "but what will come from them?"
"Excuse me," a perky blonde woman interrupted, "I hate to be nosey, but can I ask who you are talking about?"
"Excuse me," Cacy growled at the woman.
"I was just wondering if you were talking about someone that I might know," the woman continued not seeming to notice that her participation in the conversation was not wanted. "My husband is always complaining about what a busybody I am, but I just can't help myself. The world is full of interesting people, and I just want to know all about them."
"I don't know if it's something we should be talking about with random strangers," Gavin explained as he turned back to his meal.
"Just give me some names," she begged. "I can keep a secret. I never told anyone about Sue Ellen's affair with the gardener, or the one she had with the pool boy."
"Who is Sue Ellen?" Cacy asked even though she didn't really want to know the answer.
"Why Sue Ellen is practically my best friend in the whole world," she gloated.
"And you just told us two of her secrets," Gavin pointed out.
"You still don't have a clue who she is," the woman insisted. "Just tell me your secret, pretty please?"
"Well, it isn't our secret to tell," Gavin explained.
"Those are the best kind," the woman pressed, rubbing her hands together.
"Fine," Cacy relented, "We've got a couple of friends that we think might be interested in each other, but we really don't know."
"How juicy."
"You can understand why we wouldn't want to talk about it," Gavin stressed.
"Of course not," she agreed, "but we're all friends here. You've already told me the secret, just give me some names."
"Can we just eat our meals in peace?" Cacy shouted.
"Something tells me that you two have problems of your own," the woman insisted. "Why don't you just tell her that you like her, you big fool?"
"Please let us finish our meal," Gavin said feeling the blush rise on his cheeks.
"Besides," Cacy added, "I'm the one that asked him out. That should be my responsibility."
The woman looked like she was going to say more, but she turned back to her plate instead. Gavin waved for the waiter and asked for their meal to be packed up since they didn't feel like continuing their conversation around this nosey woman.
As they were walking down the street on the way home, there was an explosion a few blocks away. Gavin shrugged as he offered his hand to Cacy. She smiled at him and took his hand. They switched bodies and Karis handed Diz the box of food.
"Drop these off when you pick up my costume, ok?"
"Sure thing, sweetie," Karis laughed.
Chapter 13
Diz was able to run home, drop off the food, go to the back alley where they had hidden the costumes, change, and bring Karis her costume in a few seconds. It took Karis a little longer to change, but Diz was able to survey the scene while she was changing. It was a building that was set for demolition, but the date was a few weeks away. After Karis had changed, she flew to the building.
Fire trucks, ambulances, and police were already on the scene when they arrived. After a quick conversation with one of the officers, Karis was able to discover the reason for such a rapid response. Someone had called in a bomb threat a couple of hours ago. The bomb squad had not been able to find the bomb, and they were just leaving the building when it exploded.
There was a rumbling sound within the rubble. Something was moving. Karis stopped the officers from moving forward since they weren’t certain who or what was in the mess that used to be a building.
A figure appeared from the flames and rubble. Karis and Diz knew who it was due to the strange metal helmet. He looked as if the bomb hadn't impacted him at all. He walked up to the rescue teams and got the attention of the news crews that were filming the fire. He was dressed in a bodysuit that was red and yellow to simulate the flames from which he had just emerged.
"I am Mornigan," he announced as he raised his arms in the air. "This is but a small display of my powers. There was no bomb. I simply caused the explosion myself."
There were several voices muttering, but nothing that Karis or Diz could distinguish from the noises around them.
"I have come to rule your world. I do not plan to be a malicious dictator, but I intend you to follow my commands without question."
"I didn't vote for you!" a man shouted from the crowd.
"You and your foolish ideas of democracy," Mornigan chuckled. "You will learn a new way under my tutelage."
"So what if you can blow up a building," another voice declared.
"I can, and will do much more than that," Mornigan assured. "In fact, I will start by dealing with your champions."
Karis and Diz felt the eyes of the crowd turn to them as Mornigan ended his sentence by pointing at them. They felt the pressure as the crowd continued to stare.
"Tha
t's big talk," Diz protested, "are you finally going to stop hiding behind your mutant pets?
"Why do that when I can take away your powers?" Mornigan boasted.
Diz didn't wait for any other preludes and bolted towards the metal-faced foe. Mornigan didn't seem to be affected by the hail of high-speed blows that Diz was landing. Karis took off from the crowd and snatch Mornigan by his cloak. She hauled him from the scene as Diz followed from the ground.
"What will you try?" Mornigan taunted. "Perhaps you can drop me to the ground and destroy me."
Karis didn't care for that option, but she wasn't sure what else might work. Before she could come up with a plan, Mornigan was gone, vanished just leaving the cloak in her hands. She looked at his cloak and then looked around for him, but he wasn't in the area. She felt a mental shout from Diz as he flew into the air. She swooped over and caught him at the top of his arc.
"What just hit me?" he shouted.
"It must have been Mornigan," she offered.
"He came out of nowhere," Diz groaned, "and I was moving at high speed."
"Good thing you have that suit," Karis mused.
"Good thing I have you to catch me," he added.
"Always," Karis replied.
She flew them back to the place where Diz had been launched by their foe, but he was not there.
* * *
Karis and Diz thought about how they might proceed. There was no clue of where their enemy might have gone.
"I'm going to get an aerial view," Karis announced.
"I'll do some snooping around here," Diz added.
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