Cassie's Paranormal Barbecue Extravaganza

Finding Cassie's house hadn't been as hard as Proteus had been expecting -- South San Francisco ("The Industrial City") is a logically laid out city, and driving up its main street, it's reminiscent of a small town in the 50s. Cassie's house is on a street with many similar one- and two- storied stucco homes. The garage door has been left open, and inside are a Bronco and a beat-up Volkswagen Bug.

Proteus looks around. Wow, this is a seen out of a sitcom. Great neighborhood. He self-consciously adjusts the Colorado Rockies cap he is wearing over his costume. Looking down at the jeans and rugby shirt that he is wearing, he shakes his head. Didn't think it was going to get this hot in this stuff. Hope I don't smell like wet concrete. He slings the two plastic bags over his shoulder and heads for the door.

Just as Proteus reaches the walk, the Comet flies up, his bright costume contrasting against the gray sky.

"I see you found it," says the Comet. "Nice neighborhood."

"Oh, hello, Comet. Um, yes, I follow directions pretty well. You must be a homesteader, uh, I mean native, right?

"Well, I've lived here for a few years, anyway. Actually, I don't live too--" Comet stops, looking around as if for any onlookers. "I consider San Francisco to be my home."

When Proteus rings the doorbell, there is no response -- the house is eerily silent. He rings it again, but still nothing. There is a faint odor of smoke and chemicals, and it sounds as though a dog is whining from inside. Turning to Comet, Proteus comments, "Well, either they are busy, or cooking the dog. I hope everything is all right."

Comet cocks his head for a second. "No, someone's coming."

Just as he's beginning to get worried, the door creaks open.

"Oh, good, I did remember the right time," a short man says absently as he opens the door for them. Stepping forward, he says, "Hi, all, I'm Cassie's Uncle Alex. Nice primary colors," he says to the Comet, appraising his costume.

Comet looks startled. "Thanks," he says uncertainly. "Pleased to meet you," he adds, shaking Alex's hand carefully. He hands him a small grocery bag. "Um, I brought some chicken. I overheard Cassie telling Proteus to bring something, so I thought it would be best."

'Hi there, I'm Proteus." Shaking Alex's hand, he nods at Comet. "Yes, I hope nobody minds, but I brought a LOT of steaks, in case anyone else wants one. I've got ten, and they've all been soaked in my own special marinade." He smiles as he shakes the bags.

"A man who brings food is never refused entry into this house," Alex says, with a wink. "Sometimes I think the only reason Cassie can stand my jokes is that I make the best Moshari this side of the Sierra. Well come in," Alex says, stepping aside to let everyone through.

"Speaking of costumes, I guess I could have come in just my suit, but I thought it best to reduce the rumor patrol. Sorry about the get up." The others can see the suit on underneath his jeans and shirt, to include the half-mask that covers his features. "Too weird?"

A red Jeep Wrangler pulls up and parks in the driveway just as Starlight lands in the front yard. Agent Terry Kestler, dressed in a plaid flannel shirt, jeans, and a Giants baseball cap, hops out. "Hi, Alex," she says, planting a kiss on the older man's cheek as she enters. She looks very young, Proteus notices. "I made potato salad," she hands Alex a large bowl as she enters the house. She smiles greetings at the three paranormals in attendance. "Dragon Fist is on his way in, too," she says.

"Wonderful," Alex says taking the bowl. "It looks great. Do you think you could give Cassie lessons? I've tried, but I seem to have failed to pass on my culinary skills to my niece."

Kestler smiles, and whispers to Alex, "Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I had to call my mom for the recipe. But it is low fat," she says. "I figured out how to do that all on my own."

Comet discreetly notices the way Proteus is watching Kestler. He leans over and mutters very quietly, "Don't wait too long; she might think you're not really interested."

Looking at Comet, slightly embarrassed. "Too obvious?" Proteus says. He grins and starts towards the house.

"Well, I've seen that look on a thousand teenagers, including myself. When it hits you, just go with it."

"I'm more nervous now than when I go out and try to be heroic!" Proteus says.

"I know what you mean. It's easy to knock supervillains around, another to deal with people socially." The Comet looks out the window. "I just hope we don't have a supervillain assault or alien invasion or something." He thinks for a second. "Or a tabloid invasion. That might be worse."

"Cassie will be down in a second," Alex says, shaking hands with Proteus, Starlight, and the Comet. "She's just about ready, and Tony's out in back, getting the grill ready." He beams. "So nice to meet you all."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Which way is it to the back? Oh, and I brought some soda and wine coolers." Starlight motions to her large backpack. She thinks to herself, It has been a long time since I just had a weekend to unwind with some friends. Perhaps, I have been hiding behind the scientist too long.

"It's right down the hall and through the kitchen," Alex directs Starlight. "I'll show you -- it's about time we got the meat going, anyway."

On the back porch, a good-looking, burly man is scraping the grill. "Tony," Alex says, "This is Starlight, and here's the chicken. I'll get the burgers out in a minute. I think we made a few veggie burgers, if that's what you'd prefer," Alex says to Starlight before ducking into the house.

"Nice to meet you," Tony says, somewhat tersely. "How are things in the paranormal biz going?"

"It's not the glorious life that the tabloids portray. I just blast VIPER agents before they blast someone more fragile. What do you do for a living, Tony?"

"Oh nothing quite as exciting as what you do," Tony says in a flat, rather unemotional voice. "I work as a contractor, building businesses, parking garages, whatever comes my way. It pays the bills."

Tony flips the chicken and then bastes it. Right now he doesn't appear to be much of a conversationalist. A few minutes later, Alex comes running out with a plate of steaks. "Forget the burgers Tony, Proteus brought steak. And I believe the young man actually marinated them."

This comment elicits something that sounds like a grunt from Tony. A few seconds later the steaks are stacked around the chicken, making a solid slab of meat on the grill.

Starlight answers, "Well... even without the costume and VIPER, my life would be exciting. You see, my body stores up energy and if I don't discharge it, it would...leak. I don't know why I was even chosen to have this... 'gift'. And there been days when I want to return it to the factory if I could, but the bottom line is, that's what I am. I think building buildings is a lot better gift than photonic storage and discharge. Long after we are gone, your buildings are still going to stand. I, however, will be remember as 'The girl who explodes'."

"That's true but they will remember you. Most contractors aren't remembered. Architects sometimes, but even they tend to fade to dust," Tony says. Turning his attention back toward the grill, he adds, "It looks like these steaks are cooking pretty quickly, I don't want to leave the grill. So could you ask everyone how they want their steak done?"

"Ok." she says with a sigh. They won't remember us, Tony, they will remember the fantasies, the myths, the rumors, but they will never know us." Starlight wipes away one tear before hiding behind her energy mask and smiling as if nothing happened. She ran into house, "Hey guys! How do you want your steaks?"

At the mention of adult beverages, Proteus looks up. "Oh, and by the way, I've brought along an assortment of GOOD German beer, for those who may have had bad experiences in the past." He smiles at Agent Kestler. "Trust me, no spoons required."

"Ah, good," she smiles back. "You wouldn't believe how horrible the last batch was! I think it had chunks of something in it." She shudders in memory. "It turned out that Maria had been had -- by a couple of German university students. I don't even want to know what was in it!"

"Beer sounds good. I take it warm, though," says the Comet.

"Amazingly enough, that's how the German's serve it! Of course they will also wait twenty minutes for the head to subside, too, but we don't have to observe all there customs." Proteus winks at the Comet.

Dragon Fist also finds Cassie's house without difficulty -- she'd e-mailed him detailed directions, along with the invitation to this Presidents' Day barbecue. When he arrives, he sees her Uncle Alex being kissed by Agent Kestler, just as the front door is being closed.

Upstairs, Cassie can hear her uncle playing host for her, over the Swingers soundtrack. Opening the bedroom door, she finds Lobo, waiting for her. It would serve Tony right if I didn't show up at all, she thinks. But he's so bull-headed he probably wouldn't notice.

"How's my girl?" Lobo thumps her tail appreciatively. Cassie leans down and pets the dog, which just sends her into a flurry of activity. For her attentions, Cassie earns a big, fat doggie kiss.

"OK, OK, Lobo. Why don't you go downstairs and greet our guests. Go find Alex. Go find Uncle Alex."

Lobo takes off down the stairs and Cassie follows. As the 90-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback comes sailing down the stairs, she spies the guest and Alex in the hallway. Immediately she runs up to be petted by everyone in site. It takes a little effort of Alex not to be bowled over by Lobo, who if stood on her hind legs would probably be taller than Cassie's uncle.

"Not the food, Lobo," Alex yells, trying to keep the potato salad and chicken about the reach of the dog. Lobo sniffs appreciatively but seems more interested in the new people in the house. Her wagging tail keeps hitting everyone's legs as the dog runs around the group. Finally she settles on Agent Kestler and starts bumping her head into Kestler's leg, trying to get attention.

"Oh, a Rhodesian Ridgeback!" Kestler exclaims. "My parents used to breed them. They are just so sweet, yes they are, aren't they, Lobo," she coos at the dog. "Where's your ball? Go find your ball, girl," she says to Lobo (who tears upstairs in search of the ball.)

Hmm, she's a dog lover. There's a plus, Proteus thinks.

"So," the PRIMUS agent says to the paranormals, waving at Cassie as she comes into sight. "How are you all doing? Anything interesting happen to top the Foxbat encounter?"

"Nothing, really," says the Comet. "A surprisingly quiet week. It's a nice change. I'm sure PRIMUS appreciates it, too."

Just a ton of paperwork, thinks Proteus, sighing inwardly.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Cassie tries to compose herself. It's not everyone elses' fault that Tony is being a stubborn mule, she thinks sweetly.

"It's been relatively calm for me," Cassie says. "No VIPER and no more robberies. I'm crossing my fingers that it stays that way for while at least."

"Tony's out back starting the barbecue. At least I hope that is what he's doing. He's got some much lighter fluid on the coals I think he may be planing to launch the barbecue into outer space."

"Does he need any help? Or is he one of those territorial types when it comes to his grill?" Proteus asks.

"As long as you don't take away his barbecue skewers, it should be OK," Cassie replies. Suddenly, Lobo appears with her ball, dropping it down in front of Proteus and looking at him expectantly.

"Oh Lobo, you know that's only for outside." Cassie picks up the saliva-covered ball gingerly with two fingers and carries it to the back door. Lobo follows fascinated. Cassie pushes open the screen door and tosses the ball outside. The dog goes rocketing out after it.

Cassie glances at Tony working the barbecue. Her brow furrows in a frown. Why did we have to argue about this, she thinks. Sighing she turns back inside.

Oh, oh, thinks the Comet. PLEASE tell me we didn't come at a really bad time.

"Anyone want the grand tour of the house? At least photos of my laundry room haven't ended up in the Enquirer yet."

"Sure," says Kestler. "Oh, I'm supposed to tell you that Maria will be a little late -- she had some paperwork to finish up."

"Well, actually, would you happen to have a fan? Excuse the uniform, but I didn't want to look to strange coming to your house. I didn't plan for the internal furnace that is my suit, however." Proteus sheepishly tugs at his collar.

"Why don't you just take off the costume, and leave your regular clothes on with the mask?" Terry Kestler suggests. "You look like you're broiling."

"Wow! A good looking superhero wants to strip down in my house," Cassie says wickedly. "What's a girl to say?" Cassie winks at Kestler. "You can use either the bathroom or the upstairs guest bedroom on the right. "

"Is it warm in here?" asks the Comet. "I didn't notice." He mutters to himself, "Wish I had."

Proteus shuffles slightly, looking less than comfortable. "Well, first thing is that the mask is part of the suit. Second thing is . . . I don't care for . . . ahem. . . you see I have no . . . um . . . how do I say this. . . I am sans underwear right now." His face turns a deeper shade of gray.

"Whoa....waaaaay more information than I wanted," Cassie says, turning red in the cheeks. "How about this. You can come just in costume or if you feel the need for some normal clothes, why don't I ask Tony if he has a pair of shorts to borrow."

"Don't mention the going commando part to him though," Cassie says, cringing slightly and the thought of Tony's response. And he's in a mood so it wouldn't be pretty, she thinks.

Terry Kestler just laughs. "Ah, the dilemmas of the paranormal," she says.

"Don't tell me Avengers go sans , uh, briefs too?" Cassie blurts out. "I'll never be able to look at the Golden Avenger in the face again."

Kestler blushes. "I would not know anything about that!" she exclaims, laughing harder.

"It's not quite what I had pictured it to be, at least not yet," agrees the Comet. Looking around, he notices the artwork around the living room. "Impressive," he says, looking at one of the pieces. "This spear; is it Roman or Greek?"

"Roman," Cassie says, walking over and taking it off the wall. "It's called a pilum. It's not quite as famous as the Roman Legion's gladius so it doesn't always get as much attention. Every Roman soldier was armed with a gladius, pilium and and scutum - that's a body shield."

Handing Comet the javelin, Cassie continues, "This one dates from about 100 BC. It's in OK condition. We got it at an estate auction about two years ago."

"Roman," Cassie says, walking over and taking it off the wall. "It's called a pilum. It's not quite as famous as the Roman Legion's gladius so it doesn't always get as much attention. Every Roman soldier was armed with a gladius, pilium and and scutum - that's a body shield."

"It looks pretty good," agrees the Comet. "I believe that pound for pound, the Roman legions were the finest fighting force ever assembled. Have you read Homer? With the name Odyssey, I imagine you've read the translations from Greek, right?" He carefully returns the pilum. "It's a great story." He thinks for a second. "I suppose your name is Cassandra, after Priam's daughter?"

"Yes," Cassie sighs. "Everybody in my family got named after Greek heroes and such. I get named after a prophetess no one believes and who gets murdered in the end."

"Well, there are worse people to be named after. Circe springs to mind. Or Medea; neither of them fared too well, did they? Or how about Helen herself? Runs off with a handsome face and starts a war that wipes out an entire country. Wonder how she felt about that." Comet frowns. "And she ended up back with her husband in the end. To lose so much and end up back where she started, with a lot less than before; that's tragedy."

Placing the javelin back on the wall, Cassie says, "I did love Homer's Odyssey and his Odysseus. Now there was a sly old fox."

"Definitely. I especially like the way he and his men escaped the Cyclops by hanging off his sheep. Brains over brawn. That's a heroic figure."

"Did you know that there is ample proof that Homer didn't write both the Iliad and the Odyssey? The styles are so wildly different; the Iliad is almost a military treatise written as poetry, while the Odyssey is a fantastic adventure story. The general consensus now is that Homer collected the stories and refined them, but they were just folk tales that had been passed down through a few generations before Homer got his hands on them. Sort of like a magazine publisher today," he adds with a grin.

Hello, all," says Dragon Fist as he finally arrives, bearing a large covered platter. "I nearly left this..." he hefts the dish, "...in my car, and it took me forever to find my keys."

"It always does for some reason," he mutters under his breath.

"I brought sweet-and-sour chicken with vegetables. Where should I put it?" After setting down the dish, the hero greets the other paranormals and Agent Kestler. He stops, however, with the Comet. "I don't believe we've met before. I'm Dragon Fist..." Dragon Fist extends his hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Dragon Fist," says the Comet, also shaking Dragon Fist's hand. "I've heard good things about you down in Chinatown." 

"Nice to see you again, Dragon Fist. How are you?" Proteus shakes the young man's hand.

The doorbell rings again. "I'll get it," Alex says. "Tony has the barbecue well in hand," he says to Cassie. "I think the chicken's almost done. Why don't you go and help him?"

San Francisco's Silver Avenger enters, carrying two grocery bags in one arm and holding a keg of beer in the other. "I hope other people besides me like Guinness," she says. "I've also got tequila and margarita mix."

Alex takes the grocery bags, but says, "I'll let you carry that to the kitchen."

Proteus says, "Well, if anyone had brought a lighter beer, such as a Widmer or then I we could make Black and Tans, or Bumblebees, as they are sometimes called."

The Silver Avenger re-enters a moment later, without her coat. Her black, curly hair is in a ponytail, and she looks relaxed as she sips her Guinness. "Now what was this I heard about DJ not wearing underwear when I came up to the door?" she asks Kestler. "It's a filthy lie, spread by agents of VIPER," she assures everyone. "God knows the Golden Avenger would never commit any such act of impropriety."

"Of course not," Cassie laughs. "I'm sure he wouldn't break any rule. Even one that prohibits dogs in military aircraft."

"Ahem," Proteus looks around. "I wasn't trying to be gross or too informative. It is simply that my costume comes complete with brief inserts. However, remove the costume and wear the jeans . . . Then I would be sans shorts." Sighing, Proteus groans inwardly, thinking, Oh, yeah, you've set the mood now. You're in!

"Hello, Miss Chow," greets the Comet. "It's nice to see you again. How was the traffic today?" He grins. "You should fly the friendly skies; there's no traffic jams or accidents at three hundred feet."

"Oh, just call me Maria," the Silver Avenger says, sitting down.

Dragon Fist watches Maria enter with a fair bit of alarm, although only the slight widening of his eyes shows a hint of this. Whoops! I forgot she'd be here, he thinks. Well, looks like the reverse disguise bit gets a full test today.

The hero's thoughts drift back to the Chinese New Year. They had walked through the streets, soaking in the sights and sounds of the celebration. The crowd moved around the two in a swirl of chaos as firecrackers intermittently split the air with sharp cracks.

"Do you suppose that could qualify as your icky monster of the day?" Matthew had asked pointing to a string of people costumed as a dragon.

Maria laughed in response and drew him a bit closer as the dancers swirled past.

"Let's hope so," she replied, "I'm not terribly familiar with the type that could pop up in Chinatown."

The Dragon began growling in Matthew's head as the costumed dance came close. It had been manifesting more often of late, and that worried Matthew. They've got it all wrong! the voice groused. We don't look anything like that! I'll show them...

No! Matthew firmly reasserted his presence. It had been many years since the Dragon part of his nature had vied for control. You can't do that now. I don't know what has been bothering you, but we're going to have to talk about it LATER. Do you understand me?

The Dragon, grumbling, faded back into the depths of Matthew's mind, and the young man became aware that Maria was staring at him. "Are you all right?" she asked. "You looked... odd."

Did my eyes change? Matthew wondered, somewhat worried. The contacts ought to have covered that, but she IS an Avenger. "I'm OK," he assured his companion, "Just thinking - that costume reminded me of something."

"Hey!" he continued, looking down the street where two young men were setting up a frame. "The Chin brothers are going to set off their fireworks display. You've got to see this!"

Dragon Fist returns to the present in time to catch Proteus' last comments. Something about a costume...

"When I started this hero business," he volunteers, "I forgot to design pockets in my costume. Not only did that mean I couldn't carry any cash, but I had to constantly lock my keys in my car." He smiles. "I started getting quite a reputation at Triple 'A' "

"Don't even get me started about costumes," the Silver Avenger says, shaking her head. "Have you seen the female Avenger dress uniforms? They have boots with four-inch heels! The first time I wore it -- to get a commendation no less -- I practically killed myself on the stairs. So far, no one has owned up to designing that."

The Silver Avenger fights back a yawn as she contemplates her Guinness. She hadn't gotten back from Chinatown until late -- the walk with Matthew had turned into a tour of Chinatown, and had lasted until 2 in the morning, when he'd dropped her off at her Japantown apartment. Her youngest sister had been waiting up for her -- Rachel had decided to become a nun, like their oldest sister, and had wanted Maria to be the first to know. They'd talked until 6 that morning, when Rachel left. By that time, Maria hadn't been able to sleep, and had gone to the office after a quick shower. She'd woken up at noon, with her head on her desk. What is Rachel thinking? She's so young, Maria thought, watching Proteus watch Kestler watch Proteus. Younger than Terry, even. She hasn't even gone to college yet, or had any fun!

Rachel hadn't reacted well when Maria had said that, though. When will I learn not to open my big mouth? she thinks. "You've had enough fun for the both of us," Rachel had shot back. "When are you going to settle down? Or is dating the Jack Harrisons and the Orions and the Val Kilmers all you're ever going to do? What about a family? Why does everything have to be outrageous with you?"

Maybe she's right, Maria thinks. Maybe I'm going about life all the wrong way. She sighs. She'd had fun last night with Matthew, and he was a normal guy. With a very odd grandfather, she adds mentally, smiling to herself. What a character. She drags her attention back to the present -- she hadn't eaten since dinner with Matthew's grandfather last night, and her stomach inadvertently grumbles at the smell of the barbecuing steaks.

The Comet takes a beer and holds it between his hands. Tasting it, he frowns, then concentrates. The mug warmed, and the beer steamed slightly. Another taste, and the Comet makes a face.

"That's an odd talent," Maria Chow says. "Still learning how to control your powers? I'm sure Cassie has a straw around here somewhere."

"No, actually I've got pretty good control over them," says the Comet. "I just have a problem with liquids below a certain temperature. For some reason I can't taste them properly; they always seem to be too cold, even at room temperature." He shrugs. "Nobody said having superpowers was always great."

"Hot beer?" Dragon Fist looks...unenthusiastic at best. He shrugs, "I'd never heard of that before."

"It doesn't quite taste as bad as you might think. It's an acquired taste." The Comet takes another sip of the beer. "I just haven't acquired it yet." He sniffs, turning toward the back of the house. "Smells like the steaks are just about done. Shall we eat, Cassie?"

"Cassie?" Terry Kestler asks, getting to her feet, "I'm going to go and play ball with Lobo, if that's OK." She smiles at Proteus. "Want to join me?"

"Sure, Agent Kestler, but the light of my life will never forgive me." At Terry's startled look he smiles. "I have a black lab who is very jealous. Do you have any pets?"

She sighs, and looks sad. "My Rhodie just died last month -- he was twelve. I haven't been able to think about getting another dog just yet. And you can call me Terry."

"Go ahead," Cassie says. "Lobo will love it. With all this VIPER stuff lately, I fear I haven't been playing with her as much as I should. There's also a frisbee out back in case she pops the tennis ball. She goes through them like they're candy. "

"Speaking about steaks, I should go check on Tony," Cassie says, she passes Starlight on her way out the door. A puzzled glance crosses her face. "Hi Starlight. I wondered where you had gotten off to. Glad you could come."

Starlight comes in at that point, and says, "Hey, guys! How do you want your steaks?"

"R...medium rare," says Dragon Fist, although he looked like he was about to say something entirely different. The centers of his eyes change for one brief second to the slitted pupils of a reptile.  

Comet glances at Dragon Fist momentarily, but turns back to Cassie. "I like mine well done," he answers her.

Proteus looks over at Dragon Fist curiously on his way outside, then turns to Starlight, "Well, I'll take mine rare. I know, I know, E. coli and all that stuff, but I'm old school. With a couple of band-aids and a good doctor, my steak could be mooing."

The hero turns to the keg to cover the slip, and fills a cup with beer. This is happening too often, he thinks. But at least it didn't ruin yesterday evening. Again, his mind turns to the previous night's celebration as he watched Proteus and Terry head off with Lobo.

Apart from that one incident, the night had gone quite spectacularly. They'd lost track of time as Matthew guided them through Chinatown with an insider's knowledge of the celebration. It was late when Matthew dropped Maria off in Japantown, both still laughing over the antics of some dragon dancers who had drunk a bit too much.

"Goodnight, Maria," said Matthew, "And thank you for a wonderful time!"

She smiled wide in return. "Well, I've really got to thank YOU, Matthew. It's been a long time since I could get away from being the Silver Avenger and simply be Maria. You were right - guaranteed stress relief." She sighed, "Well, it'll be an early morning back on the job, so..." She opened the car door.

"I know you Avengers have busy schedules, but don't be a stranger," Matthew said, grinning. "I still intend to collect that spar from you!"

Maria grinned back, but her eyes were thoughtful. "You just might at that," she said. "Goodnight."

Dragon Fist drifted back to the present, and was surprised to find himself now watching the Silver Avenger. Maybe Grandfather wasn't all wrong after all, he conceded silently, but he still casually switched his gaze to his beer -- and to safety.

Coming outside, Cassie notices Tony giving her a pleading look. I hate when he does that, she thinks. How can I stay mad at him when he looks at me like that. Coming over to him, she gives him a kiss.

"I understand," Tony says, putting his free arm around her, while turning the steaks.

 "What?"

 "I now understand better what you have to deal with," Tony says, winking. "You know, the whole superheroes-r-us stuff."

 "Oh," Cassie says. "I'm sorry about the yelling. We should have talked it out. The contract."

"We'll just have to do that with the next one," Tony says, laying down the grill tongs. "For now I'll be contents with this." He then grabs Cassie and starts tickling her.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it," Cassie screeches, pounding her fists into Tony's chest. "Let me go," she gasps between giggles. Flailing she reaches for anything and comes up with the water spray bottle on the side of the grill. She sprays it, right in Tony's face. "Take that you naughty Golf Pro man."

"Hey, you can take that upstairs," Terry says smiling, as she and Proteus walk outside. She picks up Lobo's ball, and tosses it -- the dog's paws shoot clods of dirt into the air as she tears after it.

"Lobo, don't go into Mr. Janus' yard!" Cassie yells.

"Now there's a villain most people wouldn't mind. Of course, your other secret identity must be Tiger Woods."

"Have we officially met, Tony?" she says to Cassie's husband. "I'm Terry Kestler, from PRIMUS."

"Hi," Tony says, shaking her hand. "I've heard a lot about you. Cassie says your one of the few people who don't scream when Maria Chow drives."

"Oh, it's not that bad," Terry says. "Sheesh, I'm a native, so she doesn't scare me at all."

"Nice to meet you, sir, I'm Proteus, if you hadn't guessed. Doing okay with the cooking, or want a break?"

Kestler and Proteus play with Lobo in the back, chatting with Cassie and Tony until dinner is ready while the conversation continues in the living room.

"It's all ready," Tony announces "Even the chicken." The four of them (sans-Lobo, who's gotten quite muddy) go inside. Alex has gotten the dining room ready (it's a touch overdone for a barbecue, but try telling him that and Cassie knows she'll get an argument.)

Proteus turns to Tony and Cassie. "Once again I want to apologize for that ball. I guess I forgot I can throw those things pretty far. I'm just glad Lobo didn't make it over the fence."

"Looks delicious," says the Comet, sitting down. "You're a master of the barbecue, Tony."

Everything is great, from Kestler's low-fat potato salad to Proteus' steaks. "This is an incredible marinade," the Silver Avenger compliments him. "You have to tell me how you did it -- I'll shock everyone at the Golden Avenger's annual July 4^th barbecue." She sighs. "They always expect me to make something Mexican."

"Well, I might be persuaded to part with the recipe. Maybe. Or, if you want to make something Mexcian, I can show you a great recipe for some enchiladas. Real high speed stuff."

However, about halfway through the meal, Lobo begins barking -- ferociously. Looking out the window, Cassie sees that the Ridgeback is concentrating her attention at one specific place in the backyard fence.

"I don't suppose that the press is going to leave us alone today," Dragon Fist mutters. He leans over to get a better view of the back yard, but the bright sun on the fence boards makes his heat-sensing vision fairly useless.

The Comet looks outside as well, focusing on the fence. He can see indistinct motion behind the fence, but nothing more.

"Be careful," he warns Cassie. "There's something moving behind the fence."

"Oh I'm going to kill her if she's chasing the neighbor's cat again," Cassie says, getting up from the table. "Excuse me. I better go check on her."

Going outside Cassie calls out to the dog, "Lobo, LOBO! What are you doing girl?"

Lobo keeps up her barking so Cassie goes over to the dog and the fence to see what is the matter.

On the other side of the fence -- Mr. Janus' side -- Cassie hears giggling -- and sees several eyes peering through holes in the wooden fence.

"I told you she didn't have two heads," one young voice authoritatively claims. "Now pay up, Thaddeus."

Smiling, Cassie realizes that the neighborhood kids must be having some fun.

"I only have one head, Thaddeus," Cassie says. "But I did once fight a giant, 100-foot worm, if that counts as something weird."

"If you want to settle any other bet about paranormals, you can come over on this side of the fence. There are quite a few of us here - Dragon Fist, Silver Avenger Maria Chow, Proteus, Starlight, and the Comet. We just finished dinner and were about to have ice cream. If you're interested?"

"Whoa -- cool!" Another voice says, before climbing over the fence. "Hi, I'm Anna," a grubby, 8-year-old Chinese-American girl says, holding her dirty hand out to Cassie. "I want to meet Dragon Fist." She pats Lobo on the head and trudges towards the house.

Two other eight-year-olds climb over fence -- an African-American boy named Thaddeus, and the first speaker -- a red-haired, freckled boy called Thomas.

"Come on in, but before you eat any ice cream you've got to wash your hands," Cassie says, wrinkling her nose as the kids pet mud-encrusted Lobo. "Also, do your parents know you are over here? You can call them from my house and let them know where you are," Cassie volunteers.

Anna looks up. "It's OK," she says, giving the other two a fierce look. "We just have to be back at home by 6." Without needing directions, she tromps to the bathroom, followed by Thaddeus and Thomas, and those in the dining room can hear the water running. A few minutes later, and all three emerge, somewhat cleaner.

Turning to Cassie, Proteus whispers behind his hand, "Um I feel a little uncomfortable with this. If you liked your neighbors as much as your neighbors liked you, would you let YOUR kids hang out at their house? Better call their parents before this turns into some kind of "Odyssey twisted my kids minds and now they hate me!" tabloid." At Cassie's look, he sheepishly shrugs. "Call me paranoid, but aren't you in enough trouble as it is?"

Cassie whispers back, "The problem is I don't know their parents' phone number. For now, I guess the best bet is to serve them some ice cream and maybe walk them home. I've got a sneaking suspicion that things might not be all that great in Anna's house. I'd like to make sure everything is OK."

'Hey, it's your house. I hope everything turns out okay. But just in case, you might want to take this outside, where others can see that you aren't corrupting these kids."

Starlight looks up from her third large helping of dinner and says, "Ice cream?", before downing another soda. Her never-ending appetite outrivaling all the non-paranormals. I should have had a larger lunch, she reflects, I didn't think the flight over took this much energy, but I feel so hungry and all this food tastes wonderful.

Ice cream, sighs the Comet. Wouldn't that be nice. He turns to Cassie. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass on the ice cream, Cassie," he says regretfully. "My, er, metabolism can't handle that properly." How humiliating; Superman has Kryptonite, I have ice cream.

"I'm sorry," Cassie says, as she dishes out low-fat cookies and cream and chocolate chip ice cream into bowls. "That's gotta stink. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't have some Ben and Jerry's ice cream when I'm feeling down."

"Maybe you could try lots of steaming hot fudge to off-set it?" Proteus says.

"No, that wouldn't work either," replies the Comet. "I still wouldn't be able to handle the ice cream." PLEASE change the subject, he begs in silence.

"You know, I think I still have some of my uncle's to-die-for baklava in the refrigerator if you'd like that. Just check behind the leftover fruit salad."

"Ohhhhh. Baklava. Grrrrrrrr." Proteus makes his best Drooling Homer Simpson impression.

"I've never had baklava," muses the Comet. He goes to the fridge and pokes around in it, shuddering a bit at the cold but enduring it; how the heck will anyone take him seriously if he can't even stand up to a fridge?!

He pulls out what he suspects the mystery dessert to be, and brings it back to the dining room. After confirming with Cassie that it is what he expects, he asks, "How does it taste heated?"

"Mmmmm....," Cassie says.

"But be careful no to overdo it or it might melt into a puddle," Alex adds. "Baklava is layers of very thin filo pastry shell separated by honey, nuts and sugar. It's baked for a short while, but I don't know how it would stand up to a large dose of heat. It would probably burn the honey."

"It's very good," Cassie adds.

"Piece of cake," says the Comet with confidence. "Or pastry, as the case may be." Concentrating, he holds the plate in one hand while holding the other hand over the dessert. Both hands glow slightly for nearly fifteen seconds. The Comet then takes one of the pastries and tries it.

"Yum," he says. "Now that's a dessert!"

Carrying several bowls of ice cream out into the dining room, Cassie deposits one bowl each with the children and then sets the rest of the bowls with the various superheroes.

"So Anna, Thaddeus and Thomas, what grade are you guys in and where do you go to school?" Cassie asks, sitting back down at the table.

"I'm in fourth, and they're in third," Anna says. "We all go to school at the Catholic church over there," she waves in a vague, westward direction.

"Hi, Dragon Fist," Anna says to the hero. "I'm Anna," she sticks her (cleaner) hand towards him.

"Why hello, Anna." The hero rises from his seat to shake her hand, and crouches down to meet her at eye-level. "Who are your two friends?" he asks, cocking an eye at the other two children.

"Oh, that's Thad and Tom," she says off-handedly (both of them are lurking behind her, shyly). "Do you really turn into a dragon? How is that possible? Mom says it's just a trick."

"It's not a trick," he replies, "I really can turn into a dragon. I don't really know how it works; I've always been able to do it."

"Can you do it now? Please? I wanna see the dragon!"

"I don't think that would be a good idea," responds Dragon Fist. "You see, he's in a bad mood right now, and dragons can be very grumpy when they don't feel just right."

Anna looks confused. "If you turn into the dragon, aren't you it? Does that mean you're grumpy?"

Dragon Fist smiles. "No, I'm not. Hmmm..." He thinks for a bit. "The dragon and I are really two separate people who share one body. It's like driving a car: right now I'm the driver. When I change, the dragon becomes the driver. Since dragons aren't human, the body we share changes shape."

Starlight's eyes opened wide, "You're the Dragon?" Remembering how the Dragon came barging into the museum like a fire-breathing hurricane. He seem so calm and collected, maybe it was a different dragon...

Proteus grins inwardly. Wow, Starlight sure isn't helping things here. "Hey, kids, you know dragons are pretty big, right?" The three kids nod. "Well, imagine what they would do to Odyssey's house if Dragon Fist suddenly changed into the dragon! He'd break all their nice things, ruin the house, and then probably eat all the ice cream! And we can't have that, cuz I for one, really like ice cream. How about you all?" Proteus takes a huge bite of his ice cream and looks expectantly at the children.

Anna gives Proteus that special patronizing look that bright children reserve for adults. "Yes, of course we do," she answers, cocking her head. "Who are you? Why are you all gray? What do you do?"

"Yes, Proteus," Terry says sweetly. "What do you do?"

"Well, I'm gray because that's the color I am. And I don't do much. Eat ice cream, watch t.v, play with dogs, you know, normal stuff." As he takes another bite of ice cream, he 'accidentally' nudges Terry's arm (gently), which incidentally causes her to smudge ice cream on her nose. "Oops. How clumsy of the big, gray guy." He smiles teasingly at Terry.

She makes a face at him, before wiping off her nose. "I'm sorry to eat and run," she says to Cassie, "But I've promised to help my brother move." She stands. "It was really very nice of you to invite me -- I plan on reciprocating sometime soon." She holds out her hand to Cassie.

"Thank you for coming Terry," Cassie says. "It was good to see you in some other venue besides the official one. No reports to write this time." Cassie says with a smile.

"A pleasure, Terry," says the Comet.

"Wait!" Anna says, "What can you do?"

"Me?" Terry says, thinking about it. "Well, I'm awfully good at finding the paperwork the Silver Avenger misplaces. I think that ought to qualify as a paranormal ability." She smirks as a napkin flies over her head. "Good luck to you, Anna, Thaddeus, and Thomas," she says, "And I hope to see all of you again, as well," she says to the paranormals.

"See you tomorrow, Terry," Maria Chow says, stifling a yawn. "I really need to be heading off myself." She scrawls something on a piece of paper, and hands it to Cassie. "It occurred to me that you didn't even have my home number. We really ought to get together and do lunch sometime."

"That's be great," Cassie replies. "Of course if you go over to Baccaus Revels, Uncle will give us lunch for free."

"Ms. Chow is always welcome in my restaurant," Alex says, gallantly kissing Maria's hand. "If you come, I will fix something special."

"You're just bucking for another autographed photo," she laughs at Alex. "I know what you're about."

"Anna, Thaddeus and Thomas, why don't Tony and I walk you home," Cassie adds. Then looking at a sleepy Tony lying on the couch, "Well maybe it better be just Lobo and I walking you home."

"Starlight, Proteus, Comet and everyone, you're welcome to take home some of this leftover food. There's no way Tony and I could eat it all."

Proteus says, "No way. I'm stuffed! Looks like a couple of the steaks weren't cooked." Looking at the Comet, Proteus asks, "Would you like them? I remember you saying you liked steak, especially. I don't need them. I'm probably getting soft as it is." He pats his stomach, eliciting a loud smack, as of rock hitting rock.

Dragon Fist grins. "If you're soft, then I'm slow." He packs up a bit of the chicken and grabs the dish he brought. For a minute, he stands glancing around the room wearing a puzzled look. Then, he looks a bit embarrassed as he pulls his keys out of his pocket - right where they usually are.

"Why do I always do that?" he mutters.

"Thanks very much," says the Comet. "It's greatly appreciated." He bags up the steaks. "Well, I've had a great time. It's nice to be able to sit back and relax, without wondering if the world is going to fall apart without constant supervision. I hope we can do this again sometime."

He shakes hands with everyone, including Uncle Alex. As he shakes Proteus' hand, he whispers, "You'd better ask her out, and soon; if she's not interested, then I'm as blind as a nearsighted bat."

To Dragon Fist the Comet says, "It was an honor to meet you. The chicken was delicious. I'll have to come up with something to match next time we do this."

To Starlight he adds, "Tell Dr. Gardner that the radios are a great idea, and I hope I can get one. That is, if you're all interested in forming an actual team; I'd be honored to join."

Proteus says, " That's right! I'm sorry I didn't get to meet Dr. Gardner. We all sort of blew her off when Foxbat showed up. I agree with the radio idea. But is there some way to encrypt the code, so everyone and their mother couldn't listen in?"

Comet says to Cassie, "Thanks again for having me over; you have a lovely home. I'd love to see some more of your artwork." Then, more seriously, "I have faith in your former teammates; they'll be vindicated in time."

As he's preparing to leave, he remembers something. "Oh, Miss Chow, I'm going to have to get back to you on how to contact me; I'll talk to my- to someone I know, and work something out. Hopefully I'll have that for you in a couple of days."

"Good night, everyone," the Comet says as he flies off.

"Good night, The Comet!" Proteus waves to the streaking hero.

After everyone is ready to go, Proteus walks over to Terry. "Let me walk you to your car." He smiles down at the young lady. "You know, I'm not doing anything tonight. If you need some help moving, I'd be happy to. I'm just heading home to watch the Sci Fi channel." He grins.

She grins back as she hops into the Jeep. "It's just helping my brother move in with his girlfriend, but I'm sure they'd like the help. They're both grad students down at Stanford and they have a ton of books. Are you serious?"

Proteus assumes a shocked look. "Of course I'm serious. I'm a regular transport waiting to be loaded. I guarantee, if we cannot have them loaded in under an hour, then I your next move is free, guaranteed. I'll even throw in dinner. Deal?"

She laughs. "That depends -- are you going to be going gray or not?"

'Take every advantage, and choose your own battlefield. Gray as they come!"

Proteus grins. "Of course that's assuming they don't live more than an hour apart . . ."

She shakes her head. "Nope -- they're about fifteen minutes apart, but that's down in Palo Alto. Where should I pick you up from?"

"When do you need to be there? I have no idea where Palo Alto is." He shrugs his shoulders.

"You're really new to the area, aren't you?" she looks somewhat surprised. "Palo Alto is 45 minutes south of here. It's where Stanford -- my alma mater, if you must know -- is located."

"Well, I could run there, but could you give me a lift? Then, if you can point me in the right direction, I can walk home from there."

"Sure, hop in," she says. "I just thought you might want to run home first and change -- seeing as how overdressed you are and all." She grins.

After everybody leaves and it starts to get late. A quiet, little car pulls up to Cassie's place. The doorbell rings. "Good evening." Professor Gardner says to Cassie. "Sorry I'm late, my car battery ran down. I brought over some radios for the group to use. Where is everyone?"

"I'm sorry Dr. Gardener, but everyone has left for the evening," Cassie says, opening the door and gesturing for Lisa to come in. "I'm afraid you've missed them." 

"Who is it, Cassie?" Tony yells from the living room.

"It's Professor Gardner," Cassie replies. Turning back toward Lisa, "If you want, I guess you could leave the radios here and I could call everyone. I really appreciate you doing this. Oh, we've got a new person who wants to join. His name is Comet. So I guess will need an extra radio for him if you can swing it. In the meantime I'll give him my radio. Everyone seems to know all my phone numbers, so I should be relatively easy to get a hold of."

"I really do appreciate this," Cassie repeats. "This should be extremely helpful for the Guardians. Proteus raised the question of somehow encrypting the signal so that no one could overhear us. Do you think you could do that with these radios?"

 "Do you want some leftover baklava?"

PBEM Turns