The Keepers
Part 15
by Elizabeth


    Peter watched as his captors paced the room. He could smell their fear 
like fine wine in the enclosed space of the room...while they seemingly had 
what they wanted, they were still terrified.
    
    "Boss will kill us," one tall young man moaned, "he will, I know it! We 
fucked up, we fucked up bad..."

    "Shut up!" squawked the second man. Unlike his partner, this one was 
short and stocky, with dark hair where his compatriot was blond. "Just shut 
the fuck up! We got the right guy, I'm sure of it!"

    "Then why do the tests show he has little to no power, hmm? We were after 
gods, Shadow! This guy's nothing but a half-rate User!"

    Peter took in the conversation, careful to guard his thoughts. The 
kidnappers had him restrained in a chair, secured to it hand and foot by 
handcuffs that he couldn't break even with his unnatural strength. They also 
had a slew of equipment used to track User power. A psionic monitor was 
affixed to his temple, reading his amount of psi output. The pair had 
outfitted him with several monitoring devices to ensure that he didn't call 
for help psychically, and to make sure he didn't use any abilities to escape.

    His only comfort was that Monique had escaped before the kidnappers had 
been able to spot her. Still, he was concerned by the conversation his 
captors were engaging in. While he focused on listening in, he tried to 
figure out a way around the gadgets that tracked his very mind.

    "Boss said to nail the Cat God. He told us all these gizmos would allow 
us to trace and tap his power." the short one called Shadow explained. "He 
might be hiding from us. We just have to wait it out...sooner or later he's 
gonna slip up, Light...he's gotta."

    "What if he doesn't, Will?" Light fretted.

    "NO REAL NAMES!!!" Will, AKA Shadow, screamed.

    "Goddamnit, what if we have the wrong guy?" Light continued. "I'm trained 
with this equipment, Will...the tests I've run so far don't show much more 
than animal empathy, centered specifically around felines. Add a little 
telepathy and potential telekenisis, and you don't have much of a fucking 
threat."

    "We're being paid to keep this guy, so you better find something special 
about him, but soon." Will growled. "Otherwise we take the money and 
run...but not before we kill the kitty."

**********

    On the opulent, deserted residential street, a snow white tiger stalked 
down the sidewalk. It turned it's head regularly to check that no one was 
following it. In the tiger's face, deep gold eyes seemed to glow with an 
inner light.

    The tiger finally stopped mere blocks from the residence of Gene Simmons. 
Finding a thick shrub, the tiger slithered under it, folded it's paws, and 
settled down to wait.

    Monique Fender maintained her animal form, desperately searching for a 
sign that it was safe to return to Gene's house...to join the others in 
finding her new love.

    PETER, she thought fearfully, PLEASE STAY SAFE...MICHAEL, PLEASE STAY 
ALIVE.

**********

    "When I was alive, I was a Sensitive." Eric explained to the group. 
Everyone was back in the house, with the spectre of Eric Carr explaining his 
situation. "I got trained in SpellCasting early on, and showed an aptitude 
for it. When I joined this crazy group, I'd suspected what the members of 
KISS really were. I didn't know for sure until somehow Paul found out that I 
had the Heart of Chrome."

    "Eric left it in my care when he died." Paul finished, sitting on the 
couch beside Julia. "When I realized that Julia was going to be manifesting 
her powers so soon, I reached Eric and asked him for help. Like I told you 
before, I bound his spirit to the talisman so he could control it, and 
through it could control Julia's power."

    "Well, that's all well and good," Mike commented, perched on the arm of 
Rhea's nearby chair, "but how does any of this help us find Peter and 
Monique?"

    "Simple. Just 'cause I'm dead don't mean I'm helpless." Eric quipped. "I 
can still work from beyond the grave, more so with the Heart of Chrome's 
power behind me. I've already tried a couple of locator spells...nothing's 
working."

    "Shit." Gene swore, pacing. "This makes no sense! If Peter and Monique 
have been taken prisoner, why haven't they already escaped?"

    "Kittycat gone."

    Everyone turned to the gentle, soft, almost musical voice that spoke. It 
orginated from the bird perched atop Michael's shoulder.

    "What do you mean?" Mike asked it.

    "Kittycat gone." the bird repeated softly. "Tomcat lost Kittycat."

    "Don't give it too much regard," warned Rhea, "Sebrus birds are 
self-aware, but they're still apt to squawk a lot just like a normal parrot."

    "Silly." the bird insisted. "Silly Dragon Lady. Tomcat lost Kittycat. 
Tomcat can't come home."

    "Wait, maybe it has a point. I mean, it makes sense." Paul realized. "In 
assuming human forms, we've given the heart of our power to the Keepers. 
Together, we are a full unit. One of us without our Keeper, however, is just 
another User. If Peter and Monique aren't together, then perhaps he CAN'T 
escape."

    "Kittycat ran." the bird continued. "Ran away from home. Tomcat left with 
men...didn't want to go."

    "Monique got away." Jim sighed with relief.

    "How does the bird know?" Julia asked.

    "It probably saw what happened from wherever it was sitting when it came 
to me." Mike thought aloud. "These guys may be self-aware, but it doesn't 
mean their minds are human. It's like getting an eyewitness account of a 
crime from a four year old."

    "Or younger." Rhea corrected. "The voice of a Sebrus gets deeper with 
age...that one sounds like it's not more than a few weeks hatched."

    Mike reached up to the Sebrus, who nipped his fingers affectionately. Its 
massive snowy wings spread out as it rose up and moved from his shoulder to 
his knee, where it sat contetedly preening. "Poor little girl."

    "How do you know that thing's female?" Jim chuckled.

    Mike shrugged. "I dunno...I just do."

    "You're right, actually." Rhea interjected. "Males have silver beaks, not 
ivory. Mike, you sure you want to keep her? The body of a Sebrus has 
incredible magickal value...beak, talons, feathers, they all do something. 
They're as prized as dragons, and dragons are endangered. Only a hundred 
Sebrus birds are known to exist in captivity, none in the wild. If you keep 
her, she's going to be a target for poachers and dark SpellCasters."

    Mike seemed to think a moment while idly stroking the bird's back. After 
a while he smiled.

    "I think I'll call her Crystal." he announced.

    Crystal cooed softly. "Birdy named Crystal."

    Mike patted her head. "Hell yeah. Glad you like it, doll."

    Crystal cooed again, then turned to look at Eric. "Eric Carr find Tomcat?"

    Eric chuckled. "Not yet, Crystal."

    The bird unfurled its wings restlessly and clutched at Mike's leg. "Find 
Tomcat...must find Tomcat now."

    Mike continued to pet Crystal, making soothing sounds. "Easy, baby. We'll 
find him, don't worry."

    "Sebrus birds are borderline empaths." Rhea commented. "If she's this 
upset over finding Peter, then that means someone here is concerned for his 
welfare." She glanced at Paul, then at Gene. "Guys?"

    "If Peter and Monique have been separated, that means he can't defend 
himself properly." Gene explained. "If The Beast dies, so does your species."

    "You gotta be shitting me!" Rhea spat.

    "Peter IS The Beast! The embodiment of human instinct! Killing him would 
be akin to me coming up to you and cutting out a lung. Any one of the Four 
dies, and mankind is fated to follow. That is why the Guardians exist...not 
just to keep us alive, but to keep YOU alive as well."

    Ben, Mike, and Jim all shared a look.

    "Well, then," Ben commented from his place against a nearby wall, "I 
guess we better get protecting."

    From Mike's knee, Crystal cawed.

**********

    From a small apartment belonging to Benjamin Lawrence, Ace Frehley hung 
up the phone and sighed. He'd just finished a slew of phone interviews, so 
many he'd lost count. Public relations wasn't his forte, it never had 
been...Gene was the talker of their group.

    //Well, you've given your brothers enough grief in the past that you owe 
them a little help with keeping your cover!// he chuckled to himself.

    Rising from the chair he'd been occupying for hours, he took a moment to 
stretch his stiff limbs. He made a mental note to let Ben, Paul Frehley's 
adoptive grandson, know that his furniture was damned uncomfortable. For a 
moment the Starman marveled at the life his avatar, Paul Frehley, had carved 
out for himself. Unlike the Demon Lord and The Soulbearer, he'd found a place 
in the world where he belonged, and unlike the nomadic transient George 
Criscuola, who called no soil home and no man as family, Paul had continued 
his line and created a family. Ben called him 'Grandad,' when in fact Paul 
was one of Ben's oldest ancestors.

    Ace finally stood straight, trying to decide what to amuse himself with 
until Ben returned home. As he did, a faint sound touched his ears. If he 
hadn't known better, he'd have said it was the call of a Snow Raven...

    "Anna?" Ace called.

    From the next room, a petite young woman with chesnut brown hair and 
honey colored eyes framed by wire-rimmed spectacles poked her head out. 
"Yeah, honey?"

    "Are there any Sebrus birds native to this area?"

    Anna Draven, Keeper of Vision, walked into the room and frowned. 
"No...the Cincinatti Zoo is the only place in this country that I know has a 
Sebrus in captivity."

    "I just heard the call of a Snow Raven." Ace insisted. "Ben hasn't found 
himself a familiar already, has he?"

    Anna shook her head. "Nope. Besides, Ben's power wouldn't appeal to a 
Sebrus. They're drawn to intense life energies, not soul magick. I wouldn't 
be suprised if Ben ended up with a more conventional familiar, like a cat or 
reptile."

    "Can you look into it for me?" he wheedled.

    Anna glared at Ace for a moment. "I have a paper to turn in next week, 
and I haven't even started yet."

    "I know, but this is urgent."

    She heaved a sigh. "All right."

    Ace watched as Anna's golden eyes began to glow until they became pools 
of radiant light, no iris or pupil visible.

    "Give me one second....wait, there! I DO see a Sebrus! A female...only a 
few weeks old...just beautiful! She's with a tall young man with long red 
hair...a Lazarus..."

    Anna's eyes began to dim, becoming their honey color once more.

    "A Lazarus? Ace, that can't be another Guardian, can it?"

    "I'd bet my fortune on it, babe. Something's not right." Ace strode 
towards the door and grabbed his jacket. "I have to find out what's going 
on...one of the Four may be in trouble."

    "Wait!" Anna called, running to grab her own jacket. "I'm coming, too. 
You can't afford to be separated from me if there's something wrong."

    Ace pulled her close briefly for a heated kiss. "Damn...my grandson sure 
knows how to pick his roomates."

    "Dirty old man." Anna whispered against his lips, ushering Ace out ahead 
of her.

    As Ace walked out the door, a sharp sensation at his back, below his 
waist, made him jump.

    "Anna!" 

    "Well, it's not my fault you have such a cute ass," she giggled, 
sauntering out the door. "Very pinchable!"

    Ace just grumbled, slinging an arm around her shoulders as they headed 
into the unknown.

**********

    In an office, a phone rang. A sinister individual picked up the reciever.

    "Boss?"

    "What do you have for me, William?"

    "Uh...not a lot, but don't worry! We're working on it! See, turns out the 
dude you had us nab is just a User...we can't find anything godlike about the 
guy."

    "He's a god...I know it. Find the key to his power and take it. You will 
not recieve your money otherwise."

    "But Boss, you already paid us!"

    "I gave you a check. The bank it is drawn on has strict orders not to 
release funds on any check I have written without my consent. You can't get a 
dime from that little piece of paper unless I say so."

    There was silence on the other end.

    "I'm running a race here, Shadow. A race against more sinister 
characters, entities far more powerful than I am. It's a race to claim my OWN 
godhood, William...and it's a race I WILL NOT LOSE! You get me the key to 
power on Peter Criss...on any of those blasted godlings! I WILL have my 
vengeance!"

    "We're working on it, Boss, I swear!"

    The individual chuckled. "Well, work harder."

    "Yes," William replied, his voice shaking. "We're working harder...we'll 
find the key to power."

    "You have our word, Mr Vincent."