The Keepers
Part 17
by Elizabeth

Ben stalked down the street, clinging desperately to the trail of primal 
energy that hung in the air before him. He could see it, shining softly all 
around him with a muted green light, bringing the warm scent of earth to his 
nostrils. The power of The Beast.

    "This way!" Ben called out over his shoulder. Paul and Julia weren't far 
behind as he followed the path to Peter Criss and his captors. They were 
falling back, making sure he had the room he needed to clearly see the trail. 
Ben was grateful, because even so far behind him, he could hear the song of 
Paul's power, feel the gentle brush of Julia's. The sound was easy to ignore, 
but the soft, feather-light caress of energy against his back was hard to 
disregard.

    It was especially hard when he started thinking about her pale skin, 
slender frame, and those amazing brown eyes...

    //Piss off, Lawrence.// he told himself. //She's with Paul...besides, you 
barely know the woman! When have you EVER believed in love at first sight? 
Lust, maybe, but not love! Get your head together!//

    Ben reached a corner, then paused when the trail seemed to split in two. 
He gazed at both paths of energy, looking for some sign that would tell him 
which way was right...how could there be two paths, anyway?

    After a few moments, Paul and Julia came right up behind him, but Ben was 
worlds away. His entire focus lay on the energy before him, the nuances and 
shades of power within it...

    "Peter's this way." he finally determined, pointing around the corner. 
"There's another trail going straight ahead, but unless I miss my guess it 
belongs to Monique."

    "Hopefully, Jim and Mike will be able to hone in on it." Paul observed. 
"Jim, anyway. He's the psychometrist."

    "You're sure that we can reach them?" Ben asked nervously.

    "Eric's with them." Paul replied. "He can reach Julia through the Heart 
of Chrome."

    Ben gazed at Paul, then heaved a sigh. "Paulie, I sure as hell hope 
you're right. Onward and upward then, guys...Peter's over here somewhere."

**********

    "Tell me again why we aren't with Ben, tracking down Peter?" Mike asked 
testily.

    "Because all we can do is see what's happening to him." Jim replied as 
the brothers walked down the street. "Ben can find the boy...soon as we get 
the word from Julia, we can teleport to wherever they are."

    "Like we teleported last time, you mean?"

    "That won't kill anyone again." Eric chuckled, strolling alongside Jim. 
"I heard about that little fiasco. Teleportation's like a muscle, it gets 
stronger the more you use it. You'll learn your limits eventually, and just 
how far you can go. Besides, Mike's familiar lends a little extra power to 
you guys. More focus, too."

    Crystal, who had been flying around overhead, swooped down and settled on 
Mike's shoulder. "Crystal good girl. Crystal take Master places." She paused. 
"Take Master somewhere now?"

    "Nah, sweetie," Mike chuckled, smoothing a finger over the feathers at 
her forhead, "I'm not going anywhere yet. And don't call me Master...feels 
weird."

    "No more Master." Crystal agreed. "What then?"

    Mike shrugged. "I dunno...just call me Mike."

    "Call him Polly-Whipped." Jim chuckled. "I can't believe the way you've 
taken to that parakeet."

    "Crystal no parakeet, silly Dragon Wizard." Crystal clucked. She paused 
again. "Crystal call you Mikey, like Dragon Wizard."

    Mike laughed. "Whatever floats your boat, darlin'."

    Eric chuckled.

    Crystal nuzzled Mike's temple affectionately, then suddenly flew into the 
air, squawking.

    "What's her deal?" Jim wondered.

    Mike shrugged, then froze when something on the sidewalk caught his eye. 
"Jesus!"

    In the middle of the cement path sat a beautiful snake the size of a 
small boa constrictor, only the snake was scarlet, with jet black pattering. 
The reptile was very still, and from its mouth blood oozed.

    "What happened to it?" Jim wondered, kneeling beside the animal.

    "Is it even alive?" Mike asked.

    "I think so." Eric replied, squatting next to Jim.

    Jim reached out hesitantly, making sure the snake wasn't going to strike. 
He ran his fingers over the slender body, and jumped when the tip of the tail 
twitched.

    "It's alive." Jim confirmed. Suddenly, he frowned in confusion. "Did you 
hear that, Mikey?"

    "Hear what?" Mike asked.

    Jim ignored his brother. His attention was fixed solely on the reptile 
beside him. "Yes, I can hear you perfectly."

    The snake's head lifted, and Mike saw its mouth open. His stomach turned 
when he saw it was full of blood. The tongue flicked out, and Mike saw it was 
swollen.

    "No, no," Jim soothed, carefully offering his hand. "Easy, sweetheart, 
we're not going to hurt you."

    "Jim, careful." Eric warned. "This is an African Scarlet Boa, a Crimson 
Constrictor. This one looks like a newborn, and they can get pretty violent, 
plus they're poisonous."

    Jim waved Eric off, gently stroking the serpent's head. "Just relax, 
okay. I just want to help." Jim's glance flicked over to Eric. "You know a 
lot about SpellCasting...CAN I help her?"

    Eric's face went thoughtful. "If you wanted, I don't see why not. 
Healing's a very basic function in a true wizard...I was only a Sensitive, so 
I had to work at it."

    Jim looked down at the snake. The pair watched as his hand seemed to 
float across the long reptilian body, seemingly of its own accord. Jim's 
fingertips finally came to rest on the snake's head.

    Slowly, Jim's fingers began to turn deep red, much as Rhea's hands had 
when she was warming a cup of coffee a day before. When they were deep 
scarlet, the color began to seep out of them, flowing towards his fingertips 
until the skin resumed its normal color.

    The serpent's head came up, and its tongue flicked out to touch his hand, 
tasting him.

    Jim gently picked the snake up off of the ground, and it wrapped its tail 
around his wrist, sliding expertly around his arm so its head sat on his 
shoulder.

    Jim chuckled, reaching up to pet the slick scales of its head. "Your 
welcome, Beautiful." A pause. "Hell yes, I do! You're one of the most 
gorgeous snakes I've seen in a long time."

    "Jimmy, you telling me you can actually talk to that thing?" Eric asked.

    Jim nodded, looking at the ghost. "Yeah...she sounds like she's talking 
out loud to me. You mean you guys can't hear her?"

    Mike and Eric shook their heads simultaneously.

    Jim frowned, then turned back to the snake as if listening. 

    "Shit, she saw Peter." Jim breathed. "Monique, too. Says that another 
couple was with her...might be Ace Frehley and his girl."

    "You're positive?" Mike asked.

    Jim nodded. "Mike, can you see without Crystal now?"

    "Not really...I'm still seeing through Peter's eyes. Nothing's changed. 
I'm sort of feeling my way around better, though."

    "Then do me a favor...call Crystal back here and see if she can fly up 
and find Monique."

    Mike nodded, shouting Crystal's name.

    Crystal came swooping down, settling on Mike's shoulder as far away from 
the snake as she could.

    "Easy." Mike soothed, touching Crystal's talons comfortingly. "I won't 
let anyone hurt you."

    Crystal hesitantly stepped across Mike's shoulders, closer to Jim. The 
snake lifted its head and flicked out its tongue to examine the enormous bird.

    "Serpent eat Crystal?" she asked nervously.

    Jim chuckled. "No way, babe...Ruby's just a baby."

    Eric narrowed his eyes at Jim. "Ruby?"

    Jim nodded. "Yeah! She says her name is Ruby Red...I have to call her 
SOMETHING if I'm gonna keep her!"

    "So now the wizard's a snake charmer!" Eric crowed. "Jesus, you're a 
strange bird, Riley!"

    "Dragon Wizard not birdy." Crystal corrected. "Crystal birdy. Dragon 
Wizard human, Mikey human, Eric Carr spirit man."

    Mike laughed, stroking his new pet. "That's my girl."

    Crystal leaned down and sniffed at the snake. Ruby remained passive.

    "Crystal like Ruby." she cooed happily. "Ruby friend to Dragon Wizard, 
friend to Crystal."

    "Glad to hear it, sweetie...now, can you do me a favor?"

    Crystal stretched her wings importantly.

    "Fly up...try and see Monique for me, okay?"

    "Look for Kittycat." Crystal agreed, soaring into the air.

    The group waited for several moments. Mike's eyes were distant as he saw 
through Crystal's.

    "She's about a block away." Mike laughed. "And Ace is with her...along 
with another girl...looks a little like Moe."

    Jim smiled. "Moe, eh? Well, well, well! Something wicked this way 
comes...let's head off to meet it!"

**********

    Peter watched Light closely as the nervous blond man attached an 
electrode to Peter's forhead.

    "Why are you doing this?" he asked Light softly.

    Light fliched, as if Peter's gentle voice had struck him. "I have to...I 
got hired."

    "You're very proficient with this equipment...I take it you're a 
scientist?"

    Light shook his head nervously, checking the electrode uneccesarily. 
"No...just a technician. I used to work for the force...until they canned me. 
Just because I'm a User."

    Peter's eyes widened slightly. "Really? What abilities do you posess?"

    Light shrugged. "I can manipulate light rays...hence the nickname. 
Nothing special about it. Nothing worth costing me my job over." he added, 
his tone thick with malice.

    //Light manipulation?// Jim asked mentally. Oh, holy SHIT! Not Simon 
Burkstrom! Ask him what department he worked in!\\

    "If you were a User, why didn't you work with the special task force?" 
Peter inquired innocently.

    "I did." Light replied. "I was in the Paranormal Crimes unit, specialized 
in User Identification and Analysis. They offered me a consulting job after 
canning me, like they did to another guy...but I'm not about to accept a 
handout. The other dude that got nailed the same time as me...Jim Riley, he 
had no shame I guess. Went on like nothing ever happened."

    //Fuck you! Damn, damn, damn! Peter, be REAL careful...he's got a temper. 
To hell with his abilities, they wanted to fire him anyway for harrassing 
suspects and prisoners! Burkstrom was a firecracker...they offered him the 
Special Investigator position after me only as courtesy.//

    \\Understood.\\ Peter replied.

    "What are you doing to me now?" Peter asked.

    Light chuckled humorlessly. "Something I'm not really looking forward 
to...I can't stand the sight of blood."

    Peter's heart nearly stopped. "What?"

    Light grinned, and the light of dementia shone in his eyes. "We're all 
about getting paid, Mr. Criss, so we're bringing out the big guns to search 
out the root of your godhood. That electrode's hooked up to a Stimulator...a 
generator the P.C. unit uses to test for electricial manipulation. Low 
setting gives you a nice massage, but if you crank it up then look out!"

    "Why would you use something like that?" Peter protested desperately.

    "Simple. A severe electrical charge to the brain will give me better 
readings on your psi and neural output...at least, as long as it doesn't kill 
you."

    //Jesus Christ!// Jim screamed.

    "I thought you needed to keep me alive for your employer?" Peter asked.

    "I do. However, we don't get paid if you don't show any godlike 
abilities, either. I figure that if you're really a god, you'll be fine. 
Otherwise, we can at least dispose of you without much evidence. The boss 
will appreciate a nice cleanup job."

    //Eric, get Julia NOW!// Peter heard Jim shout. //That asshole Burkstrom 
is about to fry Peter's brain!//