The Keepers
Part 19
by Elizabeth

    Ben turned a corner and nearly lost his balance when the essence of The 
Beast filled him with bloodlust and primal instinct. The musky scent of earth 
and animal fur filled his nostrils.

    "Ben!" Paul shouted.

    He turned towards the voice, and realized that his lip was curled in a 
feral snarl. The growl died in his throat, and he shook his head to clear it.

    "There." Ben hissed, pointing at a house three doors down. "He's in 
there."

    Paul and Julia nodded gravely.

    "Let's go then." Paul said softly.

    "Goddamn!"

    The trio looked behind them to see the twins, followed by Eric, Monique, 
Ace, and an unfamiliar young woman.

    "How did you find us?" Ben asked, clapping the twins on their shoulders.

    Jim grinned. "Miss Monique here...she was able to hone in on her tomcat."

    Ben chuckled, then noticed the snake that was now coiled around Jim's 
neck like a collar. "What are you two now, zoo keepers?"

    Jim lifted his hand, bringing the serpent level with Ben's face. "Nah, 
that's just Ruby. Could be my familiar. Easy, she's only a baby."

    Ben stood nervously as Ruby's tongue flicked out to touch his cheek. 
There was a pause and Jim chuckled.

    "She likes you. Wants to know if you'll hold her for awhile."

    "I think I'll pass." Ben declined slowly, backing away from Jim.

    He just guffawed, bringing Ruby up to look into her beady black eyes.

    "Maybe later, toots." he cooed, rubbing his nose against the snake's head 
in an eskimo kiss. "He just needs to fall madly in love with you like I 
did...and he will, trust me."

    "Mike's heart belongs to a bird, and you're in love with a snake." Ben 
giggled. "Now I've seen everything."

    Mike glared, and from his shoulder Crystal seemed to follow suit. 
"Remember, Lawrence...you're gonna find a familiar of your own eventually!"

    "Silly man, Green Eyes." Crystal chided gently.

    "Yeah, it's weird, isn't it?" Jim mused. "It's like I've had Ruby in my 
life for years or something...I feel a really deep connection with her."

    Mike nodded, a hand at his shoulder, absent-mindedly stroking one of 
Crystal's deadly talons. "I'd die for Crystal in a second."

    "You two are lucky," Anna piped up, quickly introducing herself to Paul 
and Julia, "not many wizards find a familiar so quickly or so young. That 
strong a bond can only be forged with a newborn, and it's going to prove 
HIGHLY valuable when you get down to some serious magick."

    "Peter." Monique whispered, gazing towards the house.

    The rest of the group followed suit.

    Jim and Mike immediately began cussing a blue streak.

    "What is it?" Julia asked.

    "Bitch!" Mike swore. "It's Rhea...she got Gene and herself discovered! 
They're in there, being held hostage with Peter!"

    "Jesus!!!!" Jim hissed, his whole body going tense. He remained immobile 
and stiff as a board for nearly a minute before collapsing to his hands and 
knees on the cement.

    "You all right?" Mike asked, kneeling beside his brother.

    "They've started the shocks." Jim gasped. "I can feel it all...I'm not 
gonna be much help-" Jim's statement was cut off as another current hit, 
freezing him in place.

    "Shit, I come back from the dead and now you're trying to see if you can 
top me!" Mike snarled.

    "You think the shocks could kill him?" Monique asked.

    "They could easily kill Peter." Mike replied. "Which is why we have to 
get in there NOW. As for Jim, I don't know. I'm not sure just how deep this 
link runs between them."

    "Okay, we need to get this done." Ben commanded briskly. "Julia, Paul, 
you two stay with Jim. Ace, Anna, I need you two to head around to the back 
of the house and wait to hear from me...up here." He tapped the side of his 
head. "Moe, Mike, you come with me. We need backup...are you guys packing?"

    Moe reached behind her and withdrew a small Smith & Wesson .22 
semi-automatic from the waist of her jeans, clicking off the safety. "You 
know me, just 'cause I'm not a cop anymore doesn't mean I don't still think 
like one."

    "I'm not, don't have my stuff back yet." Mike admitted. "Jim is, though."

    As if on cue, Jim managed to reach under his coat and produce a .22 
magnum, placing it in Mike's outstretched hand.

    "That's my favorite auto mag." Jim choked out after another shock left 
him laying on his side in the middle of the sidewalk. "Lose it and I'll shoot 
you."

    Ben copied Jim's actions, withdrawing a Ruger 9mm of his own. "All right. 
If any of you have any weapons of your own, I suggest you use them before any 
hocus-pocus...if this turns into a police matter that we ex-cops can't 
bullshit our way out of, the punishment is harsher for an attack with User 
abilities."

    Ben inclined his head towards the house, grinning. "Just like old times, 
eh guys?"

    Moe and Mike both grinned, following Ben to the front door of the house.

********** 

    Rhea and Gene sat, watching in terror as Peter twitched and moaned after 
each charge of the Stimulator.

    "You're killing him!" Rhea screamed, hoping to delay them with a bit of 
female hysterics.

    Light never wavered. He checked the readings on his equipment, testing 
Peter's reflexes and reaction to light, even as the man's nose began to bleed.

    "Easy, baby." Shadow sneered, leveling the gun at her head again. "Behave 
yourself or you'll be next."

    Rhea growled. Rage filled her...how dare he harm Peter? How DARE he harm 
her friend? How DARE he keep her prisoner this way!

    Gene touched her shoulder, rubbing it gently and making soothing noises. 
"Easy, love...it's not just your temper, it's your power...you have to 
control it, lives depend on it..."

    "Can the sweet talk, Simmons." Shadow ordered.

    Another shock of the Stimulator. Peter screamed.

    "I don't understand how it can be hurting him so much!" Rhea hissed. "How 
much voltage is that thing putting out?"

    "A few thousand," Light replied, overhearing, "but that's not the worst 
part. Human flesh is a great conductor for electricity...but some recent 
studies have shown that User biology differs from that of Nulls. Their flesh 
doesn't just conduct electricity, it magnifies it. His own body is doing the 
damage, not me."

    Another, louder growl escaped from Rhea's throat.

    "I thought I told you to shut the bitch up!" Shadow snapped.

    Gene wrapped an arm around Rhea as they sat side by side and pulled her 
against him. "Shh, baby, shhh...you'll change if you're not careful!"

    Rhea barely heard him through the red haze of rage that veiled her 
vision. Change? Change how?

    "You might want to knock that off. Don't you know that it's dangerous to 
play with electricity?"

    Everyone in the room turned to see Ace Frehley by the back door, grinning 
and waving.

    Hovering cross-legged in the air about four feet off the ground.

    Without a word, Shadow levelled the 9mm and began to pull the trigger.

    The sound of a gun being cocked behind his head made him freeze.

    "Anna!"

    Anna rushed through the back door, ducking behind Ace. She reached 
Peter's side and removed the electrodes, briefly checking him over.

    "He's alive," she reported, "but he's in pretty bad shape. We need to get 
him to a major hospital, one that can treat Users."

    "The only one close is currently a shambles," Gene said, rising carefully 
as Mike and Moe advanced into the room, covering Light as Ben pressed his gun 
into Shadow's back, "Morpheus totaled it yesterday."

    Anna glanced over at Ace, who was floating towards the group. "THE 
Morpheus?"

    "The same."

    "Christ! We need to get Ben's and my place then...I'm no doctor, but I 
know User physiology. It's his best shot at survival."

    Suddenly, a blinding flash of light erupted in the room, momentarily 
blinding everyone.

    Light moved quickly. He slid easily over to Ben and tore the gun from his 
suprised grip. Light then levelled the gun at Rhea.

    "No one moves or she dies!" he screeched.

    Everyone in the room froze.

    "If you have a gun, drop it now."

    Moe let her .22 clatter to the floor. Cursing softly, Mike followed suit.

    "Good. Now, we need a matched set of you gods and goddesses to get our 
money, so we're gonna go ahead and take the Osbournes here for a little 
ride," he chuckled darkly, inclining his head towards Gene and Rhea.

    "I'm no Ozzy." Gene snapped.

    Light's eyes widened in blind rage.

    A shot rang out, and Rhea fell back into her chair, blood pouring from 
her chest.

    Gene staggered and clutched his own chest, feeling the impact of her 
wound.

    Crystal flew off of Mike's shoulder and made a beeline for Shadow.

    Moe moved in the same direction, shifting into tiger form as she did.

    And stopped when she couldn't change.

    "Ace, my telekenesis!" Anna gasped.

    Light held up a small remote in his hand. "Psi inhibitor. Sends out an 
electric frequency that effects User brain activity. It shuts down all parts 
of the brain related to User ability."

    "You sonufabitch!" Ben hissed, stepping towards Light.

    "Not so fast, Lawrence!" Light laughed. "This blocks all User ability, 
including regeneration. Little Miss Demon's gonna die of that gunshot wound 
if I don't disable it...but soon."