The Keepers
Part 21
by Elizabeth

"...reports indicate that Simon Burkstrom, aka 
'Light,' obtained millions of dollars in police 
issue equipment for known mafia hitman William 
Kinsky, aka 'Shadow Stalker.' Kinsky was reported to 
be selling the equiment on the black market. He was 
found dead today in his base of operations, located 
in a Beverly Hills suburb. Burkstrom is missing and 
assumed dead due to blood and tissue traces found on 
the scene which match his blood type and DNA 
profile. No suspects can be found at-" 

CRASH!!! 

Vinnie Vincent watched as the television exploded 
across the room, shattered by the paperweight he'd 
thrown. 

How DARE they? How DARE they deprive him of the one 
thing he wanted more than life itself? Only HE was 
worthy of godhood, not them! After everything that 
lying prick Simmons had done to him...and then he 
discovers it wasn't even the REAL Simmons that had 
screwed him over!! 

Now it was a race against this entity Morpheus... 
Vinnie had met him already and understood the 
creature on a level most couldn't, but was unwilling 
to accept all that Morpheus offered. 

Vinnie could get it alone...WITHOUT paying the price 
of servitude that Morpheus charged. 

He was NOBODY'S servant. 

He would have the power he craved or he would DIE 
gaining it. 

********** 
"How is he?" Moe asked frantically as Anna stepped
out of the bedroom. 

"He's going to be fine...I think." she announced.
Moe, who had been pacing the floor of the apartment 
ever since they'd brought Peter there, sagged 
visibly with relief. "The electrocution drained him 
of energy and Gods know what else. Bottom line, it's 
nothing that can't be fixed with medication, lots of 
fluids, and plenty of bedrest. He needs to go to a 
hospital as soon as possible for the meds, but he's 
not going to die." 

"Can I help at all?" Jim asked, perched on the arm 
of the nearby couch. "I've done the healing thing 
once already...maybe I can do something for Peter." 

Anna shook her head. "It's best to let this run its 
course if we can. Peter's tied to the earth 
elements, so letting him heal naturally will be best 
for his health if he's not at death's door." 

"Can I see him?" Moe asked. 

"I insist. His healing abilities are minimal 
alone...the closer you two are, the faster this will 
go. You should sit with him while he takes a nap, 
it'll help." 

Moe ran into the other room without another bit of 
prompting. 

"So score one for the good guys." Ben chuckled,
stretched out face up on the floor in front of the 
sofa. "We came, we saw, we slaughtered." 

"For now." Ace reminded him, stepping up behind Anna 
to wind his arms around her waist. "Whomever hired 
Burkstrom and his buddy is still out there." 

"Tomcat knows things about the Bad Men." Crystal 
chirped, nestled securely in Mike's lap as Mike sat 
beside Jim on the couch. He stroked her back 
soothingly, making the Sebrus coo softly and tuck 
her head under her wing for a nap. 

"We can ask Peter what he knows when he's feeling 
better." Mike said, leaning back wearily into the 
couch. "Damn, I'm beat." 

"You're not gonna die again, are ya?" Jim asked with 
a massive yawn. 

"Nah. This feels different...I feel sore and tingly, 
but good. You know how you feel when you finish that 
first brutal workout after weeks of never seeing a 
gym?" 

"You too, eh?" Ben asked, his eyes closed. 

"And Jimmy makes three." Jim chuckled. "Weary, but 
satisfied. Like I just had a night of great sex." 

Gene laughed out loud from his spot in a dining room 
chair he'd pulled up to the group. "Well, I've never 
heard it described quite like THAT before." 

"Heard what described like that before?" Ben 
murmured sleepily. 

"The Binding. When a wizard's powers are first 
awoken, they are nothing but a formless mass of raw, 
wild mystical energy. It's not until a wizard casts 
their first major spell that their power takes 
shape. That first spell sets the template, the 
foundation of what they will become." 

"You've all been dabbling in a little minor hocus 
pocus as of late, but back there you three set the 
stage for everything you will become as wizards, AND 
as Guardians." Ace summarized. 

Jim grinned mildly. "Cool." 

Ben raised his head slightly and frowned. "You 
explained that stuff to me before, Grandad, but 
what's this about setting our future as Guardians?" 

"Just as the four of us embody all that humanity is, 
you three do as well. The only difference is that 
you three are the aspects of mankind's physical 
nature. We are more or less concepts." 

"The Guardians are representative of man's Mind, 
Body, and Spirit." Paul added from a director's 
chair to the right of the couch. "Ben is Mind, Jim 
is Body, and Mike is Spirit." 

"How do you know what we are?" Ben asked. 

"Your power tells the story. Ben, you're a natural 
telepath, one of the most powerful to come along 
this century. With the power of your thoughts alone, 
you have total control of the mystical energy all 
around you." 

"Mike," Ace continued, "you're a Lazarus, a creature 
of pure spirit. You've already shown an affinity for 
the living energy that animates a man, and you 
likely also share a connection with the energies of 
death as well." 

"Jim," Gene concluded, "is the manifestation of 
Body. He manipulates the human form at will, and is 
also teletactile." 

Jim frowned in confusion. 

"It's a form of telekenisis that goes one step 
further. You can't just move things mentally, you 
can pick them up, feel them, smash them to bits then 
put them back together. Dig?" 

"Oh, hell yeah! Damn, that's so fucking righteous!!" 

"Don't get too happy go lucky, your abilities don't 
come without a price tag." Julia warned as she stood
behind the couch, leaning on the back of it. 

Ben glanced up at her with a suspicious look. "Since 
when do you know so much about this?" 

"Since I think I already added up your total." 

"Which is...?" 

"How did you kill that man, Ben?" 

"Shoved a whole bunch of power down his throat." Ben 
glanced at Ace. "Anatomy lessons, Grandad. 
Remember?" 

Ace nodded. "Using pure energy to destroy human 
tissue. Yeah. What did you target?" 

"Easiest thing to find: the brain. Fried every 
synapse I could find." 

Julia looked at Ace abruptly. "Christ! Didn't you 
warn him about Neural Energy Transfer Syndrome?" 

Paul and Gene's gazes joined Julia's as the room 
waited for an answer. 

"Shit." Ace whispered. 

Paul shook his head sadly. 

"Good grief, Ace you FUCK!" Gene swore. 

"What, what is this?" Ben asked, rising to a seated 
position. Panic was beginning to bloom in his chest. 

"Ben, when a telepath uses their ability, they're 
literally exchanging small amounts of energy from 
one brain to another." Julia explained softly. "Over 
time, the small transfers of energy result in a 
permanent dependency on outside energy sources to 
keep you alive." 

Ben's eyes went wide. With infinite slowness, he 
stood. 

"I shoved a whole shitload of energy into Shadow's 
brain in a fraction of a second." he croaked. "What 
exactly will that do to me?" 

"Speed up the process." Julia told him. "Ben, when 
take energy into yourself that isn't your own, your 
body automatically sops it up. The energy is 
metabolized by the cells and organs, and it's stored 
in the brain until it dissipates. Thing is, alien 
energy causes damage as it's consumed. Only more 
outside energy can level it off, keep the damage 
from worsening. That's where the dependency stems 
from." 

Ben turned to Ace. "I�ve become a fucking psychic 
vampire...that's what you're telling me?" 

Reluctantly, Ace nodded. 

Ben's eyes fluttered shut and a soft string of 
curses escaped from between his lips. 

Julia came around and stood before Ben, laying a 
hand on each shoulder. 

"Ben, listen to me. I know what you're thinking, and 
it's WRONG." 

"I will not turn into one of them." he mumbled. "I 
will fucking DIE first!" 

"What's he talking about?" Anna asked. 

"Power Trippers." Jim replied grimly. "Users who 
have abilities that let them drain energy from 
others, and get hooked on it. They're just as bad as 
the worst crackhead or heroin junkie you can 
imagine." 

"I remember some of the ones I brought in during my 
days in P.C." Mike recalled, shuddering. "It's not 
at all pretty...especially when they go through 
withdrawl." 

"That's NOT you, though." Julia assured Ben. "Okay? 
You can deal with this WITHOUT becoming an addict. 
Listen...there's no cure for NETS, but there IS 
treatment. I can take you to see someone that can 
help, okay? I know a woman that did some work with 
the O'Ryan Institute's founder back in the early 
days before Users even went public. I also know a 
few psychic vampires you can talk to yourself...they 
usually have tricks to beat the condition." 

"How in the hell do you know this?" Ben hissed, 
opening his eyes to reveal emerald pits of 
smoldering self-loathing and rage. "How do you know 
ANYTHING?" 

"Because I watched my own father die from NETS." she 
whispered. "He died because he couldn't cure 
himself, and he refused to even treat his own 
condition." 

Ben frowned. 

"Leonard O'Ryan, the most powerful telepath of the 
20th and founder of the O'Ryan Institute. He was my 
father." 

********** 

Warmth surrounded him. He was someplace soft, warm, 
and soothing, with the gentle scent of jasmine all 
around him. He purred softly and burrowed further 
into the comforting cocoon. 

//If this is oblivion, I hope all mankind got wiped 
out!// he chuckled silently. 

"Baby? You awake?" 

Peter stirred, then opened his eyes to see familiar 
violet depths staring down at him. 

"Moe!" he sighed, pulling her close. He realized 
that he was laying in someone's bed, and that Moe 
was beside him, arms around his shoulders. 

"Jesus Christ I thought I'd lost you!" she hissed, 
clutching him close, burying her face in his hair. 

Peter held on for dear life and thanked the Powers 
that she was back in his arms. They sat together in 
the awkward embrace for quite some time. 

"How do you feel?" Moe finally asked, drawing away. 

Peter pulled himself to a sitting position beside 
Moe. He drew in a deep breath and rolled his 
shoulders. "I actually feel pretty good. Weak. 
Weary." He smacked his lips and made a face. "Got 
cottonmouth." 

Moe grinned and ran a hand soothingly up his arm. "I 
can get you some water." 

"We'll go together. Right now, I'm in NO mood to let 
you out of my sight for even a moment!" 

Moe rolled off the bed, and Peter hesitantly 
followed suit. He got to his feet and fought a small 
wave of vertigo. When the dizziness passed, he felt 
ready to try walking. 

He slowly made his way to the foot of the bed, where 
Moe now stood waiting. He slid his arms around her 
waist and claimed her lips in a kiss that melted her 
flesh. 

"I think we may need that water to put out the 
fire." she whispered against his mouth. 

Peter kissed her again and growled. "Fuck the water. 
We got privacy here?" 

Without waiting for an answer, Peter scooped Moe up 
in his arms and carried her back over to the bed, 
where he proved to her that he was indeed fully 
recovered.