Wild5/Origin
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Contents |
Chapter I: A Modern Day Knight Meets a Reckless Rabbit
Burton Russ sat alone in his favorite diner at 124 West 17th Street, Paragon City. “Daddy-O’s” diner had been to hell and back since the Rikti invasion. The surrounding buildings were in various states of ruin, and most of them were just plain dangerous to be around. Yet somehow, by the grace of God, the walls still stood at “Daddy-O’s”, the grill still worked, and most of the glass was still in the windows.
It was getting late and the crowd was thinning out. Burton gripped the coffee mug with his mechanical hand. It felt natural. It felt good. He was used to his new arms now, even in their non-combat mode, and he was using them to do good! Since he had first donned a costume and went into the streets as “Templar”, he had been consumed with stopping the descent of his home town into hell...and himself into madness. Maybe, he thought, if he worked hard enough, long enough, he could push the image of his comatose brother from his thoughts... forget for a while that his parents were dead. Suddenly Burton’s attention was pulled back into the present and the noisy restaurant, raised voices from the other end of the diner intruding on his consciousness. A brash English accent rose above the din, taunting the diner’s intoxicated patrons. Burton didn’t know it yet, but the voice belonged to Shaun Palmer, and Shaun was being himself: bold, arrogant and just plain obnoxious. The situation was escalating; very soon the taunts would stop being verbal and become physical. Burton knew the men were not criminals; they were hard working people who had seen a lifetime of misery and pain, and had simply drowned their frustration and sorrow in too much alcohol. He also was concerned that the young man would get hurt if things got physical. He couldn’t help himself; he stepped in and calmed the men down.
The young man was momentarily taken aback by the stranger interceding in his confrontation. But he backed off -- watching the way Burton handled the drunks: he was not harsh or overbearing with them; he exuded a certain charisma. He got them to back down, to relax. Shaun felt that this guy was somehow not your typical diner patron. Still, who was this guy to elbow into his fight? Shaun Palmer had grown up in a tough neighborhood in London. It was especially tough on people who were different and Shaun’s wheelchair had made him different. For eighteen years Shaun had taken the jeers, the pointing, the insults. Now he was whole. Heck, he was better than whole! He could be out of the booth he sat in and on the drunken hooligans before they knew what hit them! He had been mopping up the streets lately and loving it! It felt good to put the city’s scum in their place! “Jack Rabbit” could take care of himself!
After the stranger escorted the drunken men from Daddy-O’s, Shaun approached Burton and began berating him for interfering in his business. Burton replied that Shaun was “asking for trouble” and said that he would get himself “knocked into next Tuesday” if he wasn’t more careful in the future. Shaun, instantly insulted by Burton’s lack of confidence, didn’t intend to let this comment go, no matter how much of a charismatic vibe this guy gave off. Shaun shot back that Burton should speak for himself; he could take care of himself!
Burton found the sound of Shaun’s voice fading as he stared intently at Shaun’s face. In it he saw his brother Arvle’s face... Arvle as he would have looked in the future: young and full of life. A future that was not to be. Shaun leaned away from Burton, wondering what he was staring at. Burton’s only response to Shaun’s anger had been to look at him and nod. Shaun, disarmed by Burton’s reaction, decided not to throw the punch he was concentrating on. Instead he stared back at Burton and threatened, “Listen, there’s much more to me than meets the eye -- maybe you’ll find out one day.” Again, Burton let the young man’s comments slide and motioned Shaun to join him in a booth. Settling in, they began to talk. They talked until dawn. At dawn Burton got Shaun to agree to meet back at the diner the next evening.
Six days later, both men sat eating a late dinner. Alone and with nothing to do and no one to spend time with, the two young men had begun meeting there and hanging out. Burton felt he was doing Shaun a favor -- protecting him from himself, helping him with his anger. Maybe he could help Shaun like he would have helped his kid brother. Shaun, on the other hand, thought Burton could learn a thing or two about being more bold and not being afraid to live life on the edge; besides, he didn’t have any real friends to hang with. The two men complimented each other well: Burton’s quiet calm and patience balanced Shaun’s never-ending exuberance. Shaun’s restlessness and drive reminded Burton of Arvle. Neither man knew of the other’s secret life in the streets of Paragon City. Neither man knew that, once again, their lives were about to change.
Chapter II: Enter the Ox
At about the same time, a few blocks away, an exuberant Barbara Yokam sat alone in the Paragon City bus station. Patrons in the terminal barely noticed the big, blue-skinned woman with the ox horns seated by the windows. In this town, strange looking people didn’t turn a lot of heads unless they were unleashing violence on innocents. The station had been Barb’s home for the last four days and she was tired of living with others on the benches and plastic seats of the terminal. Ever positive, Barbara knew something would come along if she was patient. But today had been a major turning point for her; not only had she located an apartment, but she also found a job!
Her new job was with a medical clinic in one of the battered parts of the city. She would be working as a medical technician, helping the doctors and nurses. Her medical experience had ensured her a good shot at a job as there were still a lot of people in need of help here in this city. She was both nervous and excited at the prospect of starting the new job.
And tomorrow she was to get the keys to her apartment! The apartment was nice enough. It was fairly clean, relatively intact (nothing to take for granted in this city), and not overly expensive because of it’s location. It was in an area where some of the buildings had been turned to rubble and were dangerous. Earlier that day, as Barb signed the lease, an old woman who lived in the building had stopped her on the way out and excitedly asked if she was going to moving in. When Barbara confirmed that she was, the old woman said she was happy to see a “hero” living in the building. She explained that dangers other than the rubble existed in the area; looters, thugs and other scavengers roamed the streets, causing the residents in the area to lock their doors and stay in after dark. Barb, however, only heard the word “hero” - that was the first time someone called her a “hero”! It made her feel so good! After all, that’s really why she came to this city. Her accident and transformation into the “Blue Ox” had changed her life at the veterinary school and led to problems with her unaccepting parents, but she knew that she could make a new life here. Still, she missed her friends and colleagues at school...but to be called a “hero”...!
With the excitement of the day’s events swirling in her head, Barbara was full of energy. She had to get out of the bus station and onto the streets! Tonight she would take a walk through her neighborhood. Maybe she could continue her “hero”work there tonight! She forced herself to calm down a bit and was able to sleep for a few hours and then awoke at 2 AM. She put on her backpack and began to walk toward her new apartment. A block from her apartment she passed Daddy-O’s diner. It looked old and comfortable, like a well-worn paperback novel. “A hero can’t work on an empty stomach,” she thought and turned back to enter the diner. She forgot to duck when she entered the cramped diner and hit her horns on the top of the door. “Like a bull in a china shop!” she laughed to herself, and proceeded to slide into one of the front booths. The place was hopping. She grabbed a menu and started to study it. She already liked this place. She decided she’d come here often. At the far end of the diner sat Burton Russ and Shaun Palmer, unaware of the big blue woman’s presence in the crowded diner.
Chapter III: A Swan in Search of its Past
Wilson Fare was unemployed and living with his elderly grandmother. He had dropped out of college only weeks before graduation to fly hundreds of miles to a strange city to meet his only known relative. Right now though, those problems were far from his mind. Wilson was focused on the object inside the briefcase he was carrying. It was his past... and it was his future!
As he walked through the dark and ruined streets of Paragon City, Wilson’s mind raced back to the day when his life changed. When he found the old hero costume in his grandmother’s attic, and came to find out that his grandfather had been a masked hero in World War II, his heart had skipped a beat. At that moment he had found his family, his calling. His engineering degree could wait! After all, he was already one of the top students in his class! What did he need the degree for anyway? He knew he could modify the primitive costume’s circuits to make a more potent, more powerful “Swan”. Immediately he knew that he must take up the mantle of “The Swan”.
Wilson went to work on the new suit immediately after finding it. Each night after his grandmother went to bed, he locked himself in the basement of her house. For hours and hours each night Wilson toiled. Immediately after sitting down to work each night, his mind began to pour out ideas! The ideas, the schematics, seemed to write themselves! At times his mind raced along so fast, so frantically, that he was afraid he would not get the designs all down on paper before they were gone from his head! Week’s went by as Wilson devoured books on psychology, brain function, sound transmission and the physics of gravity. This newly acquired knowledge he added to his already impressive understanding of electrical engineering.
By day he spent some time looking for a job, but often he found himself distracted by thoughts of the suit and its design. He often quit his daily job search early to venture into the electronics shops. Every day Wilson returned to his grandmother’s home without employment. And each time he came home, his grandmother eagerly asked him for the good news- did he find work? Wilson’s heart sunk whenever he had to tell her that he had not found a job. He wanted to tell her of his plans, tell her all about the wonderful suit and how he was about to honor his grandfather’s courage by wearing it again! But uncertain about her reaction and uncertain about himself, he lost his nerve each time.
On the night he first tested the suit, Wilson slipped from the house at midnight with his heart beating so hard he thought it would burst. Shortly after his patrol began, he encountered two thugs beating up an old man. Wilson swooped at the criminals without hesitation. To his horror, his “Swan Song” sonic blast failed to activate, and Wilson barely escaped the two thugs. Badly shaken, he returned home and put the suit away. He didn’t get up the courage to look at the suit for another six days. Finally, he repaired the faulty sound box and resumed his nightly patrols. But since that first terrifying night, Wilson had been much more cautious. Uncertainty and fear was something Wilson had to fight each time he went on “patrol”.
Once again, as he walked down 17th Street, events on this night would not go as Wilson had imagined. His soul searching was interrupted by the glowing neon light of Daddy-O’s diner in the distance. As he walked toward the diner, briefcase in hand, he smiled. “This is the place!” he excitedly mumbled, looking up at the diner. His grandmother had told him much about his mother and father. One of the things she had told Wilson over one of many cups of coffee, was that his mother and father had met at Daddy-O’s diner! Wilson picked up his pace and soon stood in front of the diner, enthralled at the sight of this wonderful place from his parents’ past. Of course, he could not see Shaun Palmer and Burton Russ inside talking. And he didn’t see the blue-skinned Barb Yokam seated in one of the front booths studying a menu.
Nor did Wilson Fare notice the slender woman in the weird blue suit pass him on the sidewalk. He did not see her pale skin and grey hair. He didn’t see her strange red eyes that were filled with tears. He didn’t notice her pull open the diner’s door and enter.
Chapter IV: A Dead Girl's Bracelet
The phone rang in Jennifer Danver’s new apartment. Half asleep, Jennifer’s trained senses immediately kicked in and she whipped around to face the phone. She barely stopped herself from reflexively smashing it to pieces; good military training stays with one forever. Jennifer was thankful that her military skills were still a vital part of her...since the loss of her superpowers it was all she had left. This was the first time the telephone had rung in her apartment despite the fact that Jennifer had been living there for two and a half weeks. Apparently, no one knew that Jennifer was alive...or so she thought.
Jennifer picked up the receiver and reluctantly said “Hello...?” She fully expected the ubiquitous telemarketers had located her. “Jennifer! I found you! I finally found you!” said a female voice on the other end of the line. The woman continued; “It’s me... Amy... Amy Weiss. I work down at Daddy-O’s diner. Do you remember?” Jennifer didn’t remember Amy, but she certainly remembered the diner... and the memories poured back to burn painfully in her mind. Daddy-O’s diner was the place where Jennifer spent a good deal of time before it happened...before the Rikti... before the three days of strange “sleep” and the unearthly suit she was now forced to wear for all time. Lori Armstrong had been Jennifer’s best friend in the entire world. Lori worked at Daddy-O’s diner before the Rikti invasion and Jennifer went there many times to sit with her during her lunch breaks. Lori was one of those people who was good and kind: a true friend to Jennifer. Her apartment was virtually vaporized by a Rikti warship. Her body was never found.
Jennifer listened as Amy explained that, on the last day she worked there, Lori had accidentally left her charm bracelet at the diner. Amy and the other employees still alive at the diner never saw Lori again. Amy found the bracelet and with no other relatives to call, she remembered Jennifer. She offered the bracelet to Jennifer. Surely Lori would have wanted her to have it, she said. Jennifer kept herself together long enough to agree to meet Amy, and get the bracelet later that night. When she hung up the phone, Jennifer Danver wept. The culmination of all the loss, anger, and confusion welled up inside her and the news of Lori’s bracelet released it all.
Amy was working the midnight shift at the diner and had agreed to meet Jennifer at 2:30 AM. She could take a quick break and give her Lori’s bracelet at the counter. Jennifer spent the rest of the evening readying her high powered pistols and running through her exercise regime . With her red eyes even more ablaze with anger and bitter sadness, Jennifer Danver left her apartment after the sun went down. The next few hours were a blur to her. She encountered several groups of gang bangers in the darkened streets and unleashed her own form of hell on them. She had been out in the streets prior to this night, but tonight the Living Dead Girl, as she now called herself, lashed out like a person possessed. Her emotions had her in excellent form; her anger driving her actions and reactions to peak performance. At long last the night had passed into early morning and she let the rest of the thugs temporarily have the streets. She now focused her attention on getting to the diner on 17th Street.
As Jennifer approached the diner, with it’s familiar blue neon sign, emotions again welled up inside her. This place, this little metal restaurant, had survived! And she was certain that a part of Lori was alive in it as well. She would keep the bracelet safe as long as she lived, and with it, her memories of Lori. With tears hanging in her preternatural red eyes, Jennifer walked up the steps and opened the door to the diner.
Jennifer Danver, the living dead girl with tears clouding her vision, paid no attention to Wilson Fare who was stopped on the sidewalk holding a briefcase. Inside, Jennifer was intent on finding Amy behind the counter. She didn’t look toward the booths where Barbara Yokam studied her menu, or further back where Shaun Palmer and Burton Russ talked about the recent news of the city.
Chapter V: Hell Finds Daddy-O’s Diner
Wilson was the first of the five to notice the commotion just past the diner. Something was happening near the intersection of 17th and Maple street but his view was mostly obscured by an old apartment building called the "Crestwood". It was a badly damaged building still on the city's long list of places to be demolished following the Rikti war. It sat next to the diner and took up the corner at 17th and Maple. From what he could see, a nightmarish hoard of filthy and twisted men and women seemed to have suddenly appeared. Just as suddenly, they were engaged in battle with several costumed heros. The sights and sounds of superhuman struggle filled the early morning air. Wilson ran into the shadowy parking lot behind the diner, to change into his Swan suit. He was just powering up the suit when the explosion occurred.
Instantly, Wilson felt the concussion on his chest and heard the thunderous roar of the Crestwood building coming down. The sight of the building's wall crashing down upon the far end of the packed diner nearly made him vomit. The end of the diner was crushed and folded under like a discarded aluminum can. Immediately, he could hear muffled screams from within the diner.
Inside the diner, the patrons were unaware of the events on the street corner. To them, the collapse of the Crestwood building came literally from nowhere. Jennifer was just sitting down at the counter with Amy near the diner's center. Amy was taking Lori's bracelet from her pocket. Burton and Shaun were preparing to leave the diner, but were still in their favorite booth. Barbara Yokam had just decided what to order. It was at that moment that the earth shaking roar occurred, and the front portion of the diner was buried under tons of brick and steel. This was followed by choking dust everywhere. A fire suddenly glowed bright through the smoke and dust. The gas line had ruptured sending flame spewing from the kitchen area of the diner. Despite the hour, the all-night diner was still full of patrons. Panic and confusion spread inside the cramped eatery.
Each of the heroes instantly knew what they had to do. Outside, the Swan flew over the building to the undamaged end of the diner trying to help the patrons get out. Ignoring the fact that Burton Russ might learn of his superhuman abilities, Jack Rabbit kicked out a window and began taking patrons out. Burton never even noticed Shaun's actions. He was too busy activating his force field to hold back the gushing flames from behind the counter. Living Dead Girl didn't know why the flames were being held at bay in such an unnatural manner, but she didn't care. She leaped over the counter and grabbed Amy and the hapless cook. She smashed open the rear door and leaped to safety with flames gushing through the door behind her.
Under the rubble at the crushed end of the diner, the Blue Ox found herself suddenly buried. She was momentarily confused by the surrounding debris, darkness and cries for help that came from all around her. Then, regaining her wits, she strained to stand upright. After what felt to her like eternity, she burst through the collapsed diner wall and the rubble covering it.
For over an hour the five strangers worked to save the patrons of Daddy-O's. Swan's ability to fly proved critical in getting those hurt the worst to the hospital. Jack Rabbit used his super leap ability to move some away from the wreckage and to medical help. Templar and Living Dead Girl doused the fire and then went back into the diner over and over to free those who were unable to escape. Blue Ox's incredible strength freed those pinned under the biggest pieces of the collapsed wall, and her medical experience helped stabilize those who were hurt the worst.
Chapter VI: Five Wild Heroes
When all of the patrons were out of the diner and taken to safety, five exhausted, scorched and bleeding strangers sat on the curb outside of the damaged diner. The fight on the street corner had either ended or long since moved to another location. Only a handful of local residents remained standing under the working street lamps, still looking on. For the first time the heroes had a chance to talk, to get a better look at one another. Each person introduced himself or herself by their hero name. Jack Rabbit and Templar each laughed in dismay at their mutual ignorance of the other’s identity. The Swan tried his best to explain to the others what had happened on the adjacent street corner. Blue Ox insisted on checking over each hero to make sure they were not injured too badly. She finally gave up trying to examine Jack Rabbit, who stubbornly refused to let her touch him. Living Dead Girl suddenly, without saying a word, stood up and rushed quickly back into the diner. The others, concerned for her, called out for her to come back. She paid them no heed, but she returned a short time later holding a dusty gold bracelet. Without saying a word, she sat down beside the Blue Ox and stared blankly at the charms on the band. No one dared ask about the jewelry; it was obvious to all of them that it held sentimental value to the strange looking girl.
Finally, the crowds dispersed back into their homes and the street was quiet. The morning sun was beginning to make an amber glow on the eastern horizon. With tears in his eyes, Templar stood before the other four heroes. “Tonight,” he said, “we were here to help these people. There was a time in the past when no one was there to save...” His voice cracked a bit and he cleared his throat, then continued, with an angry tone. “Madness still holds this city... my city, in it’s grip. From what I have learned of each of you here, we are all alone in this place. That’s why we were here tonight. I am convinced that together we could make a difference; a difference to this city and it’s people... and maybe to each other.” He straightened himself and continued. “I will give each of you the address of my apartment. Meet me there tomorrow evening and we will start a new chapter in our lives - together.”
Jack Rabbit sneered at Templar and sarcastically snapped, “Touching Burton... Very touching. You’re breaking my heart!” He stabbed his chest with his thumb saying, “I can take care of myself!” Blue Ox shot Jack Rabbit a look of disdain, but said nothing.
“The choice is yours,” said Templar. “If you wish to join me, meet me tomorrow evening. I will be waiting.” He began to walk away. The other four heroes slowly stood and were starting to walk away. A solitary little boy had who had been watching from across the street gathered his nerve and ran to the group. He was still wearing his worn and dirty pajamas. “That was wild!” he said. With his tired eyes gleaming with excitement, he continued; “I saw how you saved all those people! You’re all wild! What’s your team’s name?” Each of the heroes chuckled at the child’s assumption. Finally, Wilson pulled off his right glove and shook the boy’s hand. “We’re... the...Wild Five!” said Fare sarcastically. The Swan’s tone was lost on the little boy. He ran back to the doorway of this home yelling, “The Wild Five! The Wild Five! I just met the Wild Five!” The five tired heroes smiled at one another and then walked away, each in a different direction.
CHAPTER VI-b Living Dead Girl's Story Continues...
Jennifer walked away from the smouldering ruins of Daddy-O’s Diner. She gripped Lori’s bracelet so hard that blood trickled from between her fingers. It was a short distance back to her squalid apartment, but she didn’t feel like going home yet. Although she was exhausted, the adrenaline pumped through her veins (metaphorically speaking) and compelled her to find more action before the sun came up. And if there was one thing she was certain to find in the back alleys of Paragon City, it was action.
It wasn’t long before she came across a small gang of thugs. Observing them from a low rooftop, she watched them ready their weapons in preparation for storming a liquor store. Four semi-automatic handguns and a shotgun, easy pickings for Living Dead Girl. She leapt from her vantage point without a sound, launching herself at the five gang members.
Landing with pinpoint precision, she knocked the shotgun out of its owner’s hands with her foot and brought her elbow down on his head. The shotgun discharged as it hit the ground, blasting harmlessly into a nearby wall. Shocked by the loud noise, not to mention the appearance of the strange woman from above, the startled thugs hesitated. Taking full advantage, Jennifer wheeled her right leg up into the chin of the nearest brute before throwing a punch into the throat of the next. Reaching under her coat, she pulled out one of her energy pistols. In a rare act of mercy, she flicked it onto a low level setting with her thumb before blasting it into the chest of her third victim. With two left she leapt into the air and pushed herself off the wall, powering a vicious kick into the temple of the penultimate thug. She spun around to face her final opponent only to see him ready for her – pointing his gun straight at her head. It had been a long time since Jennifer had made a mistake of this magnitude, and she had paid for the last one with her life. She braced herself for the imminent barrage when a blast of light illuminated the alleyway. Startled, she took advantage of the distraction and leapt to one side, ready to react. To her surprise, the thug slumped onto the ground, the back of his jacket smouldering from the after effects of an energy blast. She frowned as she recognised the unmistakeable silhouette of Templar, one of the heroes she had met earlier that night.
She frowned as the superhero approached her.
“I would have dodged those bullets,” she scowled, “You weren’t needed. Or wanted.”
Templar tinkered with his metal arms, collapsing them down to their standard form.
“I thought you might appreciate some help. You look as tired as I feel.”
“I always look this way. Why did you follow me, Paladin?”
“It’s Templar, and you knew that. I saw your face back at Daddy-O’s. You’re not coming tomorrow, are you?”
“You got a lie detector in those things?” she said, pointing at his prosthetics, “No, I’m not going to be a part of your little team. You’ll have to be the Wild4.”
“Actually I was thinking of adding one of those,” he said, smiling to himself, “Let me guess, you’re a lone wolf? You don’t play well with others? Tell me something I don’t know. You think you’re alone, that you’re one totally alone. I used to think the same thing too – a lot of us did.”
“Something tells me that my story is a little different to most.”
“Have you looked around you? My arms were torn from my body by the Rikti. Did you see the Blue Ox? She’s not a mutant, she wasn’t born looking like that, but she’s doing what she can to help. We all have our burdens to bear, and we carry on anyway. It’s life, and we try to get through it with as little complaining as possible.”
“It’s life. Therein lies the problem.” a trace more bitterness than usual entered Jennifer’s voice, “Those rods got a sense of touch?”
“Uh, yeah. Actually they’re seven times more sensitive than…”
“That’s great Sparky. See if you can feel this.”
Jennifer pulled her mask off, brought Templar’s hand up to her neck and placed his fingertip on her jugular. A few seconds later he pulled it quickly away.
“Oh my god.” He staggered backwards.
“Right there with you.”
“You haven’t got a pulse!”
“Uh-huh.”
“What the hell? Are you dead?”
“Did my name not give it away? Living Dead Girl?”
“I thought it was just something to scare the criminals, like The Bloodmaster or Sin Eater!”
“No. I’m a full fledged zombie.” Jennifer’s brow furrowed as she approached the nervous Templar, “I’m the thing that monster movies are made about.” She brought her face up to his mask, “The walking dead. A reanimated corpse. An abomination of nature.”
She jerked forward suddenly, Templar jumped backwards. Jennifer sneered as she put her mask back on, and started to walk away.
“You still want someone like me on your super-team?”
Templar gathered his wits and started after her.
“Yes, actually. I’ve seen stranger things in this city. Just because you heart’s not beating, it doesn’t mean it’s not in the right place.”
“I can’t believe you just said that,” she laughed, still with her back to him “Is it one of your powers to come up with clichés like that?”
Templar smiled despite himself.
“What can I say? I’m a big Statesman fan. My offer is still there. We could benefit from someone with powers like yours.”
Jennifer froze.
“Powers?”
“Yes! You saw how our powers all complemented each other! The five of us could do anything together!”
Living Dead Girl slowly turned around to face Templar.
“I’ll come to your meeting. No promises.”
“Great! We’ll be waiting for you.”
“Just let me make one thing clear,” she reached into her pocket and brought out a gold bracelet, streaked with her own blood, “This belonged to the last person I cared about. She’s dead, and unlike me she’s not still walking around. I have no desire to make new friends, to connect with other people. If I do decide to join, you’re my co-workers, nothing more.”
“Your choice.”
Jennifer started to walk away again
“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Templar shouted after her.
“Is that Rabbit guy gonna be there?”
“I think so!”
“He bugs me.”
She turned the corner and left Templar’s view.
“He’s not so bad.” he said to himself.
Chapter VII: Epilogue
The Swan, Blue Ox, Living Dead Girl, and even Jack Rabbit met at Templar’s penthouse apartment the next day. It was the first of many meetings for the five lonely but hopeful people. Each one made their way into the stylish main room accompanied by one of Burton’s servants. Each thought it strange that Templar was not there to greet them. After they were all seated, Templar appeared through a doorway across the room. He approached the group slowly. His face clearly revealed his sadness. “They tore down Daddy-O’s today...” said Templar, his voice trailing off. The room was heavy with silence for a moment. Jack Rabbit finally broke the silence; “Big deal,” he said, his harsh tone failing to hide his own sadness, “I never liked that hell hole anyway.”
The End (... of the beginning!)
