SUMMER CAMP II : TRAINING

“.... You don’t have Computer Mouse’s automatic skillset generator, Wireless. You can call up a railgun from a game, or a sniper rifle, or a shock baton, but you have to learn how to use them or they won’t do you any good at all. Now let’s try this again...”

“...Skittles? Skittles?!” 
“Toldja he’d come up with something involving rainbows...”

“...Seriously, Ferric? Why do I get superspeed when I borrow your powers???”
“How should I know? What worries me is what happens if someone -does- hit me with a suppressor at some point. Will I slow down?...”

*   * *   * *

The hikers were dressed in cadet uniforms for the most part, while the two leaders wore woodland camo rather than their more formal uniforms. Indigo sat down on a fallen log, and gestured to the rest to find their own seats. She considered them for a minute, judging who was tired by a two-hour hike and who was not. “Most of you could be in better condition, but you are at least fitter than most of your contemporaries. Now. Who can find their way back to camp?” Most of the kids raised their hands, though Adrian looked uncertain. “Easy enough. But. What if the camp was an enemy stronghold that you had just escaped from. How would you get to Pelton?”

Ferric shook her head. “It’s north-northwest from here. I’d have to find a bridge. No way I can swim the river.”

The caracal smiled at her. “Fair enough. Upstream or down?”

Merrow answered this time. “Down. You’re nearly always more likely to find civilization at the mouth of a river than up in the mountains.”

“And if there aren’t any rivers?

“Then you’re in trouble, because you need water.” Ferric said. “You need water, shelter, and food, in that order. Pick a likely direction and keep going until you find a watercourse. Downhill if there’s a choice.”

Indigo nodded. “Good answers. How do you make sure you’re headed in a consistent direction and not walking in circles?”

Wireless asked, “Do we have a compass?”

Pooka chuckled and pointed. “North is -that- way. I’ve got -that- much of my father’s power.” 

The caracal grinned. “Convenient. But if you don’t have one, whether in your head or not, then what you need to do is wake before dawn, orient yourself on the North Star, and pick a landmark on the horizon to aim for during the day. Or you can move at night if you want. I’d recommend that if you find yourself in a desert.” 

“It’d be a lot easier if you can fly, of course.” Phenomenon added. “I try to keep one powerset stored that lets me do that.”

“Ah, but if you’re escaping from an enemy, you can’t depend on having your powers. You might be wearing a suppressor collar or something along those lines.”

Several of the kids looked worried at that idea. Phenomenon was the one who asked, “Is that going to be part of the course?”

Indigo looked thoughtful. “It should be. I shall have to see if we can do that.”

Pooka glanced at his sister. “Dealanach wears one while he does strength training. Says it’s more effective that way. He doesn’t when he practices with his main powers, of course.”

Ferric nodded. “I probably should figure out what would happen in my case. If Phenom says she gets superspeed when she borrows mine... what exactly is going on? I’d just as soon not find out the hard way.”

Techrat nodded. “Best to do it under controlled conditions, Ferric. If they can’t swing it here, remind me when we get back to Colmaton.”

Indigo nodded. “A very good idea.” She nodded to Artemis. “Over to you.”

The hound nodded. “Now then. Today’s survival lesson is going to be the second of the trio that Ferric mentioned. Shelter. Water isn’t an issue in the East, but we will be doing a desert survival day at some point. Have to schedule that with Vortex. Fire is important, and if you have your utility belt, you should have a lighter with you. If not, you have to resort to older methods.”

Ferric smiled. “I learned how to use flint and steel during that one classified episode.” She flexed her claws. “And I’ve always got the steel with me...”

*   * *   * * 

“So, who’s had martial arts training already?” Minutevixen was dressed in a gi, as were the kids.

Ferric was leaning on her battle staff, with the rest of the kids gathered around her. “Black belt, third dan in bo-staff, black first dan in kendo. I’ve been working with Combat for a few years now, and he’s cleared me to teach a little bit of the basics. Plus, I’m pretty much immune to being hit.”

Pooka waved a hand. “Brown belt, as of May. Merrow’s only just started.”

“Hey, I’ve been promoted to Ninth Kyu. Not bad for someone who’s mainly at swim practice.”

Techrat nodded. “Brown’s where I am.” 

Phenomenon nodded. “Black belt, first dan, kung fu and judo.”

The rest were only just starting martial arts, or hadn’t started yet at all. The vixen nodded. “So, we have a pretty mixed group here. The more advanced students will be working with the Sergeant, that’ll be Pooka, Ferric, Phenomenon, and Techrat.” She waited while the two groups separated.“For the rest of you? Whether your primary powers are physical or not, you need to know some form of close-in fighting. If you’re working with strength, you need to know how to fight. Even if your powers let you work at range, you still need to have a backup in case of emergencies, and it’s good for physical conditioning as well.” She paused for questions, but none of the kids seemed to have any problems with the requirement. <Of course, the California kids have probably heard the stories of what happened to Mystic Cat and Doe Dynamo when they tried to blow off their training.> She continued after the brief pause. “There are lots of possible schools of fighting, some with weapons, some without. You can go with a staff, or a sword if you wish. Indigo and I both use swords as well as pistols, and Artemis prefers a bow. We will try you out on various styles and weapons for now, to see what suits each of you best. Those with advanced skills will be given the opportunity to add new options to what you know already.”

Phenomenon raised her hand. “Does that include firearms?”

Minutevixen nodded. “It does. If nothing else, our opponents often use them and you should be familiar with them.”

“Aren’t they kind of... y’know, dangerous?”

“They can be. But it depends on who you are up against, and what you have them loaded with. Rubber bullets can be used fairly safely against normals, after all. But if I had to take down Ferric? I’d want a heavy rifle loaded with explosive bullets. She shrugs off anything less." The raccoon just grinned at that. "And there are villains at least as durable as she is.” The look on the young Pomeranian’s face, Minutevixen decided, was that of someone who’d just had her nose rubbed in something nasty. <Honestly. You’d think that someone in the Bureau would understand that the bad guys ignore the rules.>   

Wireless was grinning. “I should probably learn how to use all kinds of weapons. Indigo was telling me on the first day, I may be able to pull anything out of the Net, but I need to be able to use it when I’ve got it. I’ve got a limit on how effective pulling people out can be.” She focused, and was suddenly holding a gladius and scutum, the standard sword and shield of a Roman legionary soldier. “Looks pretty bad-ass, right?” A moment later she fumbled and dropped the shield. “But I can’t even begin to use it. Not yet.”

“Well, we’ll have to see what we can do to fix that. Though you probably want to go with something more up to date first.”

*   * *   * * 

Sergeant Smash started by doing a quick run through a basic kata with each of his four. “All right. I’ll keep you up to speed while you’re here. Looks like Combat’s as good a teacher as Morningstar says. But part of the reason behind this camp idea was to get you used to powered fighting.” He looked at Ferric. “Shorty, I want you to spar with young Harvey here.” He turned his permanent scowl on Pooka. “Harvey, I want you to use your powers while you’re sparring. If you can do this ghost thing properly, she shouldn’t be able to touch you. Let’s see how it works out.”

Pooka nodded. “Before we start..." He looked to Ferric. “May I?”

She frowned for a moment, then realized what he was asking and held her arm out. “Now that you mention it, I’m kinda curious myself.” 

“You’re high density, I understand?” He went ghost and waved his hand through hers. “Did you feel that?”

“Just a little. Kinda tingled. Is that normal?”

“Only for armor plate. We visited the USS Massachusetts memorial a couple weeks back, and I tested it out. Really dense stuff is a bit of an effort to get through. And I don’t even want to think about taking you with me. You’re way too heavy.”

Ferric grinned. “I promise I won’t ask you if my shorts make my butt look fat.” She giggled as Pooka’s response to that was to go invisible. “Good answer.”   

The wolverine cleared his throat. “Enough with the gold-bricking, you two. Get on with it.” Pooka reappeared. “Bow.” Both combatants complied. “Begin.”

Ferric started with a defensive stance, feet planted and arms up to deflect. Pooka jabbed, and stayed solid for the first exchange of moves, ghosting only when the raccoon counterattacked and his own deflection of her blow failed. He ducked down and rolled through her legs, bounced up and planted a side kick directly into her back before she could turn. The Sergeant called “Hold. Point to Harvey.”

Pooka chuckled. “Only because I ghosted before she could finish -her- strike. And I think I hurt myself worse than I hurt her with that kick.”

Ferric grinned back. “Sneaky trick, though. How does anyone -stop- you from sliding through like that?”

“There are ways. Let’s just say I wouldn’t try it on Voltage Vixen.” He grinned. “For her, I’d do this.” He vanished in a puff of mist and reappeared behind Ferric again, merely tagging her with a hand since they were still on hold.

The raccoon snorted. “You’re still not hurting me, at least. But at this rate you’ll put me down from getting dizzy trying to catch you.”

“I’ll accept that as a win.”

Techrat nodded. “Might as well. Even Combat can’t do much to her, though he’s strong enough to make her notice. Just don’t try a leg sweep. She’s way too heavy to knock over, unless you’re someone like Ranger or Medic Mouse.”

Ferric grinned again. “That’s why Combat uses me for a training dummy.” She nodded to the Sarge. “Ready.”

Pooka set himself again. “Ready.”

The wolverine nodded. “Begin.”

*   * *   * * 

Buck Rocket hip-leaned against the desk at the front of the room. “So what was the difference in operations before and after the Bureau was set up? And for that matter, why did the US sign onto the Bureau Treaty? Techrat?”

“The big problem before the Bureau was vigilantism. Supers may have been trying to stop super-villains, but there was no accountability and no training. There was the Bayou Bunny incident where a well-meaning super caused serious loss of life by not understanding how his powers would affect a ship already in trouble, and several cases where supers made false arrests but were not able to be held accountable. Property damage from untrained use of powers was a problem, too.”

The deer nodded. “Bayou Bunny was after the Treaty, but there were several similar incidents before then, true. All serious considerations. And there was one other big problem. Anyone?” He nodded to Ferric.

“Evidence chain of custody?”

Buck smiled. “Exactly. Most of the supers before the Bureau were unfamiliar with police procedures, and more than one supervillain had to be released for lack of usable evidence, or because lawyers would successfully argue that a masked super’s testimony was unusable due to the concealment of identity. The Bureau allowed for accountability in that regard without having to publicly reveal identities, which made convictions much easier to obtain.”

Phenomenon asked “So why do we still have Unregistered heroes, then?”

Buck looked around the class. “It’s a good question. Many countries don’t allow it. Why do we?”

Pooka answered this time. “Three words. Bill of Rights.”

“Exactly. Although lawyers argue about it, being lawyers, the wording of the Constitution puts it above treaties - the US government is not allowed to make or enforce treaties that abrogate those rights. You can’t require supers to register, or be treated differently under the law. They -can- forbid vigilante action by -anyone-, powered or not, but an Unregistered hero can still administer first aid, provide emergency assistance, defend a fellow citizen from a criminal, or make a citizen’s arrest... but they don’t have the broader law enforcement powers that Bureau agents do. Due to the nature of super-threats, we don’t need warrants in emergency situations, but we have to justify warrantless actions after the fact. Often to people like Preceptor.” Techrat rolled his eyes, and Ferric snickered. Buck grinned at them. “I know. But Internal Affairs is there for a reason, and that reason is to keep the rest of us honest. Even if they are officious jerks about it more often than not.”

Phenomenon snorted. “Sis has a few other names for Preceptor…”

“And that’s why Internal Affairs people don’t operate alone. Now, what about government service supers...?”

*   * *   * * 

“... I have to admit, Merrow, I’ve never seen a water slide before that didn’t use anything -except- water...”

*   * *   * * 

Adrian and Pooka were the first through the dinner line, the little gray goat listening to the rabbit explaining the rules of this ‘baseball’ game. He wasn’t sure he understood all of it, but it made the rabbit happy, and wasn’t nearly as stressful as keeping Nibble happy. He claimed the seat next to Ferric’s oversized chair and took a bite of his burger as Pooka settled in next to him. “So why do you have to wear gloves? Wouldn’t that be too warm in the summer?”

The rabbit chuckled. “It’s not that kind of a glove. It’s more like a big webbed pocket that you wear on your hand so you can reach farther.” He paused at the boggled look on the youngster’s face. “I’ll show you mine when we get back to our rooms.”

Chromatic snickered as he took the spot on the rabbit’s right. “That’s what she said.” 

Pooka just rolled his eyes at the chipmunk. “Tastalai. Leave the little guy out of your dirty jokes.” 

Chromatic shrugged back. “Wouldn’t call him -little- after that demonstration this afternoon. He really -does- get bigger than Ferric.”

“Hadn’t you seen it before? I thought you were staying at Colmaton Base.”

“I am, but he doesn’t often shift.”

Adrian mumbled through a mouthful of food. “Don’ like to scare people.” Ferric arrived at that point, carrying her usual serving tray’s worth of food, and he smiled up at her. “-Ferric- isn’t scared of my cursed form.”

The raccoon smiled and tousled his hair. “Nope. You’re strong enough to survive being my boyfriend when you grow up. Wouldn’t do to be scared of a potential boyfriend.” She sighed. “It’s not like the list is going to be very long..." Adrian blushed and busied himself with his food.

Techrat and Merrow showed up next. Ferric gave the rabbit doe a raised eyebrow. “Where are the other two?”

“Still primping after the swimming session. I used my powers to dry off quick and snuck out. They didn’t really want to swim, they just wanted to hang around with me and ask questions.” 

Ferric just shook her head at that. “Joy.”

Pooka frowned. “Questions about what?”

Merrow snickered. “Here’s a clue, big bro. Techie already -has- a girlfriend, and Chromatic’s gay. What do you -think- they were asking about?”

Ferric giggled at the look on his face. “And with that in mind, we’d better set the stage before they show up. Techrat? You sit -there-. She pointed at the space directly across from Pooka. “And Merrow, you take the far end of the table. That way the remaining spaces are equally distant from him. Techrat, you are -not- allowed to move.”

The rat sighed. “If they start hitting on -me-, -you- are going to explain it to Nandi.”

She held up her hand, fingers up with the pinky and thumb touching. “Scout’s Honor. I’ll take full responsibility.”   
  
Merrow settled in, smiling at Chromatic. “Just for the record, Jeremy... I think you’re cute. If you ever change your mind about being gay…?”

Chromatic rolled his eyes again. “It’s not something that I -decided- to be, Brigid. I just -am-.”

“That wasn’t... sorry. You’re right. That -was- a pretty dumb thing to say. But I still think you’re cute. And I’d like to be friends, at least?”

“That, I think we can manage.”

Phenomenon and Wireless Mouse finally arrived, fashionably late. They eyed the remaining seats, and Phenomenon started with “Jeremy, could you - “

Ferric cleared her throat. “No, he couldn’t. And neither could Jacob. Don’t make me throw a penalty flag.”

Wireless snickered; the mouse had already snagged the seat between Techrat and Merrow. The Pomeranian had to squeeze her plate in at the edge of Ferric’s rapidly growing stack of empties. “I was just gonna -ask-.”

“And I’m just saying no. Level playing field, remember?”

“Fiiiine.”

The raccoon grinned. “And now that that’s settled, what did you think of the first day?”

Techrat grinned. “Definitely cool! I’ve already got four new birds for my life list. Feels good to be out of the city, too.”

“Definitely agree with you on that. Why do furs -volunteer- to live in cities?”

Phenomenon rolled her eyes at Ferric. “There’s so much more to -do- in a city!”

The raccoon shrugged. “I suppose, but there’s only so many times I need to visit museums in a year. And to be honest, live concerts don’t much interest me either. The seats are too small, and you get to see mistakes in action.”

Wireless grinned back and said, “But there’s...” She paused and started a three-two-one countdown with her fingers. Phenomenon, Merrow, and Chromatic all chimed in as she hit zero. “SHOPPING!”

Ferric rolled her eyes. “Be still, my heart.”

Techrat just shook his head at Chromatic. “Traitor.”

“The difference between mels and femmes,” Pooka added, “Is that when a mel goes window shopping he comes home with a window.”

Chromatic chuckled. “So what does that make me? Or Ferric, for that matter?”

Ferric grinned back. “The exceptions that prove the rule, I suspect.”

Techrat thought about it. “Given the sample size, we’re looking at an actual correlation of between two-thirds and five-sixths between gender and attitude toward shopping, to a ninety percent confidence interval.”

This met mostly with blank stares. Ferric snickered and took the opportunity to scarf down another pair of burgers. Phenomenon nodded to herself after a moment. Merrow finally broke the silence. “And that means what, exactly?”

Techrat smiled. “It means that statistically speaking, Pooka’s right. Assuming that we’re an unbiased sample.”

Ferric snickered again. “We’re supers. How likely is -that-?”

Phenomenon grinned. “Probably just slightly more likely than Preceptor suddenly deciding not to be a perv?”

Merrow frowned at that. “So who’s Preceptor? You mentioned him in the Ethics class, too.”

“Head of Internal Affairs at Colmaton.” Techrat’s tone was contemptuous. “He’s stuffy, arrogant, pervy, and keeps trying to throw Computer Mouse’s past in her face because she ignores him when he tries to hit on her. Fortunately, he also thinks of himself as a lawyer when he isn’t.”

Ferric nodded. “And he sounds like the Gestapo officer from that old Stalag Thirteen sitcom. He’s not bad in the field, oddly enough. I’ve worked with him a couple times doing SAR. But they really should take him out of IA and put him back into field work.” She went back to eating in earnest, and the rest followed her example for a bit.

Pooka finally broke the silence. “All right. It has come to my attention that certain parties have been pumping my sister for information about me.” Phenomenon started to give Ferric a suspicious look. “And no, it wasn’t your referee. Merrow told me herself.”

The mouse and the dog started glaring at Merrow instead. “Hey, he -is- my brother. I figured he should get a warning, just in case I was wrong about his having a steady.”

“Which I don’t. But I don’t know either of you yet. Let’s try to be friends first, okay? I appreciate the compliment, such as it is, but four weeks isn’t going to be enough time to decide between you anyway. Let’s just see what happens.”

The two looked at each other, while Techrat ostentatiously moved his chair back to stay out of the line of fire. Wireless shrugged first. “I’m fine with that.”

Phenomenon grudgingly nodded. “Deal. The competition is off.”

Ferric smiled. “Glad to hear it. It was going to get in the way during the teamwork classes, anyway.”

“So you’ve both been given the short version of what -I- like. How about you...?”

*   * *   * * 

“... No, Adrian, that’s just a screech owl. I know they sound scary, but they’re only about this big. Nothing to be frightened of. Now please go back to bed...”

*   * *   * *

Buck, Artemis, and Indigo were waiting in the quadrangle after breakfast the next day. Indigo smiled at the kids when they arrived. “We’re going to do a tactics and teamwork exercise this morning. For this first set, we’re going to do mels versus femmes for a capture the flag scenario. Playing area will be five hundred yards along the river -” She paused as Merrow raised her hand. “Yes, Merrow, the first ten yards offshore will be considered in bounds. The playing area will be the wooded area bordered by the river to the west and north, extending more or less one hundred and fifty yards east to the edge of the cleared area here where the buildings are. We’ve set up yellow markers along the boundaries. Vertical boundaries are a hundred yards up and ten yards down. The object of the exercise is to locate the enemy flag and bring it to your base area before the other side does it to you. The rules are simple. One: Don’t leave the boundaries, or you have to sit out the rest of the round. Two: Don’t injure anyone on the other side. Three: Specifically for Phenomenon, you can’t borrow powers from us, just your teammates and your opponents and what’s in your long term storage. Four: You are not allowed to carry your own flag. You can grab it to make someone from the other side drop it, but you can’t carry it away from that spot. Any questions?”

Ferric grinned. “Can I -sit- on our flag?”

The three adults conferred briefly before Indigo answered. “Given the rules as stated, yes. Of course, that means Cursed can do the same for his flag.” 

Phenomenon cleared her throat. “Let’s risk a foul, Ferric, before you give away any more ideas.”

Techrat grinned. “Not that we wouldn’t have thought of that one ourselves. What -is- the penalty for an infraction?”

“Same as crossing the boundary. That player is out for the rest of the round.”

Chromatic nodded. “Do we get to use communicators?”

“This is supposed to be a tactical exercise for super-combat, so yes, you may use them. There’s a channel for each of your teams, a private channel for the referees, and one for all-hands announcements.” 

Looks were exchanged among the members of both teams. “Then we’re ready.”

Phenomenon nodded. “So are we. Lead us to our flags!”

*   * *   * *

Phenomenon started the planning session while Artemis led them to their starting point. “All right, ladies. How do we do this?”

Ferric started tallying up strengths. “They’ve got all the flyers, unless you’ve got a flight power stored up, Phenom. We’ve got the only aquatic, though, which means the river is ours. If we can get their flag to Merrow, she can get it back without interference.”

Merrow frowned. “What about Techrat? Can he submerge?”

“Not that I know of. The armor’s waterproof enough to handle rain and such, but I don’t think it’s designed to be submersible. Point is, they’ve got aerial capability. How do we scout for their flag?”

“Drones.” Wireless grinned. “I can call up a fleet of them, and I -do- know how to operate them.”

Phenomenon grinned. “Just don’t launch them from our base. We don’t need them tracking us down that way.”

Merrow nodded. “And we’ve got to counter my brother. I’m thinking we should let you be the guard, Phenom. Ferric can sit on the flag all she wants, but Pooka can sneak up and ghost it out from under her. You can copy his power and grab it while it’s intangible, keep him from getting away.”

“He’ll be better at it, though.”

“S’okay. You won’t need to ghost it yourself, you’ll just need to be able to touch it while intangible. Plus you can sense when he’s near even when he’s invisible, since you’ll know when you start getting his powers.”

“Hmm. Good point. And that means you’ll be heading out to counter Cursed, Ferric?”

“Makes sense. I think I’m stronger than he is, so if I can grab it, get it to Merrow, and then keep Adrian occupied while you get it back home… Wireless, you’ll be running interference with Techrat and Chromatic, then?”

“One of them, at least. Not sure I can handle both. I can call up simulacra of heroes and control them, but the more power they have, the less time I can keep them in the real world.”

Phenomenon frowned in thought. “Hmmm. How about decoys? Can you do decoys of us?”

“Should be able to. We’ve all been in the news now and then.”

“Good. Do the drones first to spot their base, and then switch to decoys to keep ‘em guessing where we actually are. Ferric, you move up on land, Merrow, you’re in the river. And I’ll watch our flag.” She grinned at Artemis. “As soon as we find out where it is.”

*   * *   * *

Pooka was going over options with his teammates at the same time. “So, we’re looking at the Peninsular Campaign and unfortunately, we’re the Confederates. Terrain’s obscuring, and there’s a naval presence we can’t challenge. My little sister is -not- to be trifled with in the water. We do have control of the air, at least. With even a little luck we can find their base before they find ours.”   

“Can -you- fly, Pooka?”

“Hmm? No.”

“Why not? You don’t sink into the ground when you go intangible, do you? What’s different about walking into the air?”

Pooka stared at the chipmunk. “I... am going to have to test that. Not here and now, though. For today, assume I can’t. Anyway... where was I?”

Techrat grinned. “Finding their base first.”

“Right. So the question is, who will they leave to guard it? We can risk leaving ours unattended if they don’t know where it is right away, they have to assume we’ll find theirs. Ferric can probably stop the rest of you, but not me. I’ll have trouble if they leave Phenomenon, though, since she can copy my powers and we’ll just end up in a wrestling match for the flag.”

“So? You’d still win, right?”

“Maybe not, Chromatic. Not if she’s got a strength or superspeed power stored away.”

“Ah. Good point.”

“So... send Cursed out to grab the flag? Or go for an aerial assault, maybe?

Techrat armored up. “I’ll head for their flag. Aerial assault. If it turns out they’ve left Ferric there, I still might be able to grab it - and I don’t have any physical powers for Phenomenon to steal. Cursed and Chromatic should guard the flag, and you can skulk around and maybe grab the flag if I’m distracting Ferric.”

Pooka nodded. “Sounds reasonable. You guys okay with that?”

Adrian nodded. “I just guard the flag, right?”

“Yep. You should probably get big, though.”

“Do I -have- to?”

Chromatic patted his shoulder. “We know it’s still you inside. We’re just playing a game of powered keep-away. But if Merrow finds you, you’ll want to be big enough not to get washed away.” 

*   * *   * *

Buck Rocket took his station, hovering over the center of the playing field. The rest of the teaching staff were scattered around the area, ready to intervene or make calls as needed, and Night Doctor was set up for first aid in case of accidents. Artemis reported in. “My team is in position.” Indigo reported the same a minute later.

Buck smiled to himself. “Go!”

*   * *   * *

“Go!” Ferric picked up Wireless and moved out at the signal, angling away from their flag until they were in sight of the yellow boundary markers. Once they were clear, Wireless settled down on a log and a flock of camera drones appeared around her, along with a control panel for the fleet. A moment later they started taking off to begin a search pattern. The girls had been given the northeastern end of the field where the river curved around the Academy, and Merrow drifted over to the water’s edge, keeping half an eye on Phenomenon while both of them watched the sky.

At the other end of the field, Chromatic shifted to yellow and began a superspeed patrol around their base, while Adrian shifted to his alternate form. Techrat activated his armor and took off to begin his own search pattern, and Pooka faded from view and started northeast to be ready to act when Techrat found the girls’ flag. 

“I think I know how the girls are searching. We’ve got at least a dozen of those little camera drones taking off and heading out in all directions.”

“Got it, Techrat,” Chromatic responded. “We’re under cover, so I suspect the girl’s flag will be as well. I’ll take the drones down as I find them. You focus on finding their base.”

“Roger, Chromatic.” He picked off two of them on his way, deliberately going for a pair that were -not- headed in the direction of their flag.

Ferric was watching the screens over the mouse’s shoulder when two of them went blank. “Techrat’s taken out a couple of our cameras, but is continuing to head toward our end of the field. Ready, Merrow?”

“Ready. It’s long range for me to reach our flag area with a water cannon, but I’ll manage.”

“Ten-four. I’ll head over to where Techrat zapped our drones, just in case it wasn’t a subterfuge. Keep me posted, Wireless.”

“Will do.”   

*   * *   * *

Wireless continued to monitor her drones as Ferric crashed off through the woods. She didn’t think that the boys’ flag was actually near where Techrat had shot down the pair; it was too close to their end of the field and too close to the river as well. <Most likely opposite ours, at least for the first run. So... hah. Yes, there we are.> She got back on their channel. “Ferric, I’m seeing Chromatic patrolling in the center of the north end of the field. He’s in superspeed mode at the moment... scratch that, he’s just shifted to fire, and... yep, there goes that drone. Phenom, Merrow? Techrat’s getting close to your position, and he’s flying just over the treetops. Get ready.”     

“It would be him. I can’t copy powers from an armor suit.”

Merrow chuckled. “That’s why I’m here. What do you have on tap?”

“Superspeed, charged up from Ferric. Still dunno why that works, but I’ve got it. I have flight stored from Buck Rocket last night. I’ve also got Ember’s fire power, Medic Mouse’s healing power, Laser Vixen’s eye beams, super strength from Ranger, and Slipstream’s aerokinesis. Can’t replace those at the moment, though, so I’d just as soon stick with the first two.” 

Merrow perked up her ears. “Well, he’s getting close. Get ready...”

*   * *   * *

Techrat smiled as a flash of orange caught his eye. “Got it. They’re near the top end of the field, about twenty-five, maybe thirty yards from the river. Looks like they’ve got Phenomenon on guard duty, this’ll be easy. Going in now.”

“Be careful, Techrat! That’s well within range for Merrow!”

“Don’t see her, Pooka. She’s probably-- ACK!”

The rabbit snorted laughter as Techrat discovered just what his little sister was capable of doing with an entire river at her disposal. “Don’t worry, men! They couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn at this -urrk-.” Now that he had the general location, he picked up his pace, going intangible and phasing right through trees and brush and poison ivy as he went.

*   * *   * *

<Just a little closer...> Merrow was hidden near the river’s edge, but sensitive ears and gaps in the leaves let her track the flying suit’s position. <Is he going to spot... yeah, there he goes.> The moment that Techrat spotted their flag was obvious from the shift in attitude of the suit. A moment later, he was tumbling through the sky, having been slammed by the equivalent of a high-pressure water cannon. She went to the all-hands frequency, giggling. “Hi, Techrat! Do you prefer the solid stream, or the massage-jet attachment?” She shifted the attack even as she spoke, the single stream replaced by several thinner pulsed streams that buffeted his flight armor and vastly complicated the job of compensating for the impact. Techrat tumbled in the air, unable to regain control until he’d fallen below treetop level. Unfortunately for him, he crashed into one of the trees in the process. “Umm... Buck--?”

The referee’s voice came over the channel “Hold!” He took a moment to double-check where the others were. “Phenomenon, I believe you said you had a healing power stored? Could you check on him quick?”

Techrat replied on the same channel. “I’m fine, just dizzy.”

Buck chuckled. “You heard him. Go! Techrat, ten second time out.”

“Awww..."

Pooka chuckled on the team channel. “Toldja not to underestimate her.”

*   * *   * *

At the other end of the field, Ferric grinned at Chromatic. The stop order had come through just as they’d spotted each other, and both were relieved that Techrat was intact. “And time out is over.” She started moving again, aiming fairly close to where the boy’s flag was. “Going to try to stop me?”

“Not here. Not by myself, at least. I doubt I could even if I shifted red, so we’ll let Adrian handle that. Good luck.” He zipped off, still in superspeed mode.

Ferric relayed the encounter to the rest of her team. “Still no sign of Pooka, I’m afraid. Wireless, I suspect Chromatic’s either looking for you or joining the attack on our base. Have you spotted their flag yet?”

“Just now. Adrian’s bulked up, he’s hard to miss. You’re on course, just veer a touch left. I’ll get ready for Chromatic.” The drones vanished, and a moment later a simulacrum of Crimson Cur appeared beside her. “Chromatic’s running at super speed. I need you to find him and keep him away from our flag.”

“Okay, Wireless! On it!” She took off in a blur of motion, leaves scattering in her wake. 

*   * *   * *

Merrow had pumped several thousand cubic feet of water out of the river in the course of shooting down Techrat, leaving behind a half-acre of soggy ground (and a few very confused fish) in the aftermath. Phenomenon trotted over to where he’d landed as he recovered from the attack. “Techrat? I’ve got a question real quick.” 

“Huh?” The armored young hero was still a bit dizzy and confused.

“How well do your sensors work through mud?”

“Wait, what?”

The Pomeranian giggled and tapped into the superspeed she’d borrowed. “Mudwrestling!” 

Before he could react, Jacob found his exterior cameras and audio pickups slathered in gooey mud. “No fair!” He took off again, crashing through some thinner branches as he gained altitude. His radar scanners still worked after a fashion and he aimed for the river, diving in to wash the mud off.

“Huh.” Phenomenon sounded a touch surprised on the team channel. “I guess he -is- submersible after all.”

Merrow chuckled. “Well, you -do- live next to the Pacific Ocean. Makes sense that he could deal with it. The mud was a nice touch, though.”

“Uh-oh.”

“What?”

“Keep Techrat busy. Your brother’s nearby.” She dropped back towards their flag, trying to gauge the rabbit buck’s distance by how strong his powers felt, and switched over to the all-hands channel for a moment. “Buck, are we allowed to -touch- our own flags as long as we don’t move them?”

“That’s an affirmative. Keep a close eye on that, would you, Artemis?”

“Will do, Buck.”

Phenomenon retreated and put her hand on the flagstaff, and then went intangible with it. <Woof. This -is- harder than it looks.>

Pooka paused at the edge of the clearing. <Okay... do I go in and wrestle, or wait until she tires out?> He whispered into the pickup. “Chromatic, what’s our status?”

“Ferric’s just gotten here. I don’t know how long we can hold her.”

“Roger. Going in.”

*   * *   * *

Ferric chuckled. “So when you said ‘not here’, you meant you’d help Adrian defend the flag, eh?”

“We have to keep you here until Pooka can make it back with your flag. The two of you are the most dangerous for this kind of game. He’s hard to touch, and you’re the strongest of us. So..." Chromatic grinned, his aura shifted to blue, and a force-field dome flickered into existence around the two of them and the flag. “We go on the defensive.”

“So I get to do a drum solo on your shield and we see how long it can stand up to the punishment. Looks like a good test for you, anyway. Shall we get started?”

“Well, there’s no rush as far as I’m concerned.”

Ferric chuckled. “Let the thumping begin.” She balled her fists together and slammed them into the shield. 

*   * *   * *

“He’s out there, somewhere close. Trouble is, while both being intangible means we can touch each other, both of us being invisible doesn’t mean we can see each other.” 

“He can’t hold both of his powers at the same time for long. Stay intangible, there’ll be incoming.” A moment later, a barrage of water swept the flag area. “Did that work?”

“Not yet. Keep trying.” A second barrage slammed down, then faltered. “Merrow? Merrow?!”

*   * *   * *

Techrat had taken barely a minute to clean off the mud, but had stayed submerged while he sorted out what was going on. “Computer, scan for signals. Isolate active channels in Bureau assigned bands.” His onboard controller beeped in response and started its assignment while he resurfaced and sorted out his location. <Ack! That was close!> He was drifting toward the center of the river and quickly moved back toward the bank so he wouldn’t stray out of bounds.. <And there’s Merrow.> He fired his stunner beams at her just as she started the second water barrage. “Hah. Gotcha.” 

His computer beeped again. Unknown active channels identified. 847.1 Megahertz and 855.4 Megahertz.

He chuckled to himself, and had his computer call Buck’s cell phone. 

“Buck Rocket.”

“Hi, Buck. It’s Techrat. Am I allowed to tap into their communications?”

Buck chuckled. “Theirs, yes. Ours, no. I see you’re being -really- cagey about this.” 

“Hey, the teams aren’t always going to be set up this way. But in general, real opponents might be talking, but in reality there aren’t referees?”

“Exactly. We’re on 855.4 - you can listen in on anything else.”

“Roger that.” He lifted out of the water and floated over to Merrow to make sure she was all right.

*   * *   * *

Artemis dragged her fingers through her hair, trying to get her unexpectedly drenched mop of red curls out of her face. <Why did I volunteer to referee this?> The sudden end of the water barrage was a surprise, though a welcome one. “What happened to Merrow?”

Buck chuckled. “She forgot about Techrat. He stunned her, and she’s currently floating face down in the river.”

“What?!? Get her out of there!”

“Artemis, she -breathes- underwater. She’s not in any danger, and Techrat’s already going over to check on her.”

“Kala. I’ll keep an eye on -- ti aton afta?!” The river had suddenly erupted again.

Buck was laughing over the referee channel. “Little minx was faking it! Or she woke up long before Techrat expected, at least. Waited until he got close and hit him with her full water cannon routine. And… heh. There he goes.” He shifted back to the all-hands channel. “Techrat, you’re out of the round. She just knocked you out of bounds.”   

“Aw, no fair!”

“Well, you learned something. Merrow’s sneaky, and tougher than she looks.”

Artemis frowned as something half-seen caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. She was paying more attention when it happened a second time. <Oh, my. I don’t think Phenomenon has figured out that possibility yet.> Pooka broached the surface of the ground a third time, only a few feet from the flag and behind its canine guard. This time he slowly came all the way out, and just as slowly reached for the flagstaff. Artemis watched, amused, as he made contact.

Phenomenon started as she felt someone grab the flagstaff. She spun, only to lose contact with it as her fingers phased through it. Pooka laughed and ran off with it, while she tried to grab it again - and failed again.

Pook chuckled as he ran right through her with the now-solid flag. <Good to know. I can unghost things as well if I need to.> Behind him, Phenomenon figured out what had happened and gave chase. “You conniving rabbit! Come back here with that!”

“Hah! Make me!”

*   * *   * *

At the far end of the playing field, Ferric had been steadily pounding on Chromatic’s force dome for nearly a minute, and the chipmunk was about to collapse under the pressure. Adrian, in his Cursed form, was nervously watching the blue field flicker with each blow. “What... do?”

“We’re here to slow her down, Adrian. When..." he winced as another punch hit. “When it goes down, you wrestle with her. Keep her busy as long as you can. Pooka’s on his way back with their flag already, and if he can get here before she can get back to their base with our flag, we win.”

“She… angry?”

Ferric chuckled from her side of the force shield. “Adrian, I promise I won’t be mad if you play the game to win. I -will- be angry if you -don’t- try. I want a good challenge, okay?”

The goat nodded, still unsure. His grunt sounded like an affirmative.

The raccoon spun on her heel and smashed her foot into the dome with a flying kick. Chromatic collapsed to one knee, shaking his head as his shield flickered out. “Ready or not, here I come!”

Cursed charged. “Rrraargh?”

*   * *   * *

Phenomenon shifted into superspeed as Pooka ran off into the forest. She caught up quickly, and slowed down just enough to give herself the chance to react to whether or not he’d stay tangible. Unfortunately, he didn’t cooperate. Just as she reached for the flagstaff, he vanished in puff of mist, and stayed invisible wherever he’d reappeared. “Hah! You’re still nearby! I can feel your powers.”

“But it’s not directional, is it?”

She spun in the direction of the voice and kicked in her rapidly dwindling store of super-speed again, zipping out to the edge of where she could feel the rabbit’s power, then criss-crossing the area to get an idea where he was. “Nope. But I -can- triangulate.” She zeroed in on him, only to have him teleport again, the puff of mist marking his departure point. “Arrrgh!”

Wireless called in on their circuit. “Forget about him, Phenom! You’ve still got superspeed, and Ferric’s keeping Adrian busy. Just use what you’ve got left in speed to grab -his- flag!”

Phenomenon grimaced. “Right. On it!” She sped off to the southwest, leaving Pooka behind. He went visible and intangible as she vanished, once again running as fast as he could while going straight through obstacles. 

Merrow grinned at the radio byplay. She was already halfway there, and ready to try something for real that she’d been practicing a little now and then when she had the privacy. She grabbed a chunk of the river and rolled right up over the bank with it, riding it as if it were a large, wet armored car. 
*   * *   * *

Ferric and Cursed were evenly matched. Although the raccoon was stronger and much better trained in the martial arts, Adrian’s demonesque form was faster and at least as tough, and he was starting to get into the spirit of things after some initial hesitation. Chromatic had recovered to some extent and was again guarding the boy’s flag with a much smaller dome while the two titans fought outside it.

Cursed’s laugh was a booming bass, more suitable for a villain than a hero. Ferric had just raked her claws across his chest after a pass, with no obvious effect. “Ha! You... tickle!” He continued in some darker language.

The raccoon grinned. “Oh? Maybe I should just go with that, then.” She spun in, ducking under one massively clawed hand and deflecting the other with a simple rising block, but instead of a strike, she simply dug her own claws into his belly and wiggled her fingers.

“What...?   Bwahahahahaha! Stop! No!!!” 

Ferric’s only response was to continue to work on his ribs as he tried rolling to get away from her. “Hah! I’ve found your secret weakness!”

Chromatic just stared at them. “Seriously. That... that behemoth is ticklish?”     

Phenomenon arrived just in time to hear that and watch the pair roll right over a sapling, turning it into instant kindling. “For certain levels of tickling, apparently. But she’s using her claws to do it. I bet that kind of tickling would peel the armor off a tank.” 

“Good point.”

Indigo dodged out of the way as the pair rolled in her direction. “Tickling or not, he’s still keeping her away from the flag.”

Phenomenon grinned. “True. But nobody’s keeping me away from it.” She tapped into the power she’d borrowed from Ranger. “One force dome, coming right down.” It only took her three punches to get through. “I thought you were tougher than that?”

“Already... had Ferric... work it over...”

The Pomeranian grabbed the flag and grinned. “I’ll just take this, then.” Her superspeed had been almost tapped out, but she’d recharged it a bit now that she was close to Ferric. “Bye!” she zoomed off toward the other end of the field.

*   * *   * *

Wireless’ version of Crimson Cur had run out of duration before finding Chromatic, and she was still recuperating from the effort. Drones were easy enough, though, and she was now watching Merrow from overhead with one of her new squadron. “What the heck is that supposed to be?” 

“You like it? It’s a water tank! Lets me move faster out of the water, and gives me a reservoir when I’m not near something big.”

“You look like you’re riding turret in a giant hamster ball.”

“What? I do not!”

“Do too. Looks like it works, though. And Ranger always says, ‘if it’s stupid, and it works, it isn’t stupid.’ You need to angle a bit to the right. You should be able to hear Ferric and Cursed mixing it up.”

“Yeah. What are they -doing-?”

“Believe it or not, she’s tickling him while he’s in his demon form. Ah, good. Phenom’s got their flag now. If she has enough super-speed stored up, she might be able to beat your brother, but he’s a lot closer. It’s gonna be a photo finish.”

Pooka arrived with the girl’s flag at the same moment that Merrow rolled up in her water bubble. Neither she nor Ferric could stop him from walking right up and planting it in the empty spot. “Well, either I just won, or I wasted the effort.” 

Buck blew a whistle over the all hands channel a few seconds later. “And game over. You were within a few seconds of each other, and I’m ruling it a tied game.”

Ferric rolled off of Adrian, who was by now hiccuping with laughter as he shrank back to his normal form. “That was -hic- so not fair! -hic- I’m definitely telling Nibble -hic- on you!”

Ferric ruffled his hair. “You really want to tell Nibble you’re ticklish?”

“Umm..."

“Yeah, didn’t think so. I think that scared the hiccups out of you.”

“Maaaaybe...?”

Indigo chuckled. “All right, kids. Good game. Back to the med station to get you all checked out, just in case. Superpowered brawls can be nastier than you realize at the time.”

*   * *   * *

Techrat and Phenomenon were already waiting with Night Doctor at the first aid station when the rest arrived. The big bear started checking them all for damage after their super-powered exercise. “Okay, I gotta know. Merrow, did my stunner affect you at all?” 

She grinned. “A little bit got through. But I’ve been keeping a water shell around me when fighting. Blocks some attacks, especially heat and fire things, and attend... tender..." She looked at her older brother for help.

“Attenuates.”

“Yeah, that. Attenuates some stuff. Your stunners were in that category. Jolted me good, but didn’t quite knock me out through the water. It’s another reason I worked up my water tank.”

Pooka grinned. “Y’mean your hamster ball?”

“It is NOT a hamster ball!”

Techrat suppressed his own laughter. “Ah-hah. Good to know. I haven’t had much chance to use the armor underwater, and I wasn’t sure how well they would work. Still, it wasn’t obvious you were insulating yourself that way. Something to keep quiet about, could give you an edge if the bad guys don’t pick up on it.” 

Night Doctor finished checking Merrow. “Good thing I got a baseline from all of you the first day. Otherwise, I’d be thinking she had pneumonia, with all the fluid in her chest.”

“Yeah... I’ve always had to make sure I was back to air-breathing when I went in for my pre-season physicals. Scared the heck out of one intern back when I was ten, he ran to get another doc and I had to quick cough it all up into the sink while he was gone.” She giggled. “He was terribly confused when he got back with the senior doc. At least it’s not a problem now that I’m using the same doctor as Dad and Sean are.”

The bear was now listening to Ferric’s chest, and shaking her head. “And -you’re- weirder than -she- is.”

Ferric grinned. “Aaand proud of it.”

“Well, you’re all pretty much fine. A few bruises and scrapes here and there, but nothing serious. Go do your after-action debrief while I clean up.”