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Werner step out for a night on the town in the spooky old city of Vibora Bay on Florida's gulf coast. In a nightclub, they encounter a wizard with a book of spells that all the gangs of Vibora want, pitting them against vampires, werewolves, and voodoo cultists!", "description_bbcode_parsed": "After the events of The Manimal Chronicles #9: Rainy Day Women, Supersonic Squirrel and his human telepath companion Katrina Werner step out for a night on the town in the spooky old city of Vibora Bay on Florida's gulf coast. In a nightclub, they encounter a wizard with a book of spells that all the gangs of Vibora want, pitting them against vampires, werewolves, and voodoo cultists!", "writing": "[center]A Night in Vibora[/center]\n\n[center]a story set in the universe of Champions Online[/center]\n\n\tIt had rained recently, and the streets of Vibora Bay glistened beneath the streetlights shining through the misty gloom of the humid Florida night. Along a pair of iron rails beneath towering cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss trundled a trolley car, a mobile oasis of light in the murky darkness. It ground to a halt before a blocky brick building, discharged two passengers, and then continued on its endless journey.\n\tThe pair were as different as one could imagine. One was a girl of about twenty, slender of build, with light brown skin, blue eyes, and close-cropped white hair. She was dressed in black spandex pants that hugged her legs like a second skin, a brown leather jacket over a T-shirt with red and white horizontal stripes, and black leather boots. The other was a squatly built creature, about three feet tall, with a blunt buck-toothed muzzle and huge round eyes. It was covered with gray fur, a fluffy question mark of a tail rising up behind it higher than its head. A sheet of furred skin stretched from each arm to the leg on that side. Its sole article of clothing was an old-style leather flying helmet with a pair of goggles.\n\tThe building before them was a massive structure, three stories tall, the bottom floor lined with corrugated aluminum shutters while the two floors above contained rows of grated windows that glowed with orange light. It looked like a factory built over a hundred years ago, which was in fact exactly what it had once been. Above the front door, a huge ball of rusted metal with projections sticking out of it in every direction dangled from an iron boom. Bright glowing letters circled the ball continuously, providing the establishment's name: the Minefield. Throbbing techno music drifted onto the street from inside.\n\t\"This is the place you wanted to visit?\" the short furry creature asked the girl, speaking in a soft, nasal whine.\n\tShe nodded. \"I've heard about it. Always wanted to check it out. I hear it has an interesting clientele.\"\n\t\"I dunno, Katrina,\" the creature said, looking up at the structure doubtfully. \"Looks kinda shady to me.\"\n\t\"I thought shady was what you wanted,\" Katrina said, glancing down at her companion. \"You chickening out on me, Supersonic?\"\n\tSupersonic Squirrel blinked, then frowned and puffed out his furry chest. \"I'll show you who's chicken!\" He marched boldly up the steps on his short legs, opened the door, and went inside. Katrina smiled and followed him.\n\tThey were both slammed in the face by the music as they entered the lobby. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all concrete, giving the lobby a cold, barren appearance. The only illumination came from two lights mounted in the floor, emitting cones of light upward. To their right, two cashiers stood behind a counter, protected by a wire mesh. To their left was the entrance to the restrooms.\n\t\"There's gonna be a cover charge,\" Katrina said, raising her voice to be heard over the music. She looked down at the squirrel, noting his lack of pockets. \"What are you gonna pay with, sex?\"\n\tSupersonic smirked and took off his flying helmet, reaching inside and plucking out a credit card. \"I came prepared,\" he said, putting his helmet back on. He went up to one of the cashiers. \"Two, please.\" The girl nodded, showing no surprise whatsover at being addressed by a three-foot talking squirrel, as he slid the card into the machine.\n\tKatrina looked surprised. \"You're paying for me?\"\n\tSupersonic shrugged as he tucked the card back into his helmet. \"In my time, the man always paid. That's just how it was. Anyway, as a registered hero, I get a monthly stipend. Being one of the good guys has its benefits.\"\n\tKatrina grinned. \"I'm not complaining.\"\n\t\"Hold out your hand, please,\" the cashier said to Supersonic.\n\tThe squirrel looked puzzled, but did so. She frowned as she looked at the back of his hand, which was covered in fur, then turned it over. His palm was hairless, so she pressed a cylindrical device against it. \"There's a two drink minimum,\" she said. \"Have a good time.\"\n\t Supersonic drew his hand back and looked at it curiously while the cashier did the same thing to Katrina. \"What was that about?\" he asked.\n\t\"Nowadays they stamp your hand,\" said Katrina, \"so you can leave and get back in without having to pay again.\"\n\t\"But there's nothing on my hand!\" said Supersonic, holding it up to show her his palm was blank.\n\tKatrina put her hand under the small UV lamp in front of the cashiers, and a mark shaped like a mine glowed on the back of it. \"It's an ink that's only visible under ultraviolet light.\"\n\t\"Oh,\" said Supersonic, putting his palm under the lamp and staring at the glowing mine-shaped mark on it. \"That's neat!\"\n\t\"Come on, let's go soak up the ambience,\" said Katrina, heading into the club. Supersonic took a deep breath and followed her inside.\n\tThe dance floor of the club was a converted factory work floor, with giant industrial pipes lining the walls, and Supersonic winced as he was hit with the full force of the decibels. He could feel the bass reverberating through the soles of his feet. All around him, young people wearing dark clothes and white makeup danced, their bodies jerking and twisting as if they'd just been shot, while multicolored spotlights played over them. On a stage, a top-hatted deejay in skull makeup worked the sound system, and behind him sprouted a light display designed to look like a plume or fountain that changed color periodically. It was all very strange and somewhat intimidating to a small-town squirrel from Minnesota who was more than fifty years behind the times, but he also felt a thrill of excitment at being in a place that someone like him wouldn't normally go.\n\t\"What do you think?\" Katrina shouted to him.\n\t\"What?\" Supersonic shouted back, unable to hear her over the din.\n\tKatrina reached out with her mind and formed a telepathic link with the squirrel. \"I asked what you thought,\" she thought to him.\n\t\"It's very loud,\" Supersonic thought back.\n\tShe grinned and nodded. \"Wanna get a drink?\"\n\tSupersonic looked at the bar uncertainly. \"I'm not sure I'm old enough.\"\n\t\"You were born in 1947! You're plenty old enough!\"\n\t\"Yeah, but I've only lived seventeen years. In fact, technically it's only been a few weeks since Jay Richards's wish brought me to life!\"\n\t\"The bartender isn't going to know any of that,\" thought Katrina. \"All they're going to see is the date of birth on your ID.\"\n\t\"I dunno,\" said Supersonic, \"that seems kind of dishonest.\"\n\tKatrina rolled her eyes. \"You are such a boy scout! Fine, then get something non-alcoholic!\"\n\tThey went up to the bar and presented their IDs, and Supersonic ordered a Coke while Katrina asked for a mai tai. As with the cashier in the lobby, the bartender didn't seem at all bothered that she was serving a three-foot talking squirrel whose ID said he was old enough to be her grandfather.\n\tKatrina noticed Supersonic peering curiously at her drink. \"Wanna try a sip?\" she asked.\n\t\"Does it have booze in it?\" asked Supersonic.\n\t\"Of course it has booze in it. Go ahead, try it.\" She held the glass out to him.\n\tThe squirrel regarded the drink as if it might bite him. \"Well, I guess one little sip can't hurt.\" He leaned forward and placed his lips at the edge of the glass. His eyes widened as he drew back. \"Holy cow, that's really tasty!\"\n\tKatrina chuckled. \"Congratulations, you're a grown-up. Look, I'm gonna go circulate a little. Will you be safe here by yourself?\"\n\tSupersonic scowled. \"I've fought demons, cyborgs, and lizard people from beneath the sea. I think I'll manage.\"\n\tKatrina nodded and left the bar, strolling out onto the dance floor. She opened her mind a little, letting some of the thoughts of the dancers drift into her consciousness, but not enough to overwhelm her. She knew how to keep her mind walled off, to avoid being drowned in the thoughts of others, and how to open it up just enough to catch occasional stray thoughts. Most of the thoughts she picked up weren't very interesting. Sometimes they were downright pornographic. But once in a while she overheard something useful, like the thoughts of an ARGENT technician that had led to her meeting Supersonic Squirrel, a character from a 1960's cartoon show who had been accidentally brought to life by a magical wishing ring. She glanced at him as he sat there on his bar stool nursing his Coke. He was a sweet guy, and incredibly brave, but Lord, was he such a straight arrow! But something about that appealed to her, and when he'd expressed a desire to learn more about the real world, she'd agreed to help.\n\tShe leaned back against a wall, sipping her mai tai, eavesdropping on several conversations telepathically. As she did so, a big hairy fellow wearing a wifebeater, jeans, and work boots came up to her, grinning. His features had a slightly brutish cast to them, and he had long muttonchop sideburns. \"Hey, babe,\" he said, in a low, growling voice. \"Wanna dance?\"\n\t\"I might,\" Katrina replied, smiling back at him.\n\tHe nodded eagerly, and her smile vanished as she overheard him think: \"Just one dance with this bitch, then I find Telgoff and rip his throat out!\"\n\tThe man turned and walked out to the middle of the dance floor. Katrina hesitantly followed, and they began dancing to the throbbing techno beat of the house music. He was no longer thinking about the murder he intended to commit, and Katrina didn't dare risk probing his mind for more information. Scanning surface thoughts was easy enough for her to do without arousing suspicion, but if she went any deeper, he'd sense her telepathic intrusion. She gazed at him as he danced gracelessly with her. Those tree trunk arms looked as if they could snap her neck like a twig. Best not to make him angry.\n\t\"Maybe you and me could get together later?\" the big man asked after a few minutes, leering at her with obvious intent.\n\tShe smiled. \"That might be fun.\"\n\t\"Cool,\" he replied. \"I got some business to attend to first, though. How does fifteen minutes sound?\"\n\t\"Sounds fine,\" Katrina said.\n\tThe man grinned wider, displaying pronounced canine teeth. \"Great! I'll be back to pick you up then!\" He held out a huge, hairy hand to her. \"I'm Rex, by the way.\"\n\tShe took that massive paw in her much smaller hand and squeezed it. \"I'm Kat.\"\n\t\"See ya, Kat!\" And with that, he turned and lumbered off into the crowd.\n\tKatrina ran back to the bar, where she found Supersonic Squirrel sitting with his hands braced against it and his head bowed. She put her hand on his furry shoulder. \"You okay?\" she asked.\n\tHe looked up at her, his huge eyes mournful. \"I don't feel so good.\"\n\t\"You don't look so good, either. What happened?\"\n\t\"Well, I finished my Coke, and since there's a two drink minimum I decided to try something else. I didn't want anything alcoholic, so I ordered something from the drink menu called a Long Island iced tea.\"\n\tKatrina stared at him. \"Do you know what's in that?\"\n\t\"No, what?\"\n\t\"Rum, gin, tequila, vodka, and triple sec!\"\n\tSupersonic's mouth fell open. \"No tea?\"\n\tKatrina shook her head. \"Not a drop.\"\n\t\"Why the heck do they call it an iced tea, then?\" Supersonic demanded angrily.\n\t\"How the hell should I know? I didn't invent the damn thing! Can you walk?\"\n\t\"I think so,\" he said, and slipped off his bar stool, only to stagger and nearly fall before Katrina caught him.\n\t\"Listen,\" she said, \"I just met a guy named Rex who's planning to kill someone!\"\n\tSupersonic's eyes went wide. \"We gotta stop him!\"\n\t\"You don't look like you could stop a drain right now.\"\n\t\"I can manage,\" Supersonic retorted, \"if the room would just stop spinning!\"\n\tKatrina took the squirrel by his hand and led him away from the bar, the noise, and the flashing lights, into a hallway at the back of the club. Once there, she closed her eyes and concentrated, expanding her mental awareness outward like a web as she tried to locate Rex. He was still in the building, close by, and his thoughts were of rending flesh and tasting blood.\n\tHer concentration was broken by a familiar, unpleasant sound. Supersonic Squirrel was doubled over and clutching his middle as he heaved the contents of his stomach onto the floor. Katrina crouched down beside him, patting his head gently, and he looked back at her with the most pitiful expression she'd ever seen.\n\t\"Holy cow!\" he whimpered. \"I've never felt anything that bad! Is that a normal thing for people to do?\"\n\tShe nodded. \"It's called throwing up. Just another part of being alive.\"\n\t\"My mouth tastes terrible!\"\n\t\"Maybe you should stay here.\"\n\t\"No! I can make it!\" The squirrel straightened up and squared his shoulders. \"Let's go!\"\n\tAs Katrina led him toward Rex, she wondered to herself why she was doing this. After all, she had no idea who this Telgoff was or why Rex wanted to kill him, and she didn't normally interfere in matters that didn't concern her. She could only conclude that some of Supersonic's moral uprightness and altruism was starting to rub off on her. She wasn't sure yet if that was a good thing or not.\n\tThe hallway led around a corner and came to a dead end. There stood Rex, along with a woman dressed in a remarkably trashy outfit consisting of leather hot pants, fishnet stockings, fur-trimmed boots, and a leather jacket over a sports bra. Her brown hair was bizarrely coiffed so it rose to a point above her head. They were both menacing a black-haired, bearded young man with his back against the wall and a terrified expression on his face. His eyes widened when he saw Katrina and Supersonic, and Rex and the woman both turned to face them.\n\t\"Well, couldn't wait, huh, Kat?\" asked Rex, grinning.\n\t\"Who is she?\" the woman asked, in a deep, throaty voice, and then her eyes shifted to Supersonic. \"And [i]what[/i] is that?\"\n\t\"She's a norm I was dancing with earlier, Varla,\" Rex replied. \"And that must be one of Ram's manimal friends.\"\n\t\"Wrong on both counts,\" said Katrina, smirking. \"I don't know what your beef is with this guy, but you're gonna have to deal with us first!\"\n\tRex shrugged. \"Fine, I was gonna kill you after anyway!\"\n\tKatrina grinned. \"Good, then I'll be spared the disappointment of some really lousy sex!\"\n\tRex snarled, and his body suddenly began sprouting thick brown fur. He burst out of his shirt and boots as his chest swelled and his feet changed into digitigrade paws. His nose and mouth extended forward in a canine muzzle and his ears rose to points above his head. He lunged at Katrina, his fingers now bearing long, wicked-looking claws.\n\tSupersonic raised his hands, and a burst of wind struck Rex in the center of his chest, slamming him back against the brick wall, and he slumped to the floor. Varla had changed as well, though not as completely as Rex. Her face was now considerably more bestial, with long sideburns, bushy eyebrows, yellow eyes, and fangs. She moved to slash at Supersonic with her long, clawlike nails, but a mind blast from Katrina sent her reeling and she fell.\n\t\"What are they, werewolves?\" asked Supersonic, astonished.\n\t\"Yeah,\" said Katrina. \"I'd heard there was a gang of them in this town. They're called the Dogz.\" She addressed the bearded man. \"Telgoff, I presume?\"\n\tThe man nodded and replied in an Eastern European accent. \"Yes, that is me.\"\n\t\"Hi, I'm Katrina Werner and this is Supersonic Squirrel. We're here to save your ass. We should probably get out of here before more Dogz arrive.\"\n\tTelgoff looked from Katrina to Supersonic and shrugged. \"By all means, lead on.\"\n\tThey ran back down the hall and out onto the dance floor. Just as they reached the center, a dozen more of the club's patrons wolfed out, sprouting fur and fangs, and moved to surround the trio, while the rest of the clubbers who weren't werewolves screamed and ran for the exit. Katrina, Supersonic, and Telgoff stood back to back as Dogz closed in around them, the lycanthropes' yellow eyes burning with bloodlust.\n\t\"I guess this would be the wrong time to ask who let the Dogz out,\" said Katrina, grinning fiercely at the werewolves. She glanced down at Supersonic, who was building up a sphere of high-pressure air between his hands, a look of grim determination on his furry face. When danger threatened, the little squirrel was all business. Meanwhile, Telgoff was speaking strange syllables, eyes closed, arms raised toward the ceiling. He brought his arms down suddenly, and five glowing purple crystals appeared in the air around them. All at once, the Dogz were moving in slow motion.\n\tKatrina and Supersonic didn't waste time asking questions. The squirrel released a blast of wind at the Dog nearest to him, knocking the werewolf off his feet and sending him skidding back across the dance floor. Katrina mind-blasted another, overloading his brain so all he could do was stand there clutching his head and whining. Telgoff held up his hands, chanting. Rings of purple arcane symbols appeared around his hands, and a purple bolt shot from them, striking another werewolf in the chest and dropping him. The rest of the Dogz charged slowly toward the trio, claws raised, fangs gleaming.\n\t\"Clear a path to the door!\" shouted Supersonic, firing another burst of wind at a Dog who was blocking the way. Katrina nodded, mind-blasting another. They began moving in the direction of the exit, Telgoff guarding the rear, hurling purple mystical bolts at the werewolves who were lethargically pursuing them. Around them, the glowing purple crystals started to fade, and the Dogz' movements began returning to normal.\n\tThe trio had made an opening in the crowd of werewolves encircling them and were nearly to the exit when more Dogz appeared in the doorway. Some of them drew pistols, and Supersonic raised a wind barrier to protect himself, Katrina, and Telgoff as the werewolves fired into the club. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the wall of solidified air in front of him, but their escape was now cut off, and the Dogz inside the club licked their chops in anticipation as they eyed their prey.\n\t\"How many times have I told you Dogz not to harass the patrons?\" came a loud bass voice from the back of the club, and all heads turned toward it. There stood a massive figure, fully seven feet tall, clothed in a white dress shirt with a black bow tie, black vest, and black pants that ended at his knees. His digitigrade, cloven-hooved feet were bare, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing thick forearms that were folded across his barrel chest. His head was that of a sheep, with horns curving backward, and all that could be seen of him was covered in gray-brown fur.\n\t \"Back off, Ram!\" one of the Dogz snarled at him. \"You're not coming between us and our prey again!\"\n\tRam's dark eyes narrowed. \"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to leave the club. Now.\"\n\t\"Screw you, grass-eater!\" another Dog sneered.\n\tRam sighed. \"I tried to be nice. Now we'll do this the hard way.\" And with that he launched himself at one of the Dogz, head-butting him and knocking him to the floor.\n\tInstantly, the Dogz in the club swarmed Ram, biting and slashing at him with their teeth and claws, shredding his shirt and vest and tearing bloody gashes into his hide. The huge sheep-man scarcely seemed to notice as he slammed one werewolf after another into the concrete floor with his pile driver fists, flung them against the walls like rag dolls, and butted them with his horned head.\n\tKatrina, Supersonic, and Telgoff took advantage of Ram's distraction to focus their efforts on the Dogz blocking the exit. Telgoff summoned his glowing purple crystals again, which slowed the Dogz' bullets so much that they couldn't even pierce skin, while Katrina and Supersonic blasted one werewolf after another with psionic energy and wind, respectively. However, for every one they dropped, another took its place. They were making no headway, and while Ram had thinned the ranks of the Dogz in the club considerably, the sheep-man was in bad shape, bleeding from a dozen wounds. Still, he remained unbowed, glaring defiantly at the remaining werewolves. \"Is that the best you mutts can do?\" he sputtered through blood-flecked lips.\n\t\"You die tonight, manimal!\" snarled one of the Dogz.\n\t\"Yeah, we're gonna have us a mutton dinner!\" said another, grinning and licking his chops.\n\t\"In your dreams, pal,\" growled Ram.\n\tAll at once, there was a blinding flash of light, and a figure appeared in the air above the dance floor. It was a woman, wearing a skin-tight white costume with a hood, a red mask covering her face. There were spiked pauldrons on her shoulders, and her forearms were wrapped in strips of red cloth, the ends of which hung free, her hands bare. She wore white boots with red cuffs, and a short red cape hung down her back. On her chest was a stylized golden wing emblem.\n\t\"I think not, curs,\" she declared, hovering in the air and gazing down at the carnage on the floor. \"I've warned you Dogz before: I don't tolerate violence in my club. Begone, and tell Black Fang that if any of his pack dare to darken my door again, he will feel the full wrath of Valerian Scarlet!\" She raised her arms, and every werewolf inside and outside the club vanished in a flash of light.\n\tKatrina, Supersonic, and Telgoff stared at the woman in white as she floated down toward Ram, though she continued to hover about a foot above the floor. She placed her hands on his ovine face, caressing his snout tenderly. \"My dear, sweet Ram, did they hurt you?\"\n\tRam shrugged his massive shoulders. \"I've had worse.\"\n\t\"Filthy beasts!\" she said, scowling. Her hands glowed with soft white light, and Ram's wounds instantly healed. Even his clothing was restored, looking as fresh as if it had just come back from the cleaners.\n\tRam bowed his horned head. \"Thank you, mistress.\"\n\tValerian Scarlet leaned forward and kissed him on his forehead. \"It's the least I can do for such a loyal servant.\" Then she rotated in the air to face the trio before her. \"And who, may I ask, are you, who brought such discord to my peaceful establishment?\"\n\t\"I'm Supersonic Squirrel, ma'am,\" said Supersonic, bowing to her, \"and these are Katrina Werner and Telgoff. The Dogz were after Mr. Telgoff, and Katrina and myself protected him from them. We weren't looking for any trouble.\"\n\tValerian Scarlet regarded the squirrel curiously for a moment. \"Interesting,\" she said at last. Then she turned her attention to Telgoff. \"And what business does a member of the Trismegistus Council have here?\"\n\t\"I came into your club to avoid the Dogz,\" Telgoff replied. \"I thought it would be safer than being out on the street.\"\n\tKatrina glanced at Telgoff and let his thoughts enter her mind. He was trying hard to conceal it, but his mind was filled with stark terror. He couldn't have been more afraid if Dr. Destroyer himself were standing before him. She tried to listen in on Valerian Scarlet's thoughts as well, but there was nothing. It was as though she wasn't even in the room with them. Katrina had encountered that kind of mental opacity only once before, when she'd tried to read the mind of Celestial Boy, a being from the plane of Elysium. She frowned. She didn't like not being able to read people.\n\t\"Umm, thanks for saving us, Miss Scarlet,\" said Supersonic, \"but what happened to the Dogz?\"\n\tShe favored the squirrel with an amused smile. \"Does it matter?\"\n\t\"I'd just like to know they're okay,\" said Supersonic.\n\tValerian Scarlet laughed. \"Your concern for those who would have killed you is touching. Rest assured, they have not been harmed. I teleported them to a landfill just outside of town. It seemed like an appropriate place to deposit trash.\" She lifted her eyes to Katrina and Telgoff. \"And now, perhaps it would be best if you were all on your way. I think there has been enough excitement here for one night.\"\n\tSupersonic nodded. \"That sounds like a good idea. Thanks again, ma'am. Sorry about the mess.\"\n\t\"Think nothing of it,\" said Valerian Scarlet, smiling. Supersonic turned to Katrina and Telgoff, and the three of them left the Minefield, emerging into the humid Florida night.\n\tOnce they were gone, Valerian Scarlet's smile faded and was replaced by a look of utter coldness. She raised her hand, and a patch of the dance floor began to bubble with blackness. From the blackness rose a gaunt, pale creature somewhat resembling a mummy, except that instead of bandages its body was swathed in black leather straps.\n\t\"Follow them,\" she said. \"Take the back way out.\"\n\tThe creature bowed silently and loped toward the back door.\n\n\tKatrina, Supersonic Squirrel, and Telgoff walked together through the damp night along the wet brick street, glancing around warily for any sign of more Dogz approaching. Satisfied that they were in no immediate danger, Katrina turned and addressed Telgoff. \"Okay, give.\"\n\tTelgoff looked puzzled. \"Excuse me?\"\n\t\"What's going on?\" Katrina asked. \"Why were those Dogz after you? I think we've earned the right to an explanation.\"\n\t\"Yeah!\" Supersonic chimed in. \"And what's this Trismegusto Council you belong to?\"\n\tTelgoff sighed. \"While I appreciate your assistance, it would be best if you did not involve yourselves in this business any further than you already have.\"\n\t\"Best for whom?\" Katrina demanded.\n\t\"Best for everyone,\" Telgoff replied. \"Trust me, you are skirting the edges of a world you know nothing about and are not prepared to deal with.\"\n\tSupersonic put his hands on his hips and leaned forward. \"I think we handled ourselves pretty well back there. We sure pulled your fat out of the fire!\"\n\t\"The Dogz are nothing!\" Telgoff snapped. \"Merely pawns of those with true power! And they would have killed us all if Valerian Scarlet had not intervened!\"\n\t\"Yeah, about Valerian Scarlet,\" said Katrina. \"Why are you so afraid of her?\"\n\tTelgoff stared at Katrina. \"What makes you think I am?\"\n\t\"I'm a telepath, sugar,\" Katrina smirked. \"I can sense these things. You were absolutely terrified of her.\"\n\t\"As you should be,\" said Telgoff. \"Valerian Scarlet is one of the most evil people on this planet.\"\n\tSupersonic blinked. \"She is? She didn't seem evil to me.\"\n\t\"Do you know what the Minefield is?\" asked Telgoff.\n\t\"Let me guess,\" said Katrina. \"Could it be . . . a nightclub?\"\n\t\"That is only the surface,\" said Telgoff. \"In reality, it is a device for drawing off mystical energy from the souls of its patrons and feeding it to her demonic masters!\"\n\tSupersonic gasped. \"Is she a member of DEMON?\"\n\tTelgoff looked at the squirrel. \"What do you know of DEMON?\"\n\t\"I've run into them before,\" said Supersonic. \"In a way, they're responsible for me being here. It was a magical wishing ring stolen from them that brought me to life!\"\n\t\"Oh? I had assumed you were a manimal, like Ram. One of Dr. Moreau's creations.\"\n\t\"Yeah, I get that a lot,\" said Supersonic, \"but I'm not a manimal. I used to be a cartoon character.\"\n\t\"Interesting,\" said Telgoff. \"No, Valerian Scarlet is not part of DEMON.\"\n\t\"So,\" said Katrina, \"back to my original question: why were those Dogz after you?\"\n\t\"My answer has not changed,\" Telgoff replied. \"It is not for you to know.\"\n\t\"I could always read your mind and find out,\" said Katrina, grinning.\n\tTelgoff paled. \"You would not dare!\"\n\t\"Oh, wouldn't I?\"\n\tSupersonic frowned. \"Katrina, I thought we agreed you weren't going do that anymore!\"\n\t\"If I didn't, we wouldn't have known the Dogz were planning to murder him, would we?\" Katrina replied. She turned back to Telgoff. \"So, you gonna level with us, or do I have to go fishing in your brain? Never know what else I might find in there.\" She chuckled.\n\tTelgoff sighed. \"Very well. As Valerian Scarlet mentioned, I belong to the Trismegistus Council. We are a secret order of mystics who protect the world from arcane threats.\"\n\t\"So, you're like the opposite of DEMON,\" said Supersonic.\n\t\"They are one of our main adversaries,\" said Telgoff, nodding. \"A few weeks ago, my occult studies led me to discover an ancient book in a ruined castle in my home country of Romania. In it, I found a long-forgotten spell enabling one to control the undead.\"\n\tSupersonic blinked. \"Undead? You mean like vampires?\"\n\tTelgoff nodded. \"Controlling mindless undead, such as zombies, is a simple matter, but this spell would allow one to control [i]any[/i] undead.\"\n\t\"Isn't there a gang of vampires in this city?\" asked Katrina.\n\t\"Yes, the New Shadows, led by Vladic Dracul.\"\n\t\"Dracula?\" asked Supersonic Squirrel in disbelief.\n\t\"Not quite,\" said Telgoff. \"Vladic Dracul was the father of Vlad Tepes, the Romanian nobleman and sadist who served as the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. He is the most powerful vampire in the world, but with this spell he could be manipulated as easily as any zombie. Since the Dogz and the New Shadows are perpetually at war with each other, Black Fang, the leader of the Dogz, would like very much to get his hands on it.\"\n\t\"And I imagine Dracul would want it to keep anyone else from using it on him,\" said Katrina.\n\t\"Indeed,\" said Telgoff. \"Now you understand why I must deliver the book to the Trismegistus Council for safekeeping.\"\n\t\"Why not just mail it to them?\" asked Supersonic.\n\t\"With magical scrying, the book could be intercepted at any point along its journey. Therefore, I had to keep it on my person to ensure that it would remain hidden.\" Telgoff delved into the collar of his shirt and removed a golden medallion bearing the image of a stork. \"This is an Amulet of Thoth. All members of the Trismegistus Council wear one. Among other things, it makes one invisible to scrying spells.\"\n\t\"Then how did the Dogz know where to find you?\" asked Katrina.\n\tTelgoff frowned. \"I do not know. They should not have been able to.\"\n\t\"Where is this Council located?\" asked Supersonic.\n\t\"Their headquarters is a mansion in the Midtown neighborhood of this city.\"\n\t\"Then you could put that amulet on me and I could fly there with the book!\"\n\tKatrina grinned. \"That sounds like a great idea!\"\n\t\"It does have merit,\" said Telgoff thoughtfully, \"provided he can find the mansion.\"\n\tKatrina took out her cell phone. \"Just give me the address and Google maps will do the rest!\"\n\tTelgoff did so, and within a minute Supersonic was surveying a computerized map of Vibora Bay on the screen of Katrina's cell phone. \"Okay, got it!\" he said. Telgoff looped his medallion around the squirrel's neck and then removed a paper bundle from his backpack and handed it to him. \"Good luck, Supersonic,\" he said.\n\tThe squirrel grinned a buck-toothed grin, lowering his goggles over his eyes. \"Don't worry—your book is in safe hands!\" And with that, he launched himself into the air and rocketed off into the dark sky. Behind a nearby bush, a pair of black eyes watched him go, glinting with malice and madness.\n\n\tSupersonic Squirrel flew through the night sky above the brightly lit cityscape of Vibora Bay, the wind blowing across his furry body, his long tail trailing behind him like a streamer. To the south of him lay the great black expanse of the Gulf of Mexico, the light of the full moon making it glitter like a sea of diamonds. He began humming \"By the Light of the Silvery Moon\" to himself as he flew along. It was an old song, having been written over a century ago and recorded by Bing Crosby, Fats Waller, and Doris Day, among others, but, he reflected, he was an old squirrel, at least in terms of when he'd been born. As he flew, he thought about his relationship with Katrina. He found her fascinating. She was completely different from any girl he'd ever known before, so tough and coarse that she made the tomboys of his time look dainty by comparison. True, her morals could only be described as loose, but she had guts, and she'd come through on the side of right when it had counted. She'd also given him his first kiss, which still astonished him. For a human to kiss a squirrel was unheard of in his time, but apparently things were different now. He found himself wondering how much further their relationship might go.\n\tSo lost in thought was the squirrel that he didn't notice a swarm of black, fluttering things on an intercept course until they were upon him and he was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of bats, their small bodies and leathery wings battering at him as tiny fangs pierced his flesh. He cried out in alarm and spread his arms and legs wide, creating a vortex of wind around himself that sent the bats tumbling in every direction. Then he gasped as the bats coalesced into three human figures.\n\tThere were two men and a woman. The woman wore a long gown and bodice with puffy shoulders and fishnet sleeves, while the men were both dressed as though they'd stepped out of the early 1800s, in long double-breasted jackets with thick sleeve cuffs, breeches that ended at the knees, silk stockings, buckled shoes, and lace cravats. The color schemes of their outfits were predominantly black and red. However, it wasn't their archaic dress that caught the squirrel's attention so much as their blazing crimson eyes, their distended lower jaws with long canine teeth jutting upward, and the huge black membranous wings sprouting from their backs, flapping to keep them aloft.\n\t\"The New Shadows, I presume?\" asked Supersonic.\n\t\"That isss correct,\" one of the men said, in a distorted, sibilant voice. \"Give ussss the book, ssssquirrel, and we will let you live.\"\n\tSupersonic hugged the paper bundle Telgoff had given him to his furry chest and shook his head. \"That's not going to happen!\"\n\t\"You [i]will[/i] ssssurrender it!\" the man said, extending his hand toward the squirrel, his fingers tipped with clawlike nails. For a moment, Supersonic felt an overwhelming compulsion to hand the book over. Then the feeling suddenly passed, and his will was once again his own.\n\t\"You resist?\" the man said, his crimson eyes narrowing in consternation.\n\t\"He wearsss the medallion of the Trisssmegissstusss Counccccil!\" hissed the woman.\n\tSupersonic glanced down at the Amulet of Thoth resting against his chest, then back at the three vampires, and grinned at them. \"Ha! Your hypnotism won't work on me!\"\n\tThe man growled. \"Then we will take it by forcccce!\" He lunged at the squirrel, and was sent tumbling head over heels through the air by a blast of wind.\n\t\"Kill him!\" the woman screeched, flying at the squirrel with claws outstretched, while the other man did the same. Supersonic dodged her swipe, but the man's claws raked across his back, slicing deep gashes into his flesh. The sudden pain and shock caused the squirrel to lose both his concentration and his grip on the book. It fell from his grasp as he began to plummet toward the ground far below. The woman flew after the book and snatched it up, while the man dove after Supersonic, intent on finishing him off. Supersonic looked up through his daze to see the vampire bearing down on him, grinning a fanged grin, red eyes blazing. \n\t\"Well,\" the squirrel thought to himself, \"I guess this is it.\"\n\tAll at once, another figure appeared out of thin air behind the vampire. It was small, about a foot taller than Supersonic, with a thin, limber build and a slender tail. Its body was covered entirely with brown fur, and it wore only a belt with a sheathed sword, cuffed leather boots, and a green wool cap, pointed in the front, with a white feather in it. Its narrow, humanlike face had pointed ears and large, almond-shaped eyes. In one long, delicate hand it held a bow, and a quiver of arrows was strapped across its back. As the creature began to fall, it drew an arrow from its quiver, nocked it in its bow, drew, and fired. The arrow pierced the vampire's back, the point emerging through the center of his chest. The vampire howled and dissolved into dust.\n\tThe creature vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, and Supersonic felt a gust of wind beneath him, blowing upward and slowing his fall. He floated to the ground, landing as gently as a falling leaf. Then the creature reappeared again, standing over him. \"You okay?\" it asked, in a high, chirpy voice.\n\t\"I'm in a lot of pain,\" Supersonic replied through clenched teeth, sitting up. The fur on his back was wet and sticky with blood. He looked around. He had landed in the middle of a cemetery, with towering tombstones on all sides. \"Well, this could have been unfortunately convenient.\"\n\tThe creature nodded. \"Should get those wounds looked at. Also be a good idea to wash 'em with holy water. Can't be too careful with vamps.\"\n\t\"Thanks for the save,\" said Supersonic. \"Who are you?\"\n\t\"I Emorada,\" the creature declared proudly, \"mighty paladin of Omlu!\"\n\tSupersonic blinked. \"You're Emorada?\"\n\tEmorada tilted his head. \"You heard of me?\"\n\t\"Yeah, a Lemurian named Samtiss mentioned you,\" said Supersonic, getting slowly and painfully to his feet. \n\t\"Oh, Samtiss!\" said Emorada, nodding and grinning. \"He one good and brave lizard! Got a rotten son, though.\"\n\t\"No argument there,\" said Supersonic.\n\t\"You know Dorgok, too?\" asked Emorada.\n\t\"We've met. Who or what is Omlu?\"\n\t\"Omlu god of sky,\" Emorada replied.\n\t\"I've never heard of him,\" said Supersonic.\n\tEmorada sighed. \"Yah, no one here has. I from another world. So, why New Shadows after you?\"\n\t\"I was delivering a book to the Trismegistus Council, but now those vampires have it!\"\n\t\"So let's go get it back,\" said Emorada.\n\t\"Not so fast, mon,\" came a deep, melodious voice from behind them. They both whirled toward it. Atop a tombstone crouched a tall, thin black man wearing a long, ratty coat and trousers and a top hat. His face was painted white to resemble a skull, and his bare chest was painted like a rib cage. His eyes were glowing red dots in the black sockets of his skull mask. Behind him shambled a horde of walking cadavers, along with creatures resembling humanoid alligators. He grinned a hideous rictus grin at them. \"Now, why don't you tell Baron Cimetiere about dis book?\"\n\n\tKatrina and Telgoff rode the trolley car to the Midtown district of Vibora Bay in silence, the only people on board save for the operator. Katrina tried to scan for Supersonic's mind to find out how he was doing, but with all the mental background noise from the populace of the huge city, it was like trying to pick out one voice in a crowded football stadium. She finally gave up and turned her attention to her companion. He was a handsome man of about thirty, with swarthy skin, bushy brows, dark eyes, and black hair, beard, and moustache. His clothing was nondescript, just an ordinary jacket and jeans, nothing to suggest that he was a sorcerer who belonged to a secret order of mystics. He could have been a struggling artist, a college student, or a homeless vagrant.\n\t\"So, you have a first name?\" Katrina asked.\n\t\"Stefan,\" he replied.\n\t\"Where in Romania are you from, Stefan?\"\n\tHe chuckled. \"Would it mean anything to you if I told you?\"\n\tShe shook her head. \"Not really. I'm not up on my Romanian geography.\"\n\t\"Then there is no point in telling you, is there?\"\n\t\"I guess not. You been in the magic game long?\"\n\t\"All my life. My mother was Romany—what you Americans call a gypsy. I was born with the Sight. I have been able to work magic as long as I can remember. It is second nature to me. While still a boy, I began using magic to combat the vampires and werewolves that still infest the more rustic parts of my country. That brought me to the attention of a wizard named Theomistekles Venedictos, who recruited me into the Trismegistus Council.\" He glanced at her. \"What about you? Have you always had your powers?\"\n\t\"They surfaced in my teens,\" said Katrina. \"I started hearing voices in my head. At first I thought I was going crazy. My parents took me to see some doctors, and they figured out I was psionic. They sent me to a place called Ravenswood Academy in Millenium City. It's a school for kids with powers. The folks there taught me how to control my abilities. But I didn't like the discipline, so I split. I've been living on my own ever since.\"\n\tTelgoff nodded. \"And how did you come to be partnered with a talking squirrel?\"\n\t\"A Lemurian kid named Dorgok stumbled onto my hideout while he was being chased by Supersonic and another hero named Celestial Boy.\"\n\t\"A Lemurian? One of those evil lizard creatures from beneath the sea?\"\n\t\"Yup. Then we all got attacked by cyborgs from ARGENT—you know, the multinational megacorp? They were after me because I stole something from them. That led us down here to Vibora to find the guy who made the thing I stole, a crackpot inventor called Juryrig. Turns out it was part of a time machine he was building.\"\n\tTelgoff raised an eyebrow. \"A time machine?\"\n\t\"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too. But it actually worked. Dorgok used it to go back a year to when the Lemurians invaded Millenium City so he could save his mom, a bitch named Yareen the Defiler. Me, Supersonic, Celestial Boy, and Dorgok's father, Samtiss, went after him and brought him back. Me and Supersonic kind of became friends along the way, so when we got back he asked me if I could help him learn more about the real world, and I agreed.\"\n\tTelgoff nodded. \"And how long ago was this?\"\n\t\"Yesterday.\"\n\tTelgoff blinked. \"By the dark gods, you have had an eventful two days!\"\n\t\"Tell me about it. I'm still not sure this isn't all some weird dream I'm having.\"\n\t\"I assure you,\" said Telgoff, smiling, \"I am quite real.\"\n\tKatrina smiled back. \"I certainly hope so. Be a shame if a guy as cute as you was just a figment of my imagination.\"\n\tTelgoff grimaced uncomfortably. Then they both jerked sideways as the trolley screeched to a halt. \"Midtown!\" the operator announced. They disembarked from the trolley and began walking along the dark, gloomy cobblestone streets of Midtown.\n\tAfter a few blocks they came upon a three-story Neo-Georgian mansion surrounded by a brick walled courtyard with an ungated entrance in the front.\n\t\"Pretty lousy security!\" Katrina commented. \"Looks like the forces of darkness could just walk right in!\"\n\tTelgoff smiled. \"In the world of magic, few things are what they seem. This building is wreathed with powerful protective spells that prevent anyone with evil intent from entering.\"\n\tKatrina shrugged. \"Well, I don't [i]think[/i] I'm particularly evil . . .\"\n\t\"There is only one way to find out, isn't there?\"\n\tKatrina nodded and stepped through the entrance. Nothing happened. She turned to Telgoff as he entered as well. \"Looks like I'm clean in the evil department.\"\n\t\"I never had any doubt of that,\" said Telgoff. \n\t\"Just out of curiosity, what would have happened if I had been evil? Would I have been disintegrated, or turned into a toad or something?\"\n\t\"No, you would have just bounced off the ward.\" They ascended the stairs to the front door, and Telgoff reached out to turn the knob.\n\t\"Shouldn't we knock?\" Katrina asked.\n\tTelgoff grinned at her. \"A thief concerned about entering without permission? Do not worry, they already know we are here.\" He turned the knob, and the doors both swung inward on their own. They entered into a two-story foyer with wood paneled walls and a floor whose pattern of alternating black and white marble tiles made it resemble a chessboard. Twin staircases curved down from a balcony around a yawning fireplace. Descending the stairs were three people wearing long blue robes emblazoned with golden arcane symbols, with shoulder pieces that curved upward and ended in points. Each also wore an Amulet of Thoth and a belt bearing a glowing blue orb. One of them was a man with white hair, beard, and moustache. The other two were women—one Asian with white hair, one Caucasian with red hair. They all smiled at Telgoff and Katrina.\n\t\"Stefan!\" said the Asian woman, coming forward and embracing him. \"It is good to see you safe!\" The other two embraced him as well.\n\t\"You have her to thank for that,\" said Telgoff, gesturing at Katrina. \"This is Katrina Werner, from Millenium City. Katrina, these are Akako Yamimori, Fiona Abercrombie, and Orlando Rodriguez, senior members of the Trismegistus Council.\"\n\t\"Pleased to meet you, Katrina,\" said Abercrombie, speaking with a British accent. Then she turned to Telgoff. \"You had some trouble?\"\n\t\"Did Supersonic not tell you what happened?\" Telgoff asked.\n\tThe trio looked at him in puzzlement. \"Who?\"\n\t\"Something's gone wrong,\" said Katrina grimly. She quickly explained the situation to the mages.\n\t\"You entrusted the book to a talking squirrel?\" asked Rodriguez, incredulous.\n\t\"He could get it here faster than either of us,\" Telgoff retorted, \"and with my Amulet of Thoth around his neck, he should have been invisible to magical scrying.\"\n\t\"And yet, he never arrived,\" said Yamimori.\n\t\"Perhaps he stopped to gather nuts somewhere,\" said Rodriguez, scowling.\n\tKatrina glared at him. \"Supersonic would never do that! He takes his responsibilities very seriously!\"\n\t\"Regardless,\" said Abercrombie, \"we must try to locate him and the book quickly.\"\n\t\"And how do you suggest we do that?\" asked Rodriguez. \"If he is wearing an Amulet of Thoth, scrying spells will be useless!\"\n\t\"I can find him,\" said Katrina.\n\t\"How?\" asked Yamimori.\n\t\"I'm psionic. I can scan for his mind.\"\n\t\"You can scan the entire city?\" asked Abercrombie in disbelief.\n\tKatrina shook her head. \"I don't have to. Supersonic would have flown in a straight line to get here as fast as possible. I can just backtrack along the path he would have taken.\"\n\t\"Let us go at once, then,\" said Yamimori. \"We must find that book!\"\n\n\tKatrina and the four mages made their way along cobblestone streets lit by glowing street lamps that stood as lonely sentinels against the impenetrable night. It was now well after midnight, and the streets were largely deserted, allowing the strangely garbed group to attract minimal attention—not that bizarre clothing was at all unusual in Vibora Bay. As they walked, Katrina mentally scanned the immediate area for any sign of Supersonic Squirrel, while trying to quell her rising feelings of anxiety about what might have happened to her small companion. She knew him well enough to know that the only reason he would have failed to complete his task was if he had run into some sort of trouble, and in Vibora, trouble could take many forms, all of them dangerous.\n\tA few blocks from the mansion, they found themselves before an arched gate bearing a sign that identified it as the entrance to Cypress Grove cemetery. Beyond the gate lay row upon row of tombstones beneath overhanging cypress trees that sheltered the departed as they slumbered in their graves.\n\t\"We must proceed with caution,\" said Abercrombie. \"This is Sovereign Sons territory.\"\n\t\"Who now?\" asked Katrina.\n\t\"A gang led by Baron Cimetiere,\" replied Yamimori, \"a powerful voodoo priest.\"\n\tRodriguez nodded grimly. \"They have a penchant for making people disappear, only to reappear later as zombies.\"\n\t\"Zombies?\" asked Katrina. \"Are we in danger of having our brains eaten? Because I like my brain right where it is, thanks!\"\n\tAbercrombie shook her head. \"That is only in the movies. Real zombies do not eat. In fact, typically their mouths are sewn shut.\"\n\t\"Well, I guess it keeps them from complaining,\" said Katrina.\n\t\"They would not speak in any case,\" said Rodriguez. \"They have no minds. It is to prevent them from tasting salt.\"\n\tKatrina looked at him. \"Salt?\"\n\t\"If they taste salt,\" said Telgoff, \"they will realize they are dead and return to their graves.\"\n\tKatrina shrugged. \"Anyone got a pretzel?\" She looked around at the four mages, who were all staring at her. \"What? Just trying to lighten the mood a little. You're all so serious!\"\n\t\"We have ample reason to be,\" said Yamimori. \"There is much at stake.\"\n\t\"Not the least being the life of your friend,\" said Abercrombie.\n\t\"Yeah, I know,\" said Katrina. She concentrated, reaching out with her mind across the sprawling cemetery, seeking Supersonic's. \n\tAfter a moment, she was rewarded with contact. \"K-Katrina?\" came the squirrel's mental voice in her head.\n\t\"Supersonic!\" Katrina thought to him. \"Where are you?\"\n\t\"I'm underground, Katrina!\"\n\tShe gasped. \"Underground?\"\n\t\"Baron Cimetiere blew some kind of powder at me and Emorada! It paralyzed us! He forced me to tell him about the book! I couldn't resist! And then, his followers put us in coffins and buried us alive! I'm so scared, Katrina! It's cold and dark, and I can't move!\"\n\tKatrina swallowed, feeling the squirrel's terror through their mental link. \"Don't worry, Supersonic. I'm here with friends. We'll get you out of this!\" She turned to the mages. \"I'm in contact with Supersonic. He says Cimetiere doused him and someone called Emorada with some kind of powder and then buried them alive!\"\n\tAbercrombie nodded. \"Tetrodotoxin. It is a poison derived from the glands of the puffer fish. It causes paralysis and eventually death. The Sovereign Sons use it to create zombies.\"\n\t\"Is there an antidote?\" asked Katrina.\n\t\"Yes,\" said Yamimori, \"but it must be administered within twenty-four hours. Beyond that, brain damage becomes irreversible and all that is left is a mindless husk.\"\n\t\"What about the book?\" asked Telgoff. \"Does Cimetiere have it?\"\n\tKatrina thought the question to Supersonic, then relayed his reply. \"No, he says the New Shadows attacked him en route to the mansion and took it from him.\"\n\tRodriguez frowned. \"How did those vampires even know about the book, let alone where to find it?\"\n\t\"Maybe the same way the Dogz did,\" said Katrina. \"Sounds to me like you have a leak somewhere. In any case, we have to rescue Supersonic!\"\n\t\"But how will we find him?\" asked Abercrombie. \"This place is enormous!\"\n\t\"I've got a mental fix on his location! Come on!\"\n\tKatrina led the mages into the cemetery and past endless rows of tombstones, some dating as far back as 1700. High above them, atop a tall column, a statue of an angel maintained an endless vigil over the dead. Eventually, they came to a small patch of freshly turned earth in a quiet corner of the graveyard in the shadow of a huge cypress tree.\n\t\"Here!\" Katrina announced. \"This is the spot where they buried him!\"\n\t\"An' dis be where we bury you!\" came a voice from the shadows. From behind the tree stepped a dreadlocked black man wearing a long ragged coat and trousers, his feet bare. His body was painted to resemble a skeleton, his face a skull.\n\t\"Baron Cimetiere?\" asked Katrina, scowling.\n\tThe man shook his head. \"Nah, I jus' one of his loa servants. De Baron, he got bigger fish to fry. He leave me here in case anyone come lookin' for de two fuzzy ones we put in de ground.\"\n\tKatrina smirked. \"Just you?\"\n\tThe loa grinned. \"Well, me an' a few friends.\" He raised a hand, and out of the darkness from every direction emerged figures out of a nightmare. Some were emaciated zombies in tattered clothing, their mouths sewn shut. Others were humanoid alligators, some wearing fur loincloths, others wearing ratty vests, trousers, and top hats and carrying wooden clubs lined with square obsidian blades. They began closing in from all sides, the alligator creatures drooling with anticipation.\n\t\"Don' rough dem up too bad,\" the loa instructed his followers. \"We want 'em to be whole when we plant 'em.\"\n\tThe four mages went into action instantly, each one assuming a specific role without being told. Telgoff summoned five floating purple crystals, as he'd done in the Minefield, with identical results—the advancing Sovereign Sons went into slow motion. Abercrombie summoned five floating crimson crystals, which exploded whenever any of the slow-moving cultists came near them. Yamimori took the offensive role, gesturing and producing a cone of purple light that caused any cultists in its area of effect to fall unconscious, while Rodriguez conjured five floating white crystals whose effects were not immediately obvious to Katrina.\n\tStill, the Sovereign Sons were not so easily denied. The mindless, insensate zombies made excellent shock troops, shambling up to Abercrombie's explosive crystals and causing them to detonate, clearing the way for the big, loincloth-clad alligator men to charge in, while the smaller, top-hatted alligator men stood back and lobbed green mystical bolts at the mages. Katrina ducked behind a large tombstone to evade the bolts, only to find herself looking into the hideous, dessicated face of a zombie, its mouth stitched shut, its dead eyes staring at her. It raised a machete, the blade gleaming in the moonlight, and hacked at her arm, but curiously, it failed to break the skin, or to even cut through her leather jacket. Katrina blinked in surprise, as the blow should have taken her arm off, but she was not about to question her good fortune. Since the zombie had no mind to affect, she planted her heel in its stomach and kicked hard, pushing it away from her. It stumbled backward into Yamimori's purple cone of light, and immediately collapsed.\n\tOne of the big alligator men had managed to get within reach of Yamimori, raising its massive scaly green fists and slamming them down on the small Japanese woman. As with the machete, a blow that should have been fatal was merely bruising, and with a thrust of her hand to the creature's chest, Yamimori sent it flying back away from her.\n\tThe loa, who had been standing back and watching the battle, frowned, apparently displeased by his underlings' lack of success. He raised a hand toward Telgoff, and a green bolt struck the Romanian mage, knocking him flat on his back. Instantly, the purple crystals Telgoff had summoned faded away, and the Sovereign Sons began moving at normal speed again. With the explosive crystals all destroyed, there was nothing to stop the cultists from swarming over the mages. Katrina cried out in pain as one of the alligator men swung at her with a club, striking her across her shoulder, the obsidian blades lining the club cutting deep into her flesh. She snarled and focused a withering mental blast at the creature, overloading the synapses in its brain and causing it to fall to the ground, quivering uncontrollably. Katrina glanced at her wounded shoulder, and her eyes widened as she saw the gashes there closing up. So that was what Rodriguez's white crystals did!\n\tUnfortunately, the mages were in danger of being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, with zombies and alligator men coming at them from all directions. Katrina turned her attention to the loa, who was standing with his arms folded across his bare chest, a wide grin on his skull-painted face. She concentrated, building up a charge of psychic energy, and released it at him, but somehow the mind blast was reflected back at her, and she fell to her knees, screaming and clutching her head. The loa laughed, hands on hips. \"Death is only de beginnin', girl! You mind tricks are no match for de dark powahs we serve!\"\n\t\"And how will those dark powers fare against a .45 slug?\" came a woman's voice from beside him. There stood a woman in a skin-tight green and black costume, her head completely covered by a green cowl, a black mask over her eyes. In her gloved hand she held a pistol aimed directly at the loa's head.\n\t\"Black Mask,\" the loa said, grinning at her. \"Fancy meetin' you here!\"\n\t \"I just happened to be in the neighborhood,\" the woman said, her voice icy calm. \"Call off your goons, or I'll punch your ticket back to the spirit world.\"\n\tThe loa chuckled. \"Kill dis body, an' I'll jus' come back in another.\"\n\t\"Maybe so,\" said Black Mask, \"but at least you'll be out of my hair for a while.\"\n\tThe loa shook his head, his dreads swaying. \"Sorry, missy. I got my orders from de Baron hisself. Nothin' you can do to me compares wit what [i]he[/i] can do!\"\n\tBlack Mask shrugged. \"So be it.\" She fired, and the loa's head snapped back as the bullet struck his forehead. He fell back on the grassy ground, lying there spread-eagled, his eyes staring blankly up at the sky. Black Mask whipped out a second pistol and began blazing away at the zombies and alligator men, mowing them down. The mages took advantage of the distraction to start hurling mystic bolts at the cultists, who began to break and run. In a few moments, the remaining Sovereign Sons had all vanished into the darkness.\n\t\"Thank you, Black Mask,\" said Yamimori, bowing to the green-and-black-clad woman.\n\t\"Always glad to help out the Council,\" Black Mask replied. She glanced at Katrina, who had just gotten to her feet, recovered from having her own mind blast turned back upon her. \"Who's this? She doesn't look like a member of your order.\"\n\t\"I'm Katrina Werner,\" said Katrina, \"and I'm not a member of any order. I'm here to rescue Supersonic Squirrel and someone called Emorada.\"\n\tBlack Mask blinked. \"Emorada?\"\n\t\"You know him?\" Katrina asked.\n\t\"We've met. He's a paladin from another dimension.\"\n\t\"Well, Baron Cimetiere doused them both with zombie powder and buried them alive!\"\n\t\"Then we'll be needing this,\" said Black Mask, taking a vial from her belt.\n\t\"Is that the antidote?\" asked Katrina.\n\tBlack Mask nodded. \"I always carry some with me. I've gone up against the Sovereign Sons many times.\" She turned to the two nearby patches of fresh-turned earth. \"This where they're buried?\"\n\t\"Yeah,\" said Katrina. \"I've got a mental lock on Supersonic.\"\n\t\"Then let's get digging,\" said Black Mask, crouching down and starting to scoop up handfuls of earth. Katrina and the mages joined her.\n\t\"Shouldn't we get some shovels?\" asked Katrina.\n\t\"No need,\" said Abercrombie. \"The Sovereign Sons never bother burying their victims too deeply, since they just intend to dig them up again.\" \n\tSure enough, within a few minutes they had hit the crude wooden coffin in which Supersonic Squirrel had been buried. Black Mask pried it open, and they lifted the paralyzed squirrel up out of it. His huge eyes were open and staring blankly. Black Mask put the vial to his mouth and poured some of its contents in. \"He should be all right in a few minutes,\" she said. Katrina nodded, cradling his small, gray-furred body in her arms while Black Mask and the mages began unearthing Emorada's coffin.\n\tSupersonic's arms and legs began to twitch, and his eyes blinked. He looked up at Katrina, and she smiled down at him, stroking his cheek gently. \"Welcome back to the living,\" she said.\n\tSupersonic drew a deep, shuddering breath and threw his arms around her, shaking as he sobbed against her chest. \"Oh god, Katrina! I was so scared! I've never been so afraid!\"\n\tShe held him close. \"It's okay, baby. You're safe now.\" She glanced over at the other grave, where Black Mask was administering the antidote to Emorada.\n\t\"So, mind telling me what this is all about?\" Black Mask asked. Telgoff explained the situation to her while Emorada regained his ability to move. \"I see,\" she said when he had finished. \"So the New Shadows have this book now. Any reason we shouldn't just let them keep it?\"\n\t\"Are you serious?\" Telgoff asked, aghast.\n\tBlack Mask shrugged. \"They only want the book to keep anyone else from using it to control them. It seems to me that it's probably safer in their hands than in anyone else's. In fact, if I were Dracul, I'd just burn the damn thing and remove the threat entirely.\"\n\t\"Unlikely,\" said Abercrombie. \"He'll most likely want to keep the book for himself, to prevent any other vampire from challenging his position.\"\n\t\"Hmm, that does make a certain amount of sense,\" said Black Mask. \"He hasn't survived six centuries of people trying to destroy him by not keeping an ace up his sleeve.\"\n\t\"And Baron Cimetiere knows he has it,\" said Yamimori, \"which means he's probably going to make an all-out attack on the New Shadows to get it. For that he's going to need more zombies. A lot more.\"\n\t\"Yeah, I can see where this is going,\" said Black Mask. \"We need to stop this now, before it gets out of control.\" She looked over at Katrina and Supersonic. \"This isn't really your fight, but if you're willing to help, we could use all the muscle we can get.\"\n\t\"You can count me in!\" said Supersonic.\n\t\"Are you sure about that?\" asked Katrina, looking at him uncertainly.\n\tSupersonic growled. \"After what that creep Cimetiere did to me, I want a piece of him!\"\n\tKatrina chuckled. \"I've never seen you get all vengeful before. It's kind of sexy!\"\n\tSupersonic blushed beneath his fur.\n\t\"I in too,\" said Emorada, getting to his feet.\n\t\"If that's decided,\" said Black Mask, \"I know where we can find Dracul. Let's go!\"\n\tThe eight of them departed, leaving the graveyard to the dead.\n\n\tIn the Easton district of Vibora Bay, just north of the Minefield, stood a three-story building with an elegant white limestone facade. It had been built in the 1920s as a luxury hotel, but when its owners had gone bankrupt in the wake of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, it had been purchased for a pittance and converted into a private club by an investor from overseas who wished to remain anonymous. Above the entrance hung a golden sign, with Gothic lettering that would not have looked out of place in the opening titles of an old pirate movie, identifying it as the Crimson Lounge. Beneath the sign hung an enormous fake rose that appeared to be dripping blood.\n\t\"Subtle,\" said Katrina with a smirk as she, Supersonic Squirrel, Emorada, and Black Mask stood on the pavement outside, the four Trismegistus mages having returned to their mansion to recruit additional aid for the battle to come.\n\t\"Why they let vampires come here?\" asked Emorada indignantly, glaring up at the building.\n\t\"It's owned by a vampire,\" Black Mask replied, \"and there's really no way to stop them, considering they can turn into mist, bats, and rats.\"\n\t\"You should burn it down!\" Emorada insisted.\n\tBlack Mask sighed. \"What would that accomplish? They'd just go somewhere else. At least this way, those of us who know what this place is can keep an eye on them.\"\n\t\"Are you sure it's safe to go in there?\" asked Supersonic doubtfully.\n\t\"The club has a standing policy of no bloodshed on the premises,\" said Black Mask. \"They don't want to attract unwanted attention from the police.\"\n\t\"Well,\" said Katrina, \"I for one am curious to see what the inside of a vampire club looks like!\" She ascended the marble steps to the front door, the others following close behind. \n\tBefore the door stood a big man with long blond hair, pale skin, and blood-red eyes and lips, dressed in the early 19th Century style the New Shadows favored, with a black jacket, tan trousers, a white silk shirt with a lace cravat, and black leather boots that gleamed in the light from the sign above. \"This is a private club,\" he said, smiling politely at the strange company. \"Members only.\" He glanced down at Supersonic and Emorada and added, \"Also, no pets allowed.\"\n\t\"We have business with Dracul,\" said Black Mask.\n\tThe man raised an eyebrow. \"I'm sure I don't know who you're talking about.\"\n\t\"Okay, enough of this crap,\" said Katrina, concentrating on the doorman. His red eyes widened, and he immediately opened the door for them and stepped aside. Emorada drew his sword, preparing to run the man through, but Black Mask stopped him.\n\t\"We didn't come here to fight,\" she warned.\n\tEmorada frowned but put the blade away, and they all proceeded inside.\n\tThe lobby of the Crimson Lounge was an enormous room, the floor marble, the walls lined with scarlet curtains. Harpsichord music jangled through the air. Beneath four ornate crystal chandeliers milled a strange mix of creatures. Some appeared human, though with red eyes and pale complexions, and were dressed like Gothic aristocrats. Others were more monstrous, wearing only trousers, with clawed hands and feet, huge pointed ears, hideous fanged faces, and webbed wings protruding from their forearms. In the center of the lobby stood a towering marble fountain. It was not water that spouted from it, however. Supersonic's eyes widened. \"Is that blood?\"\n\t\"Well,\" said Katrina, \"I guess it beats getting it from people's necks.\"\n\t\"But where do they get it from in the first place?\" asked Supersonic.\n\t\"A guy who can afford a place like this, I'm guessing he can afford to buy some blood.\"\n\tOne of the New Shadows pointed at Emorada. \"That creature killed one of our brothers tonight!\" Immediately, vampires began closing in around the group, eyes burning with bloodlust. \n\t\"Back off!\" Black Mask ordered them. \"You wouldn't want to violate club policy, would you? That could get you expelled. Or worse.\"\n\t\"What do you want here, mortals?\" demanded one of the female vampires.\n\t\"We just came to talk to your boss,\" Black Mask replied.\n\tHer lips pulled back in a sneer, exposing her fangs. \"And what could you possibly have to say that he would be interested in hearing?\"\n\t\"Baron Cimetiere knows about the book. He wants it, and he's going to do whatever it takes to get it.\"\n\tThe vampire woman narrowed her scarlet eyes. \"And this concerns you how?\"\n\t\"It concerns us because whenever the Sovereign Sons go on a recruiting drive, people start disappearing and reappearing as zombies.\"\n\t\"Very well,\" said the vampire woman, nodding. \"I will deliver your warning. Now get out, and take that creature with you!\" She pointed at Emorada.\n\tAs the group turned to leave, one of the half-bat vampires growled at Emorada, \"See you outside, fuzzy.\"\n\tEmorada grinned back at him. \"I lookin' forward to it, dead boy!\"\n\tOnce they were outside, Supersonic asked, \"What do we do now?\"\n\t\"We should head back to the Trismegistus Council's mansion,\" said Black Mask, \"and see if they're ready to move against the Sovereign Sons.\"\n\tThey all headed off down the street, ears alert for the sound of bat wings.\n\n\t\"Here, drink this,\" said Fiona Abercrombie, pouring dark, steaming liquid from a teapot into a pair of white porcelain cups set before Supersonic Squirrel and Emorada.\n\t\"What this?\" asked Emorada, sniffing at the cup as wisps of vapor curled upward from it.\n\t\"It's tea, dear,\" said Abercrombie, smiling. \"Earl Grey. I always find it helps soothe me after a nasty time.\"\n\tKatrina smirked as she stood leaning against the wall of the kitchen in the Trismegistus Council mansion. \"Yeah, I suppose you could call being buried alive a 'nasty time.'\"\n\tSupersonic picked up the cup, sipped it, and smiled up at Abercrombie. \"Thank you, ma'am,\" he said.\n\t\"You're quite welcome,\" the sorceress replied. \"You're a very brave little fellow.\"\n\tSupersonic squirmed and rubbed his feet together beneath the table. Emorada took an experimental sip of the tea as well, and nodded to Abercrombie. \"It good!\"\n\t\"I'm glad you like it,\" said Abercrombie, bringing a silver tray over to the table. \"Here's milk, sugar, and lemon, if you'd like something extra in it.\"\n\t\"How about whiskey?\" asked Katrina. \"I always find that helps soothe my nerves after I've been buried alive.\"\n\tAbercrombie smiled politely at her. \"I'm sure there must be some around here somewhere. I'll go have a look.\" She left the kitchen while Supersonic added some milk and sugar to his tea and Emorada dropped in a slice of lemon.\n\tKatrina pushed off the wall and came over to stand between them. \"Well, now I'm teamed with two short furry guys who don't wear any clothes.\"\n\tSupersonic sighed. \"What's the big deal about that? Nobody cared that I didn't wear clothes before.\"\n\t\"That's because you were a cartoon before, honey,\" said Katrina, smiling. \"Nobody cares if cartoon animals walk around naked.\"\n\t\"I'm not naked,\" Supersonic insisted. \"I have fur, and so does Emorada.\"\n\t\"And if you were human, you'd both be arrested for public nudity,\" said Katrina. She studied Emorada for a moment. \"What exactly are you, anyway?\"\n\t\"I a treekin,\" Emorada replied.\n\t\"What the heck is a treekin?\" asked Katrina.\n\t\"We a people who live in trees in jungles of Karnaltan. That in another dimension.\"\n\t\"And how did a treekin end up in Vibora Bay?\" asked Katrina.\n\tBlack Mask, who had been standing silently to one side, answered for him. \"He entered a hellish realm called the Qliphoth through a dimensional rift and was trapped there until some other heroes and I freed him. We couldn't return him home, so we brought him back with us.\" \n\t\"How long ago was that?\"\n\t\"A couple of days.\"\n\tKatrina nodded. \"Well, welcome to Earth, Emorada.\"\n\t\"Thanks,\" said Emorada. \"It interesting place!\"\n\t\"I'll bet!\"\n\t\"There's something that's been bothering me about this whole business,\" said Black Mask. \"Telgoff got ambushed by the Dogz, and Supersonic by the New Shadows. Both of them wanted the book with the spell to control the undead, but neither of them should have even known it existed, let alone where to find it.\"\n\t\"Yeah, sounds like someone tipped them off,\" said Katrina.\n\t\"Who besides Telgoff knew about the book?\" asked Black Mask.\n\t\"As far as I know, only the other members of the Council,\" said Katrina. \"But it couldn't be any of them. Telgoff told me there's a ward around the mansion that prevents anyone with evil intent from entering.\"\n\t\"That would seem to rule them out,\" said Black Mask. \"Are you sure Telgoff didn't tell anyone else?\"\n\tKatrina shrugged. \"Not that he mentioned.\"\n\t\"I should probably have a chat with him, then,\" said Black Mask. She turned and left the kitchen.\n\tKatrina sat down at the table, facing Supersonic, watching the squirrel drink his tea. \"So, how are you feeling?\" she asked.\n\t\"I'm okay,\" said Supersonic, holding his cup of tea in both hands and looking fixedly into it.\n\tKatrina glanced over at Emorada. \"Could you leave us alone for a minute?\"\n\tThe treekin looked at Supersonic for a moment, then nodded, hopped down off his chair, and left the kitchen. Katrina turned back to Supersonic. \"Something's bugging you. What is it?\"\n\t\"Why don't you just read my mind and find out?\" asked Supersonic, a trifle defensively.\n\t\"Because that would be rude,\" said Katrina.\n\tSupersonic smiled and shook his head. \"Oh yeah, and I know how much [i]that[/i] bothers you.\"\n\tKatrina put a hand on his furry shoulder. \"Come on, you can tell me. Ain't we pals? Didn't we travel through time together? Christ, we fought side by side against the Lemurians! So out with it! What's the problem?\"\n\tSupersonic sighed. \"You wouldn't understand.\"\n\t\"Why not?\" Katrina demanded.\n\t\"Because you're a girl.\"\n\tShe stared at him. \"What's that got to do with anything?\"\n\tSupersonic looked back down at his teacup. \"I thought I was pretty brave, but when I was in that coffin, buried alive, I was so terrified I couldn't have moved even if I hadn't been paralyzed by Baron Cimetiere's zombie dust!\"\n\tKatrina shrugged. \"That's understandable. I mean, it was a pretty frightening thing you went through!\"\n\t\"And then, when you and the others pulled me out, I . . .\" He stopped, his throat tight.\n\tKatrina blinked. \"You're embarrassed because you cried?\"\n\tSupersonic looked away, unable to reply.\n\tKatrina suppressed the urge to laugh, realizing it would only humiliate him further. Instead, she smiled and squeezed his shoulder gently. \"This is the 21st Century, Supersonic. It's okay for guys to cry now.\"\n\t\"Well, it wasn't in my time,\" the squirrel sulked. \"Back then, if a guy cried, everyone called him a sissy.\"\n\t\"Yeah, in your time men had to be strong and tough and brave and never show their feelings, and women were all wilting flowers who had to be protected. Do I look like a wilting flower to you?\"\n\tSupersonic shook his head. \"No, you look like a boy.\" He sighed. \"I feel so out of place here. I'm the only talking squirrel in the world, and everything is different from what I'm used to, and . . .\"\n\t\"And?\" Katrina urged him.\n\tSupersonic looked up at her, his huge eyes glistening. \"And I think I'm in love with a human.\"\n\tKatrina sighed. \"Look, Supersonic, I like you a lot, but I don't know if I'm ready for that.\"\n\tSupersonic swallowed. \"Because I'm a squirrel?\"\n\tKatrina scowled. \"I told you before, I don't care about that. It's just that I'm not sure I want to be in a relationship, with anyone.\" She got up from the table. \"We should probably check with the others and see what's going on.\"\n\tSupersonic nodded, drained the last of his tea, and hopped down off his chair, and they left the kitchen together.\n\tIn the cavernous meeting room of the Trismegistus Council's mansion, an impressive convocation of mages had gathered around a large, oval mahogany table. Fiona Abercrombie, Akako Yamimori, and Orlando Rodriguez were there, along with at least a dozen others. Black Mask and Emorada were standing off to one side. Katrina and Supersonic saw Stefan Telgoff talking to a rather dapper-looking man with a neatly trimmed gray moustache and goatee and short gray hair that came to a widow's peak in the center of his forehead. They both turned as the girl and the squirrel entered the room. \"Ah, there you are,\" said Telgoff, smiling at them. \"Allow me to introduce my mentor, Theomistekles Venedictos.\"\n\t\"A pleasure to meet you both,\" said the gray-haired mage in a deep voice. \"Stefan was just telling me how admirably you both acquitted yourselves against the forces of darkness.\"\n\tKatrina glanced down at Supersonic, who was looking away, clearly uncomfortable. \"Yeah, well, just doing our part, you know?\"\n\tVenedictos crouched down to be face to face with Supersonic. \"A cartoon character brought to life by magic! Fascinating!\"\n\tKatrina smiled and squeezed the squirrel's shoulder. \"Yeah, he's really something.\" Supersonic looked up at her and smiled back.\n\tVenedictos rose and addressed the convocation. \"You have all been briefed on the situation. Our old enemy, Baron Cimetiere, is bound to attack the New Shadows to try to get the book with the spell that controls the undead. The question is, when and where will he strike?\"\n\t\"I think I may be able to help with that,\" said Black Mask, stepping forward. \"If Baron Cimetiere is going to move against the New Shadows, he's going to need a lot of zombies fast. That means he'll want to use his zombie-making powder on a large number of people concentrated in a fairly small area.\"\n\t\"Where would he find that at this hour?\" asked Rodriguez.\n\t\"Many clubs and bars in Vibora are still open this late,\" Yamimori replied.\n\tBlack Mask shook her head. \"Not big enough. To get the maximum yield, he'll need to hit the biggest, most densely packed target possible. And it just so happens there's a charity gambling event being held aboard the [i]SS Bayou Queen[/i] tonight!\"\n\tVenedictos gasped. \"Of course! He can hide the riverboat in the swamp until the occupants have finished transforming into zombies. By then it will be daylight, when the New Shadows are at their weakest!\"\n\tBlack Mask nodded. \"This could be a bigger steamboat disaster than the [i]Sultana[/i]—at least the victims on that ship didn't then go rampaging through a major city!\"\n\t\"Then we must make haste!\" said Venedictos. \"To the waterfront!\"\n\tThe mages rushed out of the mansion and, once outside, cast spells of levitation on themselves that lifted them into the air. Supersonic picked up Katrina and flew with her, Stefan took Black Mask, and Emorada turned to wind. Once all were airborne, the company headed south toward waterfront and the [i]Bayou Queen[/i].\n\n\tThe scene aboard the [i]Bayou Queen[/i] was one of cultured opulence. Built before the Civil War, the old stern-wheeled steamboat had spent most of the 20th Century as a tourist attraction and then sat rotting and unused for decades until a group of investors had refurbished her and turned her into a floating casino moored to Vibora Bay's docks. Tonight, she was packed to capacity, hosting a charity event where people could gamble away their money for the benefit of an international children's fund. Ice cubes in glasses clinked beneath crystal chandeliers while the Queen's Quartet—a jazz combo fronted by the crooner Johnny Moar—performed on stage.\n\tThe tranquil if somewhat decadent scene was suddenly interrupted by screams as the doors on either side of the enormous two-level main room were thrown open and dozens of zombies, half-naked alligator men, and voodoo cultists barged in, followed by the tall, top-hatted figure of Baron Cimetiere. \"Good evenin', ladies an' gentlemen!\" the Baron announced, grinning as he surveyed the terrified crowd, red eyes glowing in his skull-painted face. \"Sorry ta interrupt da festivities, but th' Baron has need o' you—or, more precisely, your bodies!\" \n\tAt a nod from their leader, the Sovereign Sons began moving into the crowd, blowing white powder over the panic-stricken guests, who quickly collapsed to the floor, blank eyes staring, able to see and hear everything going on around them but unable to move a muscle. Baron Cimetiere helped himself to a glass of red wine from someone's table, which looked like blood as he sipped it and watched the proceedings with satisfaction. \"Ah do love a good party!\" he said, laughing heartily.\n\tHis head snapped around as a blast of wind blew open the doors between the two big alligator men guarding the portside entrance. There in the doorway stood a small, gray-furred figure, glaring hatefully at him.\n\tCimetiere's face broke into a wide grin. \"Hello again, li'l squirrel! Someone dig ya up, did dey? No mattah, we'll soon have ya back in da ground.\"\n\tWith an incoherent screech, Supersonic rocketed toward the Baron, while Katrina, Black Mask, and Emorada charged through the door behind him. Cimetiere opened his palm and blew a handful of dust at the squirrel, but it had no effect. Supersonic slammed into him, knocking the Baron off his feet and back into a dinner table, smashing it to pieces and sending eggplant parmesan flying everywhere.\n\t\"Your powder won't work on me, Baron!\" snarled Supersonic. \"I've still got the antidote in my blood from the last time you dosed me! Now I'm gonna beat the snot out of you! And for the first time in my life, I'm actually gonna enjoy hurting someone!\" He began building up a sphere of super-high-pressure air between his hands.\n\tBaron Cimetiere got to his feet and held up his hands before him. Just as the squirrel released his wind blast, a small green-glowing voodoo doll appeared before Cimetiere, and the wind blast boomeranged back at Supersonic, knocking him backward and demolishing another dinner table. \n\tEmorada's bow appeared in his hand and the treekin nocked an arrow and drew back on the bowstring, but Black Mask pushed the bow aside, spoiling his shot. \"Don't!\" she warned Emorada when he looked up at her questioningly. \"When he has that doll up, anything you throw at him is reflected back at you!\"\n\t\"How we beat him, then?\" asked Emorada.\n\t\"We have to get him to drop his guard.\"\n\t\"That not gonna be easy,\" said Emorada, looking warily around at the zombies, alligator men, and voodoo cultists closing in on them.\n\tBlack Mask drew her twin M1911 automatic pistols. \"Nobody said it would be.\"\n\tKatrina stepped forward. \"Leave the scrubs to me,\" she said, concentrating. A field of psionic energy radiated out from her head, paralyzing all the cultists and alligator men nearby. The zombies, being mindless, were unaffected, but Black Mask and Emorada made short work of them, filling their cadaverous forms with arrows and bullets until they collapsed. Meanwhile, the mages of the Trismegistus Council barged in through the starboard door, hurling mystic bolts. The Sovereign Sons retaliated with fists, teeth, and magical blasts, and the [i]Bayou Queen[/i] erupted into a full-scale sorcerous battleground.\n\tKatrina ran to Supersonic Squirrel, who was getting up groggily from the debris of the smashed table. \"Are you okay?\" she asked.\n\t\"Yeah,\" the squirrel replied, rubbing his back. \"I don't think anything is broken.\" He looked around the room. They were in a clear area with no civilians around, while the Council mages were busy fighting the Sovereign Sons. \"Any ideas on how to beat this guy?\"\n\t\"Maybe try to flank him?\" Katrina suggested.\n\t\"Look out!\" shouted Emorada, pointing at the Baron. \"He doin' somethin'!\" Baron Cimetiere waved his arms above his head and then suddenly brought them down, and a massive wave of mystical force radiated out from him, knocking over tables and chairs and sending the four heroes flying across the room.\n\tSupersonic tumbled through the air until he managed to use his wind powers to steady himself, floating above the floor. He glared at the Baron, who was striding toward him, grinning his rictus grin, his ragged coat fluttering. \"De Baron is death, li'l squirrel,\" said Cimetiere. \"You don' beat death.\"\n\t\"Watch me!\" snarled Supersonic, building up another sphere of high-pressure air between his hands.\n\tThe Baron just shook his head, chuckling. \"Some folks nevah learn.\"\n\tSupersonic built up the pressure in the sphere as high as he could and then released it, not at the ghoulish figure before him but at the ceiling, striking the base of one of the crystal chandeliers. Its connection severed, the enormous layer cake of glass fell, crashing down atop the Baron with a sound like a thousand mirrors shattering at once. Supersonic had to erect a wall of wind before himself to keep from being cut by flying shards.\n\tSlowly and painfully, Baron Cimetiere crawled out from under the glittering wreckage of the smashed chandelier, bleeding from dozens of gashes. He was no longer grinning. \"Hokay,\" he muttered, \"now you done gone an' got de Baron mad!\"\n\t\"Go for it, Baron!\" said Katrina, smiling as she came over to stand beside Supersonic. \"Do that voodoo that you do so well!\"\n\tSupersonic gasped, looking up at her. \"That's Cole Porter! How do you know that song?\"\n\tKatrina glanced back at him and grinned. \"I'm a fan of the oldies. Hadn't you figured that out yet?\"\n\tBaron Cimetiere raised his hands and fired twin bolts of magic at Supersonic and Katrina. The squirrel blocked the bolt aimed at him with a wind shield, while Katrina dodged hers. Supersonic spread his arms and legs, gathering a sphere of air before him, while Katrina concentrated on building up a mind blast. They released their attacks simultaneously, hammering the Baron with wind and psychic energy.\n\tIncredibly, Baron Cimetiere was still not down. He got to his feet, glaring at Supersonic, and raised one hand, clawlike nails aimed at the squirrel. A ghostly twin of the Baron's hand shot forth and clamped around Supersonic's throat, causing the squirrel to make a gurgling cry as he grasped at the ephemeral appendage throttling him. \"Time for li'l squirrels to be dead!\" the Baron growled.\n\t\"Hey, hands off!\" shouted Katrina, blasting Baron Cimetiere with mental energy. Emorada and Black Mask joined in, pumping arrows and bullets into the Baron's superhumanly resilient body. Baron Cimetiere began to falter, the spectral hand loosening its grip on Supersonic's throat. At last, it faded, and the Baron fell to his knees. He looked around at the four heroes, and managed another rictus grin.\n\t\"You know de loa cannot die,\" he husked, blood dripping from his lips. \"De Baron is eternal, like death. He will be back. Soon.\"\n\t\"And we'll be waiting, Baron,\" said Black Mask. \"In the meantime, enjoy your vacation in the spirit world.\" She aimed her pistol and fired, and Baron Cimetiere fell to the floor.\n\tSupersonic shivered and hugged himself. \"Did you have to kill him?\" he asked.\n\tBlack Mask glanced at the squirrel. \"Didn't you hear? He can't die. That body was just a shell for a powerful evil spirit. Its original soul is long gone.\"\n\t\"Oh,\" said Supersonic. \"I . . . I guess that's okay, then.\"\n\tKatrina looked around at the steamboat's interior. The battle was over, all the zombies destroyed, all the cultists and alligator men either unconscious or captured, the Trismegistus mages moving around administering antidote to all the passengers. \"Well, it looks like we're done here.\"\n\t \"Well done,\" came a soft, deep voice from the level above, causing everyone to look up. There stood a commanding figure wearing ornate scarlet and black armor, a long tattered cloak hanging behind him. His head was hairless with huge pointed bat-like ears, his skin chalk white, his eyes crimson. Pronounced fangs extended down over his lower lip, and a massive greatsword was slung across his back. He vaulted the balustrade and dropped to the dance floor, landing in a catlike crouch and then standing up.\n\t\"Vladic Dracul,\" said Black Mask calmly. \"What brings you here?\"\n\t\"Just making sure this little problem was dealt with,\" the vampire replied, speaking with a strong Romanian accent.\n\tBlack Mask nodded. \"You might have helped out.\"\n\tDracul smirked. \"Why bother, when there are people like you to handle such chores?\"\n\t\"Is there some reason we don't take this bloodsucker down right now?\" asked Katrina, glaring at Dracul.\n\tDracul turned toward her. \"That would be unwise, child.\"\n\t\"Really?\" Katrina asked. \"You think you could take us all on, plus the Trismegistus Council?\"\n\tDracul shook his head. \"Doubtful. However, it is I who holds the vampire population of Vibora Bay in check. I supply them with sustenance and keep their depredations to a bare minimum. Without me, the streets would run red.\"\n\t\"Unfortunately,\" said Theomistekles Venedictos, \"the fiend is correct. The Council has had an understanding with Dracul for decades. We leave him alone, and he keeps his subjects from overrunning the city.\"\n\t\"You mean we're just gonna let him go?\" Supersonic demanded.\n\tVenedictos sighed. \"Sometimes, one must choose between the lesser of two evils.\"\n\tSupersonic scowled, but said nothing.\n\t\"There is one thing I'd like to know before you leave, Dracul,\" said Black Mask. \"How did you find out about the book?\"\n\tDracul smiled. \"Valerian Scarlet told me. Apparently, she felt it would be safest in my hands.\"\n\t\"So you sent those New Shadows to attack Supersonic?\" asked Katrina angrily.\n\tDracul shrugged. \"I sent them to fetch the book. As for how they dealt with the one carrying it, I do not concern myself with such trivialities. Good evening.\" The vampire bowed and dissolved into a swarm of bats, which fluttered screeching out the door and into the night.\n\n\tThe girl stepped off the trolley car as it squealed to a stop in front of her apartment building, and walked across the brick street to the front door, a bag of groceries cradled in one arm. She was a slim, attractive girl in her twenties with a tawny complexion, long black hair, and luminous dark eyes. She went up the stairs to the second floor, fished a key out of her purse, opened the door to her apartment, and went inside, where she closed the door and switched on the light.\n\t\"Hello, Daciana,\" came a voice from behind her.\n\tThe girl spun about, eyes wide with surprise. In her living room stood a strange group of people. There was a young, bearded man wearing a blue robe with golden symbols; a girl with short white hair and blue eyes, wearing a brown leather jacket, red-and-white striped shirt, and tight black leather pants; a woman in a black-and-green skin-tight costume, with pistols slung at her sides; a slender, brown-furred creature wearing an archer's cap with a white feather, boots, and a belt with a sword; and a gray-furred squirrel creature wearing a flying helmet and goggles, who sat perched on the arm of her couch. They were all looking at her gravely.\n\t\"Stefan!\" the girl said, breaking into a smile. She put the bag of groceries on the coffee table and walked toward the bearded man. \"It's so good to see you!\" she said, her voice containing just a hint of an Eastern European accent. \"But who are all these people? I recognize Black Mask, but not the others.\"\n\t\"They are friends of mine,\" Stefan Telgoff said, not returning her smile. \"This is Katrina Werner, Emorada, and Supersonic Squirrel. Gentlemen and ladies, my sister, Daciana.\"\n\t Daciana looked back at her brother. \"Why are they here, Stefan? And why are you wearing your wizard's robes?\"\n\t\"This is not a social call,\" said Stefan. \"I am here on Council business.\"\n\t\"And what does the Council want with me?\" Daciana asked.\n\t\"Who did you tell about the book?\"\n\tDaciana blinked. \"That book you found in Romania? Nobody!\"\n\tStefan glared at her. \"Then why was I attacked by Dogz as soon as I arrived in Vibora Bay?\"\n\tDaciana gasped. \"The Dogz attacked you?\"\n\tStefan nodded. \"They tried to kill me. If not for Katrina and Supersonic, they would have succeeded. They knew all about the book, and apart from the Trismegistus Council, you were the only person I told about it. None of them would have told the Dogz, so that leaves only you!\"\n\tDaciana shrugged as Black Mask casually wandered over to the coffee table and glanced down into the bag of groceries. \"Perhaps one of your fellow mages let something slip by accident and it was overheard.\"\n\t\"They are not fools, Daciana! They know how to keep a secret!\"\n\tDaciana smiled. \"You know I would never betray your trust, Stefan, especially not to those filthy werewolves!\"\n\tStefan sighed and shook his head. \"I wish I could believe you.\"\n\t\"I promise, Stefan, I didn't tell a soul!\"\n\tStefan turned to Katrina. \"If you would.\"\n\tKatrina nodded and furrowed her brow, and Daciana paled as she felt Katrina's telepathic probe begin worming its way into her mind. \n\t\"No!\" Daciana snarled, lunging at Katrina, and in mid-lunge she changed, sprouting fur and fangs. Supersonic jumped up and fired a blast of wind at the werewolf girl, sending her flying across the room to crash against the wall. Daciana growled, crouching before them, her clothing shredded by her transformation. Then she threw back her head and let out an ear-splitting howl.\n\t\"Get ready!\" shouted Black Mask, drawing her pistols as Emorada's bow appeared in his hand. A second later, the living room window exploded inward and three huge werewolves landed on the carpet. The biggest one had jet-black fur.\n\t\"Hello, Black Fang,\" said Black Mask, leveling her automatics at the big werewolf and spraying him with bullets. Crimson blossoms sprouted all over his hairy body, and he howled in pain and glared at her, yellow eyes narrowed with hate.\n\t\"I thought you might figure out Daciana was one of us,\" Black Fang slobbered, ivory teeth gleaming in his black muzzle, \"so I arranged this little trap for you and your friends!\"\n\tBlack Mask nodded. \"The grocery bag full of nothing but meat was kind of a giveaway. That's why I snapped in cartridges filled with silver bullets. Hope you like them, mutt.\"\n\tEmorada loosed a barrage of arrows at one of Black Fang's allies, putting him down, while Supersonic fired a wind blast at another, knocking him back out the second-story window. Daciana snarled and leaped at Stefan, but the mage hit her with a mystic bolt that dropped her to the floor, and Katrina locked her down with a mental hold.\n\tBlack Fang howled with rage, advancing toward Black Mask as she continued blasting away at him with her automatics. Emorada pumped arrow after arrow into him, while Supersonic relentlessly blasted him with wind. Still, he kept coming, the ebon-furred mountain seemingly unstoppable. Then Telgoff summoned his floating purple crystals, as he had in the Minefield, and Black Fang's movements suddenly slowed.\n\t\"Rrragggghh!\" the werewolf snarled, struggling toward Black Mask as if he were wading through molasses. \"I will kill you! I will kill all of you!\"\n\t\"Will you go down already?\" Black Mask muttered as she snapped another clip into each gun. \"Do you have any idea how much silver bullets cost?\"\n\tBlack Fang's shaggy body was now riddled with bullet holes and had so many arrows sticking out of it that he looked like a porcupine. With a howl that trailed off into a whine, the leader of the Dogz finally collapsed to the floor and lay still.\n\t\"Is he dead?\" asked Supersonic, panting.\n\tEmorada shook his head. \"He still breathing.\"\n\t\"I'm not sure he [i]can[/i] die,\" said Black Mask, \"short of being completely disintegrated. But it'll take him a while to regenerate all that damage. Long enough for the police to lock him up.\" She took out her cell phone and began calling them. \n\t\"What about her?\" asked Supersonic, turning to Daciana.\n\t\"I can hold her until the cops get here,\" said Katrina.\n\t\"Then we done,\" said Emorada, nodding with satisfaction. \"Good job, everyone!\"\n\tSupersonic whirled on the treekin. \"Good? Telgoff just found out his sister is a werewolf and she tried to kill him! Don't you have any compassion at all?\"\n\tEmorada regarded the squirrel coldly. \"Why you think I do what I do?\" He nodded to Black Mask, Katrina, and Telgoff. \"It almost dawn. I gonna take off. Been a long night. Good workin' with ya.\" And with that the treekin turned to wind and was gone.\n\t\"He's not wrong, Supersonic,\" said Black Mask. \"Ultimately, we all do this because we care. Why else would we put our lives on the line day after day?\"\n\tSupersonic just shook his head and flew out through the broken window into the slowly pinkening sky.\n\n\tThe bar was like dozens of other bars scattered about Vibora Bay—a quaint little establishment with a neon sign in the window advertising cocktails, live jazz, and that it was open 24 hours. It was artfully seedy, to attract tourists seeking the thrill of going someplace with an element of danger, but not seedy enough to be truly dangerous. The front door was open. Katrina went inside. Seated on a bar stool beneath the slowly spinning ceiling fan was a small gray-furred figure with a big fluffy question mark of a tail, a drink on the counter before him.\n\t\"Hello, Supersonic,\" Katrina said, walking over to him.\n\t\"Hi,\" the squirrel replied, without looking up.\n\t\"What are you doing?\" Katrina asked.\n\t\"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting shit-faced.\" He lifted his drink to his mouth and took a gulp.\n\tKatrina blinked with surprise. She'd never heard the squirrel curse before. It was kind of shocking. She peered at his drink. \"Is that what I think it is?\"\n\t\"It is if you think it's a mai tai. You want one? They're really good.\"\n\tShe seated herself on the stool next to his. \"I'd have thought you'd be drinking a Long Island iced tea.\"\n\tSupersonic grimaced. \"I said I wanted to get shit-faced, not sick. Anyway, I didn't like the taste of that very much.\"\n\tKatrina smirked. \"Next you'll be smoking cigarettes.\"\n\t\"I may just do that,\" the squirrel said. \"How did you find me, anyway?\"\n\t\"I'm psychic, remember? I scanned the city block by block until I sensed your mind.\"\n\t\"That's a lot of blocks,\" Supersonic commented.\n\tShe shrugged. \"I figured you wouldn't go very far.\"\n\t\"Not as far as I'd like to.\" He took another gulp of his mai tai.\n\t\"Back to Cartoonland?\" \n\tHe nodded. \"To a place that isn't brutal and ugly, where things always work out in the end.\"\n\tKatrina sighed. \"Look, Supersonic, I'm not really the best person to defend the real world, since I'm not that crazy about it myself. I know it's not all sunshine and lollipops. But it's also not all bad. In fact, there are some things about it that are kind of nice.\"\n\t\"Like what?\" the squirrel asked sullenly.\n\t\"Well, mai tais, for one.\"\n\tSupersonic nodded. \"Yeah, mai tais are pretty good.\"\n\t\"And sunsets . . . cheese puffs . . . poker . . . strawberry ice cream . . . Cole Porter songs . . . snuggling up with someone on a cold, rainy day . . .\"\n\tHe looked up at her. \"You really like Cole Porter?\"\n\tShe smiled. \"I really do. I'm a sucker for clever lyrics. And I like you. I know you're allergic to praise, but I think you may be the most honorable guy I've ever met. You're kind, and brave, and humble, and generous. I really admire you, Supersonic Squirrel. You make me want to be a better person.\"\n\tSupersonic squirmed on his bar stool, blushing beneath his fur. \"I really like you too, Katrina. I can't explain why. Maybe it's because you're so confident, so fearless. You don't care what anyone thinks of you. You just do whatever you want.\"\n\t\"I care what you think of me.\" She leaned over, laid her head against his, and sang: \n\n\t[i]You're the top! You're the Colosseum \n\tYou're the top! You're the Louvre Museum\n\tYou're the melody in a symphony by Strauss\n\tYou're a Bendel bonnet, a Shakespeare sonnet, you're Mickey Mouse\n\tYou're the Nile, you're the Tower of Pisa\n\tYou're the smile on the Mona Lisa\n\tI'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop\n\tBut if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top![/i]\n\n\tThe squirrel grinned a buck-toothed grin at her. \"Don't you think you're being just a little bit hard on yourself?\"\n\t\"Tell you what,\" Katrina said. \"Let's grab a hotel room and crash for the day.\"\n\tSupersonic blinked. \"You mean, both of us in the same room?\"\n\tShe nodded. \"Don't worry, after the night we've had I'm too tired to do anything but sleep.\"\n\tHe smiled at her. \"I wasn't worried.\"\n\t\"Oh really?\" She stroked the top of his leather flying helmet, smiling back at him. \"Maybe I'm not as tired as I thought.\" Then she threw her arms around him, pulled the giggling squirrel to her so his back was against her chest, and sang: \n\n\t[i]Baby, I'm the bottom!\n\tThere's just one of you and I've got 'im!\n\tBut if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top![/i]\n\n\tThey noticed the bartender staring at them, and Katrina stared right back at him defiantly. \"What?\" she demanded. The bartender simply shrugged and returned to his duties. Katrina took the squirrel's furry hand in hers, he hopped down off his stool, and they left the bar together.\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
A Night in Vibora


a story set in the universe of Champions Online


\tIt had rained recently, and the streets of Vibora Bay glistened beneath the streetlights shining through the misty gloom of the humid Florida night. Along a pair of iron rails beneath towering cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss trundled a trolley car, a mobile oasis of light in the murky darkness. It ground to a halt before a blocky brick building, discharged two passengers, and then continued on its endless journey.
\tThe pair were as different as one could imagine. One was a girl of about twenty, slender of build, with light brown skin, blue eyes, and close-cropped white hair. She was dressed in black spandex pants that hugged her legs like a second skin, a brown leather jacket over a T-shirt with red and white horizontal stripes, and black leather boots. The other was a squatly built creature, about three feet tall, with a blunt buck-toothed muzzle and huge round eyes. It was covered with gray fur, a fluffy question mark of a tail rising up behind it higher than its head. A sheet of furred skin stretched from each arm to the leg on that side. Its sole article of clothing was an old-style leather flying helmet with a pair of goggles.
\tThe building before them was a massive structure, three stories tall, the bottom floor lined with corrugated aluminum shutters while the two floors above contained rows of grated windows that glowed with orange light. It looked like a factory built over a hundred years ago, which was in fact exactly what it had once been. Above the front door, a huge ball of rusted metal with projections sticking out of it in every direction dangled from an iron boom. Bright glowing letters circled the ball continuously, providing the establishment's name: the Minefield. Throbbing techno music drifted onto the street from inside.
\t"This is the place you wanted to visit?" the short furry creature asked the girl, speaking in a soft, nasal whine.
\tShe nodded. "I've heard about it. Always wanted to check it out. I hear it has an interesting clientele."
\t"I dunno, Katrina," the creature said, looking up at the structure doubtfully. "Looks kinda shady to me."
\t"I thought shady was what you wanted," Katrina said, glancing down at her companion. "You chickening out on me, Supersonic?"
\tSupersonic Squirrel blinked, then frowned and puffed out his furry chest. "I'll show you who's chicken!" He marched boldly up the steps on his short legs, opened the door, and went inside. Katrina smiled and followed him.
\tThey were both slammed in the face by the music as they entered the lobby. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all concrete, giving the lobby a cold, barren appearance. The only illumination came from two lights mounted in the floor, emitting cones of light upward. To their right, two cashiers stood behind a counter, protected by a wire mesh. To their left was the entrance to the restrooms.
\t"There's gonna be a cover charge," Katrina said, raising her voice to be heard over the music. She looked down at the squirrel, noting his lack of pockets. "What are you gonna pay with, sex?"
\tSupersonic smirked and took off his flying helmet, reaching inside and plucking out a credit card. "I came prepared," he said, putting his helmet back on. He went up to one of the cashiers. "Two, please." The girl nodded, showing no surprise whatsover at being addressed by a three-foot talking squirrel, as he slid the card into the machine.
\tKatrina looked surprised. "You're paying for me?"
\tSupersonic shrugged as he tucked the card back into his helmet. "In my time, the man always paid. That's just how it was. Anyway, as a registered hero, I get a monthly stipend. Being one of the good guys has its benefits."
\tKatrina grinned. "I'm not complaining."
\t"Hold out your hand, please," the cashier said to Supersonic.
\tThe squirrel looked puzzled, but did so. She frowned as she looked at the back of his hand, which was covered in fur, then turned it over. His palm was hairless, so she pressed a cylindrical device against it. "There's a two drink minimum," she said. "Have a good time."
\t Supersonic drew his hand back and looked at it curiously while the cashier did the same thing to Katrina. "What was that about?" he asked.
\t"Nowadays they stamp your hand," said Katrina, "so you can leave and get back in without having to pay again."
\t"But there's nothing on my hand!" said Supersonic, holding it up to show her his palm was blank.
\tKatrina put her hand under the small UV lamp in front of the cashiers, and a mark shaped like a mine glowed on the back of it. "It's an ink that's only visible under ultraviolet light."
\t"Oh," said Supersonic, putting his palm under the lamp and staring at the glowing mine-shaped mark on it. "That's neat!"
\t"Come on, let's go soak up the ambience," said Katrina, heading into the club. Supersonic took a deep breath and followed her inside.
\tThe dance floor of the club was a converted factory work floor, with giant industrial pipes lining the walls, and Supersonic winced as he was hit with the full force of the decibels. He could feel the bass reverberating through the soles of his feet. All around him, young people wearing dark clothes and white makeup danced, their bodies jerking and twisting as if they'd just been shot, while multicolored spotlights played over them. On a stage, a top-hatted deejay in skull makeup worked the sound system, and behind him sprouted a light display designed to look like a plume or fountain that changed color periodically. It was all very strange and somewhat intimidating to a small-town squirrel from Minnesota who was more than fifty years behind the times, but he also felt a thrill of excitment at being in a place that someone like him wouldn't normally go.
\t"What do you think?" Katrina shouted to him.
\t"What?" Supersonic shouted back, unable to hear her over the din.
\tKatrina reached out with her mind and formed a telepathic link with the squirrel. "I asked what you thought," she thought to him.
\t"It's very loud," Supersonic thought back.
\tShe grinned and nodded. "Wanna get a drink?"
\tSupersonic looked at the bar uncertainly. "I'm not sure I'm old enough."
\t"You were born in 1947! You're plenty old enough!"
\t"Yeah, but I've only lived seventeen years. In fact, technically it's only been a few weeks since Jay Richards's wish brought me to life!"
\t"The bartender isn't going to know any of that," thought Katrina. "All they're going to see is the date of birth on your ID."
\t"I dunno," said Supersonic, "that seems kind of dishonest."
\tKatrina rolled her eyes. "You are such a boy scout! Fine, then get something non-alcoholic!"
\tThey went up to the bar and presented their IDs, and Supersonic ordered a Coke while Katrina asked for a mai tai. As with the cashier in the lobby, the bartender didn't seem at all bothered that she was serving a three-foot talking squirrel whose ID said he was old enough to be her grandfather.
\tKatrina noticed Supersonic peering curiously at her drink. "Wanna try a sip?" she asked.
\t"Does it have booze in it?" asked Supersonic.
\t"Of course it has booze in it. Go ahead, try it." She held the glass out to him.
\tThe squirrel regarded the drink as if it might bite him. "Well, I guess one little sip can't hurt." He leaned forward and placed his lips at the edge of the glass. His eyes widened as he drew back. "Holy cow, that's really tasty!"
\tKatrina chuckled. "Congratulations, you're a grown-up. Look, I'm gonna go circulate a little. Will you be safe here by yourself?"
\tSupersonic scowled. "I've fought demons, cyborgs, and lizard people from beneath the sea. I think I'll manage."
\tKatrina nodded and left the bar, strolling out onto the dance floor. She opened her mind a little, letting some of the thoughts of the dancers drift into her consciousness, but not enough to overwhelm her. She knew how to keep her mind walled off, to avoid being drowned in the thoughts of others, and how to open it up just enough to catch occasional stray thoughts. Most of the thoughts she picked up weren't very interesting. Sometimes they were downright pornographic. But once in a while she overheard something useful, like the thoughts of an ARGENT technician that had led to her meeting Supersonic Squirrel, a character from a 1960's cartoon show who had been accidentally brought to life by a magical wishing ring. She glanced at him as he sat there on his bar stool nursing his Coke. He was a sweet guy, and incredibly brave, but Lord, was he such a straight arrow! But something about that appealed to her, and when he'd expressed a desire to learn more about the real world, she'd agreed to help.
\tShe leaned back against a wall, sipping her mai tai, eavesdropping on several conversations telepathically. As she did so, a big hairy fellow wearing a wifebeater, jeans, and work boots came up to her, grinning. His features had a slightly brutish cast to them, and he had long muttonchop sideburns. "Hey, babe," he said, in a low, growling voice. "Wanna dance?"
\t"I might," Katrina replied, smiling back at him.
\tHe nodded eagerly, and her smile vanished as she overheard him think: "Just one dance with this bitch, then I find Telgoff and rip his throat out!"
\tThe man turned and walked out to the middle of the dance floor. Katrina hesitantly followed, and they began dancing to the throbbing techno beat of the house music. He was no longer thinking about the murder he intended to commit, and Katrina didn't dare risk probing his mind for more information. Scanning surface thoughts was easy enough for her to do without arousing suspicion, but if she went any deeper, he'd sense her telepathic intrusion. She gazed at him as he danced gracelessly with her. Those tree trunk arms looked as if they could snap her neck like a twig. Best not to make him angry.
\t"Maybe you and me could get together later?" the big man asked after a few minutes, leering at her with obvious intent.
\tShe smiled. "That might be fun."
\t"Cool," he replied. "I got some business to attend to first, though. How does fifteen minutes sound?"
\t"Sounds fine," Katrina said.
\tThe man grinned wider, displaying pronounced canine teeth. "Great! I'll be back to pick you up then!" He held out a huge, hairy hand to her. "I'm Rex, by the way."
\tShe took that massive paw in her much smaller hand and squeezed it. "I'm Kat."
\t"See ya, Kat!" And with that, he turned and lumbered off into the crowd.
\tKatrina ran back to the bar, where she found Supersonic Squirrel sitting with his hands braced against it and his head bowed. She put her hand on his furry shoulder. "You okay?" she asked.
\tHe looked up at her, his huge eyes mournful. "I don't feel so good."
\t"You don't look so good, either. What happened?"
\t"Well, I finished my Coke, and since there's a two drink minimum I decided to try something else. I didn't want anything alcoholic, so I ordered something from the drink menu called a Long Island iced tea."
\tKatrina stared at him. "Do you know what's in that?"
\t"No, what?"
\t"Rum, gin, tequila, vodka, and triple sec!"
\tSupersonic's mouth fell open. "No tea?"
\tKatrina shook her head. "Not a drop."
\t"Why the heck do they call it an iced tea, then?" Supersonic demanded angrily.
\t"How the hell should I know? I didn't invent the damn thing! Can you walk?"
\t"I think so," he said, and slipped off his bar stool, only to stagger and nearly fall before Katrina caught him.
\t"Listen," she said, "I just met a guy named Rex who's planning to kill someone!"
\tSupersonic's eyes went wide. "We gotta stop him!"
\t"You don't look like you could stop a drain right now."
\t"I can manage," Supersonic retorted, "if the room would just stop spinning!"
\tKatrina took the squirrel by his hand and led him away from the bar, the noise, and the flashing lights, into a hallway at the back of the club. Once there, she closed her eyes and concentrated, expanding her mental awareness outward like a web as she tried to locate Rex. He was still in the building, close by, and his thoughts were of rending flesh and tasting blood.
\tHer concentration was broken by a familiar, unpleasant sound. Supersonic Squirrel was doubled over and clutching his middle as he heaved the contents of his stomach onto the floor. Katrina crouched down beside him, patting his head gently, and he looked back at her with the most pitiful expression she'd ever seen.
\t"Holy cow!" he whimpered. "I've never felt anything that bad! Is that a normal thing for people to do?"
\tShe nodded. "It's called throwing up. Just another part of being alive."
\t"My mouth tastes terrible!"
\t"Maybe you should stay here."
\t"No! I can make it!" The squirrel straightened up and squared his shoulders. "Let's go!"
\tAs Katrina led him toward Rex, she wondered to herself why she was doing this. After all, she had no idea who this Telgoff was or why Rex wanted to kill him, and she didn't normally interfere in matters that didn't concern her. She could only conclude that some of Supersonic's moral uprightness and altruism was starting to rub off on her. She wasn't sure yet if that was a good thing or not.
\tThe hallway led around a corner and came to a dead end. There stood Rex, along with a woman dressed in a remarkably trashy outfit consisting of leather hot pants, fishnet stockings, fur-trimmed boots, and a leather jacket over a sports bra. Her brown hair was bizarrely coiffed so it rose to a point above her head. They were both menacing a black-haired, bearded young man with his back against the wall and a terrified expression on his face. His eyes widened when he saw Katrina and Supersonic, and Rex and the woman both turned to face them.
\t"Well, couldn't wait, huh, Kat?" asked Rex, grinning.
\t"Who is she?" the woman asked, in a deep, throaty voice, and then her eyes shifted to Supersonic. "And what is that?"
\t"She's a norm I was dancing with earlier, Varla," Rex replied. "And that must be one of Ram's manimal friends."
\t"Wrong on both counts," said Katrina, smirking. "I don't know what your beef is with this guy, but you're gonna have to deal with us first!"
\tRex shrugged. "Fine, I was gonna kill you after anyway!"
\tKatrina grinned. "Good, then I'll be spared the disappointment of some really lousy sex!"
\tRex snarled, and his body suddenly began sprouting thick brown fur. He burst out of his shirt and boots as his chest swelled and his feet changed into digitigrade paws. His nose and mouth extended forward in a canine muzzle and his ears rose to points above his head. He lunged at Katrina, his fingers now bearing long, wicked-looking claws.
\tSupersonic raised his hands, and a burst of wind struck Rex in the center of his chest, slamming him back against the brick wall, and he slumped to the floor. Varla had changed as well, though not as completely as Rex. Her face was now considerably more bestial, with long sideburns, bushy eyebrows, yellow eyes, and fangs. She moved to slash at Supersonic with her long, clawlike nails, but a mind blast from Katrina sent her reeling and she fell.
\t"What are they, werewolves?" asked Supersonic, astonished.
\t"Yeah," said Katrina. "I'd heard there was a gang of them in this town. They're called the Dogz." She addressed the bearded man. "Telgoff, I presume?"
\tThe man nodded and replied in an Eastern European accent. "Yes, that is me."
\t"Hi, I'm Katrina Werner and this is Supersonic Squirrel. We're here to save your ass. We should probably get out of here before more Dogz arrive."
\tTelgoff looked from Katrina to Supersonic and shrugged. "By all means, lead on."
\tThey ran back down the hall and out onto the dance floor. Just as they reached the center, a dozen more of the club's patrons wolfed out, sprouting fur and fangs, and moved to surround the trio, while the rest of the clubbers who weren't werewolves screamed and ran for the exit. Katrina, Supersonic, and Telgoff stood back to back as Dogz closed in around them, the lycanthropes' yellow eyes burning with bloodlust.
\t"I guess this would be the wrong time to ask who let the Dogz out," said Katrina, grinning fiercely at the werewolves. She glanced down at Supersonic, who was building up a sphere of high-pressure air between his hands, a look of grim determination on his furry face. When danger threatened, the little squirrel was all business. Meanwhile, Telgoff was speaking strange syllables, eyes closed, arms raised toward the ceiling. He brought his arms down suddenly, and five glowing purple crystals appeared in the air around them. All at once, the Dogz were moving in slow motion.
\tKatrina and Supersonic didn't waste time asking questions. The squirrel released a blast of wind at the Dog nearest to him, knocking the werewolf off his feet and sending him skidding back across the dance floor. Katrina mind-blasted another, overloading his brain so all he could do was stand there clutching his head and whining. Telgoff held up his hands, chanting. Rings of purple arcane symbols appeared around his hands, and a purple bolt shot from them, striking another werewolf in the chest and dropping him. The rest of the Dogz charged slowly toward the trio, claws raised, fangs gleaming.
\t"Clear a path to the door!" shouted Supersonic, firing another burst of wind at a Dog who was blocking the way. Katrina nodded, mind-blasting another. They began moving in the direction of the exit, Telgoff guarding the rear, hurling purple mystical bolts at the werewolves who were lethargically pursuing them. Around them, the glowing purple crystals started to fade, and the Dogz' movements began returning to normal.
\tThe trio had made an opening in the crowd of werewolves encircling them and were nearly to the exit when more Dogz appeared in the doorway. Some of them drew pistols, and Supersonic raised a wind barrier to protect himself, Katrina, and Telgoff as the werewolves fired into the club. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the wall of solidified air in front of him, but their escape was now cut off, and the Dogz inside the club licked their chops in anticipation as they eyed their prey.
\t"How many times have I told you Dogz not to harass the patrons?" came a loud bass voice from the back of the club, and all heads turned toward it. There stood a massive figure, fully seven feet tall, clothed in a white dress shirt with a black bow tie, black vest, and black pants that ended at his knees. His digitigrade, cloven-hooved feet were bare, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing thick forearms that were folded across his barrel chest. His head was that of a sheep, with horns curving backward, and all that could be seen of him was covered in gray-brown fur.
\t "Back off, Ram!" one of the Dogz snarled at him. "You're not coming between us and our prey again!"
\tRam's dark eyes narrowed. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to leave the club. Now."
\t"Screw you, grass-eater!" another Dog sneered.
\tRam sighed. "I tried to be nice. Now we'll do this the hard way." And with that he launched himself at one of the Dogz, head-butting him and knocking him to the floor.
\tInstantly, the Dogz in the club swarmed Ram, biting and slashing at him with their teeth and claws, shredding his shirt and vest and tearing bloody gashes into his hide. The huge sheep-man scarcely seemed to notice as he slammed one werewolf after another into the concrete floor with his pile driver fists, flung them against the walls like rag dolls, and butted them with his horned head.
\tKatrina, Supersonic, and Telgoff took advantage of Ram's distraction to focus their efforts on the Dogz blocking the exit. Telgoff summoned his glowing purple crystals again, which slowed the Dogz' bullets so much that they couldn't even pierce skin, while Katrina and Supersonic blasted one werewolf after another with psionic energy and wind, respectively. However, for every one they dropped, another took its place. They were making no headway, and while Ram had thinned the ranks of the Dogz in the club considerably, the sheep-man was in bad shape, bleeding from a dozen wounds. Still, he remained unbowed, glaring defiantly at the remaining werewolves. "Is that the best you mutts can do?" he sputtered through blood-flecked lips.
\t"You die tonight, manimal!" snarled one of the Dogz.
\t"Yeah, we're gonna have us a mutton dinner!" said another, grinning and licking his chops.
\t"In your dreams, pal," growled Ram.
\tAll at once, there was a blinding flash of light, and a figure appeared in the air above the dance floor. It was a woman, wearing a skin-tight white costume with a hood, a red mask covering her face. There were spiked pauldrons on her shoulders, and her forearms were wrapped in strips of red cloth, the ends of which hung free, her hands bare. She wore white boots with red cuffs, and a short red cape hung down her back. On her chest was a stylized golden wing emblem.
\t"I think not, curs," she declared, hovering in the air and gazing down at the carnage on the floor. "I've warned you Dogz before: I don't tolerate violence in my club. Begone, and tell Black Fang that if any of his pack dare to darken my door again, he will feel the full wrath of Valerian Scarlet!" She raised her arms, and every werewolf inside and outside the club vanished in a flash of light.
\tKatrina, Supersonic, and Telgoff stared at the woman in white as she floated down toward Ram, though she continued to hover about a foot above the floor. She placed her hands on his ovine face, caressing his snout tenderly. "My dear, sweet Ram, did they hurt you?"
\tRam shrugged his massive shoulders. "I've had worse."
\t"Filthy beasts!" she said, scowling. Her hands glowed with soft white light, and Ram's wounds instantly healed. Even his clothing was restored, looking as fresh as if it had just come back from the cleaners.
\tRam bowed his horned head. "Thank you, mistress."
\tValerian Scarlet leaned forward and kissed him on his forehead. "It's the least I can do for such a loyal servant." Then she rotated in the air to face the trio before her. "And who, may I ask, are you, who brought such discord to my peaceful establishment?"
\t"I'm Supersonic Squirrel, ma'am," said Supersonic, bowing to her, "and these are Katrina Werner and Telgoff. The Dogz were after Mr. Telgoff, and Katrina and myself protected him from them. We weren't looking for any trouble."
\tValerian Scarlet regarded the squirrel curiously for a moment. "Interesting," she said at last. Then she turned her attention to Telgoff. "And what business does a member of the Trismegistus Council have here?"
\t"I came into your club to avoid the Dogz," Telgoff replied. "I thought it would be safer than being out on the street."
\tKatrina glanced at Telgoff and let his thoughts enter her mind. He was trying hard to conceal it, but his mind was filled with stark terror. He couldn't have been more afraid if Dr. Destroyer himself were standing before him. She tried to listen in on Valerian Scarlet's thoughts as well, but there was nothing. It was as though she wasn't even in the room with them. Katrina had encountered that kind of mental opacity only once before, when she'd tried to read the mind of Celestial Boy, a being from the plane of Elysium. She frowned. She didn't like not being able to read people.
\t"Umm, thanks for saving us, Miss Scarlet," said Supersonic, "but what happened to the Dogz?"
\tShe favored the squirrel with an amused smile. "Does it matter?"
\t"I'd just like to know they're okay," said Supersonic.
\tValerian Scarlet laughed. "Your concern for those who would have killed you is touching. Rest assured, they have not been harmed. I teleported them to a landfill just outside of town. It seemed like an appropriate place to deposit trash." She lifted her eyes to Katrina and Telgoff. "And now, perhaps it would be best if you were all on your way. I think there has been enough excitement here for one night."
\tSupersonic nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Thanks again, ma'am. Sorry about the mess."
\t"Think nothing of it," said Valerian Scarlet, smiling. Supersonic turned to Katrina and Telgoff, and the three of them left the Minefield, emerging into the humid Florida night.
\tOnce they were gone, Valerian Scarlet's smile faded and was replaced by a look of utter coldness. She raised her hand, and a patch of the dance floor began to bubble with blackness. From the blackness rose a gaunt, pale creature somewhat resembling a mummy, except that instead of bandages its body was swathed in black leather straps.
\t"Follow them," she said. "Take the back way out."
\tThe creature bowed silently and loped toward the back door.

\tKatrina, Supersonic Squirrel, and Telgoff walked together through the damp night along the wet brick street, glancing around warily for any sign of more Dogz approaching. Satisfied that they were in no immediate danger, Katrina turned and addressed Telgoff. "Okay, give."
\tTelgoff looked puzzled. "Excuse me?"
\t"What's going on?" Katrina asked. "Why were those Dogz after you? I think we've earned the right to an explanation."
\t"Yeah!" Supersonic chimed in. "And what's this Trismegusto Council you belong to?"
\tTelgoff sighed. "While I appreciate your assistance, it would be best if you did not involve yourselves in this business any further than you already have."
\t"Best for whom?" Katrina demanded.
\t"Best for everyone," Telgoff replied. "Trust me, you are skirting the edges of a world you know nothing about and are not prepared to deal with."
\tSupersonic put his hands on his hips and leaned forward. "I think we handled ourselves pretty well back there. We sure pulled your fat out of the fire!"
\t"The Dogz are nothing!" Telgoff snapped. "Merely pawns of those with true power! And they would have killed us all if Valerian Scarlet had not intervened!"
\t"Yeah, about Valerian Scarlet," said Katrina. "Why are you so afraid of her?"
\tTelgoff stared at Katrina. "What makes you think I am?"
\t"I'm a telepath, sugar," Katrina smirked. "I can sense these things. You were absolutely terrified of her."
\t"As you should be," said Telgoff. "Valerian Scarlet is one of the most evil people on this planet."
\tSupersonic blinked. "She is? She didn't seem evil to me."
\t"Do you know what the Minefield is?" asked Telgoff.
\t"Let me guess," said Katrina. "Could it be . . . a nightclub?"
\t"That is only the surface," said Telgoff. "In reality, it is a device for drawing off mystical energy from the souls of its patrons and feeding it to her demonic masters!"
\tSupersonic gasped. "Is she a member of DEMON?"
\tTelgoff looked at the squirrel. "What do you know of DEMON?"
\t"I've run into them before," said Supersonic. "In a way, they're responsible for me being here. It was a magical wishing ring stolen from them that brought me to life!"
\t"Oh? I had assumed you were a manimal, like Ram. One of Dr. Moreau's creations."
\t"Yeah, I get that a lot," said Supersonic, "but I'm not a manimal. I used to be a cartoon character."
\t"Interesting," said Telgoff. "No, Valerian Scarlet is not part of DEMON."
\t"So," said Katrina, "back to my original question: why were those Dogz after you?"
\t"My answer has not changed," Telgoff replied. "It is not for you to know."
\t"I could always read your mind and find out," said Katrina, grinning.
\tTelgoff paled. "You would not dare!"
\t"Oh, wouldn't I?"
\tSupersonic frowned. "Katrina, I thought we agreed you weren't going do that anymore!"
\t"If I didn't, we wouldn't have known the Dogz were planning to murder him, would we?" Katrina replied. She turned back to Telgoff. "So, you gonna level with us, or do I have to go fishing in your brain? Never know what else I might find in there." She chuckled.
\tTelgoff sighed. "Very well. As Valerian Scarlet mentioned, I belong to the Trismegistus Council. We are a secret order of mystics who protect the world from arcane threats."
\t"So, you're like the opposite of DEMON," said Supersonic.
\t"They are one of our main adversaries," said Telgoff, nodding. "A few weeks ago, my occult studies led me to discover an ancient book in a ruined castle in my home country of Romania. In it, I found a long-forgotten spell enabling one to control the undead."
\tSupersonic blinked. "Undead? You mean like vampires?"
\tTelgoff nodded. "Controlling mindless undead, such as zombies, is a simple matter, but this spell would allow one to control any undead."
\t"Isn't there a gang of vampires in this city?" asked Katrina.
\t"Yes, the New Shadows, led by Vladic Dracul."
\t"Dracula?" asked Supersonic Squirrel in disbelief.
\t"Not quite," said Telgoff. "Vladic Dracul was the father of Vlad Tepes, the Romanian nobleman and sadist who served as the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. He is the most powerful vampire in the world, but with this spell he could be manipulated as easily as any zombie. Since the Dogz and the New Shadows are perpetually at war with each other, Black Fang, the leader of the Dogz, would like very much to get his hands on it."
\t"And I imagine Dracul would want it to keep anyone else from using it on him," said Katrina.
\t"Indeed," said Telgoff. "Now you understand why I must deliver the book to the Trismegistus Council for safekeeping."
\t"Why not just mail it to them?" asked Supersonic.
\t"With magical scrying, the book could be intercepted at any point along its journey. Therefore, I had to keep it on my person to ensure that it would remain hidden." Telgoff delved into the collar of his shirt and removed a golden medallion bearing the image of a stork. "This is an Amulet of Thoth. All members of the Trismegistus Council wear one. Among other things, it makes one invisible to scrying spells."
\t"Then how did the Dogz know where to find you?" asked Katrina.
\tTelgoff frowned. "I do not know. They should not have been able to."
\t"Where is this Council located?" asked Supersonic.
\t"Their headquarters is a mansion in the Midtown neighborhood of this city."
\t"Then you could put that amulet on me and I could fly there with the book!"
\tKatrina grinned. "That sounds like a great idea!"
\t"It does have merit," said Telgoff thoughtfully, "provided he can find the mansion."
\tKatrina took out her cell phone. "Just give me the address and Google maps will do the rest!"
\tTelgoff did so, and within a minute Supersonic was surveying a computerized map of Vibora Bay on the screen of Katrina's cell phone. "Okay, got it!" he said. Telgoff looped his medallion around the squirrel's neck and then removed a paper bundle from his backpack and handed it to him. "Good luck, Supersonic," he said.
\tThe squirrel grinned a buck-toothed grin, lowering his goggles over his eyes. "Don't worry—your book is in safe hands!" And with that, he launched himself into the air and rocketed off into the dark sky. Behind a nearby bush, a pair of black eyes watched him go, glinting with malice and madness.

\tSupersonic Squirrel flew through the night sky above the brightly lit cityscape of Vibora Bay, the wind blowing across his furry body, his long tail trailing behind him like a streamer. To the south of him lay the great black expanse of the Gulf of Mexico, the light of the full moon making it glitter like a sea of diamonds. He began humming "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" to himself as he flew along. It was an old song, having been written over a century ago and recorded by Bing Crosby, Fats Waller, and Doris Day, among others, but, he reflected, he was an old squirrel, at least in terms of when he'd been born. As he flew, he thought about his relationship with Katrina. He found her fascinating. She was completely different from any girl he'd ever known before, so tough and coarse that she made the tomboys of his time look dainty by comparison. True, her morals could only be described as loose, but she had guts, and she'd come through on the side of right when it had counted. She'd also given him his first kiss, which still astonished him. For a human to kiss a squirrel was unheard of in his time, but apparently things were different now. He found himself wondering how much further their relationship might go.
\tSo lost in thought was the squirrel that he didn't notice a swarm of black, fluttering things on an intercept course until they were upon him and he was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of bats, their small bodies and leathery wings battering at him as tiny fangs pierced his flesh. He cried out in alarm and spread his arms and legs wide, creating a vortex of wind around himself that sent the bats tumbling in every direction. Then he gasped as the bats coalesced into three human figures.
\tThere were two men and a woman. The woman wore a long gown and bodice with puffy shoulders and fishnet sleeves, while the men were both dressed as though they'd stepped out of the early 1800s, in long double-breasted jackets with thick sleeve cuffs, breeches that ended at the knees, silk stockings, buckled shoes, and lace cravats. The color schemes of their outfits were predominantly black and red. However, it wasn't their archaic dress that caught the squirrel's attention so much as their blazing crimson eyes, their distended lower jaws with long canine teeth jutting upward, and the huge black membranous wings sprouting from their backs, flapping to keep them aloft.
\t"The New Shadows, I presume?" asked Supersonic.
\t"That isss correct," one of the men said, in a distorted, sibilant voice. "Give ussss the book, ssssquirrel, and we will let you live."
\tSupersonic hugged the paper bundle Telgoff had given him to his furry chest and shook his head. "That's not going to happen!"
\t"You will ssssurrender it!" the man said, extending his hand toward the squirrel, his fingers tipped with clawlike nails. For a moment, Supersonic felt an overwhelming compulsion to hand the book over. Then the feeling suddenly passed, and his will was once again his own.
\t"You resist?" the man said, his crimson eyes narrowing in consternation.
\t"He wearsss the medallion of the Trisssmegissstusss Counccccil!" hissed the woman.
\tSupersonic glanced down at the Amulet of Thoth resting against his chest, then back at the three vampires, and grinned at them. "Ha! Your hypnotism won't work on me!"
\tThe man growled. "Then we will take it by forcccce!" He lunged at the squirrel, and was sent tumbling head over heels through the air by a blast of wind.
\t"Kill him!" the woman screeched, flying at the squirrel with claws outstretched, while the other man did the same. Supersonic dodged her swipe, but the man's claws raked across his back, slicing deep gashes into his flesh. The sudden pain and shock caused the squirrel to lose both his concentration and his grip on the book. It fell from his grasp as he began to plummet toward the ground far below. The woman flew after the book and snatched it up, while the man dove after Supersonic, intent on finishing him off. Supersonic looked up through his daze to see the vampire bearing down on him, grinning a fanged grin, red eyes blazing.
\t"Well," the squirrel thought to himself, "I guess this is it."
\tAll at once, another figure appeared out of thin air behind the vampire. It was small, about a foot taller than Supersonic, with a thin, limber build and a slender tail. Its body was covered entirely with brown fur, and it wore only a belt with a sheathed sword, cuffed leather boots, and a green wool cap, pointed in the front, with a white feather in it. Its narrow, humanlike face had pointed ears and large, almond-shaped eyes. In one long, delicate hand it held a bow, and a quiver of arrows was strapped across its back. As the creature began to fall, it drew an arrow from its quiver, nocked it in its bow, drew, and fired. The arrow pierced the vampire's back, the point emerging through the center of his chest. The vampire howled and dissolved into dust.
\tThe creature vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, and Supersonic felt a gust of wind beneath him, blowing upward and slowing his fall. He floated to the ground, landing as gently as a falling leaf. Then the creature reappeared again, standing over him. "You okay?" it asked, in a high, chirpy voice.
\t"I'm in a lot of pain," Supersonic replied through clenched teeth, sitting up. The fur on his back was wet and sticky with blood. He looked around. He had landed in the middle of a cemetery, with towering tombstones on all sides. "Well, this could have been unfortunately convenient."
\tThe creature nodded. "Should get those wounds looked at. Also be a good idea to wash 'em with holy water. Can't be too careful with vamps."
\t"Thanks for the save," said Supersonic. "Who are you?"
\t"I Emorada," the creature declared proudly, "mighty paladin of Omlu!"
\tSupersonic blinked. "You're Emorada?"
\tEmorada tilted his head. "You heard of me?"
\t"Yeah, a Lemurian named Samtiss mentioned you," said Supersonic, getting slowly and painfully to his feet.
\t"Oh, Samtiss!" said Emorada, nodding and grinning. "He one good and brave lizard! Got a rotten son, though."
\t"No argument there," said Supersonic.
\t"You know Dorgok, too?" asked Emorada.
\t"We've met. Who or what is Omlu?"
\t"Omlu god of sky," Emorada replied.
\t"I've never heard of him," said Supersonic.
\tEmorada sighed. "Yah, no one here has. I from another world. So, why New Shadows after you?"
\t"I was delivering a book to the Trismegistus Council, but now those vampires have it!"
\t"So let's go get it back," said Emorada.
\t"Not so fast, mon," came a deep, melodious voice from behind them. They both whirled toward it. Atop a tombstone crouched a tall, thin black man wearing a long, ratty coat and trousers and a top hat. His face was painted white to resemble a skull, and his bare chest was painted like a rib cage. His eyes were glowing red dots in the black sockets of his skull mask. Behind him shambled a horde of walking cadavers, along with creatures resembling humanoid alligators. He grinned a hideous rictus grin at them. "Now, why don't you tell Baron Cimetiere about dis book?"

\tKatrina and Telgoff rode the trolley car to the Midtown district of Vibora Bay in silence, the only people on board save for the operator. Katrina tried to scan for Supersonic's mind to find out how he was doing, but with all the mental background noise from the populace of the huge city, it was like trying to pick out one voice in a crowded football stadium. She finally gave up and turned her attention to her companion. He was a handsome man of about thirty, with swarthy skin, bushy brows, dark eyes, and black hair, beard, and moustache. His clothing was nondescript, just an ordinary jacket and jeans, nothing to suggest that he was a sorcerer who belonged to a secret order of mystics. He could have been a struggling artist, a college student, or a homeless vagrant.
\t"So, you have a first name?" Katrina asked.
\t"Stefan," he replied.
\t"Where in Romania are you from, Stefan?"
\tHe chuckled. "Would it mean anything to you if I told you?"
\tShe shook her head. "Not really. I'm not up on my Romanian geography."
\t"Then there is no point in telling you, is there?"
\t"I guess not. You been in the magic game long?"
\t"All my life. My mother was Romany—what you Americans call a gypsy. I was born with the Sight. I have been able to work magic as long as I can remember. It is second nature to me. While still a boy, I began using magic to combat the vampires and werewolves that still infest the more rustic parts of my country. That brought me to the attention of a wizard named Theomistekles Venedictos, who recruited me into the Trismegistus Council." He glanced at her. "What about you? Have you always had your powers?"
\t"They surfaced in my teens," said Katrina. "I started hearing voices in my head. At first I thought I was going crazy. My parents took me to see some doctors, and they figured out I was psionic. They sent me to a place called Ravenswood Academy in Millenium City. It's a school for kids with powers. The folks there taught me how to control my abilities. But I didn't like the discipline, so I split. I've been living on my own ever since."
\tTelgoff nodded. "And how did you come to be partnered with a talking squirrel?"
\t"A Lemurian kid named Dorgok stumbled onto my hideout while he was being chased by Supersonic and another hero named Celestial Boy."
\t"A Lemurian? One of those evil lizard creatures from beneath the sea?"
\t"Yup. Then we all got attacked by cyborgs from ARGENT—you know, the multinational megacorp? They were after me because I stole something from them. That led us down here to Vibora to find the guy who made the thing I stole, a crackpot inventor called Juryrig. Turns out it was part of a time machine he was building."
\tTelgoff raised an eyebrow. "A time machine?"
\t"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too. But it actually worked. Dorgok used it to go back a year to when the Lemurians invaded Millenium City so he could save his mom, a bitch named Yareen the Defiler. Me, Supersonic, Celestial Boy, and Dorgok's father, Samtiss, went after him and brought him back. Me and Supersonic kind of became friends along the way, so when we got back he asked me if I could help him learn more about the real world, and I agreed."
\tTelgoff nodded. "And how long ago was this?"
\t"Yesterday."
\tTelgoff blinked. "By the dark gods, you have had an eventful two days!"
\t"Tell me about it. I'm still not sure this isn't all some weird dream I'm having."
\t"I assure you," said Telgoff, smiling, "I am quite real."
\tKatrina smiled back. "I certainly hope so. Be a shame if a guy as cute as you was just a figment of my imagination."
\tTelgoff grimaced uncomfortably. Then they both jerked sideways as the trolley screeched to a halt. "Midtown!" the operator announced. They disembarked from the trolley and began walking along the dark, gloomy cobblestone streets of Midtown.
\tAfter a few blocks they came upon a three-story Neo-Georgian mansion surrounded by a brick walled courtyard with an ungated entrance in the front.
\t"Pretty lousy security!" Katrina commented. "Looks like the forces of darkness could just walk right in!"
\tTelgoff smiled. "In the world of magic, few things are what they seem. This building is wreathed with powerful protective spells that prevent anyone with evil intent from entering."
\tKatrina shrugged. "Well, I don't think I'm particularly evil . . ."
\t"There is only one way to find out, isn't there?"
\tKatrina nodded and stepped through the entrance. Nothing happened. She turned to Telgoff as he entered as well. "Looks like I'm clean in the evil department."
\t"I never had any doubt of that," said Telgoff.
\t"Just out of curiosity, what would have happened if I had been evil? Would I have been disintegrated, or turned into a toad or something?"
\t"No, you would have just bounced off the ward." They ascended the stairs to the front door, and Telgoff reached out to turn the knob.
\t"Shouldn't we knock?" Katrina asked.
\tTelgoff grinned at her. "A thief concerned about entering without permission? Do not worry, they already know we are here." He turned the knob, and the doors both swung inward on their own. They entered into a two-story foyer with wood paneled walls and a floor whose pattern of alternating black and white marble tiles made it resemble a chessboard. Twin staircases curved down from a balcony around a yawning fireplace. Descending the stairs were three people wearing long blue robes emblazoned with golden arcane symbols, with shoulder pieces that curved upward and ended in points. Each also wore an Amulet of Thoth and a belt bearing a glowing blue orb. One of them was a man with white hair, beard, and moustache. The other two were women—one Asian with white hair, one Caucasian with red hair. They all smiled at Telgoff and Katrina.
\t"Stefan!" said the Asian woman, coming forward and embracing him. "It is good to see you safe!" The other two embraced him as well.
\t"You have her to thank for that," said Telgoff, gesturing at Katrina. "This is Katrina Werner, from Millenium City. Katrina, these are Akako Yamimori, Fiona Abercrombie, and Orlando Rodriguez, senior members of the Trismegistus Council."
\t"Pleased to meet you, Katrina," said Abercrombie, speaking with a British accent. Then she turned to Telgoff. "You had some trouble?"
\t"Did Supersonic not tell you what happened?" Telgoff asked.
\tThe trio looked at him in puzzlement. "Who?"
\t"Something's gone wrong," said Katrina grimly. She quickly explained the situation to the mages.
\t"You entrusted the book to a talking squirrel?" asked Rodriguez, incredulous.
\t"He could get it here faster than either of us," Telgoff retorted, "and with my Amulet of Thoth around his neck, he should have been invisible to magical scrying."
\t"And yet, he never arrived," said Yamimori.
\t"Perhaps he stopped to gather nuts somewhere," said Rodriguez, scowling.
\tKatrina glared at him. "Supersonic would never do that! He takes his responsibilities very seriously!"
\t"Regardless," said Abercrombie, "we must try to locate him and the book quickly."
\t"And how do you suggest we do that?" asked Rodriguez. "If he is wearing an Amulet of Thoth, scrying spells will be useless!"
\t"I can find him," said Katrina.
\t"How?" asked Yamimori.
\t"I'm psionic. I can scan for his mind."
\t"You can scan the entire city?" asked Abercrombie in disbelief.
\tKatrina shook her head. "I don't have to. Supersonic would have flown in a straight line to get here as fast as possible. I can just backtrack along the path he would have taken."
\t"Let us go at once, then," said Yamimori. "We must find that book!"

\tKatrina and the four mages made their way along cobblestone streets lit by glowing street lamps that stood as lonely sentinels against the impenetrable night. It was now well after midnight, and the streets were largely deserted, allowing the strangely garbed group to attract minimal attention—not that bizarre clothing was at all unusual in Vibora Bay. As they walked, Katrina mentally scanned the immediate area for any sign of Supersonic Squirrel, while trying to quell her rising feelings of anxiety about what might have happened to her small companion. She knew him well enough to know that the only reason he would have failed to complete his task was if he had run into some sort of trouble, and in Vibora, trouble could take many forms, all of them dangerous.
\tA few blocks from the mansion, they found themselves before an arched gate bearing a sign that identified it as the entrance to Cypress Grove cemetery. Beyond the gate lay row upon row of tombstones beneath overhanging cypress trees that sheltered the departed as they slumbered in their graves.
\t"We must proceed with caution," said Abercrombie. "This is Sovereign Sons territory."
\t"Who now?" asked Katrina.
\t"A gang led by Baron Cimetiere," replied Yamimori, "a powerful voodoo priest."
\tRodriguez nodded grimly. "They have a penchant for making people disappear, only to reappear later as zombies."
\t"Zombies?" asked Katrina. "Are we in danger of having our brains eaten? Because I like my brain right where it is, thanks!"
\tAbercrombie shook her head. "That is only in the movies. Real zombies do not eat. In fact, typically their mouths are sewn shut."
\t"Well, I guess it keeps them from complaining," said Katrina.
\t"They would not speak in any case," said Rodriguez. "They have no minds. It is to prevent them from tasting salt."
\tKatrina looked at him. "Salt?"
\t"If they taste salt," said Telgoff, "they will realize they are dead and return to their graves."
\tKatrina shrugged. "Anyone got a pretzel?" She looked around at the four mages, who were all staring at her. "What? Just trying to lighten the mood a little. You're all so serious!"
\t"We have ample reason to be," said Yamimori. "There is much at stake."
\t"Not the least being the life of your friend," said Abercrombie.
\t"Yeah, I know," said Katrina. She concentrated, reaching out with her mind across the sprawling cemetery, seeking Supersonic's.
\tAfter a moment, she was rewarded with contact. "K-Katrina?" came the squirrel's mental voice in her head.
\t"Supersonic!" Katrina thought to him. "Where are you?"
\t"I'm underground, Katrina!"
\tShe gasped. "Underground?"
\t"Baron Cimetiere blew some kind of powder at me and Emorada! It paralyzed us! He forced me to tell him about the book! I couldn't resist! And then, his followers put us in coffins and buried us alive! I'm so scared, Katrina! It's cold and dark, and I can't move!"
\tKatrina swallowed, feeling the squirrel's terror through their mental link. "Don't worry, Supersonic. I'm here with friends. We'll get you out of this!" She turned to the mages. "I'm in contact with Supersonic. He says Cimetiere doused him and someone called Emorada with some kind of powder and then buried them alive!"
\tAbercrombie nodded. "Tetrodotoxin. It is a poison derived from the glands of the puffer fish. It causes paralysis and eventually death. The Sovereign Sons use it to create zombies."
\t"Is there an antidote?" asked Katrina.
\t"Yes," said Yamimori, "but it must be administered within twenty-four hours. Beyond that, brain damage becomes irreversible and all that is left is a mindless husk."
\t"What about the book?" asked Telgoff. "Does Cimetiere have it?"
\tKatrina thought the question to Supersonic, then relayed his reply. "No, he says the New Shadows attacked him en route to the mansion and took it from him."
\tRodriguez frowned. "How did those vampires even know about the book, let alone where to find it?"
\t"Maybe the same way the Dogz did," said Katrina. "Sounds to me like you have a leak somewhere. In any case, we have to rescue Supersonic!"
\t"But how will we find him?" asked Abercrombie. "This place is enormous!"
\t"I've got a mental fix on his location! Come on!"
\tKatrina led the mages into the cemetery and past endless rows of tombstones, some dating as far back as 1700. High above them, atop a tall column, a statue of an angel maintained an endless vigil over the dead. Eventually, they came to a small patch of freshly turned earth in a quiet corner of the graveyard in the shadow of a huge cypress tree.
\t"Here!" Katrina announced. "This is the spot where they buried him!"
\t"An' dis be where we bury you!" came a voice from the shadows. From behind the tree stepped a dreadlocked black man wearing a long ragged coat and trousers, his feet bare. His body was painted to resemble a skeleton, his face a skull.
\t"Baron Cimetiere?" asked Katrina, scowling.
\tThe man shook his head. "Nah, I jus' one of his loa servants. De Baron, he got bigger fish to fry. He leave me here in case anyone come lookin' for de two fuzzy ones we put in de ground."
\tKatrina smirked. "Just you?"
\tThe loa grinned. "Well, me an' a few friends." He raised a hand, and out of the darkness from every direction emerged figures out of a nightmare. Some were emaciated zombies in tattered clothing, their mouths sewn shut. Others were humanoid alligators, some wearing fur loincloths, others wearing ratty vests, trousers, and top hats and carrying wooden clubs lined with square obsidian blades. They began closing in from all sides, the alligator creatures drooling with anticipation.
\t"Don' rough dem up too bad," the loa instructed his followers. "We want 'em to be whole when we plant 'em."
\tThe four mages went into action instantly, each one assuming a specific role without being told. Telgoff summoned five floating purple crystals, as he'd done in the Minefield, with identical results—the advancing Sovereign Sons went into slow motion. Abercrombie summoned five floating crimson crystals, which exploded whenever any of the slow-moving cultists came near them. Yamimori took the offensive role, gesturing and producing a cone of purple light that caused any cultists in its area of effect to fall unconscious, while Rodriguez conjured five floating white crystals whose effects were not immediately obvious to Katrina.
\tStill, the Sovereign Sons were not so easily denied. The mindless, insensate zombies made excellent shock troops, shambling up to Abercrombie's explosive crystals and causing them to detonate, clearing the way for the big, loincloth-clad alligator men to charge in, while the smaller, top-hatted alligator men stood back and lobbed green mystical bolts at the mages. Katrina ducked behind a large tombstone to evade the bolts, only to find herself looking into the hideous, dessicated face of a zombie, its mouth stitched shut, its dead eyes staring at her. It raised a machete, the blade gleaming in the moonlight, and hacked at her arm, but curiously, it failed to break the skin, or to even cut through her leather jacket. Katrina blinked in surprise, as the blow should have taken her arm off, but she was not about to question her good fortune. Since the zombie had no mind to affect, she planted her heel in its stomach and kicked hard, pushing it away from her. It stumbled backward into Yamimori's purple cone of light, and immediately collapsed.
\tOne of the big alligator men had managed to get within reach of Yamimori, raising its massive scaly green fists and slamming them down on the small Japanese woman. As with the machete, a blow that should have been fatal was merely bruising, and with a thrust of her hand to the creature's chest,  Yamimori sent it flying back away from her.
\tThe loa, who had been standing back and watching the battle, frowned, apparently displeased by his underlings' lack of success. He raised a hand toward Telgoff, and a green bolt struck the Romanian mage, knocking him flat on his back. Instantly, the purple crystals Telgoff had summoned faded away, and the Sovereign Sons began moving at normal speed again. With the explosive crystals all destroyed, there was nothing to stop the cultists from swarming over the mages. Katrina cried out in pain as one of the alligator men swung at her with a club, striking her across her shoulder, the obsidian blades lining the club cutting deep into her flesh. She snarled and focused a withering mental blast at the creature, overloading the synapses in its brain and causing it to fall to the ground, quivering uncontrollably. Katrina glanced at her wounded shoulder, and her eyes widened as she saw the gashes there closing up. So that was what Rodriguez's white crystals did!
\tUnfortunately, the mages were in danger of being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, with zombies and alligator men coming at them from all directions. Katrina turned her attention to the loa, who was standing with his arms folded across his bare chest, a wide grin on his skull-painted face. She concentrated, building up a charge of psychic energy, and released it at him, but somehow the mind blast was reflected back at her, and she fell to her knees, screaming and clutching her head. The loa laughed, hands on hips. "Death is only de beginnin', girl! You mind tricks are no match for de dark powahs we serve!"
\t"And how will those dark powers fare against a .45 slug?" came a woman's voice from beside him. There stood a woman in a skin-tight green and black costume, her head completely covered by a green cowl, a black mask over her eyes. In her gloved hand she held a pistol aimed directly at the loa's head.
\t"Black Mask," the loa said, grinning at her. "Fancy meetin' you here!"
\t "I just happened to be in the neighborhood," the woman said, her voice icy calm. "Call off your goons, or I'll punch your ticket back to the spirit world."
\tThe loa chuckled. "Kill dis body, an' I'll jus' come back in another."
\t"Maybe so," said Black Mask, "but at least you'll be out of my hair for a while."
\tThe loa shook his head, his dreads swaying. "Sorry, missy. I got my orders from de Baron hisself. Nothin' you can do to me compares wit what he can do!"
\tBlack Mask shrugged. "So be it." She fired, and the loa's head snapped back as the bullet struck his forehead. He fell back on the grassy ground, lying there spread-eagled, his eyes staring blankly up at the sky. Black Mask whipped out a second pistol and began blazing away at the zombies and alligator men, mowing them down. The mages took advantage of the distraction to start hurling mystic bolts at the cultists, who began to break and run. In a few moments, the remaining Sovereign Sons had all vanished into the darkness.
\t"Thank you, Black Mask," said Yamimori, bowing to the green-and-black-clad woman.
\t"Always glad to help out the Council," Black Mask replied. She glanced at Katrina, who had just gotten to her feet, recovered from having her own mind blast turned back upon her. "Who's this? She doesn't look like a member of your order."
\t"I'm Katrina Werner," said Katrina, "and I'm not a member of any order. I'm here to rescue Supersonic Squirrel and someone called Emorada."
\tBlack Mask blinked. "Emorada?"
\t"You know him?" Katrina asked.
\t"We've met. He's a paladin from another dimension."
\t"Well, Baron Cimetiere doused them both with zombie powder and buried them alive!"
\t"Then we'll be needing this," said Black Mask, taking a vial from her belt.
\t"Is that the antidote?" asked Katrina.
\tBlack Mask nodded. "I always carry some with me. I've gone up against the Sovereign Sons many times." She turned to the two nearby patches of fresh-turned earth. "This where they're buried?"
\t"Yeah," said Katrina. "I've got a mental lock on Supersonic."
\t"Then let's get digging," said Black Mask, crouching down and starting to scoop up handfuls of earth. Katrina and the mages joined her.
\t"Shouldn't we get some shovels?" asked Katrina.
\t"No need," said Abercrombie. "The Sovereign Sons never bother burying their victims too deeply, since they just intend to dig them up again."
\tSure enough, within a few minutes they had hit the crude wooden coffin in which Supersonic Squirrel had been buried. Black Mask pried it open, and they lifted the paralyzed squirrel up out of it. His huge eyes were open and staring blankly. Black Mask put the vial to his mouth and poured some of its contents in. "He should be all right in a few minutes," she said. Katrina nodded, cradling his small, gray-furred body in her arms while Black Mask and the mages began unearthing Emorada's coffin.
\tSupersonic's arms and legs began to twitch, and his eyes blinked. He looked up at Katrina, and she smiled down at him, stroking his cheek gently. "Welcome back to the living," she said.
\tSupersonic drew a deep, shuddering breath and threw his arms around her, shaking as he sobbed against her chest. "Oh god, Katrina! I was so scared! I've never been so afraid!"
\tShe held him close. "It's okay, baby. You're safe now." She glanced over at the other grave, where Black Mask was administering the antidote to Emorada.
\t"So, mind telling me what this is all about?" Black Mask asked. Telgoff explained the situation to her while Emorada regained his ability to move. "I see," she said when he had finished. "So the New Shadows have this book now. Any reason we shouldn't just let them keep it?"
\t"Are you serious?" Telgoff asked, aghast.
\tBlack Mask shrugged. "They only want the book to keep anyone else from using it to control them. It seems to me that it's probably safer in their hands than in anyone else's. In fact, if I were Dracul, I'd just burn the damn thing and remove the threat entirely."
\t"Unlikely," said Abercrombie. "He'll most likely want to keep the book for himself, to prevent any other vampire from challenging his position."
\t"Hmm, that does make a certain amount of sense," said Black Mask. "He hasn't survived six centuries of people trying to destroy him by not keeping an ace up his sleeve."
\t"And Baron Cimetiere knows he has it," said Yamimori, "which means he's probably going to make an all-out attack on the New Shadows to get it. For that he's going to need more zombies. A lot more."
\t"Yeah, I can see where this is going," said Black Mask. "We need to stop this now, before it gets out of control." She looked over at Katrina and Supersonic. "This isn't really your fight, but if you're willing to help, we could use all the muscle we can get."
\t"You can count me in!" said Supersonic.
\t"Are you sure about that?" asked Katrina, looking at him uncertainly.
\tSupersonic growled. "After what that creep Cimetiere did to me, I want a piece of him!"
\tKatrina chuckled. "I've never seen you get all vengeful before. It's kind of sexy!"
\tSupersonic blushed beneath his fur.
\t"I in too," said Emorada, getting to his feet.
\t"If that's decided," said Black Mask, "I know where we can find Dracul. Let's go!"
\tThe eight of them departed, leaving the graveyard to the dead.

\tIn the Easton district of Vibora Bay, just north of the Minefield, stood a three-story building with an elegant white limestone facade. It had been built in the 1920s as a luxury hotel, but when its owners had gone bankrupt in the wake of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, it had been purchased for a pittance and converted into a private club by an investor from overseas who wished to remain anonymous. Above the entrance hung a golden sign, with Gothic lettering that would not have looked out of place in the opening titles of an old pirate movie, identifying it as the Crimson Lounge. Beneath the sign hung an enormous fake rose that appeared to be dripping blood.
\t"Subtle," said Katrina with a smirk as she, Supersonic Squirrel, Emorada, and Black Mask stood on the pavement outside, the four Trismegistus mages having returned to their mansion to recruit additional aid for the battle to come.
\t"Why they let vampires come here?" asked Emorada indignantly, glaring up at the building.
\t"It's owned by a vampire," Black Mask replied, "and there's really no way to stop them, considering they can turn into mist, bats, and rats."
\t"You should burn it down!" Emorada insisted.
\tBlack Mask sighed. "What would that accomplish? They'd just go somewhere else. At least this way, those of us who know what this place is can keep an eye on them."
\t"Are you sure it's safe to go in there?" asked Supersonic doubtfully.
\t"The club has a standing policy of no bloodshed on the premises," said Black Mask. "They don't want to attract unwanted attention from the police."
\t"Well," said Katrina, "I for one am curious to see what the inside of a vampire club looks like!" She ascended the marble steps to the front door, the others following close behind.
\tBefore the door stood a big man with long blond hair, pale skin, and blood-red eyes and lips, dressed in the early 19th Century style the New Shadows favored, with a black jacket, tan trousers, a white silk shirt with a lace cravat, and black leather boots that gleamed in the light from the sign above. "This is a private club," he said, smiling politely at the strange company. "Members only." He glanced down at Supersonic and Emorada and added, "Also, no pets allowed."
\t"We have business with Dracul," said Black Mask.
\tThe man raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure I don't know who you're talking about."
\t"Okay, enough of this crap," said Katrina, concentrating on the doorman. His red eyes widened, and he immediately opened the door for them and stepped aside. Emorada drew his sword, preparing to run the man through, but Black Mask stopped him.
\t"We didn't come here to fight," she warned.
\tEmorada frowned but put the blade away, and they all proceeded inside.
\tThe lobby of the Crimson Lounge was an enormous room, the floor marble, the walls lined with scarlet curtains. Harpsichord music jangled through the air. Beneath four ornate crystal chandeliers milled a strange mix of creatures. Some appeared human, though with red eyes and pale complexions, and were dressed like Gothic aristocrats. Others were more monstrous, wearing only trousers, with clawed hands and feet, huge pointed ears, hideous fanged faces, and webbed wings protruding from their forearms. In the center of the lobby stood a towering marble fountain. It was not water that spouted from it, however. Supersonic's eyes widened. "Is that blood?"
\t"Well," said Katrina, "I guess it beats getting it from people's necks."
\t"But where do they get it from in the first place?" asked Supersonic.
\t"A guy who can afford a place like this, I'm guessing he can afford to buy some blood."
\tOne of the New Shadows pointed at Emorada. "That creature killed one of our brothers tonight!" Immediately, vampires began closing in around the group, eyes burning with bloodlust.
\t"Back off!" Black Mask ordered them. "You wouldn't want to violate club policy, would you? That could get you expelled. Or worse."
\t"What do you want here, mortals?" demanded one of the female vampires.
\t"We just came to talk to your boss," Black Mask replied.
\tHer lips pulled back in a sneer, exposing her fangs. "And what could you possibly have to say that he would be interested in hearing?"
\t"Baron Cimetiere knows about the book. He wants it, and he's going to do whatever it takes to get it."
\tThe vampire woman narrowed her scarlet eyes. "And this concerns you how?"
\t"It concerns us because whenever the Sovereign Sons go on a recruiting drive, people start disappearing and reappearing as zombies."
\t"Very well," said the vampire woman, nodding. "I will deliver your warning. Now get out, and take that creature with you!" She pointed at Emorada.
\tAs the group turned to leave, one of the half-bat vampires growled at Emorada, "See you outside, fuzzy."
\tEmorada grinned back at him. "I lookin' forward to it, dead boy!"
\tOnce they were outside, Supersonic asked, "What do we do now?"
\t"We should head back to the Trismegistus Council's mansion," said Black Mask, "and see if they're ready to move against the Sovereign Sons."
\tThey all headed off down the street, ears alert for the sound of bat wings.

\t"Here, drink this," said Fiona Abercrombie, pouring dark, steaming liquid from a teapot into a pair of white porcelain cups set before Supersonic Squirrel and Emorada.
\t"What this?" asked Emorada, sniffing at the cup as wisps of vapor curled upward from it.
\t"It's tea, dear," said Abercrombie, smiling. "Earl Grey. I always find it helps soothe me after a nasty time."
\tKatrina smirked as she stood leaning against the wall of the kitchen in the Trismegistus Council mansion. "Yeah, I suppose you could call being buried alive a 'nasty time.'"
\tSupersonic picked up the cup, sipped it, and smiled up at Abercrombie. "Thank you, ma'am," he said.
\t"You're quite welcome," the sorceress replied. "You're a very brave little fellow."
\tSupersonic squirmed and rubbed his feet together beneath the table. Emorada took an experimental sip of the tea as well, and nodded to Abercrombie. "It good!"
\t"I'm glad you like it," said Abercrombie, bringing a silver tray over to the table. "Here's milk, sugar, and lemon, if you'd like something extra in it."
\t"How about whiskey?" asked Katrina. "I always find that helps soothe my nerves after I've been buried alive."
\tAbercrombie smiled politely at her. "I'm sure there must be some around here somewhere. I'll go have a look." She left the kitchen while Supersonic added some milk and sugar to his tea and Emorada dropped in a slice of lemon.
\tKatrina pushed off the wall and came over to stand between them. "Well, now I'm teamed with two short furry guys who don't wear any clothes."
\tSupersonic sighed. "What's the big deal about that? Nobody cared that I didn't wear clothes before."
\t"That's because you were a cartoon before, honey," said Katrina, smiling. "Nobody cares if cartoon animals walk around naked."
\t"I'm not naked," Supersonic insisted. "I have fur, and so does Emorada."
\t"And if you were human, you'd both be arrested for public nudity," said Katrina. She studied Emorada for a moment. "What exactly are you, anyway?"
\t"I a treekin," Emorada replied.
\t"What the heck is a treekin?" asked Katrina.
\t"We a people who live in trees in jungles of Karnaltan. That in another dimension."
\t"And how did a treekin end up in Vibora Bay?" asked Katrina.
\tBlack Mask, who had been standing silently to one side, answered for him. "He entered a hellish realm called the Qliphoth through a dimensional rift and was trapped there until some other heroes and I freed him. We couldn't return him home, so we brought him back with us."
\t"How long ago was that?"
\t"A couple of days."
\tKatrina nodded. "Well, welcome to Earth, Emorada."
\t"Thanks," said Emorada. "It interesting place!"
\t"I'll bet!"
\t"There's something that's been bothering me about this whole business," said Black Mask. "Telgoff got ambushed by the Dogz, and Supersonic by the New Shadows. Both of them wanted the book with the spell to control the undead, but neither of them should have even known it existed, let alone where to find it."
\t"Yeah, sounds like someone tipped them off," said Katrina.
\t"Who besides Telgoff knew about the book?" asked Black Mask.
\t"As far as I know, only the other members of the Council," said Katrina. "But it couldn't be any of them. Telgoff told me there's a ward around the mansion that prevents anyone with evil intent from entering."
\t"That would seem to rule them out," said Black Mask. "Are you sure Telgoff didn't tell anyone else?"
\tKatrina shrugged. "Not that he mentioned."
\t"I should probably have a chat with him, then," said Black Mask. She turned and left the kitchen.
\tKatrina sat down at the table, facing Supersonic, watching the squirrel drink his tea. "So, how are you feeling?" she asked.
\t"I'm okay," said Supersonic, holding his cup of tea in both hands and looking fixedly into it.
\tKatrina glanced over at Emorada. "Could you leave us alone for a minute?"
\tThe treekin looked at Supersonic for a moment, then nodded, hopped down off his chair, and left the kitchen. Katrina turned back to Supersonic. "Something's bugging you. What is it?"
\t"Why don't you just read my mind and find out?" asked Supersonic, a trifle defensively.
\t"Because that would be rude," said Katrina.
\tSupersonic smiled and shook his head. "Oh yeah, and I know how much that bothers you."
\tKatrina put a hand on his furry shoulder. "Come on, you can tell me. Ain't we pals? Didn't we travel through time together? Christ, we fought side by side against the Lemurians! So out with it! What's the problem?"
\tSupersonic sighed. "You wouldn't understand."
\t"Why not?" Katrina demanded.
\t"Because you're a girl."
\tShe stared at him. "What's that got to do with anything?"
\tSupersonic looked back down at his teacup. "I thought I was pretty brave, but when I was in that coffin, buried alive, I was so terrified I couldn't have moved even if I hadn't been paralyzed by Baron Cimetiere's zombie dust!"
\tKatrina shrugged. "That's understandable. I mean, it was a pretty frightening thing you went through!"
\t"And then, when you and the others pulled me out, I . . ." He stopped, his throat tight.
\tKatrina blinked. "You're embarrassed because you cried?"
\tSupersonic looked away, unable to reply.
\tKatrina suppressed the urge to laugh, realizing it would only humiliate him further. Instead, she smiled and squeezed his shoulder gently. "This is the 21st Century, Supersonic. It's okay for guys to cry now."
\t"Well, it wasn't in my time," the squirrel sulked. "Back then, if a guy cried, everyone called him a sissy."
\t"Yeah, in your time men had to be strong and tough and brave and never show their feelings, and women were all wilting flowers who had to be protected. Do I look like a wilting flower to you?"
\tSupersonic shook his head. "No, you look like a boy." He sighed. "I feel so out of place here. I'm the only talking squirrel in the world, and everything is different from what I'm used to, and . . ."
\t"And?" Katrina urged him.
\tSupersonic looked up at her, his huge eyes glistening. "And I think I'm in love with a human."
\tKatrina sighed. "Look, Supersonic, I like you a lot, but I don't know if I'm ready for that."
\tSupersonic swallowed. "Because I'm a squirrel?"
\tKatrina scowled. "I told you before, I don't care about that. It's just that I'm not sure I want to be in a relationship, with anyone." She got up from the table. "We should probably check with the others and see what's going on."
\tSupersonic nodded, drained the last of his tea, and hopped down off his chair, and they left the kitchen together.
\tIn the cavernous meeting room of the Trismegistus Council's mansion, an impressive convocation of mages had gathered around a large, oval mahogany table. Fiona Abercrombie, Akako Yamimori, and Orlando Rodriguez were there, along with at least a dozen others. Black Mask and Emorada were standing off to one side. Katrina and Supersonic saw Stefan Telgoff talking to a rather dapper-looking man with a neatly trimmed gray moustache and goatee and short gray hair that came to a widow's peak in the center of his forehead. They both turned as the girl and the squirrel entered the room. "Ah, there you are," said Telgoff, smiling at them. "Allow me to introduce my mentor, Theomistekles Venedictos."
\t"A pleasure to meet you both," said the gray-haired mage in a deep voice. "Stefan was just telling me how admirably you both acquitted yourselves against the forces of darkness."
\tKatrina glanced down at Supersonic, who was looking away, clearly uncomfortable. "Yeah, well, just doing our part, you know?"
\tVenedictos crouched down to be face to face with Supersonic. "A cartoon character brought to life by magic! Fascinating!"
\tKatrina smiled and squeezed the squirrel's shoulder. "Yeah, he's really something." Supersonic looked up at her and smiled back.
\tVenedictos rose and addressed the convocation. "You have all been briefed on the situation. Our old enemy, Baron Cimetiere, is bound to attack the New Shadows to try to get the book with the spell that controls the undead. The question is, when and where will he strike?"
\t"I think I may be able to help with that," said Black Mask, stepping forward. "If Baron Cimetiere is going to move against the New Shadows, he's going to need a lot of zombies fast. That means he'll want to use his zombie-making powder on a large number of people concentrated in a fairly small area."
\t"Where would he find that at this hour?" asked Rodriguez.
\t"Many clubs and bars in Vibora are still open this late," Yamimori replied.
\tBlack Mask shook her head. "Not big enough. To get the maximum yield, he'll need to hit the biggest, most densely packed target possible. And it just so happens there's a charity gambling event being held aboard the SS Bayou Queen tonight!"
\tVenedictos gasped. "Of course! He can hide the riverboat in the swamp until the occupants have finished transforming into zombies. By then it will be daylight, when the New Shadows are at their weakest!"
\tBlack Mask nodded. "This could be a bigger steamboat disaster than the Sultana—at least the victims on that ship didn't then go rampaging through a major city!"
\t"Then we must make haste!" said Venedictos. "To the waterfront!"
\tThe mages rushed out of the mansion and, once outside, cast spells of levitation on themselves that lifted them into the air. Supersonic picked up Katrina and flew with her, Stefan took Black Mask, and Emorada turned to wind. Once all were airborne, the company headed south toward waterfront and the Bayou Queen.

\tThe scene aboard the Bayou Queen was one of cultured opulence. Built before the Civil War, the old stern-wheeled steamboat had spent most of the 20th Century as a tourist attraction and then sat rotting and unused for decades until a group of investors had refurbished her and turned her into a floating casino moored to Vibora Bay's docks. Tonight, she was packed to capacity, hosting a charity event where people could gamble away their money for the benefit of an international children's fund. Ice cubes in glasses clinked beneath crystal chandeliers while the Queen's Quartet—a jazz combo fronted by the crooner Johnny Moar—performed on stage.
\tThe tranquil if somewhat decadent scene was suddenly interrupted by screams as the doors on either side of the enormous two-level main room were thrown open and dozens of zombies, half-naked alligator men, and voodoo cultists barged in, followed by the tall, top-hatted figure of Baron Cimetiere. "Good evenin', ladies an' gentlemen!" the Baron announced, grinning as he surveyed the terrified crowd, red eyes glowing in his skull-painted face. "Sorry ta interrupt da festivities, but th' Baron has need o' you—or, more precisely, your bodies!"
\tAt a nod from their leader, the Sovereign Sons began moving into the crowd, blowing white powder over the panic-stricken guests, who quickly collapsed to the floor, blank eyes staring, able to see and hear everything going on around them but unable to move a muscle. Baron Cimetiere helped himself to a glass of red wine from someone's table, which looked like blood as he sipped it and watched the proceedings with satisfaction. "Ah do love a good party!" he said, laughing heartily.
\tHis head snapped around as a blast of wind blew open the doors between the two big alligator men guarding the portside entrance. There in the doorway stood a small, gray-furred figure, glaring hatefully at him.
\tCimetiere's face broke into a wide grin. "Hello again, li'l squirrel! Someone dig ya up, did dey? No mattah, we'll soon have ya back in da ground."
\tWith an incoherent screech, Supersonic rocketed toward the Baron, while Katrina, Black Mask, and Emorada charged through the door behind him. Cimetiere opened his palm and blew a handful of dust at the squirrel, but it had no effect. Supersonic slammed into him, knocking the Baron off his feet and back into a dinner table, smashing it to pieces and sending eggplant parmesan flying everywhere.
\t"Your powder won't work on me, Baron!" snarled Supersonic. "I've still got the antidote in my blood from the last time you dosed me! Now I'm gonna beat the snot out of you! And for the first time in my life, I'm actually gonna enjoy hurting someone!" He began building up a sphere of super-high-pressure air between his hands.
\tBaron Cimetiere got to his feet and held up his hands before him. Just as the squirrel released his wind blast, a small green-glowing voodoo doll appeared before Cimetiere, and the wind blast boomeranged back at Supersonic, knocking him backward and demolishing another dinner table.
\tEmorada's bow appeared in his hand and the treekin nocked an arrow and drew back on the bowstring, but Black Mask pushed the bow aside, spoiling his shot. "Don't!" she warned Emorada when he looked up at her questioningly. "When he has that doll up, anything you throw at him is reflected back at you!"
\t"How we beat him, then?" asked Emorada.
\t"We have to get him to drop his guard."
\t"That not gonna be easy," said Emorada, looking warily around at the zombies, alligator men, and voodoo cultists closing in on them.
\tBlack Mask drew her twin M1911 automatic pistols. "Nobody said it would be."
\tKatrina stepped forward. "Leave the scrubs to me," she said, concentrating. A field of psionic energy radiated out from her head, paralyzing all the cultists and alligator men nearby. The zombies, being mindless, were unaffected, but Black Mask and Emorada made short work of them, filling their cadaverous forms with arrows and bullets until they collapsed. Meanwhile, the mages of the Trismegistus Council barged in through the starboard door, hurling mystic bolts. The Sovereign Sons retaliated with fists, teeth, and magical blasts, and the Bayou Queen erupted into a full-scale sorcerous battleground.
\tKatrina ran to Supersonic Squirrel, who was getting up groggily from the debris of the smashed table. "Are you okay?" she asked.
\t"Yeah," the squirrel replied, rubbing his back. "I don't think anything is broken." He looked around the room. They were in a clear area with no civilians around, while the Council mages were busy fighting the Sovereign Sons. "Any ideas on how to beat this guy?"
\t"Maybe try to flank him?" Katrina suggested.
\t"Look out!" shouted Emorada, pointing at the Baron. "He doin' somethin'!" Baron Cimetiere waved his arms above his head and then suddenly brought them down, and a massive wave of mystical force radiated out from him, knocking over tables and chairs and sending the four heroes flying across the room.
\tSupersonic tumbled through the air until he managed to use his wind powers to steady himself, floating above the floor. He glared at the Baron, who was striding toward him, grinning his rictus grin, his ragged coat fluttering. "De Baron is death, li'l squirrel," said Cimetiere. "You don' beat death."
\t"Watch me!" snarled Supersonic, building up another sphere of high-pressure air between his hands.
\tThe Baron just shook his head, chuckling. "Some folks nevah learn."
\tSupersonic built up the pressure in the sphere as high as he could and then released it, not at the ghoulish figure before him but at the ceiling, striking the base of one of the crystal chandeliers. Its connection severed, the enormous layer cake of glass fell, crashing down atop the Baron with a sound like a thousand mirrors shattering at once. Supersonic had to erect a wall of wind before himself to keep from being cut by flying shards.
\tSlowly and painfully, Baron Cimetiere crawled out from under the glittering wreckage of the smashed chandelier, bleeding from dozens of gashes. He was no longer grinning. "Hokay," he muttered, "now you done gone an' got de Baron mad!"
\t"Go for it, Baron!" said Katrina, smiling as she came over to stand beside Supersonic. "Do that voodoo that you do so well!"
\tSupersonic gasped, looking up at her. "That's Cole Porter! How do you know that song?"
\tKatrina glanced back at him and grinned. "I'm a fan of the oldies. Hadn't you figured that out yet?"
\tBaron Cimetiere raised his hands and fired twin bolts of magic at Supersonic and Katrina. The squirrel blocked the bolt aimed at him with a wind shield, while Katrina dodged hers. Supersonic spread his arms and legs, gathering a sphere of air before him, while Katrina concentrated on building up a mind blast. They released their attacks simultaneously, hammering the Baron with wind and psychic energy.
\tIncredibly, Baron Cimetiere was still not down. He got to his feet, glaring at Supersonic, and raised one hand, clawlike nails aimed at the squirrel. A ghostly twin of the Baron's hand shot forth and clamped around Supersonic's throat, causing the squirrel to make a gurgling cry as he grasped at the ephemeral appendage throttling him. "Time for li'l squirrels to be dead!" the Baron growled.
\t"Hey, hands off!" shouted Katrina, blasting Baron Cimetiere with mental energy. Emorada and Black Mask joined in, pumping arrows and bullets into the Baron's superhumanly resilient body. Baron Cimetiere began to falter, the spectral hand loosening its grip on Supersonic's throat. At last, it faded, and the Baron fell to his knees. He looked around at the four heroes, and managed another rictus grin.
\t"You know de loa cannot die," he husked, blood dripping from his lips. "De Baron is eternal, like death. He will be back. Soon."
\t"And we'll be waiting, Baron," said Black Mask. "In the meantime, enjoy your vacation in the spirit world." She aimed her pistol and fired, and Baron Cimetiere fell to the floor.
\tSupersonic shivered and hugged himself. "Did you have to kill him?" he asked.
\tBlack Mask glanced at the squirrel. "Didn't you hear? He can't die. That body was just a shell for a powerful evil spirit. Its original soul is long gone."
\t"Oh," said Supersonic. "I . . . I guess that's okay, then."
\tKatrina looked around at the steamboat's interior. The battle was over, all the zombies destroyed, all the cultists and alligator men either unconscious or captured, the Trismegistus mages moving around administering antidote to all the passengers. "Well, it looks like we're done here."
\t "Well done," came a soft, deep voice from the level above, causing everyone to look up. There stood a commanding figure wearing ornate scarlet and black armor, a long tattered cloak hanging behind him. His head was hairless with huge pointed bat-like ears, his skin chalk white, his eyes crimson. Pronounced fangs extended down over his lower lip, and a massive greatsword was slung across his back. He vaulted the balustrade and dropped to the dance floor, landing in a catlike crouch and then standing up.
\t"Vladic Dracul," said Black Mask calmly. "What brings you here?"
\t"Just making sure this little problem was dealt with," the vampire replied, speaking with a strong Romanian accent.
\tBlack Mask nodded. "You might have helped out."
\tDracul smirked. "Why bother, when there are people like you to handle such chores?"
\t"Is there some reason we don't take this bloodsucker down right now?" asked Katrina, glaring at Dracul.
\tDracul turned toward her. "That would be unwise, child."
\t"Really?" Katrina asked. "You think you could take us all on, plus the Trismegistus Council?"
\tDracul shook his head. "Doubtful. However, it is I who holds the vampire population of Vibora Bay in check. I supply them with sustenance and keep their depredations to a bare minimum. Without me, the streets would run red."
\t"Unfortunately," said Theomistekles Venedictos, "the fiend is correct. The Council has had an understanding with Dracul for decades. We leave him alone, and he keeps his subjects from overrunning the city."
\t"You mean we're just gonna let him go?" Supersonic demanded.
\tVenedictos sighed. "Sometimes, one must choose between the lesser of two evils."
\tSupersonic scowled, but said nothing.
\t"There is one thing I'd like to know before you leave, Dracul," said Black Mask. "How did you find out about the book?"
\tDracul smiled. "Valerian Scarlet told me. Apparently, she felt it would be safest in my hands."
\t"So you sent those New Shadows to attack Supersonic?" asked Katrina angrily.
\tDracul shrugged. "I sent them to fetch the book. As for how they dealt with the one carrying it, I do not concern myself with such trivialities. Good evening." The vampire bowed and dissolved into a swarm of bats, which fluttered screeching out the door and into the night.

\tThe girl stepped off the trolley car as it squealed to a stop in front of her apartment building, and walked across the brick street to the front door, a bag of groceries cradled in one arm. She was a slim, attractive girl in her twenties with a tawny complexion, long black hair, and luminous dark eyes. She went up the stairs to the second floor, fished a key out of her purse, opened the door to her apartment, and went inside, where she closed the door and switched on the light.
\t"Hello, Daciana," came a voice from behind her.
\tThe girl spun about, eyes wide with surprise. In her living room stood a strange group of people. There was a young, bearded man wearing a blue robe with golden symbols; a girl with short white hair and blue eyes, wearing a brown leather jacket, red-and-white striped shirt, and tight black leather pants; a woman in a black-and-green skin-tight costume, with pistols slung at her sides; a slender, brown-furred creature wearing an archer's cap with a white feather, boots, and a belt with a sword; and a gray-furred squirrel creature wearing a flying helmet and goggles, who sat perched on the arm of her couch. They were all looking at her gravely.
\t"Stefan!" the girl said, breaking into a smile. She put the bag of groceries on the coffee table and walked toward the bearded man. "It's so good to see you!" she said, her voice containing just a hint of an Eastern European accent. "But who are all these people? I recognize Black Mask, but not the others."
\t"They are friends of mine," Stefan Telgoff said, not returning her smile. "This is Katrina Werner, Emorada, and Supersonic Squirrel. Gentlemen and ladies, my sister, Daciana."
\t Daciana looked back at her brother. "Why are they here, Stefan? And why are you wearing your wizard's robes?"
\t"This is not a social call," said Stefan. "I am here on Council business."
\t"And what does the Council want with me?" Daciana asked.
\t"Who did you tell about the book?"
\tDaciana blinked. "That book you found in Romania? Nobody!"
\tStefan glared at her. "Then why was I attacked by Dogz as soon as I arrived in Vibora Bay?"
\tDaciana gasped. "The Dogz attacked you?"
\tStefan nodded. "They tried to kill me. If not for Katrina and Supersonic, they would have succeeded. They knew all about the book, and apart from the Trismegistus Council, you were the only person I told about it. None of them would have told the Dogz, so that leaves only you!"
\tDaciana shrugged as Black Mask casually wandered over to the coffee table and glanced down into the bag of groceries. "Perhaps one of your fellow mages let something slip by accident and it was overheard."
\t"They are not fools, Daciana! They know how to keep a secret!"
\tDaciana smiled. "You know I would never betray your trust, Stefan, especially not to those filthy werewolves!"
\tStefan sighed and shook his head. "I wish I could believe you."
\t"I promise, Stefan, I didn't tell a soul!"
\tStefan turned to Katrina. "If you would."
\tKatrina nodded and furrowed her brow, and Daciana paled as she felt Katrina's telepathic probe begin worming its way into her mind.
\t"No!" Daciana snarled, lunging at Katrina, and in mid-lunge she changed, sprouting fur and fangs. Supersonic jumped up and fired a blast of wind at the werewolf girl, sending her flying across the room to crash against the wall. Daciana growled, crouching before them, her clothing shredded by her transformation. Then she threw back her head and let out an ear-splitting howl.
\t"Get ready!" shouted Black Mask, drawing her pistols as Emorada's bow appeared in his hand. A second later, the living room window exploded inward and three huge werewolves landed on the carpet. The biggest one had jet-black fur.
\t"Hello, Black Fang," said Black Mask, leveling her automatics at the big werewolf and spraying him with bullets. Crimson blossoms sprouted all over his hairy body, and he howled in pain and glared at her, yellow eyes narrowed with hate.
\t"I thought you might figure out Daciana was one of us," Black Fang slobbered, ivory teeth gleaming in his black muzzle, "so I arranged this little trap for you and your friends!"
\tBlack Mask nodded. "The grocery bag full of nothing but meat was kind of a giveaway. That's why I snapped in cartridges filled with silver bullets. Hope you like them, mutt."
\tEmorada loosed a barrage of arrows at one of Black Fang's allies, putting him down, while Supersonic fired a wind blast at another, knocking him back out the second-story window. Daciana snarled and leaped at Stefan, but the mage hit her with a mystic bolt that dropped her to the floor, and Katrina locked her down with a mental hold.
\tBlack Fang howled with rage, advancing toward Black Mask as she continued blasting away at him with her automatics. Emorada pumped arrow after arrow into him, while Supersonic relentlessly blasted him with wind. Still, he kept coming, the ebon-furred mountain seemingly unstoppable. Then Telgoff summoned his floating purple crystals, as he had in the Minefield, and Black Fang's movements suddenly slowed.
\t"Rrragggghh!" the werewolf snarled, struggling toward Black Mask as if he were wading through molasses. "I will kill you! I will kill all of you!"
\t"Will you go down already?" Black Mask muttered as she snapped another clip into each gun. "Do you have any idea how much silver bullets cost?"
\tBlack Fang's shaggy body was now riddled with bullet holes and had so many arrows sticking out of it that he looked like a porcupine. With a howl that trailed off into a whine, the leader of the Dogz finally collapsed to the floor and lay still.
\t"Is he dead?" asked Supersonic, panting.
\tEmorada shook his head. "He still breathing."
\t"I'm not sure he can die," said Black Mask, "short of being completely disintegrated. But it'll take him a while to regenerate all that damage. Long enough for the police to lock him up." She took out her cell phone and began calling them.
\t"What about her?" asked Supersonic, turning to Daciana.
\t"I can hold her until the cops get here," said Katrina.
\t"Then we done," said Emorada, nodding with satisfaction. "Good job, everyone!"
\tSupersonic whirled on the treekin. "Good? Telgoff just found out his sister is a werewolf and she tried to kill him! Don't you have any compassion at all?"
\tEmorada regarded the squirrel coldly. "Why you think I do what I do?" He nodded to Black Mask, Katrina, and Telgoff. "It almost dawn. I gonna take off. Been a long night. Good workin' with ya." And with that the treekin turned to wind and was gone.
\t"He's not wrong, Supersonic," said Black Mask. "Ultimately, we all do this because we care. Why else would we put our lives on the line day after day?"
\tSupersonic just shook his head and flew out through the broken window into the slowly pinkening sky.

\tThe bar was like dozens of other bars scattered about Vibora Bay—a quaint little establishment with a neon sign in the window advertising cocktails, live jazz, and that it was open 24 hours. It was artfully seedy, to attract tourists seeking the thrill of going someplace with an element of danger, but not seedy enough to be truly dangerous. The front door was open. Katrina went inside. Seated on a bar stool beneath the slowly spinning ceiling fan was a small gray-furred figure with a big fluffy question mark of a tail, a drink on the counter before him.
\t"Hello, Supersonic," Katrina said, walking over to him.
\t"Hi," the squirrel replied, without looking up.
\t"What are you doing?" Katrina asked.
\t"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting shit-faced." He lifted his drink to his mouth and took a gulp.
\tKatrina blinked with surprise. She'd never heard the squirrel curse before. It was kind of shocking. She peered at his drink. "Is that what I think it is?"
\t"It is if you think it's a mai tai. You want one? They're really good."
\tShe seated herself on the stool next to his. "I'd have thought you'd be drinking a Long Island iced tea."
\tSupersonic grimaced. "I said I wanted to get shit-faced, not sick. Anyway, I didn't like the taste of that very much."
\tKatrina smirked. "Next you'll be smoking cigarettes."
\t"I may just do that," the squirrel said. "How did you find me, anyway?"
\t"I'm psychic, remember? I scanned the city block by block until I sensed your mind."
\t"That's a lot of blocks," Supersonic commented.
\tShe shrugged. "I figured you wouldn't go very far."
\t"Not as far as I'd like to." He took another gulp of his mai tai.
\t"Back to Cartoonland?"
\tHe nodded. "To a place that isn't brutal and ugly, where things always work out in the end."
\tKatrina sighed. "Look, Supersonic, I'm not really the best person to defend the real world, since I'm not that crazy about it myself. I know it's not all sunshine and lollipops. But it's also not all bad. In fact, there are some things about it that are kind of nice."
\t"Like what?" the squirrel asked sullenly.
\t"Well, mai tais, for one."
\tSupersonic nodded. "Yeah, mai tais are pretty good."
\t"And sunsets . . . cheese puffs . . . poker . . . strawberry ice cream . . . Cole Porter songs . . . snuggling up with someone on a cold, rainy day . . ."
\tHe looked up at her. "You really like Cole Porter?"
\tShe smiled. "I really do. I'm a sucker for clever lyrics. And I like you. I know you're allergic to praise, but I think you may be the most honorable guy I've ever met. You're kind, and brave, and humble, and generous. I really admire you, Supersonic Squirrel. You make me want to be a better person."
\tSupersonic squirmed on his bar stool, blushing beneath his fur. "I really like you too, Katrina. I can't explain why. Maybe it's because you're so confident, so fearless. You don't care what anyone thinks of you. You just do whatever you want."
\t"I care what you think of me." She leaned over, laid her head against his, and sang:

\tYou're the top! You're the Colosseum
\tYou're the top! You're the Louvre Museum
\tYou're the melody in a symphony by Strauss
\tYou're a Bendel bonnet, a Shakespeare sonnet, you're Mickey Mouse
\tYou're the Nile, you're the Tower of Pisa
\tYou're the smile on the Mona Lisa
\tI'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop
\tBut if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!

\tThe squirrel grinned a buck-toothed grin at her. "Don't you think you're being just a little bit hard on yourself?"
\t"Tell you what," Katrina said. "Let's grab a hotel room and crash for the day."
\tSupersonic blinked. "You mean, both of us in the same room?"
\tShe nodded. "Don't worry, after the night we've had I'm too tired to do anything but sleep."
\tHe smiled at her. "I wasn't worried."
\t"Oh really?" She stroked the top of his leather flying helmet, smiling back at him. "Maybe I'm not as tired as I thought." Then she threw her arms around him, pulled the giggling squirrel to her so his back was against her chest, and sang:

\tBaby, I'm the bottom!
\tThere's just one of you and I've got 'im!
\tBut if, baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top!

\tThey noticed the bartender staring at them, and Katrina stared right back at him defiantly. "What?" she demanded. The bartender simply shrugged and returned to his duties. Katrina took the squirrel's furry hand in hers, he hopped down off his stool, and they left the bar together.
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