Issue 1: March of Mephisto

Weighing the bag in his hand Mark shook his head solemnly.

“Haven’t you heard of memory sticks? It would save you having to lug the whole computer around.” Dirk was about to reply before Mark cut him off.

“Joking Dirk, joking. I know you wouldn’t have been able to have hacked into those systems on the fly. And speaking of hacking that’s not my department either. But I think I have some programs a friend left to do the work for us.” Heading up the stairs Mark opened a large cuporad, the interior looking like an old computer from the middle of the last century.

“Now these programs would be useless against center-hackers, either other software or actually humans, but as we have the hard drives here it shouldn’t be a problem.” Mark carefully took out the hard drives, then shook his head. He dumped the contents of the bag inside the cooker and turned it to a low heat. “They’re going to need to dry out first. Hopefully they aren’t too badly water damaged.”

Then, suddenly, there was an exclamation of delight from the downstairs office.

“Was that Jenny?” The two men looked at each other in dull surprise.

It wasn’t that Jenny tried to be rude to Dirk’s mother-in-law but she didn’t feel comfortable around someone who could read her mind and probably knew more about her than she did herself, well and she was actually curious what Mark had of her and if he really did never forget her. And she found the picture again Dirk had showed her a few hours ago. They were in the park, she was on the swing laughing and Mark was smiling, softly, beautifully. Her were hair flying in the breeze of her motion. Her legs were kicked out in different directions. She still didn’t remember this day, but it was weird to look at this picture. She sighed when a weird noise suddenly startled her. Jenny turned around and walked slowly towards the corner. There was something under a cover. She pulled it off and there is was this huge glass tank an aquarium and something was weird, it looked empty but somehow Jenny knew it wasn’t.

“Dad wouldn’t have an empty aquarium. That makes no sense.” Jenny gently tapped at the glass when suddenly there he was. This little fish showed up, and just hovered right in front of her. Jenny started screaming, like other might would have seeing a spider. But Jenny was actually super happy right in this moment. There was this little fish bowl she filled with water and there he was in her arm as close as he could be.

“Dad! Dad where the hell are you?” Jenny yelled forgetting for a moment that kids where in the house. Both Mark and Dirk came running to her and before they could ask if she was okay Mark saw the fish in her arm. “You kept him? I mean… Herbert is real it was not something I made up in my mind to make my whole miserable life a little better. Look dad, he remembers me. Where is the little blue wagon I used to walk him on through the streets?” For the first time since they all had met again Jenny was really smiling and happy. She was the little girl on the swing again.

Mark lent over to Jenny and gave the blow a light tap.

“Yes, Jenny. That’s Herbert all right. Still around after all this time. I think his wagon is somewhere near the tank. Come on, let’s see if we can find it.” Father and daughter walked down the stairs together. As an afterthought Mark called out to Dirk.

“Keep an eye on the oven. Don’t let them burn. They should be ready in ten minutes or so!”

Jenny grinned for the moment she didn’t care about the information they had taken from the ship or anything regarding this ride she was just in the here and know somehow a dream and still reality. “I can’t believe you kept him.” Jenny was gently petting the back of her puffer fish. It was dangerous most likely deadly for everyone else, but even she did get stunk by Herbert her body would neutralize the poison before it could do any harm.

“Why did you keep him?” Jenny suddenly stopped and looked and Mark. Yes she knew that all her horrible memorize were false but the feelings they caused didn’t just disappeared. She was still a little confused even though now that she saw that Mark cared for her she dared to ask some of the questions that were running through her mind. “What did you keep my puffer fish? Where is Amanda? How did I die?” She still didn’t remember how she really died, in her memory he had pushed her.

“Why did I keep Herbert? I’d’ve thought that was obvious,” Mark replied. “He was one of the few links I still had with you. There were photos of course, but Herbert seemed more real.” Mark took a second to gather his thoughts before continuing, sitting down on the edge of the desk.

“Amanda and I are no longer together. After you died she blamed me for what happened and I… I wasn’t in a fit state to argue. We haven’t spoken a word to each other in years. I don’t even know where she is right now.”

“As for how you died…” Mark paused and sighed. “Are you sure you want to do this now?” Jenny nodded in reply.

“The authorities had found out about you. You’re powers were a little uncontrollable back then, nothing you wouldn’t have grown out of. But back then people had started to become fearful of supers, especially those with unstable abilities. At best, you would have been taken from us for months, maybe years, to a training facility. Or they might have just placed you in an artificial coma, no Inhibitor chips existed then.”

“You decided to run. We left together but were spotted by the cops. They chased us and some passing superhero decided to intervene, coming to the conclusion that I had kidnapped you. He swooped in and grabbed me. You chased after us, right across the busy, icy road and…” Mark couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence, even with his daughter alive and well right on front of him.

Jenny was gently petting Herbert. “I’m glad you kept him.”

Jenny bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry to hear that you and Amanda are not together anymore.” She wasn’t sure if he was sad about the broken marriage. “Do you know where she is?”

“I don’t remember anything of this. Why can’t I remember how I died not even a false one?” Jenny was rubbing her head, trying to remember gave her a headache. “I don’t understand why I got false memories in the first place. I mean what is the gain for me remembering wrong memories. That makes no sense. Why did you let me make this decision and not just go into the training facilities? I was just a teenager, so much would be different. Maybe you and Amanda would still be together and Dirk wouldn’t have to run away from home.”

Jenny looked upset at Mark. “I never meant to cause all this troubles.” Suddenly Herbert blew himself up. “Hey why are you doing this?” Jenny looked confused from Herbert to Mark.

Mark didn’t dare look at Jenny. All his mistakes, all his wrong decisions, all his guilt he could deal with and not let it bother him. Except for one decision. Only one kept him up at night, wondering how things might have been different had he made a different choice.

Letting Jenny choose her fate for herself.

“You were old enough to make the call yourself. It wasn’t any one else’s decision to make,” he replied. It wasn’t much of a comforting reply but it was the only one he had.

“And you didn’t cause this trouble. If you’re going to use that logic then blame the conspirators behind the Brotherhood. They’re the ones who turned the population against supers so much that the training camps became a nightmare to avoid.” Mark was silent for a bit, still not daring to look at Jenny.

“Let’s go. Those hard drives should have dried out by now.”

((OOC: Calvin, please feel free to edit any of the exposition that is incorrect. Also, apologies that this is just exposition, and therefore boring.))

Between the harddrives, Mark's computers' decryption programs, and good old-fashioned detective work, they had a pretty good idea as to what Futura was up to. Or, rather, had been up to, until whoever it was put a stop to their operation. That presented another mystery, even as they solved one.

Someone was using inhibitor chips to control Supers, and Futura was taking advantage of this. They were using these compromised Supers to their own diabolical purposes. They were shipping them to a private sector of a nearby airport. So they had a clear lead, which was what they had come for. There was also a list of names of controlled post-humans.

Dirk saw his wife's name on that list.

It was at once a horror and a relief. Dirk, ever optimistic, was grateful to know that at least she still lived, as all official reports told of her death. Also, rather than falling victim to a psychotic breakdown, Joan was in fact being controlled by some alien power when she had robbed that bank.

This was just as terrible as it was wonderful. Joan was in trouble! His precious, kind, beautiful, gentle wife, forced to steal and who knew what else for these fiends.

"I--" Dirk began, but could not finish, as he saw her name on the rosters.

"Kid?" Mark asked.

Dirk pointed at the name, but could not speak for a long moment. "My wife," he said eventually, voice shaking, and then, "Joan. I--I'm sorry, I just need--I need to be alone for a while."

His children were sleeping in a room upstairs, piled on a bed all together. Slowly, quietly, Dirk nudged the door open and stepped inside. Scott lay facing the door, on his side, blankets fisted under his chin. Alex lay behind him on his back, snoring softly, with Annie in the crook of his arm between her brothers.

Dirk laid a hand on Scott's brow, and his son groaned and shifted but did not wake. But Annie did open her eyes. She yawned and wriggled as she blinked, staring up at him.

"Hey, sweetheart," he coaxed, "go back to sleep, Daddy's just checking on you."

Annie held up her arms to be held, and whimpered. Fearing he would wake the boys, Dirk did as his daughter demanded and scooped her up, going to the corner as he held her tight and whispered in her ear, "It's sleepytime, sweetie. You don't want to sleep?"

"I had a dweam," she whispered back, her breath warm against his neck. "Mommy was dere."

Dirk swallowed thickly, running his hand over his daughter's hair. "Yeah?" he managed. "What'd she say?"

Annie shrugged, throwing her arms around his neck. "She missed me. I miss her too, Dabby. Do you miss Mommy, too?"

"Yes, Annie," Dirk said, breathing hard to keep tears from falling. "I miss her, too."

"Can you sing me her song, pwease?"

Dirk didn't think he could, didn't trust his voice. He had been so long without her, and instead of healing, the ache had only increased. His life had narrowed down to his children in that time, and everything he did was for their happiness, since he could not yet grant them their mother back.

So he sang. "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine / You make me happy when skies are gray / You'll never know, dear, how much I love you / Please don't take my sunshine away..."

Jenny was looking at Mark when Dirk left to check on his kids. She still was getting used to everything of his and Mark’s life she didn’t know about… or more she wasn’t used to. Jenny first didn’t get what was so upsetting for Dirk but when she saw the name he had pointed at she understood.

“I never thought all of you had lost someone too. It… I always thought you and him are happy since the day I died. I mean… sorry I know differently now but I need to get used to that.” Jenny put down Herbert in his fishbowl. She took a deep breath.

“So what do we do now with the information we are getting?” Jenny hasn’t told him Mark yet but she would like to go to her grave at some point, she didn’t know why but she felt she had to see her own grave. And further she would try to find her mother, to see her she didn’t want to talk to her at least not right away. There was so much she had to sort through, her head was spinning with two versions of each memory she had. When she got up this morning she never thought this would be happening. Jenny sighed heavily. “Did I mention this is a really crazy day? I thought I never have to see you or Dirk ever again and here I am hoping to never lose you again.”

“Oh you get used to crazy days. I remember once when, well, anyway that’s not important right now. Don’t worry Jenny. You won’t lose either of us. All three of us seem to have a knack for surviving.” Mark grinned at Jenny then looked back at the computer. “And what we do with this information is obvious, we keep following the trail. Work is good if you’re feeling a little troubled, it stops you from dwelling on it. You ready to go smash up an airport, or do you need to catch some sleep first?” Mark turned to face Jenny, who shook her head.

“No, I’m not tired at all,” she replied.

“Good, still running on adrenaline. It’ll make things a lot easier if we go now, far less people around at three in the morning.” He taped a few buttons on the computer, bringing up an online map of the airport and its surroundings.

“If we’re going into an airport we’ll need something to deal with their security scanners.” Mark disappeared into the armoury and appeared moments later with several thin smart phones.

“If you need to go through a scanner just keep this in your pocket and it’ll send out a false reading.” Mark shook his head exasperatedly. “Something anyone with a little technical knowledge can rig up. Makes you wonder why they bother with all their security.” Moving to the back of the office Mark pulled open a filing cabinet, pulling out several devices and strapping them on.

“Let’s see. Taser, grappling hook, force field, grenades, plasma rifle, pouches, jet pack, cigars, spare lighter. Think I’m all set. Now, grab whatever else you need from the armoury and we’ll set off once Dirk gets back downstairs. And…” Mark’s voice suddenly shifted into an ‘authoritative dad’ tone, “for heaven’s sake put something a bit more modest on.”

Jenny looked down at herself. “What you don’t like what I wear?”

Mark just looked at his daughter.

“Fine, but only because you fished me out of the water.” Jenny went through the pile of clothes she took a short black shorts and a shirt that had more fabric than the one she was wearing. “This better?”

Mark looked at Jenny. “Gear up.”

Jenny laughed and looked through the stuff he had, but there was nothing really she thought that would help her. “You know I never found weapons and stuff as useful. I mean what better fire power as real fire do I need?” Jenny actually started juggling with a few fireballs. Sometimes she was rather cocky and she knew it but it kept her alive all those years.

Mark looked at Jenny and shook his head. For a moment he was lost in memory’s, the times he’d heard those words or similar come out of others. And then, sooner or later, normally sooner… He looked back towards Jenny kept his eyes on his daughter, trying to convey just how serious this was.

“Jenny, one thing I have always tried to do is not swamp you with useless advice and outmoded ideal. But there is one piece of advice I need to give you, because I have seen so many young wannabe heroes fall foul of it. Never, never, NEVER rely solely on your powers. What happens when you come across someone who is immune to your fire? Or worse, have you ever faced a nullifier? How do you fight without fire and regeneration?”

Jenny starred at her father for a moment in complete disbelieve. She never pictured anyone immune to her fire or someone who can actually stop from regeneration. And for the first time in a very, very long time she was scared. “Um I dunno count that you guys will safe me? After all you are my dad, it’s your job to safe me.” Jenny didn’t mean to hurt Mark with what she said, but she had no idea how to fight if her powers were not working. And everyone could knock out her powers so easily by just dumping a bucket of water over her and her fire was out for a while.

“Okay, fine I’ll not only rely on my powers but all this stuff you have is… I don’t know how to use it. I never had anything else then my powers to rely on. I was happy when I had a fast car or bike for a getaway. So what do you want to take and it better has instructions coming with it and is great heat proved.” Jenny had lost the communication thingy from early.

“It is my job Jenny, but I haven’t been doing a good job these last ten years have I? Don’t worry about it now. But do keep it in mind. You need to be ready for anything, so knowing how to at least dodge a punch, and probably throwing one yourself, could save your life.” Mark looked appraisingly around the armoury, trying to think what would suit his daughter.

“And you like fast bikes? Hmm, I might have something in that department. Needs a tune up, so not tonight, but…” Mark broke off and rummaged through a drawer, picking out a belt and a small pistol shapes object.

“These two could get you out of trouble, and are simple to use.” Mark handed Jenny the pistol like device. “Standard grappling hook, fire into something solid and keep a tight hold of the other end. Might melt if you go too hot but it’s been designed for elementalists. And this,” he handed over the belt, “personal force field. Just press the button for on and off. That version should last around an hour, depending on how much damage it takes. Oh, and its one way, so don’t worry about your flames harming it.”

Jenny looked excited at Mark when he mentioned that he might have something for her little fast bike obsession. “You’ve got a bike for me? Now I hope we finish this quickly I so gonna remind you of that thought. Since I crashed my last bike into a wall, which brought me into the hospital where we met.”

She took the belt and the other device. “Okay that sounds easy enough. I might be able to shield it from the heat if I remember it.” Jenny grinned cheeky.

“There you are kid,” called out Mark when Dirk reappeared. “I thought you got lost. Here, catch.” Mark tossed Dirk one of the security field scramblers. “Just keep that in your pocket going through security and you should be fine from all the hi-tech gizmos.” Without waiting for a response Mark vaulted over the workbench and dashed inside his pick-up.

“Everybody, in the car. We’ve spent too long already hanging around here.”

They all piled in, Mark gunning the engine before the doors were shut. Once on the road Mark outlined the situation.

“We need to get to a terminal and hanger complex located adjacent to the main building in the airport. Hopefully there we can find something about who or whatever is behind this whole mess. Two options. Go through security inside the terminal, or sneak in the back way. Both ways we could get in without any problems, or it could go horribly wrong.”

“We should try not to hurt any of the security personnel, they’re just doing their jobs,” put in Dirk, “so I think we should at least try and sneak inside.”

“By ‘go through’,” clarified Mark, “I meant in the ‘blag our way past security’ not ‘reduce them to ash’. Though it might end up the latter if things go south.”

For some reason or not a reason so much a reason did Jenny end up on the back seat the least seat she liked in a car, well she disliked not driving on any seat.
Jenny was sort of listening to her father but she never was very much for having or making a plan so until Mark said. “..reduce them to ash..” she was more following her own thoughts, like that the outfit she was wearing was not at all her style…

“Who are we burning to ashes?” Jenny asks innocently, but everyone who looks closer saw her in her eyes small flames burning.

“No one if we can avoid it.” Mark said.

“Oh okay, too bad. Are all jobs you do so… stoic planned are you never spontaneous and just go in and see how it goes?” Jenny wondered.

“Not all of us have not to worry about getting injured and maybe even dying.” Mark said looking at his daughter.

“Yeah okay, okay got it stick to the plan and follow your lead. Sounds sort of boring.”

“It sounds safe Jenny.” Dirk said.

“No risk no fun my dear friend, I need at least one war injury after every fight I had because even when I don’t get scars I remember the fun I had while getting injured. And I have nothing to lose because I have…” Suddenly Jenny looked at her father and then Dirk. “Follow the plan it is.”

They were on the road before Dirk realized what vehicle he was sitting in.

"Mark!" he said, in the same voice he shouted his children's names when they were climbing on the furniture.

"What?" Mark retorted.

"You still haven't gotten rid of this old thing?"

"Of course not!"

"Mark, it was old when I was a kid. It's probably a health hazard now." But in spite of his outburst he was stroking the dashboard almost lovingly, remembering...

Dirk was hammering away at a sheet of metal that was once the hood of Mark's truck to get it back into shape. It was hot in the workshop, and he had been working a long time, so it was something of a shock when he looked up to see Mark standing there, two lemonades in hand. "Did you find anything?" he asked. They had searched for his dark double for weeks and found no sign of it. Dirk didn't want to give up, just as he didn't want to give up on looking for Jenny, though they were both, he knew, futile.

"You know the answer kid. Nothing. Even asked a few old... friends. And they say nothing as well. If your twin is still alive, he seriously knows how to go to ground. How's the hood coming?"

"It's not done yet," Dirk said, somewhat possessively, as Mark tried to lift the hood. But as Mark tried it out anyway, Dirk let him and leaned back against the workbench, taking a glass of the lemonade and gulping at it. "I wish..." he began, then stopped, shaking his head. It didn't matter. "I wish you'd just get a new truck," he said instead, with enough of a laugh that Mark knew he was (mostly) joking. "This thing is totaled."

"Totaled? This 'thing' is nowhere near totaled. She's come back from a lot worse. You've got it easy, its just the bodywork and the frame thats damaged. The engines still in one piece"

Almost on cue, the entire engine dropped out the bottom with a disheartening crunch.

"See, the engine doesn't have a scratch," Mark pointed out.

Dirk glowered at his mentor, snatched back the hood, and went back to hammering.

"You've almost got the hood fitting again. Give a shout when you're ready to put the egine back; you'll need another pair of hands to guiding it into place."

"I think I missed her," Dirk said with a grin.

In many ways, airports were never quiet these days. Planes took off and landed at all hours. But the vast majority still took place during normal daytime hours, so while there were people milling around, it wasn’t nearly what you’d call crowded.

As such, neither parking nor crowds were an issue as the three of them made there way inside the airport. Mark took in the surroundings, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. If there was some large conspiracy going on, then the attack at the hospital followed by Futura’s HQ dropping out of the sky could put the perpetrators on alert.

But so far there wasn’t any signs of increased security or shady undercover guards. Though given they were at the public terminal rather than the private section that was there destination, that could soon change.

‘Just for once,’ thought Mark, ‘let this go well with no unexpected surprises.’ Followed a few seconds later by a ’Yeah, right!’ He motioned to the other two to follow him deeper into the airport.

Jenny followed her father, the attack on the hospital was a rather normal chaotic but the Futura’s HQ or now this was very different from what Jenny used to do in her past. It felt so weird and strange, definitely not her normal MO or well the MO she used to have since she came back from the dead, at the moment she had no idea what she was doing.

I’m following orders? What the hell happened? But since my last contact with water I feel like I can’t decide what to do? Shit I’m getting a headache.

Jenny looked at Mark it felt so easy, so right to follow his him.

“How do we get through the security? Buy tickets?” Jenny was sure that she could not buy tickets. Her ID was just a fake -and not even a good one- since she was dead well at least on paper she was. A fact she had to talk with Mark about, he obviously knew that in the paper she was dead but more what it meant. What if people saw them together, who would she be?

Jenny suddenly grinned. “Just so you know when we have a day of not chasing bad guys I want a proper father-daughter-best-friend-day-out. And you know just a really long sleep.” As surprising as it sounded -even for herself- but she was really enjoying to have them back, and looked forward to get into trouble as she used to when she was younger, you know before she died.

Mark turned back and smiled warmly at his daughter.

"You mean to say this isn't a father-daughter-best-friend day out?" he joked. "I'm sure we can arrange something after we saved the world. And as for getting through security... Trust your old man!"

Mark had a notion he may regret those last words.

"But first, I need to make a call," said Mark, as he pulled out his phone. "Computer's never were my strong point, so..."

Jenny did trust Mark, her dad, but this was madness. Mark was talking on the phone and for a while, long enough for Jenny to finally think about this. And it wasn’t good to think. Jenny got very nervous.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be here? What if I bring you all in jeopardy, what if someone recognizes me?” It was different on the air ship they planned to cause trouble but here they had too blend in at first and then the trouble can come. “I should have offered to babysit. I mean I never have been with children but this is madness. I’m avoiding places that need real ID’s I never had one and would never have the money to get one so it was pointless in trying.”

Mark had been talking quietly on the phone, the he gave a quick 'one moment' then turned to Jenny covering the microphone. "Jenny, calm down, please. Look, there's no one here who'll recognize you at this time in the morning, and even if there is, then they' know about Dirk and me too so it would end up in a fight all the same. As for ID, you've got your fake one on you?" he asked. "I've a friend on the other end of the phone who can fix it up so it'll get you through."

He smiled for a moment. "And one last thing, after the airship, if you think I'm letting you out of my sight again, even for babysitting, you're wrong!"

Jenny looked at Mark for a moment. This was odd somewhere deep down she was still angry with him but then she always just wanted him to love her even in her version of her past. “Yes I got my ID with me.”
 
The smile made her look away. “I figured you wanted me to stay. It’s not like I got to go after this anyway.” Jenny grinned. “A fight would still make this more fun.”

"Great. I'll take a picture of this, then we give my friend a few minutes, and we'll be good to go," said Mark taking Jenny's ID. "And don't you worry, if experience has taught me anything, it's these sort of things usually end up with a fight or two."