Got Gal, Issue #006

Issue #006 – – – – – controlled by Keith Nixon – – – – – Credits 107

Got Gal sat on the comfortable leather couch in the old man’s lounge.  The house was a rambling old building set back from the main run of the suburbs in a leafy lane which seemed less organised than elsewhere.  They’d made it safely back without challenge and Got Gal was enjoying some iced fruit punch and a cheese sandwich.  She’d intended to ask for pickle with it, but the old man had provided exactly what she wanted without being asked.

As she watched her host take a seat opposite her she began her opening gambit: “You’re a bit of a brain yourself, aren’t you?”  By brain, she was using the slang term for an abnormal with psionic-based powers.  The man smiled, “Actually, no.  Though I can see why you’d think that.”
“You seemed to pick up on things I was thinking earlier,” She pointed out.  The old man nodded as he turned his left hand over to reveal a green gem atop the ring that sat on his middle finger.  “This,” He said, “Is the Ring Of Eyes.  I’ve been its carrier for most of my life. It has a number of low-level abilities including a certain level of predictive power.  I can see possibilities of how things might pan out in the near future.  They don’t always happen and its possible to prevent them, they are just one of the many paths that reality can take, though usually one with a high level of probability.”
“So you’re a Foci?  A mage?  What?” She asked.
“A Foci, I suppose, though I’ve never been one to stick labels on things.  I used to be called Looking Glass, back when I was active.”
“You were a hero?”
“I’m afraid not.  I fought for the other side, though never involved in anything too serious.  I was a member of The Heartbreakers, a criminal superteam out of Boston.”
“How long ago was this?”  Got Gal wanted to know.  “Can I trust you?”
“Oh yes.  I am long retired and spent the last five years I was active behind bars doing time for my crimes.  I have paid my debt to society and am just trying to live quietly now.”

“So Captain Courage killed your wife?  How did that come about?”
“She was The Flashing Blade, a swashbuckler on the same team.  Our final job involved stealing some works of art from a historical museum.  As we emerged with the loot a Boston hero by the name of Savage was waiting and with him was Captain Courage.  Some kind of team-up.  We knew that we had no chance against two Type A blockbusters like them and so we surrendered.”
“They didn’t let you surrender?” Got Gal asked.  Looking Glass shook his head, sadly.  He stared at the ground and for a moment she didn’t think he would say anymore, but finally he began speaking again:  “Savage was really brutal, well-known for a very high level of violence against criminals he caught.  But we thought we were safe with Courage, the man’s reputation being like a giant super-powered kitten.  We were wrong.  The two men waited until our weapon-master, Talon, put his arsenal down and then they attacked.  Killed five of the seven members, including my wife.   Both my legs were broken, but I survived and was arrested.  My colleague Nightwish escaped but was later captured by Courage.  He was beaten so thoroughly that severe brain damage was done.  He lives in a secure care home for the criminally insane, in Maine somewhere.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Got Gal said.
“Young lady, we were criminals.  The public thought we got what we deserved and maybe we did.  But I didn’t think heroes were supposed to act that way?  Particularly not against disarmed and surrendering opponents.”
“We’re not,” Got Gal agreed.
“But never mind that.   Perhaps you are wondering how, precisely, I identified you?”
“Yes.”
“My ring no longer has the functionality it had in my youth.  I cannot summon mirror images with it anymore and I cannot become intangible, which it used to allow me to do once each day.  But it retains some of its shielding power and some of its prediction power.  This morning I had a vision that I would meet you and that if I did not bring you back here you would almost certainly be killed.”
“Killed?  Who by?”
“The Brain tasked with finding you is called Bloodhound.  He works for the Bull Corporation as a special operative and he is very, very good.  His powers including psionic tracking, clairvoyance, nudging, emotional manipulation and power dampening.  It is this last which makes him particularly dangerous to you.”

“Can I stay here?  I need to work out what’s going on.  In my head.  In the world.  I’m suffering from amnesia of some sort.”
“That explains why I’ve never heard of you before, perhaps you don’t come from here?” Looking Glass observed.
“I do come from here.  But the city I remember was totally different to this.  I think.  The problem is my memory is really kinda hazy.  Everything has changed, I’m sure of that.”
“A memory wipe, or psionic tampering, or some kind of supernatural thing?” Looking Glass suggested.
“Maybe,” Got Gal agreed, though she did not sound convinced.
“Well you can stay here.  My ring should shield the house from psionic sweeps and if there is a danger that it wont it may well give us a preemptive warning.”
“Thank you,” Got Gal said.  “But you do realise this might bring a lot of heat down on you?  If they’re after me as badly as you think.”
“They are,”  He replied.  “They’re calling you a new supervillain and saying you killed a cop.  They hate Class A abnormals out and about but not under their control.”
“I’m not a supervillain,” Got Gal protested.
“I know.  I can tell.  I’ve known enough.  You’re clearly on the hero side, but nobody in authority will want to accept that.  For the time being you are a fugitive.  If they catch you, those big Class A powers will earn you a swift trip to The Institute.”

“Well, I don’t know what my intentions are from here.  I do know that I want to try and recover my memories.  I also want to make contact with other heroes and see if they can shed any light on what has gone on.  Finally, it wont do the authorities any harm to know there’s another unlicensed hero out here trying to do some good.”
“Well you’re welcome to shelter here for as long as you need to.  It’s been a long time since I’ve had the company of a young woman,” He smiled impishly.  “Don’t worry.  I’m not a creepy old stalker.  While you are here you’ll benefit from whatever insights the rings predictive power can grant me.  Though, these days, that doesn’t amount to much.”
“It may have saved my life today,” Got Gal said, draining the last of her juice.
“Yes, perhaps.  But mostly it gives me nothing useful.  I don’t know if its the ring which is losing its power, or its carrier.”

Looking Glass went out to buy some extra groceries and seemed to have no concerns about leaving Got Gal to potter around in his house.  She switched on the TV and caught several news alerts talking about her in dark terms, calling her a criminal.  She channel surfed, trying to catch something else of interest.  Suddenly, she stopped.  A face on one of the channels had caught her attention.

One channel had a “Breaking News” banner and was depicting a stand-off  at Helix Point.  There, two heroes she had never heard of called Dragonfly and Hummingbird were facing off against a terrible and dangerous villain that she had certainly heard of.  The Devastator.  Her memory may be mostly gone, but she remembered that infamous big hitter’s name very well.   She was fairly sure from what she remembered that those two little heroes didn’t stand a chance.  Without help, they were as good as dead.