Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business RAINBOW GIRL BOOK 23: CACIA & CIARDO

I have been getting bored with merely transcribing material I wrote two years ago.

So, I have interpolated this next piece, written more recently, into the Dori's story.

From a suggestion by Fat Cramer.

http://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=27660#Post27660

CHAPTER ONE: NOBODY HOME

“Welcome back, Dori,” said Bunny, Ennis’ personal assistant. “While you were away, the United Planets has admitted another non-Terran world.”

“Seems like that’s happening twice a week these days,” said Dori. “What are our new friends like?”

“They are called the Karikaan,” said Bunny. “Their home planet is a water-world.”

“You mean like Hykraius or Gil’Dan?” Dori asked.

“It seems that Karika used to have land masses, but runaway global warming or some other disaster has left them all completely submerged,” said Bunny. “Most of the other life on the planet adapted to the sea, but the ‘intelligent’ life there just built boats. Some of them are huge, and thousands of years old now. The Karikaan use mineral extractors to isolate calcium carbonate and various metals from their seas to build and repair the ships. Their fleet is like thousands of island nations, but mobile, forever sailing around their world. The sea provides all their needs-- because except for the very few life-forms they cultivate on their boats, there is no more air-breathing life on the world at all.”

“Are they semi-humanoid?” asked Dori. “There seem to be a lot of those now.”

“Oh, no, far from it,” said Bunny. “In fact, they are closer to Terran plants than animals. Meter-tall, fat, soft-fleshed, pear-shaped things, with stubby little legs and stubby little arms. What they resemble more than anything else are huge papayas.”

“Oh, no, don’t tell me…” said Dori.

“Yes,” said Bunny. “It’s right here, in the Daily Sentinel. A planet of Papaya Sailor-Men.”

“By the way, do you know where Ennis is?” Dori asked.

“He had Reges Questar take him to Earth,” said Bunny. “Some sort of family emergency, as I understand it.”

“Four days until we’re supposed to be married, and he takes off while I’m gone?” Dori fumed.

“My staff and I can handle anything that needs to be done,” said Bunny. “Besides, it’s not as though he will be gone for long. Jahnson’s Planet is still open for business, which means he’ll be back for Transformations and Untransformations, likely for Lunch With A Guest, and probably in the evenings, just before bedtime.”

“Oh, can’t you let me have a good sulk?” asked Dori. “I have a great story about being kidnapped by Poglachians, and he isn’t here for me to tell it.”

“Kidnapped by Poglachians?” said Bunny. “Can I hear it first?”

“I really wanted to tell Ennis before anyone else,” said Dori.

“Can I ask one question?” said Bunny.

“OK, what?” said Dori.

“What’s a Poglachian?” asked Bunny.

“Oh, well, maybe I better tell you first,” said Dori. “Do you have some time?”

“My shift at the hospital does not start for two hours,” said Bunny. “I’m all ears.”

CHAPTER TWO: AN ORDINARY LIFE

Cacia Jahnson had a comfortable little house in the Fort Massac area of Metropolis. It was near the shore, with a mostly unobstructed view of the Ohio. Sixty square meters, two stories, ground level. It had been expensive; her father and mother had bought it for her, but it was far superior to the fiftieth floor EarthGov-subsidised apartment she had moved into as an adult, at fourteen.

EarthGov provided everything else. Food from the AutoChef, clothing and furnishings from the SolidPrinter, communications and entertainment from the WallScreen, easy public transportation across the whole planet, a stipend to customize her AutoChef menu, and outside entertainment at the many nightclubs, theaters, dance clubs and other hotspots around the city.

It was even possible to visit other worlds, if she chose to volunteer as a colonist. Interplanetary tourism, however, was too expensive for a mere Consumer.

Three thousand years ago, it took back-breaking work of two individuals to provide the bare necessities of life.

Two thousand years ago, there was a division of labor: one member of a family was employed outside the home, one member of the family was engaged in home production and maintenance.

A thousand years ago, there was a further division of labor: one member of a family became the Primary Producer, and the other the Primary Consumer.

Now, it was not necessary to enter into a formal contract to fulfill those roles. As soon a one became an adult, EarthGov provided opportunities to choose a Production or Consumption lifestyle. Of course, robots and androids were doing more and more of the Production work, so Consumers outnumber the Producer minority by about twelve to ten. That meant a 60% tax rate.

At least, that is what they taught her in History Class. Cacia doubted anything had ever been so simple. Her mother, father and step-father all had businesses in which they took advantage of the wealth of the Super-Producers in the Galactic Economy.

She was happy to be a Consumer. Life was easy; she herself had made a habit of following the trendiest entertainment, replicating the trendiest fashions, and eating AutoChef copies of the trendiest artisanal chefs’ recipes.

But it was also boring. That is why she had saved up her allowance all those years ago, and bought herself a little personalized technology, and applied for membership in the Legion of Super-Heroes.

It hadn’t worked out. But she had kept the ‘Heck Kitten’ gloves, and practiced with them on and off over the years. She was now an expert with them, and had been working for the past few months with a group called the Animachines. They were a Pseudo-Governmental Unauthorized Vigilante Militia, taking care of the local conflicts that the Legion was too busy to become involved in.

The WallScreen pinged. She had been expecting the call. It was the woman she knew only as Kangaroo Kate, whose legs had been somehow bionically enhanced.

“Hi, Cacia,” she said. “There’s a great trio playing down at The Cosmic Club, would you like to meet me there?”

Kate knew Cacia’s real identity, of course. But Cacia had not been a member of the Animachines enough to be trusted with the identities of the leaders. The Cosmic Club referred to a location nowhere near the real Cosmic Club, and the word ‘trio’ was a clue that they were going up against the Triplicabberant Gang, a group of Cargggite mutants who had been plaguing the Massacan Metropolis recently.

“Let me change, and I’ll be right there,” Cacia answered. She used the SolidPrinter to make herself a little black dress appropriate for clubbing, grabbed her extra-large purse, and headed out the door.

There was a shadowed alcove along the way that was hidden from any WallScreen, in a house or on the street. She changed into her Heck Kitten costume, complete with holo-mask and biodata scrambler.

The rest of her team was waiting for her when she arrived.

CHAPTER THREE: SCIENCE POLICE, METROPOLIS


“Thank you for coming, Mr. Jahnson,” said Science Police Commissioner Ghazala Brane.

“No formalities, please. Call me Ennis,” said Ennis Jahnson. “Always happy to give a hand to the Science Police. Especially if it involves my family. I was once SP myself, you know.”

“Yes, I discovered you are something of a small legend with the Department, when I inquired,” said Commissioner Brane. “Those that still remember you, well, they have a lot of seniority, and have survived more than one Departmental shake-up. When they speak highly of you, people listen.”

“That is at least a month’s-worth of flattery, Commissioner. If what you suspect is true, I perhaps do not deserve it,” said Ennis Jahnson. “How much footage do you have?”

“Only a few minutes of the one suspect,” said Commissioner Brane. “They are using Scramblers, so most of the biometrics are unreadable or unreliable. Of course, we have De-Scramblers, but it’s an arms race.”

“Understood,” said Ennis Jahnson. He carefully watched the evidence recording on the Commissioner’s WallScreen.

“Well, obviously I recognize the technology,” said Ennis Jahnson. “And she seems about the right age, height, and weight. Her patterns of movement are familiar, too, almost as recognizable as the technology. A slightly jerky, almost random walk, as though she does not want to wake something underfoot with the sound of a steady rhythm. Not catlike at all. I suppose someone could have studied the way she carries herself, but I would suspect it is indeed Cacia.”

“How do you want to proceed?” asked Commissioner Brane.

“Do you mean, do I want you to get a warrant, and go search her house immediately? Or call her mother first? Or go over there and confront her myself, alone?” said Ennis Jahnson. “If I had a choice, I’d choose option ‘C’”.

“Mister Jahnson-- Ennis-- the Animachines have been working these neighborhoods on and off for half-a-year. Your daughter-- if it is your daughter-- has only been on three excursions with them in the past two months. She may not know what she has gotten herself into. If you can talk some sense into her-- perhaps convince her to help us voluntarily-- have her help lead us to the real masterminds-- it would be far better than our taking a harder course.”

“Commissioner Brane,” said Ennis Jahnson, “I will do what I can. But I have been trying to give my children advice for well over twenty years, and neither of them have ever shown the slightest interest in taking it.”

CHAPTER FOUR: BATTLEGROUND

Cacia got in a couple of good hits.

The Triplicabberants had targeted a Spiffany Jewelers, well after hours. One of them had the ability to summon two duplicate bodies, one motionless, as still as stone, the other in gaseous form. She had used the gaseous form to slip into the store, past the locks, past the alarms. Then the ordinary body and the gaseous one switched places. She shut off the alarms, unlocked the drawers, and opened the doors. Unfortunately for the Triplicabberants, she failed to shut off the alarm completely, and a loud siren filled the air.

The gang tried grabbing a few handfuls of exotic jewels each. That was when the Animachines sprang into action.

One of the Cargggites had the ability to summon two flaming plasma selves. Wingwoman quickly snuffed them out with a blast of her robotic wings. Monkeyman was using his bionic tail to take down Elevator King, who could switch mass between his three selves-- effectively tripling the size of one, while reducing the other two to mouse-size. The man called Seven was probably the most dangerous of all: he was able to create two sets of three each; but when the seven re-joined, their bodies were immediately healed from all injuries. He also seemed to be a master of a form tri-jitsu adapted to his seven bodies. Laocoön Lass and Lesma Damsel were using their snake-like and slug-like prosthetics to double-team him.

Cacia had lost sight of Kangaroo Kate, but she did she Evolvo-3 trying to abandon the scene. He saw her too, and summoned his gorilla-self and futureman-self to counter her. She let fly with her Heck Kitten cannon-gloves, and seemed to have knocked the two super-powered selves out.

That was when they heard the Science Police sirens approaching.

The Cargggites scattered. Cacia’s team, too, took to the back alleyways, as they were an Unrecognized Vigilante Militia, and could get into just a much trouble foiling a robbery as committing one. She had been in this area of town once before with the Animachines; she know of a hidden closet filled with supplies for the robo-janitors. She triggered the panel open, just in time to see one of the Elevator King replicants shrink out of sight. She grabbed for him, but he was as fast as a cockroach. When she was sure that he was well and truly gone, and that the Science Police were not on her trail, she changed out of the Heck Kitten costume into her party dress, and headed out for the Cosmic Club. She was not 100% sure that EarthGov monitored every WallScreen communication, but just in case, she felt it best to put in an appearance, in case anyone was checking.

CHAPTER FIVE: INTERVENTION

“Hello, Cacia,” said her father, when she opened the door.

“Daddy?” said Cacia. “This is a surprise.”

“Is it?” said Ennis Jahnson. “I left you a message on your WallScreen. You must have gotten in pretty late last night.”

“Come in, Daddy,” said Cacia. “I was out at the Cosmic Club.”

“I know where you were last night,” said Ennis Jahnson. “SP Commissioner Brane reached out to me recently. She thought I might be able to talk sense with you.”

“What does Ghazala Brane have to do with the Cosmic Club?” asked Cacia innocently.

“Oh, Cacia,” said Ennis Jahnson. “Those Heck-Kitten rocket-claw gloves are a dead giveaway. You commissioned that technology years ago, and had it made to your specifications. No one else would think to use it; probably couldn’t master it. The SP can’t get a definitive bio-reading through your Scrambler, but I ought to be able to recognize my own daughter, cat-costume or not.”
.
“Well, even if I was the New Heck Kitten, there are a lot of super-heroes and hero groups around nowadays,” said Cacia.

“Yes, and they have broad leeway, as long as they are registered as Adventure Clubs, and follow the law,” said Ennis Jahnson. “But I suspect you may not know what kind of group you’ve gotten yourself mixed up with.”

“And I suppose you are here to tell me?” said Cacia.

“No, I thought I would sit on your couch for awhile and rest my old bones,” said Ennis Jahnson. “Do you mind making me a cold lemonade? I was waiting on your porch for quite awhile.”

Not knowing what else to do, Cacia had the AutoChef make her father a lemonade.

“Oh, dear,” said Ennis Jahnson. “I just thought-- you were out so late last night, perhaps I have come at an inconvenient time. You don’t have a… guest, do you? I could take a walk around the block, if you need some privacy.”

“Daddy, you are being completely inappropriate,” said Cacia Jahnson. “And I believe it is on purpose. No, I do not have a guest. Or a regular boyfriend. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“No, no, I suppose it isn’t,” said Ennis Jahnson. “But you haven’t checked your WallScreen messages! Perhaps I ought to take that walk for your privacy.”

“There is nothing waiting on my WallScreen that is in any way inappropriate, or that I would be embarrassed to have my father see,” Cacia lied. “Oh, just get to the point. What do you want to tell me?”

“The leaders of the Animachines are running a criminal gang, just as much as the other criminal gangs you have opposed with them,” said Ennis Jahnson. “In particular, they specialize in the ‘protection racket’. This particular Spiffany’s missed their monthly installment, so a confrontation was staged in front of the store. You may have noticed that everyone on both sides safely escaped last night, but that there was a significant amount of property damage. This, more than the few jewels that were taken, is the greatest cost to that establishment. And the more often this happens, the higher the legitimate insurance premiums rise as well, so there is a strong incentive to pay the protection money, or go out of business. The Spiffany family themselves isn’t hurt, of course, but that shop is run by a little franchisee. Furthermore, it is a lesson to all the other businesses that the Animachines and their ilk are extorting,’

Cacia stared fiercely at her father. “Why do you have to ruin everything?”

“What Ghazala Brane wants is for me to convince you to hand over the names of the leaders of the Animachines. I suspect you don’t even know who they are. And I certainly don’t want you going undercover as an SP civilian spy. You might find that a little too exciting. What I really want is for you to start getting bored with the super-hero game, start missing missions, and eventually drop out altogether. Hopefully, before the SP finds a way to identify and crack down on the whole gang, you included. But it’s your life, Cacia, I just want you to live it with your eyes open.” Ennis Jahnson paused. “Oh, dear, that lemonade was really too much to drink for a man of my age. May I use your restroom?”

“You are so inappropriate, I almost want to tell you ‘no’,” said Cacia. “But go ahead, you know where it is.”

Cacia hadn’t had breakfast, but settled for a bowl of cereal and milk, and a pseudo-banana from the AutoChef.

“Well, I really need to get back to Jahnson’s Planet for Untransformations,” said Ennis Jahnson. “I am inviting you, again, to come and live there, if you like. Or to come visit. I have a teleporter on retainer, now.”

“Living on a world where my father is Supreme Despot, and there are a hundred telepaths to make sure I don’t get in any trouble,” said Cacia.

“Over a thousand telepaths, actually,” said Ennis Jahnson. “You could leave Earth, too, if you wanted to. Anywhere you would like to go. The United Planets is your oyster. I would be willing to help you relocate.”

“Are you just trying to get me away from Mother and Goghvan?” asked Cacia. “Because I get along well with them both, and they may be on Mars, but I see them more often that I see you.”

“Think about easing out of the Animachines,” said Ennis Jahnson. “If you’re looking for something to do, maybe you could start a career.”

“Oh, like my brother Ciardo?” said Cacia. “Did you know he is a Producer now?”

“Really?” said Ennis Jahnson. “No, no, I hadn’t heard. What sort of work has he gotten himself into?”

Cacia sneered. “He’s a Walgdocker,” she said.

Ennis blinked. “He… docks Walgs?” he asked. “And they pay him for this?”

“Well, yes,” said Cacia. “He docks Walgs. That's what a Walgdocker does. Other people’s, of course. Not his.”

There was a knock at the door. “That’s my ride,” said Ennis Jahnson. “Do you mind if I come visit again later today?”

“Suit yourself,” said Cacia. “But next time call first.”

CHAPTER SIX: TROUBLE


Cacia Jahnson only knew the true identity of one other member of the Animachines. He was a kid named Jaxxon, but he called himself Swarm.

“Hey, Jaxx, haven’t seen you out for awhile,” Cacia said to the WallScreen.

“My little friends haven’t been doing well,” said Jaxxon. He had a vest with dozens of electronic bees that were supposed to respond to his psychic commands. Cacia had noticed that his control was not what it could be. “So I’ve been staying in a bit.”

“Nothing else,” said Cacia, prompting him. “Maybe getting bored?”

Jaxx looked shaken. “Bored?” he said. “That’s an interesting word. Why would you say I was bored?”

“Oh, just something someone said to me once,” said Cacia. “An all-purpose excuse.” Cacia suspected the SP may have gotten to him, too. He lived with his parents, after all.

“I don’t think… maybe we shouldn’t be talking,” said Jaxxon. The WallScreen went dark abruptly. Jaxxon had hung up.

Cacia was disturbed. Were the SP were closing in? And she had no information to bargain with. The WallScreen pinged.

It was Kangaroo Kate.

“Cacia, so nice to see you reaching out to Jaxxon,” she said.

{How did she know that?} thought Cacia.

“Did you know his family moved to Mars?” Kangaroo Kate continued. “Doesn’t your mother live there? You aren’t thinking of leaving us, too, are you? Moving in with Mommy?” It was sounding like a good idea to Cacia.

“No,” said Cacia, “Staying right here. I’ve got a pretty good set-up.”

“Then you’ll be coming out clubbing with us tonight?” asked Kate.

“So soon?” said Cacia. “Just last night… I’m not sure… I don’t know… can I think about it?”

Kate was fiddling with some device off-screen. “Cacia? Are you still there?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Cacia. “You said we might go out clubbing together tonight. Um… where and when?”

“Cacia,” said Kangaroo Kate, “Where is your uniform?”

“What?” said Cacia. She quickly checked behind the couch. Her oversized purse was gone. Her father! “I, uh, I’m not sure, what happened to it,” Cacia said. “I got in pretty late last night… I probably just put it down somewhere…”

Meanwhile, On Jahnson’s Planet

“It’s a nasty piece of work,” the Tech was saying. “The belt has a bio-scrambler, yes, but also a hidden charge of Daxignite. It could be triggered by an old-fashioned radio signal. Enough to destroy a small house.”

“And Cacia would not have been aware she was wearing it?” said Ennis Jahnson.

“I don’t see how,” said the tech. “I had to take the whoel belt apart, and even then, it only looks like an inlaid ring of plastic. I had to run a spectroscopic analysis before I saw what it really was.”

Ennis Jahnson pulled out his Omnicom. “Questar, I need you to take me back to Earth ASAP. My daughter’s house again.”

As Reges Questar appeared in answer to the summons, Dori ran into the room. “I’m going with you,” she said.

Ennis Jahnson’s office vanished around them, as Cacia’s house appeared before them. Dori immediately sensed something was wrong. “Ennis,” she said, “I think the house is empty.”

“She was expecting me back,” said Ennis. “She told me to call first.” He pinged her WallScreen as he rushed to the house. No answer. The door was unlocked. No one was home.

“Where could she have gone?” Ennis wondered.

Reges Questar was still with them. He had not immediately vanished, as he usually did. There was an odd glow around his eyes, as he scanned the houses around them. “I think I found her,” he said. “She is near the river, wearing a yellow sundress. She seems to be in the company of a man dressed as a robotic monkey, and a woman with the lower half of… a kangaroo?”

“Take us there,” said Dori. Cacia's house faded away, as the riverfront appeared.

“Super-villains are not my forte,” said Reges Questar, and vanished as soon as they had appeared.

“Run, Cacia!” Ennis Jahnson shouted.

“I don’t think so,” said the Monkeyman. “My associate and I have a good hold on her; she is not going anywhere, so I suggest you don’t make any sudden moves…”

But it was too late. Monkeyman and Kangaroo Kate found themselves holding a shredded yellow rag, as a feline streak flashed away through the streets of Metropolis at seventy-five miles per hour.

“Her other form is a cheetah,” said Ennis Jahnson. “Too bad it wasn’t an elephant or an orangutan.” He turned his attention to the two Animachines. With a gesture from Ennis, Monkeyman had been transformed into some sort of rhinoceros-like creature. As Ennis’ power did not affect mass, it was rather small. Kangaroo Kate, on the other hand, had transformed into an immense flea. The effect of the shape-shifting was that their mechanical appendages fell away from their bodies, inert. In an instant, Ennis had changed them back to human form, but the giant flea had already leapt dozens of feet into the sky. She landed again as a human with a sickening thud.

“She is probably very badly injured,” said Ennis Jahnson, in a flat voice without a trace of emotion. He took off running after the erstwhile Monkeyman. Ennis moved remarkably quickly for a one so large.

Dori’s aura was flaming red. Then she looked at the pathetic, legless, former Kangaroo woman on the ground. She was unconscious. A thin stream of blood trickled from her mouth. Dori’s aura faded from scarlet rage to the indigo of compassion. “I have some healing abilities in this mode,” she told the unconscious Kate.

Ennis Jahnson picked up Monkeyman's prehensile mechanical tail, and hurled it as far as he could in the direction of the river. It very nearly skidded into the water. The Monkeyman lunged for it; Ennis Jahnson blocked his way. The Monkeyman's clothes were torn from the transformation, so it was easy to see that he was fit and well-muscled. He stood a good six feet, and topped two hundred pounds. He looked formidable, even without his equipment.

Ennis Jahnson, on the other hand, had a good six inches and sixty pounds on him.

Monkeyman lashed out at Ennis Jahnson; his fist found only empty air. Suddenly, Monkeyman was on the ground, a hand on his neck, and a knee on his back. “I am going to hogtie you with these rags you’re wearing,” said Ennis Jahnson. “And you are going to let me.”

Dori’s healing aura was doing its job. Kangaroo Kate stirred, then woke. She spit a bloody gob in Dori’s face. Then she clutched her side. “You broke my ribs,” she hissed accusingly.

“Actually, I healed several of them,” said Dori. “But now I’ve lost that ability.” she wiped the bloody slime off her cheek, her aura scarlet-red again. “I could probably give you a nasty burn, though,” she said.

That was when the Science Police finally showed up.

CHAPTER SEVEN: INTERROGATIONS

The SPs loaded the four suspects into their anti-grav hovercraft. The hogtied Monkeyman and heavily injured Kangaroo Kate actually offered more resistance than Ennis and Dori. Ennis did have one request.

“My poor cat ran away in all the excitement,” he explained to one of the SP officers. “I’m so afraid she will feel abandoned, all alone out here. Do you mind if I can see if I can call her?”

The SP reluctantly agreed. “Here, Kitty,” Ennis called quietly. A largish cheetah immediately came bounding out of one of the side streets. The SP quickly drew his stun-weapon. “Oh, she is terribly tame,” said Ennis. “Wouldn’t hurt a mouse.”

Dori scratched the cheetah between the ears. Cacia purred, and blinked wide eyes at the SP.

Kangaroo Kate was dropped off at a secure hospital. Monkeyman, Ennis, and Dori were all put in separate cells. The cheetah was put in with Ennis. She curled up peacefully on the floor.

The SPs came for Monkeyman first. He was gone for over an hour, then escorted back to his cell. Ennis and Dori were taken together to an interrogation room-- with the cheetah padding after them. Science Police Commissioner Ghazala Brane was waiting for them. The SPs left the four of them alone.

“I really should let them press charges against you,” said Commissioner Brane. “Vigilantism, super-heroing without a license, creating a public disturbance.”

“None of those are crimes we have acually committed,” said Ennis. “I am still a registered Adventurer here on Earth. I keep the paperwork and my insurance premiums up-to-date.”

Dori looked at Ennis, doing a double-take.

“Besides,” Ennis continued, “We were merely defending ourselves; those two hoodlums were carrying some dangerous weaponry. We were in danger of our lives. And my daughter will testify to the fact that those two were in the process of kidnapping her.”

“Yes, your daughter’s testimony would be very interesting,” said Commissioner Brane. “I’m not sure she would be entirely willing, however, now that we know just who these people are. You know, UP law prohibits any forced testimony that might endanger an individual’s safety.”

“Really?” said Dori. “I thought they were just a couple of low-grade techno-enhanced thugs.”

“Well, Monkeyman is just that, pretty much. He’s a hired goon named Hermann Torgg, a native Earthman.” Commissioner Brane paused. “Kangaroo Kate, she’s something else entirely. A complete psychopath. Voluntarily had both legs amputated below the knee; that kangaroo suit isn’t the only tech she has had adapted for her. Has her original calves and feet in cryogenic storage, in case she ever decides she wants them back. Her name is Kaitriona Zodiax, a member of the Zodiax crime family of Rimbor. They’ve been trying for a little over a year to establish a foothold here on Earth. The Animachine gang is just one of their little projects. Kaitriona has nothing to say to us, but Torgg is ready to sing like a bird, as long as we move him someplace where the Zodiax family has no influence.”

“Ask him If he would like to live out the next few years as a pygmy toxodon, on some remote, pastoral planetoid,” said Ennis. “I could arrange that, if you like.”

“I’ll bet you could,” said Commissioner Brane.

“He tried to hurt my daughter,” said Ennis Jahnson, in a flat voice, devoid of emotion.

“You need to be wary of Ennis when he makes these simple declarative statements,” said Dori.

The cheetah purred.

CHAPTER EIGHT: HOME

That evening, the SPs dropped off the cheetah, Ennis and Dori at Cacia’s house.

The door was standing open; the three just walked in. The cheetah made a bee-line for Cacia’s bedroom. Cacia walked out a few minutes later, in human form, pressed and dressed, and tossing her silvery hair.

“I thought you promised you would never transform me without my permission,” said Cacia.

“I apologize, but this seemed like an extraordinary circumstance,” said Ennis. “Do I have your retroactive permission?”

“I suppose so,” said Cacia. “I hate being a cat. I have to suppress a constant urge to lick myself, and I feel like I have severe narcolepsy. Am I going to get my Heck Kitten costume back?”

“The rocket gloves, at least,” said Ennis. “My techs sort of tore the rest of it apart, removing a remote-controlled Daxignite bomb that had been hidden inside it.”

“Oh,” said Cacia. “Thank you. So that’s what Kate was fiddling with when she called.” Cacia drew herself up. “Tomorrow, I am going to contact the Commissioner, and tell her I am fully willing to testify against the Zodiax family. They messed with the wrong Heck Kitten this time. I’ve always said I wanted more excitement in my life.”

“If you feel the Science Police are not affording you sufficient protection, I have friends on Colu,” said Ennis. “And you know I can make you disappear pretty effectively, if need be. I have a teleporter on retainer.”

“Thanks, Daddy,” said Cacia. She turned to Dori. “So, you’re my new Stepmother?”

CHAPTER NINE: A LITTLE BIT OF CIARDO

“As long as we’re in this part of town,” said Ennis, “We might as well drop by my son’s place, alright?”

“Certainly,” said Dori. It had been a long day, but her adrenalin levels were keeping her wide awake.

Ciardo had a little house very similar to his sister’s in Woodhaven Estates.

“So what do your powers transform Ciardo into?” Dori inquired.

“A Terran fox,” said Ennis. “Twenty times the size of an ordinary fox. He’s pretty imposing in that form. He always enjoyed Transformation much more than Cacia. His coat turns white in the winter.”

Ciardo had the same silvery hair as his sister, but it was fleck with strands of gold. He invited Ennis and Dori in readily. “But next time, call first,” he said.

“Dori Aandraison,” Dori introduced herself, extending her hand.

“Yes, we’ve met,” said Ciardo.

“Yes, but I wasn’t engaged to your father then,” said Dori.

Ciardo got everyone drinks. “Did you know I have a career now?” he said. “I’m in the service industry.”

“He’s a Walg Docker,” Ennis explained.

“You’re paid to dock Walgs?” asked Dori.

“Only other people’s,” said Ennis. “Not his own, obviously.”

“I’ll will have earned some vacation time in a couple of months,” said Ciardo. “I’m thinking of going out to the Arabian Sea, and spend some time visiting with the Jesine Firmamentalist Assembly. See Grandma and Grandpa.”

“This would have nothing to do with the fact that you are technically in the succession for First Elder?” asked Ennis.

“Well, I’d like to keep my options open,” said Ciardo. “One never knows what the future may hold, does one?”

* * *

Back on Jahnson’s Planet, Dori reminded Ennis, “Only three days until the wedding. Neither one of us can afford skipping across the Galaxy again.”

“Tomorrow Jahnson’s Planet is open for business,” said Ennis Jahnson. “The next day, the employees are on holiday. And the next day is the wedding. May it not go off without a hitch.”

“You keep saying that,” said Dori. “I still don’t understand what you mean.”

In the next chapter we are finally at Ennis and Dori’s wedding.

A great deal happens there.

There will be, after all, a great many super-heroes in attendance, and you know things always happen with those sorts of people.

It may take me some time to get it all down. It may take two installments.

Hopefully, see you in a month or two.

I read Books 20-23 together.

Dori and Ennis are so well matched; they just roll with the punches and accommodate each other's lives so patiently. I have no doubt that between now and the wedding there will be further last-minute adventures. I'm wondering who her bridesmaids will be.

Charming that Dori is starstruck by the Taines, despite the superheroes and high society circles she frequents. Chuck & Lu respond just as I would expect them to, down to earth - they probably remember every Academy student they ever had.

The conditions of the Polamar Trust bring some financial reality to this superhero story, as does the character of Michael Magnus. If we have computer trading running riot and handling financial transactions today, of course there would be robotic financial managers in the future, apparently more sedate and balanced than today's algos.

I got a good laugh out of Cacia as Heck Kitten. The split between producers and consumers which you've established, however, is seriously interesting. I've been listening to The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life when Robots Rule the Earth. Author Hanson opens the book with a discussion of the differences between Forager and Farmer societies, how our civilization evolved from one to the next and may become more forager-like in the future. However, it makes sense that both types could co-exist in balance as your consumers and producers do, with different personalities suited to be one or the other.

It's also good to see that there are multiple super-powered groups and gangs, some officially sanctioned, some not. How could a lid possibly be kept on all the tech and biological powers in the Legionverse and its spin-offs?

The Lords of Chaos meeting was hilarious! Reminded me of a lot of business meetings I sat through, although this was quite a bit more entertaining.

I hope you enjoy writing these as much as I enjoy reading them. Looking forward to the wedding - too bad Sketch Lad isn't around to draw the dress.

Still wondering what a walg is, but I can just make something up.

No, I don't know what a Walg is either, or why you would need to dock it.

Some of my references are pretty obscure. I wonder if you (or anyone else) picked up on Michael Magnus as Gold of the Metal Men. (canon)

Hey Klar, I thought Michael Magnus was the Chiefs name from the Doom Patrol, Though wasn't sure. Glad I didn't bet on it now

Loving your work, by the way, as you write the best characters on this board in your take on Dori and Ennis. Looking forward to the wedding.

I laughed out loud at the Lords ot Chaos meeting.

Also eagerly awaiting the wedding!

[Hit forehead!] Of course, it would be Gold who was handling financial affairs. I figured Magnus was a tribute to the great robotics designer, but it didn't click that it would be Gold himself. Very nice touch!