Second String Heroes Episode 2.3

Crusader’s thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of Natasha’s cell phone, an overly loud techno rendition of ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’

Crusader and Grande looked at each other as they caught only half of the conversation she was having.

“Hello Betony, what… Da… Da… OK, calm down… Sit tight, we are on our way… We will get there as soon as we can. Goodbye.”

Natasha looked over at her quietly waiting curious teammates.

“That was Betony. Apparently there was some sort of attack during the start of the ritual. She needs our help. If they don’t finish the ritual tonight the Nexus will become unbalanced for the next month or so. And you don’t need to be told what that means.”

Aaron and Carlos nodded sagely. Then made slight eye contact with each other and shrugged slightly.

Roland piped in, “Get your equipment and costumes and head out towards the Olympic Peninsula. I will be able to give you exact directions on the way.”

A short scramble of equipment gathering had the team standing in the parking lot staring at each of their respective vehicles.

Aaron spoke. “Whose do we take?”

Natasha looked at her small two seater sports car. “Mines fastest. But I don’t think we all will be able to fit in it...”

“Sorry, but mine eis one person only.”

“Carlos, it is a lifted truck. There should be plenty of room in it.”

“There would be but I had them make the cab like the einside of a monster truck. I sit ein the middle of a roll cage. Eit’s pretty cool.”

Aaron sighed. “I guess it is mine then. I gotta warn you it is kinda messy and smells like pizza inside. Give me a second to clear a space for you guys.”

“Shotgun!”

“Nope Carlos, the lady always sits upfront.”

Natasha gave Carlos a wolf like grin and a wink as she climbed into the car.

A quick trip inside for a garbage bag and a trunk full of pizza warmers later the 3 members of Seattle’s other super hero team hit the road towards the Olympic Peninsula.

While the sun set they cruised down the freeway at a good bit above the speed limit when Grande leaned forward, mask in hand, between the front seats. “So what are we facing? Hippies? Rednecks? Some renegade Klointh?”

Aaron looked in the rearview mirror at Grande. “The Klointh?”

“You know, space aliens, the greys?”

“Oh right, the ones who issued the apology 5 or 6 years ago to the states of Arkansas and South Carolina for all the probing.”

“Nope, none of those,” Interrupted Sun wolf. “This is more of an uncommon local threat.”

“More local than redneck heippies?”

“Da. Apparently the magic gathering during the ritual attracted a tribe of Sasquatch. They went sort of crazy, attacked everyone and ruined the ritual.”

Aaron nodded.

Grande looked over at Aaron and his non reaction. “Super soldiers you wonder about. But you don’t seem surprised that Beigfeet exist.”

“Why would I be? I have grown up in the northwest. Everyone up here knows that they exist. Hell I almost hit one with my car about 2 years ago while on a delivery. They are all over the place.”

“Speaking of deliveries,” Natasha said while her fingers dug into the door arm rest in suppressed fear “Shouldn’t you be going a bit slower and deliver us safely? I think you just passed a Corvette back there. You don’t want to get pulled over and registered do you?”

“I’m just going a little over the speed limit, nothing to worry about. I am in perfect control. And I’m not in costume. Nothing for me to worry about. You guys on the other hand should probably buckle up.”

The car sped along towards the Olympic Peninsula cutting in and out of traffic like a bat out of hell driving on a NASCAR race track and took back roads known to delivery drivers statewide, the setting sun bright in the dirty wind shield. Grande kept everyone not so entertained playing his favorite game; What Should We Call The Team?

“The Saviors.”

In stereo “No.”

“Magic Incorporated.”

“Nope.”

“Power Patrol.”

“Grande you said that one earlier today. Still no.”

“Lightning League.”

“Umm not bad, write that one down. There has got to be a scrap piece of paper on the floor.” Crusader wrestled in the center console. “Here’s a pen.”

“Battle Cows.”

“What? No!”

“Old Rusty Peickup Patrol.”

“Seriously, you are just calling out things you see outside the windows.”

 After about two and a half hours the car approached the forest service road that Roland mentally indicated.

Roland narrated in Aarons head as he drove. “As you approach mile marker 271, you will see a gravel road on the right hand side.  Turn down it and go straight for a one point four miles then take the bend to the left. Follow that for five miles and you will find the encampment where Betony and the other druids were staying. As a side note, you made phenomenal time. My calculations indicated that it should have taken you four hours and twenty one minutes. I think we need to see if you have an innate power in addition to what you receive from your sword.”

Five minutes, and several giant muddy water filled potholes later, the beat up car pulled into the clearing next to a random assortment of pickups, sport utility vehicles and campers all centered around a cluster of smoldering fire pits. The tents themselves were ripped up, coolers tossed about and camping supplies were scattered about as if a storm had struck.

As the last rays of the setting sun illuminated the tops of the trees everyone warily geared up and stepped out of the car and immediately an intense smell reached their noses.

Eyes watering Crusader pulled his mask closer to his nose, “It’s quite pungent.”

 Sun Wolf shapeshifted into her hybrid humanoid wolf form and inhaled deeply “It's a formidable scent... It stings the nostrils. In a good way. “

“Natasha, I'm gonna be honest with you, that smells like pure gasoline.”

“My god, what eis that smell?” Grande exclaimed covering his nose and mouth with both hands “Oh!”

To take their minds off of the foulness Grande and Crusader tried to outdo the other in describing the scent that filled the clearing while their eyes watered.

“God no, it smells like, like a used diaper... filled with... Indian food!”

“What eis that? Smells like a turd covered ein burnt hair”

Sun Wolf wanted no part in their game “That, Gentlemen is the smell of bigfoot.”

“Seriously, bigfoot smells like this? How did it sneak up on anyone at all?” Crusader asked gasping.

“One sasquatch isn’t this bad. This is definitely the scent of a tribe of them.  They may be close, be on your guard.”

Playtime being over the other two became more serious and with their backs to the car they began to scan the campsite looking for a sign of anyone else. Grande thought in Roland’s direction; “Hey Gato, you picking up any people thoughts out here?”

Roland projected equally across all of them. “I am reading a few people about a quarter of a mile to the northeast. For some reason I can’t pick out individuals. But I think Betony may be among them.”

Sun Wolf looked at her cohorts. “OK, Roland says they are to the northeast. Let’s go that way and see how we can help.”

Crusader looked at the other two. “Umm, which way is northeast?

They both looked around at the clearing.

Roland’s voice piped in. “Northeast is near the tipped over grey camper.”

“Thanks Roland.”

The threesome then ventured past the camper into the dark waiting woods.


More than a little tired from the training she had just completed Betony sat in the passenger seat of the car as her mother drove to the ritual. She looked out of the window at the passing scenery as the miles rolled on letting it zone her out.

“Betony Heather Ashe. Have you even heard a word of what I have said for the last half hour?”

She snapped into awareness “Sorry mother. I am kinda tired from the fight yesterday, cheer practice and today’s practice session. I am trying to build my internal stores back up, they are a bit low.”

“Hmm maybe you are trying to do too much. You are young after all. Maybe you should drop cheer and concentrate on crime fighting instead.”

Betony looked over in exasperation at the attractive older red haired woman next to her in the driver’s seat. “No, I am not dropping cheer. Just because you weren’t a cheerleader and were vice president of the chess club...”

“Treasurer dear, I was treasurer.”

“Whatever.” With rolled eyes “I mean just because you didn’t do it yourself doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it. I don’t have to be just like you. I did take up heroing like you and grandma did just because you wanted me to. It was a good idea and my group are really good people like your foretelling said. So don’t say that I totally ignore your advice.”

Her mother gave a small smile to her.

“That was actually what I was talking about, your team mates. You have a good dynamic, a very focused skill set. But I am curious about your newest member the sword guy.”

“His Code name is Crusader or if you want to use his real name Aaron. Why? What are you curious about?”

“He seems nice, cute and he is about your age. Just a little older.”

“Mother! Eww. No. Eww. He is way too old like almost twenty four and he is more of a defender and protector than anything else. And besides he delivers pizza for a living. Uncool when you are a teenager, totally uncool in your twenties.”

Her mother laughed out loud at that.

“I was joking with you dear. There are rumors about you two on the Seattle Heroweb. Mostly speculation.  I thought you should know. The upside is that your real identity is still safe, they don’t know you are a high school student.”

Betony gave her standard suffering sigh “Uggh. Really? Well at least it isn’t rumors about me and Grande. That would be soo gross.”

Betony looked out the window again, “How much longer do we have?”

“If traffic holds like this it should take about three hours.”

“OK, if you don’t mind I’d like to take a nap so I can recharge before the ritual tonight.”

“Sure sweetie. Go right ahead I will wake you when we get there.”

Betony fished around the back seat for a few moments and pulled out a pink camping pillow with a grin of triumph. She leaned it on the window and within a few moments she was fast asleep.

Betony awoke when her head hit the window, hard.

“Ow wow ow owowowowow. What are you doing?”

As she rubbed her head and quickly woke up she saw that the car was driving down a forest service road that had seen better days.

“Sorry dear you were so tired looking that I wanted to let you sleep as long as possible. I didn’t think the road would be so bad. Otherwise I would have woken you up sooner. “

Still rubbing the sore spot on the side of her head “It’s ok. Thanks for letting me sleep so long.”

Ten minutes of negotiating giant mud puddles and pot holes the car arrived at camp. About a dozen people wandered about setting up a large communal campsite. Trailers, Tents and campfires seemed to be the rule of the day.

Betony’s mother looked over at her. “Well we made it. Just a few more hours and we can start the ritual.”

“I can’t wait.” Betony said with a smile.

As they got out of the car they were greeted warmly by a robe wearing short heavy set older woman whose plump smiling face reminded Betony of the grandmothers you always see in commercials handing out cookies to plump smiling children. Her curly black hair had steaks of silver in it and flowed unbound nearly to her waist. While her dark grey eyes sparkled in welcome.

“Roan! I’m so glad you made it here on time. The ritual would not be completely effective without you. Oh and this must be Betony. She sure has grown since the last time I saw her.” She exclaimed jovially with her arms outstretched toward Roan, Betony’s mother for a hug. Who happily gave it to her with a smile on her face. After the hug ended Margat faced Betony with a smile.

Betony smiled back a little unsure

“Hello Betony, I am Margat. I will be leading the ritual tonight.” She kept going speaking at a rapid continuous clip not giving Betony a chance to reply “I just remembered this is your first ritual. There is nothing to be worried about dear. We just need to reinforce bindings on the Aetheric Nexus. A strong spell working. But not terribly complicated. Which is why it needs renewal once a year at the turn of autumn. I remember my first major ritual it was back in nineteen forty four. The Nazi’s undead battalion was just unveiled in Lorient France ….”

It took about twenty minutes for them to unload the car and set up their tent and sleeping bags, Margat talked the whole time while helping them, telling stories about events she was involved in, bits of arcane knowledge and adorable things done by her grandchildren.

The sun lowered in the horizon as the druids chatted, readied their ceremonial garments and gathered their magical paraphernalia for the ritual.

Margat clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have to leave shortly to begin our procession to the crest of the mount. It is about a five mile hike to our ritual site. So we need to be in position and ready to begin just as the sun begins setting. Not that I need to remind you all, but I will say this again to remind you none the less: It is important that we utter no words from here on out until the ritual has begun as part of the purification process to center our spirits and attune our astral selves.”

Shortly after her announcement the grey and green robed druids followed Margat onto a forest trail that headed to the north east. They hiked in silence following the trail as it slowly climbed a rocky hill covered in stunted pines and cottonwood for about an hour.

Betony meanwhile was uncharacteristically quiet during this procession looking around and occasionally making eye contact wither mother who smiled supportingly. As she walked near the rear of the druids procession she felt her skin get prickly with a feeling of loose unclaimed magic in the air, the feeling got stronger as they approached the top of the hill.

The procession crested the hill and stepped out onto the bare stone summit, the landscape spreading below them in all directions. Tall fir trees interspersed with pine, cottonwood and cedar ran down the hill to the valley below and continued on across the rolling hills well into the distance. Giving the whole area an unspoiled natural wild feeling.

With gestures and hand signals the high druidess Margat directed everyone where to stand and how to orient themselves for the sealing of the Aetheric Nexus. Betony went to an outside edge while her mother took a more prominent spot near the center of the pattern of druids. When everyone was positioned to her satisfaction Margat walked over to her place, also near the center.

It was nearly half an hour later when the bottom of the setting sun touched the tip of the tallest peak of the Cascades. With a slight nod the ritual began. Slowly at first a low chant filled the rocky expanse. It increased in volume very gradually. Little sparks of multicolored light and glowing twisting threads spontaneously appeared in the air between the chanters, twining and dancing their heads.

Betony chanted along with the others, smiling in wonder at the magic happening before her. It wasn’t long before a smell started to reach her nose out of nowhere, it almost smelled like rotten eggs mixed with cinnamon and cigar smoke. It grew from barely noticeable to very strong in hardly any time at all. She glanced around her eyes watering at the others near her. They also seemed to be in distress, with the occasional tear and runny nose dribble.

An earsplitting howl burst from the woods startling everyone present. The ritual faltered and the sparks and threads faded back into nothingness. Margat frowned and began to chant louder to get everyone back to their place in the rituatials chant when nearly a dozen large hairy bipedal forms burst out of the woods and threw themselves at the druids. Giant hair covered arms and hands swung at the shocked druids sending their bodies sprawling.

Betony hid behind a large rock as even more Sasquatch burst out of the woods hell bent on interrupting the ritual and hurting the assembled druids.

Thinking fast she reached into her bottomless belt pouch and pulled out her cell phone and made a call to the most recent call in her phone. Sun Wolf.