Myths and Heroes

by Quintin Fortune

  # # #

  The Heroes entered the small second-hand bookstore that was a few miles away from the Langley's apartment. A short, elderly woman sat at the register next to the door. "Good afternoon gentlemen," she said in a voice that reflected her age. "What can I help you find today?"

  "This may come as a shock, but we're looking for a book," Deadguy answered.

  The little old lady chuckled. "Well, I'd say you came to the right place. What book you looking for?"

  "It's part of a series," Valkadaidan answered. "The Legends and Lore of Egypt. It was a volume about Ma'at."

  The old lady gently pushed her glasses up as she typed in the information into her dusty old computer."We have one copy," she noted. "It's in the back. If you gentlemen will follow me." The Heroes looked at each other, a bit relieved, then followed.

  The aging bookkeeper led them to a darker area of the store where the occult and mythology books always seemed to be kept. She pointed to a series of books that were out of her reach. "It's right up there," she instructed.

  "Thank you," Deadguy said, "You've been awesome. Valk, grab it and lets go."

  The lady slowly tottled away as Valkadaidan grabbed the slim volume from the shelf. He stopped as movement caught his eyes. "Did you see that," DG asked, glancing around. Valk pulled away from the bookshelf.

  "Someone knew we'd be here," the Supreme Warrior noted. As he said that, two men stood at each end of the aisle. They all wore the same uniform: White dress shirt, thin black tie, black slacks, and black dress shoes. Blank expressions hung on their face. Their eyes seemed empty, as if they had no free will of their own.

  "Think the Mormons have finally snapped," Deadguy commented.

  "Don't think they're Mormons," Valkadaidan corrected.

  The four men started walking towards the Heroes, sadistic grins suddenly growing on their faces. "Destroy," the said in unison. "Destroy. Destroy. Destroy."

  "I think they mean to destroy us," Our Hero commented in monotone, taking a fighting pose. "Alright then. It's ass-kicking time."

  "Quietly," Valk commanded.

  "What?"

  "We're in a bookstore, which means not making any loud noises."

  "Are you...are you serious? Ugh." The two plunged into battle, quietly, as Deadguy socked the first attacker in the jaw.

  "How did the bookstore...," Jill started as the Heroes walked in. She stopped once she saw how worn out they looked. "...oh." Deadguy walked over to his desk and collapsed into his chair, propping his legs up on his desk. Valkadaidan walked up to her desk, dropped the book, then trudged off to the bathroom to clean up. "Ran into a little bit of trouble?"

  DG rolled his head and glared at her. He held up his index finger and thumb, indicating 'just a bit', while giving a sarcastic smile.

  Jill turned her attention to the book on her desk. It had a few dents and a couple of small blood spots on it. "Who's blood is this," she questioned.

  "Not mine," Our Hero replied. "and not Valk's."

  She wiped off the blood with a tissue, then thumbed through the pages. "Someone's putting a lot of effort to hide information on someone that isn't real."

  "Mythology is born from history," Valkadaidan said as he came out of the bathroom. He had taken both shirts off.

  "Ah, dude," DG exclaimed, turning his head away in disgust. "No one wants to see that."

  "Shush," Jill hissed at him, then turned her gaze back to Valk's chest. "Mythology from history, huh?"

  "Eyes up here," he said, pointing towards his face. He walked over to his desk to grab another pair of shirts. He slid the sleeveless white shirt on. "Yes. Mythology is an exaggeration of real events, objects, or even people." He plopped down in his chair, fixing the dragon scaled-patterned over shirt.

  "So, what," DG asked. "Professor Langley found the real Ma'at?"

  "If not her, then something connected to her," Valk answered.

  Deadguy pulled his legs down and leaned forward, "Okay, so the professor found something or knows something and someone else is trying to cover it up. Question is, who's trying to cover it up and why."

  "I don't think someone's trying to cover something," Jill said. "Maybe they've uncovered something."

  "This I've got to hear," DG remarked.

  "According to this, Ma'at had a chosen warrior that could never die known throughout the lands as 'the Fighting Death'. He wielded a weapon known as...Se...seseh...seseheek...I can't pronounce that word. After the Battle of the Thousand Ghosts, both he and the weapon became lost."

  Deadguy looked at their boss, his hand holding up his head. He had a look of udder boredom on his face. "Riveting," he remarked in a flat tone. The phone in at the front desk rang. "Who's day is it for desk duty?"

  "It's yours now," Jill answered, not taking her eyes off the book.

  DG gave her an angry look, then walked over to answer the phone. "Professional Heroes. Deadguy here."

  "I think those kidnappers are back," Vanessa's voice replied.

  "What?"

  "Please, you've got to get over-" She was cut short by a scream and the sound of a door being kicked in.

  "Vanessa? Vanessa!" Our Hero slammed the phone back on the receiver. "Gang, we've got to go. Now"

  The Heroes pulled up to the apartment as a Vanessa-sized bag was being carted into a white van by some men dressed in the same attire as the ones in the bookstore. Jill jumped out as the kidnappers sped off. "Valk, follow them," she ordered. "I'll see if I can't get some info before the cops show up."

  "Shotgun," DG called out as he jumped into the front seat. The guys drove off after the van as Jill bolted into the apartment building.

  She leapt up the three flights of stairs with ease, but stopped short once she arrived at the apartment. There was a man in a gray three-piece suit standing in the doorway. "Such a shame something like this had to happen now," he said. He turned to her "Don't you agree, Miss Nemo?"

  The Hero studies his face, looking for some sort of answer to the million questions she had in her head. It was a conniving face. A face that seemed very comfortable with a mad mind. "Do I know you," she asked.

  He laughed briefly. It was very unsettling. "No. Not yet, but through chaos comes knowledge." He turned and walked away. "See you soon," he called out, letting the sentence linger for a few moments.

  Jill made a mental note to remember him. Something inside her knew this guy was going to cause trouble. She then quickly entered the apartment.

  "Who kidnaps someone in broad daylight," Our Hero asked as Valk sped through traffic.

  "Someone that doesn't care, he replied. "Someone under orders." The van raced through a red light. He pushed harder on the gas and followed, nearly causing a wreck.

  "Where did you get your license," DG asked, looking out of the rear view window.

  "What license," he replied with a smirk.

  Deadguy quickly turned back to Valk. He pointed for a moment, wanting to comment. "Leave the comedy to me," he said.

  The van started weaving through traffic. Valkadaidan started steering his way through as well. Deadguy lurched left and right in the passenger seat. "They're. Trying. To. Lose. Us," he stated with each steer.

  "Hope. I. Don't. Get. Sea. Sick," DG commented with each lurch.

  "We're. In. A. Car," Valk corrected.

  "Doesn't. Feel. Like. It," DG replied.

  The van narrowly avoided a bus. It stopped abruptly as the Dragon-Blooded cut in front of it. "Bus drivers need to learn how to drive," he commented.

  "Who are you and what have you done with Mister Sulkidaidan," DG asked.

  Jill pulled out her smart phone and snapped a few photos as quickly as she could. There wasn't much time before...

  "Miss," an authoritative voice said. "I'm going to have to ask you to put your hands where I can see them."

  Damn, she thought. "I'm Jill Nemo of the Professional Heroes," she said as she started to turn, placing her hands on her head. "Vanessa Langley is a client of our and was j
ust kidnapped."

  "I'm going to have to take that phone from you, Miss Nemo," the officer ordered. She quickly hit a button before handing it over to the cop.

  "Two more white vans," Deadguy exclaimed. "Whoever these people are, they really don't want us getting Vanessa back."

  "I think Jill's tracer gun is still in the glove box," Valkadaidan suggested. Our Hero dug around and pulled the gun out. "On my mark, shoot the middle van."

  The three vans started switching places. The Supreme Warrior watched with intensity as Deadguy was hanging out the window.

  "Any time now," DG said.

  "Hold," Valk growled.

  The vans continued weaving and started speeding up.

  "Valkster," he asked.

  "Hold," he repeated.

  The vans began to move in fluid motions.

  "Now," Valkadaidan called out. Deadguy fired and hit the van that had just slid into position. He let up off the gas as the vans sped off.

  "Hope that was the right one," DG commented. Valk said nothing. "I think we need to go back for Jill." The Dragon Blooded turned the wheel sharply, cutting through four lanes of traffic. "Remind me again why I'm not allowed to drive?"