Hunting Season

We stood in the shadows behind the warehouse going over the plan one more time.

"You get Hummingbird here, I freeze her in time, you hit her with the tazer, easy enough." Stopwatch said in a bored voice. "For the third time, I got it."

I wasn't used to working with others, especially someone who could manipulate one of the primal forces of the universe so I was unusually nervous. Also, we only had one shot at this and if we screwed it up all of my plans would be put in jeopardy.

"Alright, I'm making the call now. She could be here any minute so get ready." I said as I pulled out the burner phone and buckled the voice changer onto my neck.

"Don't worry, we have all the time in the world." Stopwatch replied with a smile as he leaned against the door.

"Easy for you to say, you are the one with the time manipulation powers." I grunted as I dialed the number I had pulled from Black Bird's phone.

"Hey BB, what's up?" I heard Hummingbird say in her cheerful, carefree voice. "What's the buzz, what's the scoop, why you callin' me?" she continued before I could get a word in.

"It's important, I have got a lead on the Russian gang I have been following but I need some help. Can you meet me here ASAP?" I asked in Grace's voice and gave her the address.

"Sure, be right there." She replied and cut the call.

"Alright, she's on her way." I said as I pocketed the cell phone and slipped further into the shadows.

"Nope, you mean she's here." Stopwatch replied as he pointed at an iridescent streak that was flashing toward the entrance to the pier we were on. On his advice we had chosen this spot so we could see her approach and get some warning, but shit that was fast.

The streak turned sharply and in a flash Hummingbird was standing there, I swear she was bobbing back and forth like the Roadrunner did in on the old cartoons. Her head was darting around, looking for Grace as she whispered in a comically loud whisper "Black Bird, I'm here."

"Gotcha" I heard Stopwatch exclaim as what looked like a soap bubble formed around Hummingbird. She started to turn her head toward the sound of Stopwatch's voice, but slowly like she was moving in syrup.

"Dammit, she's fast. You had better do what you need to do because I can't hold this much longer." I heard him grunt through gritted teeth as he strained to keep the time bubble formed.

"Alright, when I say, drop it." I told him as I lifted the tazer.

"Make it quick, once I drop this bubble she is back at full speed." He replied.

"Yep, she's fast but not faster than light." I replied and turned on the high powered flashlight that I had brought, focusing the beam on her goggle covered eyes. "Drop it."

The soap bubble disappeared and Hummingbird started to move only to shout in surprise and raise her hand to shield her eyes.

"Aaaaaa, what?" she shouted in a startled voice as the blinding beam came out of nowhere to dazzle her, then she screamed in pain when the electrodes from the tazer hit her. I wasn't sure about what her costume was made of, so I had aimed for the bare flesh just under her jaw and she spasmed then collapsed as 50,000 volts of electricity overloaded her nervous system.

I dropped the tazer and dashed forward, quickly wrapping the elastic straps around her wrists and ankles. Once she was secured I added other straps around her thighs and elbows then strapped her arms to her body and pushed a rubber ball gag into her mouth. These were no ordinary bondage items. I had gone back to The Tinkerer with my problem and he had designed them to specifically counter any attempts to escape by high speed vibrations. Next I fastened the collar around her neck and made sure that the micro needles penetrated her skin. The machine blinked red for a couple of seconds then green and I sighed in relief.

"What's that?" Stopwatch asked as he leaned over my shoulder.

"It's a sedative injector. Her metabolism runs too fast for a normal sedative, and anything too heavy could kill her. This is like an insulin pump, constantly checking the level of sedative in her blood so we can keep her out, or just docile, without risk."

"We? Who is we?" He asked inquisitively. Isn't that something you should have asked before taking the job I thought.

I didn't answer but instead pulled out my other cell and called Dan. "Yeah, one more for pick up." I said, and gave the address.

"Woah, woah. You aren't giving her to that maniac are you?" Stopwatch exclaimed as he backed away in surprise.

"You were hired to do a job, which you have done. Now go home and enjoy your money." I told him as I stood.

"No way, no way. I am not going to be part of his slave ring. I deal in cash and information, not people, even if they are Supe's." He snarled as he leaned toward me angrily.

"What the fuck did you think was going to happen you moron?" I replied, and prepared for the worst.

"I don't know, maybe you were holding her hostage to get the rest of the Freedom Flock to back off. Maybe ransom, maybe you were just lonely and wanted someone to monologue your evil plans to. Not sell her to that monster to be turned into some science project, or worse." He yelled.

"What I do with her is my business, now back off before something happens that we will both regret." I said calmly, holding my hands out in front of me.

"No, let her go now or I swear I will time stop you so tight that pigeons will be shitting on you for centuries." He snapped as he grabbed me by the collar. Just what I had hoped he would do. I reached up and grabbed his wrist, then dove into his mind.

We were standing in an MMA octagon, appropriate for a fight I guess. He was surprised and I took the moment of distraction to increase my size and mass, looming over him like the Bulk. "You are in my world now, and if you don't back off I will start switching things off in here starting with your sex drive."

He looked around scared. "Fucking psychers!" He yelped as he backed into a corner. "Get out of my head or I will time stop you and drop you off the pier."

I laughed and made sure it echoed like thunder. "You dumbass, we are connected. Anything you do to me you do to yourself. Want to freeze me in time, go ahead. We can enjoy eternity together."

He looked around frantically, his panic rising as he saw his only edge disappear. "Now, you are going to walk away and not look back. If you feel bad, donate your fee to the Old Superheroes Fund or something, but you leave this alone." I growled as I leaned over him.

"Alright, alright. It's on your conscience, if you have one asshole. Just get out of my head." He replied, raising his hands in submission.

"Not so fast, just to make sure you don't change your mind and become all noble I am going to leave a little insurance." I sneered wickedly, and beside me appeared a large bomb complete with flashing lights and nuclear symbols plastered all over it.

"This is tied to my conscience. If anything happens to break that connection, it will go off and you will be salad fixings, got it?" I told him, patting the device affectionately.

"Salad fixings?" He asked confused.

"A fucking vegetable you dumbass. You will be eating soup served to you by a fat male nurse for the rest of your life, not that you would have any mind left to notice. Understand!" I said with a groan. Why did power and brains always have to have an inverse relationship.

"Hey, will I be stuck with that for the rest of my life?" He whined, his eyes wide as he looked at the thought bomb.

"No, I don't want to be in your head for any longer than I have to. When you wake up tomorrow it will be gone, just like me." I replied and he nodded in relief. I broke the connection and released my grip on his wrist, hoping he would continue to buy my bluff.

He backed away and gave one last glance at Hummingbird who was lying bound and unconscious on the ground. "Sorry kid, I didn't know." He said then took off running down the dock. I let out a sigh of relief, I hated this weak compared to everyone else out there but it made me an excellent poker player so that is something. I looked down at where my newest prize lay.

She looked just like her picture, a skin tight body suit of shimmering red and purple with a close fitting headpiece and protective goggles. I gave a quick search for any hidden items and found a small ear bud communicator that I quickly broke and threw into the water. I took off her shoes and threw them in as well, just in case there was something hidden in them.

She groaned behind her gag and I checked the small display on the collar. The effect of the tazer had worn off but the injector had compensated and she was still unconscious. She wasn't burning through the drug as quickly as I had expected, I guess when she slept she was like anyone else so I took the opportunity to take a peek into her mind.

I was wandering through a busy city, somewhere in China it looked like, maybe Japan, I don't know. Everything was very chaotic, people wandering everywhere, tall buildings labelled with unreadable signs which I guess represented her thoughts or memories. Everything was so foreign to me I could make no sense it, I had never tried to read the mind of someone who spoke another language from such a different culture. I was like a tourist without a guide book.

I wandered around aimlessly, until I heard what sounded like a stream with some birds singing. I followed the sound and was soon standing by a small, quiet park in the middle of the chaos of the city. Once I stepped off of the concrete onto the grass, all the noise disappeared and there was an almost eerie peace about the place. I saw Hummingbird sitting on a bench, not Hummingbird, Xin. She was wearing her leggings and sports bra outfit from the other day as she stared off unfocused into the sky. A small smile was on her face and her hands slid idly along the seat and back of the wooden bench.

She looked up at me when I approached, her eyes still glazed but the peaceful, contented expression didn't change. 'Hi Ben, what are you doing here?' she asked slowly, as if under the influence of something which I guess she was.

'Just visiting, I like this place. It is an oasis of calm, a nice break from the city out there.' I said and she nodded slowly.

'Yes, I don't know where it came from but I like it too.' She said dreamily as she watched a goldfish swimming in the pond in front of us.

'What is the last thing you remember?' I asked politely, not wanting to trigger any surprise reactions.

'I was rushing to help Black Bird. She had called me because she had a new lead. When I got there, there was a really bright light and then something hurt really bad. Then I woke up here.' She said, waving her hand at the park.

'You have never seen this place before?' I said surprised. This was her mind, usually people know what is going on in their own heads.

'No, most of the time it is like the city out there. All hustle and bustle, one thing after another unless I am focused on a math problem. Even then it only lasts for a few moments then the chaos comes back, but here, this is nice.' She replied, leaning back and closing her eyes as she relaxed in the sun.

Well, this was an unintended bonus I thought. The drugs must be the source of calm that she is feeling, and she is enjoying it so much she is not trying to fight it. If this carries over to when she is conscious, my job just got a lot easier.

'Well, enjoy your holiday.' I said as I pulled out of her mind, leaving her nodding slowly in her new park.

I watched as the van pulled up and the men got out. They opened the back to pull out a hospital gurney and soon had Hummingbird strapped to it. Her face was calm, even peaceful despite the ball gag in her mouth.

"I will be out to check on her in a few days, make sure she stays sedated but dial back the dose once you have her secured. Also, she should be put into sensory depravation, it will make it easier for me to work with when I arrive." I told them and they nodded wordlessly then drove off. I headed back to my own car as my cell rang.

"Hey babe, what is up besides my dick now that you called." I said in a cheerful voice.

"Nice, really nice. Our relationship has moved to the next level I see." She replied tersely, then laughed. "I want to know if you are free on Thursday evening. There is a gala that I have been asked to cover for the paper and I need a plus one."

"I can be there, where and what is the dress?" I asked curiously, she didn't cover the society pages.

"It is at Stane Enterprises corporate office, and the dress is black tie so I hope you look good in a tuxedo." She said and my interest peaked. I had wondered how I was going to get close to Tina Stane, and this just might be the opportunity I was looking for.

"I look damn good in a tuxedo, and even better out of one." I told her and she laughed in response.

"Stop, now you are getting me all flustered. See you at the entrance for 8pm alright?"

"It's a date." I replied cheerfully as she ended the call, now to go buy a tuxedo.

I pulled up to the main entrance and handed my keys to the valet, feigning looking around for Grace. I could sense her standing just inside the entrance, engaged in some polite chatter with a couple of people but her mind was on me. 'I hope she likes him, she is so strict' she was thinking nervously as I slid my hand around her waist.

"Hey babe, you look stunning" I said with no word of a lie. Grace was wearing a backless halter gown in a crimson satin like material. Her hair was up in an elegant updo displaying every inch of her elegant neck and muscular back. I felt her tense, pushing her chest out as she arched in response to my touch and the two men she had been talking to stared appreciatively at the cleavage she had on display. The gown fitted perfectly over her firm ass and narrow hips, falling to the floor where a thigh high slit showed off the strappy red heels she wore.

"You don't look too bad yourself, I will have to get you in a tux more often." She purred as she turned to run her eyes over me and give me a kiss on the cheek, careful not to smear her lipstick. I felt disappointment and jealousy surge in the guys standing beside her, too bad this one's mine.

"So, what are you doing here? You don't cover the society pages, do you?" I asked as she hooked her hand through my arm and we walked into the ballroom.

"No, but the girl who should be here asked me to cover for her. Family emergency or something." She said, but I read the lie in her mind. Actually, she had called in a favor, and now owed one in order to get this job all so she could have an excuse to introduce me to Tina Stane and she was nervous as hell about doing it.

I hooked a couple of champagne glasses off of a waiter's tray and passed one to Grace who sipped at it as her eyes ran over the room. I felt her nervousness spike as her hand tensed on my forearm and looked over to see the woman herself gliding towards us.

Tina Stane was in her mid to late 30's, but you wouldn't know it to look at her. She had long coppery red hair that flowed down over one shoulder of the emerald gown she was wearing. Her ample C cup breasts pushed intriguingly against the not too tight material of her dress and her green eyes were bright but intense as they took in everything around her with equal precision.

"Ms. Rodriguez, so glad you could make it. I hope this fluff piece is not too much of a distraction from your normal work. I understand you are following up on your previous article with something about Super's in politics." She said in a clear, firm voice as she extended her hand for Grace to awkwardly clasp.

"No, no, not at all Ms. Stane. Anything to do with Stane International is far from fluff." She replied quickly. "May introduce Mr. Bernard Comber. He was the one who gave me the idea in the first place."

Tina Stane turned her gaze to me, and I felt like a college athlete being inspected by a talent scout. Her surface thoughts were completely innocuous, but I felt an underlying sense of, was that jealousy? I took her hand when she offered it and did a careful probe into her mind.

I was in a corporate office building, standing in the lobby as faceless people in identical business suits bustled back and forth carrying everything from clip boards to boxes. I looked around and saw different board rooms, each with their own version of her presiding over a conference table ringed by these faceless drones. Each room was neatly labeled with a different aspect of her life, and in all of them the Tina Stane stood at the head of the table commanding the room. Damn, I had seen some well-ordered minds in my time but this took the cake.

I walked up to a room labelled Family and tugged on the door, it was locked but through the window I could see her sitting at the head of a dining room table. There were four other chairs, but only one was occupied by a younger woman. She was a redhead too, but in a pixie cut wearing a torn black t-shirt, jeans and doc martens with her feet up on the table. Ah, this would be her younger sister Sandy, the favorite of the scandal sheets. There were other rooms, each labeled with a different aspect of her life. Most of them were related to the business, different projects or ventures and in each one she was there, clearly in charge and on top of things.

I attempted to nudge one of her thoughts as it bustled past me with a clipboard. It was like trying to block a football linebacker as my consciousness bounced off of it. No deviation in its path as it carried on to its destination like a freight train. Well, there would be no easy fix here I thought. Where Song Birds mind had been a maze of paranoid tripwires and traps, this woman's was a railroad marshaling yard shuttling thoughts from start to finish with almost no deviation.

I looked around and noticed what looked like a relatively new section. There were three rooms, blocked off by a series of what looked like road barricades and a faceless security guard stood there turning away any stray thoughts that ventured too close. I slid my way past it and looked in the first window labelled Song Bird.

It looked like an opera house, complete with orchestra pit and stage, but there were no musicians or spectators. On the stage stood Song Bird, but not in her costume. Instead, she was dressed like a 18th century opera diva complete with Edwardian style gown and her hair and make up done. I couldn't hear anything through the closed door, but she was clearly singing. She strode purposefully across the stage as she waved her arms enthusiastically to go along with what looked like the Barber of Seville. Behind her stalked a version of Tina, clearly a stage manager as she chased down the Opera Diva, tapping angrily at the clip board she was holding. Yeah, that made sense, trying to get Song Bird to follow direction must be next to impossible.

The next room was laid out like a gym with weights and cardio equipment. I looked in the window and saw Hummingbird dart from a treadmill to a weight machine. Tina was there too, dressed like a personal trainer in leggings and a snug black hoodie. Her red hair was up in a ponytail as she held a stopwatch and soundlessly counted off the reps as Xin went through her workout. She blew the whistle again and this time dragged Hummingbird over to a table where a pile of oddly shaped blocks. She pointed to a picture and Hummingbird started to rapidly arrange the blocks to match the design, but soon slowed down and started to lean back toward the treadmill. A soundless blast of the whistle brought her back to task, guess getting Hummingbird to focus on something was just as hard as getting Song Bird to be a team player.

I walked down to the last door, thinking that Tina Stane had a much larger role in the Freedom Flock than I first imagined. She was not just outfitting them but training them, so how did Black Bird fit in. I looked in the last door and saw what looked like a high school classroom. There was Grace, dressed in a schoolgirl outfit seated attentively at a desk. She had on a white, short sleeve blouse, plaid skirt and shiny black schoolgirl shoes with her hair up in a flirty ponytail. She was trying to pay attention to the teacher, who was Tina Stane and dammit what a teacher.