*Note to the reader* I wrote this because I loved the stories by JOE BROLLY and 800IbGorrila. I want to make sure Joe gets the credit for creating this universe and I hope he doesn't mind me playing in his sandbox.
Joe if I ever get an email from you telling me to stop, consider it done Sir. If I ever get a email proposing collaboration... I'll change my shorts first then giddily accept... which is kind of scary considering I am a very large man and have never, ever been associated with the word giddy.
Chapter 00
Walter woke up with a major headache. Last night was a foggy blur and the memories where slow in coming, but they were coming to him. Walter edged off the bed and instantly became aware of the numerous aches and pains of his body.
Walter stretched "Boy, last night must have been fun."
Walter had been walking home from the bar, a friend's birthday party, when he heard the shouting from down the alley. There was a man with his back to Walter, facing an extremely beautiful woman. There must have been something strange with the lights, because the woman seemed to be bathed in it. The man on the other hand was bathed in shadow. Only his silhouette was visible.
The woman was shouting at the man, and oh boy was she livid. She said things that would make a sailor blush. The man was chanting strange words and didn't even seem fazed by the woman's ranting. The scene was so bizarre Walter could only stare, and when the woman's eyes locked onto him he felt a spark run from his head to his toes. Before Walter knew what was happening he was rushing the man.
Walter wasn't some small weakling that someone could dismiss when he came charging at them. He was a big man, six foot six, three hundred fifty pounds, and He has a good deal of muscle under the swath of extra padding.
It was a given that when the man in the shadows finally noticed him, he wasn't thrilled. He turned and Walter got his second surprise of the night as an unseen force slammed into his chest. It was like getting hit with a truck. Walter's memories become too fuzzy after that, but he was pretty sure the woman had escaped.
Walter shut off the faucet and dried the water from his face. He didn't remember how he got back to his dorm room. Or how he didn't have a scratch on him, hell even the cut on his palm from peeling an apple earlier in the day was gone.
He glanced at the night stand and saw the most peculiar thing. It looked like a piece of brown paper rolled and tied. Picking it up he realized it wasn't paper but parchment, old parchment. Unrolling it, he was instantly fascinated by the old symbols and writing. He recognized some of the symbols as representing the elements.
"Alchemy? Where in the hell did this come from?"
Walter caught the glow of his alarm clock from the corner of his eye. "Shit! I'm late!" Walter rushed to get dressed; he had a chemistry class to teach. It wouldn't be good for the TA to show up late even if it was the last day of the semester. As he was heading out the door Walter grabbed the parchment and placed it in his bag.
***
The class had gone as he had expected, which was to say everyone goofed off. Class was over and the semester was finished. Walter was looking forward to the next week of freedom before he started for his parents place. It would be nice not having to ignore the subtle jibs from his mother about his weight. It wasn't that he thought she was being mean. On the contrary, the woman wanted him to be healthy and happy. She was just so single minded about it.
Musing about his mother was the last thing Walter wanted to do today. Researching that parchment he found was much more to his liking at the moment. That was how he found himself in the library six hours later with a table full of books and a legal pad full of notes.
