Notes: The characters from “Forever Knight” belong to Sony Tri-Star. The characters from “Xena Warrior Princess” belong to StudiosUSA and Renaissance Studios. The characters from “Smallville” belong to DC Comics and Tribune. Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Darkstar and Ursa Major belong to Marvel. The characters from “Mutant X” belong to Marvel and Tribune. The characters from “Dark Angel” belong to Tribune. The characters from the “Mummy Returns” belong to Universal. All other characters and scenarios are fictitious and belong to me. Please send any questions or comments to dante0220@yahoo.com.

Introduction

[Amazon Village, ca. 86 AD]

Gabrielle, Bard-Queen of the Amazons, writes….

As if dealing with Imhotep wasn’t bad enough, Hope has returned. In her wake, she has created tensions throughout our whole group, particularly with Xena and the Child.

I had hoped that all of this was behind us. I guess not. Sigh… Here we go again….

[Tucson, April 2007]

Lana Lang-Kent writes….

Dear Diary,

As we made our stand at Jasmine’s side, we found a lot more than we bargained for. In addition to the terrorists, we ran into two other demonic people. (I can’t believe how much one of them looks like Gabrielle!)

Worse still, the Child seems really annoyed by her presence and Xena’s not far behind him for that matter. I remember exchanging looks with Clark at that point. We were in big trouble.

Chapter 1

[Faerie Lands]

The Faerie Empress observed the developing situation through her watch portal with concern. Through her recent machinations, she had maneuvered the players into position, trying to avoid the situation unfolding in front of her eyes. It was bad enough to deal with Imhotep before, now he could really confound things. She rolled her eyes, recalling how the goddess’ priestesses had assisted the Magi in imprisoning the high priest millennia earlier. And there’s always Hope. Will she be able to hold up her end of the bargain?

“A troublesome situation indeed,” Grimwilkin concurred, appearing beside her.

The elf queen nodded. “To say the least. I had hoped to avoid this situation. To have the Child, Hope and that accursed priest together disrupts the Balance.”

“Speaking of our two allies, they are already guarded against each other. And there is one other complication you aren’t mentioning,” he reported.

“And that would be?”

The wizard exhaled deeply and looked at her. “Xena.”

She stared at him in surprise. “She’s a valuable ally. She wouldn’t act irrationally now.”

“Except that Hope murdered her son.”

The Empress scratched her head, upset at herself for not accounting for that singular detail. How foolish of me to overlook that. Cybelle knew—that’s why she didn’t want to revive Hope in the first place. Steeling herself, she asserted, “It can’t be helped now. The game has been set in motion and the stakes are much too high for it to be lost.”

Glancing into the portal, he concurred to himself. I hope you’re right.

****

[Tucson—Dorm, Campus]

Samantha sat in the corner of her dorm room, trying to concentrate on her Geology homework. With everything going on, she and her classmates found it difficult to concentrate on their courses. Right after Clark, Lana, Chloe and Lex had left, an unusually early burst of summer-type heat hit the desert, pushing temperatures over the ninety degree mark. While most folks in the US would have welcomed this weather, the broken air conditioning system made it impossible to get relief. You’d think they could deal with a broken air conditioner—being in Arizona and all. She sighed and generated a cool breeze in the air around her.

At that moment, Miranda dragged herself through the door and closed it behind her. “Wow. This is something else!” She collapsed onto the other bed and wiped her brow. “Thanks for the relief.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m glad I can be of use to someone,” Samantha replied. Having said that, she immediately winced. “Sorry, Miri.”

Her friend waved it off. “That’s okay. I know what you meant. I’m worried about the others.”

“We all are.” Samantha crossed the room and rubbed her friend’s shoulder. “You know how tough they are. They’ll be fine.”

Miri smiled. “I know. I guess I’m more worried about Jasmine. How will everyone back there deal with her assertiveness?”

“You’ve been a bad influence on her,” Samantha teased.

“Thank Chloe and Lana too.” Miri poured some water into a teacup and put it in the microwave. Thirty seconds later, she dunked a teabag into the now warm water. “I think our princess will be okay. I’m getting bad vibes from her home though. Uncle Dave’s in prime mode again.”

Samantha shook her head. He’s changed again? Oh wonderful….

*****

Meantime, Sarah tried to relax in her own room. As with Miri, she was concerned about her friends. I wish there were word. Through the dreamscape, she had felt brief flashes and tremors from the Professor and the others.

Then there was a knock at the door.

“Yes?” she asked, jumping to her feet and hurrying over to see who it was. After peering through the peep hole, she realized, “Martin, Kyla, please come in.”

The two skinwalkers entered the room silently; their minds occupied as well.

Finally, Kyla mentioned, “There’s trouble.”

I knew it. “Why won’t they let us help?” Sarah protested.

“Sasha was just saying the same thing,” Martin replied frankly. “Kyla and I were about to leave for there. First though, we would appreciate a closer look if you get my meaning?”

Sarah nodded. “Make yourselves comfortable and I’ll get us there.” When the others had done so, she forced herself to fall asleep, pulling the others in with her. So much darkness—even more so than usual….

*****

[Dreamscape]

She saw her companions right at her side. “Are you all right?”

“So far. Let’s go,” Martin urged.

They hurried through the palace, seeing the unconscious guards scattered around them. Even in the dreamscape, they could see the results of the battle.

“Where are they?” Sarah wondered, feeling her anxiety peaking.

They all heard the Child’s signature banshee scream.

“This way!” Kyla told them.

What they knew, however, would not prepare them for what came next…..

Chapter 2

The Child glared at the two powerful beings flanking him. Either Hope or Imhotep would prove difficult. However, together—it presented a greater challenge. Any sane person would back down.

But then, the Dark One isn’t exactly sane….

“Hope-less, git outta mah way,” he growled.

Hope shrugged. As much as she despised Dave and his dark counterpart, she respected their power. “We can settle things later,” she hissed.

Imhotep laughed menacingly. <If there is a later.>

<There will be,> Hope retorted in his own language, willing a hail of metal objects to strike the priest.

The Child fired another burst, stunning their adversary. “Hey! Git ‘em out of here!”

Clark agreed. “Come on, guys! Let’s go!”

The Sultan urged, “Go on! I will face this threat!”

“And so will I,” Jasmine insisted, drawing her scimitar.

“No!” Lana yelled. “We can’t!”

As she said that, Imhotep turned. <Escape is useless!> With that, he uncorked a burst hitting Clark.

The Kryptonian staggered in pain. Even with his abilities, he wasn’t immune to magic.

“Clark!” his wife exclaimed and rushed to his side just as the high priest threw another blast at them. She absorbed it and returned fire.

Xena flung her chakram, allowing it to ricochet off of several angle before scoring Imhotep’s arm.

Using the distraction, Spidey flung one of his spider tracers at the enemy, attaching it to his bracelet.

<Curse you!> The priest scowled even as he vanished from the scene.

“Dammit! We shoulda had ‘im!” the Child hissed.

“Maybe if you had worked with me, we could have, you fool,” Hope retorted.

“Oh yeah? Maybe Ah oughtta whup ya’ll ‘stead!” he spat.

Xena shook her head. “All right, that’s enough! We’ll get another shot at him.”

“If we can find him,” Lana noted, while examining her husband.

“If he’s nearby, we will,” Spidey noted. “I planted a tracer on him. When he appears, I’ll know it.”

“Nice work,” Xena complimented. Then she drew her sword. “Still, I would like to know what she’s doing here.”

“What are you doing here, Hope?” Gabrielle inquired.

The demon spawn frowned, glaring at the others. “I’m not enjoying this any more than you are, Mother. The Empress sent me to help you with that bald pest.”

“Likely story,” the Warrior Princess replied angrily.

“Get over it, Xena,” Hope declared impatiently.

“When Tartarus freezes over,” Xena growled. “You and I have a score to settle.”

“Enough!” the Sultan commanded. “The Creature is loose and all you can do is argue? We must deal with it!”

“And we shall, Papa,” Jasmine assured him. “Right now, your safety is most important followed by helping our injured friends.”

Mahmud looked with concern at his youngest daughter. Despite the fact that she was the chosen heir of Ardeth Bey, he still felt uneasy. “And then, you must go on the hunt?”

The Princess nodded. “Such is our duty. You all shall be safe.”

“As if Ah’d let anythin’ happen,” the Child retorted fiercely.

“Big words coming from you,” Hope challenged. “You wouldn’t have stopped him alone.”

The Dark One snorted indignantly. “Ah knocked ‘im flat on his ass jus’ ‘fore ya’ll crawled outta yer hole, Sweets! Ya’re cruisin’ fer a bruisin’.”

“I’m not Divia,” Hope hissed. “I’m stronger.”

“Try me, Toots,” the Child responded. “After Baldie’s back in his box.” He looked around. “Somethin’ else is in here.”

Lana’s senses detected Sarah, Martin and Kyla watching the whole battle. “It’s okay. It’s only Sarah and our two shamen.”

“Shamen?” Mahmud wondered. “What in Allah’s name?”

“They are my classmates, Papa,” Jasmine declared. “We are all unique.”

The Sultan looked curiously at his daughter. “What do you mean ‘unique’?”

“We are special, Papa,” his daughter explained, grasping a metal rod in her hand and changing it to wood.

“How can you do this?” he demanded.

“I’ve been able to do this for three years now,” she explained. “I didn’t tell you because I feared your reaction.”

Her father stared at her in shock. “My daughter’s a witch. No wonder you’re not like the other women!”

“Hey!” the Child roared. “Ya take that back!” He strode forward; his hands blazing with dark fire. “She ain’t no witch!”

Jasmine bowed her head, feeling the tears of her shame to dribble down her cheeks. Bad enough I failed in my duty. Now I am considered a monster by my own family. “I am sorry I cannot be the daughter you wish me to be, Papa, but I am who I am!” With that, she hurried from the room.

Mahmud sighed and turned back toward his other daughters. “Come, we have to get out of here.”

Seeing the Child’s continued glare at him, he informed the other, “You are impertinent, aren’t you?”

“Ah don’t know what that means but Ah can still whup ya!” the Dark One retorted.

Xena stepped in between them. “I’m inclined to agree. That, Mahmud, was outta line.”

He straightened himself indignantly. “How dare you? I should expel you all!”

“And then you’d have Imhotep to deal with,” Hope informed him after letting the drama play out in front of her. “Without us.”

The Sultan simply turned his back and left abruptly.

“And that’s the man you defended?” Hope wondered. “You should have let the priest have him.”

“Maybe I should let Lucifer have you,” Xena retorted.

Gabrielle insisted, “Okay, everyone, settle down! We have bigger problems to deal with!”

Xena shook her head and stalked off. “Yeah whatever.”

“Terrific,” the Bard-Queen muttered, assessing the situation. Seeing the students over at the side of the room, she asked, “Clark, are you all right?”

“I’ll be okay,” Clark informed them all, getting to his feet. “We need to go after Jasmine.”

“Are you sure you’re up to that?” Lana asked.

“We have to,” Clark insisted, streaking after his classmate.

“Ah’m lettin’ Big Bro handle the rest o’ this mess,” the Child decided. Then he allowed Dave to resurface.

The medievalist took a big gulp of air. Unlike most other times, his alter ego had allowed him a full view of these events. “What a disaster.” Looking at the others, he instructed, “Let’s check on Mutant X and take stock of the situation. Meantime, I’m going to find Xena.” With that, he opened a portal and vanished from view.

“When did he start doing that?” Hope wondered.

“A while back. Just focus on the task at hand, Hope,” Gabrielle instructed.

Her daughter curled her lip defiantly but did as she was told.

*****

[Above the city’s outskirts]

Jasmine floated through the moonlit sky on her carpet, trying to deal with her feelings. Usually, she could lose herself amidst the clouds and stars but on that night, she couldn’t. Her father’s rejection made her feel less than needed—less than human. “All I do is try. All they do is reject me. I wish Cocoa were here.”

“How about us?” Clark asked.

She turned to see him, Lana and Chloe approaching her from behind. “My friends—I’d rather be alone, please.”

“That’s the last thing you need,” the reporter responded, as she alighted on the carpet and radiated off. “Jasmine, you did nothing wrong.”

“Then why won’t they ever accept me? “ Jasmine demanded.

“Because you’re different,” Lana noted. “You’re special.” As she said that, she looked at her husband, wondering how many times he had thought the same thing in his parents’ loft.

“At least you’re not alone,” he insisted. “We all know what you’re going through.”

Jasmine glanced skeptically at him. “Do you, Clark? At least your parents accept who you are.”

“Clark’s lucky in that regard. I’ll grant you that,” Chloe concurred. “The rest of us though are going through similar things. Lana’s aunt doesn’t speak to her. Look at Amy and me.”

“And consider the Professor. That’s why he’s the way he is,” he added.

Jasmine sighed, realizing that she had been feeling sorry for herself. “I’m sorry, my friends. You are right. A leader doesn’t run away from challenges.”

“At least you took time to think before you responded, Jasmine. You’re thoughtful and considerate of others. Those are admirable qualities in a leader,” Lana assured her.

“You think I can do it?” Jasmine asked hesitantly.

“You did all right in the tomb against those goons,” Chloe assured her.

“But we let the Creature escape,” the Princess protested.

“We’ll deal with him. Right now, we need to make sure everyone’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong, Jasmine,” he responded.

She smiled warmly at them. “My friends, what would I do without you? Follow me, Clark.” Turning around, she and Chloe zipped back toward the palace.

He grinned and followed.

“That was a nice thing you said,” Lana commented.

“You too,” he agreed. “Still, we all have to deal with this in one form or another.” With that, they followed their friends’ trail.

Chapter 3 [the Palace]

Dave made his way through the complex’s winding passages, trying to collect his thoughts.

Turning a corner, he almost tripped over something in the dark. “What the?”

“Dave?” Emma asked groggily, as she sat up and rubbed her head.

“Yeah it’s me,” he told her, stooping down to her level. All around them, her teammates lay unconscious or worse. “I see you ran into our friend as well.”

“We did—and he went right through us,” she reported. “Laynia tried to contain him but he was too strong.”

He sighed. “The Child drove him off. Still, I think we need to get you all back to Sanctuary. Then I’ll return here.” Concentrating, he willed the mists to envelop them all, teleporting them back to Arizona.

****

Meanwhile, Nick paced about his room, trying to place the whole situation in perspective. Once again, trouble rears its head. What is it about this region that does that? While he was glad that Dave had teleported Mutant X back to Sanctuary, he wished that Imhotep’s transfer had gone smoothly.

Then he looked up at the ceiling. “You can come out, Spider-Man. I don’t bite.”

The web spinner ambled into view, staying out of Nick’s apparent reach as he went. “You have eyes in the back of your head too, huh?”

“In a manner of speaking,” the Elder remarked. “You don’t need to be afraid of me.”

“Uh, you are…a…well…you know,” Spidey supposed.

“I don’t drink human blood anymore. You are quite safe.” Nick assured him. “You handled yourself well against Imhotep from what I understand.”

“I stuck to the sidelines for the most part. Who’s Gabbie’s evil twin?” Spidey pointed out.

“Her name’s Hope. She’s half demon, half human. It’s a long story,” Nick explained. “She and the Child have a history too.”

“Yeah. I gathered that,” Spidey supposed. “Who won the fight between them?”

“They never really faced off. Thankfully, Xena dealt with her. The Child dealt with a really powerful vampire named Divia,” Nick informed him.

“Powerful? As in Dracula-level?”

Nick smirked. “As in Elder-level. Vlad isn’t that powerful.”

“And where does he rank with you?”

Nick looked up at him. “I hate to tell you, Spider-Man, but Vlad is relatively low on our totem pole. I’m about a thousand times his equal now.” He allowed his eyes to glow yellow at the teenager. “Most of us in Tucson are.” He shrugged. “I appreciate how you’ve kept our secret.”

“That’s good. I mean—who’d believe me?” Spidey asked.

“Good point. The Community appreciates a friend though,” Nick stated. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. Well, I’m going to let you think about things. Thanks…uh…what do you go by?” Spidey continued.

“Call me Nick.”

Spidey nodded. “Thanks, Nick. I’ll be around if you need me.” With that, he crawled along the ceiling and through the doorway.

Despite the mask, Nick could read the young man’s thoughts and sense his emotions. He keeps up a good front but he’s on edge about everything. But then again, he has good reason.

With that, his mind flashed back.

*****

[Valley of Kings, 1942]

Nick rushed into Ihotep’s tomb. With Evy about to open the inner chamber, he had to stop her. “Evelyn! Don’t!”

Behind him, Rick, Ardeth and Lorenzo echoed, “Evy, don’t do it!”

From where she stood at the doorway to the chamber, Evy turned and asked, “Why ever not, Nicholas?”

“There’s something deadly in that tomb! We can’t open it!” Nick insisted, recalling LaCroix’s warning.

She shook her head. “That’s our job, Doctor.”

Melinda read the inscriptions along the wall once again. “It says that Ihotep is in this tomb. What else could it be?”

“Trust me. You don’t want to know,” Nick insisted. At that moment, he heard a crash from outside of the tomb in addition to the sounds of gunfire.

“Now what?” Evy asked, exasperated at having her latest find interrupted.

Nick rushed back outside to find the diggers lying unconscious across the site. Over them, three hulking figures loomed.

“Alex!” Rick called nervously.

“Dad! Over here!” the teenager yelled back.

Nick looked around in panic. He had stopped Evelyn from opening the tomb—at least for the moment. Yet the Enforcers were there already. What would he do?

*****

[Modern Day]

Nick folded his arms and stared out the window into the desert night. Somewhere out there Imhotep plots his next move and we need to be ready.

Chapter 4

[Nigwala’s chamber—Outskirts of town]

Imhotep scowled while stalking about the hidden chamber. After all, he was a high priest accustomed to leading ceremonies rather hiding like a lowly slave. <How did the accursed Magi get such powerful allies? Curse them!> Bad enough that the O’ Connells and their friends had thwarted his plans before. Now, he had new enemies.

<Master!> one of the remaining followers called, bowing before him.

<Yes?> the priest asked pointedly, allowing his eyes to bore into the red garbed man prostrated before him. <Who are these pests?>

<Pardon. They are friends of the ruler here, Master. To get to him, you will need to deal with them,> the servant noted.

Imhotep frowned. He was tired of dealing with obnoxious pests. However, the darkness in the Man-Child and the woman both concerned him. They could disrupt everything. <My thanks for the report. You may go.>

The servant rose and hustled from the area.

Imhotep nodded to himself, putting his mind to forming a plan. <How to deal with them? That is the challenge.>

*****

[Palace]

Dave hustled down the hall toward the Amazons’ quarters. Judging from Xena’s reaction when she had stalked out of the chamber earlier, he wanted to make sure she was all right. As he approached the area, he sensed a familiar presence. “Hope, I know you’re here.”

The half-demon woman stepped out of the shadows. “Your senses are stronger than ever, Dubois,” she gargled in her usual tone. “Or is that the Dark Brat’s doing?”

“A little of both actually,” he replied guardedly. “You know that curiosity killed the cat. Probe and insult him at your own risk.”

She chuckled wickedly. “Some day, Dubois, I may test you both.”

“Your funeral,” he retorted. “Xena isn’t the only one who can kill immortals.” He allowed a brief glint into his eyes for emphasis.

Behind them, someone cleared their throat. They turned to find Gabrielle standing there, watching the scene.

“This isn’t the time for a face off,” the Amazon queen told them.

“Who’s challenging anyone, Mother? We were just…talking.” She stared at him while vanishing back into the shadows.

“Same attitude as always,” he remarked sarcastically, shaking his head.

“You shouldn’t provoke her, David. We don’t need the two of you going at it,” she urged.

He glared at her. “She’s the one picking fights, Gabrielle, not me. I just want her to stay away from me.”

“And what does the Child want?” she asked.

“To flatten her. What else?” he deadpanned.

Figures. She sighed. “Can’t we get him to declare a truce with her until this is finished?”

He shrugged. “You have about as much chance of that happening as Xena declaring a truce with her. Do the math and get back to me.” Seeing the forlorn look on her face, he continued, “I guess you’re still feeling the mother stuff, aren’t you?”

“What do you think?” she asked tersely. “She is my daughter. If Deirdre or the twins went dark, you’d have the same issues, I’m sure.”

He considered her words, remembering that she was probably getting the same attitude—if not worse—from Xena. “I would. But then, I would be dealing with His Darkness too. Speaking of Xena, have you seen her?”

“She’s in our room, sharpening her blade. I’m not sure she wants to talk right now but I’ll let you deal with that. If you’ll excuse me, I need some air,” she concluded, hustling off before she really lost her temper.

“Her kid and she can’t deal with her. Figures,” he muttered while knocking on the door.

“Yeah?”

“Xena, it’s David, can we talk?”

“Hold on,” the Warrior Princess advised while opening the door. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion. “What is it?”

He followed her into the room, shutting the door behind him. “I’m doing the rounds you might say. Adam and Mutant X are back at Sanctuary. Nick’s dealing with something. I’m most concerned about you and Angie, however.”

She slashed her sword several times across the sharpening stone, trying to take out some of her frustration. “And why is that?”

“I know how the Child feels about Hope-less. But we can’t imagine how you feel—and well, we wanted to offer…support if we could,” he offered.

She wheeled around, trying to restrain her temper. “Damn right you don’t know! Every time I see that harpy, I see my son's face!”

Recalling how he felt after the fire, he nodded. “Sorry to bring up bad stuff for you.” He turned to leave.

Just before he got to the door, she requested, “Don’t go.”

He glanced at her. While she still had the façade, he could see and feel her pain. In fact, it overwhelmed him, nearly invoking the Child in the process. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. But I don’t want to talk about it. Just sit here with me, all right?” she asked.

“You sure you don’t want Gabrielle for that?” he asked.

She sighed and shook her head. “Not yet. Angela wants you close by and so do I. Just keep this between us, all right?”

“Sure thing,” he assured her while pouring a cup of Turkish coffee for each of them. “Besides, you have my favorite coffee here.”

It took her a minute to understand the nature of his remark. She gave him a quizzical look.

[“It was a joke, Xena,” Angie advised. “Go with it.”]

[“I gathered as much,” the warrior retorted; her mood starting to lighten in spite of the situation.] Accepting the cup from him, she told him, “I can see why Angela thinks so much of you.”

“And why is that?” he wondered, before taking a sip from his own cup. “I feel like I’ve been through a stone crusher.”

“But you’re still looking out for everyone but yourself. Thanks for being a friend, David,” she expressed.

“Right back at you,” he agreed, as they toasted coffee cups.

Chapter 5 [A/N: Xena killed Dahak in “The Harrowing Road”]

[Several hours later]

Wanting to give Xena her space, Gabrielle had spent the previous three hours walking around the palace ramparts and meditating. True, she knew Hope was evil and that she wasn’t to be trusted. However, there was still that little glimmer in there—that bit of hope that her daughter could be saved, especially with Dahak being dead. How do I tell Xena to have faith?

“What a quaint notion,” a gravelly voice scoffed.

The Bard faced her daughter. “You should try it, Hope. It might just save you.”

The half-demon laughed. “Save me from what? The end of Xena’s sword? Dubois’ latest tantrum? Or maybe you have something planned?”

“Hope, I want you to see what you’re doing!” Gabrielle insisted. “Your father was wrong!”

“Father knew about power! Why can’t you understand that? You’re a queen and yet you’re so weak, Mother,” Hope countered.

“There are many ways to have power, Hope,” Gabrielle pointed out. “I hope one day you’ll understand that.”

Hope smirked. “Yes well, your friends certainly understand that notion, don’t they? Dubois certainly knows.”

“And he pays for it dearly,” Gabrielle argued. “He was cursed, Hope. You don’t need to walk in his path and he’ll help you! Let him! Let us!”

“And let Xena stab me in the back? Please!” Hope concluded before vanishing into the darkness.

Why can’t one person listen to me? She trudged back to her chamber and walked in to find the lights dimmed. “Xena?” she asked.

“An’ what d’ya want?” the Child inquired, appearing before her.

“What are you doing here?” she insisted.

“Big Bro’s sleepin’ here. ‘Nuff said,” the Dark One noted.

“He’s what?” she probed, rushing by the image. Looking at the bed, she saw Dave and Angie curled up together. “Oh.”

The Child snorted. “He’s w’ the Little Woman. Whatdya think he was doin’?”

“You don’t want to know,” she replied, feeling ashamed.

“Yer right on that one,” the Dark One scoffed. “Ya’ll shoulda known better.  ‘Sides Hope-less is pissin’ Xena off.”

“Can we go outside? I don’t want to disturb them,” she requested, heading for the door. When she got outside, she found the image waiting for her. “Okay. I wish having Hope around wasn’t so bad for everyone—myself included.”

“Keep ‘er in line,” the Child urged.

“And if she decides not to go along with things?” she wondered.

“Tha’s wha’ Ah’m here fer, Toots,” he retorted. “Look, Ah wanna see ‘er ‘round but if she cuts up—WHAMMO!”

Yeah…whammo! That’s one fight I really don’t want to see. “Thanks for that at least.”

“Yeah well, Ah know too,” he declared. Then he looked around. “Incomin’!”

She saw a portal open in front of them, allowing Martin and Kyla to enter the area. “What are you both doing here?”

“We felt the tremors from here. Sarah guided us through the dreamscape where we observed last night’s standoff,” Kyla explained. “Who is the one who resembles you, Gabrielle?”

“She’s my daughter, Hope,” the Bard commented. “Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get some breakfast. Excuse me.” With that, she headed for the main chamber.

The Child looked at the two students. “How’s things back in sandy place?”

“Everything’s fine for now. Miranda worries about you and the Professor of course,” Martin reported. “We wanted to see how you all were doing.”

“’Bout the same. Baldie ran ‘way but Ah’m waitin’ fer ‘im,” the Dark One informed them.

“We expected as much. Meantime, we’re going to check on Clark, Lana, Chloe and Lex,” Kyla told him.

“Knock yerselves out,” the Dark One concurred, vanishing from view.

“Come. We need to find them,” Martin told her, as they headed in their friends’ general direction.