Talyesin's Tales

Previously on Squirrelman - Sins of the Past:

While fighting off an alien invasion, Squirrelman called in their entire Crimefighters' League to assist. One of the three people who failed to report in was the Mole, who, despite concentrated searches after repelling the invasion, remained missing.

Having travelled all the way to Subterra to question Lord Hades about his involvement in the events Downtown, only to discover the despotic arch-villain dead, the Crimefighters' League aided Darklight in questioning the departed spirit of Lord Hades by use of a necromantic ritual.

While the ghost admitted that Kosmos Konstantinopoulos and the sorceress behind the attacks on the League and the death of Annie O'Day were connected and protected by an ancient compact with powerful forces, it also revealed that the true cause of Annie O'Day's death, the motivating force behind the murder, was a sister's hatred and jealousy...



Starring

Matt Mattheson ......... as Squirrelman
Kimmy Sinclair ................ as Ragdoll
Rick Duncan ........................... as Ace
Lisa Dumont ................... as Physique
Anna Kimble ................. as Darklight
Stephanie Cooke ............. as Blue Jay
Jay Allen ........................ as Red Bolt
Mike Washington ............. as Dragon
Trevor Andrews ............... as Phenom
Jessica Wagner .............. as Rapunzel
Katie McCormick ............ as Superia
Wayne Masters ... as Midnight Avenger
Steven Rand ............... as Showdown
Kyle Drake ........... as Troubleshooter
Cricket ............................... as herself
Max Mattheson ....... as Captain Hero
Missy Mattheson ........ as Squirrelgrrl
Alistair Crombie ............. as the Mole

Guest-starring

Julia Sterling ................... as herself
Joe Sterling ....... as SuperTwin Red
Jerry Sterling .... as SuperTwin Blue
Jeannie Sterling .............. as Zephyr
Carmine DaCosta ....... as Forerunner
Curt Connor ......... as Livin' Lightnin'
Molly O'Malley ........... as Glory Gal

with

Reed 'Doc' Sterling

and

Augustus Octavian 'Doc' Steele



"Mind explaining that, Doc?" I ask him. "I thought you said your sister died in Tunguska."

"She did."

"Then how could she be the sister the ghost was talking about?" Troubleshooter asks. "It could be anyone's sister."

"Well, come on, Troub," Phenom says. "They never found the body, right? You said she was disintegrated?"

"That's right."

"No body, no death. Everybody knows that one."

"No," Steele answers. "She died. I'm sure of it. There wasn't a body, but there was... a pile. Of ashes, and charred clothing."

"Whether or not she actually died in the Tunguska Rupture," Reed says, "did your sister hate Annie O'Day?"

"No, she never knew Annie. She died when Annie was... still a child."

"What makes you think she's somehow involved in all this?" Reed asks.

"Call it gut instinct," Steele answers. His answers are short, terse. He's obviously annoyed, and thinking.

"C'mon Doc, you gotta give us more than that," Physique says.

"Hades was obsessed with my sister," Steele says, thinking out loud. "So much so that he tried to kill me as revenge for her death. To me, that sounds like displaced anger and guilt. Did he blame himself for her death? Possibly. I don't know. But why 'a sister's hate, a sister's jealousy'? Who did she hate? Of whom was she jealous? How is it connected to the sorceress who killed Annie? Think, Gus, dammit. Does Konstantinopoulos have a sister?"

"No," Reed answers, sourly. "He's an only child. Of that union, at least."

"Was your sister ever involved with the mystic arts?" Darklight asks Steele.

"What? No. Well, no more than any of us were. We were all aware of magic, the occult, that sort of thing, of course."

"Uh oh," Max says suddenly, just as Missy says, "Oh my god."

"What is it, kids?" I ask them.

Max looks at his sister, she looks at him, both smiling bittersweet sort of smiles.

"We've got to go," Max says to me, just as Missy rushes into Kimmy's arms.

"Go? Go where?" Kimmy asks.

"Not where, when. We just got the two minute call. Listen, uh, it was great meeting you and getting to know you, you know, younger and everything, before we were born and stuff-"

"I thought you were going to be here for the wedding," Kimmy says to him, hugging him, while Missy grabs me and hugs me hard.

"I guess we'll be back for the wedding," Max grins. "Heh. Never thought of that - more than one time jump."

Missy's hugging everyone, I pull my son into a hug, a lump in my throat keeping me from saying anything.

Just as they start to fade from view, Missy's eyes go wide as she realizes something and she yells, "Get outside! Right now!"

"What? Why?" I yell back, but too late, they're gone.

"What's that about?" Steele asks.

"I don't know," I say. "Doc, you think we should evacuate the Spire?"

"I think your daughter is willful enough to violate temporal protocol and warn us of impending danger, yes."

We don't discuss it any more than that. Reed says something into a panel on the walls, throws a switch, alarms go off, and then we're running out, through the halls to the Sterlingcar hangar, climb aboard and out into the air above Action City.

Nothing happens.

Dozens of other Sterlingcars fly out of other hangars, and they see us, fly over to where we're hovering. It's mostly the support staff and assorted visitors of the Spire, but also includes the other members of the Squad, who make their way through the suddenly crowded sky to the rest of us. Curt, for some reason, is wearing nothing but a towel.

"I was in the shower," he explains.

"Speaking of," Dragon adds. Rain starts to fall gently from the night sky.

"So what's the emergency, Doc?" Molly asks after she's greeted Phenom with a long hard kiss that leaves him a little breathless.

"We received a warning, from Squirrelgrrl, that we should evacuate the Spire immediately," Reed answers. "Though we've yet to ascertain why."

My nanobead suddenly crackles, a long burst of static. I raise it to my mouth, say, "Hello?"

"Squirrelman... thank God..." I hear a man's voice say. Weak. Signal's staticky.

"Who is this?"

"No time to explain... warn the Spire..."

"Who is this?" I ask again.

"Mole?!" Cricket yells, leaping over from her Sterlingcar to mine, grabbing my wrist to talk into my nanobead.

"Alistair, is that you?" I ask.

"Yes, yes, no time, there's a ... a..."

"Where are you? Where have you been?"

"... a bomb..."

"A what? A where?"

"Tell me where you are, Mole!" Cricket yells into my fist.

"No time... my dear... you were an excellent partner, Cricket... thank you..."

"What, no, wait!"

"Reed can you get a lock on his transmission?" I ask.

"There's some sort of interference... wait, almost... there!"

"Where?"

"Under the Spire?" Reed looks as confused as I've ever seen him.

Mole says, very clearly, "Praxis. It was Praxis."

And then, the Spire explodes.