Tribe 9

Tracker woke up about thirty minutes before sunup. He stepped outside to check out the surroundings. He wanted to make sure there was no ambush waiting. During his time checking out their home for unwanted visitors, he noticed a garden hose leading away from the house . Water slid along the underside of the hose until it reached the point where the hose stopped sloping away from the house. He could hear the water pulsing through the hose. It was on, and at full blast. He began to follow the hose as it led away from the house and out toward the property line. That was where agent Crandel’s team had first hid the last time they were there. Along the property line were some boulders, and a couple of spots where dirt had been built up. They made perfect natural blinds for the Crandel team to hide behind. Tracker saw the hose went up to them and then behind them. He crept along the length of the hose, listening to the water rush through like it was being force fed from a location straight above. When he reached the corner of a big boulder, he changed over so his hands were ablaze. Next he sprung around the corner of the boulder, ready to shoot fire at what or who was waiting for him at the end of the hose. Immediately Tracker doused his hands and changed back to normal. It was Tonka. He had a shovel and the hose. He had dug out the area a little bit so it would hold the water there. Next he filled the low area with the water, making a big mess behind the boulder. Then he moved the entire process over behind the pile of dirt and did the same thing. “Planting a garden brother?” Tracker asked, while being careful not to step in the mud that the water had created. Tonka turned toward his brother almost getting him wet with the end of the hose as water continued to pour out of it. “Glad you asked, bro. I’m just being a good host by preparing accommodations for our soon-to-arrive unwanted guests.” Then he perhaps smiled the biggest smile that Tracker had ever seen on his face. That even included the time he beat everybody else in the family at monopoly. (Spoiler alert – Tonka was never good with money, especially his own). So any time he won at monopoly, which was just the one, he was a very content kid. Tracker guessed he was enjoying himself more this day. Laughter rushed out of his mouth, then Tracker said, “Sir, it is patriotic citizens like yourself that make the sacrifices necessary for good agents like Crandel to be able to boast such an efficient record of success. Men like Crandel would have all their time tied up trying to loosen the wedge of underwear they have jammed up their cracks if not for helpful citizens like yourself, buying these agents the free time to pursue bad guys instead of getting their heads out of their large rear-ends.” “Thank you everyday common citizen.” Tonka replied. “I am just thankful that we have not lost the ‘tongs of life’ which are so very necessary to loosen and then remove the wedge of underwear that is forced into their backsides when they try to stick their heads up there.” “You’re doing God’s work.” Tracker said. “I am just proud to be able to say I met the man that was able to remove agent Crandel’s head from his large rear-end.” “It isn’t a done deal yet. This is a major, priority task for the experts who remain baffled at how a man with such a large head could end up with it up his even larger rear-end. A grassroots petition has been started to raise money on go-fraud-me so to have signs created that could be placed on the man’s rear-end warning that there is a large hole ahead! As holes go, of course.” Tonka said, then he struggled to hold back laughter. Keeping his serious face, he added, “Agent Crandel always stands out like a wet skunk in a box full of fluffy puppies!” “Again sir, you are doing God’s work!” Tracker said, falling into laughter. “As holes go, so does agent Craps-his-pants. In fact he should be given an odor, er, I mean award, for his devotion to this matter.” “We better finish up and get this stuff back up to the house. It’ll be light in ten or so. Agent Crandel will likely not be far behind. I just hope he arrives early enough there are still shadows to hide my welcoming surprise. It would be very encouraging to know agent Crandel started his day off sliding into the cool wet muddy water I have waiting for him.” “You and agent Crandel are going to be quite close before all this is over.” Tracker said. “I just hope he appreciates all the extras you do for him.” “It truly is a labor of love.” Tonka replied. “One I am not sure I could accomplish with such eagerness, if it were someone else instead of agent Crandel. He has truly won a special spot in my heart.” “Aww.” Tracker replied. “But are you sure that spot isn’t in your underwear?” They laughed while bringing everything back up to the house. It was agreed that the smart move would be to have the other three again hide on some high ground nearby while Tonka stayed behind to answer the door. “You sure about this? He’s gonna be angry. Very angry, and with any luck, covered in mud.” Tracker said with a big cat-ate-the-mouse smile. “Sometimes … its fun being the bad guy. Don’t you think?” “I think Crandel’s the bad guy. That makes this even more fun.” Tonka replied. He poured some milk over his cereal and sat down against the wall next to the front door eating his breakfast . “On a more serious note: be careful. Who knows what these government flunkies have as weapons.” Tracker said. “He won’t be coming with a butterfly net this time.” “Copy that.” Tracker replied, and continued eating breakfast. Daniel came rushing up to join them. “Heads up folks. They’re here!” ————— Chapter ———————– Daniel flew Tracker and Seta upwards until they were so high that you would have to know to look for them to be able to see them. They watched as six SUVs came rushing up to the outskirts of their property. Three SUVs parked on one side while the other three stopped just past the Whitefeather residence. All the vehicles emptied, spilling agent Crandel’s people into two teams, one on each side of the property. Crandel led one of the teams along the property line to the spot they had used for cover the day before. However the day before there hadn’t been mud waiting for them. The entire team hit that muddy spot and all of them went down into a pile. On the other side of the property the team did not encounter any mud and they were able to set up efficiently. Crandel’s side had to regroup and it took them ten minutes to gather themselves and then for agent Crandel to approach the front door of the house. He banged on the door. “Who is it?” Tonka said in his best come-hither voice. At least he thought it was come-hither. Actually he wasn’t too sure what that meant so he just made his voice sound like a girl. Outside agent Crandel stood in a wet, muddy suit minus the jacket. He had taken it off after going down in the mud. “Open up Whitefeather! You’ve really done it this time! Now you are going to pay for your smart ways.” Tonka switched his voice back to normal and said, “Okay agent Craps-his-pants. No need to be violent. I’m coming out peacefully.” Then Tonka opened the front door and stepped outside. “I bet you’re pleased you don’t have to spend the whole day here this time?” Agent Crandel grabbed Tonka and threw him down on the ground outside the front door. Next he kneeled down so that his knee was in Tonka’s back while he handcuffed his hands behind him. Then he looked at one of his agents who had joined them. “Putting him in one of the cars. Take him back to the facility. Lets try this again.” ——————– Chapter ——————— “We probably should not let them get him back inside that facility. That place won’t be near so easy to break into as it was the last time. This time, they will be waiting.” Tracker said, hovering high above the SUVs that were taking Tonka back to their facility for interrogation. “Yeah well if we hit them now we are guaranteed to have to fight six car’s worth of men.” Daniel said. “True, but who knows how many more will be at the facility?” Seta added, hanging onto Daniel. “There’s another thing we need to consider. If we break him out this time they will make it a priority to catch us. All of us.” The three siblings were far above the convoy of six SUVs. It was a usual warm summer mid-morning. The sun shone bright, helping to cover the three beings flying so high in the sky. They discussed their situation while keeping up with the convoy. “What are we going to do? Obviously they know who we are, or at least know about Tonk, which means they know about us. They just haven’t put two and two together yet. It is quite likely agent Craps-in-pants will figure it out before the day is over. Especially after we break out Tonk a second time.” Seta said. “We should talk to One Antler. He will have options. We may not like them but he will have all the angles.” “We’re going to be at the facility in about twenty minutes. If we are going to move on the convoy, we should do it soon. I’m thinking when they get off the highway we can hit them on the exit ramp. They won’t be expecting trouble there.” Tracker said. Daniel sped up his flight so they were racing ahead of the convoy. “I’ve got an idea to whittle down the odds. Can you do a pinpoint shot of your fire, make it hot enough to blow out a tire?” “Great idea!” Tracker replied. He understood the ploy almost as soon as Daniel mentioned it. Yes he could shoot a pinpoint shot of his hottest fire and take out a tire. That would cut down the convoy to five vehicles. “Find something I can be hiding behind, it doesn’t have to be much, just an old box, a shirt, a lump of grass.” Daniel spotted what they needed. It was in fact better than they could have hoped to find. A box truck was broke down on the side of the highway. The hood was up and apparently the driver had decided to walk to get help because there was nobody around. Daniel dropped Tracker from their flight path far above the ground. Tracker let himself freefall until he was just a few hundred feet from the ground. Then he turned on the fire blasts from his hands and slowed himself to a comfortable landing. Next he positioned himself underneath the box truck behind one of the back tires so that he had a straight on shot at the SUV wheels when they came past. Daniel and Seta flew on ahead to try and figure out what they were going to do to get Tonka free. What they came up with was a good start. Seta changed over and then stepped into the tree line which ran along the highway. She waited with her scorpion’s tail loaded with the sticky substance. Daniel flew back to Tracker to see if he needed any help. He watched as things unfolded below. Tracker was perfect. He hit the front SUV’s back tire causing it to blow out and the vehicle to swerve its back end until the driver was able to get control again and then ease the SUV off the road. The other five SUVs went on ahead. After they were past the box truck, Tracker climbed out from under it and took off straight upwards until he was at the same height as Daniel. From there they rushed to join Seta who was waiting at the exit ramp. The three waited from the hideout spot Seta had chosen. When the five SUVs came to a stop at the exit ramp stop sign, she shot her sticky substance on the tires of the two back vehicles. When the convoy began to move again only the front three vehicles were able to move. They raced down the street but only made it a couple of miles. Tracker was waiting for them. He had raced ahead and chose a spot in the road where it took a sharp curve, causing all who came upon it to have to slow down. Next Daniel flew down and grabbed a barbed-wire fence that was running along side the road. He picked it up and one by one the fence posts popped out of the ground as Daniel kept flying upwards with the fence. When he had popped loose enough fence posts, he repositioned the fence so it now stretched across the road. Daniel jammed one of the fence posts back into the ground to hold the fence up. Next Seta covered the road in front of the fence with a combination of slick and sticky substance. Then the three took positions. Daniel flew above as air support. Seta took position off to one side of the road where the SUVs would have to stop. Finally Tracker took his position behind the fence. He stood ready to create a wall of fire. The convoy slowed way down when they saw the fence stretched across the road. They didn’t stop however and after nearly coming to a stop it became obvious they decided to crash through the fence as they sped up as they neared the fence. It was too little too late however as the SUVs became entrapped in the sticky substance that the scorpion’s tail had provided. The front SUV became wrapped up in the barbed fence while the vehicles behind it finally came to a stop when they saw what was happening to the front car. That allowed the sticky to tie up the control of the tires while the slick took over causing the SUVs to slide off the road. Immediately Seta blasted the sticky stuff all over the doors of all the SUVs except the one that held Tonka. Tracker raced up to the SUV keeping Tracker and blasted the door off with his fire. One of the agents fell out while grabbing his gun out of its shoulder holster. He aimed the pistol at Tracker and began firing. Tracker immediately made a wall of super-hot fire which melted the bullets at they entered it. Little globs of metal fell at Tracker’s feet. The agent’s mouth fell open and he would have cursed but he was suddenly stung by a paralyzing venom. The other agents heard a crashing noise on the top of their SUV as they were exiting it to fight. Next each one was stung as they tried to get turned around to fire at whatever had crashed the top of their SUV. It was Seta and she was stinging mad. Next Tonka stepped out of the SUV. He changed over and then pushed the SUV over so it was upside-down. Only agent Crandel remained in the vehicle. He was caught in his seat by his seatbelt. He hung facing downwards. Tonka walked closer, looking in through a broken window on the passenger side back door. His size having become much bigger with his muscles now exaggerated to provide his incredible strength. “You should consider that I have not done anything wrong agent Crandel. The only charges you can make against me are ones which happened because I was unjustly arrested in the beginning. I seriously doubt you or your agency are going to be smart enough to leave well enough alone. You will likely refuse to let this go, causing it to elevate to the point that it can’t any longer be let alone. If that happens agent Crandel, you have my promise that before it is all over, that I will see to it that you either go down as badly or that you are not here to see how it ends at all. Again, I doubt you’ll be smart enough to listen to what I have said, but know I did make the effort even knowing it was a useless act. I should end you now and save myself having to go through this scenario again. Anything to say to that bud?” Crandel struggled against the seat belt. He said nothing. Then the four siblings came together and then took off into the blue sky overhead. When they arrived back at home, it was only to a horrible surprise. Agent Crandel had left a note. It was a phone number with the words ‘if you love your parents”. Seta was the one to call the number. The explanation was quite clear. If you are calling this number it means you are somewhat unique in the world. However you are not as unique as you may think. We are a black-op government agency created to deal with beings just as yourselves. You should know that if you have received this number then it means your loved ones have already been acquired and processed. What that means is in your case your parents have been drugged, taken to a mobile surgical team who inserted into them, small explosives that can be set off remotely. Understand you will report to agent Crandel at the facility you have visited before. You will produce the others in your team as well as yourself. Failure to comply will result in the death of one of your contact family. Generally the parent most likely to die first is the one that is taken for purpose of example. For instance if one of your contact family has been diagnosed with cancer then it is that one which would be eliminated should it become necessary to punish you. This is done for one simple reason. It proves we are not doing this for any reason other than pure practicality. Killing the least healthy ensures we have a longer period of time of use out of our contact family members. We have no desire for things to come to that. What you do not realize is you are far from the first to have abilities which are above the normal human being. There are so many blessed beings that this country along with all the others across the globe, came out with a special rules of conduct which include the use of explosives inserted surgically into your loved ones as a means to control you. We realize you will think us as low as can be. We don’t care. The bottom line is if you want your loved ones to be safe, you will surrender to us. You have twenty-four hours. After that we will detonate the charges in your parents and find two more people you love and start this whole thing over. That is all. “What did it say?” Seta asked Tracker. Tracker thought about his reply. He wished he had longer but he had to supply an answer right away. He replied, “They said if we don’t turn ourselves in that they would kill our parents.” “How can they do something like that?” Daniel said. “This is the United States.” “Often times I have heard elders speak of how the country has become worse in recent years.” Tracker said. “It was never very nice to us.” Seta said. “I guess we shouldn’t be surprised in the treatment now.” She sighed. “What can we do?” Daniel asked. “One Antler.” Seta said. “We should go to him first and then head home.” “Why go home?” Tracker asked. “They’ll be looking for us there.” “To protect mom and dad.” Seta answered, a bit angry he couldn’t see that from the start. “It won’t do any good.” Tracker replied. “They’ve already killed them. I am afraid there is little we can do unless you are good at surgery.” He told them what the recording had said about the explosives being surgically planted. “Lets get to One Antler. It would be better to hear what he has to say and then worry about what decision to make.” Seta said. They flew to find One Antler. They checked a couple of his spots and found him fishing on one of the streams. He thought about it the rest of the day while the kids stood by and discussed among themselves what they thought they should do. Finally One Antler set down his fishing pole and stood up to join the four siblings. The sound of the water rushing past is something Seta will never forget as they awaited One Antler’s advice. This is what he had to say. “White people would not do this, but we are not white people.” He winked at Daniel. “You must consider your parents as dead until you have been able to even the playing field. If you act as though they are still alive it will prevent you from accomplishing what you need to do to finally put an end to this.” The four shook their heads in agreement. They would do as the man asked. “Good.” One Antler replied. “I am sorry you must endure this situation. I am even sorrier I must ask you to ignore the fact your parents are still alive. Seta and I will go to the library and find out some information. We will return as soon as we can. Stay out of sight and out of trouble while we are gone.” Then One Antler and Seta set off for the library. They talked on the way. “Tell me all about the day you were given these powers.” One Antler asked. When Seta was finished, he had only one question. “You are sure you and everyone else touched the earthworm? This is very important. It is also very important that everything else you told me was correct because I am basing a plan on the fact that you all received the abilities of the creature you touched before sending it down the hole. Are you sure you told me everything correctly?” “Yes.” Seta answered. They went to the library and One Antler wrote down many addresses. He said not all of them would be accurate but if enough were it would be all that was needed. Next he searched for private schools in the nearby neighborhoods of the addresses he wrote down, and added their addresses to the list. After that they visited the place where One Antler said he stored his most prized possessions. He came out with a grenade and a sword. He had a very sincere and shamed face when he spoke to Seta. “Dear, I am sorry that it is you that I must make this request. It will require the utmost sacrifice but it is necessary to accomplish this incredibly huge task we will be accomplishing. The result will be that your parents will no longer be threatened and you will not have to become slaves to the US government.” Then he pulled out a bottle of liquor and said, “You’re going to want to drink some of this. I wish I had something stronger. You see we are going to have to do an experiment to find out a hard truth.” Seta shook her head okay. “Drink up kiddo.” ——————- Chapter ————————- A voice came over the phone/radio that belonged to Agent Crandel. “Have you brought project 810 up to speed on our opponents? If you cannot bring them on board then I want them eliminated. Have project 810 make sure they are dead if it comes to that; I do not want this coming back on us at a later date.” Agent Crandel said, “Copy that. I will assess the situation and take appropriate action. It will be a great chance to see 810 in full battle mode. We have the tracker on the subject and know exactly where they are at. We can take them at any time sir.” “Crandel knowing where they are at and being able to take them are two entirely different things. I would have thought someone as experienced as yourself would know that?” “Sir I am aware but I am confident that we will be able to capture or kill the enemy. At will, sir.” Crandel said, while watching his team get their weapons and supplies loaded into the SUVs. “Good. Confidence is vital. Overconfidence can be fatal. Know the difference.” The voice said. “810 will be sending six. They too, gained their powers from the hole. Sent down was a spitting cobra, a wasp, a bombardier beetle, a crawdad, and a mantis shrimp. They have their own SUV which will be joining your convoy as you leave the facility. Extend every courtesy to the special agents.” “Yes sir. Copy that.” Crandel replied. “Are we to wait until the twenty-four hours are up before engaging?” “Yes, or something close to that. I would much rather have them on board than to have to eliminate them.” The voice said. “Copy that sir.” Crandel replied. “Will do as told.” ————– Chapter —————————- Tracker, Daniel and Tonka sat in the shade of a tree nearby the stream. They were anxious for Seta and One Antler to return. It was mid-afternoon and there was little breeze making it a rather hot afternoon. They sat around talking while waiting. “So Daniel, how was the date the other night?” Tracker asked. He was thinking about his own date and how things had gone bad at the end. “I hope it ended better than mine.” “Oh it went as good as I could have hoped. I have a confession. I told her about my ability to fly. In fact I showed her. After I took her for a flight she was a changed woman. She was much more into me. At first that bothered me but I have decided that this is who I am now. If it is what is the tipping point of whether she wants me or not, well so be it. I’m not faking anything. When I thought about whether it bothered me I first went to the rich men out there because they would be the ones that are most cursed with false love. Despite them knowing that when they marry a much younger woman that she isn’t doing it because he is the first choice she would have on her calendar of shirtless men for the month. Even though they obviously are marrying the girl for her youthful looks, it still must bother them over time that she would choose another man and give that man his money. If she had the chance.” “Well maybe it evens out because she knows he would likely not be chasing her if she was old.” Tonka said. “I’m not sure it works both ways.” Tracker said. “She can become rich. He cannot become young again.” “I don’t know it works that way either.” Daniel laughed, then stopped and said, “Of course I don’t know how it does work. I just am pretty sure its not a black and white thing.” “Why do you say that?” Tonka asked. “Does everything have to be complicated?” Now Tracker was laughing. He more than anybody, knew about how complicated love or relationships could be. If he survived his current one with Dancing Rabbit, he should be able to handle anything else to be thrown at him. “Spoken like the youngest of us males in the Whitefeather tribe. The best advice I can give on women is that you can throw out any blue prints you think you have because they are wrong! Second is that you should expect to have to put up with her doing all kinds of things you are not happy about, while at the same time expect that you have to not do a lot of things you think you should be able to do.” Daniel jumped in. “Its called a double standard little bro. What it basically means is that women can be completely unreasonable about almost anything. If you want that woman to stay in your life, you’re going to have to let her do whatever stupid, crazy, or life-crunching thing she wants to do. At the same time you cannot do it yourself. Like if she goes out to dinner with her ex-boyfriend. Do not do that to make things even. I know it sounds good on paper but don’t do it. She will never forgive you for it. You on the other hand will forget her trespass as soon as you get your nose buried in her hair.” Tracker looked sincere and said, “He’s right!” “That’s totally unfair!” Tonka said. “There has to be a better way. I believe in the old saying what’s good for the goose is good for the … other goose.” Both Daniel and Tracker laughed. “What’s so funny?” Tonka asked. “That’s what we said.” Both replied in unison. After some further laughter, Tracker said, “Every man starts out saying stuff like that. And we mean it. Right up until the time that we meet that one girl.” “Yeah. And after you spend all your money and make a complete fool of yourself in every way possible, putting yourself out there like you never have before ..” Daniel added before being cut-off by Tracker to finish the thought. “Nine times out of ten she will dump the guy like he was her fat, lonely uncle that had too much body hair and not enough deodorant.” Tonka laughed. “I will try to remember that solid advice when I start dating.” “Better heed it now.” Tracker said. “I’ve seen your head turn when a pretty girl walks by. If you’re to the point that you are turning your head, you’re to the point that it would be wise to listen to what we have said.” “Yeah but don’t feel bad when it doesn’t save you.” Daniel said. “I’m well on my way of proving that right now. I’m all happy about the way my love life is headed. You watch, in a few days something will happen and I will be a sad sack.” Just then out of the stream came a giant-sized crawdad. It reached out with its pinchers and grabbed Daniel with one of them. It had him around the waist. With one powerful snap the pincher sliced through Daniel cutting him in half. Tracker immediately switched over and his hands blazed into action. He shot his hottest fire at the giant crawdad, sending it back into the stream where it sank under the water. Everything was over in a matter of seconds. Daniel lay in two parts on the ground. Amazingly he was still conscious and capable of talking. Tracker said to him, “Danny, oh Danny. Are you in terrible pain? I will go and try and get an ambulence for you.” Daniel reached out and grabbed Tracker’s leg with a hand. “Wait! I definitely feel pain but I also feel something else. I know this is going to sound crazy but it feels like I am going through some kind of change.” Tracker and Tonka stood back and looked at Daniel closely. Up until now they had not wanted to look at him, cut in half like he had been. Now however they forced themselves to really look at his injury. Two apendages had sprung out where his legs should be. They were growing. Longer, bigger around, until once again, Daniel was whole. Tracker and Tonka were speechless. It was Daniel who broke the silence. Not the one Tracker and Tonka were looking at. The other one. The one that had grown back out of the second piece of Daniel. Now there were two. “How is this possible?” Daniel number two asked. “That slide of a Hydra I handed around at the hole. Hydra can be cut into two pieces and each one will grow back another complete Hydra. We must have received that power along with the ones we got from what we touched going down into the hole.” Tonka said. They turned their attention back to Daniel. He was almost whole again. So was his twin. “How am I going to explain this to Dancing Rabbit?” Daniel the first, asked. “Dude you just got snipped in half by a crawdad the size of a jeep, and the thing you are worried about is what your girlfriend will say?” Tracker said. “Everybody be on your guard. That thing could come back.” No sooner than Tracker warned everyone to be on guard they were attacked from above by the wasp. Part human, part wasp, the female struck tracker through the shoulder with a piercing sting that send him tumbling to the ground. The wasp then took off back up into the sky. Daniel 1 and Daniel 2 both struggled to get their feet under them, as they had just been grown back. They both said in unison, “I’ve got this”. They took off into the sky flying after the wasp. While the two Daniels were taking off after the wasp, and Tracker lay on the ground pulling out the stinger that had invaded his shoulder, explosions happened on each side of Tonka, causing him to be thrown to the ground. Lucky for him his exoskeleton protected him from the explosions. He stood up to find himself facing the Bombardier, another agency superhero that had the traits of the bombardier beatle. He had an exoskeleton of his own and the ability to shoot explosives at his enemies through a gland located on the lower part of his stomach. Tracker removed the stinger in his shoulder and was turning to shoot fire at the Bombardier when he was suddenly hit in the face with Cobra venom. Tracker was blinded. Unable to see to be able to help his friends, he did the only thing available that would hopefully keep him safe. He used his fire to shoot himself up into the air. He climbed high to ensure he was off the ground far enough nothing could get him from the ground, including any weapons fire. He stayed hovered at that high altitude trying to regain his ability to see. He had been lucky enough to turn his head at the last second therefore protecting the right side of his face from taking a direct hit. Blinded in one eye, he did have some sight in the other but just enough to see shapes and differences in light saturation. Tonka was standing his ground against the Bombardier. Although he was taking some hits, his exoskeleton was holding up so far. Up in the blue skies overhead Tracker continued to hover in a mostly helpless state. Meantime the two Daniels were catching up to the wasp. They knocked her out of the sky easily. Then they flew to Tracker to see what could be done. “You okay Tracks?” Daniel 1 asked. “Sorta. Can’t see very well. Tonk needs help.” Tracker replied. The two Daniels wasted no time. They flew down and saw that Tonka was in a head on fight with the Bombardier. Tonka was stronger and landing some serious blows but at the same time the Bombardier was setting off explosion after explosion at Tonka. His exoskeleton was starting to show some wear. Daniel 2 took an attacking angle and swept past the Bombardier landing a punch as he raced by at super speed. The speed of the punch sent the Bombardier to the ground but just after Daniel 2 hit the Bombardier, he was struck by the fastest punch known to exist on the planet. The Mantis Shrimp had struck. The speed of his punch sent Daniel 2 to the ground, completely unconscious. He was knocked out cold. Daniel 1 hit the Mantis Shrimp from behind at high speed. He too, was knocked out and fell to the ground next to Daniel 2. Just then Seta and One Antler returned from their tasks. Seta wasted no time changing into scorpion form. First thing she did was to strike the Cobra with her paralyzing venom. Cobra fell over incapable of moving. Seta then turned her attention to the Bombardier. She began shooting her sticky substance at his feet preventing him from moving. The Bombardier responded by shooting explosives at Seta, who had exoskeleton of her own but it was not as strong as that on Tonka. She was sent reeling and did not immediately get up when her body came to a complete stop. Tracker allowed himself to come back down as it looked like they had things in hand. He had not quite reached the ground when Crawdad came up out of the stream once again. It was very fast and had ahold of Tracker before he could react. Tracker was also cut in half by the pinchers on Crawdad. Then he disappeared into the stream once again. Daniel 1 and Tonka came rushing to Tracker’s aid. He too, was amazingly still alive and conscious. Daniel 1 didn’t have to ask if it hurt. He knew. Tonka watched in amazement but with a helpless look on his face. One Antler came rushing to the side of Tracker but then stepped back when he saw that Tracker was already beginning to regenerate. Soon there would be two Fire Ants for the enemy to contend. “You gonna be okay Track?” Tonka asked. “Hurts like your legs have been tied up into a knot and you’re having to endure the pain while others untangle the knot. Definitely not a day in the park.” He said between gasps of air. The half of him that didn’t have a head, yet, was kicking its legs while laying on the ground. When I get made whole, me and my new twin are going to fly up and down this stream until we find where the Crawdad exited the water. If I do not see where it exited after going a fair distance each way, me and my twin are going to patrol this section of stream until it gets dark. Hopefully it will try to get out before dark. If it does, we will spot it. If that happens you will see a big blaze. Come running and bring your seafood sauce. We’ll be serving Crawdad. Not sure if it is going to be broiled or boiled, but we will get the job done.” The two Daniels went for a fly to check out the area while Tracker became whole again and his twin followed suit. They noticed all the agency superheroes and the Crandel team had packed up and left. There was no sign of Wasp. They checked the spot she had fell. Either she regained consciousness and escaped the area herself, or she had help. One of the Daniels flew along the stream and spotted a big muddy spot in the stream. It signalled something was down there, in this case something of good size. That something was moving through the water creating quite a cloud of silt. It hid the identity of what was causing the cloud but Daniel 2 had a good idea. He hurried his flight back to join the rest of the tribe. “I’ve got Crawdad about two clicks upstream. Easily spotted, as long as he’s in the water and moving against the current.” Tracker was now fully regenerated. His twin, Tracker 2, was rummaging through the backpack he had brought, looking for some pants. He grabbed a pair and both the shirts that remained. Tracker 1 took off the shirt he had been wearing when he took the stinger from Wasp, in the shoulder, which ripped that shirt up enough it was no longer wearable. Tracker 2 had no shirt at all, as it was his top half that had to be regenerated. Tracker 1 put on one of the shirts and threw the other shirt to his twin, who pulled it on. The two Trackers turned their hands to blaze and then used their fire to blast them into flight. They headed for the spot that the cloudy disturbance had been spotted. The two Daniels flew ahead and then hovered over the spot. Sure enough, they could all see the cloudy part in the stream which was hiding Crawdad. When the Trackers arrived they positioned themselves on each side of the cloud of silt and they started shooting super-hot fire on the water. It started to boil and Crawdad came out of the stream but it was too late for the crustacean. Crawdad made it about half way out of the stream before collapsing. One Antler was waiting along with Seta and Tonka when the two Trackers and two Daniels arrived back. One Antler had an idea. It needed to be put into action as soon as possible to help prevent any further loss of life. One Antler explained they needed to find some loved ones of the people who were behind the orders given to have the explosives planted surgically inside their parents heads. When he and Seta went to the library they found out who the senators were that were located within a reasonable distance. Next he and Seta did research to find sons and daughters, grandkids, anybody who appeared to be close to the senators. Much of that information was not available but it is very hard to keep every bit of information about a public servant such as a senator, from being seen by the wrong pair of eyes. Addresses were given to Daniel 2 and Tracker 2. They left the others to find the people at those locations. Next the rest of the tribe headed straight for the facility that had held Tonka. The tribe attacked it in full force. Tracker 1 went in the front doors and started shooting fire. Seta and Tonka followed right behind, stinging and overpowering every agent, security guard and even the civilians they encountered. Daniel stayed outside the building, supplying air support should it become necessary. Tracker finally found the office he had been seeking. It said, Agent Crandel, on the door. He burst through the door to find agent Crandel on a video conference with a senator and his the agent’s superior. Crandel tried to get his gun out of his holster but Tracker shot a fine line of fire at the agent’s hand causing him to drop the weapon. Next Tracker sent a line of fire so that it stopped just before hitting Crandel’s face. “You make a move for weapon and I will flash fry that ugly face of yours. You got that Crandel? Just give me an excuse.” “What do you want?” Crandel said. “You’d better be here to surrender.” “Not this time agent. You might tell the senator to call his daughter. She is waiting his call. In the meantime Crandel, I will explain so we can get on with our business. Your senator is going to reach his daughter who is going to tell him she is sitting there with a representative of “The Tribe”. Currently our representative has been showing your family, your daughter and grandson, some fun tricks they can do using their unique powers. Your intel will reveal that the being sitting with your family is also the one talking to you now. Your intel will further reveal that my twin’s backup is another twin of the Dragonfly, who is outside providing air support for us here at the facility. If necessary, we can continue to make more and more copies of ourselves until we have whatever size army is needed to protect our interests.” Tracker was cutoff by the senator coming back on the video conference. “Okay, you have the attention of the full senate. What are your demands?” “First I want you to know that no threats have been made toward the families we are visiting. As far as they know they are just being treated to a show. Second, and this is the really, really important part you want to make sure to understand.” Tracker said, and he turned the video conference camera so that it looked him straight on in the eyes. “You will get your people to remove the explosives from our parents, and you will NEVER, EVER again darken their doorsteps in any way.” Then he leaned close to the camera and said, “If we ever get so much of a sniff of one of your people near one of ours, we will relive this day and it will go very, very differently and be very ugly. And should it ever come to that: we will kill ten of yours, for every one of ours that are harmed.” Tracker started to turn and walk out, then he looked back at the camera and said, “My contempt for you who call yourselves leaders, is beyond containment. The level of greed for power and money that you exhibit is proof that nobody should be allowed to hold office for more than a few years. Corruption is unavoidable and therefore should be counteracted by term limits for all politicians. Well, … I and my tribe cannot fix the problems that your people have created because of the corruption already existing in your government. You have the power but you’re either already too corrupt or you are too naive, and both are the downfall of government. Like I said, we can’t fix that, only the people can. But until then, heed what I have warned or your loved ones will pay the price.” Just then a man came into the agent’s office and left a message. Agent Crandel read the message and then looked up at Tracker and said, “We may have went about it all wrong, but it just may be that in the coming near future you are going to find out why we wanted you to surrender. I have just receieved notice that our skies over the west coast have been darkened by the arrival of so many UFOs. According to the writer of this message, we should be able to look at the horizon to the west and be able to see their arrival. If we are being invaded, we will need the help of any of our citizens in a position to supply it. Do me a favor: take my card and call me every once in a while. We may need your help.” Tracker took the card and left without anything further to say. He wanted to see the western horizon for himself. Yes they had managed a great victory. It sounded like they might not get very long to enjoy it. On the flight back home the tribe observed the horizon to the west. Whatever was to come, they would be ready. the end.