Dial H for Heroics

Josie stood. She picked up her plate. She gestured for Jack to sit down in her place.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“You can eat with us,” said Josie.

“Already ate,” said Jack. “I have to make some adjustments to our gate, and create

a lock from the Hangar so the villagers can’t just come through to here if they are

running from someone on their end.”

“Can you make a room for Miss Russ?,” asked Josie. “We’re letting her stay out at

the Hangar.”

“I don’t have a problem with that,” said Jack. He grinned at her. “I can do that after

I put the lock on.”

“Are you okay?,” asked June. She frowned at her brother.

“Just a little tired,” said Jack. “I gave out some powers and I hope that doesn’t go

wrong with Mister Warner in the middle of it. That reminds me I need to finish the

tools for you kids. I think I have Bea’s ring ready to go. I can get Alicia a magic

arrow like Yondu. That will make archery a snap for you unless you want to go the

Hawkeye route.”

“I don’t know those names,” said Alicia.

“Sit down, Jack,” said Josie. “Take a load off. I can handle this with Zee.”

“All right,” said Jack. He took her seat. He didn’t know why he was tired, but he had

worked hard on the potions and powers he had handed out.

Josie finished her plate, standing up. She took her plate into the kitchen and put it

in the sink. She took some water from the pump and rinsed the plate off. The kids

could wash the plate later.

She walked back into the dining room. The kids were almost done with their dinners.

She checked her watch. She had more than enough time to create a picture, or two.

“All right,” said Josie. “I don’t really follow Marvel, but I saw the Guardians of the

Galaxy at the theater. And I know Hawkeye a little. I should be able to show you

them, the Green Arrow, maybe Hank from the old D&D cartoon. Ready?”

“What’s the Guardians of the Galaxy?,” asked Matilda.

“What is a galaxy?,” asked Laura.

“The Guardians are an old adventuring party that travel through time that were set up

in the current timeline,” said Jack. “A galaxy is a network of stars that are grouped

together. The Guardians try to keep the peace in the same section of space that they

are based in, and defend that space from other galaxies.”

“This is the version of Yondu I am familiar with,” said Josie. She changed to Zatanna.

She created an image of Michael Rooker in his alien makeup. An arrow flew around

him.

“That looks like a version of what Mister Warner was using when we rescued Boim

from her box,” said June.

“Didn’t see the movies, did you?,” asked Jack.

“I only liked the Doctor Strange ones,” said June.

“What are the other ones?,” said Alicia. “This has no skill except from the mind.”

“All right,” said Josie. “This is Hawkeye, and Green Arrow.”

Images of the two ace archers appeared to replace the alien. Arrows with the strange

tips they used appeared in close up.

“These guys are shooters for their teams,” said Josie. “They use special arrows to do

things like netting people, setting fires, putting fires out, and knocking people out.”

“Show her Hank, Jo-jo,” said June.

Josie let the images fade. She waved her hand to show Hank the Ranger, and his

magic bow.

“This is Hank,” said Josie. “He and his party was dragged across the line from his

place to another place. The person responsible gave him an artifact that could shoot

arrows of light that did different things that he needed done.”

“What do you think, Number Two?,” asked Jack. He leaned back in his chair.

“I need to think for a few minutes,” said Alicia. “This is a lot.”

“All right,” said Jack. “I’m sure there are other examples out there. Maybe you and

Matilda can find something in her books that will spark something. Bea, if you would

come with me, I will fix you up with Mister Warner’s ring. Then I need to place the

gates Jane needs to work.”

“Will I be able to fly on my own?,” asked Beatrice.

“Sure, sure,” said Jack. He stood.

“Jack,” said Josie. He looked too tired to do any more work. “Maybe you should wait

for tomorrow. You look out of it.”

“I can put it on the to do list,” said Jack.

“All right,” said Josie. “I’ll make the room for Miss Russ, and then we are going to

get ready for tomorrow.”

“All right,” said Jack. “Are you ready for your eval, Juni?”

“Sure,” said June.

“The other gate is to the village,” said Jack. “Don’t go down there and scare Mister

Warner. He might set you on fire.”

“I got it,” said June. “I am not completely incompetent.”

“Okay,” said Jack. He grinned at her.

Josie let Zatanna go. She looked at her kids, her friends, and her guests. They had

things to kick into gear. She could fix Boim’s room up for her.

“Girls, could you clean up?,” she asked. She made a gesture at the table. “Elaine,

could you take Jack and put him down for the night. We’ll need him for tomorrow.”

“Yes,” said Elaine. She grabbed her beloved by the hand. “Come along. You can tell

me about your adventure while I get ready for bed.”

“Wait,” said Jack. He handed Josie a rolled up sheaf of papers from his back pocket.

“Mister Warner’s write up on the goblin chase.”

“All right,” said Josie. “I’ll read it before I turn in. Go get some sleep while you can.

The next few days are going to be busy as crap.”

“I’ll be ready,” said Jack. “Remind me, and I will adjust your smart phone like I did

mine and Mister Warner’s.”

“All right,” said Josie. She wondered what he had done with his phone. “Get some

sleep. I think we can handle the rest of this.”

“I’ll see you in the morning,” said Jack.

Elaine pulled him into their room off the dining room and closed the door. She

whispered in his ear. He nodded.

“All right, Juni and Boim,” said Josie. “Let’s look at a guest space, and put down

some blankets. If the spell is still working, the air should still be warm.”

“No problem, Jo-jo,” said June. “I wonder if I will get to stay.”

“If you do, do you want to set up in your own space?,” said Josie. She led the way

to the gate.

“I don’t know,” said June. “The three guys I have don’t lend themselves to building

things like you guys have.”

“Maybe they will give you the Astro City watch once they are sure you won’t magick

up some monster and set it loose wherever you are working,” said Josie.

“Do you really think so?,” asked June.

“Heck no,” said Josie. “They probably don’t want you to touch anything like that. I

sure don’t.”

“Really?,” said June. “I can handle it.”

“Yeah,” said Josie. “Okay.”

“What are you implying?,” asked June.

“I don’t think she is implying anything,” said Boim. “She just won’t say it plainly to

spare your feelings.”

Josie smiled as she led the way to the Hangar. She made a note of the other gate.

They might need to go down there at some time. The gate would make that so much

easier.

“Where do you want your room set up, Miss Russ?,” asked Josie.

“I would like it next to the gates in case I need to run one way, or the other,” said

Boim. She gestured at the blank wall between the two doors.

“All right,” said Josie. She looked at the space. “I think I can do that.”

“Could I turn this into my secret base?,” said June.

“No,” said Josie. “We’re going to pull down the Quinjet and house it here when we

get the time. You are going to have to build your own flying machine.”

“Aww, Jo,” said June.

“I suggest you learn to ride a horse,” said Josie. “Now let me concentrate and work

this out.”

Josie had a guy on the watch that should be better to move earth around than Zatanna.

She selected Geomancer and hoped for the best. She smiled at her transformation.

She reached out with her new power and felt the wall.

She pulled out a cube of dirt from the wall. She expended the effort to keep the cube

together. The block floated above the ground.

“Open the roof for me, Juni,” said Josie. She could get rid of the excess outside, then

try to make the room livable.

June rushed over and pulled the lever. The roof slid out of the way. The dirt flew

through the opening when it was wide enough. Josie made sure the dirt spread out

as it landed on the grass and trees outside the fear ring.

Josie looked at the room. She reached out with her mind. The walls, roof, and floor

hardened into something like concrete with a thought. She looked around at the space.

It needed some light, lamps, for Boim.

She needed to get blankets in case Boim got cold in her room.

“I can’t put in windows since the Hangar is underground,” said Josie. “The last thing

we need is skylights. Let me get some blankets and a pillow for you. I can put some

lights in for you.”

“This room is better than most of the places I have lived in the last few years,” said

Boim. “This will be fine.”

“All right,” said Josie. She put on Zatanna and hung a light on the wall. The mana

charger sped up the charging of her watch. She looked around. She thought about

putting in a ready room there. She duplicated June’s blankets and pillows and laid

them out in a pallet. “If you guys stay, we’ll get you beds.”

She let the persona go.

“Do you think the Society will allow that?,” asked June.

“I don’t know,” said Josie. “You guys did find Boim faster than I thought you would.

Maybe they will be impressed with that.”

“I sense a but coming,” said June.

“I don’t know,” said Josie. “They may say that you didn’t get the job done on your

own because Mister Warner and Jack took back the Enterprise.”

“I hope they decide tonight,” said June. “I would like to know so I can make a plan.”

“I already told you that I would pay whatever you owed,” said Josie. “I can make

enough gold for that.”

“I have to fight,” said June. “I can’t back out now.”

“All right,” said Josie. “The Hangar might become a secondary hub. We should have

thought about an ice box, or some kind of break room.”

“We can raid the kitchen at will from here,” said June.

“If something comes through from the village, you are the first line of defense,” said

Josie. “You’re responsible for that until you move out.”

“I can handle it,” said June with a grin.

“All right, ladies,” said Josie. “I have to read through Mister Warner’s archive and

see if there are any problems that he took care of that might still be ongoing. If you

do go home, Juni, make sure to pack up what you want to bring back with you.

Maybe Jack can get a computer to work, but without the Internet, it will only be good

for personal files and such.”

“It will help me write up my quests since I don’t have a casebook maker like you and

Mister Warner,” said June.

“The Society might change their mind and give you someone with real power,” said

Josie. “Someone from the Demon Slayers, or Sailor Moon, or maybe Inuyasha. I think

they expect you to do a little better first. I don’t know. I don’t appoint guardians to

help a population under my protection.”

“I need someone who can do a piece of real magic so I can find the sources of the

quests faster,” said June. “If they use mangas as their guideline, I might get someone

like Sayako, the overpowered psychic.”

“As long as Matilda is not exposed to any danger, whatever you get will be fine,” said

Josie. “And the three of us will be here to help you out if you need it. You’re not

going to be alone.”

“And I agreed to help you,” said Boim. “My sisters can give us a small amount of

resources if we can persuade them about the need.”

“So I am going to settle in for the night,” said Josie. “Tomorrow, we work now that

we have Jack back. The day after, we might hang out at the lake.”

“All right,” said June. “We will be frying that night.”

“I will see you bright and early,” said Josie. “Be ready to go.”

“We will be,” said June.

“Good night,” said Josie.

She went back through the gate and into the living room. She paused as she tried to

decide what to do next. She checked on the girls. They had cleaned things up.

Beatrice was shepherding them through the night ritual of closing down. Aviras sat

on the dining room table, watching everything.

“I am going upstairs to read,” said Josie. “You are more than welcome to sit with me

until I turn in.”

“Thank you,” said the dragon. “I don’t sleep like this, so just being company will be

fine.”

“What do you think about a mechanical sorting for the archives?,” Josie asked. “We

might have some repeat offenders in the paperwork.”

“I think it might be necessary, but some of the information, maybe most of the

information, would be out of date,” said Aviras.

“I know, but everything helps out,” said Josie. “We don’t know how Duke Hent fits

in with things, and who above him we can use to accomplish what we want. I doubt

the King wants me to keep writing letters to him about problems.”

“Eventually he might see you as a threat to the kingdom,” said Aviras. “Where would

we be then?”

“I know,” said Josie. “Let’s get started after the kids go to bed. Maybe we will have

a sorting machine for our archives tomorrow. Then all we will have to do is load

reports in and let it sort the information.”

“It sounds out of place here,” said Aviras.

“Enterprise,” said Josie.

“It sounds out of place, but isn’t as exotic as a castle flying through the sky,” said

Aviras.

“I’m glad that we agree on that,” said Josie. “The main problem with this is what

happens to the stuff after we are gone? What happens to the girls?”

“They will be all right,” said Aviras. “They are smart, and with Jack’s gifts,

dangerous. I will be here also until Matilda no longer needs me.”

“She could do worse for a companion and friend,” said Josie. She picked up the

dragon and put him on her shoulder. “You could do worse.”

“I know,” said Aviras. “Dragons don’t make many friends. It’s not in our nature. I

think Jack implanted a mind command when he put the curse on me.”

“I think you are seeing things from a new perspective and you like it other than the

ups and downs of life that come with it,” said Josie. “It’s not easy being blue to

paraphrase Kermit the Frog.”

“Bah,” said Aviras. “What does a frog know about a cursed dragon’s troubles?”

Josie tried not to smile as they walked upstairs to the office. She looked at the stack

of paper on the desk and placed the newest entry brought home by Jack beside it. She

doubted she would get through all of it before she went to bed, but she didn’t see any

reason not to try.

She glanced through the top of the stack. Mister Warner’s archive read like an

episode of Dragnet. She had seen episodes on Nick, and looking at the first few pages

of his quest archive gave her the same feeling.

“This is the city, Hawk Ridge. An outpost of twenty thousand people surrounded by

a wall of stone and bad intentions. In a place that size, monsters attack, people do the

wrong thing, a hospital needs to be built. When a problem needs to be solved, I go to

work,” said Josie in the dryest affection she could muster. “I’m Josie Fox. I carry a

watch.”

“I take it that is from another of your shows,” said Aviras. He hoped down to the

desk.

“Dragnet,” said Josie. She sat down at the desk. “Mister Warner’s paperwork

reminded me of it.”

“Dragnet?,” said Aviras. He flipped open the goblin quest and started to read it.

“Jack and I and a couple of his sisters used to watch all these old shows,” said Josie.

“Dragnet was one of them where two guys from the Watch go around and chase

crimes, trying to solve them. Jack Webb had access to the archive for the Los Angeles

Police Department, and they let him dramatize cases that made them look good

with his own characters as the detectives. He was good for their image.”

“I take it they needed that,” said Aviras.

Josie nodded as she started on the first quest.