//------------------------------// // 13- Team Building // Story: Tales of Equestrian City- the Back Roads // by Alden MacManx //------------------------------// Rip Current and Venus Blue were sitting companionably at Rip’s apartment, going over research notes compiled by Venus and Twilight about Venus’ ability to ‘mirrorport’, as they decided to name the talent. “Time, in the mirror, seems to not function like it does outside,” Venus said, struggling to fully grasp the content. She’s a veterinary student, not a physics major. “While all timers and such seem to indicate I can go from Saddleback to Equestrian City in a matter of seconds, I can perceive time passing, but I’m not certain of the rate.” “Nor can you do anything with electronics while in the mirrors,” Rip observed. “Recorders record, timers time, lights light, you just can’t do anything to them while in the mirror. All we see in videos is a blur, all we hear is a hum. I’m just glad you can navigate in there.” “So am I, Rip,” Venus replied after a sip of diet root beer. “However, I have a guess on that. I think I can ‘home in’ on people I know from inside. Finding you, the rest of the group, my parents, my sisters, I can do, it’s a matter of ‘finding’ a nearby mirror large enough to enter and exit.” “Then, how did you find me?” Rip asked. “Simple. I was searching for a way out, you were standing in front of a big mirror, posing. I ‘saw’ that and hurried over. I’m glad I did,” she said, reaching a hand across the table and squeezing his. With a gentle smile, Rip squeezed back. “Happy to help someone who needed help.” “And I’m always happy to return the favor. I have not heard you complain as much about your diet and exercise regimen now, like you did that first couple of days.” “Venus, I see you, and I see someone who is comfortable in her own skin. You don’t try to change me, unlike most everyone else. I’m trying to lose another fifty pounds, then I’ll go onto maintenance. I don’t want to get buffed, like Blaise, or toned and lean, like Wave. I’m me, and I’m not going to change that. You give me a reason to strive a bit. Before, I hated it. Now, it’s a means to an end. You like?” Rip confessed, a blush creeping up his pale green cheeks. Venus smiled easily, still holding Rip’s hand. “I’ve liked you since we first met. You’re a good man with some issues. I’m going to help you read a few of your issues and maybe get you to understand them, like you do with me.” Rip blushed a bit more, not releasing Venus’ hand. “Always happy to help a friend…” he said shyly. “Me, too,” she said in return, a blush showing on her blue cheeks. That day being a Sunday, there was a group expedition planned to a private beach, one provided by Miss Rarity Belle. That Sunday, other than kicking back, was being used to scout the area of the beach to set up for a party the next weekend, it being arranged as a ‘thank-you’ for those involved in the team and their operations and training. Some of the ‘good-guy’ metas were invited, like the Phoenix, Split Second and Shadowstrike, but it was uncertain if they would attend. Permission was granted to call Pinkie Pie in to help with the party planning, but that would not be until later. While they were lounging on the beach, having burgers (or chicken patties, in Blaise’s case- he will not eat beef. Period.), a topic came up, that being ‘code names’ for each of them. It was Venus who brought it up. “After all, if we have these talents, we should put them to good use. Rip’s told me some of us have.” “Ja. True that is. But, looking for trouble we do not do. Find us it does,” Blaise commented. “Might as well be ready for it, in case it does come up,” Wave added. “I like the idea of ‘code names’. The floor is open.” Blaise hesitated for a second, before speaking again. “Have one I do. Gray Man. Use it once, to help Phoenix and Matterhorn. Detail I will not give, it private.” “Gray Man fits you, Blaise,” Rip commented, having finished his slider and was nibbling on potato chips. “Descriptive, but anonymous. There are others in the city with a gray skin tone.” “For you, pick I would Breaker, Rip,” Blaise countered with. “You do tend to break things when power you use.” “That is good,” Wave said before Rip would get indignant and challenge Blaise to a wrestling bout on the sand. He had already lost once that day. Blaise didn’t mind Rip doing so, it showed Rip was getting more into condition and showing what he had learned from combat lessons. “I’m trying to think of one for me, but I can’t come up with one that sounds right. My skin field protects me, but not my walking suit. I take a blast from something, my suit gets a hole, and I fall like a rag doll. We can’t make a suit sheer enough for the field yet.” Sand looked up from the cooler, where she had fished up a can of soda. “Just how far does your field project from you, Wave?” she asked. “Not even a millimeter. The finest we can fabricate now is about three millimeters. Twilight and I are looking into it occasionally. Best I can hope for is a Wonderbolt suit. Those, I can operate,” Wave said from where he sat on the sand. “I have one for you, Sand. How about ‘Battery’?” Sand looked at her brother, obviously debating whether she should throw her unopened can of soda at him, before deciding against it. It was her favorite flavor, and she didn’t want to waste it. “Try again, big brother. I know where you sleep,” she growled instead. “I prefer ‘Shocker’, myself.” “That could be a revolting development, Wave. Let’s keep brainstorming,” Rip said. He then looked at Venus, who was sitting next to him. “I have an idea for you. How about ‘Image’?” Venus considered the suggestion for a few seconds, before smiling at Rip. “I like it. Better than ‘Reflection’, which is what I came up with,” she said in agreement. “That’s four down and one to go,” Wave said. “Now, which of us have encountered a hero, and which ones? I know Rip, Blaise and I encountered Split Second twice, at my birthday party and coming back from a beach outing.” “Have seen Split Second, ja, and Shadowstrike twice. Also, Matterhorn once and Phoenix twice. Meet Phoenix again, to talk to, would like to do. Last meeting, all business,” Blaise supplied. “You were there when I saw Split Second and Shadowstrike, brother.” “I’ve chatted some with Split Second online, under a different name. She’s a Total Wasteland fangirl,” Rip supplied. “The one name I have for her online is one I will not disclose, because we always switch out of the forum to ask about each other.” “Is that why you won’t answer your phone whenever Total Wasteland is on, Rip?” Venus asked playfully, getting a blush out of him. “I don’t mind. We all need our hobbies. If I may ask, what ARE everyone’s hobbies? Rip’s is Total Wasteland, while mine is working with animals. That’s why I’m a vet major at Saddleback.” “While one of mine, since I can’t surf anymore, is my music. It’s one Sand and I share, and Rainbow Dash thinks the two of us could turn pro, if we worked at it for a while,” Wave supplied from his spot on the sand. “Other than that, designing fighting robots for ‘Combat Cogs’. Daydreams, really.” Sand nodded in agreement. “Yes, Wave and I both like good music. We also like studying or just plain reading. He likes techno-thrillers, while I prefer historical romances,” she said. “What about you, Blaise?” Rip asked. “There are some times when you just drop off the map for a few days. Even after all this time, I have no real clue about what you are doing.” Blaise sat there, finishing his chicken sandwich before replying. What he did there was intensely personal to him, and he did not like discussing it. However, looking at everyone looking at him, he decided to let them know as much he felt they should know. “What I do is I have small cabin set out in schwarzewald, the dark forest. Out there, I have forge. I work metal few days, better I feel.” He paused a few seconds before continuing. “Is something father taught me, und his father, und so weiter for generations. Working metal, reminds me of family in East I had before here coming. Work metal brings them to me,” he said quietly. Rip was the first to break the silence that resulted. “All these years, and I never knew that about you, Blaise,” he said, getting up and walking to the gray man, taking his left hand. “While my family and I are not close, I don’t think I can understand how you feel about it. Just know you have my support.” Wave, Sand and Venus all chimed in, getting up to stand around Blaise, putting hands on his shoulders. “You have our support as well, Blaise,” Wave said, taking charge. “Would you like to consider us your family in absentia?” Blaise looked at each one of them in turn, his expression not changing because he lost the ability to show any expression after the missile explosion years before. “Accept that I would. Support each other, we should do,” he droned. “Support each other, we will!” Wave declared. “We are what we are, and we will be what we will us to be, right?” “RIGHT!” was returned enthusiastically by three of the four. Blaise did say the word as well, but he could not be heard over the others. “So, what shall we call ourselves as a group?” Venus asked, once everyone sat back down. Several suggestions were tossed out and rejected before Blaise raised a hand. Once he had their attention, he spoke quietly. “Need not we do name for us. This we do not for fame, not for fortune, but it being right thing to do. Names for us, ja, so we know who talk to who when in scrum we be. Suggest I do we be ‘das Group’. Work for now, ja?” A glance went around the circle once, twice, three times before Sand spoke up. “I think that works, for now. He is right that none of us are fame or fortune seekers. We all have our lives to lead, and our talents are more complications than benefits. If we can help others have a better life, even just for a minute, it will make our pains worthwhile, right?” “You have a good point, sister.” “Now, what about costumes and radios?” Wave asked. “Getting or making radios with a bit of range, I can do. Costumes are another question.” Rip was about to say something, but Venus put her hand over his, a questioning look on her face, sniffing. “I know that scent, and it’s not supposed to be here,” she said. Sand sniffed as well. “Acetone. Not supposed to be any acetone around here.” Blaise pointed upwind. “Breeze from that way since got here we did. Check we should. Rip, with me you come. Sand, too.” “Good idea,” Wave confirmed. “Venus, you stay with me. Let’s get to the van. I have some ‘tools’ in there we can use if my suspicions are right.” “Need a hand up, Wave?” Venus asked. “No, thank you. I need the practice,” Wave said as he slowly got up. “Stay close, though.” Blaise led Sand and Rip to the woods at the edge of the beach, the scent of acetone getting stronger, with other chemical odors mixed in. “Meth lab. I’ve run into the remains of some before, as a city building inspector,” Sand said as they went into the woods, Blaise picking the way through the undergrowth without much trouble. “Ja. Little else could be,” Blaise said quietly as they neared a clearing, seeing a van, a tent and two people through the thicket surrounding the clearing. The three took up positions behind trees or bushes, staying out of sight, listening. “How much longer does this stuff have to cook for?” they heard a young-sounding voice ask. “About two hours more, then we can bury the final product, beat feet out of here, and let the next link know it’s ready for pickup,” another voice said, a woman’s voice, but not much older than the first voice. “I don’t like being out here like this,” the first voice said. “What if someone comes by?” “This is Rarity Belle’s private retreat, Win. Without the pass I was given, we could not have got in to get here. Good thing Iridium Nib is a skilled forger,” they heard. “Nobody’s scheduled to be here.” “If you say so, sis.” With gestures, Blaise indicated they were to pull back quietly, returning to the beach. There, the three gave a report to Wave and Venus. Wave thought for a moment, putting his personal protection, a high-power automatic, back in its case. “We’re going in to take them out, but we’re going to have some backup first,” he said. “Venus, can you enter a mirror any way other than walking in to a full-length one?” he asked Venus. “So long as I can fit into it, I can get in. Why do you ask?” Venus asked in reply. “I want you to find Twilight Sparkle or Miss Rarity and let them know what’s going on here, then come back here. Once the word is out, we’ll close in and restrain them until the police arrive.” “You have a big enough mirror?” Venus asked. “We do. There’s one in the roof of the van, about two feet on a side. We keep it covered by the ceiling liner. Big Brother has had a van for years and used to use it as a make-out pad,” Sand said dryly as Wave flushed bright to Rip’s not-so-subdued laughter. “When the old one got shot up, he had this one modified the same way.” “Yes, well, can you do that, Venus?” Wave managed to say after a few seconds of trying. Venus turned on her wrist lights. “Just give me a boost in, and keep it uncovered until I get back, okay?” Sand showed Rip how to undo the fasteners, and soon the mirror was revealed. Rip boosted Venus through, and she was off, returning ten minutes later, Rip catching her as she ‘fell’ through the mirror on the way out. “The word has been passed. Police will be here within twenty minutes,” she reported. “Good. Rip, Sand, Blaise, make sure those two don’t go anywhere, okay? One of you do some recording, in case we need it later,” Wave directed. “Wave, one thing,” Blaise said, tapping the left side of his face. Wave winced. “Right. Anyone have anything we can use to hide his face?” Wave asked. “I do,” Rip volunteered. He got out the white zinc sunscreen tube and started applying it to Blaise’s face, covering gray skin and scars with the thick paste, both left side and right. “Good thing you keep your hair short, Blaise,” he commented. “Ja. Right it is to keep it that way,” Blaise replied. Soon, the scars were hidden under the sunblock. Venus could not repress a giggle. “I didn’t know you could put on makeup, Rip.” “Drama classes way back when. I’m not the best, but I don’t make a botch of it, either,” Rip said as he finished the job. “There you go, Gray Man. Or is that not-so-gray man?” “Job done, let us do. Flatten tires, I can.” The three went back to the clearing, to find the campsite still there, the scent of chemicals heavy in the air. Blaise directed Rip and Sand to make their way back to the road and walk in from that way, he would handle the tires and head back to the beach. Once the two were out of sight, Blaise summoned his crossbow, set it for penetrator shots, and fired two bolts, guiding them in to each of the rear tires. Slowly, the van settled as the tires lost air. Satisfied that the van would be helpless until both tires were replaced, he made quiet tracks to the beach. Rip and Sand had made it to the access road and had just started walking down the dirt path to the clearing when they were passed by three police cars and a hazmat van. A trailing police car stopped them for questioning. After showing their pass to be here that day, they explained that they had smelled chemicals, called in to Rare Innovations to report it, then built up the nerve to check it out. By the time the questioning was done, the two people at the clearing had been placed in the back of one of the cars, and the hazmat team was busily cleaning up the cookery. Rip and Sand were released to go back to their party, with the policeman, so he could collect the stories of the others in their group, which was done. Their stories all checking out, the police took contact data from all of them and said they could leave. Wave and Venus were not idle while everyone was gone. They had cleaned up camp and had everything packed up and put away before Rip and Sand returned with the police, so after the questioning, they decided they should head back to town. Venus also had put the cover back up over the mirror in the van. They were about halfway back when the phone rang. The phone in the van. Wave pushed the button. “How did you get this number? This is an unlisted car!” he snapped. “You gave it to me, remember?” Twilight Sparkle said drily over the phone. “Oh, hello, Doctor Sparkle,” Wave said, glad his boss could not see his blush. “What you need?” “Just wanted to let you know that I’ll have a full report available tomorrow about what went on today, and Rarity sends her thanks for you finding the lab and cooks. The party is still on for next week. Oh, and the designs for your Combat Cogs bot have passed muster with them, and you are cleared for next season’s taping. You going to want a pit crew?” Twilight asked. “I think I have one already, but if you want to join, I’m sure I can find a spot for you. Think we can get a sponsorship?” “Already arranged. Full details when you get in tomorrow. Good job, everyone!” Twilight said before hanging up. “Combat Cogs?” Venus asked as Sand playfully slapped her brother on the leg. “It’s a show that airs once a year, where teams build robots to fight each other in an arena to win the Golden Screw. Wave’s been wanting to submit an entry ever since he graduated with his doctorate,” Sand explained. “Now he has his chance to play with the big boys.” “What sort of design are you thinking about, Wave?” Rip asked. “A big, heavy vertical spinner, to knock opponents up and out of the arena,” Wave said as he drove along the road to Equestrian City. “Gyro force stabilization, have you thought of?” Blaise asked. “Above a certain size, they do get extreme. I just hope I can get the spinner large enough to do damage without upsetting the bot,” Wave admitted. “Design I should see. Idea may I have, compensate for forces made,” Blaise stated. “If you have some time after we get to my place, I’ll show you my tentative plans and I can get your opinions. Sound good?” Wave asked. “Ja, good it sound.” Blaise didn’t leave Wave’s house until almost ten that night, the two of them swapping ideas. Rip and Venus begged off, saying that Venus had to get back to school early. That did not fool anyone, it being obvious to the rest that they wanted some time alone with each other. They were all glad Rip had found a special someone, and Venus seemed to be the one. “Good it be Rip someone find. Better he has been since she into his life did come,” Blaise observed. The next day, Twilight filled in Wave, Blaise and Rip about the police reports, with Rarity sitting in as well. The cook and her assistant are a struggling single girl and her little brother, cooking the stuff as a way to make ends meet. Rarity said that she asked for parole for the two, taking them under her wing and moving them out of Equestrian City to a city on the far side of the Confederacy, Golden Gate in the Western Territories, in exchange for information on who they were doing the cooking for and a promise to stay away from such matters. “Just where did they get the forged pass to be there?” Wave asked. “I have some people working on that now, Doctor Rider. When I have a good lead, I will let you know. Anything now is just speculation, and I refuse to do that. I want proof.” Rarity declared firmly before taking a deep drag off her smoke. “Position good one, Miss Rarity. Reason why working here has much honor is president of company has honor and generosity,” Blaine droned. “Proud I am be here to be.” “As I am to have all of you working for me.” The three men also brought their bosses up to speed on their ‘team-building’ activities, leading to approval from the two in charge. “If it helps you all work better together, I can’t say anything bad about it,” Twilight said after the report. “Hey, we all may be B-team caliber in this hero business, but even B-teams can be successful, if they put their minds to it and not go in over their heads,” Wave said. “Ja. Running away is good thing to be able to do. Pick our fights and be unnoticed. That way, more das Group can do to help big heroes like das Phoenix, Shadowstrike, Split Second und Matterhorn. Helping them is right thing to do,” Blaise commented. “Yes, it is,” Twilight replied. “Matterhorn appreciated your help that time, she told me.” “Good. Good it be to hear such words. Please to tell her would be honor to help again, und Phoenix too.” The beach party the next Sunday was an outstanding success, Pinkie Pie setting up a truly excellent beach party theme. The party was by invitation only, with Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Sunset, Applejack and some other allied heroes making at least a token appearance. Everyone, Rarity included, were pleasantly tired by the time the party broke off well after sundown. Rarity, in fact, avoided alcohol all day, which was easy because the only alcohol there was beer, and she preferred the harder stuff. “Twilight, darling, thank you for suggesting this day. We all needed it, myself included,” Rarity said to Twilight on the way back to the tower. “Maybe now you’ll listen to me when I say you need to step back some?” Twilight observed. “You need to take your own advice, Twilight!” Spike said over the car’s speaker system, setting the occupants to laughing. “You got me there, Spike!”