The door bursts open. The agents run in, their guns with lights searching all around for a sign of something or someone. The light shows a UKETT logo on one of the agent's sleeves and returns to look around.
"CLEAR UPSTAIRS!"
One agent runs down the stairs to join the others.
"No sign of her, sir".
The agent leading the search takes his helmet off. He's a gruff, old, looking man. Grey hair, rugged features and tortured eyes.
"The tip off must've been wrong. There's no way she'd have gotten away this quickly if she saw us".
They continue looking around the house. One of the other agents looks at the raid leader.
"Plenty of places in Bristol for her to go, Commander. Lots of green spaces".
"Shut up, Agent. You know full well that's not how she works!"
"All I know is she's just a fucking tree-hugger. Don't need to know anymore than that".
"You say that now, wait until you see how she defends herself".
As the Commander finishes that sentence, a noise can be heard coming from the kitchen. The agents ready their weapons and shine their lights into the kitchen. Nothing could prepare them for what they found. It was a young woman. Not the one they were looking for, but still, a young woman. She was in her early 20s, looked very pretty and was wearing very skimpy clothes. Short shorts, a shirt with a midriff, and her bra could easily be seen. She smiled at the soldiers with a gorgeous smile. It was almost hypnotic.
"I'm sorry...did I scare you?"
The Commander looks confused.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?"
"I'm Sally. Why are you here?"
Some of the agents started to find themselves becoming very attracted to Sally. Including the Commander.
"I...ummm..."
He cleared his throat.
"We're looking for someone who lives her...you wouldn't happen to know where to find her...would you?"
Sally walks very slowly and seductively to the Commander. She ran her fingers up the Commander's uniform
"Would this woman happen to have a name...by any chance?"
The Commander smiled. He liked the attention.
"Her name is Natasha...Natasha Gregory..."
Sally looks surprised.
"No...way! I'm looking for her too!"
"Would you know where to find her?"
The Commander smiles.
"I was...ummm...hoping you might know?"
Sally chuckles and pulls the Commander closer. The other agents look almost jealous.
"If I did I would tell you. But...help me out and I'll make it...worth your while..."
"Oh...?"
Sally stands on her tiptoes and whispers something into his ear. He smiles at what she tells him. The Commander looks happy but confused.
"Is that even legal?"
Sally bites her lip.
"Help me and you'll find out..."
The Commander nods.
"Whatever you need, I'll give it to you..."
Sally smiles and thinks.
"I'm so glad you said that..."
She pulls him in and kisses him. The Agents looks really agitated now. When Sally breaks the kiss, she smiles and looks at the Commander before whispering.
"Your friends are very jealous of you right now..."
"Let them..."
Sally pouts in sadness.
"But they want me too. You're not going to let them have me are you?"
The Commander looks very angry.
"No..."
Sally suddenly looks worried.
"As long as they're here, they're a threat to us! You need to get rid of them!"
The Commander nods, gets out his knife and starts to attack his own agents. Given he's the most experiences agent, they're all easy pickings for him. Sally evily smiles as she watches the Commander kills his own unit. After they're all dead, the Commander breathes heavily, victorious. Sally walks up to him and puts her hand down his trousers.
"Thank you...I was so worried..."
"No need to be worried now, baby...you're safe with me!"
Sally leans in and cuddles him.
"Do you have a car?"
The Commander nods.
"I'll be there in a minute. Get ready to go!"
The Commander walks out of the door and closes it for a moment, doing as he's told. Sally's left in the hallway with all the bodies. She chuckles to herself.
"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be..."
She looks at all the bodies and licks her lips.
"Mmmm...buffet..."
****
"Elemental was the result of an accident while his mum was pregnant. Speedfreak is an alien from another world. Visionarie, well no one really knows how she got her powers. Karma got his powers from the goddess of Karma. And where did I get mine? FROM A FUCKING TREE! I'm, like, the lamest superhero ever".
"To be fair, Tash, you haven't really done anything heroic yet. Except save me from drowning".
"How is that cool!?"
"Your arm can turn into a vine at any moment. Considering that's the reason I'm still here, I'll continue to say that's awesome".
"Thanks Morrison. That means a lot".
Tash Gregory and Morrison Scott sit in a coffee shop drinking coffee and eating sandwiches. Tash looks depressed while Morrison just looks at her lovingly.
"I watch the news and see Speedfreak and Leviathan doing all these cool things and I'm practically a mini-forest.
Morrison spits out his coffee.
"For the love of God please reword that..."
"I heard rumours that there's this girl who rules the ocean. Can you imagine that? Actually commanding everything in the world's oceans!"
"What makes you think you're not awesome like them?"
"I can shoot vines out of my hands, my skin can turn to bark when I need it to and sometimes I can grow leaves that you can smoke!"
"How is that not cool? You've genuinely saved me hundreds of pounds on drugs!"
Tash sighs.
"I just see them all on the news and I think 'I could do that if I wasn't flammable'. Even my cousin's doing that stuff! She built her own mechanical suit and protects Cardiff as Reaper!"
Morrison thinks for a moment.
"Wait...you're related to Reaper!?"
"Yes!"
"Woah...just saying, your cousin is fucking badass!"
Tash sighs and slumps into her chair.
"Why can't I be as awesome as the Freaks?"
"Look, you're awesome in your own ways. You do the little things! I bet you're fun at parties!"
"I'm awful at parties!"
"I'll bet you're not!"
"At my little cousin's 3rd birthday, I literally became a wood-swing for her to swing on!"
"How is that not cool?"
"It was at a friend's house. It was a joint 3rd birthday party!"
"Ah..."
"Why do you think I left Trillingham!?"
"I assumed it was because of...other issues..."
Tash sighs again.
"Let's not discuss mother, shall we?"
"Look, just eat your cheese sandwich and just accept that you're awesome in your own way. You don't need a fancy costume or a stupid moniker to be awesome. You're MY hero. Isn't that enough?"
Tash sighs.
"What would I do without you?"
"You'd probably find some other annoying guy to be with".
Tash dug into her cheese sandwich.
"Mmmm. My favourite".
"That's why I bought it for you!"
Morrison's phone goes off. He picks it up and looks at it.
"BBC News. Shit! A UKETT party have been found dead at a house in Bristol..."
"Shit! Where?"
Morrison reads on for a moment. His face eventually drops.
"It's...ummm...it's our house..."
Tash takes the phone and reads the article.
"What were UKETT doing at our house!?"
"No idea!"
Tash thinks.
"They must've been after me..."
"You can't assume that, Tash. You haven't done anything to raise suspicion while we've been there!"
"UKETT became aware of me a while ago, They've been tracking me down ever since. They evidently got too close to finding me..."
She gets up.
"I need some fresh air...I'll be back in a moment..."
Tash runs outside for a moment and breathes in the fresh air. She tries to calm down as the worries within her start to swell. Suddenly, she starts to get a terrible headache.
"Natasha...can you hear me?"
Tash falls to the floor and holds her head.
"Natasha Gregory, can you hear me? This is important..."
"Who are you!?"
"My name is Erin Connors. What I am is much more difficult to explain. All that you need to know is that I've been watching over you and protecting you for a long time. And now I believe it's time we met. Go down to Bristol Harbourside tonight at Midnight. Alone. No one can see us if we can avoid it. Trouble is afoot for you and you need to be ready. See you tonight. Remember, come alone!"
The headache stops. Tash regains her senses and stands up. She looks around and sees that no one else is around her.
"What the hell just happened to me!?"
Morrison runs out and goes over to her.
"Are you ok!? You looked like you collapsed!"
"No...No I'm fine..."
****
It was midnight on Bristol Harbourside. Tash walked up to the water and looked around. She kept checking her watch.
"Midnight..."
She waits for a few moments.
"You came alone..."
Tash turns around with a start and sees Erin Connors. She's in normal clothing but she still commands the respect of Tash.
"You asked me to..."
"I didn't think you would. I thought you might've brought Morrison with you".
"He's back at the hotel. Who are you?"
"My name is Erin Connors, Queen of the Sea".
Tash thinks for a moment.
"Queen? Of the..."
Erin nods.
"That is SO weird. I was literally talking about you earlier on..."
Erin smiles.
"I heard you. It seems that the activities of my Kingdom are becoming known to the surface. Something I shall soon have to remedy!"
Tash shakes her head as if she's dreaming.
"Why have you contacted me? And what was with the head thing earlier?"
Erin's face turns to one of guilt.
"Yes...I apologise for that. Our psychic tech is still in its infancy. There'll be no lasting damage but apologies for the pain it caused".
"You said you'd been watching over me and protecting me? What did you mean?"
"Since I took the throne of the sea from my father, I've been watching over you. Making sure you're ok and shielding you from harm's way".
"Why? And what makes me so special to you?"
Erin thinks for a moment.
"I'm just an ordinary 21 year old girl trying to get through her degree and make something of herself!"
"And can also mimic the behaviour of trees and other fauna?"
Tash looks taken aback.
"...So you know about that?"
"Of course I know about it. Most of the Freaks do!"
"The Freaks? You mean, like, Speedfreak and stuff?"
"Yes. He thinks you're a bit strange but he thinks your abilities are, to quote him, 'pretty damn nifty'".
Tash goes slightly red.
"You're not aware of who you really are...are you?"
Tash looks at Erin confused.
"Who I really am? What do you mean?"
Erin walks around to stand next to Tash.
"I'm a Greek Goddess. I'm the illegitimate child of Poseidon and Athena. I have the powers of my father and the beauty of my mother".
"You certainly are gorgeous..."
"But that doesn't mean I'm the only being from Ancient times who walks the Earth..."
Tash looks confused.
"Many years ago, there was a war between the Freaks of Earth and the Gods of Olympus. My family. It was a war that encompassed countries..."
"I remember. My sister died during the Battle of Newtown".
"Many of the Ancients and their descendents died. Except for a handful of each form. Except for one group, of which only one survived".
"Which group?"
"The Nymphs".
Tash nods.
"And where are they? The last Nymph?"
Erin gives Tash a look. A very quizzical look. Tash picks up on this.
"Well?"
"You haven't realised..."
"Realised what?"
Erin turns to face her.
"You asked where the last Nymph is. I'm looking at her..."
There's a pause. Tash's face contorts before chuckling.
"Me? You think I'M the last Nymph?"
"I don't think. I know".
Tash chuckles.
"I'm sorry, I really am, but you've got the wrong girl!"
"I really don't, Natasha Gregory. You're her. The last Nymph!"
"No. I'm just a woman!"
"I heard you today. You were wishing you were one of the Freaks. Well, you are. Not only that, you're a creature from Ancient Greek mythology!"
"No, I'm not! I'm just a woman! Trying to make sense of her life!"
"And abilities!"
"I did some research on Nymphs for a school project once. Nymphs cannot project vines out of their arms!"
"That's because the Humans got it wrong! They got the mythology so very wrong. Like Chinese whispers. It's actually kind of ridiculous!"
Tash can't compute what she's being told.
"The Nymphs were born into a particular element or terrain. They then harnessed the powers of said element or terrain. There were Water Nymphs, Storm Nymphs, Celestial Nymphs and even Underworld Nymphs! But most of them died in the war. You're the last Wood Nymph!"
"I CAN'T BE!"
"You are. And you have a responsibility to those who are left! Because it wasn't just the good Ancients who were killed off. Some of the bad ones were left too!"
Tash holds her head.
"Those men who died in your house last night? They were looking for you. But they came across something a lot worse. They came across something called an Empusa. The last surviving Empusa too. The Empusa are a horrible race who seduce people to do their bidding and drink the blood of their victims. This is why I felt it was time we met".
"Why? Because there's a Greek monster running around Bristol?"
"Because she's after you..."
"Me? Why me!?"
"Because you're the last of your kind. Contrary to the stories, the Nymphs and the Empusas did not get on. They hated each other. The Nymphs would protect the travellers that the Empusas would try to seduce. Or the Nymphs would seduce the Empusa's targets first, protecting them from the Empusa's magic. With you dead, the Empusa could seduce and consume anyone she wants without resistance. And that would be not be a good thing to let happen".
"Why?"
"Because Empusas are not easily stopped or killed. Only Nymphs and Olympians can kill them. But now that I'm the only Olympian left on Earth, I'm not sure I'm able to. I need your assistance, Tash. I need you to help me stop the Empusa".
Tash still can't compute everything that's happening. She starts to run away.
"Think about it! I'll be there when you call me when you decide!"
Tash continues to run as Erin disappears. She runs back to the hotel and catches her breath. Her head is swirling with information. Her head starts to hurt again as she goes back to the hotel room. She doesn't join a sleeping Morrison in bed, she sits on the chair in the corner and tries to make sense of Erin's revelations...
