Ta-da! (is alive after all)

Long story short, I have been in a very draining place mentally, emotionally and physically in the last year or so. It wasn't a bad situation or dangerous or anything like that, but I just hadn't realised how much energy I was expending until I left. Writing costs me energy of all three sorts, and so that was the first thing to be dropped to summon the energy to deal with real life.

It'll still take me a while to be completely recharged, but anyway, I'm back now. Also, this is my traditional birthday present chapter for all of you lovely people who have been waiting so long for it! Happy birthday to me and all that. At this point I'm not even going to tell you how old I am, the answer is 'probably older than you'. However, I'm never too old for Beyblade, it seems.

Fun fact: I called my (plumber/decorator) dad during my lunch hour to ask how much faster plaster could dry if super-powers were involved. He helped me work it out, then remarked that plaster dried too quickly will crack and ruin the paintwork. Hence the inclusion of that in the previous chapter, because my dad didn't even question why I wanted to know. He then told me how to wash bees that have fallen into paint pots. I couldn't fit that into the chapter, but trust me, I tried.

Chapter 8 - Ghosts

(In which the aches and pains of reality cut through the fame and wonder)

The next day, only Tsubasa, Hikaru, King, Kyouya and Kenta made it to school. Yuki was still sleeping, Dynamis was ill with a terrible migraine, Gingka was in hospital using the excuse that he had tripped over a kerb and hit a concrete bollard, and Tithi had been so distressed by the events of the previous night that Ryo had taken the decision to keep him off school so that he could recover somewhat.

"At least you did find something more about these strange super-... er, well, they're not heroes... um, super-people?" Ryo pointed out when Kenta brought up the topic over breakfast. "And you've found another Legend."

"Are we actually going to call ourselves that now?" King had said around a mouthful of toast. "Cool."

"It's better than the alternatives," Ryo had told him. "Now, all of you, you must be careful at school. You saw the news – the fire isn't out, and there's pictures of the remains of Sentry's shield wall everywhere. Thank goodness no-one was there to see the actual shield itself. We'll try to get it put about that there was a gas canister that blew the walls out, but I can't promise anything. The damage to the districts was extensive enough, and there's a good chance that the fire – and by extension you – will be the main topics of conversation today. Dynamis won't be there to keep an eye on you and Gingka won't be there either to distract people, so you must watch what you say."

"We'll be careful," Tsubasa had promised.

And now it seemed that promise was about to be tested. For one thing, the absence of so many members of the usual lunch-time group brought immediate, uncomfortable questions that no-one could wriggle out of without several strange glances at the others. It got even worse when Masamune managed to get Kenta to admit that Gingka was not just 'at home with a bad cold' like the others, but actually in hospital.

"He'll be better soon, won't he?" he asked worriedly as he sat next to King. "He's coming back to school?"

"Of course he is," Tsubasa said. "I know it sounds bad, hitting a concrete bollard like that, but it wasn't actually a huge amount of damage. He should be discharged late this evening."

He was lying, and in more ways than one – Gingka's heart, lungs, liver, spleen and stomach had been crushed by his ribs in the collision with the super-strong man's fist. Without the miraculous powers that Yuki wielded, he would have died on the pavement within two minutes. By the time that Gingka had arrived at the hospital, though, it had been reduced to cracked ribs and mostly-repaired internal organs. It would take time to heal, but he wouldn't die. But he also wouldn't be out of hospital that evening unless Yuki helped him again.

"And it was just bad luck that it happened just as Dynamis and Yuki caught that cold," Kenta added, trying to cement a logical alibi together (as long as Madoka bought it, they were safe). "And Tithi looked kinda bad this morning so Ryo kept him home just in case."

Yuu hunched his shoulders up. "I don't want Tithi to be ill," he muttered. "It's not fair, he's only just got here and he's missed loads of the year anyway, he'll be too far behind if he misses more and then he won't be in my classes next year."

Tsubasa put an elbow on his young friend's head, gently pressing down until Yuu looked up at him. "He'll be alright, Yuu. And besides, you're a genius, aren't you? You can help him." Yuu's answering grin was a little wobbly, but otherwise back to his usual self.

Madoka sighed. "They all looked fine yesterday," she said sadly, then perked up. "Should we come round to visit? I can make cake!"

Tsubasa winced at the strength of the temptation. Madoka's cake-baking skill was legendary. But he couldn't reveal the Tower or its purpose – and even if he could, he couldn't explain it.

"They'll be back tomorrow, I'm sure," Hikaru said firmly, as though trying to bring the conversation to a halt. Madoka didn't look convinced.

"As long as the rest of you don't catch it," she said. "I know! How about all of you come over to my house tonight? That way Gingka and the others can get a peaceful night's rest -" at this point she glared at King, who looked startled at her sudden animosity "- and you guys have less chance of catching their cold, you following me?"

"You mean sleep over?" Hikaru asked. "I'm not sure... I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

Tsubasa could see Hikaru thinking fast. Because we need to be on call-out all night in case superheroes are needed in the city, because the fire isn't out, because there are at least two super-villains in the city, probably more, and we have no idea what they are up to – none of those were good answers. "Because your house won't be big enough," he said at the same time as Hikaru blurted out "Because Gingka and Yuki would be really upset to miss it!"

There was a moment's stunned silence. Kenta glanced from face to face, wondering what the next move could be. He was tempted to glare at Tsubasa and Hikaru for complicating the situation, but that would have been even more suspicious. Judging by the faint flush on Madoka's face, she had also been surprised. "I guess you're right," she said at last, and those with a secret to hide breathed inner sighs of relief. "It wouldn't really be a proper sleepover without everyone there. We'll just have to have one when everyone is back to full health. It'd probably be better anyway – the shop's in a complete mess."

Tsubasa, Kenta and King exchanged worried glances. They had forgotten that Madoka's family shop and even her house was in the burning districts. "Your shop got hit by the fire?" Kenta asked, forcing all evidence of a squeak out of his voice.

Thankfully, Madoka shook her head. "No, nothing like that. We were lucky – the fire started away from us and the wind blew it in the opposite direction, mostly. But Dad's helping the shopkeepers who lost everything. A couple of blocks away from us, it looks like a bomb hit or something. Two shop-fronts completely blown out, on opposite sides of the road. I've never seen anything like it – all the bricks from the fronts were just strewn all across the road, all blackened down one side, and the shops themselves looked like they just collapsed on themselves. Everything in them was burnt to ashes. Thank goodness no-one sleeps over their shops in that area."

Three sets of eyes widened fractionally at the news. This was treading the borderline of safe territory, and the subject was sure to swing against them all too soon.

"There must be some super-villains gathering," Masamune said. "I bet they did it."

"What?" Tsubasa spluttered in alarm. "Where did you get that idea from?"

"And why?" Madoka added. "Why would anyone deliberately burn down an entire district?"

Masamune looked very exasperated with his friends. "Because they're super-villains," he explained patiently. "That's what the bad guys do." Then he grinned. "We don't need to worry, though! The Legends will find them soon and then we'll get to see a real live super battle right here in town! That'll be awesome!"

Somehow, he missed all of his friends rolling their eyes at him. Or maybe he just ignored them.

"Anyway," Tsubasa interrupted before the conversation could get carried away again. "King, have you got the homework for Gingka and the others?"

.

"Is it always going to be like that?" King asked tiredly as the little group made their way back to the Tower that evening. "People asking all the wrong questions and stuff?"

Tsubasa nodded. "Probably. We're going to have to work on our alibis. A freak cold will work once, but if there are more injuries in the future that Yuki can't deal with quickly, we're going to need to be much more convincing. Your Significants are the closest people to you, they'll start seeing patterns very quickly if we're not very, very careful."

"You've got a perfectly good alibi," Kyouya muttered. "You and Hikaru stay in the Tower all night anyway."

"Someone has to make sure that everything is still in one piece when you get back," Hikaru pointed out. "You don't know what Ryo's like when you leave. And Tsubasa goes out to find new people, and all sorts of other stuff, don't you Tsubasa?" Tsubasa just looked thoughtful.

"How many have you found now?" King asked.

"Not all of them were real," Tsubasa explained. "Some of them were just local legends and celebrities, nothing more."

"Yes, but wasn't there a finite number of Star fragments? Ten, I thought you said the day I arrived. So how many super-powers have you found?"

Quite how Tsubasa managed to stand on King's foot without breaking stride, no-one would ever find out. "Shh," the older boy hissed. "Not here. Remember who you met last night? Who knows where he might have gone? He could be right behind us."

King immediately turned around, and Kyouya covered his face with the palm of one hand. Honestly. Why did he have to live with such a bunch of idiots?

"How much homework have you got?" Hikaru asked as the group traipsed up the steps of the Tower, changing the subject very deliberately. "After last night, Ryo probably won't want us leaving without a very good reason, so you might have a chance to catch up with some subjects."

Kenta sighed. "Eat, sleep, go to school, do my homework, save the world," he muttered. "Spot the odd one out."

"Oh come on," King laughed. "That one's the fun one!"

"Only if you're not getting hit by flying chunks of buildings or getting dragged into whirlwinds," Kenta shot back.

"You two," Tsubasa warned as he opened the door. "Stop it. We've got other – Dynamis! What on earth are you doing out of bed?"

"Staying away from Tithi," Dynamis admitted from where he sat slumped on the stairs to the upper floors, head in his hands. "Please don't talk so loudly."

The very fact that Dynamis was using his own voice and not the telepathic voice of Sentry set off alarm bells instantly. "What's wrong with Tithi?" Kenta asked worriedly.

Dynamis sighed. "He's having nightmares," he explained without looking up. "With my powers like they are, I can't even hope to shield myself right now, so I'm getting all of it. It's a bit difficult to sleep when you've got a panicking ten-year-old in the room next door."

Tsubasa winced. "I'll get Tithi," he offered. "You go up to my room – it's on the third floor, you'll be further away from us."

"Tsubasa's right," Hikaru chimed in. "You really need some sleep, you look awful."

But Dynamis shook his head. "I'm not sure it would be far enough away if I was on the roof," he muttered. "My control's completely shot, I'm just picking up everything. I can't block anything at all." He glanced up at Tsubasa. "Including how worried you are."

Tsubasa's mouth twitched, but that was all the reaction Dynamis' statement got out of him. "I'll get Tithi anyway," he shrugged. "Yuu gave me his homework, so I might as well distract him." He edged past the quiet telepath and disappeared upstairs, just as the main doors slid open again.

"Hello!" Ryo exclaimed as he walked in. "I wasn't expecting you all to be home so early!"

"Hi, Mr Ryo," Kenta answered, frowning slightly. "I thought you were going to be here in the Tower all day with Tithi and Yuki and Dynamis."

"He went to visit Gingka," Dynamis said tiredly. "But he's worried. Gingka's not well enough to leave hospital tonight."

Ryo, who had just opened his mouth when Dynamis spoke, nodded tensely. "The doctors want to keep him for at least one more night to check for internal bleeding. I'm sorry, you're going to have to patrol without him tonight."

They stared at him in shock. "Patrol?" King spluttered. "But... how?" He gestured behind him. "Dynamis can't control his powers, Tithi's having a breakdown, Yuki's exhausted, Gingka's in hospital... there's just me, Kyouya and Kenta left! We can't patrol with only three!"

"We have no choice," Ryo said grimly. "The fire isn't out, and who knows where Felix and his friend may be? And who knows what other mischief might be happening because of the distraction the fire has caused? No, you have to be out there. Yuki, if he can manage it."

Kenta caught a glimpse of the glare that suddenly sprang up between Kyouya and King and sighed inwardly. He could already tell that he was going to have a long, long night ahead of him.

.

At dinner, the small group was finally joined by Yuki and a very pale Dynamis, who looked even worse than he had earlier. However, he utterly refused any help from Yuki, possibly because the healer was also still exhausted from the previous night's exertions – and besides, even when Yuki did fullyrecover, Gingka would need the healing far more than Dynamis. More than that, with Ryo's insistence that they continue patrols, Quicksilver's shields would be needed to protect them now that Sentry was out of commission.

About halfway through the meal, Tithi and Tsubasa reappeared. Tithi immediately tried to hug and apologise to a wild-eyed Dynamis, who hurriedly shook his head and glanced helplessly at Tsubasa until the other young man gently pulled Tithi away from the shattered telepath. Tithi seemed a little jumpier than usual, and refused to sit next to Kyouya, despite the fact that the green-haired young man was clearly ignoring him.

"So what do we know of our opponents?" Ryo asked as the group settled again. "There's Felix, the invisible boy, and the one who hurt Gingka... How many are we up to now?"

Kenta counted on his fingers. "There were ten Star fragments... so Gingka, Kyouya, Tithi, Yuki, Dynamis, King, Felix, Invisible and Brute... that's nine."

Ryo nodded grimly. "I thought as much," he said. "There's only one left. We have to find them first, no matter what. Seeing what a two-on-seven battle was like, we can't risk the odds getting any worse."

"We were surprised last night," Yuki pointed out. "If we'd known that – what did you call him, Kenta? Brute? - was that strong, we wouldn't have tried to take him out directly. The fire didn't help either."

"Aren't you the tenth one, Mr Phoenix?" Tithi asked shyly, but the older man shook his head.

"No, Tithi. I was with Gingka when he got his powers, and mine come from the same Star Fragment."

But this didn't seem to encourage anyone. "Then there could be more than ten," Kyouya said grimly. "And we won't know which are the ones the Star chose and which are the ones that just got lucky until we fight them all."

"That's Tsubasa's job," Ryo replied firmly. "He's responsible for finding and tracking new powers that appear, and deciding if their wielder is a true Legend – in which case he brings them back here if he can, as he did with King and Yuki – or whether they are just part of the fall-out."

"Sounds tricky," King commented. "I guess that could be Tsubasa's superpower, working out who else has powers!"

Tsubasa rolled his eyes. "I don't have superpowers, King. All I am doing is observing people, or reading energy spikes from the satellites our sponsor has links to around the planet. There is nothing superhuman about any of that."

"Superhuman patience to deal with all of us?" Kenta grinned, and Tsubasa actually let out a short bark of laughter.

Ryo held up a hand for quiet. "King, Kyouya, Kenta, Yuki, are you happy to go patrolling in the east quadrant tonight? I've heard some rumours in the last couple of hours that the fire is dying down at last, and we haven't checked that side of town in some time."

Yuki looked very apprehensive, but nodded. King shrugged, not looking at Kyouya. "Guess not," he said. "As there's less of us, should we stay out longer to cover everywhere, or come home at the usual time?"

"Fewer of us," Dynamis muttered irritably. Ryo looked thoughtful for a second.

"No, come home at your usual time," he decided. "If you stay out later, you'll get exhausted too quickly. It's only Wednesday."

Kyouya put his fork down and stood up. "I'm going now, then."

"No," Tsubasa, Hikaru and Ryo said in unison. "You must stay with the others tonight," Ryo continued as Kyouya looked mutinous. "Your control of your powers for anything smaller than a full-blown tornado is still tenuous, and Dynamis won't be there to help you tonight. Same for you, King. You must be much more careful than usual. You go together or not at all."

Kyouya glared, but something in Ryo's steely expression seemed to persuade him that pushing the issue was not the way to go tonight. "I'm not a babysitter," he snarled as he sat down again. "But fine. Just this once. But you three had better not fall behind, I'm not waiting for you."

It was the best they were going to get. "Go on," Ryo advised them. "Be careful, all of you. I want you back in one piece. And if you meet Brute, no matter what, do not engage him."

"Got it, boss," King said, almost happily.

"That's the Immortal Phoenix to you!"

.

The roof was calm and quiet, at least to Tsubasa's ears. Over to the west, a heavy, pale cloud hung over the place where the fire had been, smoke lit by the floodlights of the fire department as they worked through the night to completely douse the cinders. Somewhere to the east, Lion, King, Arrow and Quicksilver were hopefully patrolling, rather than fighting. Tsubasa wished he could be out there to help them, but without powers he could only ever get in their way. All he could to to help them was do the groundwork to find the remaining Legends – and sometimes just be there to talk to.

"As it's nearly one in the morning and you haven't come down yet, I'm guessing you're planning to sleep out here?" he asked Dynamis, who was leaning against the wall of the stairwell, eyes closed.

It's quiet. Most people are asleep now, so there's not so much to hear.

Tsubasa felt his shoulders sag in relief as Sentry's voice cut through his mind. Dynamis had some control back, at least.

A little. I still can't block anything, but it doesn't hurt to talk like this any more.

"Still good. You're getting better." Tsubasa held out the bundle in his arms. "Here. You could probably do with this."

Dynamis blinked at the proffered duvet and blankets. Oh. Thank you. I'm not cold, sorry...

"Take them anyway." Tsubasa dropped one of the blankets on the telepath's head and sat down next to him. "They're not doing much just sat on your bed. And if your body isn't trying so hard to keep you warm, you'll - "

- recover faster, yes. Thank you. You are very kind. Dynamis glanced sidelong at Tsubasa, a strange expression on his face, but said no more, even when Tsubasa stole one of the blankets back to make a cocoon for himself. Neither of them really noticed when they both fell asleep.

.

Much to the relief of their ordinary friends, Dynamis, Tithi and Yuki returned to school the following day, recovered from their 'cold'. It was pretty much the only good thing, though, because Gingka had now missed two days of school, and Masamune was starting to get seriously worried.

"It's not like him," he muttered as the little group settled down for lunch. "What if he doesn't get better? They kept saying Toby would be out by the end of the week and..." He stopped, not looking at anyone.

"Who's Toby?" Tithi asked curiously, but Masamune wouldn't answer, picking at his lunch.

"How's your shop doing?" Dynamis asked Madoka, changing the subject. "Tsubasa said you weren't in the path of the fire."

"We're okay," Madoka told him. "It'll take a really long time to tidy and repair everything, though. But the fire's only just out, we're really lucky. With the wind last night, if the flames had still been there it would have swept straight into our district."

"Told you the Legends would deal with it," Masamune said proudly, immediately cheering up at the mention of his favourite heroes. "See, Madoka, they aren't bad at all!"

But Madoka didn't look convinced. "They weren't even there yesterday," she said. "No-one saw them during the day or the night. It's like they just vanished the second that they were actually needed. The fire department worked without breaks for hours and hours to keep us safe, and the Legends didn't even turn up to help."

"Maybe they were somewhere else," King suggested, unconsciously crossing his arms across his chest tightly. "I mean, there's only seven of them, they can't be everywhere. Maybe once they saw that the fire department were dealing with it, they thought they could leave it to them safely. Only one of them controls fire anyway."

"I still don't like it," Madoka sighed. "We don't know enough about them. For all we know – and don't give me that 'but they're superheroes, of course they're good' thing, Masamune – they could have set the fire. They've got these weird powers that they say they're using to protect the city, but has anyone ever seen their faces? We don't even know all their powers, let alone their real names! I don't want to trust them with anything until I know more."

Both Masamune and King immediately protested. "Come on, we know their powers, Madoka!"

"Yeah – King's got fire, Pegasus can fly and go at super-speed, Arrow shoots things -"

"Is Arrow actually super-powered?"

King shrugged, trying very hard not to look at Kenta. "No idea. Um... Lion does stuff with the wind, Aztec can change the weather, Sentry's telekinetic and telepathic, Quicksilver has those cool shields and healing hands..."

King! Dynamis gasped.

Too late, far too late, King realised what he had said, and went pale. Of course, Sentry's telepathy was an invisible power, and no-one had ever seen Quicksilver using his healing powers. King, in his ordinary persona, had no business knowing those two powers. He laughed nervously. "At least, I think Sentry's the psychic," he tried. "Someone has to be, or else they're all wearing earpieces. And I think I read something about a robber who said he had a cracked rib or something and Quicksilver did something to fix it?"

"Yeah, I read that," Kenta piped up, and King almost slumped in relief. "I'll see if I can find the link again."

But Madoka looked thoughtful, and even those who could not see what was in her mind were suddenly reminded that Madoka was not known as one of the smartest and most logical people in their year for nothing.

.

There was a surprise waiting for them at the Tower that evening. Sadly, not a recovered and restored Gingka; it was a newcomer. Tsubasa, Kenta and Kyouya were the first to meet him, as they arrived home from school earliest on Thursdays.

"Boys," Ryo said carefully as the three halted in the main entrance at the sight of the stranger, "I'd like you to meet Chris."

The boy was about the same height as King or Gingka, and had wild, blonde hair that sprang away from his face to reveal clear, familiar, purple-blue eyes. Kyouya and Kenta knew him instantly.

"You!" Kenta exclaimed, and Chris startled, drawing back. "You're the invisible guy from that night!" He put his head on one side. "How did you find us?"

"That's a very good question." Kyouya was scowling at the newcomer even more than usual. "I thought the other guys wanted you."

"They asked me, but I didn't want to stay with them," Chris said, and his voice was surprisingly high and clear. "And I didn't find this place on my own, don't worry. Ryo picked me up."

"Our sponsor found him, it seems," Ryo explained. "He'd been tracking him for a while with Tsubasa's help, but it wasn't until this afternoon that there was a solid lock on his powers. Sent me off to the parks and there he was by the duck pond." At Kyouya's mutinous expression, Ryo frowned. "Don't be like that," he sighed. "Chris needs help and training as much as any of you do."

"Hi!" Kenta said, deciding to be the friendly one as usual. "I'm... er, I'm Arrow."

"You're younger than I thought you were," Chris said, not moving from his spot even when Kenta offered him his hand. "You look older when you've got a bow in your hands." He glanced at Kyouya. "Didn't think there were two people with green hair either." Kenta's hand flew self-consciously to his hair, but Chris had already looked away.

"I'm Eagle," Tsubasa offered. "I don't have any powers, I just help out where I can. And this is Lion - and King." He gestured to the other two as he named them, King having only just walked in through the door.

Chris just nodded. "Where are the others?"

"Oh, so three isn't enough for you?" Kyouya growled.

"That's enough, Lion," Ryo snapped. "Behave. Chris, the others are either still at school or resting from the fight the other night. It was quite a difficult night for everyone, and some haven't recovered yet." Yet again, Chris barely reacted. "Anyway, you should go and get settled in your room. I'll show you the way – we'll put you in the last room on the third floor, next to Tsubasa and Kyouya; it's the only one that's nearly finished."

As Ryo turned to lead Chris towards the stairs, Tsubasa's eyes suddenly sharpened.

How strange. For a second, he though he had seen the edge of the hall table through their newest team member.