Muskateer clearly was not pleased. Once again the computer terminal he worked at flashed the same message on its view screen:
Hard at work exploring the Avengers database, Muskateer was secretly attempting to find out as much information as he could regarding the surprising images he had seen in Black Diamond's office a few nights before. He had even volunteered to fill in for Lightburst, the Avengers' current prodigal son. Lightburst hadn't been seen for the past 3 days.
Not that Muskateer minded. He personally preferred not having to deal with the irritating Avenger. Only on rare occasions would someone actually volunteer to fill in for a full shift of monitor duty, or so he had been told. This was even the second time Muskateer had stepped in to take Lightburst's place. The look of surprise on Black Diamond's face alone was almost worth the effort. He was hoping, though, that no one would notice his ulterior motive.
Hiding it behind the premise of trying to learn all that he could about the Avengers' previous foes, Muskateer used the long hours to search the database. He concentrated on the explosion which resulted in the team's membership changes. Based on the pictures which he had seen, Firestar, or a reasonable facsimile of her, was present at the time the Mansion was destroyed.
It was an interesting and confusing conundrum. Firestar had claimed that she had never been to New York before, while they were sightseeing. Yet there she was in full color captured by the Mansions' security cameras. Unfortunately, those files were currently unaccessible by him.
"I sense a great deal of hostility in this room."
Muskateer turned at the unexpected voice behind him. He had been so engrossed in his project that he hadn't heard Nightingale approach.
"Huh? Oh, hi, 'Gale." She was still standing in the doorway, unsure of whether to enter. Nightingale and Muskateer had continued to keep a certain distance between them. Her mental powers had created an uncomfortable atmosphere, which kept them from much direct interaction. "You know, this system is not very kind to newbies. I could get better info out of one of those crummy Super Fan mags!"
Muskateer was actually more irritated with the lack of computer access currently than being put off by Nightingale's presence. After thinking about it for a moment, she decided that this could present an opportunity to improve personal relations between the two heroes. "The information it gives us is geared towards your security clearance," Nightingale said, while she eased into the room. "What are you trying to find out?"
"Well.... I've just been doin' some research on the Avengers' foes." Muskateer was relieved that he had a back-up story ready in case anyone questioned his extended computer use. Of all people, it had to be Nightingale who checked in on him first.
"I see... Sounds like a sensible thing to do," she responded and sat nonchalantly in the chair next to the sword-swinging hero.
"Figured I could be better prepared if I knew what they were capable of and who was out there," Muskateer answered. Muskateer knew that she could read a person's surface thoughts and didn't want to give himself away. Plus he didn't know if she would try and mind scan him or not. He was so engrossed in keeping his mind on his 'alibi', that he hadn't even noticed that they were actually starting a conversation. "But this hasn't been very helpful, so far."
"The problem is that you are still in your probationary period. Once your trial period is over, your clearance will increase," she explained. "The lowest clearance usually isn't very helpful."
"Tell me about it," Muskateer said disgustedly. "What sort of whacko designed this computer system anyway?" The Hunter's file access methods were somewhat eccentric.
"You'll get used to it, eventually. If there is something that you really need to see, I could bring it up for you." Muskateer had been currently doing a search on the villain Dark Seraph, who attacked the Enchantress just the day before. Muskateer had been instrumental in defeating the mystical villain.
"Really? What sort of info is there on the Dark Dodo anyway?"
"Your level of security clearance gives you the basic information."
"I figured that out already," Muskateer interrupted.
"The next level," 'Gale continued, "would get into his tactics and his exploits. After that increasingly detailed notes at various levels. Diamond has the highest clearance around here."
"Seems pretty silly to me that I can't even access files on villain's exploits," complained Muskateer.
"The Hunter always said the impracticality of the system is its main defense. Don't complain, there are files which I can't access either." Nightingale sympathized with the new Avenger's plight.
"I see. So you're telling me the government doesn't even trust me enough to let me find out about potential opponents' tactics? Or is it Avengers policy?"
"You've got two different things working here... Government files and our files. They are wholly separate, but intertwined. Your clearance applies mostly to the government portion of the database." Muskateer took interest in that revelation. There may be a way to access the same information through the Avengers' files. Until this point, he had been concentrating on the official files in the database.
"Like, I said, it's not a very practical system," Nightingale concluded. "I try to avoid using it myself."
Muskateer chuckled at that thought. "We might have to do something about that someday. Can you show me what this thing's got?"
"It depends on what you are looking for-- if it's more detail on Dark Seraph, then I can help you out."
"Go to it...", Muskateer said as he pushed his chair away from the computer console. Nightingale stepped in and ran her ID card through the magnetic reader. The system welcomed her access. She punched up the data on Dark Seraph and Muskateer saved the info in a personal file for himself. He also took the opportunity to lock in the info on Nightingale's access code and save it to the file header for later use.
"Is this what you were looking for?"
"I'm looking for as much info as I can get my hot little hands on. You never know when some small bit of trivia could prove essential in saving the world," Muskateer said. "But, yeah, I think I have some things here that can help me."
"Glad to be of service." Nightingale stood up and was about to leave when Muskateer interrupted her. "Hey, 'Gale? Looks like we just had our first real conversation, huh?" While Muskateer had thought that Nightingale had been watching him and didn't like him very much, she was actually keeping her distance because she could sense his uneasiness around her. That in turn made her somewhat uneasy around him.
"Looks that way. You were so engrossed in your work that you let your guard down and didn't even realize to whom you were talking," Nightingale responded.
Muskateer was surprised when she said 'let your guard down', and turned back at her with a start. Still somewhat nervous about his clandestine project and 'borrowing' 'Gale's access code, Muskateer tried to further push the current conversation.
"Yeah, well, I'm just full of surprises. I'm amazed that you were willing to get this close to me. You're not the only one who's been keeping their distance around me so far."
"Are you suggesting that people have been deliberately avoiding you?", she asked.
"Actually, yes. Everyone's fine in our work environment, but certain people have been somewhat cool towards me otherwise."
"Like whom?"
"Di. You." Muskateer thought about it for a moment. "Lightburst is just a horse's rear."
"It's not my place to speak for Black Diamond. Take it up with her if you have a problem." Nightingale hadn't been thrilled with the secret agenda that the government had entrusted her with. She had refused to probe as deeply as they had wanted. Instead she used her powers to see how the two newest Avengers had responded to certain questions. Unwittingly, the whole affair had resulted in the teammates' friction.
"I may just have to do that!", Muskateer responding, while standing and turning to face her. "I'd like to know why people are always so uptight around me."
"I hadn't noticed, but of course, everyone is uptight around me. Just ask them. They'll tell you how creepy I am," Nightingale said, somewhat sarcastically, while looking away. "Just how weird they find it to have their minds read."
"Tell me about it," Muskateer responded. "I know that I don't care for it very much."
"I appreciate your honesty," she answered, turning to face Muskateer.
After a moment's pause, Muskateer spoke again. "So, why were you watching me so closely anyway?", he asked. "It's not my sparkling personality, I know that..."
"Nothing special---" Nightingale regretted not giving a direct answer. Her mental examination had proven the government's suspicions of Muskateer's involvement with Iron Maiden were groundless. So in a sense, she was being truthful. "Just keeping an eye on the new kids. After all, you are quite the mystery man. Are you hiding something?"
"I hide lots of things, 'Gale."
"Everyone does." After a pause, Nightingale offered, "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot."
"Just my nature, I guess," Muskateer said, a little sheepishly. "I either make a great impression or a lousy one. My Ronald Reagan needs some work." Nightingale smiled at the joke.
"Better be careful. That was a lousy joke..." Muskateer couldn't hold back a smile of his own under his mask. He could hardly believe he actually was having a decent time, with Nightingale of all people. Maybe Firestar was right, maybe she wasn't so bad after all.
"It was fine-- my life hasn't been the best," Nightingale offered hesitantly. "There are times where I'll take any laughter I can get. "
"I can understand that. Maybe that's why I joke around so much... Takes the edge off, y'know?"
"I suppose-- I never really developed a sense of humor," Nightingale explained.
"So everyone thinks you're kinda creepy, huh?", Muskateer said after a pause. He was feeling a little guilty he had treated her the way he did. Apparently most people did the same. "Must be a bummer, when you think about it..."
"I make people nervous-- even worse I can feel it." Over the years Nightingale had come to understand other's negative feelings towards her. She hadn't learned to fully deal with it, however. "Few folks like anyone playing around with their gray matter. Which is understandable. It's not all that appealing to me either."
"I bet. Their feelings get stronger and easier for you to pick up," Muskateer concluded. "So why do you do it?"
"What choice do I have? It's either live like this or live in isolation-- which is almost normal for me."
"Now that would be a bummer, even if you had good cable service."
"Bummer isn't the word I'd use. I have little hope of ever living a normal life."
"Bet it's hard to make friends when everyone is so closed-mouthed.... and close-minded around you."
"It's not easy..." Nightingale quickly changed the subject. "And I also 'do this' to keep PSI from hurting others like they hurt me."
"PSI, huh?" Muskateer had heard briefly of the Paralogical Studies Institute. "You had some bad run-ins with them?"
"They trained me in my abilities," Nightingale explained.
"I thought they were basically villains?"
"Far more than that. They locate young psionics and train them."
"So, what were you doing being trained by THEM?", Muskateer asked incredulously.
"My parents thought they were a respectable school-- or PSI mind controlled them to do it. I don't know which. I needed help and they seemed like the best choice at the time. That was before they were revealed as villains," Nightingale answered. "Once I first got my powers, I had no control... every mind in range was open to me-- I had no way to shut them out. It was maddening.."
"Now that's creepy," Muskateer looked away for a moment, uncomfortably. "I don't think I ever want to know that much about anyone!"
"See what I mean?"
"Yeah, I guess so. But you can't blame me for acting squirrelly around you," he said, somewhat defensively. "Especially if everyone else pretty much does the same."
"No, I don't blame you-- or anyone else," Nightingale responded.
"I haven't felt the most comfortable around most anyone here, 'cept maybe Ben and 'Star."
"They both seem like easy-going people. That's understandable." Nightingale paused for a moment. "Linda's about the only one who is truly comfortable around me. It takes awhile for people to become comfortable with the idea that I'm reading their minds."
"Can't honestly say I am too comfortable with it right now," Muskateer offered. "I keep thinking I have to watch what I say,.... or think." Muskateer was finally starting to get over his paranoia around Nightingale. It didn't help with what he was currently involved in. He knew now that she wasn't out to get him, anyway. "But at least I think I can understand you a little bit better."
"I know." She looked a little sad when she said that.
"Maybe we did get off on the wrong foot," Muskateer said encouragingly.
"I'll let you get back to work."
"Well, I needed the break anyway." Muskateer looked down at the chronograph on the computer terminal. He was somewhat shocked to notice that his shift had actually ended while they had talked. "Good Lord! I hate to tell you this, 'Gale, but it's actually your turn to take over the seat." He pointed at the time to further prove his point.
"So it appears." She sat in the chair that Muskateer offered her in front of the monitor station.
Muskateer lingered for a moment. He considered leaving, before asking, "So you and Diamond know each other for a long time then?" Muskateer had been hoping to find out more information on his distant leader. Maybe Nightingale could fill in a few blanks for him there too.
"Yes-- about eight years. She's the one who got me away from PSI," she answered. "If it wasn't for her, I might be on the other side..."
"That would be a shame, now wouldn't it? Fightin' the Avengers instead of with them?"
"If my training had continued, I probably wouldn't have cared."
"Yer probably right there..." It made sense. Funny how things work out, Muskateer thought. "So, can you tell me why Diamond seems so uptight around me? What'd I do anyway?"
"Linda keeps a lot of things bottled up inside. She's been having a really tough time dealing with the deaths of the old team," offered Nightingale.
"She feels responsible?"
"I wouldn't be surprised. I had to force her to go on vacation... which was where we were when everything happened." Nightingale relived the painful memory in her mind again.
"Maybe she feels like she coulda done something, if you guys were here when it happened," Muskateer concluded. "And maybe there would've been five dead Avengers, instead of just three."
"I don't get into what-if scenarios myself. What happens, happens," Nightingale said, before pausing. "Then along you come making jokes left and right, like nothing ever happened."
"Sorry. This is a big deal for me. Playing the superhero game is fun. And now, I'm an Avenger! Not many can say that."
"I can understand your point of view."
"Really? You can understand my point of view?"
"Sure. I'm not inhuman or anything. I understand feelings. You made it to the big time, so to speak. Who wouldn't be happy? Or excited, or--"
"Yeah, I guess. It just seems like we must be coming at the world from two completely different directions."
"Linda just needs to have more fun in her life."
"You may have a point there, 'Gale."
"Trust me, I know a great deal about human nature."
"I bet. Firestar said you were a PhD or something?"
"Yes-- If there is one good thing, I learn things fast."
"That makes sense, if part of learning is the communication of the information, you must have an easy time there."
"Exactly. Provided I can focus enough on the instructor and block out the other students. I've done work with various clinics when I get burned out from being a hero."
"Right now, that's a hard concept to grasp: burned out as a hero. Guess I'm a little too new for that."
"Mentally burned out. Quite literally too." Muskateer chuckled at her comment. "One on one conversations like this are not bad... The more people around, the more minds there are, and the more my head hurts."
"Kind of like tuning in on just one signal? Not so much static..."
"Something like that."
"Well this is a surprise." The two turned at the new voice. Black Diamond stood in the doorway to the monitor room, looking somewhat perplexed at the scene before her. Muskateer and Nightingale were actually having a civil conversation and a long one it appeared.
Turning to Nightingale, Muskateer said, "Uh oh, her ears must've been burning."
"It's that sixth sense of hers," she replied. The Avengers' leader didn't seem to know what to make of this surprise.
"Hey, Fearless, how's it going?", Muskateer finally said to Black Diamond. "'Gale was just helping me with this computer."
"Really? Was there a problem with it?", Black Diamond asked.
"Well, from a certain point of view, you could say that," he replied.
"Oh?" Black Diamond still didn't know what was going on. She never seemed to know when Muskateer was joking or when he was serious. Often it was both at the same time. And now, somehow, Nightingale seemed to be in on it.
Sensing Black Diamond's obvious confusion, Nightingale finally answered. "The low security blues," she explained.
"Then we just sorta started chatting," Muskateer added. "Hard to believe my monitor session is over already!"
"Good for you. I really appreciate you filling in for 'Burst," Black Diamond offered.
"No problem. My time would be put to better use if I could get more info out of this computer, but it has been enlightening."
"Sorry, but that's team policy," she explained.
"Hurm."
"I didn't make the rules, I just follow them."
"I thought you were the king," Muskateer said, sarcastically.
"The team has a charter of rules and regulations," Black Diamond added. "What were you trying to find out?"
"Just trying to learn about our foes." Muskateer felt a little uncomfortable fibbing to both of the present Avengers, but he felt a strong desire to learn what he could about Firestar. She had become more than just a friend to him. "Might help out in a fight, but most of the juicy info is off limits. Never know what you can do with the right information, you know?"
"I can see your point," Black Diamond agreed.
"Anything you can do about it?"
"I suppose that I could," Black Diamond said, thoughtfully. "The sort of information that you're accessing should be available. I don't understand why Hunter set it up like he did. But this was his baby."
"Hot dog!" Muskateer was beside himself. At least a little bit of the frustrating nature of the computer would be relieved. Plus, he would have more info at his fingertips to search through. If nothing else, it was a continued alibi for his secretive computer hacking attempts.
"You've more than proven yourself-- I'll up your clearance to the next level. That should give you access to what you need."
"Great. You can be a real sweetheart when you try, Di. Well, I gotta run."
"Thanks... I think," Black Diamond said, not really sure what to make of it all.
"Later 'Gale. Maybe we can do this again sometime."
Muskateer hurried to his quarters to continue the computer work. He was now armed with a higher clearance, but even more importantly, he had Nightingale's even higher access code. He also now had some other information to work with. There were unofficial files on various happenings. These might be available through other access methods.
A few hours later, Muskateer found himself in a completely unknown area of the Avengers computer system. After using Nightingale's code for awhile, he had decided that too many accesses with it might be noticeable to someone. Searching the network for other users, he found that Black Diamond was logged on to the system. He managed to piggyback onto Black Diamond's access code and watched.
Time passed and nothing very interesting occurred. Muskateer watched as his personal access level was updated from level six to level five. Unfortunately, that would not be enough to locate the information he still needed. She updated a few case files and completed the adventure log on the battle that they had with VIPER two nights previous.
While he monitored her progress with various mundane tasks, Muskateer used his temporary access to the master password to search certain log files. Anything might be a way in to a hidden area of the system.
"Hello, what's this?" Searching backwards through the access log, he found that there had been an unexpected log-in. Muskateer stared at the screen, trying to figure out how the Hunter had managed to connect to the system the day before. "I've heard those internet providers were doing some aggressive marketing these days, but I doubt they have special accounts for ghosts."
The access time had been rather short. A mere 37 seconds passed between log on and log off times.
"I suppose it could be a glitch in the system, but somehow, I doubt it." Muskateer worked the keys for awhile. "There. Now if the mysterious Hunter logs on again, we have a data capture waiting for 'him'. Can't have anyone just rifling through our files." Muskateer chuckled at the thought, since that was exactly what he was doing.
Checking back on Black Diamond's actions, he saw that she was in the process of logging out. He needed to be disconnected too before the system would allow her to leave. Otherwise, she might be notified of the piggyback link using her access code. That would be a little difficult to explain at this point.
"Damn it, Di. You're usually on the computer a lot longer than this. I was hoping to find some files about Firestar and myself before having to lose this link." Not having time to dump the info to a file or print it, Muskateer ran a quick wildcard search on his name. A few files scrolled past. There wasn't enough time to run another search.
A few keystrokes later and Muskateer was using his own access code again. Now, though, with a little bit of work, he might be able to access those files, he had located, since he had the exact locations and file names.
"Mom always said spending so much time on those Brain Teasers when I was little would never get me anywhere. If only she could see me now." Worming his way through the network, Muskateer finally managed to open one of the files on himself from Black Diamond's directory. It was a personnel file with various reports since he had joined the Avengers.
Most were simple status reports regarding his role in missions. Muskateer read them with some interest, but they were disappointingly short and direct. One of the entries referred to a conversation with Agent Byron J. Gamble, the Avengers government liaison with NSC.
"Governmental concerns?" Muskateer read the entry again.
Spoke with Agent Gamble last evening regarding the Muskateer situation. Convinced that governmental concerns are unfounded.
"What the heck is she talking about? At least this means that I may not be as paranoid as I thought I was." Scrolling up the file further, Muskateer searched for some other information referring to this dilemma. The only other note he found was another cryptic blurb about Nightingale refuting the government's hypothesis regarding his allegiance.
"No wonder they gave me such a lousy access code." Muskateer sat there rubbing his chin for a moment, wondering what to think. "See what you get for being so nosy? Now I have not one, but two mysteries on my hands." After a long sigh, Muskateer went back to work.
For a few hours longer, he tried to access the hidden security files that showed Firestar on them with Black Tiger and Captain Valor. He had access to the images that Black Diamond had shared with the Avengers previously. They were heavily encoded and Muskateer's attempts to find any more of the files ended vainly.
"Oh, I give up. Besides, my butt is getting numb from sitting in this chair so long. I need to get up and stretch."
Some time later that afternoon, Muskateer found himself wandering through Central Park, somewhat in his civilian identity of Steven Harper. There was a light drizzle which had sent most of the Park's guests scurrying for cover. Steve wore a trench coat over his armor. His sword was easily hidden in its voluminous folds.
"This is going to drive me nuts thinking about it. Next thing you know, you'll be talking to yourself." He was torn over both mysteries. Why in the world would the Avengers recruit two new heroes who were both of such suspect backgrounds? At least they were proven wrong about himself. That much was somehow satisfying to Muskateer. "Working out better than Di had hoped, huh? I wonder what they thought I did, or who I was working for?"
Steve wandered along a bit more. "And she did say that 'both of us were working out', but the Firestar thing still looks very confusing. How could she be here in New York at that time and yet never have been here before? If there's a good explanation, then..."
Off in the distance, an explosion cut off his musings. "Can't I ever take a walk outside the mansion, without SOMETHING happening." Steven broke into a run, heading for the direction that the explosion came from. It was still located within Central Park. A moment later, he heard a loud shrieking siren.
As he rounded a section of trees, he could see a pair of supers battling it out in a clearing. One of them wore a dark costume with silver trim and was armed with a bow and arrow which shot arrows of various effects. His opponent was garbed in a suit of jet-black medieval armor and carried a large mace and a shield. Steven watched as an arrow exploded off the second man's shield in a dazzling array of sparks.
"Well, at least all that computer searching did me some good finally. That's gotta be Silver Arrow of the Freedom League and the Black Paladin. From what I read, Blackie's a tough cookie. SA might need my help." Ducking into the trees, Muskateer pulled his gloves, mask and hat from their hiding places and quickly slipped them on. He then unsheathed his sword and was ready for action.
"At least a little sparring might take my mind off all these darn questions." Muskateer broke from the tree line at a run. He could see that Black Paladin was now standing over the fallen Freedom Leaguer.
"Hey, Blackie! If you're done with Robin Hood there, how about trying a Musketeer?!" It wasn't the best quip he could come up with, but Muskateer had been preoccupied.
Black Paladin stood upright and turned in his direction. "While it may prove a most interesting diversion to test your mettle, I have not the time nor the inclination to deal with your presence, knave."
"That's just too bad, Chuckie, 'cause here I am."
"Perhaps." The Paladin reached down and grabbed Silver Arrow by the nape of his costume. "However, I have acquired that which I need. I must bid you adieux."
"Don't speak French to me, Buckethead. Hey! Where'd they go?!" Before Muskateer could launch an attack, the Black Paladin and his defeated opponent simply vanished.
"Damn it!" Muskateer looked around vainly. "The computer file did say he could teleport." Time passed and nothing happened, except the rain slowly ceased. "Well, I guess he ain't comin' back." Disgruntled and annoyed, Muskateer began the trek back to Avenger's Mansion.
