"Now this is real freedom!", Jessica McTaggert thought to herself as she hovered high over Sanctuary. It was early evening and the sun was slowly making its descent in the western sky. At this height, the view was simply spectacular.
The young woman's spirits soared as well. The ordeal of being physically merged with her brother was thankfully over. She was herself again and completely on her own. This was the way Tempest liked it. She had always been a loner and the incident with her brother had only reinforced those feelings.
Joyously, Tempest flew into the setting sun. She loved having wide open spaces around her. The powers given to her by VIPER seemed perfectly suited to her personality. She felt truly at home in the air or in the water. Both were vast areas to charter. Tempest could easily reach places that only a few others in the world could. They were hers alone to explore.
Pushing her speeds to the limit, the miles passed in a blur as Tempest reached speeds nearing 250 miles per hour. "I could be in Hawaii in less than eight hours," Jessica mused. "Provided I had the stamina to keep up this pace." That thought was very appealing. She had always wanted to travel but had previously lacked the means. Not any more.
Instead of heading back towards the States, Tempest dove straight down towards the ocean below her. She hit the waves like a bullet, passing through the water as easily as she could air. To Tempest, air and water held little difference. She could survive easily in either one and was three miles deep before Jessica came to a stop.
It was another world down here. A place of wonder unfolded before her eyes. There was no light this far down, but Tempest did not require any to see by. As in the air, being down here was as comforting as being held in your mother's arms.
At a much slower pace, Tempest swam towards the surface admiring the wide variety of life in the ocean. It was getting late and she should be returning to Sanctuary Island. She could use a bite to eat anyway. Then she would consider what to do next.
The area seemed secured and Peacekeeper turned to leave. At that moment, one of his sub-programs sprang into operation. The Mechanon look alike turned and strode towards the Director's Office. Gently, he opened the door, entered the room, and closed the door behind him.
As quietly as the seven foot tall robot could, he moved towards the bookcase across from the Director's desk. The book was precisely where he had left it. Taking the slender volume from the case, Peacekeeper opened the cover to reveal a small electronic device concealed inside. The flashing red LED informed him that it was still in operation. At the press of a button the device shut off.
Part of Peacekeeper's left leg opened to reveal a small compartment. Placing the device inside, the robot then replaced the book on the shelf. Then he departed the office to continued on his rounds. This particular experiment had reached its logical conclusion. His master would be pleased.
"This drill stresses the use of teamwork," Gladiator explained as he paced back and forth in front of his charges. "You will be split into two teams. One team will defend their flag, the other will attempt to steal it."
"Good call, Sarge!" The Tigress approved of today's exercise as it was one of her favorites. This particular drill wasn't as rigid as most of Gladiator's exercises, allowing the nimble heroine to improvise as she saw fit.
"The defending team will consist of Tigress, Terra Fire, and Nemesis," Gladiator announced. "Sapphire, Turbo, and Archangel shall be the attackers. They will have ten minutes to capture the flag."
"Oh, great," Terra Fire muttered under his breath. He wasn't very confident about this endeavor. However, his thoughts weren't really on the impending drill. No, he was wondering where his sister was. She never showed for the morning workout. Jason was thankful that Gladiator hadn't made an issue about it. At least not so far.
"Hey, that's not fair," the Tigress cried out. "I've got all the rookies!"
"Then it should be a more intense drill for you," Gladiator responded as he handed the flag to the Tigress. "You have five minutes to prepare yourselves."
"Thanks a lot," the cat-like heroine grumbled.
"This'll be a snap for my team." Archangel was supremely confident in his team's eventual victory. "Come on, guys. Let's give cat-girl time to make out her will!" Tigress' only response was to stick her tongue out at the winged hero. With a laugh, Archangel and the rest of his team moved away from Tigress and her charges.
"I promise to be most gentle," Sapphire added as Turbo streaked passed her. "But you face superior opposition and shall fall before our might."
"In that case, I'm going to enjoy beating the pants off you guys even more!" It was brave posturing from the Tigress, but she had to admit that the deck had been stacked against her. "Come on, you two. Let's get this over with."
A few minutes later, the three Young Champions were perched on the highest building in Training Town. The Tigress tried to consider what strategy to use to best keep her flag from being captured. "I'll hold onto the flag," she explained to her team. "Your job is to keep the others from getting their hands on me. From here, we can monitor their approach. Those guys will be hard pressed to sneak up on us up here."
"I can sense anyone in contact with the ground,", Terra Fire added, "So that's how I'll keep watch. I should be able to stop anybody coming in that way."
"That's the idea, Mole Boy. Jenny gets to repel airborne invaders."
"Huh?" Nemesis turned when she heard her name called. She had been too busy watching sea birds to pay any attention to what had been going on.
"Pay attention," the Tigress chastised. "We're going to play a game."
"I like games." A huge smile came to Jennifer's face as she clapped her hands together.
"Good for you. Its called 'Shooting Gallery'. You see anyone flying towards us, you shoot them. Okay?"
"I guess so." Nemesis then turned her attention back towards the sky.
"We're in deep, deep trouble," Tigress muttered to herself. Off in the distance, a whistle blew. It was Gladiator's signal to begin the exercise. "It's show time! Keep alert, rookies!"
Terra Fire closed his eyes to better get in touch with his Earthen Sense. Due to his connection with the earth itself, he was able to sense others around him in direct contact with the ground. By using this sense, he would be able to monitor anyone approach their position and act against them. "Something's wrong!" Jason's eyes shot open once more. "I'm not sensing anything!"
"Not surprising," the Tigress offered. "They know about your sense, so they're staying off the ground."
"No, you don't understand!", Jason answered in a panic. "I can't sense anyone! Not even Gladiator! My sense is gone!"
"What?!"
Before Tigress could try to comprehend what was going on, a red and yellow blur streaked up the side of the building towards her team's position. "Gangway!!I"mTurbopowered!!"
More on instinct, the Tigress leaped out of the way of the speeding Turbo to safety. Jason wasn't so fortunate as he was caught up in the speedster's wake and was violently dragged behind Turbo. "Yeow!!"
Unaware of his teammate's peril, Turbo continued to speed along, rushing down the side of the building having made his initial pass. The sudden change in direction shook Jason free of the wake, sending the young man flying off the roof! "Help!!"
"Jason's in trouble!", the Tigress yelled as she pointed at the plummeting Terra Fire. "Stop the drill!"
Seemingly oblivious to what was going on, Nemesis continued to watch the sky, waiting for a target to shoot at.
"I got him!" Archangel soared up from behind one of the other buildings and gave chase to his flailing teammate. His wings beating furiously, Archangel rapidly closed in on Terra Fire. "Give me your hand!"
Twisting in mid-air, Jason reached for his winged teammate, trying to ignore the rapidly approaching ground. Their hands touched and then grasped. "Gotcha!"
"Hang on!" Archangel, visibly straining, tried to slow Terra Fire's descent. He wasn't strong enough to hold both of them aloft, so instead he settled for trying to cushion the impending impact. His plan worked, and they landed with a thud instead of a crash.
Jason collapsed to the ground, visibly shaken. "Thanks... I thought I was a pancake for sure."
"You owe me one." Archangel fell to his knees, sweating profusely and panting heavily. "What happened?"
That query was echoed by Gladiator as he approached his students. "Are you injured? What went wrong? You've resisted Turbo's powers in the past." Most of the other Young Champions gathered around as well.
"I'm okay, but I don't know what happened," Jason tried to explain. "Something is wrong with my powers-- I couldn't sense Turbo's approach."
"How about now?", the Tigress asked as she bounded up to the others. "Are your senses working again?"
Jason paused as he tried to concentrate on his Earthen Sense. It was back as he was able to sense all those around him without actually being able to see them. "Yes. Yes it is! This is really weird."
"You have a theory?", Gladiator asked of his tiger-clad student.
"Just an observation. Mole Boy says he can sense those in contact with the earth. But when he was up on the roof-- not touching the ground-- his sense was gone. Seems to me that his special sense only works while he is also in direct contact with the ground."
"That does support the known facts," Jason finally added after contemplating the Tigress' words.
The Gladiator considered the Tigress's observation as did the others. "Let's put this theory to the test. Oh, and Tigress, would you inform Jennifer to come down here with the others?"
Half an hour later, the tests were completed. "That settles it," Gladiator concluded. "All of your powers only work when you are in contact with, or reasonably close to, the earth."
"Well that sucks," Terra Fire complained. It was bad enough to have gotten super powers out of the blue, but now they were conditional as well.
"Sorry about that, Mole Boy," the Tigress offered, putting her hand on her teammate's shoulder. "I wouldn't have taken you up on the roof had I known."
"Tough luck, Jason," Archangel added in a concerned voice.
"All part of the learning process," Gladiator stated. "Learning what you can do with your powers, and what you can not."
"I guess," Jason sighed. "I'll just have to be more careful in the future and stay land bound."
"Indeed, lad. We seem to have a little bit of time left. You may work out at your discretion," Gladiator announced.
Tigress turned toward Archangel and smiled a sweet smile at her teammate. He looked slightly confused, until she dangled the now-forgotten flag in his face. "Nyah-nyah!", she giggled as she bounded away. In spite of the odds, they had never captured the flag!
The morning exercises over, Gladiator made his way towards the Arrival Complex. The small building fulfilled several different tasks as it housed the Medical Center in the basement and staff offices on the second floor. Guests to the island were checked in on the ground floor. Entering the building, Gladiator made his way towards the Medical Center in the basement.
The Deacon and Hyperion were seated in the waiting area. The spiritual advisor of Sanctuary rose when he spotted Gladiator. "I am told that Pooka is resting comfortably," the Deacon explained. The Director of Sanctuary seemed to have suffered a nervous breakdown the day before, even attempting to attack Gladiator.
Gladiator nodded his understanding. "Have the doctors provided any explanation for his behavior?"
"Not as yet," Hyperion explained in a concerned tone. Hyperion was the founder of Sanctuary and a hero dating back to World War II. He resembled a Greek god more than a seventy year old man; he even glowed. "We were waiting for Dr. Brinton to finish up his tests."
Ten minutes later, the three men were in the office of Dr. John Brinton. Together with Dr. Marin, they represented the medical practitioners for the Island. Dr. Brinton appeared to be in his late thirties.
"I've examined Pooka and I'm not totally sure what is wrong with him," Dr. Brinton flatly stated. "The most glaring thing is that his brain waves were radically different than those from earlier scans. This is not a natural occurrence."
"What exactly does that mean?" It always annoyed Gladiator that the doctors always spoke in terms not readily comprehendible by normal people.
"Some outside force has been messing with his mind."
"Who would do such a thing?", Hyperion wondered. "To what ends?"
"I don't know."
"How was this accomplished?"
"I don't know that either, Deacon," Dr. Brinton answered. "I didn't find any traces of drugs in his system. But that doesn't mean there weren't any there either. All I can definitely say is that someone caused this to happen to Pooka. Even since he's been here, his brain scans are slowly returning to normal. I'm guessing that in a few days Pooka will be back to his old self."
"But that still leaves the problem of who did this." Far too many mysterious things had been going on as of late. Medical records stolen, Pooka's mind played with by unknown agents. It might all be interconnected. Even stranger, all these things seemed to happen after the newest members of the Young Champions arrived.
"Terra Fire!" Firestar stood at the entrance to the classroom almost in shock. To her immense surprise, her classmate was back to his old self again. She rushed to a seat next to Jason, confusion clearly etched on her young face. "You're back to normal!"
"Hi, Firestar," Jason responded, secretly pleased by the concern on her face. "A lot has happened since the last time I saw you."
"No kidding! Come on, tell me what happened. Is your sister okay?"
Eager to please his new friend, Jason related the tale of how the strange explosion of Dr. Destroyer's prototype had separated him and his sister.
Nightingale walked up to the chalkboard while the teens chatted, smiling to herself. She was happy that Cassie was making friends of her own age. Being the only teenager in the Avengers was awkward enough, without having moved to a entirely different city. Sure, she had friends on the team, but no friends in her own age group. She'd give Jason time to finish his tale before she started today's lesson.
"So what do we do now?" The question came from Charcoal, the Head of Sanctuary Security. She was currently seated in the conference room where the higher ups of Sanctuary had gathered. Joining Charcoal, were Metalla, the Deacon, Gladiator, and Hyperion. All of their eyes seemed to focused on Gladiator.
"We carry on as best we can as we investigate each of our mysteries," the warrior calmly stated. "Charcoal, why don't you check out Pooka's apartment and his office. If something had been influencing him, you might find traces of it."
"Sounds good. I'll have Peacekeeper run a scan for any unusual gizmos in the area."
"I can talk to Pooka once he's more coherent," the Deacon offered. "Perhaps he'll be able to tell us when he started to behave like this."
"A fine suggestion," Hyperion applauded. "All that remains is to investigate these hidden labs of Dr. Destroyer. Find out if more exist and what threat they may present."
"That's a job for Terra Fire," Gladiator answered. "We'll have him explore what lies beneath our feet. Determine if many more of these labs exist and their location. We'll choose our next course of action based on those findings."
"Then let's get crackin'" Hyperion rose from his chair, signaling the end of the meeting.
Gladiator got to his feet as well. Jason would be in school right now, so his new assignment would have to wait. No, Gladiator had other matters to attend to first.
"Tempest?"
Jessica McTaggert opened her eyes to find Gladiator standing before her. "What's up, Sarge?" The teenager had fallen into a light sleep in the hammock on the back porch of her bungalow.
"I think we need to talk," Gladiator explained as Tempest rose into a sitting position. "You missed today's practice session and I am told that you have only been doing your chores sporadically."
"I didn't really feel like it."
"I see. You do not have to participate in the program if you do not want to. Of course, that makes you a guest here and subject to different rules."
"Rules, rules, rules!", Jessica shot back in anger. "I'm sick of all these rules!"
Gladiator took the outburst in stride and waited for the young woman to calm down.
"Look, I know you're doing a good thing here, but I don't belong here."
"You are not yet proficient in the use of your powers," Gladiator responded. "That is the purpose of this program. In my opinion, you are not ready to go out on your own."
"Well, that's where we don't agree, Sarge. I have no designs on being a superhero. I'm more interested in looking out for myself than anyone else. And I'm not stupid enough to become a criminal. The last thing I want to do is go to jail."
"Then what are you going to do with your life?"
"I'm not really sure yet," Jessica answered after a moment's consideration. "I'm betting that there are people who would pay top dollar for the kind of powers I have. I want to lead a very comfortable life using my powers for legitimate ends. Maybe locating and salvaging shipwrecks, or something."
"That is your choice," Gladiator responded. "No one is keeping you here but yourself. However, I do make one request. Think this over very carefully and do not make a rash decision."
"I'll tell you what. You'll know my answer if I show up tomorrow morning or not."
"Fair enough," Gladiator answered simply. He wasn't pleased with the possibility of losing such a raw recruit, but it was her life. Tempest was the only one who could live it.
School over, Terra Fire and Firestar were walking across the island. Up ahead in the distance was the bungalow he shared with Archangel.
"You live there?" Firestar was amazed that the Young Champions had such cool quarters. "You have any idea how much some people would pay for a bungalow on a tropical beach?"
"Actually, no. I'm from Detroit. Sure, I've seen Lake St. Claire and Lakes Erie and Huron, but the Pacific Ocean is a whole different ball game!"
"I know what you mean. I grew up in St. Louis," Firestar explained. This wasn't the first time the young Avenger had seen the Pacific Ocean. Just last week she had gone to the beach with her cousin Yrsa out in Los Angeles. It was hard to imagine that Sanctuary Island rested in the same body of water thousands of miles away.
"St. Louis, huh? Sounds nice." Jason couldn't believe his good fortune. Just talking with Firestar felt nice. No girl he wasn't related to had ever treated him like this before.
"It was all right, Terra Fire."
Jason chuckled slightly. "Terra Fire is kind of clumsy in casual conversation. You can call me Jason."
Firestar smiled shyly. "Jason is a very nice name."
Terra Fire's knees almost buckled when she said that. Clearly, she was as interested in him as he was in her. He was starting to be thankful that VIPER had experimented on him. Otherwise, he'd be stuck back in Detroit, getting high honors but staying home on prom night. And if this was a dream, he'd really be upset to wake up.
"Thanks," Jason finally managed to say.
Turning to face Jason, Firestar offered her hand. "Hello, Jason. I am Cassie. It's short for Cassandra."
Jason quickly took Firestar's hand, but tried not to look too overly eager or embarrassed. He hoped that his palms were not sweating. "Nice to meet you, Cassie."
"Forgive me for being so forward, but are you busy Saturday night?"
"Uhm, no---? Are you asking me out on a date?" That was certainly a switch, Jason thought to himself. Not that he minded.
"The Huntress is throwing a small get together at her estate. A pool party and barbecue. I can bring a guest if I want. And I was just wondering-- if-- maybe-- you'd like to go with me?"
"Sure, I'd love to!"
"Great!", Firestar seemed pleased at Jason's response. "I'll pick you up on Saturday."
"Okay, sounds good. I'm looking forward to it."
"I should get going," Firestar suddenly announced. "It's late for me and I've got Monitor Duty tomorrow. This six hour time difference is really annoying."
"Sure, I understand. I'll see you in class tomorrow."
"Bye." With a wave, Firestar walked off towards the Arrival Center and the teleportation system secured in it that would whisk her back to New York in a wink of an eye.
Jason watched her depart for a time. Sure, he had watched pretty girls while in High School. But most never knew he even existed. None of them compared to Cassandra.
With a sigh, Jason continued on towards his bungalow. The hours until the next class would seem like an eternity. Hopefully his work in the motor pool would take his mind off the young Avenger. But he doubted it.
Reaching the bungalow, the teenager was surprised to find Gladiator seated on the front steps waiting for him. "What's going on?"
The mentor of the Young Champions rose and met Jason halfway. "There are a few matters we need to discuss."
"Okay..."
"We would like you to do a survey on what lies underneath the island," Gladiator explained. "To determine if there are more of the hidden labs which Armadillo uncovered. You are not to enter any should you actually locate them."
"I understand. I guess I'm sort of ideal for this particular project?"
"Precisely. Report to the Security Offices when you are ready to begin. Peacekeeper will track you, allowing us to generate a map of what you find."
"Sounds interesting," Jason said. "I'll be over in a little bit."
"Very good." Gladiator turned and started to walk away. He paused after a few steps but did not turn back to face Jason. "I've had a talk with your sister this afternoon. She is contemplating leaving Sanctuary. I thought you should know."
"Is it true?"
Jessica sighed inwardly when she spotted her brother approaching the bungalow. No doubt Gladiator had informed Jason in the hopes that he could persuade her to stay. "Is what true, brother dear? And do keep your distance."
"That you're thinking about leaving."
"Yeah. it is."
"But why?" Jason sat down in one of the chairs on the back porch, but maintained a safe distance from his sister.
"Why? Because I'm getting tired of all this," Jessica answered in an annoyed tone. "Look, Jace, this place and this program agrees with you. I understand that. Things are going your way here. You've got these neat powers, a complete body make over, and an Avenger for a girlfriend. This must be almost like heaven for you."
"I can't complain," Jason added. "My life has taken a turn for the better."
"Well, I can. It feels like I'm suffocating under all these little rules and regulations. I ran away from them before and it looks like its just time to do so again. I mean, it's been great seeing you again, but I think it's a bad idea for us to be the in the same place. I just don't want to go through being joined together again. If we're apart, then it won't happen."
Jason had trouble arguing with his sister's line of reasoning. "I guess this means you've made up your mind. I'd give you a hug, but--"
"Don't go getting mushy on me, Jace. You know I hate that kind of thing."
"Sorry. So what are you going to do with yourself?"
"I'm not sure," Jessica answered, a reflective look upon her face. "What I do know is that I can use my new powers to make a comfortable living for myself. Jace, you may be cut in a heroic mold. I'm not. I'm sure that you're going to graduate from here and be a wonderful hero. That's not for me. And before you even think it, no I'm not dumb enough to be a criminal either. I'll use my powers to make an honest living. Well, mostly honest living anyway," she added with a smile.
"Then this is goodbye?"
"I guess so. For now, anyway. I'm sure I'll be reading about you in the news in a few months." Jessica paused and looked at her brother. "I promise to keep in touch."
Jason was choked with emotion, but tried to control it. He had been separated from his sister for so long that he didn't understand her at first. But since they had been back together, he felt that they had been growing closer. Now she was leaving again.
"In the meantime, I think I'll head to Hawaii," Jessica continued. I've always wanted to check out their beaches. I'll gather some supplies and with any luck, I'll be there in less than a day."
Jason stood up. He knew that he couldn't change his sister's mind and wasn't going to try. She had to find her own way. "Best of luck, sis. I'll be thinking of you."
"Take care, little brother."
In spite of herself, Tempest was touched by the concern from her brother. It had been a long time since anyone was that concerned about her. She had doubts about leaving, but managed to squash them. "I hope that Firestar girl knows the kind of man she's getting involved with. I never thought I would say this, but my brother is a pretty cool guy."
Fortunately, Jessica had arrived on Sanctuary with just the clothes on her back. All that she would have to take with her was food and drink for the journey. Money was going to be a priority very soon, but that was something she'd worry about once she reached Hawaii.
She decided to slip away under the cover of night. She thought it best to avoid saying goodbye to the other Young Champions. Not that she didn't like them, but it would just make what she had to do all the more difficult. No, it was better for them to find out after the fact. A quick raid on the hotel pantry and she'd be on her way. With any luck, she'd fly almost due north for a few hours and find an island she could relax on. Then she could complete the rest of her journey to Hawaii.
"Excuse me? Are you the one they call Tempest?"
The speaker was a woman with the most seductive voice Jessica had ever heard. Spinning around, Jess found a woman in dark blue wearing a full length white cape. Her hair was long and brown. An amulet pulsated around her neck. "Do I know you?"
"I am called Howler."
"That's right," Jessica realized. "Aren't you a crook or something?"
"In the eyes of some people," Howler stated. "Provided you are Tempest, I have a business proposition for you."
That made Jessica stop in her tracks. "What kind of proposition? I want to warn you right now, I'm not interested in anything overtly criminal."
"Nor am I asking you to be," Howler explained as she closed on the shorter woman. "I am heading up an expedition to locate a long lost artifact. Nothing criminal in that."
"Maybe so, but how do I fit into this?"
"A clue has been discovered that could lead me to the artifact. It is underwater, which I am told you have no problem functioning within."
Jessica knew that her unique powers would pay off for her in the long run. She just didn't know how soon. "So, what is it worth to you?"
"Fifteen thousand in advance, another sixty upon recovery of the artifact."
Tempest desperately tried to contain her surprise. "Fifteen thousand!?" That was more money than she ever had in her short lifetime! "You've got my full, undivided attention. Why don't you tell me about this job of yours?"
Momentarily forgetting about her raid on the hotel pantry, Tempest walked off with Howler. On this kind of money, Jessica would be sitting pretty for quite a while. Things were definitely looking up for her already.
Epilogue:
The Tigress eased up on her Jet Ski. She wasn't particularly comfortable to be out on the water, let alone in the middle of the night. But no, this was something that had piqued her curiosity and she had to investigate.
The villainess known as Howler was up to something underhanded. Exactly what, Tigress had yet to determine. Howler had secured the services of the armored mercenary known as Daigon, and the husband and wife mutants, Raccoon and Panda. But to what end? All she knew was that Howler and her associates were being picked up tonight by a ship north of Sanctuary. Taking a Jet Ski out, the Tigress decided to investigate.
Thanks to her cat-like vision, Tigress didn't bother using the Jet Ski's headlight. She could see just fine without it and didn't like giving away her position. From what though, she didn't know.
Finally, she spotted the running lights of a large ship. Killing the engine, the Tigress rode her Jet Ski as close as she dared to the ship. It was an ocean-going luxury yacht. Could this be what Howler was meeting up with? It was the only ship in the area, making it the most likely candidate.
The Tigress slipped into the water and quietly swam the short distance to the unmoving yacht. Finding the stern to be deserted, she cautiously climbed up to the deck. Everyone seemed to be on the main deck, staring back towards Sanctuary. "They're definitely waiting for something," the heroine concluded as she moved into a concealed spot to spy from.
The Young Champion didn't have to wait long. "There they are!", one of the deck hands called out. Spotlights were shone into the sky to reveal a small group flying towards the ship. Howler led the way, carrying her assistant Akeem. Daigon came into sight next, the Raccoon cradled in her arms. Finally, the last members came into view. The Tigress' jaw nearly dropped when she recognized Tempest with Panda as a passenger!
"What's Jessica doing here?", the Tigress thought to herself, thunderstruck. "They must have forced her into doing this. But how? Why?"
Introductions between the crew and the new arrivals were made as the Tigress skulked back towards the stern of the ship. She started to climb overboard when she stopped. "What should I do now? I've got two choices here. One, go back and let Gladiator know what's going on. But if I do that, then we'll loose track of the ship and have no idea where they're going."
"On the other hand, if I stow away, I would know where they are going and what this is all about. But, Sanctuary would be in the dark."
The Tigress was torn on what to do. Further away she could hear the order given to get underway. Making a split-second decision, the Tigress grinned to herself, scampered back up on deck and rushed down the stairs leading to the below decks. "Maybe not the brightest thing I've ever done, but at least I'll finally find out what's going on!"
Its passengers on board, the Jade Princess powered up its motors and started to sail away from Sanctuary Island unaware that there was a stowaway on board...
