Triumph - Protectors of Central Illinois University, the city of Stevenson, and beyond!
Dragonfly, aka Aaron Majesky - winged martial arts master; The Adept, aka Rick Pennington - master of mystical movement; Cazmonster, aka Caz Greenbaum, super-strong cyber-werewolf; The Gray Robe, aka Sydney Koenig - Druidic mistress of the Earth; The American Attitude, aka Barry Stills - Hyper-sensory, skateboarding streetfighter; Bill Brown (no alias), super-strong urban defender; Magma, aka Jan Graylin, lava blasting demolisher; and Transcender, aka “Dorado” Estevez, controller of time and space.
Jan Graylin walked home from her evening class on a cold, starlit January night. She never heard her attack, never got a chance to bring her mighty power to generate and control lava to bare. All she felt was a sharp pain at the base of her skull, and then nothing. As Jan’s consciousness faded, she was vaguely aware of being pulled across the ground, though her eyesight had failed her.
Aaron opened his eyes late that same evening just as the messenger left. His window had been cut open, and a note, shaped as a paper shuriken, tossed in. Aaron had known the second his visitor had touched the ledge; he’d installed pressure sensors there after the first attack. But it was better his stalkers not know he was following them. Sliding out of the covers, Dragonfly strapped on his mask and grabbed the paper shuriken note before exiting via the same window.
The January air was frigid, and Dragonfly was immediately grateful of the jacket he’d thought to put on over his usual sleeveless uniform. The ninja was good. Aaron had almost lost sight of him right out of the gate. Had he not been scanning the area for motion, he would not have seen the very normal-looking young man walking out of the dorm across the street. Even so, most people would have dismissed him as unrelated to the event. But Aaron was immediately suspicious. He zoomed in on the man with his high-tech contact lenses to find that this man was not “young” at all. Odd, that a 30 year would be walking out of a dorm’s side exit at this time of night.
Dragonfly clung to the tips of a tree, balancing precariously. He needed to be careful here. Following a normal street thug, or even a Milan soldier, was one thing. Following a trained ninja who was expecting pursuit was another entirely. Sitting silently in the chill air, he watched as the man rounded the corner of a nearby pasta restaurant. As he was waiting for his prey to be far enough away that he couldn’t hear any trace of Dragonfly’s wings as he followed, Aaron opened the “shuriken” note. He was momentarily stunned as he read it.
“Dragonfly. We have your companions, the beginners. They are unharmed. Come to the coordinates included below and they will remain so. Bring the sword, but no other allies.”
Aaron nodded. So they had the younger members of Triumph, or at least some of them. As a large truck passed the dorms, Dragonfly buzzed as quickly as he could to the roof of Carlini’s. He dropped the last ten feet, and tumbled to a halt. Peering over the edge of the building, he could find no sign of the “messenger”. He had been afraid that would happen, but revealing he was following would have had the same results, or something worse. Standing, Dragonfly flew into the air and headed toward the lights of downtown Stevenson.
Dragonfly touched down on the icy rooftop observation area of the Citadel, looking into the main recreation room. Using his identity key, he slid the door open and walked into the headquarters. Dragonfly immediately heard the voices of Barry Stills and Cazmonster discussing something in the meeting room.
As Dragonfly walked in, Barry looked up. “Good, you’re here. I think we might have a problem.”
“I know,” Dragonfly nodded. “Ninjas are kidnapping our junior members.”
“Okay, THAT’S a problem!” Barry said, looking at Cazmonster as he pointed to Dragonfly.
Cazmonster just chuckled. “Ninjas? What are they gonna do, pelt me with Chinese throwing stars? Maybe poke me with a sword?”
Dragonfly shook his head, indicating his profound disagreement with Caz’s attitude. “This is bad, CM. Since their recent attack on me failed, they’ve obviously changed tactics. Here. I found this.” With that, Aaron threw the note on the meeting room table. Barry read it quickly.
“So that’s what’s happened,” Barry said, gritting his teeth and slapping the paper with his other hand emphatically.. “ I was trying to get in touch with Bill and Dorado, and was surprised to find their private cells off-line. Syd was supposed to meet with Jan earlier for coffee, and she never showed, so I got suspicious.”
“So, those are coordinates on the paper, right?” Cazmonster asked eagerly. “Let’s call Syd and go get these guys.”
“I don’t know, Caz,” said Dragonfly, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “They want me to go alone. I’d hate to see would happen to others if we show up guns blazing, so to speak. They might knife them before we could react, and disappear into the darkness, leaving us with three dead members to explain to their parents.”
“Huh-uh, No way,” Barry said adamantly. “You’re not going in there alone. These are seasoned killers, if what you told us is accurate. If they want you, it can’t be for anything good.”
“One more thing. They want the sword. My sword. I think it somehow involves an old friend of mine, someone I lost touch with long ago.”
Aaron thought for a moment, then nodded to himself as if deciding. “I think you’re right, Barry. Going in alone is a bad idea. I can’t prepare for these guys. When I infiltrated the Milan I had the element of surprise, and even then they almost killed me. There’s no way I’d make it out of there alive, and no guarantee they’d free the others after they’d killed me and gotten the sword.”
“Right,” Barry said, grabbing his skateboard from his chair at the meeting table. “Let’s go!”
“One problem; no Adept,” Aaron reminded Barry. “He’s still in a coma. We need to somehow get there, quietly, and you guys need to keep a distance while I head in. That would be a lot easier with Rick there to teleport us around.”
“Well, quiet or not, the fastest way for us to get there is the ‘copter.” In the background, Cazmonster was already contacting Syd, The Gray Robe, the only other member of Triumph currently able to help.
“True,” Aaron said, “but we don’t need fast. They’re expecting me to fly there, and probably to leave soon. Syd can fly; let her carry you. Cazmonster will have to leap along. I’ll try to go slow.”
As soon as The Gray Robe arrived, the four heroes left for the northern Illinois town to which the coordinates led, Barry complaining about the cold the entire way.
