Week 15.3 – Stranded

Previously: Digger is stranded in Memphis, alone and broke, until a mysterious someone shows up to help. And now…

“Whiz?” Digger asked, standing up. “What are you doing here?”

Kevin Chen, in the blue-and-yellow uniform he wore as The Whiz, ran his hand through the coarse black hair sticking up through the top of his mask. “Davey Lopez asked me to come. The question is, what are you doing here? Last I heard, you robbed a museum in New York.”

“Yeah,” Digger said. “Long story.”

“Well, tell it to me over lunch. I’m starving,” Whiz said. On his back, he wore a teardrop-shaped fiberglass shell. He pulled it off, popped it open and extracted a shirt and pants. He held the pack out to Digger. “Hold this a second, would you?”

He blurred away and returned seconds later wearing civvies. “Dude, you look really weird without those things on your arms.”

They walked a couple of blocks to a Waffle House. Kevin was almost vibrating with the urgency to run there, but Digger refused to be carried. “Tell me what you want and I’ll go order,” Kevin offered. “It’ll be ready for you when you get there.”

[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”right”]Digger took the business card he offered and looked at it. It was the expensive kind, printed in raised letters of red, white and blue. “Defcon Five?”[/blockquote]Digger waved a hand at the building a block away. “But it’s just right there. It’ll only take a couple minutes to walk.”

“Minuuuuuutes!” Kevin groaned. “I’m hungry now!”

“You are such a baby,” Digger said. “Your parents must be so proud.”

“As a matter of fact, they are,” Kevin said. “I’m the good son.”

“You have a brother?”

“And a sister,” Kevin said. “You don’t want to meet either one of them.”

After they ordered, Digger filled Kevin in on what had happened over the past week: the hostage, the bank robbery, the museum, the cup, the mask, the double-cross. “And you think he’s headed back to Mongolia now?”

“Yeah,” Digger said. “He’s got some theory about the Cobalt Czar’s powers. Thinks he can, I don’t know, become like him somehow. We’ve got to stop him before he can get there.”

“How are you going to stop him?” Kevin asked. “You know which airport he’s leaving from?”

“No,” Digger admitted. “But the only other choice would be to try to intercept him there, and that’s just crazy. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“I do,” Kevin said. He reached for his back pocket to pull out his wallet. “I can’t believe I’m doing this, but this is the guy you should talk to.”

Digger took the business card he offered and looked at it. It was the expensive kind, printed in raised letters of red, white and blue. “Defcon Five?” Digger asked.

“Not the group.” Kevin said. He pointed at the bottom of the card. “Him.”

Digger read the name. “Cole Chen, Metalord. Your brother?”

“Crazy brother,” Kevin corrected. “And I wouldn’t suggest it, except they’ve fought the Czar five or six times, both in San Francisco and in Mongolia. If anyone could help you survive over there and find this Twain, it’s him.”

“Except he’s not going to Mongolia,” said a voice from behind Digger. “He’s coming with me.”

Who is the mysterious new arrival? Will Digger be able to stop Twain? Join us tomorrow for another exciting episode!

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