Red Meteor Quest Part 21

You weren't sure what had been going on. Tim had been going out more and more lately and at first you figured he and one of his school friends must have been playing some new video game or something. You'd never really been into those yourself, but that's beside the point. One night, Tim was a bit late getting home, and so you  called his friend's home...but according to his mother, Tim had never stopped by.

This did not sit well with you.

When Tim returned home, you opted not to grill him for information, instead simply saying that he should try harder to not be late. He grinned giving a nod of understanding, but you have decided on something yourself: After calling into your supervisor you managed to get a day off for the following day. You were going to figure out what was going on, maybe it was some person from the wrong crowd? Had Tim fallen in with them? No...no your little boy wouldn't do that.

You had to find out! You had to learn what was going on with your son! Someone was probably making him do bad things like deal drugs or something and if he told anyone they'd hurt you or worse him! You weren't going to let that happen! You'd get to the bottom of this or die trying!

The next day came, and you saw Tim off to school, making a show of driving your car away. What you you really did though was park it just a few blocks away. You couldn't just randomly show up to Tim's class, so what the best you could do was wait until lunch time. The children were usually allowed outside to it, allowing it to double as Recess and lunch.
Some hours pass until the appointed time and you can see Tim in the schoolyard talking with his friends.
You had a trench coat get up for this set up so you wouldn't be recognizable.  All you had to do now was keep an eye on Tim and see what was up. Surely something noticeable would happen right? You whip out some binoculars and use them to look upon your son.

You are Helena Drakesfield and you will save your son from falling in with the wrong crowd!

>Watch from afar
>Get closer to the gates
>Attempt to get a child to help?
>Other/Write-in

>Get closer to the gates

You have to hear what he's talking about! Tim is close to the gates. Close enough that he won't notice you, but not far enough that you won't hear him. You creep up slowly, hanging behind one of the stone walls that makes up the arches and do your best to listen in on him.

"It's gonna be big I'm tellin' you. Four new episodes back to back? There's no way I'm missing that!"

Okay, so he's just talking about one of his tv shows. Nothing bad so far, but there's got to be something that'll pop up.

"Hey, so what do you think about that Purple guy who keeps fighting Red Meteor and his friends?" one of Tim's friends ass

They're talking about him now? Makes sense, Tim has always been a fan of those kind of shows.

"He's a chump." Tim states confidently "I bet in a few days Red and his friends will take him down and the big bad corporation he works for."

"Corporation, what makes you think that?"

"Oh uh...well...you know. That's how it always goes in the comics and shows."

His friends nod in agreement, but you have to wonder what made him so sure. It doesn't matter you suppose, what does matter is getting the info you need!

"Come on...let something slip!" you murmur

"Ahem." A voice comes from behind you and you see a passerby giving you one hell of a glare. This woman seems to mean business

"What do you think you're doing...?" She asks threateningly

>RUN
>Try to explain (1d100)
>Protecting my son!
>Other/Write-in

>Try to explain (87)

Crap this isn't good. Not good at all! You quickly pull the woman towards you so no one will see her. You hurriedly explain about how your son may be getting mixed up with the wrong crowd and you're keeping an eye on him right now for clues.

"So...you're spying on him?" the woman asks bluntly

"No...well okay yes, but out of love!"

She lets out a sigh "Well, I can understand that...my son nearly got roped into something like that too once...but um..."

"What?" You ask indigantly, this woman was going to waste your time at this rate and recess would be over!

"You may want to not run around in a get up like that. Do you know what you look like from afar?"

"What do you mean? I've seen all the old crime noire movies, guys always wear outfits like this when they're out on a job or sneaking around."

"It's also the outfit a child molester would wear."

Oh. Oh crap you didn't think about that.

"I-is that so...?" You say sheephisly

"Yeah...so I'd say ditch the outfit and just walk around normally, though that may not help much either."

The woman walks off, leaving you with that bit of advice. Well...she does have a point, but you go back to listening for now.You'll lose the trench coat and hat later.

OR YOU WOULD GO BACK TO LISTENING BUT TIM AND HIS FRIENDS HAVE LEFT!

You inwardly seethe at this revelation. That woman kept you distracted just long enough that you lost your chance! Well...nothing you can do about it now, and there's no way you can just walk in like this. You decide to wait until the school day ends, before you resume your investigation.

You as such, hang out in your car, napping for a few hours until you get a call on your phone from Tim. You hurriedly answer, taking a moment to compose yourself.
"Hey honey, what is it?" You say casually

"Hey mom, I'm heading over to a friend's house today."

"Again...?" You say innocently

"Yeah, he's uh, got a new game and we're going co-op."

"Right...well, be home at a resonable time, I don't wanna worry."

"I will, promise."

This is your chance. You ditch your trench coat and hat and hop out of your car. You can't follow him in it, he'd know it was you from a mile away. Instead, you decide to follow him on foot. You see Tim leaving the school, and stealthly keep a good distance from him. Wherever he's heading, it's definitely not to a friend's house. None of them live downtown. Eventually, he steps into a donut shop and you see...wait, isn't that Sanja's boyfriend Red...with that Sadie girl that isn't Sanja. you can see them at the window seat with Tim taking a seat next to them.

You sneak into the donut shop, doing your best to remain unnoticed as you order a couple donuts and begin to listen in.

"So, how are you holding up Sadie?" Tim asks "Still feeling tired

"A little." She replies tiredly "I just need some food, thankfully, Red decided to take me out for something since you two were meeting."

They were meeting...? About what?

"Right, so I think the plan should be we do some training. Nothing too crazy,just enough to get rid of any stiffness Sadie may have."

Training...?

"What do you think Sadie?" Red asked looking at her

"I guess that'd be fine. Nothing crazy though." she muttered popping a donut into her mouth.

They all stood to leave, thankfully, not noticing you.

So those two were involved? What are they up to, and what is this training? You hurriedly follow them out.

>Get closer to them
>Keep your distance
>Other/Write-in

>Keep your distance

You keep your distance. You can't have them catching onto you, but you can sort of make out what they say among the crowd of people. Going about their daily lives

"So why aren't we taking the rooftops this time?" Tim asks

"Sadie is far too tired, and I can't carry both of you." Red replies

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Sadie glares

"N-no..."

You do your best not to chuckle at that little exchange and continue following them around. They're heading towards...Crescent Inc? Why the hell are they heading there? you don't think about it and just continue following  them for the time being. As you near closer to the building, that's when things get crazy.

A building nearby seems to catch fire! You don't know what happened, but the crowd of people disperse, hurriedly getting out of the way as shards of glass come down. You move back as well, but the people with Tim...they leave him behind, heading into a nearby alleyway. What the hell are they thinking?!

>Get Tim!
>Follow after them!
>Other/Write-in

>Get Tim(100)

They left Tim. They left Tim. THEY LEFT TIM!!! You don't even care about anything else, you start pushing people out of the way as you work your way to the front of the crowd, the people who refuse to move are pretty munch punched out of the way as you get close to Tim. A crash from above doesn't even distract you, as you grab your son's hand and pull him back towards you, hugging him tightly, you let out a sigh you didn't know you were holding in as you do.

"M-Mom, what are you doing here?" He asks confused

"N-nevermind that, we're going home right now!" You say a bit more loudly than you meant to

"Mom, calm down, I'm okay!" Tim says pushing you off

"No, I am not letting this go on! Who are those two? Why were you hanging up to them, why did you lie to me?"

"Wait what?"

"I know you didn't go to your friend's house before, What is going on with those people? Tell me now!"

"I can't mom, it's for your safety."

You're left dumbstruck at that...you're safety? What could your son possibly be wrapped up in that makes him more qualified than you?

You're unable to question them as Red Meteor and Blue Comet walk out of the building, each of them carrying someone who were knocked out. EMS workers and firefighters are on the scene, and without delay they start putting out what little flames are left as well as carting people off.

You see Blue Comet stumble a bit...are they hurt? Whatever that doesn't matter. You need to get Tim home. You take his hand turning to leave, but he pulls against you.

"Tim, what is the matter with you?! We need to get you home and-!"

Your words are cut short when out of coming down the street was a horrific looking monster! You don't know what the hell was going on with this city and it suddenly being a breeding ground for monsters like this, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that Tim was gone. What the hell?! How did he slip away?!

>Look for him!
>Get to safety first
>Other/Write-in

Look for him(19)

Where did he go?! He's is so in for it when you find him! You try to find him, but the panicking crowd is too much for you to fight against. You end up being dragged back by the people as they flee and it's then you see it: Red Meteor is fighting the monster, but he's knocked away by a good solid hit. As for Blue Comet, she's trying, but her movements are sluggish, almost as if she's exhausted. She takes a nasty blow and goes skidding across the pavement.

The trucks and and such hurriedly escaped when this thing showed up, but you wish someone had been around to help Blue Comet to her feet. Where were those other heroes at? Shouldn't they all be here by now? Isn't that how it works in the shows or comics?

You unfortunately get your wish as you see Tim of all people run out and try to pull Blue Comet along the ground to safety.

What is he thinking?!

The monster clearly doesn't clear as it uproots a piece of concrete and tosses it directly at Blue Comet...which means it's going to hurt Tim!

You've got to do something!(1d100)

>Do something(20)

You want to move. You mentally urge yourself to move, but you can't. You can only watch as the large piece of concrete sends not only Blue Comet flying, but Tim too.  The two of them are soaring through the air before both land with a sickening thud on the ground.

"No..." You mutter

"No No NO..." You say a bit louder

"NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!!!"

You can't lose him! Not after losing your husband! Tim is all you have...you don't have anyone else...you look at the monster as Red Meteor goes on to fight the monster, he seems to be yelling something, you can't make out what it is. You can't hear anything, your entire  being is focused on your son and how he is laying there motionless.

You're hot...your entire being feels hot with...sadness? No...no this is rage. In all your life you've never been so angry. You feel your anger well within you as you  look at Red Meteor fight the beast in front of him.

It needs to die.

You want to murder it.

You want to *crush* it

You don't care how. If you have to fight it alone, so be it. If you have to die to kill it so be it. If you have to sell your soul. *SO BE IT*.  This...*thing* will feel the wrath that burns within you!

It is then you feel...something. A white light hovers in front of you for a split moment. In that moment you can feel it, a voice that tells you to harness this power. Take it and ravage all who stand before you!

You can feel yourself changing, a shining light engulfs your body and when it's finished, you're decked out in a slick white armor a cape billowing in the wind, a katana (why that of all things?) in your hand. You don't have time to question it. All you need to know is that the monster dies and it dies now.

>1d100+15

>91

You don't waste any time. You hunker down and rush at the monster, unsheathing your blade as you do so. Red Meteor manages to deftly dodge another of the beasts attacks which gives you just the opening you need. With finesse you didn't know you had you easily slice off the monsters large arm, leaving it howling in pain.

"Who are you?" Red Meteor asks looking at you with surprise

You...what are you in this state? You aren't entirely sure, you were focusing so much on the monster...you still are, but in surprise, you say something that just...popped into your mind.

"White Moon." You plainly state

as you turn back to the monster. It seems to have gotten over the pain of losing its arm rather quickly. It lets out a roar, rearing its other arm back to attack you again. However you remain...calm, serene even.

Let it come.

You will kill it.

You will hurt it in retaliation

>1d100+15

>110

You effortlessly dodge the attack of the monster, as does Red Meteor. He seems far too shocked at your appearance to intervene, watching as you move to dodge each blow, you're pretty fast now. It feels like most of its attacks are super slowed down, allowing you to either match or dodge them. You dodge some more, so you get a proper handle on this before sheathing your blade again.

The monster goes in for yet another attack in its frenzied state. You casually (but with no less amount of force) jab it in the stomach. For a second the creature loses it's breathe and crumples to the ground.

You want to say that should be enough, but you know that it's not. The monster is still breathing and soon enough it's back on it's feet.

"This thing is annoying." You mutter

It's time to end it. You need to get to Tim, he's hurt, and he needs you and you can't afford to waste time with this thing any longer.

>1d100+15

>76

You see the monster come at you. You hunch down, getting into the proper stance. How you know that this is a proper stance is something you don't care about, all you care about is killing the monster. With a subtle breath, you quickly slash your sword, seemingly at nothing, before sheathing it again. The monster as it runs towards you is not bisected, from the waist up, but it also is cut into several different pieces, falling dead before it even reaches you.

With the fight done, whatever anger you had in you is gone as you rush over to Tim. Red Meteor following you, as the two of you look over your respective peoples.

"Tim...Tim, oh god, be okay." You mutter lightly touching his face.

"Blue Comet, are you alright?" Red Meteor asks

"Ugh...yeah, I'll walk this off...I think. Wait...wait Tim?!"

You look over at them, how does Blue Comet know Tim...? Wait...they do stop by the shelter and Tim has been there a few times.

The two gather around your son, sounding distraught

"Is he alright?" Blue Comet asks

"I...I don't know." You mutter. You look at his arm and wince. It's definitely broken. Dammit all, if only you'd been more careful and not distracted! You let out a heavy sigh, sure you hurt that monster, but what good is it if you can't protect your own family?

It's then that your HUD lights up. It seems to be giving you instructions? 'Raise your hand to the sun?'

You don't know why, but you do so. Light from all over gathers into your palm...it feels warm...safe...you don't know how to describe it properly, but it altogether just feels amazing. You touch the orb of light to  Tim, pushing it into his body. The bumps and bruises he has disappear, though the broken arm remains. However, the best part is that he wakes up!

"Ow...Red...Blue? What's going on?

Your little boy. Your little boy is alive! You can't help but reach down and hug him tight.

"Ack, tight tight! TOO TIGHT! Who are you?!"

You quickly let go and chuckle "Oh...sorry, but what do you mean who am I?"

"I didn't know about any of the heroes wearing white." Tim states

"Huh...oh...right, well um...wait how do I get this off?"

"We can't do that here." Red states, "Blue can you get Tim to the hospital?"

"Yeah...yeah I can do that much."

"As for you...come with me." He mutters

>No, I've got to stay with Tim!
>Um...okay?
>What is going on
>Other/Write-in

>STAY WITH TIM

No, you aren't letting that happen. "I can't. I need to stay with Tim, I have to!"

"What's got you so wound up?" Blue Comet asks "We can handle this well enough."

"I'm his mother." You boldly state

"O-oh...wait what?!" The two of them reply in shock

You quickly snatch Tim up and get ready to walk to the hospital, it's thankfully, not too far here.

"He-hey wait up!" You hear Red call after you, Blue Comet does the same, the two of them urging you to take the rooftops.

"Why the hell would I do that, I can't jump that high!"

"Try." Red states, getting up on the roof." Blue Comet does the same...and so curious you do so as well and-holy crap you can jump really high! You land on the roof and seeing this rather unimpeded avenue of travel you quickly hop along them with Red and Blue as you all arrive at the hospital.

You get Tim checked in and taken to a ward for children. You want to stay around, but your drawing too much attention and so at the urging of Red and Blue, you retreat outside, You won't have to worry about leaving a number, they'll more than likely get yours once they go through Tim's information.

The two heroes motion for you to follow them onto a roof across from the hospital, where they can sit down and talk.

"So uh...White Moon was it?" Blue Comet asked "You must have a lot of questions..."

"Well I can't deny that. But well here to start...?"

>Oh yeah! Two weirdos ran off when the building caught fire and left my son alone!
>What was that monster?
>How do I take this damn armor off?
>Uh...does this have any side-effects?
>Other/Write-in

>Oh yeah! Two weirdos ran off when the building caught fire and left my son alone!

You're thinking of what question to ask first when a burst of realization hits you. "Oh yeah, there were these two weirdos with Tim who left him when the building caught fire! I need to find them!" You angrily  state

"Uh no you don't..." Blue Comet mutters

"What? Why not? I need to stop them, they were shady!"

"No we aren't!"

"What do you mean we...?"

"Power down!" The both of them state, and it's then that it hits you like a freight train. "Wait you two are Red Meteor and Blue Comet?!"

"...Yes."

"And you two were taking my son to do something shady?!"

"What? NO!" They both shout at you

"Then what the heck were you doing with Tim?"

"Look calm down." Sadie says "We weren't going to harm your son in any way. Trust me, I'm a police officer." She quickly flashes you her badge

"Yeah, Tim's our boss."

"You're boss?!"

"Yeah...he helps us protect the city!"

"How? He's 10."

"But smart...who are you anyway?" Red asks raising his eyebrow

>Oh uh...right...Power Down was it?
>Don't change the subject
>Resist.Urge.To.Strangle
>Other/Write-in

>Don't change the subject
>Resist.Urge.To.Strangle

"Don't change the subject!" You shout taking on an authoritative tone. "I'm asking the questions here, now who exactly are you two?! Especially you Mister? I'm friends with Sanja, and you and this girl-"

"Sadie. My name is Sadie Stafford."

"Right, this Sadie girl, seemed quite close in the donut shop."

"Donut shop? you were there?"

"Don't worry, Sanja won't mind." Red states. "Anyway, I'm Red, also known as Red Meteor, Tim is my buddy."

"A real buddy wouldn't let their friend get hurt!"

"I didn't mean to! I told Tim to get to safety, I was just as shocked as you when he got hurt. Good thing you've got healing powers."

Why does he seem so carefree? You want to strangle him!

"But this is all good yeah?" Sadie states "We've got a new team member, this could give us an edge."

"Team member? Team of what?"

"Of our crime fighting team. It'd be cool to have a 6th member on the team."

"Why should I join you?" You growl

"Why not?"

This moron is way too carefree and before you now it you're strangling him "You put my baby boy and you expect me to join you?!"

"Ack..kak..karf..." Red sputters out trying to get air

"It wasn't his fault! Sadie exclaims pulling you off him "And besides, Wouldn't Tim be safer if he knew you were on the team and he wouldn't recklessly run into danger like that!"

>Well...you have a point
>Quiet you hussy!
>Other/Write-in

>Quiet you hussy!
>He'd be safer if he actually came home like he was supposed to instead of tagging along to these fights!

"Quiet you Hussy!" You shout angrily

"H-hussy?!"

"Tim would be safer if he actually came home and not tagging along to these fights! I-I won't forgive you for making my son into a bad boy!"

"W-what? Tim isn't a bad boy! He's a fine young man who is a true ally of justice!"

"Ally of...he's a ten year old!!!"

"A smart one. Don't doubt him."

"You...why are you so...UGH." you say clutching your head in annoyance

"How do you live with him?!" you ask Sadie

At this she blushes "Well...he's cute. I mean...he's a really nice guy when you get to know him."

She looks like a lovestruck highschool girl while saying that

"W-well don't think I'm not telling Sanja about this little...THING you two have going on!"

"She knows." Red states bluntly

"W-what...?" You say caught off guard by that.

"Yeah it's...a weird relationship...don't ask about it too much." Sadie stammers while blushing

"Oh...well...I see then. But don't think I'll forgive you!"

"Uh...right, but we should introduce you to Tim, he'd love to meet you."

"Why would I need to introduce myself, he already knows me, I'm his mom? Crap how do I take this off again?"

"Power down." Sadie states

"Right...uh, power down!"

The two are astonished to see you standing there in your normal attire.

"Hey you're Tim's Mom!" Red exclaims "I should have known you'd join the team one day!"

>Are you retarded
>Stare in disbelief
>I'm not on any team!
>Other/Write-in

>Are you retarded
>I'm not on any team!
>Throttle Red some more

"Are you retarded? I'm not on any team!" you shout again

"But it'd be great, imagine defending the peace alongside us and the others!"

"What do you see in him?!"

"He's really not so bad once you get to know him."

"It's funny, I never thought we'd be talking face to face like this after I lived in Tim's closet for so long.

You don't know what happened, but a flash of anger overtook your very being and before you knew it you found yourself beating Red to within an inch of his life. Sadie doing her best to throw you off him. She was surprisingly strong all things considered.

Eventually though, through countless mentioning and some begging, you somehow found yourself involved with a super hero team that your son was apparently the boss of. Seriously, how the hell does that work?


He was still grounded for 3 months though. If you were feeling generous anyway.

>To Be Continued in Red Meteor Quest 22!