Who Was That Boogeyman I Saw You With Last Night, Charlie Boone? - 2. Chapter 2

"You guys left me," Browbeat said, looking hurt. "Went off on a new adventure, and left me behind!"

Kippy crossed his arms, and squinted in mock irritation at the flyer. "As I recall, you were on Engris, up to no good with Casper."

Browbeat's golden eyes widened. "We weren't up to no good! We were exploring the pirate market!"

Kippy shrugged, feigning indifference. "You weren't here when we left. You expect us to come looking for you?"

"Go easy, Kip," Charlie advised, even though he knew Kip was teasing the flyer. "He's teasing you."

Browbeat looked around at the circle of faces smiling at him, and let out a whoop. He launched himself off the wing of Kip's favorite chair in the parlor, and sailed around the room, tittering joyfully. "Aw! There's no putting one over on you, Charlie! You guys are so much fun!"

Kippy rolled his eyes, but couldn't resist smiling as the flyer looped and swooped around the room. "Someone has had too much sugar today!"

"I don't eat!" Browbeat reminded, coming back to land on the wing of Kip's chair, where he smiled down at the boy. "I'm a ghost inside an artificial life form, remember?"

Kippy sighed, and raised a hand to stroke the velvety blue fur of the flyer. "We know. And we love you just the same."

"Aw." Browbeat's small face screwed up into a heartfelt pout. "That's sweet, Kip."

Kippy sighed, and gave the flyer one more affectionate pat before dropping his hand. "You're here now, right? Do you plan to hang around and see what's happening?"

"Whoop!" Browbeat giggled furiously, and then allowed a small sigh to escape. "Okay. I'll be good." His eyes moved to Charlie. "What's the new deal?"

Charlie explained that they had been working on his teleportation skills, something that Browbeat already knew. But then he went on to explain what had happened when they had teleported to a place none of them had been before. The flyer listened intently, his eyes growing slowly larger as the story was revealed.

"Wow! It sounds like maybe aliens are coming to your planet without you knowing about it!"

"We don't know that yet," Max said, shaking his head. "But we do need to check this out."

Browbeat's eyes moved around the circle of his friends. "So, who's this Will Whitesaw guy? Does he have anything to do with it?"

"He seems to be an observer, only," Rick supplied. "Though he believes the visitors to be spirit folks, as he put it."

"He thought we were them, too," Adrian added. "Because we teleported in."

Browbeat turned to Charlie. "And what's this charm thing about?"

Charlie did his best to explain what they had experienced, and what they suspected about the function of the charm.

"Beats me," Browbeat decided. "Sounds like a probability discriminator of some sort."

Charlie blinked in surprise at that. "You've heard of such a thing on your planet?"

Browbeat tittered. "We didn't have that sort of science! I heard about it in the lower layer." The small face frowned. "Now, the question is, where?"

"You don't know?" Kippy asked.

"Not right off. Let me think about it a while."

"We might want to get Ragal and Casper in on this," Rick suggested. "Ragal, especially, might know something about such weird science."

Adrian turned to his boyfriend. "Why weird?"

Rick shrugged. "Well...I mean, it's not like this gizmo is something you're gonna get at Radio Shack."

Kippy frowned. "I guess I wasn't really thinking of this charm thing as a technology...a scientific device." He laughed, and smiled at Charlie. "I was thinking it was magic of some kind."

"There's some skwish involved in it, no question," Max said. "But a skwish machine is still a machine. Someone made this thing."

Adrian squinted at Max. "Could these teleporters have made it?"

The elf scratched his chin in thought. "If they did, they've sure been around a long time. I got a very definite sense that that charm thing was old, like really old."

"I did, too," Charlie agreed. "Odd, the way that came across like that."

Adrian squinted at him. "Yeah. I guess I did feel that, too. It's hard to define the feeling in real time, but the sort of old that came with being near that charm was" --he smiled -- "big old." He nodded to himself. "It seemed somehow very organized, too."

Rick nodded at his boyfriend. "That may be closer to the truth than you think." He turned to Max. "Wouldn't a machine that keeps one certain area free of change have a broader impact than just locally? I would think, to keep that area free of change, it would require that some very large-scale happenings on the planet be altered" -- he frowned -- "maybe the better word is managed, so that changes elsewhere cannot affect that location."

Max considered that a moment, and then nodded. "You mean, like weather? What arrives at any one place locally is part of a pretty complex system that's global in nature."

"Exactly. Suppose, just to argue the point, you have a hurricane that starts way off in the Pacific somewhere. It's path, left alone, will cause it to pass right over the charm later on--"

"I don't think Pacific hurricanes head for Alaska," Kip pointed out. "And they call them typhoons over there."

A frustrated look crossed Rick's face. "'Just for the sake of argument', I said." He sighed, and collected himself before going on. "Because that, um typhoon, would at some point cause changes at the scene of the charm, its path would have to be managed in advance to keep it from arriving there."

"It would be redirected," Charlie supplied, the thought taking hold. "Some other series of events would be managed in order to impact the storm's path." He frowned at the idea. "But would that be necessary? If this thing deflects unsuitable events, why couldn't this weather system pass right over the charm, and simply have no effect on the area around it?"

Rick shook his head. "It doesn't work that way. This charm gizmo isn't like a defensive shield or anything. It doesn't physically shield that spot from change. What is seems to do is to take into account every possibility that might lead to change at that site, and then manage the ones that are dangerous, so that their effects never materialize at all, or are felt elsewhere, instead."

"How?" Kippy demanded. "How could it do that?"

"I see what Rick means," Max said. "Everything that happens, everywhere, is the result of probability defining itself one specific way, a sequence of events, that all lead to the next event. Altering any of the events in the probability chain would change the outcome at a given time later on."

Charlie whistled in amazement at the very idea. "It would take a hell of a machine to be able to analyze every single change that led to further changes, and manage the correct ones to alter an outcome."

"Isn't that like seeing the future?" Adrian asked, suspiciously. "How could it look ahead like that?"

The elf laughed. "It seems like it, doesn't it? But this gizmo would have to have some way of tabulatin' everything happening around it in the present, in order to set the probability of negative events to come.in the future. But all it would have in every moment of the present was a possibility that some current event might lead to a negative future. The strength of that probability would cause it to act, or not."

"An even more amazing idea comes to mind," Browbeat said, from atop Kip's chair. He seemed unable to control a small laugh. "Wow!"

"Are you going to keep us in suspense?" Kippy asked, smiling up at the flyer.

Browbeat tittered happily, obviously enjoying himself. "If what we're sayin' about this machine you found is true...you guys didn't just find it by accident. Events were coordinated so that you would arrive there when you did, and that everything that's followed would happen, including this discussion. If you were allowed to find this thing, it will, at some point later on, add up to preventing some negative change from happening in that spot."

Kippy gaped at the flyer. "Is this my sweet little Browbeat talking?"

The flyer let out a hoot. "I'm no dummy!"

Kippy's look of amazement instantly morphed into a smile. "I never thought you were. It's just, you never...I never expected--" He sighed. "You're just full of surprises, sweetheart!"

Browbeat simply glowed at the praise, and Charlie let out a quiet sigh of pleasure at the sight. The little flyer had found a close and comfortable place within their group. They had so many wonderful friends now!

Ricky shook his head then. "This thing spooks me. How far could its influence extend? It would somehow have to be aware of events far and wide! What if some big asteroid is on a collision course with the earth even now? Would this gimmick cause something to happen so it would miss us?"

"Elves look out for that stuff," Max reminded. "No big rock is gonna sneak up on us again like in the past. The small ones are allowed to get by, but they just put on a good show in the sky. But no dinosaur-killers for us!"

Charlie shook his head then, thinking. "This just seems too big somehow. Even if such a machine as we're supposing could be created, what would be the point of doing so, just to secure a little patch of forest in Alaska?"

Kippy turned to him, his expression suddenly one of excitement. "Maybe where it is doesn't really matter! I mean, maybe the point of it isn't just to keep that little spot in Alaska safe. Maybe its supposed to keep the whole planet safe!"

Adrian gasped at the notion. "To keep that one spot safe, it would have to keep the whole planet safe, wouldn't it?"

Charlie and Max exchanged thoughtful looks at that. "Kip may be onto something," the elf agreed. "That gizmo keeps its own area secure to protect its own existence, and probably doesn't interfere with things that happen in other places as long as there is no danger to itself. But it would have to keep any potential threats to the whole planet from happenin', to keep itself safe."

"But it wasn't around to help the dinosaurs, was it?" Adrian asked.

"It probably wasn't here that far back," Max agreed. He shook his head. "But even so, you're puttin' keeping the things that live on earth safe in the same breath as keeping the planet safe. Keeping life safe may not be this thing's main function."

Charlie gave a low whistle at the idea. "But why keep the planet safe, if not to keep the life on it safe?"

The elf rolled his eyes. "You're askin' questions I can't answer, Charlie." He frowned, thinking. "Maybe Nicholaas might be able to help with this."

Kippy smiled at the idea. "We can go downstairs and drop in on him!"

"Let's do it!" Browbeat agreed excitedly, launching himself into the air again. "We're going where it's cold, because we are so bold, and the stairway isn't old, that leads to Santa's hold!"

Kippy laughed at that. "You like our language, don't you?"

"It rhymes well," Browbeat agreed, sailing around the room again to come back to land on the wing of the chair. "And life should rhyme!" He turned to Charlie. "Are we going?"

Charlie frowned at that, thinking. "Um...I'm inclined to collect Ragal and Casper first, or we'll just have to explain to them anything Nicholaas tells us."

The flyer tittered happily. "So we go upstairs, high above the airs?"

Kippy winced at that, and then sighed. "There's such a thing as beating something to death, my friend."

Browbeat's golden eyes held a boundless light of humor. "I bet I won't, if you say don't!"

"Don't!" everyone chorused, followed by a group laugh.

And then they headed for the stairway to the attic, and Engris.

 

* * * * * * *

 

"Ragal will be back any minute," Casper said, as he led them into the great room of their villa on Engris. "He and Durapar went to see Mertril at The Missing Ingredient to look over a new shipment of spices that might be of use in our pizza business. Ragal said he'd be gone an hour of relative time, and it's been that long now."

Reality was something of a puzzle on Engris. Time did not actually pass on the dark world relative to the real universe that they all knew, but things did progress somehow within the Cooee, anyway. Everyone visiting or living upon Engris carried a simulator device that allowed them to plan and execute their days in accordance with the perceived passage of time. These devices all presented a uniform accounting, but every user was free to call the increments which they displayed whatever they wished. Because the boys from Earth used hours, minutes, and seconds, Ragal and Casper had come to use them, too.

"And your pizza stand is doing well?" Kip asked, smiling. "I know we've liked all the flavors we've tried."

"Oh, you bet!" Casper plopped down on the sofa and emitted a squeaky laugh that made everyone smile. "Everybody seems to love the stuff. What a great idea!"

Kippy flashed Charlie a happy smile at Casper's delight with the success of their new business.

Browbeat landed atop the back of the sofa above Casper and tittered happily. "I don't even eat the stuff, and I think it's fun!"

Casper looked up at the flyer, and both of them laughed. The two had become fast friends, something in their youthful natures each finding a resonance in the other. Along with Auggie, the magical bearcat that lived with Nicholaas and Ronja, they had formed a trio that had been happily investigating the mysteries that Engris had to offer. Kippy referred to the three as 'the kids', and always seemed delighted at their antics.

Charlie sighed contentedly, and let his eyes wander to the other end of the room. Beyond the immense transparent window-wall there, part of the starport could be seen, as well as the lights of the city that never slept. The pirate market of Al'roost operated around the clock, without break, the various stands, shops, and emporiums closing briefly only when new stock came in from off-planet, or their operators needed a break. Other businesses had staffs and ran in shifts, and never closed at all. Living bodies seemed not to tire within the no-time of Engris, but minds still felt the passing of the pseudo-days, busy and challenging, and those races that normally slept when upon their own worlds found that they still needed that lapse in consciousness each 'day' on Engris in order to function properly.

The lack of a sun and a true rhythm to the days bothered some species more than others, and the lights of the city softened at regular intervals to mimic the changes a world around a star would experience. Yet there was no true night in the city or in the market, never a total darkness, as if such a thing had no place here; and Charlie had always found the lights beyond the grand window a bold statement on the determination of intelligent life to meet and defeat the unknowing indifference of darkness. Thousands had fled or been driven from worlds of the galaxy's five empires to find refuge of one sort or another on this phantom world that traveled the dark depths of the Cooee. Here was peace and safety, for no one could raise a fatal hand -- either physically or figuratively -- against another, and still hope to call Engris home. The planetary intelligence that oversaw this world's operation, set in place a half-million years in the past by the Madracorn, did not tolerate violence on the part of any of its residents. Engris was by no means a paradise, but it was as close to an ideal place to live as Charlie had ever let himself imagine.

Or, as close to an ideal place to live, after Earth!

Kippy seated himself next to Casper and put an arm around the small alien and gave him a fond squeeze. "And how have you been, sweetheart? Is business leaving you time to have fun?"

Casper smiled up at him, and laughed his squeaky laugh again. "Oh, I love it here! There's so much to do, so much to see. I have more friends now than I ever had before I met you guys!"

"I'm one!" Browbeat threw out, followed by another delighted laugh.

"Yes, you are, and a good friend, too." Kip sighed happily, dropped his gaze to Casper, and squeezed his narrow shoulders a second time. "I'm glad you're enjoying life here." He looked over at Charlie, and Charlie could see the happiness in his boyfriend's eyes. Rescuing souls was a specialty of Kip's, and just one more reason Charlie loved him so much.

Casper looked around at everyone, and seemed unable not to smile. "I sense a new adventure coming."

"A big one!" Browbeat added, briefly causing his wings to flutter. "I can hardly wait!"

"It does look like something is brewing," Rick admitted, grinning at the small alien. "We just thought maybe you and Ragal would want to go along."

Casper's eyes widened. "Really? Oh, I want to go!" But then he laughed again. "Well, maybe we'd better hear about it first!" He blinked his gray eyes then, and turned towards the front of the villa. "I think--"

They heard the door then, and soon Ragal entered the room. He seemed unsurprised by the crowd assembled there, and smiled around at them with pleasure. "Well! I had a feeling there would be visitors here when I got back!"

Charlie laughed softly at that. Ragal's knack for feeling things was well known by now. The tall alien was abundantly endowed with a passive form of skwish that gave him great insight and a potent ability to analyze and understand even the oddest and most puzzling of events. Paired with his astounding knowledge of the past of the galaxy -- some of which he had actually lived a half-million years past -- he was a wonderful addition to any investigation. Ragal and Casper worked well together, the talents and powers of each often so complimentary that they were able to work together as a single potent mind.

"HI, Ragal!" Browbeat called. "Now the party can begin!"

"Hi, Browbeat." The lanky alien chuckled, and smiled at the flyer. "I'm sure you'll do your part to make it fun!"

"We have need of your advice on something," Charlie injected quickly, waving a hand at the sofa. "Come and sit. We came to bend your ear a little, and invite you guys along, if you want to come."

"It's another adventure!" Casper said, clasping his hands together happily. "I hope we can go!"

Ragal looked interested, and found a seat on the other side of Casper. "I'm all ears, even the bent one."

They took turns explaining their trials with following Charlie's second presence to a new destination they had not visited before, and then teleporting there, themselves. And detailing Charlie's own successes with moving himself from one place to another via skwish. Ragal and Casper seemed delighted at Charlie's progress, and the group accomplishment of teleporting to a place they have never physically been before.

"The process actually reminds me of the Telzee Route that Max used to get other elves to Lollipop when we were fighting the Beltracians," Kippy offered. "Those elves had never been to Lollipop, but because Max was there he was able to point the way for the others to get to the ship from Earth. In our case, it's Charlie's second presence that gets there first, and shows us the way."

"It's an interesting cheat," Ragal agreed. "You can follow Charlie's second presence, and then teleport to his location. But while you have never been there physically, your minds visit the place before you teleport, and so you have the sense of the location as a place. It's only technically teleporting to a place you have never been, because you haven't been there physically."

"It's good enough for the record books," Max explained. "It's still never been done before."

"I didn't mean to belittle the accomplishment," Ragal returned quickly. "I have never heard of this being done before, either. I was just trying to see it in the way it actually seems to function."

"We're not worried about that," Charlie reassured. "You're right on the mark with the way it works. And, it actually surprises me that it hasn't been done before."

Max smiled at him. "The second presence talent you have is pretty rare, Charlie."

Charlie returned the smile, and then turned back to Ragal. "Anyway, we thought you guys could help, if you're free."

"I'm free!" Casper said immediately, raising a small hand.

Ragal laughed at that. "I don't have a busy calendar, either, Charlie. Why don't you tell us everything that happened?"

They went on to explain their meeting with Will Whitesaw, and then going to see the Héiýwaa -- the ancient charm that had been placed in the forest to protect the serenity of the location. Ragal's eyes widened at their ideas on what this strange skwish machine was doing there, and then just as quickly narrowed again as he listened to Will Whitsaw's description of the spirit folk that he had seen visiting the area.

Ragal leaned forward to stare at Charlie intently. "Large beings, bipedal, clad in blue, furry in the face, like they're bearded, and with large, dark eyes?"

"That's what he said, " Charlie agreed. He cocked his head at the lanky alien. "It sounds like you recognize them."

"No." Ragal's reptilian features clouded a moment with uncertainty. "The description - it just sounds familiar, like one I heard in my youth."

Charlie and Max exchanged curious glances.

"You've heard of these fellas before?" Max asked.

"Or, something like them?" Charlie added.

Ragal issued forth a very human-sounding sigh. "I hesitate to possibly pollute this investigation with probable misinformation."

"If you know something, you should share it," Casper urged carefully. "Anything you're unsure of can be viewed as an aside for now. But...I feel like you should share this."

"Yeah! Be a pal!" Browbeat urged.

Kippy squeezed Casper's shoulders gently, and nodded at Ragal. "I agree."

Ragal smiled at his small friend. "I will bow to your intuition on this, then." He turned back to Charlie and Max. "They sound like Leepers."

For a moment there was total silence at this revelation.

"Oh," Rick said then, waving a hand in mock dismissal. "Oh, them."

Ragal chuckled, and sat back and closed his eyes. "When I was a child in Burnitadas, in the realm of Tiva, I used to hear those spooky tales." He sighed. "I think every intelligent race out there has such stories, designed to cause a sharply-felt tingle, or a delicious shudder, or a sharply taken breath of anxiety." He nodded. "Tales to frighten the children with."

Rick looked surprised, and then groaned. "This doesn't sound like it's going to be welcome news!"

Ragal gave a small shrug. "What can I say? It is what it is, Rick. The tales of the Leepers were frightening."

Browbeat and Casper shared a wide-eyed look. "Wow!" Casper breathed.

Charlie shook his head slowly. "And this was a half-million years ago?"

"Well, give or a take a year or two," Ragal returned, smiling. "That's my chief objection to sharing this information. Even had the Leepers been an actual reality, no race from that period has survived into these times."

"You're here," Kippy reminded brightly.

Ragal smiled. "I am the exception, but you know the reason why. But no other races from that period in galactic history are still around, save the Madracorn, and only in spirit form."

"They'd be pretty old, if it was the same race," Charlie agreed. He turned to Max. "The feeling of age we got from the charm? Did it feel like a half-million years to you?"

"I have no idea. That's the sort of thing that's just a feeling, Charlie. I just sensed great age. But the feeling didn't come with an exact measurement."

"I thought as much." Charlie nodded at the elf. "I just wondered if your senses might be more refined than mine."

Max chuckled. "You're doin' better than you think, son."

Adrian raised a hand to get Ragal's attention. "So, who were these Leepers?"

The tall alien considered that a moment, and then smiled apologetically at Rick. "You won't like this, either. Your people have a term for apparitions of this sort, actually. Our many Halloween experiences together have acquainted me with it." He turned his smile to Charlie. "I think your people would call them...boogeymen."

Rick coughed out a disbelieving laugh. "Are you serious!"

"I am." Ragal let his eyes move among his guests. "It's a catchall term, I realize, but it does seem to apply here."

Charlie frowned at that. "It is a catchall term. Like you said, it's one used to frighten children, or refer to anything unknown that's scary."

"And it's a term used for stories that are not real, too!" Kippy pointed out quickly.

Ragal nodded at that. "Oh, I know. No one ever proved that Leepers were real." His smile returned. "But no one ever proved they were not, either." The tall alien's odd smile looked out of place for the topic of their conversation. "In those times, the science of my people was considerable. In fact, the empires that flourished then would make those of today seem somewhat backward. Yet each and every one of those civilizations that I was acquainted with had stories of entities that moved about the dimly-lit edges of their cultures, that loved the darkness, and which beings were responsible for all sorts of acts of mayhem and evil. I have always found it interesting that no culture is without these sorts of tales. It tends to say to me that there is something unknown there in the darkness, something that is talented enough to avoid the attempts of even advanced science to put a light on it."

Adrian laughed nervously then. "Is this a joke, Ragal? For Halloween? You seem to be having too much fun with this!"

Kippy tsked. "Yeah. This does sound pretty weird to me, too. If your science couldn't identify these spooks, why would you think they might be real?"

"A fair question. You already know my people are extremely sensitive, that we are able to discern things that races less endowed with skwish cannot. There have always been those among my kind who made it their purpose in life to seek out these shadow entities, in an attempt to confront them. It's why I have actually heard tales that describe a few encounters with unknown entities that appeared in the same way that your Will Whitesaw saw them: large beings, bipedal, clad in blue, furry in the face, as if bearded, and with large, dark eyes."

"And this isn't a Halloween prank?" Rick asked again.

"I'm afraid not." The tall alien's smile faded away, to be replaced with a more serious expression. "It's been some time since something here in this era has triggered a memory of my youth. It's...it's a bit sweet to recall those days so vividly, even when the subject matter is not particularly appealing." He shook his head then. "I realize the term boogeymen hardly sounds like serious science. It does seem an accurate usage here, though."

Max nodded. "It sounds right for the stories, maybe, if not these creatures, themselves. Providing they're real, of course."

"That might be more accurate," Ragal agreed. "I have never seen a Leeper, myself. And in popular usage, boogeymen have no shape, no definite characteristics, while Leepers have all been described much the same way as your Will Whitesaw described them. The stories of their exploits in my time varied from person to person, culture to culture, world to world. Popular stories, that, like rumors, grew in power with each new telling. The one thing they have in common is that they refer to something that appears as you have described, and...something that frightens."

Kippy's face compressed into a brief pout, and then he looked over at Charlie. "Just great."

Rick scratched at his cheek in thought, watching Ragal. He turned to Max then. "Wouldn't your people know if these creepers were showing up here?"

"Leepers," Adrian corrected, with a weak grin.

Rick waved a hand impatiently. "Whatever. Max?"

The elf shrugged. "Before now, I would have said yes. But if Will Whitesaw is to be believed, these blue dudes have been visiting Earth, and we sure don't know about them!"

The idea that the elves were less than all-powerful left a silence in the room. Max's people always seemed up to dealing with just about anything! But...Charlie knew that the elves were amazing at what they could do...yet, no one was omniscient. Not even--

"Nicholaas," he said out loud.

Rick grunted. "That has my vote. Yeah. I think it's time to go see Nicholaas."

"I agree," Max said. "If anyone might be a help with this, it's the big guy."

Charlie stood to go, and managed to smile at Ragal and Casper. "So, are you two coming?"

Ragal stood and stretched languidly, and then smiled at Charlie. "Absolutely!"

Casper emitted a happy sound, and raised a hand to pat Browbeat's furry head. "We're coming with you!"

"A new adventure!" Browbeat said, hooting gleefully and rising into the air. "You guys are so much fun!"

Kippy closed his eyes a moment and shook his head, and then opened them and looked up at Charlie."Then let's get going. If the boogeyman is out there, I want to know about it before dark!"

 

* * * * * * *

 

"Stories of the Leepers first appeared in our civilization well before I was born," Ragal told them. "Their exploits had attained a definite mythological flavor by the time I first heard of them." He looked around at his audience. "In fact, the term I'm using, Leepers, is an Anglicized version of the term Leeperi, used in my mother tongue to describe them. It means shadow dwellers."

They were sitting around the cheerful fire going in the hearth of the great room at Nicholaas' workshop. A large window to one side showed a street scene in Twombly, the elf town nestled in the mountains of Vermont, where a part of the elf population had eventually lit after being banished from their own world for their leader's misdeeds a millennium in the past. These elves had been reunited with their people just a few years ago, largely due to the efforts of Charlie and his friends, and Nicholaas had taken them under his wing, determined to ensure their safety and happiness on the human Earth.

The man who was Santa was himself seated in a comfortable chair facing the fire, where he could see everyone seated on the sofas to his left and to his right. He had seemed oddly expectant about their visit, but Charlie felt that was due to Nicholaas simply knowing whenever someone entered his realm, rather than any notion that the man knew the future with any particular intimacy. Still, almost nothing seemed impossible for Nicholaas, and Charlie was intrigued to see how the man would react to their story.

"Quite a long time ago," Nicholaas supplied, nodding. "Please, continue."

To one side of Nicholaas, Robin Hood, history's most popular thief, sat in another chair, his arm draped over one armrest, his hand slowly stroking the head of Auggie as the bearcat drowsed near the fire. Robin simply looked up at Ragal and smiled without saying anything, plainly not wanting to interrupt the story.

Ragal drummed his long fingers softly against the armrest of the sofa, obviously concentrating on what he wanted to convey to everyone. "Every culture, no matter how advanced, seems to be saddled with stories that are both strange and often counter to reason, and even those that border on the impossible. It seems not to be something that diminishes with the rise of science, either. One would think that by the time a culture reaches the age of star-travel, that most stories that fail the test of science would have been put away as belonging to the youthful years of the race." The alien leaned forward in his seat. "I have always had a bit of an interest in such tales, and so I probably know more of them than is good for me." He smiled. "But what has always interested me is that, rather than such tales diminishing with the maturing of a race, they often seem to have increased as their culture spread among the stars."

Nicholaas smiled at that. "The universe is a very mysterious place. Even I know that there are many things out there that are very difficult to explain. Just our own Earth has more than its share of mysteries, both those known, and those still waiting to be discovered."

"Did you know about the skwish machine in the woods near Yakutat?" Kippy asked.

"No." Nicholaas frowned a moment. "Though I had noticed over time that the outcomes of some events on our planet had not gone as I had anticipated they would. I never suspected that probability was being manipulated, but now that we know of this machine -- or machines -- it does seem to fall rather plainly into place."

Charlie blinked in surprise at his words. "You think there's more than one of them?"

"I think, now that I am aware that probability is being guided, that there have to be more than one of these devices. A planet is a large and complicated place. I think a network of such devices would be in order to protect it all."

That brought a moment of silence to the room, as everyone contemplated the idea of more of the Héiýwaa devices hidden about the Earth.

"Well...should we do something about it?" Charlie finally asked. "If these machines are interfering with the way things are supposed to go here--"

Nicholaas held up a hand. "I would say that we should not bother these machines in their operations. If they're as old as you sense, their manipulation of events on our world would seem to be in our favor. I see no reason just now to change that."

"What about the teleporters?" Rick asked. "The blue, bearded guys? What could they be up to, planting these things here?"

Robin raised a hand before Nicholaas could answer, and all eyes turned to him. "There is actually nothing I have heard at this point to tie these visitors to the creation of your probability devices. As described, they only seem to have attracted their notice, and nothing else."

Nicholaas chuckled at that. "My thoughts exactly, my friend. Even should these visitors prove to be as ancient as these devices seems to be, it is not an indication that they are responsible for them being here."

Charlie nodded at that. "We were thinking they might have an association with the probability devices, but we weren't certain these blue guys had made them."

Kippy held up his hands as if he was bewildered. "And they didn't seem all-powerful or anything. Will Whitesaw said he was able to hide from them with his ixt powers."

Robin's interest perked up at that. "Ixt?"

"We think it's just the local reference to skwish," Rick explained. "We could all sense that Will had some of it."

"And he could keep these blue people from seeing him with it," Adrian reiterated. "So, how powerful can they be?"

Robin smiled at that. "There are multiple ways of staying below the radar. It just depends on which one he used."

Max grunted. "I know I didn't sense him there in the woods until he let me. It's pretty good camouflage, whatever it is."

Kippy smiled at Charlie. "Maybe we can get him to teach it to us?"

"Anything's possible. I guess it does look like we'll need to go back and talk to Mr. Whitesaw."

"Mind if I tag along?" Robin asked, offering an interested smile.

Charlie returned the smile. "Not one bit." He turned to Nicholaas. "Would you like to go?"

The older man frowned at that. "I think not. Not yet, anyway. I want to do a little looking through the past and see what I can come up with."

Adrian whistled softly at the idea. "You think you can find who put that charm in the Alaskan woods?"

"I don't know. Scanning time is not as easy as looking through a book. It's a little harder to precisely flip the pages, so to speak. But I do want to do a little poking around on my own, before I get into this." Nicholaas smiled then. "Besides, if Robin is along with you, that's about as good as me being there, anyway."

Robin chuckled. "Flattery, sir, will get you everywhere!"

Nicholaas turned to Charlie. "Your friend that is interested in Native American cultures may be able to offer something on this subject. Dick Sternman?"

"There's an idea," Rick agreed. "Though this is some pretty strange stuff."

"Not any stranger than Bigfoot, or other cryptids," Kippy observed, rolling his eyes.

"We can go by and ask him, I think," Charlie agreed, smiling at Kip's reaction. "I think his interests tend more to the eastern tribes of the continent, but he has surprised me more than once with what he knows."

"Road trip!" Browbeat said excitedly. "This will be fun!"

"Are you coming, Auggie?" Casper called to the bearcat.

Auggie raised his head sleepily, but Nicholaas answered for him. "I think I want him to stay with me just now. I may have need of some of his abilities. Do you mind, Auggie?'

The bearcat blinked as everything sank in, and then let out an almost theatrical sigh. "Stay," he agreed, giving Casper a sorrowful look.

Nicholaas laughed. "I promise you, I'll make it up to you, Auggie. Okay?"

The bearcat's mood visibly brightened, and he nodded.

Charlie gave an internal sigh of relief. Much as he loved Auggie, when the bearcat teamed up with Casper and Browbeat, the three were a handful!

Nicholaas gave him a knowing smile, and rose to his feet. "I think we should all get started on our tasks." He moved closer to Charlie, and lowered his voice. "You have some very able assistance, Charlie. But feel free to call me, if you need me."

Charlie nodded, feeling a little relieved. Max and Robin were very potent forces, but you couldn't get any better than being backstopped by Nicholaas!

"What next?" Kippy asked, getting to his feet as well. The others started to rise, too.

Charlie was thinking ahead already, and put a hand on Kip's arm. "Take everyone back to the house. We'll go by Dick Sternman's next."

Kippy frowned at that. "Where are you going?"

"I want to run over to my parent's house for a moment." Charlie smiled. "Fill them in? Now that they're part of my life in this, I want them to know what I'm doing. What I've accomplished."

"Like teleporting?" Kippy grinned, and then looked thoughtful at that. "Yeah. I see what you mean. I'll give my mom a call from the house." He smiled winningly. "Good thinking!"

Charlie laughed, and leaned forward to kiss his boyfriend. "I shouldn't be long. Keep things warm for me!"

"Always, Charlie," Kippy said, touching his chest above his heart.

Charlie grinned, and then teleported to his parent's house.

 

* * * * * * *

 

"What an amazing story," Charlie's mom said, smiling at him over her cup of tea. "To think you've been doing incredible things like this, and we had no idea at all!"

"That's why I'm here," Charlie told her, smiling at her, and then at his dad. "To keep you guys in the loop."

Charlie's father sighed at that. "My boy, the superhero!"

They all laughed at that.

"It runs in the family, remember," Charlie told them. "I guess I got some good genes."

"So, this device you found in Alaska somehow manipulates probability?" his dad asked. "That's a pretty tall order."

"That's what we think, too. Kip suggested it's there more to help to protect the whole planet, and even Nicholaas said that was a distinct possibility. But we just don't know why yet."

His mom nodded her head. "And these other teleporters - Leepers, you said? They might have something to do with this thing?'

"We don't know if they put it there, or if it somehow attracted their attention," Charlie clarified. "Will Whitesaw just said that they appeared now and then, seemed to talk to each other, and then vanished. And that they were very large bipeds - larger then humans - wore blue suits, had heavily bearded faces, and large, black eyes."

His mother simply looked fascinated, but his dad drew back to stare at him. "Say that again?"

Charlie blinked uncertainly at his father. "Large bipeds, wearing blue overalls, bearded faces, and large black eyes." Charlie frowned. "Does that mean something to you?"

His father frowned thinking. "I don't know where I saw it now," he said, almost as if to himself. "In the basement? Or in the closet in the extra bedroom?"

"Dad?" Charlie asked, puzzled now.

His father shot to his feet, looking excited. "Wait a minute, Charlie. I'll be right back!"

And then he ran from the kitchen.

Charlie and his mother stared after him. "What on earth was that about?" his mom wondered.

Charlie just shook his head, staring through the doorway into the family room. "That was weird."

But now his mother looked as if she was thinking. "He knows something. I feel it."

Charlie blinked in surprise at her. Could his parent's skwish be becoming more sensitive now? Charlie knew for himself that being around others that used skwish was a motivator for people that had latent skwish abilities to start using them. His mom and dad had been to the new house Charlie and Kippy had created with Lugh, the ancient Celtic spirit, many times now since the Christmas party, and skwish was often in use there. The whole house was a skwish entity of a sort, in fact; or, an itch entity, as Mildred had called her version of the art.

His mom sipped at her tea, and smiled at him. "You look spooked, Charlie. I'm sure it will be fine."

He nodded. "It's just that this whole situation seemed a little weird already, and now it seems to be getting even weirder!"

They could hear Charlie's dad moving around somewhere in the house, and the sounds of other things being moved.

His mom made a little cluck of satisfaction. "I thought so." She smiled at Charlie. "He's going through his old book collection."

Charlie remembered now. His dad had a large collection of old books stowed around the house in boxes, mostly science fiction and fantasy from his youth. His dad had used to read some of these books to Charlie when he was a kid, a chapter each evening before bedtime, and Charlie had found the tales amazing and exciting then. He'd looked forward to those nightly readings, and gone on to dream amazing dreams in his sleep.

In his early teens, Charlie had read many of his dad's books for himself, and found some of them a little dated. But wonder never really went out of style, and good fiction had a way of outlasting the eras in which it was written. The memories of his dad reading those stories to him before bed would never be anything but special.

He smiled at the memory. "I remember he used to read those stories to me when I was little. They were exciting."

His mom smiled. "I remember that, too." She turned to look again at the doorway Charlie's dad had left the kitchen through. "He seems pretty excited right now, himself."

Charlie nodded at that. The sounds of exploration went on for another few minutes, and then they heard Charlie's dad returning. He entered the kitchen and retook his seat, and plopped a book down on the table and slid it over in front of Charlie. "Have a look at this."

Charlie examined the book. It was an old paperback novel - or, rather, two novels, in a variation on the binding format once called dos-à-dos, where you flipped over the book and found a second novel on the other side. He stared at the illustration on the cover now facing him, his jaw dropping in surprise.

The book was called Invaders From Limbo, by an author named Ripley Shannon. The illustration showed a scene on a public road, presumably in the US somewhere, where the large, almost art deco cars of past times were halted in a line before a barely visible rift of some sort that hung in the air above the road. The car doors were open, and people were fleeing in fright from the line of beings coming through the rift and landing on the roadway--

Charlie simply stared. The invaders were all large bipeds wearing blue overalls, with furry faces that resembled beards, over which large, shiny black eyes gazed around with a glint of malevolence that couldn't be missed!

Charlie picked up the book with care, almost as if it might bite him. He opened the cover, flipped to the copyright page - it said © 1967, by Ripley Shannon. Fifty-seven years ago!

"I remember the story," his dad said slowly. "It was pretty scary. These blue aliens are described in some detail in the book. Exactly like they're shown on the cover."

"You remembered this book cover after all these years?" Charlie asked, impressed.

His dad smiled. "Well, no. I was looking through the boxes of books just the other day, and I saw this one again." He reached out and touched the book with a fingertip, and stared at Charlie. "For some reason, it caught my eye."

"Why were you looking through your books?" Charlie asked. He didn't know why, but the question seemed important now.

His dad smiled. "I know -- I haven't bothered much with them in years. But...since we've learned about the world that our son is now living in -- the places you've been, the things you've done --" he laughed. "It seems to have rekindled my sense of wonder, somehow."

Charlie smiled. Somehow, he understood that. "I didn't know you'd ever lost it."

His dad sighed. "Getting older tends to diminish your enthusiasm for the less concrete aspects of life, son. You find you have less time for that sense of wonder. For things that may have once intrigued, mystified, and fascinated you. For the things that exist in the world of the unknown." He looked satisfied now. "All that came rushing back to me after the Christmas party. I found that there are still wonders in the world, after all."

Charlie set down the book, and laid a hand on his dad's wrist. "There are a lot of wonders still remaining."

"I know that, now. So, I have been looking through my old books, and even reading a few. It's been fun."

Charlie looked down at the book. "Can I take this with me? Or...wait a minute." Charlie stood, took out his phone, and snapped several close-ups of the cover of the novel. He smiled at his dad. "I don't want to louse up the collection."

His father nodded, and stared at the book again. "Do you think this means something? Or, is it just a coincidence?"

"I don't know. It will need to be looked into, definitely." Charlie sat down again and smiled at his dad. "Do you guys want to come along?"

His dad looked surprised; and then the man looked over at Charlie's mom. Charlie could see the silent messaging taking place between the two of them, and the brief battle taking place in his father's mind. But then his dad sighed, and smiled at him. "No. Not just yet. This seems like it might be an important and serious investigation. We'd just be in the way. Besides, I have to be at work on Monday. Your mom, too." He looked at Charlie's mom. "Right?"

She smiled. "Yes." Her gaze moved to Charlie. "At some point, we might want to go with you on one of these investigations. But...we should pick one that is less important to get right than this one seems it will be. We need time, too, Charlie, to really get used to all of this." She shook her head. "I don't think we're ready just yet."

"I want my sense of wonder to brew a little bit," his dad added, smiling.

Charlie nodded and put his phone away. "I understand. Just know that the two of you are welcome to join us."

His father picked up the paperback book and smiled at the cover. "Maybe after I read a few more of these? Okay?"

"Okay." Charlie stood again. "I have to go. Everyone's waiting on me."

His parents got up, and he exchanged hugs with each of them. His dad smiled at him as he released him. "You'll let us know how this comes out?"

"You'll be my first stop when it's all over," Charlie promised.

He stepped back from the table, waved at his parents, and then visualized the parlor in the house he shared with Kip.

The last thing he saw before disappearing were his parent's smiles, and his dad's arm moving to encircle his mom.