Part 19 (by Melissa)



Calen and Menne stood outside the entranceway of the 

Holiday Inn, a sense of relief washing over both of them.  They 

had successfully rescued Shannon, and Bez was nowhere to 

be found, and for a moment, Calen felt the worst was over.



 Menne on the other hand, suddenly felt a strong sense of 

foreboding, like something wasn't quite right, but she didn't 

want to alarm Calen.  She walked along the parking lot, in 

between several cars, her eyes looking for anything that would 

give away the reasoning behind her uneasy feelings.



"Is there anything wrong?" Calen asked Menne, watching her 

search.



"I don't know yet.  I sense that something is wrong, I am picking 

up lingering traces of Bez, but I cant pinpoint where." she 

answered.



Calen began following Menne around the parking lot.  As they 

weaved in and out of the parked vehicles, Calen spotted 

something glowing brightly behind an old van.  She went over 

to examine it more closely and found it was a small ball shaped 

object that was glowing green.



"Menne, I think I found something!"  Calen shouted to her.



"Whatever it is, don't touch it, I'm on my way." Menne shouted 

back, making her way over to Calen as fast as she could on the 

ground.



"Back up...if this is Bez's trick, you don't want to be anywhere 

around it." Menne warned, taking a good look down at the 

strange oracle sphere."



Suddenly, "POP!!" Came from the object, making both Calen 

and Menne jump.  A tiny note was left in the aftermath.  Menne 

picked it up cautiously, and began to read.



You rescued the Lady Demon from the depths of my lair,

but, did you know the Starchilds Chiq is still out there?



"What is this?" Calen asked, "Another of Bez's riddles?"



"Appears to be.  Who is Starchilds Chiq?" asked Menne.



Calen grew cold and pale.  She knew it was Lady M from the 

list.  But what did she have to do with all this madness with 

Gene?



"Its Lady M.  We need a phone; I have to make a call.  

Something is wrong."

Calen said, looking around for a possible phone booth.



"Lets go back into the hotel room, use the phone there."



Back in the hotel room, Calen began dialing the numbers of all 

the list members she knew at the time.... Shandi, Raven, Star, 

and Dynasty...they were nowhere to be found.  She knew they 

were all supposed to be going to New York City for the final 

show, but for some reason, they hadn't arrived at their hotel.  

She tried the hotel to see if Desiree, Misha and Cynthia had 

arrived

from Alabama, but the clerk said that they hadn't.  Now, it all 

seemed to make sense.... had E.V.I.L. grabbed them ALL??



**************



Menne sat alone for a moment in the small hotel room, 

contemplating the grave situation.  She needed help, she 

resolved herself to that fact, but who? There was no one that 

knew how to help her more than Calen, but she didn't have any 

powers.  She knew how to resolve that dilemma, if only she 

knew whether or not Calen was ready for it.  She knew she 

played someone on television that had special powers, but how 

would Calen react if she suddenly were faced with similar 

abilities?  She didn't have time to weight the pros and cons, 

she had to act fast, people were in danger.  While Calen was 

busy attempting to contact anyone on the computer, Menne 

took her medallion from around her neck, and waved it over 

Calen's drink.  A small shower of glittering dust floated into the 

glass, making the liquid slightly bubble and turn golden before 

returning to its original color.



There, that should do it...Menne thought as she replaced the 

medallion around her neck and resumed her inward planning.



"Well, no luck...again."  Said Calen, disappointed.  "I can't 

seem to find anyone online, and I posted a message, but the 

message said that the site went down.  That is strange."



"Something big is brewing, I think we better begin our journey 

to New York." Menne said, handing Calen the drink.  "Finish 

this, then we can go."



Calen took the drink and poured it into her mouth, swallowing 

fast. She noticed a slight tingle remain in her throat didn't think 

much of it. "I just hope Gene is alright.  I miss him."



Menne nodded, wondering and waiting to see how long it 

would be before Calen noticed her newfound abilities.  "Are we 

ready now?" She asked.



"I'm ready, are you going to fly us?"



"Yes, it's quicker.  Let's go."



They left the hotel room for the final time and went into the 

lobby to check out.  When they approached the front desk, 

Menne took a step back to observe Calen's reaction.  Sure 

enough, even before the clerk spoke a word, Calen went pale.



"Are you ok?" Menne asked, touching her shoulder. 



"I...don't know.  The clerk, I can hear what he is thinking.  He is 

wondering where the extra sets of utility room keys are." Said 

Calen, her eyes wide.



"Good, good, now, what is he SEEING?" Menne asked. 



"SEEING??  I don't...."



"Yes, concentrate.  Be L'Dara.  What is he seeing?"



Calen closed her eyes for a moment, and thought hard.  

Suddenly she smiled and her eyes flew open.  "He is looking at 

a slip of paper in the copy machine, it's my receipt.  He is 

copying my receipt." She said excitedly. "How did you?  Did 

you do this?"



"Guilty." Menne answered.



"Why?"



"I'll explain later, right now, we need to go.  Give him a little 

push will ya?"



"A push?  OH, yeah, ok."



Calen closed her eyes once more and concentrated.  Menne 

watched at the man

looked up suddenly and came back over to them.



"Yes ladies, sorry.  Here is your receipt, sign here and you can 

be on your way." The clerk said, anxiously.



*****************************



"What other powers did you give me?" Calen asked when the 

got out into the parking lot.



"All the powers that L'Dara has, and their limitations."



Calen smiled.  "Cool.  Thanks, but why?"



"You will need them for the battle we have before us.  Like I 

said before, your friends are in danger, and we have to find 

others who can help us.  You will need these powers to fight 

whoever is behind this."



"Are they permanent?"



"Unfortunately, no.  They will end when everyone is out of 

danger."



"Well, I better enjoy them while I have them."



"Then, are you ready to find your friends?"



"Yes.  We have to find someone first.  Raven.  I think Raven 

holds the key to this whole mystery, and she may be able to 

help us find others that will help." Calen said.



"Great.  Then, lets find a quiet spot to take off."



"By the way, what did you plant in the clerk's head anyway?" 

Menne asked, laughing.



"Oh, that.  I made him think he really needed to go to the 

bathroom, and he couldn't go until he had checked us out.  I 

made him think he was about to wet his pants, that's why he 

was hopping around like that."



Menne let out a loud chuckle.  "I can't believe you made him 

think that!"



Calen smiled.  "It worked, did it?" She said, as her and Menne 

began their long flight to New York City.