Francis didn't hide his pride. "I know, right? He is one bad-ass mother." Francis mouthed the last words, his face flush with awe.
"Wow, that's frickn awesome dude." Tyler pulled the stool near the desk and sat. "What did you mean by disrupt their disruptions?"
"The bad guys are trying to destroy humankind before it's time."
"How?"
Francis turned to his computer, brought up a world map and pointed to it. "See all the dots?" He looked at Tyler. "Every color stands for something. Red for murder, blue for prostitution, green for pedophilia, yellow is for drugs."
Tyler wowed silently at the map with its heavy patches of solid black covering vast areas. "What's the black for?"
"False religion. It's black because it's the most dangerous."
"Whoa. Guess that's a good color for it. You know I'm…I'm Christian, right?" It seemed a little lame after he said it, but he had to make sure they knew.
Francis gave him a one sided smile. "I did know."
Tyler eyed him. "Does it…does it show? I mean how can you tell?"
"You glow."
Tyler's eyes widened. "I glow?" Great. Just what he always wanted to do.
Francis chuckled. "All that belong to the Redeemer of Man glow with his spirit."
"Wow," Tyler whispered. That made sense. "What color?"
"White."
Tyler laughed a little, still awed. "Should have known." He shrugged and turned his attention to the screen. "What's the plan? Have you worked out how to get those guys?"
"Well…" Francis crossed his slender arms over his chest. "I haven't figured that out yet.
Chapter Fifteen
"Figured what out?"
Tyler jerked to the deep voice and yelped. A huge blue dragon stood there, high as the ceiling. The thing's icy pale blue eyes squinted at Francis. "Maybe you should figure out when to tell us you learned how to take on human qualities?"
Francis sighed and Tyler turned to see why and jumped in surprise. Francis was red. Not just red, but a sort of clear, almost glowing red. Like a ruby. "Wow."
"This is my true form." Francis shrugged like he'd been caught doing something illegal that he didn't consider wrong.
"You called?"
Tyler wheeled toward the new voice. A slender woman stood in the door. She looked like liquid metal in a human-shaped container. The silvery metal swirled and flowed but also held solid form, sort of resembling a female Silver Surfer.
"I called you," the dragon grumbled. "I knew Francis was up to something. Just look at him."
"Look at what?"
"Show her Francis." The dragon's command left no room for argument.
Francis sighed again and suddenly appeared as the boy Tyler had first met.
The metal lady gasped. "How did you do that?"
He shrugged. "When I think of being human, it just happens. Have you tried it?"
The dragon snorted. "Of course we haven't tried it! Why in the Universes would we consider—"
The metal woman's burst of laughter interrupted him and drew their attention again. She stood there as a blonde haired beautiful teenage girl. In a soft yellow dress that fit her perfectly. "Oh my heaven!" She turned clear blue eyes to Tyler and Francis.
Tyler finally dragged some air in past the sucker-punch to the gut feeling just looking at her gave him. Could anything so absolutely perfect actually exist?
"See?" Francis pointed.
"Maxwell, try it!" The girl turned to the dragon, trembling with excitement.
"I will not."
"Pleeeeeeease? For me?"
The giant dragon snarled and sniffed. Tyler guessed it was kind of flustered. "Peggy, I'm clearly not—"
"Just try!"
"Oh for crying out loud. Fine."
They all watched as those giant clear eyes rolled up in annoyed concentration. The result that followed caused a ruckus of laughter.
"You did it!" She clapped. "Except…" She angled her head, peering behind him.
The tall lean young man with ice-blue eyes and black hair to his shoulders scowled at the long slender tail curled on the floor behind him. "I told you I couldn't."
"You can practice! And we won't have to hide! Oh this is fantastic, I'm so tired of hiding, Maxwell!" She ran over and embraced him.
"Whatever possessed you to think of this?" The dragon man scowled at Francis.
"Whatever possessed us not to think of it?"
"I'm with him." The girl, Peggy, pointed at Francis. "He's right. Absolutely and positively."
Maxwell rolled his eyes. "You likely have been wanting to be a woman just so you can shop."
She gasped as though she hadn't considered but definitely had dreamed. She hugged herself and spun around. "I could just think of whatever I want."