Of Peeps: 2020: 1

   Year 2020
   Wolfe ran. He had been running for most of his life, and this night was no different. The people that chased him always wanted him gone. Gone from their lives. Gone from whatever town he was in. Just gone.
   He panted, turning a corner down an alley. His pursuers were still after him. They seemed more persistent than the others had been. He jumped, grabbing hold of a fire escape and climbing up quickly. The three men chasing him entered the alley. He stopped, slowing his breathing and staying silent.
   “Where is he?” one of the men below asked. They all had flashlights and makeshift weapons of some kind.
   “He’s hiding somewhere. This is a dead end. Search the dumpsters.” This one seemed to be in charge. He held his flashlight like a policeman and a crowbar was hooked into his belt. The men were all ex-military. It was obvious from their whole demeanor.
   Wolfe breathed as quietly as he could, one bandaged arm hooked through the rungs.
   I’m getting too old for this, he thought. Then, Am I even old enough to start saying that? I’m only twenty-eight for chrissakes! Twenty feet from the ground, Wolfe watched the men advance farther into the alley. Then he dropped to the ground without a sound. He closed his eyes and delved deep inside himself for something he had not used for quite a few years. He glowed with a silver-blue aura. A wall of ice formed behind him, sealing off the entrance to the dead-end alley.
   The men had seen him. They dropped their flashlights and ran forward. Anger filled their eyes as each raised his weapon. Wolfe listened. He waited.
   He opened his eyes which were glowing with his Ki as well. Hesitation showed on two of the mens’ faces. The leader kept charging, crowbar held like a baseball bat. He swung straight for Wolfe’s head.
   This was the moment when the man with the crowbar felt three things in rapid succession. The first was a sense of triumph as the heavy piece of metal connected with the Wolfe’s head. The second was confusion and unsteadiness as his crowbar went through Wolfe’s head without any resistance. The third was a foot connecting with his jaw. Then he felt nothing.
   Wolfe’s after-image faded, the face slightly distorted as if it had been wet ink and someone had run their finger through it.
   He turned to the remaining two men. They saw the glowing eyes for a second before Wolfe vanished. He landed on one man’s shoulders, forcing him to the ground before he knew what hit him. Wolfe advanced on the third man slowly. His silver-blue aura was trailing from his body, forming the ghostly image of a wolf that followed him.
   “What are you!?” the man screamed. He threw his weapon, an old lead pipe, at Wolfe. Wolfe tilted his head, letting the pipe spin past him, whistling as it went.
   “I’m something you will never understand. Now get out of here. You’re not worth the energy it would take to lay you out.” The man ran, but only made it as far as the wall of ice.
   “How do I get out?” The man was genuinely frantic. Wolfe rolled his eyes and walked over to him. He reached out a bandaged hand, grabbed the man’s head and thrust it into the cold, unforgiving barrier. The ice shattered and fell.
   “Just like that.” Wolfe let him drop to the ground, unconscious. He looked over at the leader, who was coming to. He was carrying a long, thin bag on his back. Wolfe knew that his wato was in that bag. The man stood up. “Hand it over,” Wolfe said.
   “No.”
   “Fine.” Wolfe flash-stepped forward and severed the bag’s strap with a small blade of ice. The man took a swing at Wolfe’s face, but missed. Wolfe turned and ran.
~~~
   It was midnight when Radar heard the sound of someone knocking on his door. Despite the hour, he was still wide awake. He walked over to his apartment door and looked through the peep-hole. It was Spirit. He let her in.
   “Hey,” she said, looking around. “Where’s the fugitive?”
   Radar laughed and pointed to a corner of the room where Wolfe was on his back, fast asleep. “He’s been like that for a while now. You should’ve seen him when he arrived. He looked terrible.”
   “Did he say anything?”
   “Not much. He said he needed a place to crash and that he’d be gone soon.” Radar walked back to his desk.
   “Do any of the other Peeps know he’s here?” Spirit asked, sorely tempted to poke Wolfe in his sleep.
   “No. I didn’t think of telling anyone else. You and I are the only ones left in this city.” Radar was correct. The Peeps had gone their separate ways a few years previous. Ashes had moved to Germany which had been her dream for years. Fangs and Storm had bought a house on the west coast somewhere. Shades had set up a bakery near them and sent packages of cookies to the other Peeps every few weeks. Rumor was that Sqwid had gone underground, searching for something. Wolfe had also disappeared for a few years. Until now, that is.
   “Good point.” Something caught Spirit’s attention. Wolfe was muttering in his sleep. Spirit tip-toed over to him, eager to hear what he was saying.
   “Hey. That tickles,” Wolfe said, still asleep. Spirit frowned. “Seriously. That tickles.”
   “What could he be dreaming?” Spirit asked herself quietly.
   “I’m not dreaming. Your hair is tickling me.”
   “Eep!” Spirit jumped back, stumbling. Wolfe sat up and rubbed his nose vigorously. “I thought you were asleep.”
   “I was.” Wolfe stood up. The years had changed his appearance somewhat. His hair was down to his shoulders and he was sporting a great deal of stubble, which he scratched. “Mind if I use the bathroom, Radar?”
   “Go ahead.” Radar kept his eyes on his workbench. He was a freelance technical specialist. A company had hired him to upgrade their security system and he was testing each new component remotely from the apartment. He leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his short brown hair. He had grown an inch or two over the years. Fangs refused to wear anything but heels when he was around these days.
   Wolfe came back after a few minutes. He was now clean shaven and he had hacked off a few inches of hair. He looked like himself back in high school. The only thing that had changed since then was the tattoo of a crescent moon that he now had emblazoned on his right shoulder. He shook his head violently, dislodging a few long, stray hairs.
   It was raining outside. The rain pattered against the small windows like an army of snare drummers that couldn’t keep a beat. It was warm in Radar’s home. The wooden floors were rough and the eaves were visible, and yet, Radar had made the place comfortable despite its appearance. The apartment was situated at the top of a very old building that seemed to leak everywhere but here. Radar had abandoned his underground lab and old apartment in favor of this place. It had taken him several days to move everything in. The biggest task had been moving his industrial sized fridge from his lab to its current location. He had tried several strategies before realizing that it would be much easier to transport if he actually emptied it first.
   “So,” Wolfe said, sitting down at the kitchen counter and cracking open one of Radar’s homemade root beers. “Been keeping in touch with the others?”
   “For the most part. You and Sqwid have been AWOL for forever and a day,” Spirit said. “Ashes seems happy in Germany. Storm and Fangs still act like they’re on their honeymoon, even though they got married about ten years ago. Shades sends the best cookies. Oh. My. Heck. You have got to try them.” She turned to Radar. “You didn’t eat them all, did you?”
   “I admit nothing,” Radar said, still engrossed in his work. Spirit sped over to the pantry and started chucking things out of it. There was a yell of triumph, slightly muffled by the pantry door.
   “I found them!” She held up a tupperware container like a trophy then slammed it down in front of Wolfe. “Eat.” He picked one of the few remaining cookies and spun it on the tip of his finger. “Stop showing off and eat it already!” She slammed her hands down on the counter, upsetting the box of cookies.
   The three passed the night reminiscing about good times and bad. All of which had happened with their friends.