Blasted Past: Part Two

"Sparrowhawk." The Green Man confirmed, looking up at the image on the wall. "She was a young woman who wore a costume and mask in order to fight crime."

"And distract the bad guys, from what I can see," Lady Sylvia whispered to her colleague.

"Sshh!" Ms. Madison elbowed her in the ribs.

"I met her when I was just starting out," the Green Man went on, ignoring the interruption. "She was the greatest heroine I'd ever met, and every time I met her, I was amazed. But she came to love me, and I her. One night in Aberystwyth, West Wales, as we waited to track down a spy ring, we confessed our love. But it was never to be. For some reason, she went after the bad guys alone, leaving me asleep. She was ambushed and beaten almost to death.

"I nursed her back to health, but the experience had been too much for her. Her mind was gone, all I could do was nurse a lovely, innocent child in the body of a beautiful woman I had once loved. I had to place her in a private nursing home, visiting her as often as I could. Last year, I was able to track down and smash the spy ring, bringing dark vengeance on the wicked men who had destroyed Sparrowhawk."

There was silence for several minutes, as the force of the Green Man's words sunk in.

"Once," he went on, "I had thought that this would heal her, but I know now that was never to be. She remains my special lady, someone I care for deeply. Someone has found out about her, and has tried to attack me by attacking her."

"Then what do we do?" Ms. Madison whispered.

"You will go out and you will find her," the Green Man spoke urgently. "And, when you find who has done this thing, I will kill them. And, if they have hurt Sparrowhawk, I will make that death very slow and very, very painful."