Cursed #1

Yeah, I'm not going to do a long drawn out introduction. like some of my super-powered counterparts. (Yeah, looking at you, Speedfreak!) The time that takes I could be playing on Facebook or something. My name's Sarah Jones. And if you wanna know about me, not that you would or anything, just read this little shitty thing about my "origin story". Seriously, I'm going to kill Holly for calling it that...Anyway, yeah. Here it is. Now, go away.

Shaston. August 2006.

It was quiet in the road. At least it seemed it. Mind you, as far as she was concerned, it could be very loud and she wouldn't notice. She laid there in the road, unable to move. She was terrified but she couldn't tell anyone. She couldn't scream or cry or talk. She was just there. Alone. Inside her own body. Lost to the world. Although it was quiet; she could hear the distant sound of a siren. Moments later, she saw a strange man look over her and shine a torch into her eyes. His voice sounded distant too even though he was right next to her.

"Hello, sweetheart, can you hear me?"

She says nothing.

"Can you tell me your name?"

Still nothing. She literally cannot make herself speak. Another voice can be heard. A frantic one. A woman comes into view opposite the paramedic. She's frantically trying to see if she's ok.

"LET ME THROUGH, I'M HER MOTHER!"

The Paramedic looks at the mother.

"You're the mother?"

"YES!"

"Ok, can you tell me her name?"

"SARAH! SARAH JONES!"

"Ok. Sarah? Can you hear me?"

Still nothing.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO HER!?"

"We're not sure yet..."

Suddenly, her eyes feel very heavy. She looks up at her mother before everything starts to go black. The last thing she sees is her mother getting even more frantic, calling her name, as the darkness engulfs her completely. She suddenly feels very weird. All she can see is a small dot of white in a sea of black. Suddenly, everything explodes in a sea of vivid colour and magic. It's beautiful. She's not entirely sure what's going on but she certainly likes the look of it. She reaches out and tries to touch it but it seems further away than it actually looks. It's all very strange.

After a few moments of this she sees a man. He's a very weird looking man. But he seems pleasant enough.

"Miss Jones. Very lovely to see you. We apologise for the inconvenience that has been caused to you. But we hope to make your stay as welcoming and comfortable as possible..."

He's dressed in 18th century fashion and has a powdered wig on. She laughs a little bit at the sight of him. He walks away for a moment to check a book.

"Ok...let's see...Sarah Jones of Shaston...born 12th November 2000...not supposed to have died until 2095...that's weird...ok..."

He turns back and looks at her.

"Ok. So. You're about to enter something called The Veil. Now, it's nothing to be scared of. But this is going to be your home for a while...and by a while I mean...well...forever. Any family members you have in here have been contacted and will come and meet you once you're fully integrated into the Veil. But, have fun! Relax, and enjoy eternity!"

He leads her into a rectangular portal which is as colourful as a bright rainbow. This pleases her too.

Suddenly, she feels like there's something pulling her back. She stumbles backwards onto the floor and starts to get dragged away from the portal. The man who met her is confused.

"What!? What's happening!? This isn't possible!"

Panicking, Sarah tries to break free. However, as much as she writhes and struggles, she's continually being dragged backward and upward. The man is shouting up to her.

"MISS JONES, COME BACK! COME BACK!"

Suddenly, everything goes black again, The darkness engulfs her once more and she feels scared. Her fear builds and builds like a volcano about to blow. After a few moments, it gets more and more intense until...BLAM!

A bright light hits her as she appears to be in a room. It looks like a lab of some description but she's not sure. She looks around for a moment before seeing a middle aged man in the corner with a scalpel looking very scared indeed. She's sitting up on a cold metal table with nothing but a sheet to cover her. She looks at the man once more and calmly asks in her Scottish accent:

"I think I'm in the wrong room..."

****

"She was dead...I was there..."

"I don't disagree with you, Mrs Jones".

"So, how come she's here now?"

"I don't know. She was pronounced dead at the scene as you know. I looked at the charts. Brain activity, consciousness, heart beat, all zero. She should be dead!"

Sarah lays in bed sucking on a lollipop as the Doctor and her Mum discuss her condition outside.

"Mrs Jones, there's something else..."

"What?"

The Doctor chooses his words.

"When she...ummm...returned, shall we say...we gave her a full check up. Her lungs are still shutdown, her liver is practically non-existent and her blood is...well...gone!"

The mum looks at the Doctor confused and slightly terrified.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying two miracles have happened. Your daughter coming back from the dead is one...but her being alive at all now is another. She should be dead. I don't know how much plainer I can make that..."

The mum looks at Sarah and isn't sure how to take the news.

"How is that even possible?"

The Doctor offers no answer.

"The only thing I can think to say to you, Mrs Jones, is that there are some things that not even science can explain".

They both look at Sarah. The mum looks terrified.

"And Sarah's now one of them..."

****

Sarah sits at home with her two younger siblings and plays with them like a normal child. While she's doing this, her mum and dad sit at the kitchen table watching them.

"Is she even human anymore?"

"Dan, don't say that!"

"No, Lisa, can we even be sure?"

"Of course she's human. She's our daughter!"

"Then why isn't she pumping blood? Or detoxifying herself? Can she eat? Can she drink? Can she shit? We don't know what she can and can't do anymore!"

"It doesn't matter. She's still our daughter and we need to take care of her!"

The Dad puts his head in his hands.

"It can't be a coincidence..."

"What can't be?"

"Well...look around us! All these weird things happening now! Apparently, there's a kid in Trillingham who can run faster than the speed of light! And I've heard that there's a kid on the other side of town who turn into any element! Oh, and another here who can apparently fall through walls!"

"Dan, they're just stupid stories people come up with to spread bullshit!"

"No. They're real. They've been here for decades! You know the old stories about the Berlin Incident! What if something they did caused this? What if they did this to Sarah?"

"STOP IT! You need to stop letting your mind run away with you. She's your daughter for fuck's sake! Grow a pair and be there for her!"

The dad looks angry.

"If they did something to change my little girl, I'll kill them myself..."

At this point, they hear a thud. They both get up and run into the hallway where Sarah is crumpled at the bottom of the stairs. The two siblings, at the top, not sure what happened or what's going on now. 

"SARAH!?"

"Yeah?"

The mum and dad look relieved she's ok.

"What happened?"

"Oh, I slipped!"

She gets up. As she does, the Mum and Dad look horrified at what they can see. Sarah doesn't know yet, but her neck is broken and she's currently looking from a 90 degree angle.

"Mummy, Daddy, why are you sideways?"

****

November 2015, Shaston.

Sarah walks up to a gate. She stares at it for a moment before smiling. Suddenly, a young man comes and stands next to her.

"What the fuck!? You said it'd be easy to get in!"

"Keep your trousers on, Alfie".

"Oh, but it's much more fun without them on".

"Ewww. Gross!"

"Come on...I know you want me really..."

"Please believe me when I say that I would not have sex with you, Alfie Winters, if you were the last human male on this planet. No offence".

"Way things are going we might well be so you might want to reconsider..."

"Go and see if there's any cameras will you? I think I saw something round the corner there..."

"Fine. But you can't escape me forever, Sarah Jones..."

He walks off. Sarah looks disgusted with him. 

"Bet I fucking can..." She mutters under her breath.

Once Alfie vanishes from view, she looks once more at the gate. The gaps in the bars are not that generous at all but she still looks at them for a moment. She smiles.

"Challenge accepted..."

She looks around once again before putting herself up to the bars. With all her might, she pushed her arm through. Many bones can be heard clicking as it does but Sarah doesn't seem bothered by it. Her whole arm goes through and repairs itself. Sarah chuckles with excitement. Suddenly:

"I'll never fully understand how that doesn't hurt anymore..."

Sarah looks over and sees a man in 1940s clothes sitting on the pavement looking away from her. Sarah sighs and carries on.

"The wonders of a messed up central nervous system".

"Such a shame...", The man continues, "...to see you wasting such a gift".

"You call it a gift, I call it a curse, let's call the whole thing off, eh?"

"You could use your gift for some much more useful ends rather than trying to break into a secure facility".

"And you could be more useful and keep an eye out".

Sarah manages to push her other arm through.

"You know, we never did anything like this in my day".

"That's probably because most of the thing you could've graffitied were blown up by the Germans".

"It was because we were much better behaved. And disciplined".

"Well, out of the two of us, who isn't dead?"

"That's a terrible defence".

"Shuts you up, though!"

The man stands up and walks over to Sarah.

"Sarah, I'm trying to stop you from doing something monumentally stupid. Like ending up in prison. Because, if that happens, what good are you then?"

"Yeah, well, what good am I now?"

"I know someone whose heart would break hearing you say that".

"Yeah, well, he's been MIA for four years so he obviously doesn't give a toss".

"I'm sure he does".

"Then he's got a very funny way of showing it..."

The man sighs and looks at the bars.

"You're never going to fit your head through there..."

"Is that a challenge?"

"No. It's a physical impossibility. Even you don't know what will happen if you do that. And, thankfully, we won't get to find out tonight".

"Why? Are you going to sweet-talk me out of doing this, Frank?"

"No. Because the Police are here..."

Sarah looks confused and looks to the other side of her body where she's two policemen staring at her unimpressed. Sarah realises she's in trouble. She looks at them, then her arms, then back at the policemen.

"Oh...whoops! Would you believe I tripped over the pavement and fell into this state? What am I like!"

"No. We wouldn't believe it".

Sarah sighs and surrenders.

"Oh well...worth a try..."

Time Heals All Wounds

Four Years and Five Months Prior To Speedfreak #1

Joe stands there in the rubble of the town. His suit torn from bits of shrapnel and his skin bruised and bleeding in some places. The battle was over but it was unclear whether the war was too. A young lady runs up to him. It's Alison. However, her suit is different. It's mostly silver with the left hand side of the top being as white as snow, the two sections divided by a red partition. She runs up to him.

"Alison! Where's everyone else!?"

"I don't know! I can't find anyone. Stephi's missing, Laura could be here somewhere, Lucy could be anywhere!"

They look around frantically for their friends. The portal still open in front of them.

"THE PORTAL'S STILL OPEN! WHERE'S JODY!?"

"If the portal's still open...does that mean he's failed!? Has this all been for nothing!?"

They look worried. Suddenly, someone else lands next to them. A winged being. Only the wings are mechanical. A hooded figure stands before them. She then puts her hood down to reveal a very pretty young woman with red hair. Alison and Joe look relieved to see her.

"Lucy!"

"The one and only! Where's everyone else?"

"We were hoping you could tell us!"

"Couldn't see anyone else. Haven't seen anything like this before..."

"That makes 3 of us!"

At that moment, the portal makes a weird noise. They all stand next to each other and watch as the portal destabilises. Alison reiterates her fear.

"He's failed...hasn't he..."

"If he'd have failed, wouldn't we know by now?"

"Unless it's created a new timeline. Meaning that we won't see him again or this timeline will come to an end..."

The portal continues to destabilise. At this moment; 4 more people appear. Laura Kent, Joshua Peterson, Anne Richards and Stephi Aspinall. They race to be next to them. Laura immediately comes running in.

"What's going on? Is he back?"

"Not yet..."

Anne walks next to Joe.

"That portal won't stay open forever..."

"We need to close it".

"How do we do that?"

"I might be able to work something out. But I'll need Laura to phase everyone else out...I might need your fire too..."

Joe and Anne look at each other. They nod.

"Do it".

Anne flies back into the air. Joe looks at everyone else.

"Ok, we're closing the portal. It's destabilising and we don't know what damage it could do. Laura, I need you to phase everyone out. Anne and I will close the portal as best we can".

Laura steps forward and protests.

"YOU'LL TRAP JODY!"

"He may already be lost! Our priority is everyone else here!"

"HE MIGHT DIE!"

"He'd want everyone else safe! Please, Laura..."

Laura doesn't want to do it but she sees the point.

"If he dies, I'll kill you myself..."

"Fine".

Laura walks back and starts to get everyone together to phase out. However, Stephi breaks away from the group. She looks like she's heard something. Laura goes after her.

"Stephi, come on!"

"Wait...I can hear something..."

She closes her eyes and concentrates more. After a few seconds, she opens her eyes again.

"IT'S JODY! I CAN HEAR HIM. HE'S CLOSE!"

They all look back towards the portal expectantly. It rumbles a bit more. 

"Come on..."

A few moments later, a bright light appears in the centre of the portal and Jody runs out of it. Carrying someone. After he exists, the portal starts to close and fade away. Jody doesn't look at anyone. He just falls to his knees still carrying someone. It turns out to be a young woman. Medium height, curly hair. Her eyes are closed and her body looks lifeless. Everyone goes to be around them and they see who it is.

"Shit...", Joe remarks.

Laura goes further into the circle, crouches and looks at Jody head on.

"Jody?"

He doesn't answer. He continues staring at the young lady he's carrying. Joshua looks at Alison confused.

"Who is she?"

"That's Alicia. Jody's girlfriend..."

Joshua closes his eyes in shock and looks back. Laura continues to try and communicate.

"Jody, it's over. The portal's closed. Where are Lake and Collins?"

Jody looks up, completely deadpan.

"They're dead..."

Laura looks at him.

"They killed her...for no reason...so I killed them..."

Jody's expression doesn't change. Laura looks at him, trying to ignore that.

"Then it's over. They're dead. They can't hurt anyone anymore".

"It doesn't bring her back though does it". Jody remarks.

Joe walks into the circle and crouches next to Laura.

"Jody...I'm sorry about Alicia, I truly am, but we won. We stopped them changing history. The Earth is safe".

"She's still dead..."

"I'm sorry about that, but we need to think about the victory we've been given. This was the hardest thing any of us have ever faced and we..."

"They saw her. They saw her there and they took her. They made me give up information I never thought I'd have to give. I even begged for them to let her go. They said they would if I complied. So I did...I did..."

Tears start to stream down Jody's face. He looks back at Alicia's body.

"...They killed her anyway. They broke her neck. Right there in front of me. THEY MURDERED HER. YOU CAN HAVE THIS VICTORY IF YOU WANT, YOU'VE ALL EARNED IT. BUT THIS IS NO VICTORY FOR ME".

They all look sad. Jody continues.

"So, when I got free, I immediately found them, took them both up to the roof of the tallest tower in London. I threw Collins off the roof...and I phased my hand right into Lake's chest cavity and tore his heart to shreds..."

He looks at his right hand. It's covered in blood. He cries uncontrollably now. Laura goes over and hugs him. After they separate, Joe helps lay Alicia's body down in the rubble.

"Jody...I'm so sorry...but there's nothing we can do..."

At this moment, Stephi looks concerned.

"Jody...don't..."

Everyone looks at her, confused. Except for Jody.

"You can't..."

"Yes I can".

"Jody, you'll end this universe!"

"So be it..."

Everyone looks confused.

"Stephi", Alison asks, "What's going on?"

"He's going to go back and change Alicia's death".

"I can stop this before it even starts..."

Everyone looks at Jody. Joshua stands forward.

"Mate, we've just stopped two people from changing time...now YOU want to do it?"

"I know what I'm doing. They didn't. I can stop them from getting Joe's time device..."

Joe steps forward.

"Jody, I get you're hurting, but that could only make things worse!"

"Given this is YOUR fault I don't think you get a vote!"

Laura steps forward.

"JODY! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"I'm going back. I'm going to stop them from trying to change history and I'm going to stop them from killing Alicia and putting all of you in danger!"

Joshua steps forward again.

"No, you're not, Jody..."

Jody looks at him. He chuckles sarcastically.

"And who's going to stop me? Huh? YOU?"

Lucy steps forward.

"We all will if we have to..."

Jody chuckles sarcastically again.

"You think YOU can all stop me? HA! Laura, tell them how stupid an idea that is..."

Nothing. After a few moments, Jody looks round and sees Laura staring him down. She agrees with everyone else.

"No...not you..."

"They're right, Jody, you can't".

Jody looks angry now.

"I can. And I will".

Everyone gets ready to stop him. He notices.

"Ha...defense positions...now I can tell you're spoiling for a fight...fine. I'll oblige!"

He runs around them to confuse them. Joshua is the first to try his luck. He gets ready to throw a punch into the spinning blur. However, as he does, Jody breaks free of the vortex and right into him. Joshua goes flying into a nearby shop. Alison looks worried.

"JOSH!"

Alison runs over to Speedfreak. She transform her flesh into silver and starts to throw silver objects at him from her hand. He gets slightly overwhelmed by them but eventually manages to turn his hands into a mini vortex to block them.

"NICE TRY, SILVER SPECTRE!"

He runs up to her and trips her up. She falls flat on the floor. Jody puts his foot on her neck. 

"STAY DOWN!"

Struggling to breath, Alison puts her hand on Jody's suit. It starts to be engulfed by silver. He takes his foot off in order to fight it off. As he does, a huge gust of air comes, throwing him quite far up the street. Joe runs over and helps Alison.

"Thanks..."

"No problem. You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine".

"Go find Josh!"

She does so. As she does, Joe is knocked off his feet by Jody who's run into him. He keeps coming back again and again, hitting him over and over. As Jody goes in for the final punch, he stops and holds his head. He shouts out in pain as Stephi makes a mental attack from afar. Stephi concentrates as she continues the assault.

*Jody...this isn't you...stop. You know I can go deeper if I have to...*

Jody turns and looks directly at her.

"So can I..."

Jody concentrates too and starts to send a ripple effect back to Stephi. Suddenly, Stephi sees many images of everything she fears most. She screams in fear and calls off the attack. She curls up into a ball and tries to fight off the demons in her head.

Suddenly, a huge fireball engulfs Jody and starts to put out the remaining flames on his suit. He turns around. Black Dragon is there. 

"YOU NEED TO STOP THIS"

"NO...YOU NEED TO STOP"

Jody charges at her full speed but manages to get flung back by Black Dragon's roundhouse kick. Jody goes flying but manages to regain control and, again, charge at Anne. This time, she gets out her sword, does a flip and manages to cut Jody's back as he speeds past. Jody lets out a sharp scream. Anne lands as Jody writhes a little bit.

"THE SWORD WAS EDGED WITH MILD RADIUM. YOU NEED TO STAND DOWN NOW..."

Jody looks up at her very angrily.

"YOU POISONED ME!"

Anne smirks. Jody clambers up, much to Anne's amazement. He then shakes his whole body and the radium falls out of the wound, which then closes up. Jody smiles slightly evilly.

"Nice try..."

He dashes over and grabs her by the neck. He lifts her off the ground as she struggles for air.

"TIME TO PUT THE FIRE OUT..."

Eventually, Anne expels flame from her mouth and, in a spectacle of yellow and orange, burns Jody's face. When it all subsides, Anne looks at Jody's face...which looks...different. His face flickers into recovery and out of it. Suddenly, Lucy punches him in the face. He drops Anne, who splutters. Joe runs over to help her. He helps her up and checks she's ok.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

Anne looks at Jody, who's currently fighting Lucy.

"Joe, that's not Jody..."

"What!?"

"His face looked different when it burned...like it was a mask..."

Joe looks confused.

"But...if that's not Jody...who is it?"

They watch on for a moment as Lucy battles the angry looking Jody doppelganger. She's holding her own but is slowly getting beaten. Anne gets her sword out once again to try and help but, suddenly, she doesn't have it anymore. As she wonders where it's gone, she suddenly hears a cry of pain and the sound of something penetrating the skin. They look over and see that the Jody doppelganger has plunged Anne's sword into Lucy. Lucy stands still in shock as the man plunges the sword in further and further. Blood pours out of Lucy's mouth. Anne looks amazed.

"NO!"

The man removes the sword forcefully from Lucy's stomach and Lucy plummets to the ground. He looks around and sees them all shocked.

"I CAN DO WHAT I WANT. I AM FAST ENOUGH TO DO WHAT I WANT AND I CAN CHANGE WHAT I LIKE!"

Anne steps forward.

"THEN DO IT IN YOUR OWN BODY...NOT OUR FRIEND'S!"

The man smiles. Very evilly.

"I fooled you for long enough then..."

His form changes. He suddenly becomes someone in a red and white suit. Similar to that of Speedfreak. Joe and Anne's eyes widen with recognition as no one else's does.

"This was much easier than I thought..."

Alison looks confused.

"Who are you?"

"His name's Tamarind Bolt. Aka, Speed-Demon". Joe explains.

"Nice to see you again, Mr Matthews. Nice to see I made an impact on you..."

"You were sucked into the wormhole. How can you be here?"

"Yes, Jody did put me there didn't he. Well, turns out the wormhole led to Darkside Prison. Which, if you didn't know, has a time travel device. I went back in time to try and stop him and noticed that two of his "friends" were trying to change the timeline themselves. They wanted to prevent Jody from becoming caretaker. I could have that! So I killed them while Jody was otherwise indisposed".

"Otherwise indisposed!?" Anne asked alarmingly.

"Oh he's fine. Probably still tied up in 1994 but, hey ho".

"What about Alicia!? Did you kill her too!?" Joe stepped forward.

"Oh, that bit was true. They did kill her. Like a dog too. Well, I always thought she was a bitch so it was rather fitting I think".

Lucy groans. Bolt looks at her and then back at the group. He smiles, chuckles and puts his hands up.

"Sorry about the mess...well, I'm not...but you get the point!"

Anne steps forward once again.

"I will take my sword and I will plunge it right through your throat. I will then take your head clean off and make sure you body can never reconnect with it. And you'll forever be a trophy in my basement".

"Ooooh...those are fightin' words..."

Stephi joins the group after successfully fighting off the demons in her head. She looks over and sees Bolt.

"Oh and, credit where credit's due...I managed to fool your Visionarie..."

"Trust me...it'll be the last time..." Anne says with anger in her voice.

"You've already proven you cannot stop me..."

"I wasn't referring to me..."

Bolt chuckles for a moment before a knife goes through his throat. He struggles for air after it's removed. He falls to the floor and tries to heal quickly. Laura can be seen with the knife in her hand. Bolt looks up at her and manages to splutter:

"This...is not...over...!"

He then speeds off. And everything goes very quiet. They all look at each other and realise they've won...for now. Lucy splutters once again and they all gather round her. Anne runs up to her.

"Lucy...hey...it's ok. You're going to be fine..."

Lucy splutters and chuckles.

"We both know that's a lie..."

They all look sad.

"Stephi...can...you...", Lucy splutters some more, "...make it...a nice...death?"

Stephi looks upset.

"I don't know...I don't know whether I should..."

"Please...just...this once...?"

Stephi isn't sure.

"Call...it a...dying...wish?"

Stephi thinks for a moment, sighs and agrees. She crouches down next to her and gets ready. Lucy looks up at Anne.

"Hey...keep flying...we'll be closer then..."

Anne's starting to cry but she nods.

"See you soon, Reaper..."

Lucy smiles. Stephi puts her hand on Lucy's head. Lucy jolts for a moment but, after that moment, smiles. Her eyes turn all green.

"I can see trees...it's beautiful here...such a beautiful place to be...and the smell of the grass...I love the smell of freshly mown grass...I love it here...I might...stay...for a..."

There's a pause before Lucy's eyes close. She's gone. Stephi removes her hand and starts to cry.

"I hate doing that..."

Alison puts her hand on Stephi's shoulder.

"At least she was happy at the end..."

Anne stares at Lucy's body.

"I'm going to kill him. I don't care who gets in my way...I'm going to kill him".

Joshua nods.

"Oh, trust me, there'll be some serious Karma..."

"We'll get him together..." Joe interjects, "We'll be ready for him next time".

As they pause for a moment, they hear electrical crackling. They turn around and see another portal open. A few moments after it does, Jody appears. He looks battered and bruised but it's really him this time. He catches his breath and looks over Alicia's body. He's reminded of what happened but he reacts differently to Bolt. He looks over and sees his friends all crowded. He runs over to see what's going on. He sees Lucy's lifeless body. He looks shocked.

"Lucy...what happened!?"

They all look at him angrily. Anne stands up and turns around to face him. Her face full of rage.

"Tamarind Bolt".

Jody's face suddenly sours.

"But...that's not...that's not possible...he's dead...you watched it happen..."

"Yeah, well, he survived. And he managed to go back in time to kill Lake and Collins, bring Alicia's body back to this time where he was wearing YOUR face. We all thought it was you until I fried his mask circuitry. He then took my sword and plunged it into her stomach..."

Jody sighs and closes his eyes.

"Anne...I'm so sorry..."

"You should be!"

She punches him in the face and continues to beat him up. Joshua and Alison hold Anne back as Laura tends to Jody.

"YOU PUT HIM IN A WORMHOLE! HE SURVIVED! AND BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T MAKE SURE HE WAS GONE HE KILLED HER! HE KILLED OUR FRIEND AND IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

"Anne, stop, it's not his fault! He didn't know!"

Jody wipes the blood from his nose. Anne calms down.

"You've got a lot to do to make this up to us..."

Jody thinks for a moment.

"How long has she been dead?"

"What?"

"Lucy, how long has she been dead?"

Stephi steps forward.

"3 minutes".

Jody nods.

"We still have time..."

"Time? For what?" Alison asks.

"To save her..."

He turns around, getting ready to run.

"I know a girl..."

He races off, leaving everyone else behind. They all look confused.

"What?" Joe asks, "Now where's he going?"

Stephi knows. She smiles.

"To find a girl he knows. Called Sarah Jones".

"Sarah Jones? Why's she important?"

"Well, according to Jody's thoughts...she can speak to the dead..." Stephi's face is now beaming. "And she might just be able to bring Lucy back..."

STARCASTER #2

"So...where actually AM I?"

"That's a little tricky to explain..."

"Oh, come on, don't hold out on me now..."

Regan sighs.

"You must forgive me, Miss Gold, I'm not used to talking to humans".

"I'm not used to talking to aliens so, ya know..."

Regan smiles.

"Interesting...you didn't mention the colour of my skin...apparently you humans seem to have an obsession over skin colours..."

"Not sure whether to be offended at that or not. Also; we have something on Earth called 'The Blue Man Group'. They're quite popular, Oh, and Avatar came out last year...wait...you're not called the Na'avi are you?"

"No. Is that important?"

"I guess not..."

They continued to walk round the corridors of the structure. Marion is still trying to process everything.

"We're on a structure known as the Klast. It's built on a ruin of a planet that got destroyed before most of the life in the cosmos at present managed to evolve".

"A planet? I'm on a different planet?"

"Merely a fragment of what used to be. This rock, floating around the galactic field was known as 'The Ark'. It was once the home to what is regarded as the oldest species and civilization in the universe. They were called the Genesis. A peaceful race devoted to living lives of harmony. spirituality and brotherhood. For countless millennia they managed to live peacefully. Until, so the stories say, a wormhole from a different point in time opened and an army, hellbent on destruction, came through and saw the Ark.,,"

"Wait...did you just say 'a different point in time!?'"

"The Genesis, until that stage, thought they were the only life in existence. And their first experience of life outside of their own was belligerence, death and destruction. They were slaughtered. A race of 20 billion strong were decimated to merely 1 billion in a month. Because they had no concept of war, they couldn't effectively defend themselves. So many perished. Eventually, the invaders realised that they could not remain on the atmosphere. Diseases from the world outside penetrated and afflicted the occupants. They started to die out. And, after another month or so, the invaders were all dead. The 1 billion Genesis remaining. They had won. But everything changed. Suddenly, the population that remained became divided into two factions. While both realised they were no longer alone in the universe, one faction believed that all life was going to try and attack them while the other thought they should reach out and try to create a more peaceful universe so that no other race could go through what they did. They both disagreed and a civil war broke out. Eventually, both factions left the planet and went their separate ways. The "good" faction, known as The Exodi, made contact with this galaxy and we founded the Galactic Alliance. The other faction, known as the Dark, went to war with the Andromeda Galaxy and...well...they became an undead army. They possessed many of the dead of the war and used them to fight against their own kind. They transcended. But, as far as we know, they're gone now. Locked inside something called the Dark Heart. The Exodi conjoined the Galactic Alliance and, in a symbolic act of renewal, destroyed The Ark".

"Jeez...and I thought human history was complicated..."

"You say that. Yet there's so much about your own history you don't know yet!"

"Eh?"

They walk into another room. It has another window. Only, this time, it looks like a factory outside of it rather than a field of galaxies. Regan continues.

"That wasn't the only thing that the Exodi created though. From the ruins of their homeworld, they created a new sub-species. One that will give every species in the universe a common thread. A subspecies that you yourself are now a part of".

"...what?"

"The Exodi looked to the power of stars and how they could utilize them in order to better certain people who were deserving. People who felt they could give more than they already do and who feel at the end of their tether".

"Which means what exactly...what did they do with the stars...?"

Regan hesitates.

"I...I...I'm not sure you're going to like it..."

Marion looks unimpressed.

"You've got me this far...come on..."

Regan sighs.

"They removed the blood, lungs and anything related to respiration, ageing and decay and replaced it with a compressed star that they developed themselves due to their superior knowledge of nuclear fission".

Marion suddenly turns grey. She's not sure how to react.

"Did...did they...continue this process?"

"Yes..."

"And...that...happened...to...me?"

"Yes..."

There's a pause. Marion nods for a second.

"I think I'm going to be sick..."

"You can't".

"Huh?"

"You can't 'be sick' anymore".

"You're kidding me..."

"I'm not".

Marion thinks for a moment.

"So I have no blood...I can't age, I can't decay...I can't be sick...is there anything I can do that's remotely human!?"

Regan hesitates again.

"Well...yes..."

"Like what?"

"Well...ummm...I...err...I hear you humans have an obsession with...reproductive practises...you can still do that...if you wished?"

Marion looks shocked.

"O...k...aliens talking about sex is SUPER WEIRD. Can I have children?"

"With help".

"Help?"

"Yes. You can no longer conceive naturally".

"Oh great. Fucking great".

"Well, I know you humans use that word to describe your carnal practises but I'm pretty sure the standard of said procedure will be affected by your new..."

"STOP THERE. Please. Just stop".

"I understand that this is a lot to take in, Miss Gold, but I promise you this isn't as bad as it may seem".

Marion sighs.

"To be honest, I don't know what to think! One minute I'm at home on the bridge and now I'm here!"

She thinks again for a moment. Her facial expression changes.

"Dad...shit, I forgot Dad..."

"Miss Gold, there's something else you ought to know..."

"Is it about my Dad!?"

"Your father is fine. As far as we know".

"Good..."

"But you need to something about your planet...and how much...time...has passed..."

Marion looks at him very sternly.

"What do you mean...'how much time has passed'?"

Regan looks at her head on.

"This may be hard to hear...but the passage of time between us getting you and your awakening is...lengthy..."

Marion realises.

"How lengthy?"

"Five of your Earth years. The year on Earth, currently, is 2015".

Marion looks shocked.

"I'VE BEEN HERE FOR FIVE YEARS!?"

"Yes".

"YOU KEPT ME HERE FOR FIVE YEARS!?"

"You were dying. We were hoping to recruit you in the usual way but your sudden need to end your own life made us take drastic action..."

"MY DAD MUST HAVE GONE OUT OF HIS FUCKING MIND"

She walks up to Regan and gets very angry at him.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO US!? YOU SHOULD'VE LEFT ME IN THE FUCKING RIVER. AT LEAST DAD WOULDN'T HURT LIKE THIS?"

"And the taking of your own life would've made him feel better?"

"AT LEAST HE DOESN'T THINK I'M MISSING"

"And him knowing you were dead when he couldn't help you is better?"

Marion thinks for a moment and realises.

"There were cameras on the bridge...they would've found it...he thinks I'm dead anyway...doesn't he?"

Regan nods. A tear falls down Marion's cheek as she realises what she's done. Regan turns around.

"I've been studying the human race for some time now. Transmissions, cultures and everything else. And, on your world, you have this strange sentiment known as a 'second chance'. If it makes you feel any better, this could be your second chance..."

Marion looks at him, crying. 

"What good can that be then? I've already hurt the man I love the most...I can't believe I was so selfish..."

Regan turns around.

"If you have a pair of scales and you place more material on them than they can hold, then it breaks. It's just one of those things. In this scenario, you were scales. Taking your own life is not a selfish act, Miss Gold. It's merely an adverse reaction to being too strong for longer than you could cope with".

Marion smiles.

"And, if you believe in second chances, then perhaps this is the perfect chance. Your world faces a lot of threats to its peace and security. The world and everyone within it is in danger from some kind of enemy. From within itself and from outside of it. The idea of your kind is to protect them and be their guiding light in times of great trouble and strife. We picked you out because we felt you could help your world along with the human male we collected. You have a great responsibility...to your world and your father...will you accept it...Marion Johanna Gold?"

Marion wipes the tear from her eye and nods.

"I'm kind of stuck with this so might as well use it..."

Regan smiles.

"I do have one question though, Regan..."

Regan looks in anticipation.

"If we're a sub-species...do we have a name?"

Regan nods.

"Of course".

"What is it, may I ask?"

Regan smiles.

"Your kind are known by a name that resonates throughout the cosmos. Based on the abilities you have and the light and hope you represent. A name not given by us but given by the united peoples of this cosmos".

Marion waits.

"Starcasters".

Marion looks shocked.

"You have GOT to be kidding me..."

Speedfreak #2

"He was brought in during the night. Can't explain how he got here. Wasn't here one minute and then, bang, there he was!"

"Has he explained how he got here?"

"Nope".

The young woman puts her head in her hands. The policeman with her hands her a piece of paper.

"He was found with only this".

She reads it. It says, in very bad handwriting, "I've been a very naughty boy. Lock me up".

"Has he confessed to anything?"

"He came clean during an interview he'd tried to rape a woman in an alleyway but he was stopped by someone who could, allegedly, 'run very fast'".

She sighs once again.

"There used to be a teenager at the local school who could apparently run fast",

"That was put down to LSD in the water supply. There is not a guy who can 'run very fast'. Those kinds of people don't exist, Constable".

"I don't know, m'am".

She looks at him.

"Constable?"

"Well...there's Black Dragon...there's that girl who can become silver...and there's the old stories about the Allies and the Nazis having superpowers in the War. I'm just saying, this world might be weirder than we're comfortable with!"

"If this 'Speedfreak' did exist, he'd be a vigilante. And we catch vigilantes. Don't we..."

The constable sighs.

"Sorry, M'am. I was a huge fan of comic books growing up".

She smiles.

"It's ok. I used to play with Barbie dolls. Process him and we'll send him to the county court later today".

She leaves him as he goes and does what he's told. She looks very cross. She gets out her phone, dials a number and waits.

"It's me. Meet me at the old park. We need to talk..."

****

The Detective walks into a park. It has a basketball court on it. She stands in the middle and looks around to see if anyone's watching. There's no-one. Realising this, she sighs and closes her eyes. As she does, the world around her starts to shriek a little bit before everything goes black and white for her. She opens her eyes and looks around. She looks around and sees everything like an old movie. She's used to this but she hasn't done it for some time so it's a bit strange for her.

She looks around for a bit more before she hears a car alarm going off. Seconds later, Speedfreak appears next to where she's standing. He looks around confused. She looks directly at him but he can't see her. He continues to look around before stopping, looking away from her.

"I'm pretty sure you're here...feels good doesn't it..."

Quietly, she comes out of her black and white world back into the real world. As she does, she smacks him around the head. He takes his hit and comforts his head.

"Ow!"

"Don't 'ow' me, you little shit!"

"Well, it hurt!"

"Good!"

She walks to the other side of him.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"We had a suspected rapist come into the police station late last night with no recollection how he got there. Oh, and he had a note in your handwriting saying that he was a "naughty boy". You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Speedfreak looks sheepish.

"...no?"

"Wrong answer..."

She goes to smack him again.

"OK, YES, I DID IT! For god's sake woman, chill!"

"Jody!"

"What? It's not like I've done something amazingly wrong!"

"You can't go around doing this again!"

"Why not!?"

"Because of what happened last time!"

Speedfreak sighs.

"Why do you care, anyway? You made it very clear how you felt about our relationship!"

"Don't bring that up again!"

"No, Laura, it has to be brought up! You made it clear some time ago that you didn't consider me your brother anymore. So why do you care what I do?"

"Because when you use your powers, it runs the risk of people discovering mine!"

"How!?"

"What if you got into trouble and needed saving? What if Tragedy came back and decided to continue your Eternal Feud? What if SpeedDemon came back and tried to kill you again? What if Darryl Anderson comes back and tries to hunt down Naturals again!? When you use your powers, you attract the weirdos because they see you as a challenge! And, let's face it, I'm the only one who can save you".

"Oh? How? You can phase in and out of existence. But you can't interact with you surroundings when you do! What good's that going to do me if SpeedDemon comes back, huh? Or if Tragedy goes in for the final blow? Or if Mum tries to kill us again? You can't save me anymore than anyone else can".

Laura looks angry.

"IT'S RECKLESS! WHAT YOU DO IS RECKLESS! IT ALWAYS WAS!"

"Not when I as Caretaker it wasn't".

"BEING A CARETAKER IS RECKLESS! YOUR POWERS ARE RECKLESS! YOU ARE RECKLESS"

"Better reckless than boring".

"At least I do a proper job!"

"What? A policewoman? A human job?"

"Detective. And yes!"

"You're not human though".

"I am as far as everyone's concerned!"

"So you'd rather spend your life lying to yourself than be who you're supposed to be?"

"And what's that? A freak? Yeah, sure".

"But we're freaks with the ability to help people!"

"I DO HELP PEOPLE!"

"I PREVENTED A RAPE LAST NIGHT. I STOPPED A ROBBERY LAST WEEK AND I MANAGED TO TAKE DOWN A 12 MAN DRUG RING IN 10 SECONDS. AND WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU? YOU WERE IN YOUR OFFICE BLISSFULLY UNAWARE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING. I'M OUT THERE DOING WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING"

"THAT'S NOT FAIR"

"NO, LAURA. WHAT'S NOT FAIR IS YOU JUDGING ME FOR BEING WHO I'M COMFORTABLE BEING. LET THE WEIRDOS COME. THEY'RE SCARED OF ME AND I CAN TAKE THEM ON. BUT TELLING ME TO STOP IS NOT FAIR".

She sighs.

"I just thought after Mum dying and everything that happened with Alicia, you'd think again before being the Speedfreak again".

Speedfreak's face sours.

"Don't you DARE bring them into this. If you want to be boring and normal, be my guest. But I'm actually making a difference out there".

"You're putting people at risk. And did it ever occur to you that I WANT to be normal?"

Speedfreak laughs.

"You are seriously deluded, Laura. I think you need Visionarie to look at your head..."

"Southampton's a long way to go".

"Not for me".

"I'm warning you, Jody. Stop being Speedfreak. Or I'll stop you myself".

"So, you're threatening me now?"

"Don't think I won't do it. I'll get some Radium and put you down!"

He laughs once more.

"What the actual fuck happened to us?"

"All this shit that comes with being Caretakers happened".

Speedfreak looks around.

"You wanna do threats, fine. Here's mine. You stay the fuck away from me and I'll stay away from you. How's that?"

"I'm serious, Jody".

"So am I".

They look at each once more before Speedfreak zooms off. Laura looks like she's about to burst into tears but she manages to contain herself. She walks towards the exit of the park and back to the police station. 


****


A few hours later, the park is quiet. Swings slightly swing in the breeze as the emptiness becomes almost haunting. But the emptiness soon becomes tainted with the footsteps of a visitor. The visitor sits on a swing and looks around.

"Hmmm...it's good to be back..."

She looks at a rock on the ground. She holds out her hand and the rock races towards her hand but she stops it just before. She looks at it for a moment before clenching her hand quickly into a fist. The rock then crushes and turns to dust. She smiles evilly.

"You're fast, Speedfreak...but can you outrun your past, I wonder..."

She gets off the swing and walks back towards the town...

OTHERGIRL #1

Arantia. The Constellation of Ursa Major. 3678 (Earth Equivalent Year).

"Your orders are this. Arantia is sympathetic to Eden. Edenics have set up a base there and the dominant population there, the Arans, have allowed the Edenics to thrive. We must assume that the Edenic dogs have forced them into submission and we must free the locals from their grasp. You see an Edenic, you kill them. As you all know, they're allergic to Radium. Use that against them".

A voice came from the back of the capsule.

"What about unidentified life forms?"

"The only other people you need to worry about are the Gorrans. Our sensors have picked up a Gorran fleet nearby. Mind you, if that bloody Queen of theirs is sensible she'll leave well enough alone..."

The ship enters the atmosphere and races to the ground. The forces of the Black Triangle are ready to launch their assault on Arantia.

"REMEMBER, FREEDOM IS PEACE AND DEATH IS FREEDOM".

As the ship hovers above the ground; the 50-something soldiers all prepare to be ejected into what could be a complete onslaught or an easy takeover. They just don't know. The whole war has been like that.

The siren goes and the floor gives way. The soldiers land on the ground, raise their weapons and start to investigate the surroundings. It's all quiet at the moment but this was sure not to last too long. The Edenics were definitely here and it was only a matter of time before they appeared.

"L-1-Z, is there any movement where you are?"

One of the few female soldiers in the platoon raises her hand and talks back into the communicator on her wrist.

"Negative, Commander. No movement here so far. Will keep you updated".

"Do. And remember, Garrett is in the mothership. He expects great things from us".

"We won't let him down, sir".

Static. L-1-Z continues to look around a bit more. It's all too quiet and she doesn't like it. Suddenly, something appears on the monitor over her right eye. Something moved. She stops and signals to her platoon to stop.

"What is it, L-1-Z?"

"I saw something over the ridge...it registered as Edenic..."

They all raise their weapons towards the ridge. It becomes tense for a moment...the tension in the air is electric...suddenly...a robotic head pops up from behind the ridge. In view of the platoon. They all look confused.

"Apologies for the intrusion. My sincerest apologies. Am I to believe you are the Black Triangle?"

"The hell is that?"

"Is that an android?"

L-1-Z zooms in on it to see its code. She sees it and recognises it.

"IDENTIFY TARGET AS ARTRON, ANDROID OF EDENIC ORIGIN!"

They open fire towards the droid. Who panics and then hides once more. After this, some ships appear on the horizon and start firing towards them. The Edenics have arrived.

"PLATOON, OPEN FIRE ON THE EDENIC VESSELS! MAKE THEM FEEL FIRE!"

L-1-Z raises her weapon and continually fires them at the ships. The lasers coming out of them hit the ships and cause minimal damage. But damage nonetheless. Edenic soldiers fly down from the ships and engage them in combat. L-1-Z turns to her platoon.

"USE RADIUM WEAPONS!"

The platoon changes their weapons and fires them upon the hoards of Edenics coming to meet them on the battlefield. As they fire; Edenics fall down left, right and centre. But just as many of their troops fall too. L-1-Z looks around her tries to find someway of completing her mission more efficiently and claim the planet area as Black Triangle territory. She turns to the small settlement near the fighting and orders her troops to retreat towards the town.

"SIR, SUGGEST WE MOVE TOWARD THE TOWN. BETTER COVER AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR SNIPERS"

"GOOD PLAN. SEE THAT IT'S DONE! YOU'RE IN CONTROL NOW".

She gives the order and the thousands of troops who have landed on the planet on different capsules retreat towards the town. As they reach it; they take cover where they can. There's a slight pause in the fire.

"Ok, guys, listen up. I want all sniper units on top of all buildings in the area ready to take them out when they approach. Don't forget that the Edenics have abilities so there might be some impervious to fire. If they fly, shoot them down. Tear their wings off if you have to. Just make sure no Edenic reaches the town hall!"

The sniper units do so. L-1-Z looks around and sees the townspeople trying to escape the horror as the Edenics move towards the town and the Black Triangle soldiers take route. One townsperson runs up to L-1-Z and grabs her shoulder. She turns around.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? WHY ARE YOU HERE!?" The man shouts.

"CALM DOWN, SIR, WE'RE HERE TO RESCUE YOU!"

"RESCUE US!?"

"FROM THE EDENICS!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? THE EDENICS ARE KIND TO US. YOU'RE THE MONSTERS! AND NOW YOU'RE BRINGING YOUR DISEASE HERE. I HOPE THEY KILL YOU ALL!"

He runs off. L-1-Z looks shocked for a moment before turning back around and continuing her mission. The Edenics are now moving closer to the town. Closer...closer...and closer...

"OPEN FIRE!"

They do. Edenics start to drop to the ground. Some of the soldiers laugh as they do. An explosion occurs behind them and a tower, which resembles the spire of a church, crumbles to the ground and ends up in rubble.

"KEEP FIRING!"

L-1-Z leaves her position to try and find some new ground to take or some shelter so that people can reload then they need to. The odd Edenic, who's gotten through the tirade of fire, takes a pot shot but she gets them instead. She keeps running through the town before finding herself ambushed by a group of townspeople with weapons of their own. She looks around at the angry people waiting to shoot her. Any could at any time. And, with the amount of weaponry, the healing pods wouldn't be able to fix her. This was it.

"LISTEN, WE'RE HERE TO SAVE YOU!"

"SAVE US!? YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE TO THE GALAXY!"

"WE'VE BEEN SAVING IT FROM THE SCOURGE OF THE EDENICS!"

"THE EDENICS ARE THE PEACEKEEPERS! IT'S YOU HUMANS WHO ARE THE BELLIGERENT ONES!"

Their pink skin shakes as the desire to shoot her grows within them. L-1-Z can see this and she awaits death. 

"WE'LL BE DOING THE UNIVERSE A FAVOUR BY WIPING YOU FROM THIS WORLD!"

"Then do it...you obviously want to and I won't stop you..."

The group raise their guns. L-1-Z closes her eyes and waits for the inevitable. She waits patiently. However, instead of gunshots, she hears rushes of wind. And the confusion of the townspeople. She opens her eyes to notice two missing.

"WHAT IS THIS!?" One cries out.

In the blink of an eye, another goes. And then another, and then another. Until L-1-Z is there all alone. Confused as to why someone saved her, she raises her weapon trying to find who it was. Until...

"You looked very odd when you were waiting for death..."

She turns around to see a young man. He's leaning against the wall of the building chuckling to himself.

"...You need to learn to take better care of yourself!"

"Who are you?"

"Call me your guardian angel".

"I don't believe in angels..."

"Ok then. Call me something else. Whatever. I don't particularly care".

He walks around her to the other side of where she stood.

"Oh and, you know, don't thank me or anything! I only saved your life and stuff".

She activates her eye monitor.

"I'm going to ask you very nicely to order your troops to retreat. You need to stop this battle".

"Why should I?"

"Because you're going to cause a bloodbath!"

"The Edenics are doing that for us!"

"You're both to blame".

"Ha. You say that, whose side are you on?"

"Neither",

The monitor beeps. She looks at it and then points her weapon at him.

"You're a fugitive..."

"Correct".

"You're coming with me!"

"Incorrect. That's an odd word isn't it..."

"I know who you are...Torah al-Nivah. I know all about you".

"I'm sure you do".

"You're an Edenic who abandoned the Eden Corps..."

"Yup".

"And now you're branded a terrorist..."

"I prefer 'non-aligned freedom fighter".

She moves closer to him.

"You're coming with me..."

"I'm really not".

"It's over, Torah".

"I don't go by that name. I hate it. My mother gave it to me and, well, you know all about her too I guess. She's bat-shit. Why would I go with the name she gave me?"

"Then what name do you go by?"

"My Earth name".

"Then it's over...whatever your name is..."

"It's really not. I'll be gone before you know it. You won't even see me go..."

"Don't make me shoot you...I have a radium weapon you know..."

"Which I deactivated".

She checks it. It is indeed deactivated. She looks up angrily but laughs.

"Very good..."

"Thank you".

"So what did they call you on Earth?"

The man smiles.

"Funnily enough...they called me 'Speedfreak'".

L-1-Z chuckles.

"Ok, then, 'Speedfreak'. Come quietly and I won't hurt you".

"Not happening".

Speedfreak runs around a circle near him and creates a vortex. It rises further into the sky the faster he runs. L-1-Z looks at it in horror as it nears her. She can feel herself get dragged in. As she gets near, she puts her foot into the blur running around. Speedfreak trips up and flies into a nearby building.

"STAY DOWN, SPEEDFREAK!"

"No chance!"

He runs again. This time, running right into her. She flies into another building.  She quickly recovers, gets up and reaches for her laser gun. Speedfreak stops and settles in one spot. He smiles.

"Do you know what the funny thing is about all this?"

"What?"

"One day, you and I are going to be good friends!"

L-1-Z laughs.

"I'd never befriend an Edenic like you!"

Speedfreak laughs.

"Yeah, well, I'm a time-traveller. So trust me!"

"Oh yeah? Trust this!"

She fires a laser from the gun but Speedfreak moves out of the way. It misses him completely. L-1-Z repeats this action multiple times with the same result. Eventually, she gives up and Speedfreak stops once more.

"Don't worry, your aim does get better!"

She gets up and runs towards him. They enter hand-to-hand combat. L-1-Z gets a few good hits in but Speedfreak manages to avoid the majority of them.

"I don't want to hurt you!"

"That feeling isn't reciprocated!"

They continue. Speedfreak gets some hits in too. They end up in a fist lock at one point. L-1-Z tries to break free but Speedfreak won't let her.

"Let me go and end this. I'm too much for you..."

"Girl, I've been getting most of the hits in!"

"Getting tired with all that running?"

"Never..."

"Shame..."

"You can still stop this you know...the war...if only you knew what the Black Triangle are doing across the galaxy..."

"We're helping people. Saving them from your kind!"

"That's the brainwashing talking! You guys subjugate them and kill them in droves! You make the Holocaust look like a raindrop in comparison to what you do across the galaxy! But the Liz that I know wouldn't stand for that! You didn't then and you don't now...I know she's in there!"

"You're mistaken! We give them freedom!"

"Since when was death the same as freedom!?"

"Freedom is peace and freedom is death. And death is better than living under Edenic rule..."

They pause. Speedfreak looks serious for a moment.

"I'm sorry you think that...I really am. And it hurts me to hear you say that...but I'm taking comfort in the fact that there will be a time when you realise what you guys do is wrong. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for this..."

Speedfreak breaks the lock free. His fist blurs to the point of invisibility. L-1-Z sees it happen, looks confused, and looks up once more before Speedfreak punches her in the head. The impact knocks her out instantly. As she falls back, Speedfreak catches her and lays her softly on the ground. He rests her head on the ground and looks down on her for a moment.

"I know one day you'll forgive me for that. And perhaps this is what makes you, you".

He stands up and looks down on her again.

"See you soon, Liz..."

He looks sullen for a moment before zooming away in the blink of an eye. She lays there looking lifeless. But she's only sleeping for the most part. Her internal healing factor is busy repairing the damage. But there's been a fault. She can't be fixed completely. Her head, which is partly cybernetic, has been corrupted. A new programming has got her. And it's manifesting...

DIGIMAN #1

November 2015. Artemis Laboratories.

"I'm in".

He jumped down onto the floor. He composed himself and looked around.

"All clear!"

He carried on walking down the corridor. The voice helping him keeps talking in his ear.

"Whatever happened to never hacking anything again?"

"Are you kidding me? Artemis are the best in the cyber-security business. It's a challenge..."

"What about your altruistic persona? The people's champion kind of thing?"

"Well, if people want to think of me like that then they're more than welcome to. Doesn't bother me!"

The voice chuckles.

"They could've come up with a better name for you though. I mean, Digiman? Really!?"

"It could've been worse. It's better than 'wanker' and 'criminal mastermind'".

"I suppose. Even so, 'Alan Turner: Digiman' still sounds ridiculous".

"Then don't put my real name in front of it then, idiot,.."

Alan reaches a door.

"I think I'm here. Check the schematics..."

There's a slightly pause on the comms. Alan looks at the door. Basic coded door. Easy peasy.

"Yup. That's the room. Are you really sure you want to do this?"

"They built it to try and slow me down. Might as well give it a trial run!"

"Couldn't you just wait a few days?"

"Nah. Too impatient".

As he finishes this sentence, Alan retrieves a device from his backpack. He holds it against the coded keypad and presses a button. It whirs. After a few moments, it stops and falls back into Alan's hand. The door opens.

"I'm in".

"Ok. Disabling cameras now".

As Alan looked up, the camera started to point downward and shut down. He smiles and looks dead ahead. The room is full of towers and wires all interconnected into each other like copper bridges. Alan walks into the room and roams among them, amazed at the amount of technology in the room. Towers almost as high as the room loom over him like a technological metropolis.

"Are you getting this, Tom?"

"It's beautiful..."

He looks straight ahead and notices a solitary computer at the edge of the room. A seemingly weird oasis in the jungle of wires around and above him. He walks up to it.

"This must be it..."

Thunder can be heard faintly outside. It doesn't even catch Alan's attention.

"Alan, we've got a storm coming in..."

"We're not stopping now. Got this far. Might as well get the home run..."

He cracks his fingers and leans into the keyboard. He presses the on button and the screen springs to life.

"Ha. This shit runs on Windows 8!"

He goes on to do what he's best at. He starts to hack into the computer. The screen turns into code as Alan furiously works at the keys. He smiles and laughs as he does so.

"It's fighting back. They may actually be onto something good here!"

He continues to fight the computer until, after about 5 minutes, the computer gives in. The screen turns a bright white as the data on it fades away into seemingly non-existence. Alan jumps back and puts his arms in the air in celebration.

"DIGIMAN, 1 - ARTEMIS, 0! SUCK IT, GRINGON!"

"Like Gringon's going to care. And did you really just call yourself 'Digiman'?"

"Let me have this..."

The screen changes colour and the change catches Alan's attention. The desktop comes on to reveal a single file on the menu. He looks at it curiously.

"Well, as I'm here..."

He clicks on the file and it opens up to reveal a single document. Letting his curiosity to take him, he clicks on it and reads what comes up. Suddenly, his face becomes very sour. He can't believe what he's reading.

"Holy shit..."

"Alan? What is it?"

"They're insane..."

"What is it!?"

"I opened a file and...Tom...it's...disgusting!"

"Is it porn?"

"NO! It's...I don't know how to describe it...a battle plan maybe?"

"Battle plan? Against who?"

"I can't make out all of the names. There's a few here though. I don't recognise any of them...Ghost...Speedfreak...Elemental...Shade...Beau...Silver Spectre...NO...WAIT...THEY'VE GOT BLACK DRAGON ON HERE!"

"The vigilante woman?"

"What are they all doing on here?"

Alan continues to look deeper and deeper into the file. The thunder gets closer.

"Alan, the storm..."

"This is huge...I have to find a printer..."

"If you get hit by the storm it will surge! And we've taken down the protections!"

"Someone's targeting Naturals and Augs! I want to know why!"

Alan continues deeper, and deeper, and deeper before finally stopping. His face sours even more than before. He steps back in shock as he reads it.

"They want them dead..."

"What!?"

"They've found a way to kill them...they're going to wage war on the Naturals and the Augs..."

"How?"

"By turning them on each other...This is a hit-list..."

"So? Let them fight! They have the powers to do so!"

"Innocent people are going to get hurt..."

"Since when did you care?"

"Since I realised you and I are two of those innocents!"

The thunder and lightning return once more and brighten Alan's shocked face. He pauses for a moment before looking determined.

"I'm going to rewrite the protocols..."

"Alan, we don't have time!"

Alan gets to work. The thunder and lightning become more and more frequent. Alan furiously types in an attempt to email the list to someone as well as rewrite the plans.

"Come on, don't give up on me now..."

"Alan...the lightning..."

The towers around him start to whir back into animation. He looks around but continues working.

"Alan, I'm getting a major spike in electrical activity. Get out NOW!"

" I'M NOT DONE YET"

He types a little more...and a little more...before finally...

"DONE"

As he says this, a bolt of lightning hits the building and surges through it like it's on water. It goes into the towers and starts to spark between each other. Alan looks around in horror as a concoction of electricity and other substances from the labs mixed in it fly around the room between the conducting towers. He sees the door starting to close and decides to make a run for it. He does so, dodging the bolts of light as they pass between the towers. 

"GET THE CAR READY!"

Triumphantly, he nears the door. As he does, he hears a buzzing. He stops, turns to his right and sees a beam fire right at him. The beam hits his head in a flash and he screams in agony as he's electrocuted from head to foot. After about 10 seconds of electrocution, he falls to the floor. Fading away as he does.

The room is empty as the attack subsides. With a lonely voice calling out...

"Alan...Alan...can you here me? Did you make it out!?