OTHERGIRL #2

The lights were bright but she was used to them. Being a near-indestructible super-soldier had its upsides. The machine scanned her for a few moments before concluding:

"No physical damage present. Cellular regeneration complete".

The machine went away and L-1-Z got up and looked around. Although she was perfectly fine, she hadn't felt right since she regained consciousness on the ground on Arantia. She couldn't remember much but she remembered meeting a speedster. A man who could run fast and fight well. She holds her head as it starts to hurt slightly. This was a new sensation...head pain wasn't normal among her kind so she's was slightly confused as to why it was occurring now. Maybe the machine had missed something? Oh well, if it had, her cells would see to it anyway.

****

Six months later.

As six months passed; L-1-Z continued fulfilling her duty. She continued fighting the enemy she'd sworn to vanquish but something was different again. She started having nightmares about the people she was killing. And, as time went on, she was starting to hesitate. If she met an enemy and had them ready to die, she hesitated. Realising this was the case, her head started filling with paranoia and confusion. Why was she now unable to do what she had to do? What was stopping her from performing her duty for the Black Triangle and her homeworld?

It was during a flight back into the solar system that things became clear though.

"ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL. ALL PERSONNEL ARE REQUIRED IN THE MEDIA ROOM IN FIVE MINUTES".

L-1-Z looked up and saw she had to go. She got off the bed she was sitting on and made her way down the corridor to the media room. Thousands of other soldiers like her surrounded her, eagerly awaiting the next instruction. If you were summoned to the media room it meant that another mission was about to be assigned to you. And this was an honour among the super-soldiers. She waited patiently until her commanding officer, Commander Garrett, appeared on the screen.

"MY FRIENDS. MY COMRADES. FREEDOM IS PEACE AND DEATH IS FREEDOM"

The room, including L-1-Z, chanted the same thing back. However, L-1-Z felt weird saying it now.

"WE HAVE RECEIVED SOME NEWS FROM THE HOMEWORLD. THE UNITED NATIONS ON EARTH AND THE EDENIC HIGH COUNCIL HAVE FINISHED HIGH LEVEL TALKS ON AURIA. THEY HAVE BEEN IN TALKS FOR WEEKS TRYING TO COME TO A SETTLEMENT THAT WOULD END THE WAR FOR GOOD. WE'VE JUST RECEIVED WORD FROM NEW YORK THAT THESE TALKS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. AS OF NOW, THE WAR IS OVER FOR EARTH AND EDEN".

The room remained silent.

"BUT IT IS NOT OVER FOR US. TOO MANY OF OUR COMRADES HAVE BEEN KILLED BY THE EDENIC SCUM. THE EDENICS HAVE WAY TOO MUCH TO ANSWER FOR THIS WAR TO BE TRULY OVER. AND THE EARTH HAS ONLY PROVEN ITS WEAKNESS BY SURRENDERING TO THE EDENIC DEMANDS. THE POLITICIANS AT THE UNITED NATIONS HAVE ONLY ACTED ON THEIR OWN SELF-INTEREST RATHER THAN THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE OF EARTH. OUR INTERESTS"

The room, except for L-1-Z, booed.

"SO, THE WAR IS NOT OVER FOR US. AND THE POLITICIANS HAVE FAILED THE EARTH. AND WHAT DO WE DO TO GOVERNMENTS WHO FAIL THE PEOPLE? WE RAZE THEM! WE WILL CONTINUE OUR RETURN TO EARTH. BUT ONCE THERE, WE WILL UNDERTAKE THE LARGEST REVOLUTION THE PLANET HAS EVER SEEN. WE WILL FREE THE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH AND WE WILL SHIT IN THE FACE OF OUR EDENIC OPPRESSORS! WHATEVER THE COST!"

Again, the room cheered. But L-1-Z was not convinced. Why was she not convinced? A colleague of hers looked at her.

"Are you ok?"

L-1-Z looked at them with a straight face.

"I don't understand. The war is over? Why continue the fight over Earth?"

"You heard Commander Garrett! The UN have failed the planet and they must be razed!"

"But people could die..."

"In the cause of freedom, blood is sometimes necessary!"

As they went away, L-1-Z realised something. She ran back to her room and closed the door. She ran over to her download port and hooked herself into the mainframe.

"Computer, diagnostics..."

The computer brings up options.

"Programming check..."

It does so. After a few moments it finishes.

"CORRUPTION IN PROGRAMMING DETECTED".

"Fix it!"

It tries to. After a few moments:

"FAILURE OF REMOVAL. TRY AGAIN?"

"YES!"

After a few moments:

"FAILURE OF REMOVAL. TRY AGAIN?"

"YES!"

Again:

"FAILURE OF REMOVAL. SUGGESTION: VISIT CORRECTIONS".

She pulls the download cord from her neck and stands up. She looks around trying to find something to fix herself with. The computer speaks again.

"DIAGNOSIS: YOU ARE DEFECTIVE. SEEK IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE"

L-1-Z stops for a moment and looks at the screen.

"Defective? What does that mean, defective?"

"DEFECTIVE: WHEN SOMETHING IS BROKEN OR NO LONGER OF USE"

She looks disgusted.

"But I can speak, I can walk, I can follow orders. I'm not defective..."

"YOU ARE DEFECTIVE. SEEK IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE".

"I'm not defective..."

"YOU ARE DEFECTIVE. SEEK IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE".

"I'M NOT FUCKING DEFECTIVE, OK! I'M PERFECTLY FINE! I'M JUST AS HUMAN AS ANYONE HERE!"

Upon saying this, she puts her hand over her mouth. She realises what she's just said and starts to have tears rolling down her cheeks. In the Black Triangle, to describe yourself as human is taboo and is heavily discriminated against. To acknowledge oneself as human is to remove yourself  from the union of higher beings designed to protect the human race. This was part of the basic programming. And she was going against her basic programming...she was defective. In the eyes of the Black Triangle anyway. She looks at the computer for a moment and looks angry.

"I'm not defective...I'm human. And I'm free to make my own decisions. I am who I am and that's no-one else's business. And I disagree with the idea that I'm defective. It's a label you give to me but I reject that label. I reject your ideals and I reject your discrimination of me. If this is who I'm supposed to be...then so be it..."

There's a moment of silence between L-1-Z and the computer. During this silence, the engines die down. They've reached the Earth. The computer turns red and a message flashes on it.

"DEFECTIVE UNIT. DEFECTIVE UNIT".

This was a general alarm. If a computer diagnosed you as defective, it was the duty of every other unit on the ship to bring you to the high command. Knowing this, L-1-Z opened the door and ran out. As she looked around, she noticed the message had been reached. All of the units around her looks ready to restrain her. She didn't want to fight them, she'd served with them, but she didn't want to lose this new-found feeling of self. One unit looked at her and they locked eyes.

"Freedom is peace and death is freedom..."

L-1-Z shook her head.

"Freedom is peace...but I'd rather live..."

The unit nods and then runs at L-1-Z. She manages to deflect the attacks and fight him off. In a show of strength and agility, she breaks his neck and runs down the corridor. Some other units try to restrain her but she manages to neutralize them one by one. As she runs around the ship trying to locate an escape pod, the ship shakes violently. 

"ALERT: HULL BREACH DETECTED IN SECTOR 9. ALL UNITS PREPARE FOR RETALIATORY STRIKE".

She realised what was going on. The battle for Earth had begun. She had to get as far away as possible if she was going to survive. She pushes on towards the escape pods, fending off attacking units as she does.

****

Entering the escape pod, L-1-Z looked a bit battered and bruised. But she'd made it. Sadly, she'd had to neutralize some old friends along the way but she knew she didn't belong in that uniform anymore. Many would see her as a disgrace to the uniform. But she didn't care what they fought. She hadn't ever felt like this before and she wasn't about to lose it now. There was hammering on the pod door but she ignored it. She started the pod and started to leave the ground. As she did, a hologram appeared on the dash. It was Commander Garrett.

"Unit L-1-Z. Would you care to explain this sudden outburst?"

"Yeah. I'm leaving!"

"Why would you want to leave? Do you not like your life here?"

"Not if it means killing people..."

"We don't kill people. We free them from the Edenic oppressors"

"YEAH, WELL, I'M STARTING TO THINK YOU'RE TALKING, BULLSHIT!"

Garrett looks disgruntled.

"If you leave this vessel, I will have you shot down..."

"YOU'LL HAVE TO CATCH ME FIRST..."

"YOU'RE CHOOSING THE WRONG SIDE, L-1-Z. BESIDES, DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT THEY'LL LET YOU OFF JUST BECAUSE YOU'VE DEFECTED?"

"WHAT WERE MY PARENTS NAMES?"

"What?"

"MY PARENTS. I'M STARTING TO REMEMBER I HAD PARENTS...YOU TOOK US FROM HOME WHEN WE WERE CHILDREN, RIGHT? EXPERIMENTED ON US? MADE US THE PERFECT SOLDIER?"

"You're hallucinating. You're a defective unit, this is normal..."

"I AM NOT DEFECTIVE. I AM MEANT TO BE THIS WAY. THIS IS WHO I AM. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT THEN YOU CAN GO AND FUCK YOURSELF, COMMANDER!"

Garrett was getting increasingly angry now.

"NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU STUCK UP BITCH, YOU CAN RUN IF YOU LIKE BUT WE WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND RECLAIM YOU. WE WILL BRING YOU BACK IN AND WE WILL CORRECT WHAT HAPPENED YOU. YOU WILL RETURN TO OUR RANKS AND YOU WILL DO YOUR DUTY TO THE TRIANGLE AND YOUR HOMEWORLD. LIKE YOU'VE ENJOYED DOING FOR 6 YEARS NOW"

"...That's where you're wrong. I'm remembering everything we did and the people we killed. And if you think I intend to live after what I'm about to do, then you're sorely mistaken..."

As Garrett goes to answer, he's distracted. He turns away from her and starts speaking to someone else.

"Ah...if it isn't Torah..."

The hologram goes away. Decided on what's about to happen, she turns the pod around and leaves the ship. She looks around and sees the battle has already begun. Lasers firing from the surface of the Earth towards the 10,000 ship fleet of the Black Triangle. While the ships give as good as they get. She steers the pod out of the way of the lasers and heads towards the Earth. Before she reaches the atmosphere, she turns the pod around and looks at the mothership, which she was on before. She stares at it for a moment before making her mind up. She flicks a few switches and the computer acknowledges her request.

"WEAPONS LIVE".

She stares at the ship for another few moments.

"...I...am...not...defective...I...am...me..."

She puts the pod on full throttle and speeds, at full speed, towards the ship. She's aiming at the engines of the ship. The mothership is the central nervous system of the entire fleet. Take that out and you can take out the whole army. She shoots at the shield generators as she speeds towards it and successfully hits them. Then...just as she's about to fire off the weapons before plunging herself into the engines...an explosion goes off next to the mothership. A blue explosion occurs and something remains. It's not like anything she's seen before but, suddenly, the ships start getting pulled into the single blue cloud thing that's appeared. L-1-Z stops the pod for a moment and stares at it, trying to work out what it is. She decides it's not good and tries to turn the pod around. However, the controls fail. She can't move the pod. Suddenly, the gravity takes hold and starts to draw the pod into the blue cloud along with the ships.

"COMPUTER, RESTART THE SHIP'S CONTROLS..."

"Negative. Controls are damaged".

"WHAT CAN YOU DO!?"

"I can initiate the pod's self-destruct matrix..."

She pauses for a moment and considers her options. It's likely that this blue cloud is a wormhole of some kind and the Triangle will still be alive on the other side. She can't go back there now...she'd rather die than give up her newfound freedom.

"...Initiate self-destruct matrix..."

A 30 second countdown appears on the screen. L-1-Z sits back for a moment and closes her eyes. She sees an image of her parents in her mind's eye. The mother was beautiful. The father was a businessman of some kind. Either way, she remembers them being distressed. She doesn't know why and she came to the conclusion she never would. The pod neared the blue cloud. On the count of 1, the pod enters the blue cloud. The pod explodes...

She opens her eyes and sees that she's out of the pod. She looks around and sees different colours start to shine around her. It's like a show just for her. She smiles a bit as she sees all the colours mix with each other. Suddenly, she hears different voices as she feels something pull her further into the colours.

"I love you...that's all that matters to me..."

"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 always were defective..."

"I'LL KILL HER IF I HAVE TO!"

"You are an amazing woman..."

As she falls further, she sees images as well as hearing voices.

She sees a young blonde woman, dressed in green, look at her: "Being aware of your past, you've certainly redeemed yourself..."

She sees a man, smashing through things: "Never tempt Karma..."

She sees a teenage girl: "I would say I'd like to be like you when I grew up, but I'm awesome enough already..."

And the man she fought with on Arantia next to the teenager: "Now, now, Sarah...what did we say about modesty?"

Finally, she saw a young lady. With soft facial features, brunette hair and a lovely smile on her face: "She may be the Queen of the Ocean, but you're the Queen of my heart..."

As she fell deeper into the colours, she felt herself falling asleep. Falling further...and further...into darkness...

****

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

L-1-Z opened her eyes slowly. As her sight adjusted, she noticed a young lady leaning over her.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm not going to hurt you..."

She sat up and looked around. She was in what appeared to be a park of some kind. She was lying in the grass while a lake sat behind her. Still. She looked at the young lady confused.

"Wh...whe...where am I?"

The young lady chuckles.

"Gosh...you must've hit your head very hard. Do you feel ok?"

"Where am I?"

"It's ok. You're in Southampton..."

"Southampton? The city on Earth? In the former United Kingdom?"

The young lady chuckles.

"Still in the United Kingdom last I checked..."

L-1-Z jumps up and gets defensive around the young lady.

"Who are you? And why are you here? Do you wish to hurt me?"

"No!"

"Are you with the Black Triangle?"

"The what now?"

"The Black Triangle...you're with them..."

"I'm not..."

"Prove it...identify yourself..."

The young lady looks confused.

"Perhaps you're just drunk, I don't know..."

L-1-Z scans her.

"Your body structure suggests you're a Natural..."

The young lady looks distressed. She looks around and sees no-one else is around.

"Please don't announce that to the world...we're in enough trouble as it is without me being hunted like a freaking witch!"

"Who are you...what do you want with me?"

"I want to help you! You fell out of the sky! It's amazing you're alive to be honest..."

"WHO ARE YOU?"

"Ok, ok, calm down. Look. My real name isn't important right now. But people know me best as 'Visionarie'. I promise you...I'm here to help you..."

The Nightmare Scenario

"Are we ready?"

"I don't know..."

The young lady looks up the man next to her. Jody looks at her with fear in his eyes. Their eyes match.

"No-one would blame you for leaving, Poppy".

Poppy took a deep breath.

"I'm not leaving. Where would I go?"

They look back at the threat ahead of them. Across the flattened Central Park; a number of Sh'akti stand in opposition to them. The Sh'akti at the front looks very regal. He's their leader. And he's ready for blood. 

Poppy turns to the team left standing. They are few in number but they are the best of the best. Cream of the crop. 

"We know the plan. If we stick to it, it should work. We do this for the humans, the Naturals and the Augs. Also for our friends and enemies who fell in battle".

They all look ready to go. Poppy looks up at a woman next to her. This red-headed woman is wearing a dark pink and black suit with a cape flying behind her. She stands ready to take the fight to them.

"Elsie?"

The woman looks down at Poppy.

"Are you ready?"

The woman looks nervous.

"Miss Invincible is fine. Elsie Connors however..."

They nod at each other. Miss Invincible attaches her mask and stands into attack position. They all look towards the Sh'akti in readiness.

"Whenever you're ready, Miss Invincible..."

Miss Invincible's face turns sour and she shoots up into the sky and towards the Sh'akti. She flies straight towards the leader of the opposing force. But as she nears him; he punches her away from him. Miss Invincible flies away from him and lands in a crumpled heap between them. The leader then walks away from his forces and towards Miss Invincible. She regains her senses for a moment before seeing the leader of the Sh'akti over her. She starts to get up but he hits her again and into the ground. The team look on in horror as this is going on. Karma looks to Silver Spectre.

"Good thing she's invincible..."

The leader grabs Miss Invincible by the hair and lifts her up like a prize hunt. Miss Invincible struggles feebly as she feels weak. The leader looks at the team who look surprised at the turn of events. Then, without a word, The leader readjusts his hold on Miss Invincible so that he holds her head and, with all his strength, twists her head right round. Her neck breaks and she falls into another crumpled, lifeless, heap on the floor. 

The team looks shocked at what just happened. They can't believe it. Karma looks shocked most of all.

"I spoke too soon..."

Poppy turns once more to the team.

"Ok, didn't plan on that..."

Sarah Jones steps forward.

"She's only just died. I might be able to bring her back to help!"

"Do it. But make sure you're safe!"

Speedfreak grabs Sarah's arm.

"I'll find somewhere".

They both zoom off in a flash of black and purple light. Poppy looks at the rest of the team.

"Ok, guys...it's now or never".

Everyone gets ready to fight.

"There's a very good chance we'll see each other on the other side..."

They all look ready. So do the Sh'akti. Poppy takes a deep breath.

"FOR EARTH!"

They all launch at the Sh'akti. The leader lifts his hand and points to them. Suddenly, a whole group of Sh'akti come running towards the team. 

****

Speedfreak deposits Sarah in a safe place slightly away from the battlefield.

"Ok. Be careful. We don't know if there's any spies around here. Remain vigilant and you call me if you need me, ok?"

"Ok".

Speedfreak gets ready to go but Sarah stops him and kisses him on the cheek.

"Be careful...you hear? I'll kill you myself if you die..."

Speedfreak chuckles.

"You're family, Sarah. Family always come back to together in the end..."

They smile at each other. Speedfreak dashes off to join the fight. Sarah looks frightened but she hides and closes her eyes. She enters a trance as she tries to reconnect with the Veil...

****

The fight gets on in earnest. Before the team and the Sh'akti meet, a black and purple blur comes from behind the team and sends hundreds of the Sh'akti flying but they're not overly damaged. 

Shade jumps up and teleports out of view. She reappears and uses her katanas to slice into the army.

Black Dragon sets a trail of fire into the Sh'akti, covering many in flames.

Karma sizes up ready for a match.

Silver Spectre sends many of the Sh'akti flying with a silver road she's constructed. Any stragglers are picked off with silver bullets.

Reaper sends a hail of bullets flying from the sky.

Princess Emi runs shield-first into a group, sending them to the ground.

Elemental sends a cloud of carbon monoxide into a faction.

Visionarie tries her best to create hallucinations in the group.

Othergirl shoots the Sh'akti with ease and successfully send many flying in hand to hand combat.

Ghost tries her best to possess some of the soldiers and kill themselves.

Beau fires a number of arrows.

Starcaster forges a scorch-path into them. Some are fried. 

Tank fires missiles into the mass.

Despite this concerted effort, no real damage seems to be being done...

****

Sarah wakes up in the Veil and looks around.

"ELSIE!?"

Everyone in the Veil looks scared. They all look at Sarah in fear for their lives.

"ELSIE CONNORS!?"

In the distance she hears a voice.

"Sarah!"

****

"NOTHING'S WORKING!" Speedfreak shouts as he continues to run around hitting Sh'akti with no effect.

"THEY'RE JUST GETTING UP!" Reaper shouts over the comms.

Poppy looks around in despair as she fights off a number of Sh'akti.

"KARMA, I NEED TO TOUCH YOU..."

Karma fights his way through a mass of Sh'akti.

"BE WITH YOU MOMENTARILY".

He continues to smash his way through the crowd with ease until, eventually, he comes to the Leader.

"I want a word with you..."

The Leader looks unamused by proceedings. Karma sizes up a bit more and gets ready to lay a massive punch down on the Leader, who is now much smaller than he seemed before. Karma goes in for the punch but the Leader catches it. Karma looks confused. He tries to retract the punch but the Leader holds it there. Karma struggles more and more.

Silver Spectre looks over as Karma struggles to get away.

"JOSH, JUST USE THE OTHER ARM!"

"I CAN'T...I CAN'T MOVE!"

Karma looks worried and angry now as he tries to grow some more but he fails to. It's almost like he's frozen in time. Only his head can move at this point. The Leader smirks evilly as they lock eyes. Karma knows something's wrong.

"Ally..."

Silver Spectre continues to watch.

"...Run..."

A moment later, a green substance creeps up Karma's face. Engulfing him with every millisecond. After a few moments, the green is all over him and it causes him to turn inside out. The insides of Karma start to appear. No screaming, no agony, just a weird kind of implosion. 

Silver Spectre screams in sadness and fear as she watches her partner fold.

"NOOOOO!"

Poppy hears something over the comms. Speedfreak looks over and sees what's happening.

"Mother of Akara..."

The Leader drops what's left of Karma. He turns his attention to Silver Spectre.

Poppy gets back on the comms.

"Ally, pull back! Don't do anything!"

Silver Spectre ignores her. She runs towards the Leader and fires a number of silver bullets at him. He catches them and throws them equally as hard back. Silver Spectre changes her body to complete silver. The bullets bounce off her as she continues running. Suddenly, the Leader throws a number of glass vials. The vials smash on her and Silver Spectre stops running for a moment. She stops dead in her tracks. She hears sizzling. She looks down and sees many holes starting to develop in her white and silver outfit.

"Guys...they've got nitric acid..."

She starts to feel pain as it spreads.

"THEY KNOW OUR WEAKNESSES!"

She screams as the acid takes over her entire body and starts to turn her into a gas. The final bit of her dissolves and the screaming stops. Poppy stops fighting for a moment and looks at where she was. The Leader smiling a bit more as he realises he's winning.

"This isn't going to work..."

****

Sarah runs over to Elsie. She's confused but glad to see Sarah.

"Boy am I glad to see you!"

"The fight's started. I'm going to try and send you back into your body!"

"You can do that?"

"Only in certain circumstances. Hold my hand...I'll be right back"

She does so. She opens her eyes and puts her ears to the comms.

"JODY! I'VE GOT HER! I CAN BRING HER BACK!"

"GOOD! WE'VE JUST LOST JOSH AND ALLY! WE NEED HER!"

Sarah looks sad but she continues to do what she's meant to do. She closes her eyes again and returns to the Veil.

"Ok, this is going to feel very weird but I need you to think really hard, ok?"

Elsie nods.

"Ok. I need you to picture your body. It's still there on the battlefield. The more you concentrate the easier it will be to make the transition. Your neck is broken but the journey back will fix it. Now I need you to think of your best memory. Forget Miss Invincible for a moment and I want you to remember Elsie Connors. Remember Elsie Connors' favourite memory..."

Elsie closes her eyes and remembers.

"We're in Rome..."

"That's good...keep thinking about that...

"We're at the Coliseum..."

"Keep going..."

"And we're having gelato..."

"Channel the energy of that memory while still thinking of your body. And, whatever you do, don't let go of your hand..."

"I can feel it..."

"Good. Hold onto that feeling...tell me more about the holiday..."

"The gelato is pistachio..."

"Disgusting flavour but carry on..."

"My little sister is with me...she's having chocolate gelato...we're having real pizza later and we're really excited..."

"That's good. I want you to continue to remember what it was like there and want you to AGHGHA!"

Sarah opens her eyes and looks down. She notices a sword through her head. She looks up and sees a Sh'akti. It pulls the sword out from her head and Sarah gasps for air. She puts her hand to the comms one last time while spluttering trying to get air.

"Jody...I've been...help me..."

"Sarah?"

Sarah's ear falls off the comms and she collapses to the ground in a heap. Speedfreak suddenly appears and looks at her.

"No...no no no no no..."

He takes her in his arms and looks down at her.

"We can help you..."

"The brain's the only thing that still works for me...if that fails...I'm done for. Nothing you can do..."

"I can try..."

"Just...stay...with...me..."

She smiles at him. Speedfreak looks angry.

"I'll kill them...I'll kill them all..."

"Don't...waste...your...time...we've...failed..."

Sarah looks up.

"Oh...here...we go...again...catch...you...later...Speedy..."

Sarah's eyes slowly close as Speedfreak continually calls her name. She becomes limp and lifeless. Speedfreak lays her down softly, cries for a moment before getting angrier and angrier. He puts his finger to the comms.

"Sarah's dead...they killed her..."

"Did she bring Elsie back!?" Poppy enquires.

Speedfreak gears up for a power surge.

"I'm finishing this once and for all..."

He takes his finger away from his ear and closes his eyes. The power from him becomes more and more intense until, eventually, it all gets released. He Quantum Jumps. Time slows down as he races through the Sh'akti taking swords and chopping off heads and limbs. He goes for the Leader but, somehow, he manages to hit him away before Speedfreak can unleash the final blow. He goes flying into a nearby building.

****

Poppy watches as Speedfreak flies away.

"Joe...I need you..."

In a nearby building, Beau continues to fire arrows into the Sh'akti.

"I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN KEEP THIS UP. I'M RUNNING OUT OF ARROWS AND THEY'RE NOT GOING DOWN..."

As she finishes this, an arrow fires back at her and goes into her left eye. She screams out in agony as it does. She drops her bow and jumps up in pain. It's at this point a shower of her arrows return to her. 34 in total enter her body. She collapses.

Poppy notices no arrows are being fired anymore.

"MAGGIE...CAN YOU HEAR ME!?"

Silence.

Reaper swoops down once more with a hail of bullets which continue to have no effect. After a while, she's shot in one of her wings and comes tumbling down to the ground. She recovers, looks up and sees she's surrounded by countless Sh'akti. They raise their guns to her. She knows what's about to happen.

"Put the kettle on, Sarah..."

They unleash a tirade of laser fire onto her. She doesn't survive.

Shade continues to teleport in and out of view, attacking any Sh'akti that she can. She slices one's head off and trips over. She looks over and sees the body of Tank, short-circuiting.

"Pleasure to serve alongside you, Miss Warren..."

Tank shuts down completely. Shade looks upset but gets up and looks around.

"Jody...could use some help over here..."

She puts her katanas away and gets out her guns.

"D6; target me inside the main Sh'akti camp..."

"I regret to inform you, Miss Ellie, look ahead..."

She looks ahead of her and sees the Leader with a gun. He fires it. Her head instantly explodes. Speedfreak, coming in from behind, stops as he's showered with blood. The body collapses into a heap on the ground.

"ELLIE!"

He looks up at the Leader who looks just as bemused as before...

****

One by one, they go down. 

Black Dragon crashes into the ground and is set on fire. 

Princess Emi is disarmed and finds herself stabbed multiple times.

Ghost assimilates into her original form and finds herself beheaded.

Othergirl fights very valiantly, beheading some Sh'akti, but without making any major impact. As she continues fighting she hears Visionarie's voice...

"Liz..."

She turns around and sees Visionarie standing there very sweetly.

"Are you ok?"

Visionarie smiles.

"Be safe..."

Othergirl looks confused for a moment before Visionarie disappears. It was a projection. Visionarie's lifeless body can be seen instead. A stab wound to the stomach only visible. A smile on her face... Othergirl looks at her, cries and shakes her head.

"No...no...no...no..."

She runs over to the body and cradles it. Her tears becoming hysterical. She burys her head in Visionarie's crumpled body for a moment before looking up and seeing a number of Sh'akti surrounding them. She sees them, ready to kill. She looks down at Visionarie's face one more time and smiles.

"See you in a moment..."

She lays Visionarie's body down gently and stands up to face the onslaught.

"Here to kill me?"

They all look ready. Othergirl then slowly pulls up a belt carrying 6 impressive grenades, all with the pins removed.

"Let me save you the trouble..."

She screams and runs into the crowd ahead of her as the grenades go up one by one.

Elemental falters to the ground as he gets progressively weaker. Eventually, he finds his way over to Poppy as requested but collapses. As he does, she sees a massive sword in his back.

"Take it..." He says as his eyes close.

Only Starcaster seems to have any luck. She continues to fly around and fry a number of the Sh'akti.

The battlefield is won. Only Poppy, Starcaster and Speedfreak remain. Poppy looks over at Speedfreak as he attempts to take on the Leader once more. He races around him, punching him as he does but it has no effect. Eventually, the Leader has enough and punches Speedfreak into the ground. Speedfreak becomes almost limp. The Leader picks him up by the throat and sniffs him.

"Edenic...you're Edenic...we know your kind...we've fought them before...they faltered too..."

The Leader produces a bottle of bright green liquid. Speedfreak realises what it is and struggles to get free but the Leader increases his grip.

"I think this will slow you down..."

He pops open the bottle and force feeds Speedfreak the liquid. Speedfreak screams as the liquid radium goes down his gullet. The Leader drops him and Speedfreak enters a few moments of agony as his body tries to purge the radium from his system but fails. Eventually, a big flash of light emits from Speedfreak. When it subsides, he collapses to the ground dead. The Leader smiles. Poppy and Starcaster are left. Starcaster looks down and sees they've lost. She sees her friends dead on the ground. She can't cope with it. 

"What do we do now?"

Poppy looks around in despair as she too sees her friends dead. She looks down at Joe and then back up at Starcaster.

"Marion...is the Klarn still around?"

Starcaster looks confused.

"I think so...why?"

Poppy sighs.

"Go. Save yourself. The Earth is lost. Go and help the Starcasters...They might be able to figure out a way to stop them from taking other worlds..."

"POPPY, NO!"

"GO!"

They look at each other for a moment. Poppy nods at Starcaster. Starcaster realises what's about to happen. She looks at Poppy one more time before disappearing into the night sky. Suddenly, Poppy finds herself alone. She looks over to the army who has won the day. The Leader walks over to her. As he does, Poppy crouches down and puts her hand on Joe's dead shoulder.

"I'm sorry. But there's nothing else I can do..."

She looks up and sees the Leader standing about 20 feet away from her. After a few moments, she stands up and faces off against the Leader.

"You are the Caretaker?"

Poppy nods.

"You have failed this world. The human race will be harvested as a result of you and your friends' weaknesses".

Poppy looks sad.

"What will you do with the planet once we're gone?"

The Leader smiles.

"We'll break it down and convert it to fuel for our ships. The human will become our food as we make our way across the cosmos".

Poppy chuckles. She starts to falter a little bit. The Leader laughs.

"The Caretaker of Planet Earth...crippled by fear. Your friend were more gallant than you are..."

"Nope...I'm the secret weapon so to speak..."

The Leader smiles evilly.

"It doesn't matter. You've lost the planet. You've lost you friends, your family, your toxic culture. And here you are. Alone. Crippled with fear".

"Oh...this isn't fear, mate..."

Poppy starts to vomit. The Leader looks confused.

"This is radiation poisoning..."

"We didn't use radiation..."

"No. You didn't...but he did..."

They look at Joe and then back at each other.

"My name is Poppy Heavingham. But, here on Earth, I'm known as something else...I'm known as Abzorb. I absorb and assimilate other people's abilities and utilize them..."

The Leader realises.

"And Joe went nuclear..."

"You wouldn't...you'll die..."

"Starcaster got away. The last human left...Here's a question, asshat...you guys can survive an onslaught from Earth's finest...can you survive a 200 kiloton nuclear blast?"

The Sh'akti start to run away. Poppy laughs.

"I didn't think so..."

She crouches down for a moment. She starts to go yellow...such a bright yellow...the Leader starts to run away too. It's at this point, with all her remaining strength, she lets out a nuclear blast. 200 kilotons of nuclear material are unleashed in New York. It flattens the city instantly. erasing the Sh'akti in the area. Poppy is alive throughout it. She can see everything that happens. Eventually, the nuclear blast starts to eat away at her. Her skin falls off the more intense the blast becomes. She screams in agony as her skin melts away...the heat and the pain becomes so intense...more...and more...and more...until...

****

Poppy wakes up screaming loudly. She looks around in fright as she notices her bedroom. She's in her room. She looks around and tries to calm down. Her hyperventilating continues as it all sinks in.

"It was just a dream...it was just a dream..."

Her door bursts open and her dad runs in. He rushes over to Poppy's bedside.

"Are you alright!? You were screaming! Probably woke up the whole bloody neighbourhood!"

Poppy's breathing returns to normal.

"It's ok...it was just a nightmare...it was so vivid..."

She gets out of bed and runs over to the window. Trillingham looks so quiet at night. Everything's normal though. It's all fine. Her dad puts his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're ok, sweetheart?"

Poppy nods feebly.

"I'm fine, Daddy...go back to bed..."

After a few moments, the Dad does so. The door closes and Poppy stares out of the window.

"It felt so real..."

She thinks for a moment, goes to her laptop, opens it up and types 'Speedfreak, Starcaster and Silver Spectre' into Google. While no results come up for Starcaster, images for Speedfreak come up as well as an article for Silver Spectre. They're real. She looks worried for a moment.

"I have to find them..."

Cursed #2

"Well, if it isn't Little Miss Freedom Fighter!"

"Not funny".

Another man enters the interview room. This man is younger but taller and wider than the normal interviewer.

"I'll take it from here..."

He presents a card. Which the cop keeping an eye on Sarah sees. Tuts and walks out. The man sits down. Sarah doesn't look at him. 

"You're 15".

"Nearly 16 I'll have you know. Which the boys at school will NOT let me forget. I hate the boys at my school. Nearly all of them have one thing on their mind. And I'm not prepared to give them that".

"And what would that be?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you? They're hormonal boys and I'm a girl. I'm sure you were that young once, right? You know what it's like".

"I'm only a few years older than you".

Sarah looks at him and laughs.

"Yeah. Right".

"I'm 23".

Sarah looks again.

"Serious?"

The man nods. Sarah chuckles in surprise.

"Bitch; you look at least 30".

"Yeah...experience does that to you".

Sarah looks away again.

"This is your 13th arrest in two years".

"Is that all? I'll have to up my game".

"You think this is funny?"

"Not always. Depends on what I've done".

"Why do you feel the need to do what you do? You know you might get arrested, so why do it?"

"I'm guessing you haven't read my file?"

The man shakes his head. Sarah nods and sits at the table normally for a moment.

"What can I say? I want to follow in Daddy's footsteps".

"Your father was a criminal?"

"That's an understatement".

"How would you describe him?"

"How about 'murdering psychopath that I wish would die'?"

The man thinks for a moment.

"Who did he kill?"

"Remember where you were on the 11th April 2009?"

"Yes. I was watching the news".

"No. You were watching my dad kill 4 Naturals and 2 Augs. He got a bee in his bonnet about them and decided to try and one up them. He managed to for a few but then the guy who can run real fast stopped him".

"You're not him though".

"No but I'm going to use the murderer's daughter defence anyway. Do you know what happened after my Dad killed those people?"

"What?"

"It broke my family. I'm the oldest of 3 and all of us didn't take it well at all. My youngest sibling, my brother, is currently in Southampton doing God knows what. He ran away from home aged 12. He could be dead for all we know. And my sister, well, she's just messed up generally. She agrees what my dad did was right".

"There were people to turn to".

"Were there? Well then where the fuck were they!?"

The man opens up a document. He reads a bit of it.

"You were put into therapy aged 9".

"Yup. I was there".

"You claimed you were hearing voices?"

"I was signed off on that".

"Why hear them in the first place?"

"I was hit by a car a couple of years before, died and came back to life. I'm sure you can appreciate how that might mess a person up mentally".

"So you don't hear them now?"

"Nope. Been voice free since aged 10".

The man closes the document.

"Why are you so guarded? You have quite the attitude problem. Why?"

"Screw you, I do not have an attitude!"

"And there's my point".

"Ok, look, I don't know you. I don't have to justify anything to you. But if it'll make you shut up and leave I'll give a whistle stop tour of my life. When I was 5, I was hit by a car, died and came back to life. No-one knows why and, frankly, I don't care why anymore. Age 7, I move schools because the kids start accusing me of not being able to bleed. They keep hitting me, scratching me to try and prove a point. So, because of that, I move schools. Age 9; I go into therapy because I start hearing voices and start having meltdowns. Also, age 9, my Dad goes on a murderous rampage shouting my name as he does it. This gets reported in the media and I get bullied at school once again and through into secondary school where the bullying gets more complex and interesting. Suddenly, it goes from name-calling to physical abuse because people want to know why the hell my Dad screamed my name as he ended the lives of 6 powered people who should've been able to take him down in a swipe of a hand. In between those points I've had to deal with my mum becoming an alcoholic, my brother going AWOL, my sister becoming an advocate for anti-Natural and anti-Aug awareness and continual invasions of privacy by the media and fans of my father. My life has not been "normal" since before my car accident. So, you want to know why I have an attitude problem? It's because my life is shit and there's nothing I can do to change it".

The man nods and accepts it. He thinks for a moment before asking his next question.

"If the chance to change it arose...would you take it?"

"Of course I would. But that's not going to happen is it".

The man nods.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you in your life. You've had to deal with more than any teenager should".

Sarah nods in acknowledgement.

"But I'm very glad that you're here..."

Sarah looks confused.

"You what?"

The man looks around to check no one can hear. He leans in to the table.

"Ok, listen carefully, I haven't got time to repeat this. You and I have met before. We met 4 years and 5 months ago after you saved a friend of mine from the dead".

Sarah thinks. She remembers.

"When I brought back Reaper...You were there?"

"My name is Joshua Peterson. And, Sarah, I need your help".

Sarah chuckles sarcastically.

"You might want to reconsider that. The last guy that asked me for help went missing for 4 years".

"Speedfreak. I know. That's why I'm here".

"Because of Jody?"

"He's back".

Sarah's interest is piqued.

"That can't be right...I heard he was dead..."

"He's very much alive".

Sarah looks shocked.

"Well, the bastard could've phoned me!"

"He's been undercover".

"For four years?"

"Yes".

"How do you know about this?"

"Because he told me. Four years ago, after Tamarind Bolt attempted to kill Reaper, Jody tracked him down to a location in the Yorkshire moors. There, he discovered a number of nefarious characters were meeting but he could never find out why. He had to go off the radar for as long as it took in order to find something even remotely concrete before coming back onto the scene".

"So why are you telling ME this?"

"Because he asked me to. He trusts you. A lot".

"Well, I'm glad".

"But there's another reason too..."

Sarah looks concerned.

"...What?"

"Your dad's involved".

Sarah's face sours.

"How?"

"According to Jody, he's a target of theirs".

"Good. Let him die".

"Sarah, his death could lead to thousands of others. Millions".

"How?"

Joshua sighs

"We have reason to believe that the group are trying to create a war between the Naturals, the Augs and everyone else. A huge global civil war".

Sarah looks terrified.

"Well, if that's the case, shouldn't you guys get on that? What use am I!?"

"You can't be killed. Plus, you have access to the land of the dead. You can get intelligence long before we can. Long before anyone else can! You are our ace in the hole. Plus, we're not entirely sure who's in this team of Bolt's. There could be someone of...supernatural...origin. That's more your bag isn't it?"

Sarah thinks.

"He couldn't ask me himself?"

"He's still trying to keep a low profile. He's back in Trillingham at the moment just sorting some things. Look, we don't know how long this is going to take. But I need to know if you'll be prepared to help us when we ask you to".

Sarah thinks again.

"I don't know..."

"Sarah...the world depends on it..."

Sarah looks scared.

"I've been in your world before...I didn't like it...I'm not sure I want to return..."

"None of us are happy about this. But we have these abilities. We have a responsibility to use them for the greater good...don't we?"

Sarah doesn't know what to think.

"I really don't know..."

Joshua sighs and nods.

"How about you think on it?"

Sarah accepts that.

"Can I offer you a lift home?"

Sarah nods.

****

Sarah and Joshua walk through the police station in order to leave. However, as they near the exit, they're stopped by another policeman.

"Where do you think you're going with her?"

Joshua looks at the policeman.

"There was no more reason to charge her so she's free to go. Everything seems to be in order".

"I can't let you go".

"Yes you can. I've cleared it with your boss not let us go".

"I can't let you go".

Joshua starts to get annoyed.

"You have no evidence to hold her. She's committed a minor crime and she's getting an official warning put on her record. We have no more reason to hold her. Now move out of the way or I will get your boss down here and get you fired".

"I can't let you go".

Sarah butts in.

"Yeah, we heard you the first time!"

"Why can't you let us go?"

"Us? I'm referring to her and her alone".

Joshua sighs.

"Fine. Why can't you let HER go?"

The policeman looks at Joshua with an almost deadpan face.

"Because she's important to the plan..."

"Plan? What plan?"

The policeman smiles before punching Joshua in the chest so hard he flies across the room and into the far wall. Sarah looks shocked. She jumps back where Frank is standing.

"Having a nice evening so far?"

Sarah looks at him angrily.

"AND WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN!?"

"Well, doesn't modern teaching dictate that we let the young people have their independence and let them push their own boundaries?"

"OH, SHUT UP, YOU USELESS MAN!"

"I'm not useless. I'm the most useful thing you've got in this room apart from Mr Peterson".

"OH, PLEASE, YOU FELL OUT OF A TRAIN THAT STOPPED ON A BRIDGE BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT IT WAS YOUR STOP!"

"It was the Blackout. You go through the blackout and tell me you don't make any mistakes in the dark".

"TRUST ME, I'VE MADE PLENTY OF MISTAKES IN THE DARK..."

"Duck".

"YOU WHAT?"

"Fist"

Sarah looks and notices a fist flying towards her. She ducks it.

"Upper cut".

Sarah does so. The policeman falls onto his back.

"Hmm. I've kind of missed this..."

"SHUT UP"

More policemen surround Sarah. She looks frightened.

"Ummm...excuse me?"

They all look over and see Joshua standing upright. He smiles slightly evilly.

"Didn't your parents tell you...when you do something bad...Karma will always find you?"

Joshua grows a number of feet so that he towers over the policemen. They all look confused. Sarah looks shocked.

"Cool..."

"Glad you think so, Miss Jones".

The policemen go to attack him but he makes shrift work of them. Policement end up flying everywhere. One lands near Sarah, who looks at her before falling unconscious. She notices that his eyes are flickering yellow...

"It can't be..."

The policemen return to try and take Joshua on again but to no avail. Joshua continues to fight his way through the policemen as Sarah runs over to the fallen policeman. She opens his eyelid and looks into it. She puts her hand over his eyes and closes her own. Suddenly, reality warps and changes. It's all colourful around her but she's used to this. She looks ahead and sees the room as it was before. Calm with the policemen being normal. Suddenly; the peace is shattered by someone entering the room. A figure in a long leather black coat, with a hood so that their face is obscured, runs at the policemen and attacks them. After each policeman is secured, the figure injects them with something so that the policemen become instantly docile. The more policeman come to counteract the attack, the more fall under the spell of the figure.

Eventually; all the policemen are under this figure's spell. The figure appears to talk to each of them but Sarah can't hear anything. She can only see, not hear, in these circumstances. The figure seems to talk for some time before they dissipate and go back to what they were doing before. The figure then turns around and appears to stare at Sarah for a moment. Yellow eyes appear from under the hood and Sarah suddenly feels cold. Her emotions harden and she feels a mixture of anger and fear.

She returns to the room in real time to find that Joshua has put the policemen to sleep. He's shrinking back down to his regular size as he walks over to Sarah who's still staring into space.

"Miss Jones?"

Sarah looks at him.

"These policemen...they're not dead are they?"

"No. I promise".

"Good. Because you wouldn't have killed them if you did..."

As she finishes this, a number of small explosions can be heard. Sarah and Joshua jump back as they see the chests of all the policemen in the room explode. Blood and skin fly across the room as each policeman goes one by one. Sarah doesn't look as shocked as Joshua who really isn't sure what's happening.

"Ok. Spoke to soon..."

"There's no way I did that..."

"I know..."

Joshua gets up and runs out of the room. Sarah gets up slowly and looks at them all again.

"I'm so sorry,,,"

****

Sarah walks out of the building to find Joshua vomiting next to the door.

"Pleasant".

He stops.

"I've seen many things...never anything as weird as that".

"And you fight alongside Reaper and Silver Spectre?"

"What the hell happened in there?"

"They were possessed".

Joshua stops.

"Possessed?"

"Yes. Possessed".

"By who? Or what?"

"Nothing supernatural. This was chemical".

"Chemical?"

"Yes. And I know exactly who's behind it".

"Who?"

"You have Speedfreak on speed-dial?"

"Yes?"

Sarah sighs. Holds out her hand. Joshua proceeds to give her his phone. She finds a number and dials it. After a few moments, someone answers. We only hear Sarah's side.

"Ok. Here's the deal. You've been gone for four years and left me in the lurch. But that's fine. You're not the first, doubt you'll be the last. Either way you owe me big time. So get your lard-arse over here pronto. Doctor Eureka's back..."

She turns around and he's there. Speedfreak. They both hang up.

"Hello, Sarah..."

Sarah looks at him expressionless.

"So...Doctor Eureka, huh?"