They all sat around the main lounge in the archive. The multiple armchairs dotted around make the meeting the Freaks are having seem relaxed, but it's anything but. The recent emergence of the threat known as Doctor Eureka has caused the group to question everything they know. Jody (Speedfreak) stands up.
"It's worth remembering that Eureka is NOT a God. He acts as one, he thinks as one, but he is NOT one".
There are murmurings among the rest of the group. Joshua (Karma) interjects.
"Then why not treat him as one? Maybe we can use his ego against him?"
"Because he is human. In terms of enemies we've faced, Polaris is closer to a God. Speed-Demon is closer to a God, the Olympians were LITERAL Gods".
"None of them purposely changed our timeline to control our lives", Alan (Digiman) shouts, "Eureka has controlled EVERY facet of our lives since before you became the Caretaker".
Jody shrugs.
"Perfectionist changes the time-line all the time. Speed-Demon, as well as myself, can travel time through the Akara, time travelling is nothing new here..."
Alan continues to sound angry.
"Perfectionist changes time to get back at Reaper. She has not deliberately and exclusively done it to affect OUR lives!"
Several other members agree. Jody concedes.
"That's a fair point, but the sooner we work out WHY Eureka did this, the sooner we can defeat him".
"And reset the timeline", Sarah Jones stands up with sadness her in voice, "We'll reset the timeline, won't we?"
Jody looks confused.
"Why would we do that?"
"Because isn't that the right thing to do?"
Jody looks at the teenager with confusion. He's extremely bewildered as to why she's thinking this. Sarah usually doesn't think too deeply about things like this.
"The right thing to do is to stop Eureka from doing any more damage".
"But what about the people that Eureka erased by going back to 2004? I can't begin to imagine what kind of people no longer exist as a result of his actions! When we've dealt with time-travellers before, we've corrected the timeline. What makes this different?"
Joshua puts his hand on Sarah's shoulders.
"Those events were minimal. One event changed. Not an entire universe. If we changed the timeline, we would erase this entire reality. None of us would be here. If Eureka has done that once, then to do it again would make us no better than him!"
Sarah doesn't look convinced. She looks back at Jody.
"So, what do we do instead?"
Marion (Starcaster) interjects.
"In the culture of the Genesis, there's the God known as Aroon. Aroon was the creator of their home-world, the Ark, and was thought for a long time as a benevolent God. But their holy book describes Aroon over time as a dictator, a God dissatisfied with his creation and starts to turn on the Genesis. Eventually, the Genesis gathered together as a race and fought Aroon. It was a bloody war but the Genesis eventually won and destroyed Aroon. After which they found their freedom. Eureka is Aroon in this situation and we are the Genesis. We don't need to change the time-line to beat him. We start a revolution..."
Jody smiles.
"Similar story exists on Eden. It was a story, it was real and I was born during it".
Dana (Madame Magique) chuckles.
"Born in it? Brother, I fought in it!"
Jody smiles. Joe (Elemental) stands up and joins Jody.
"A revolution sounds good. But how do we go about that?"
"We need all hands on deck really, but I know that'll be hard. We're going to need all the help we can get. Eureka is constantly one step ahead of us so we need someway to get the ahead of him..."
Marion thinks. Joshua offers.
"What about those two girls from Allen Valley? The speedster and the brainiac?"
Jody shakes his head vehemently.
"I'm not bringing Vicky and Alice into this. It's too dangerous for them. To be honest I'm a little uncomfortable letting Sarah in on this..."
Sarah looks annoyed.
"Love you too".
Alan points at Jody.
"What about Leviathan? We could use a little crazy?"
"He's finally got a lead on Ruth's killers in Central America. I'm under strict instruction not to contact him until he returns. In fact, quote/unquote, 'you contact me while I'm away, Speed-Git, and I will place my sword so far up your arse that it will bankrupt the NHS to remove it'".
Marion walks into the convened group.
"I might know someone who could help"
Sarah looks excited.
"Is it another Starcaster?"
"No. But someone not dissimilar..."
They all look at each other with intrigue. Jody smiles.
"Go on?"
"It's worth remembering that Eureka is NOT a God. He acts as one, he thinks as one, but he is NOT one".
There are murmurings among the rest of the group. Joshua (Karma) interjects.
"Then why not treat him as one? Maybe we can use his ego against him?"
"Because he is human. In terms of enemies we've faced, Polaris is closer to a God. Speed-Demon is closer to a God, the Olympians were LITERAL Gods".
"None of them purposely changed our timeline to control our lives", Alan (Digiman) shouts, "Eureka has controlled EVERY facet of our lives since before you became the Caretaker".
Jody shrugs.
"Perfectionist changes the time-line all the time. Speed-Demon, as well as myself, can travel time through the Akara, time travelling is nothing new here..."
Alan continues to sound angry.
"Perfectionist changes time to get back at Reaper. She has not deliberately and exclusively done it to affect OUR lives!"
Several other members agree. Jody concedes.
"That's a fair point, but the sooner we work out WHY Eureka did this, the sooner we can defeat him".
"And reset the timeline", Sarah Jones stands up with sadness her in voice, "We'll reset the timeline, won't we?"
Jody looks confused.
"Why would we do that?"
"Because isn't that the right thing to do?"
Jody looks at the teenager with confusion. He's extremely bewildered as to why she's thinking this. Sarah usually doesn't think too deeply about things like this.
"The right thing to do is to stop Eureka from doing any more damage".
"But what about the people that Eureka erased by going back to 2004? I can't begin to imagine what kind of people no longer exist as a result of his actions! When we've dealt with time-travellers before, we've corrected the timeline. What makes this different?"
Joshua puts his hand on Sarah's shoulders.
"Those events were minimal. One event changed. Not an entire universe. If we changed the timeline, we would erase this entire reality. None of us would be here. If Eureka has done that once, then to do it again would make us no better than him!"
Sarah doesn't look convinced. She looks back at Jody.
"So, what do we do instead?"
Marion (Starcaster) interjects.
"In the culture of the Genesis, there's the God known as Aroon. Aroon was the creator of their home-world, the Ark, and was thought for a long time as a benevolent God. But their holy book describes Aroon over time as a dictator, a God dissatisfied with his creation and starts to turn on the Genesis. Eventually, the Genesis gathered together as a race and fought Aroon. It was a bloody war but the Genesis eventually won and destroyed Aroon. After which they found their freedom. Eureka is Aroon in this situation and we are the Genesis. We don't need to change the time-line to beat him. We start a revolution..."
Jody smiles.
"Similar story exists on Eden. It was a story, it was real and I was born during it".
Dana (Madame Magique) chuckles.
"Born in it? Brother, I fought in it!"
Jody smiles. Joe (Elemental) stands up and joins Jody.
"A revolution sounds good. But how do we go about that?"
"We need all hands on deck really, but I know that'll be hard. We're going to need all the help we can get. Eureka is constantly one step ahead of us so we need someway to get the ahead of him..."
Marion thinks. Joshua offers.
"What about those two girls from Allen Valley? The speedster and the brainiac?"
Jody shakes his head vehemently.
"I'm not bringing Vicky and Alice into this. It's too dangerous for them. To be honest I'm a little uncomfortable letting Sarah in on this..."
Sarah looks annoyed.
"Love you too".
Alan points at Jody.
"What about Leviathan? We could use a little crazy?"
"He's finally got a lead on Ruth's killers in Central America. I'm under strict instruction not to contact him until he returns. In fact, quote/unquote, 'you contact me while I'm away, Speed-Git, and I will place my sword so far up your arse that it will bankrupt the NHS to remove it'".
Marion walks into the convened group.
"I might know someone who could help"
Sarah looks excited.
"Is it another Starcaster?"
"No. But someone not dissimilar..."
They all look at each other with intrigue. Jody smiles.
"Go on?"
******
The room was dull, dark and disgusting. Water dripped from the ceiling with alarming frequency as two men meet in the dingy, desolate, warehouse. Both men wear suits, but one looks far more confident than the other. The less confident one starts first.
"I'm assuming you are the contact?"
The relaxed man nods. The nervous man sighs with relief.
"Thank goodness. I thought this might've been a trap".
The relaxed man starts to speak. His voice is Eastern European.
"Mr Volstovov sends his regards. I'm sure you can appreciate his absence given the involvement of...certain individuals".
The nervous man nods. The relaxed man puts down a case down on the floor and starts to open it. As it opens, a bright blue light can be seen covering the nervous man. The nervous man's bald head becomes bathed in light as his eyes widen. The relaxed man stands up and walks next to the nervous.
"This is a special weapon. It's derived from ancient Genesis technology. Salvaged from the Dark Heart event. It's able to deter speedsters, cause serious damage to a Starcaster and can even mess with a magician. If you want to make an attack against the Freaks, you're going to want this weapon".
"But what about against the general public? My intention is to cause trouble, not fight the Freaks!"
"I'm aware of your intentions. I merely used the Freaks as an indicator of how powerful this weapon is. If exploded, it will vaporize everyone within a 400 feet radius instantly. Human, alien, dog, it doesn't matter. All organic matter, poof!"
The nervous man looks even more nervous, but he doesn't seem to have changed his mind.
"What's the price?"
The relaxed man smiles.
"The thing with Mr Volstovov is, he doesn't want money. He has a steady cash flow and money is no issue for him. He demands something...more".
"Like what?"
"A deal with Volstovov demands a sacrifice of loyalty. You need to do something to us to prove you're loyal".
The nervous man nods.
"Ok. That's fine. Whatever it is, I'll do it!"
The relaxed man smiles evilly.
"We're very glad you say so..."
He clicks his fingers. A few moments later, someone can be heard struggling. Another man, holding a woman in a nightdress with a sack over her head, arrives into view. He stands next to the relaxed man and pushes the captive woman down onto the floor and removes the sack from her head. She's gagged and is crying. The nervous man looks horrified.
"Oh my God, Laura!"
The relaxed man smiles.
"Laura Smith. 32 years of age. Born in Lincoln, studied microbiology in Cardiff, biochemical engineer, mother of two and the wife of Mark Smith. You".
"YOU'VE GOT MY WIFE!?"
"Like we said, a deal with Volstovov requires loyalty. You said you'd do, whatever it is, your words".
Mark looks at the relaxed man as he's handed a gun.
"Kill your wife, Mark".
Mark looks horrified again.
"I can't kill her! I love her!"
The relaxed man sighs with discontent.
"If you do not kill your wife and seal this deal, not only will we kill your wife anyway, we will kill you. I believe your children are teenagers? Two girls? 18 and 16, are they not? Perhaps Volstovov might have a special fate for them. Have you ever wondered how much a teenage girl will go for on the open market? Extra if they're a virgin..."
Mark looks disgusted.
"You're sick...you're all fucking sick!"
"You are the man who came to us wanting to commit a terror attack to get famous. I don't think you get the right to take the moral high ground. This is the world, Mr Smith. Now you kill your wife or I will personally make sure that both your daughters get fucked by the highest bidder".
Mark looks disgusted. He looks at the relaxed man, then at his wife. The wife looks sad.
"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I can't let them take the girls..."
The wife cries as she realises her fate. Mark looks at the gun he's been handed and points it at his crying spouse.
"I know it doesn't mean much right now, Laura, but I love you..."
The wife cries more. Just as the trigger is about to be pulled, a voice can be heard.
"Really?"
They all turn around. They're confronted with a woman. She's dressed in yellow and brown armor, carrying two katanas, and sporting a neat short haircut. Everyone looks confused.
"I've met some shitty husbands in my time but you really take the crown".
The relaxed man laughs sarcastically.
"Spectral. What a nice surprise".
"Vladimir. How's your arm these days?"
The relaxed man (Vladimir) laughs, raises his right arm and pulls down his sleeve. A glove covers his hand but the rest of his arm is black and blistered.
"My next round of chemo is next week".
"Well, you shouldn't be trafficking children while I'm around then!"
"Maybe I like flying too close to the Sun!"
"I showed you what happens if you do!"
"KILL HER!"
Two of his associates start to shoot at Spectral. She pulls out her katanas and blocks them. She runs behind a wall for a moment to power up one of her wrist devices.As the device powers up, her sword changes colour. The sword in her right hand turns to green. She runs out from behind the wall and swipes her katana in their direction. As she does, a green wave of energy is expelled from the sword. It hits the shooters and they go flying back towards a back wall.
As she puts her katanas away, more gunshots can be heard. She powers up her device again, but this time, she uses her body as a conduit. She holds out her hand towards them and more green energy is funneled from her.
While she's distracted, Vladimir picks up the weapon from the case and turns on a setting. He points it at Spectral and opens fire. A beam of energy is fired from the gun and careens towards the unsuspecting Spectral. Just before it reaches her, a portal opens and takes the beam away. Another portal opens up next to it and fires the beam back at Vladimir. He ducks as it comes near him. The portals closes and Spectral turns around. She realises what just happened and looks confused. Suddenly, Madame Magique lands next to her.
"Woo! That was close!"
Spectral looks confused.
"Thanks?"
"You're welcome!"
Vladimir gets up and sees Madame Magique.
"Magique...am I glad you're here!"
"I don't know you..."
"No...but I know you!"
He adjusts the setting and fires another beam at her. Spectral pushes her out of the way of it and gets hit by it. She goes flying backwards. Magique sees this and looks concerned. She's unaware that Vladimir is coming towards her. He grabs her and turns her around, he point the gun at her.
"IT WILL BE A PLEASURE KILLING YOU!"
Magique looks worried.
"What? No tricks! What a shame. Oh well, we all know the cure for a witch!"
"Oi, dickhead..."
Vladimir turns around. Speedfreak stands there.
"That's my sister..."
He speeds forward and shunts him out of the way. Vladimir goes flying. Speedfreak helps Magique up.
"You ok?"
"I think he's got a Dark weapon".
"Where's the newbie?"
Magique points. Speedfreak runs over to Spectral. She nurses her head as he arrives.
"Spectral, right?"
She looks up and sees him.
"Ah. Speedfreak. I was wondering when I'd come across you. Thank you for coming but I can handle myself!"
"Clearly. Let me help you up".
"I'm fine".
Speedfreak notices blood coming from her head.
"You're injured..."
Spectral closes her eyes and concentrates. A yellow light comes over the wound and it heals. Speedfreak looks amazed.
"Ok. That's pretty cool..."
Another beam can be heard being launched. They both look in the direction of it.
Vladimir tries once more to attack Madame Magique. However, this time, Starcaster has joined them. Speedfreak and Spectral run in. As they do, Spectral and Starcaster look at each other and smile.
"Ah. I was wondering where you'd gone!" Spectral jokes.
"Been away!"
Starcaster smiles flirtatiously.
"As per usual".
Vladimir fires another beam, this time at Speedfreak. He dodges it by continually running around and drawing his fire. Spectral looks at Starcaster.
"Fancy redoing Pathway?"
Starcaster smiles with excitement. Magique looks confused.
"Pathway?"
Spectral and Starcaster look at Magique and chuckle. Starcaster walks up to her and puts a hand on Magique's shoulder.
"You are in for a treat!"
Spectral stands in front of Starcaster.
"Which colour shall we go for this time?"
"Oh, why not go full spectrum? As long as they don't kill him, we're good".
"Works for me. Hit me!"
"Hold on tight!"
Starcaster throws her arms back and thrusts them forward. As she does, an intense beam of light protrudes from them. The beam strikes Spectral who is slightly taken aback but withstands the impact. Magique looks shocked. Realistically, no one should be able to withstand that much light energy from Starcaster. After a few moments, Starcaster stops. Spectral absorbs the light and starts to become rainbow-skinned. She turns around and faces Vladimir, who is still shooting at Speedfreak.
"OI, VLAD!"
Vladimir stops firing and turns around.
"NIGHT, NIGHT!"
She throws her arms forward like Starcaster, where a rainbow energy beam is fired from them. It hits Vladimir, who screams upon contact. After a few intense moments, he collapses and Spectral stops. She breathes out slowly and catches her breath.
"I love it when we do that!"
Starcaster laughs. Magique can't believe what he just saw.
"How the hell did you withstand that?"
"I have a hell of a threshold!"
Speedfreak runs over and joins them. Spectral looks at him, then at Starcaster.
"So to what do I owe a visit from the Freaks?"
Starcaster smiles softly.
"We need your help. We have a particular problem we could use your help with"
Spectral looks confused.
"An enemy the FREAKS need help with? Must be bad".
As Spectral finishes, she looks past Speedfreak and sees Mark from earlier moving towards his wife, who is still bound and gagged. As he approaches her, she tries to move away in fear.
"Laura, please, you don't understand!"
She continues to cower.
"LAURA, PLEASE!"
"HEY!"
He turns around and sees Spectral moving towards him. He looks at her and cries.
"I didn't...I mean, I didn't..."
"Hey, look, it's ok. We all have our reasons for doing things, we just need to ca..."
"I was going to kill people...I was going to kill people because I was angry...I was so angry...and I wanted them to pay...I didn't think they'd take my wife...threaten my children..."
"Mark, just take a deep breath..."
"And now my wife is scared of me..."
He looks at the gun in his hand intensely. Spectral notices and moves forward slowly.
"Mark...just stop a second and put the gun down, ok?"
Mark looks up at her.
"What's the point? My wife is scared of me, I'll never see my kids again...what good can I do now?"
"You can help ME. I'm trying to take Volstovov down. I'm not the first who's tried but I'm the one who's getting closest to him. If you help me, I can help you redeem yourself. Make sure he never does this to anyone else again!"
Mark looks at the gun, then his wife. He cries some more looking at his wife before looking back at Spectral.
"It won't change what I've done to them..."
Almost in the blink of an eye, Mark raises the gun to his chin and pulls the trigger. He flops to the floor as his wife screams and cries. Spectral looks stunned. She can't believe what she's just seen. Starcaster walks over to her and puts her hand on Spectral's shoulder.
"Eloise, there's nothing you could've done".
"He just...I mean he just..."
"I know. Why don't you come with us?"
Spectral looks at her with a tear falling down her cheek. She then looks at Magique and Speedfreak who stand there, seemingly unaffected by what's just happened. She looks back at Starcaster, also emotionless.
"Oh my God...it's bad, isn't it? What you guys want to talk to me about?"
Starcaster nods. Spectral thinks and nods.
"What do you want from me?"
Speedfreak steps forward.
"We need you to stop a God..."
