RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Writer's Block Hero Revolution [Welcome to Thunder City] #2

Tobias still at the wheel, bored, turns on the radio.

“…imagine there is no heaven, it is easy if you try…”

Mxy is in the back, still recovering from transporting everyone such a long distance. Nearby are Danny and Nowhereman, playing a game of poker.

“So, does it hurt when you morph?”

“You have no idea. Hurts like hell, but I guess that’s my price to pay, you know?”

“Yeah. I have lost a lot my self over my many years.”

“Um. Yeah, sure.”

“Next time you morph, try a few of these…”

Nowhereman rolls a small pill container towards Danny, who picks it up.

“What are these? Some sorta pain negating specially made pills or something?”

“Yeah. Ultra Strength Tylenol.”

“Oh?”

Cicciotto, the Eurostar has been all but silent for the ride, looking at a picture of a baby. Naecken has also been more or less silent, confused and scared, not that anyone would notice from his cold expression and totally dark features. Lil’ Jo sleeps peacefully at Eurostar’s feet.

“…no hell below us, brothers only sky…”

Tobias smiles, finally some peace and quiet for a change.

”…you may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…”

SMASH

Tobias’ eyes widen as the windshield shatters. With great speed he swings his arms in front of his face, fragments of glass ripping into his skin, shedding blood. Everyone all a sudden turns as Tobias swings the wheel to avoid hitting any other circus vans and buses. In a fraction of a second, the van crashes onto its side and slides of the road, into a grassy ditch.

”…imagine all the people, living for todaaayyyy…”

Smoke fills the air as Eurostar gets to his feet, “Is everyone ok?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’m ok.” Mxy is the first to answer.

“Yes” comes coldly from Naecken.
“Fuck.” Is the only thing said from Danny, who holds his side in pain. “I think I broke a rib or something. What happened?”

“We must be under attack or something?” Nowhereman jumps to his feet, “Is it the IGB? Or Viper?”

“Tobias? You ok?” Eurostar asks as he moves towards his teammate. Tobias is bloody and brused up. Glass is deep into his arm and chest. “Shit, guys, Tobias is hurt, looks bad.”

Nowhereman makes his way to the front, “We have to be careful when we remove him, we don’t want to make his injuries any worse…”

"...imagine there were no possessions, I wonder if you can..."

Eurostar turns white as a huge tree falls straight for the van, “EVERYONE OUT!” he yells before touching Nowhereman with one hand and Tobias with the other, turning them all intangible. The tree crushing the van, as Eurostar levitates all three through the huge tree and towards the grassy ditch, where the other were able to escape to. Smoke still fills the air as Eurostar hears a struggle begin.

Red energy hits a surprised and off guard Naecken straight between the eyes, knocking his across the ditch and halfway through the tree. Mxy has no chance, still weak from earlier on, “Shit” is the only thing he is able to say as hundreds of volts are send through his body, also taking him old.

Danny looks around, his rib still very much in pain. He looks at the pills that Nowhereman gave him and downs a few. “Rhino horn…” After a short pause, a horn rips through his forehead, “AGGRRRRRHHHH.” The pain almost taking him off his feet. He charges at the stranger, but is stopped dead in his tracks by what seems like a solid wall. The horn hits the wall, the impact almost breaking the young man’s neck. A fist lifts him by the neck and crushes him into the soil below. The horn slowly sinks back into his head as he is out cold.

“Told you so, mate…” Nowhereman says as he lungs at the figure coming out of the shadows.

“Wait… we have to work as a team. NO!” Eurostar yells at the rebellious vigilante.

Nowhereman is able to quickly dodge some attacks and even counters with a few of his own. Only they have no effect. The man grabs his head and squeezes. Nowhereman holds the pain back and punches the man across the face. He laughs and backhands the hero. As the hero hits the ground, the man kicks him in the ribs, flipping him on to his back. The man’s hand crackles with energy as he lifts it high into the air. As he comes down, Eurostar hits him with an energy blast, knocking him back a few steps.

“Cicciotto? There you are, traitor!”

Eurostar says “Turner?” as he turns into ghost form letting shock waves of energy safely pass through him.

“You worked with them. Malvan-X. You metagene freak!”

Eurostar holds himself intangible as more and more energy flows through his ghost body. He begins to shake at the stress of it and his teeth grin together, beginning to crack.

“You want to play in the big leagues, you have a lot to learn boy.”

Turner pours on the energy and turns his head towards Tobias. As Turner moves the direction of his blast, “NOOOOO!” Eurostar lets his body turn tangible once again, taking the full blunt of the blast. He hits the ground, his body smoking.

Turner looks around, a smile forms on his face.

“One more lose end… Chicago… Dr.Walker…”

In a bright flash, he is gone.

Nowhereman attempts to get to him feet but can’t. He looks around, everyone is down, hurt, maybe worse.

From the road above finally come other members of the circus. “The accident looks really bad!” “A tree fell?” “Lightning! I saw lightning!” “Any survivors?” “Crap, they are a great act…” “Next show is sold out!”

"...I hope someday you'll join us and the world... will live as one...*"

"A little help here?" Tobias said weakly as Nowhereman made his way towards the speedster.

"You're alive?" Nowhereman asked.

"I heal fast," Tobias said. "But I need you to get these shards of glass out of my chest so I can finish healing."

Five minutes later, Nowhereman watched in amazement as the bloody scars on Tobias's chest started shrinking.

"Amazing," Nowhereman said. "How-"

"My speed heals my body faster than a regular person's. Luckily it was just a bunch of small scars, cuts and bruises," Tobias said. "A broken limb or a large cut usually takes a few hours to heal."

The two stood up and went to help the others...

"What is it, Doc?" came a voice behind him. Walker turned to see Will Tweed standing behind him, a bottle of imported beer in his hand.

"Oh, hey, Bill. Have a seat," Walker said, indicating a chair next to him. "I was just reviewing the tapes we got from the Zoo job."

"And I take it, from the sound of your voice, that you found something," Tweed surmised, grunting as he sat.

"Indeed," Walker answered, strumming rhythmically at his keyboard. "Look at this."

"Agent Turner?" Tweed read, taking a sip of his brew. "What's this?"

"Plans. Blueprints. It's a map!" Walker said as a large smile crept across his face. "Turner... heh. Guys a meta. Never would've figured that the top MCCA agent would have been a meta..."

"Wait a sec!" Tweed interrupted. "The guy that gave you this here headquarters and told you what you were doing is a meta?"

"Not only that," Walker said, hitting a few more keys, "but he's also a clone."

"A clone?"

"Yes. A metahuman clone."

"So, what does that mean exactly?"

"It's got Dr. Knell's fingerprints all over it," Walker answered. "Tri-Vex."

"Wait, wait..." Tweed said, placing his beer down on the console desk. "Wasn't that to be our first mission?"

"Before all this Zoo nonsense, yes," Walker answered. "And that's where we're headed next. This morning, I recieved word from one of my sources within the company. He told me what I had confirmed about Doe - that is, he's the most powerful recorded metahuman on earth. Much more powerful than Cicciotto, that's for sure. He also sent me this..."

Walker hit the 'ENTER' key, bringing up an image of a strand of DNA, much more complex than an average human strand.

"Is this a metagene?" Tweed asked, picking up his ale for another swig.

"Almost," Walker said, zooming in on a particular section of the nucleic acid. "See this? It shows signs of a hybridization."

"A... what?"

"Hybridization," Walker answered. "A fusing of two different things. In this case, the hybridization is three-fold - human, metahuman, and..."

Tweed cocked his head in confusion as Walker's voice trailed off.

"And?" he asked, finishing off his beer.

"...and snakes..."

“You slept a lot, Sardella”. A female voice. It is Lorelei, the contortionist. A sleek, young woman, which I noticed before, during her performance the night we joined the circus.

“What happened?” I ask.

“A strange accident. We saw lighting, and your van got out of track”.

“How are my friends? Where are they?”

“They are on various vans and buses. Your van was totally destroyed, I am sorry”.

“But… you didn’t wait for the police?” I ask. She smiles at my words, and then laughs.

“You and your friends are not the only ones with secrets to hide, pal”.

“What do you mean?”

“You are a meta, your friends are metas. But don’t be afraid. I, too have the metagene, and many of the performers in the circurs are, too. Yes, nobody of us is powerful as you, but we are metahuman no less. Actually, after the persecution on the metas began, many of us have begun to hide in circuses. Just like you”.

“It seemed obvious to me. We needed a place to work, to rest, two meals everyday. What else could we have done?”

She nods her head, without replying.

“But the MCCA didn’t discovered it?” I ask.

“Immediately. They attacked many circuses, capturing many metas. But then, they developed a way of finding only the metas with more potential, the best for their scopes, and the attack decreased. And there were political issues, and common words was that many circus owners actually paid MCCA not to be “interested” by their inspections.”

“Well, at last MCCA has been shut down”

“What?”

“Yes. I was… for chance… in town, yesterday, and it was the news of the day…”

“It’s a great news… but nothing as the words a metahuman has said at the Zoo site, in the evening. You should have seen it. Basically, he has call the metas to a revolution!”

“Ah.. eh, yes, I have seen him in the TV. I don’t think it was a good thing. We metas should keep a low profile. Even without a MCCA, the world hates us…” I say. If only the girl would know that his hero is actually me!

“Well, it’s time you go back to sleep. You seems totally recovered, but I’m sure you are still very tired!”

“Uhm, yes. Ah, thank you for your spare bed…”

“You are welcome, Guido…”

She leaves, and I finally can think to what has happened.

First, how I did survive those electrical charge? I did take it full… maybe I instinctively turned ghost when the bolt hit me… the truth is that I don’t know how my body is actually operating… I should come back to Doctor Quantos, only him could explain.

And that brings the next question: why Turner called me traitor? Does he think I am working for Malvan X? Why? And traitor, why? Why I should be loyal to him?

Turner! He was a sort of secret agent, but last evening he clearly showed the powers of a meta. How can it be possible that the same man is a MCCA agent and a meta? And those costumed people yesterday at the Zoo? They, too, are meta on our opposite side. Why they are fighting their own people? Money? Power? Or are they blackmailed by a higher power?

And then a thing hits my mind. How can Turner possibly knew our location? He was spying on us since the beginning? Too many question, my head hurts, and I slowly fall asleep.

The last thing I think, is that I haven’t asked Lorelei how are my friends…

…tomorrow, tomorrow…

"What?! No, sir, you exhausted the body by opening that dimensional door, you stay in charge of it until its on top condition"

Then Mick went back to the uncouncious part of the brain. Now he just woke up...

He looks around. He's lying inside teh back seat of a van, covered by a blanket. Mxy's top hat and the coat are on the floor. The van is not moving, so he guessed they were had arrived to Thunder City.

"All right!" he thinks "I skipped a trip that would have taken hours! At least I'm getting soemthing out of this..."

Then Mick tries to sit, and as he moved from his initial position, he realized that he felt an incredible pain... all over his body.

Mick: OUCH!

He slowly lifts his shirt to take a look at his chest, and he sees several scratches and burns. He also notices the bandages that cover his left arm.

Mick: Damn that M-X-Y! He can't ride in a car without getting burned...

He doesn't know that if it wasn't for Mxy the burns and scratches would be more than just that... He was pretty weak when the team was attacked, but in the last moment he was able to create a small shield that protected his face and most of his body.

Tobias passed by and looked inside the van. He noticed that Mick was awake.

Tobias: Hey, Mick. Want me to help you out?

Mick: Yeah, please... Man, even my legs hurt... what the hell happened?

Tobias helps Mick get out of the car.

Tobias: We were attacked by some--

Mick: You, leave it like that... I don't wanna know.

Tobias: Yeah, I know what you mean.

Mick: Hey... you called me Mick. How did you know I'm not M-X-Y?

Tobias: Your eyes glow when Mxy controls your body.

Mick: Really? I didn't know that...

Tobias: Yeah. And he's a lot louder, too... Hey, are you gonna leave the top hat and the coat on the van?

Mick: Yeah, those are M-X-Y's stuff... I'm not gonna carry them around like I'm his servant.

Tobias: Mmm-hmm. Hey, why do you say M-X-Y and not Mxy?

Mick: Becuase he takes possesion of the body if I say Mxy--

Mick's eyes light up. The top hat pops above his head, and he's suddenly wearing the coat.

Mxy: Hey, Tobias, what's up? Feeling much better, thank you very much. Where are the others?

We have been taken down like amateurs (but maybe it’s what we are, amateurs that try to fight a world of professional assassins), but all the damage that Turned seemed to inflict to us was cured in no time. Two days of rest, and even Danny, which was the one in worst shape, is now restored to full capacity. It has been extremely painful for him, but morphing his bust to an octopus one, and then back to human, cured totally his broken rib.

Now we are training under the big top. Training is what we need. Not only for our show, but especially to be able to use our powers and to work together. What has happened two days ago will never happen a second time. I swear.

This morning, during a pause in our exercise, I took a little tour of the city.

Thunder. I wonder where the town derived its name. Its’s a big, grey city, always sunken in a thick layer of fog, spreading from the bay. My city, Bologna, in Italy, was similar, with dense mist for all the winter. But while there it was a cold, humid mantle, here is warm and suffocating, definitely unbearable, almost evil in its ubiquity.

Strange.

Really strange.

But I had a definite aim in my wandering.

TriVex.

It is a giant building, emerging out of the waters of the bay. Grey as the rest of the city, the building seems the guardian watching over the whole place. The citizens, all slaves.

There, somewhere in the ugly skyscraper, is caged my son.

"Quite," Curie spoke up timidly, trying not to look at the hideous creature that his employer had become. He had always been a metahuman advocate, but the... thing that Knell had changed into was downright revolting. "And if Cicciotto should ever... return for 'Eddie,' sir?"

"He would not!" Knell roared, lifting Eddie's giggling form into the air. "And if he would, no force on earth would be able to keep him from falling to my new might and power!!

"Sir, let's be realistic here," Curie said softly, leaning forward in his chair to emphasize his earnestness. "Cicciotto is an Alpha-class metahuman and, by all likelihood, has a following of other metahuman aliases by this point. Who's to say that..."

"You fool!" Knell reproached. "It will not just be ME that he fights, but the Leviathan army as well!"

"Leviathan?" Curie asked, scratching his bald head.

"It's from the Bible, Curie. Oh, wait! You're a scientist. I forgot. It's all fable to you, isn't it?" Knell said, his raspy, serpentine voice oozing with sarcasm.

"Well, what is it?" Curie asked.

"It is... nothing short of inspired..." Knell said, shaking the room with his raucous laughter...

I watch out the van, I was saying, and I see only fog. What a sad Christmas Eve. No snow, no cold, bright winter days. Here, everything seems… without character. It’s not cold, and it’s not warm, it’s not sunny, yet is not cloudy. The people is the same: not friendly, nor unpleasant.

I have been watching them, nearly invisible, for some time, this morning: Christmast Eve. In every other town of the western world, the street would have been busy with people doing their last minute shopping for the gifts. Here, all look normal, like any other day.

The trees, the Christmas trees, all looks similar. The decoration are different, yes, but every ball, every candle is put on the branch in a regular pattern, like a computer would have chosen the right place to hang them.

And then, at the show in the afternoon, the public most impressed me. When they clapped, they all did it at the same moment, like it was an only person. Scary.

There is really something evil behind this. It looks like a city of damned. Could be only my impression, but… no, there is something strange. This city needs… help.

Then, Lorelei returns in the van.

“How are you, Guido? Have you slept well?” she asks. Guido is the false name I gave, to cover my identity.

“Yes, but I didn’t need that. We are all very well. Tomorrow we’ll do the show.”

“Good. The Christmas show it’s the better moment for your returns. We had great reviews at Chicago, the people is expecting you and your friends” she says.

Then, she put a CD on the player, and an old Christmas song begins to play.

“Frank Sinatra?” I ask.

“No. Bing Crosby.”

I have never heard the song before. Santa Claus is coming to town.

"You hate Christmas?" Mxy asked.

"I've never actually had a real Christmas," Tobias said. "Can't enjoy something you never had."

"That's... so sad!" Mxy said as he started crying.

"Except one year," Tobias said. "When I was twelve and living on the streets, I was living a bunch of other kids in an old rundown apartment. We all looked out for each other, almost like a family. We called the youngest kid Tiny Tim because he was so small. He was only about seven or eight."

"And living on the street?" Mxy asked.

"It was a tough city," Tobias said. "No one cared. Anyway, all of us got together and got Tiny Tim a brand new coat with the money we made on the streets. And for the first time we actually saw him smile."

"That was touching," Mxy said. "You made a little boy's christmas really special."

"He was killed later that day by a street gang, they stabbed him to death," Tobias said. "And they stole his coat."

"And that's why you hate Christmas?" Mxy asked.

"There's no reason to celebrate," Tobias said as he walked out of the restaraunt. "There's no such thing as happiness."

With Keith were two others, a cameraman and an independent film director, claiming they were doing a documentary on life in the circus. Eurostar agreed to be interviewed in his van. The questions were softball, not really probing into much. In fact, when it seemed that the line of questioning was steering toward the 'secrets' of the circus Mr. Keith would jump in and redirect the conversation elsewhere. Not one question dealt with the condition of the van. Eurostar gave them a simplified version of his life story. The interview came to a close when the crew agreed to let Eurostar prepare for the night's show. The cameraman and director exited while Mr. Keith slowly slid the van door shut, leaving him and Eurostar alone.

"Can I help you with something...?" Eurostar began.

"You could begin by telling me your real story, Mr. Cicciotto."

[ 12-25-2001: Message edited by: Kristogar Velo ]

"So, we're here, Mr. Keith. What do you want?" Eurostar asks.

"First, I'll want you to call me Kristogar Velo," said 'Keith', who now sports a green costume and mask. "Then--"

"Kristogar Velo?" Naecken asks. The rest of the group is in temporary silence.

"Wasn't that the one guy who--" Tobias begins.

"Yes, we've already met a Kristogar Velo," Nowhereman cuts in. "That happened to be an obsidian creature with knowledge of the MBL."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're referring to," Kristogar responds. He continues talking before Nowhereman can finish his thought. "But believe me, I am the best friend any of you can have. I will know things that you may need to know."

"Like what?" Nowhereman asks.

"Like the fact that the obsidian creatures that you recently fought--on television, no less--lacked oxygen in their bloodstream. In fact, if their blood was to come in contact with oxygen in anyway, it would cause an explosive reaction that would render a creature unconscious, and make it unnecessary to take its life." The group was quiet. "If you need further convincing, I can recount hundreds of encounters I've had with government agencies relating to metahuman..."

"Which agencies?" Nowhereman interrupts.

"Sorry, I'm not at liberty to say," Kristogar replies.

"Sounds like you work for them. What do you want with us?"

"I once worked for them, but now I work against the government's ultra-conservative control and segregation attempts of and toward the metahuman population. What do I want? Simple. I want to be with you. I see what you 'Sardella Brothers' are in the process of forming, be it a conscious effort or not. It's like a comic book superhero group. I ask for membership." Outside of Nowhereman, everybody has been almost completely quiet throughout this. None of them are sure of what to think, as Nowhereman is the only one that seems to comprehend most of what Kristogar is saying.

"Sure," Nowhereman says, walking over to be face to face with the newcomer. "If you can answer one question." After a few moments, Nowhereman unloads with a punch that sends Kristogar to the ground. Nobody else moves as the seemingly schizophrenic meta tears off Velo's mask. In an instant, he recognizes the face underneath it. "Hm...it looks like you went under a de-aging ray again, but it's definitely you, old man." Nowhereman offers his hand and helps Velo make it back to his feet. He then acknowledges the rest of the group. "Ignore this guy's whole cryptically secret deal. He knows what he's doing, and we can trust him. Don't expect him to tell you anything he doesn't want you to know, but he'll watch your back in a fight. Guaranteed."

"Well," Kristogar continued, never acknowledging Nowhereman's punch or subsequent diatribe, "I was planning on retiring the mask anyway, in a day or two..."

"Ah, yes, the dry wit," Nowhereman smiled, "how did I ever doubt it was you?"

The rest of the group still seems uneasy. Kristogar says to them, "You better join your colleagues, before they realize something suspicious is up."

Believe it or not, this is only the third oddest situation I've been in on Christmas day.

I met up with the Sardella Brothers. Cicciotto was definitely the one who made ripples with a short speech to the cameras. This group seems to have a willing spirit. However, half of the six are suspected by Ron as having multiple personality disorders. Discouraging. They could easliy be marvels or failures in history.

While I was with my crew, I counted at least four other metahumans among the performers, and several others with criminal records. Should be an interesting situation, as everybody has something to hide.

I was wrong about one thing--it was 'Danny' that was the sixth member, not Beast. Mistake doesn't really mean anything, but I'll have to be perfect in the coming months(years?) for my plan to fall the way I want.

Among them, Nowhereman simultaneously encouraged and disturbed me the most. When it came to leadership, he was overqualified--fearless, and if he wasn't psycho, he'd be trustworthy for his ability to ask what needs to be asked.

However, it was strange when he punched me. The action didn't surprise me(alarms would have went off if one of them didn't take a swing at me), but the way he did it. I almost didn't see it coming. The way he used his weight in the punch--was a fighting style that I don't think has been used since at least over a century. He also seemed to expect me to roll with it as I did. It was like a pro...like me.

If these six are not the life of me, they will be the death of me.

[ 12-25-2001: Message edited by: Kristogar Velo ]

Good. He's asleep. I was worried that my bedside lamp was disturbing him.

I position the lamp to shine better towards me. To better illuminate the item in my hand.

It's a... book.

It's a paper thing. All these paper pages bound together.

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. By Douglas Adams.

But the title isn't important. The experience is important. I found this thing under my bed, and it confused me for a moment. It took me a little while to figure out what it was.

A book. A book. I'm reading a book.

"This is amazing..." Hal says.

I lift it to my face, and smell it. It's yellow pages smell of dust. And time.

This book smells like time.

I turn the page slowly, carefully. It could crumble to ashes at any time, and I would be denied this marvellous experience.

"Dan... what're you doing...?" Comes a voice from the other end of the van.

"Oh... sorry Mick. I didn't mean to wake you," I reply.

"It's okay..."

"It is Mick, right?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"So what are you doing up this late?" Mick says, getting up from his bed and walking across to stand near mine.

"I'm... reading," I say, softly. My head remains focused towards the book, and I don't look up at him.

Mick lifts the book slightly to look at it's cover.

"Ah... the Guide. Good book. Where'd you find it?" He says.

"Under the bed. I assume the last person to stay in here left it," I answer, still looking down at the book.

Mick looks at me for a second, as if noticing something odd in my facial expression.

"You okay, man? You look a little... I dunno, sick or something."

"I'm just... in shock. I guess," I answer, looking up at him for the first time.

"Why?"

"I've never read a book before in my life."

"...what?"

"In my time... everything's stored on tiny disks. There's no actual books anymore."

"That's messed up."

"I know."

"I suppose it would make school a little less strenuous..." Mick says.

I suddenly put the book down. School. He mentioned school.

I remember high school. Not all that well... but I remember bits of it.

I remember history class.

I remember the semester we spent studying metahuman history.

I remember the essay I wrote on the battle of 2002.

"Oh, shit..." I say.

"What?" Mick says, noticing the worry in my voice.

I begin to quote my essay.

"In late two thousand and two, a group of superhuman revolutionaries entered into a battle with a horde of invading aliens, with the fate of the earth hanging in the balance. While the aliens were stopped, the lives of all the revolutionaries were taken."

"What?!" Mick exclaims.

"It's metahuman history. But I suppose it's not history yet, is it? Not sure of the exact date... but in late 2002, aliens invade. We fight them. We die."

"Whoa..."

"Right."

"Are you sure it's us? There's bound to be other metahumans around somewhere..."

"It's us. I remember some of the descriptions of the 'revolutionaries'..."

"'Revolutionaries?'"?

"That's what the history texts called them."

"Oh."

We both sit silently for a moment.

"But that's almost a year away," Mick says.

"Yup."

"And the future isn't set in stone... we can change it... right?!"

I look up at Mick. I think my facial expression conveys the disgust and fear I feel at that theory. But I'm not sure.

"I can't believe that," I say to him, quietly.

[ 12-25-2001: Message edited by: Danny ]

Mick is wearing nothing but a shirt and boxers, so he soon starts feeling really cold. He notices the light in Tobias and Naecken's caravan is on, and since he wants to let Danny alone for a while he decides to pay them a visit.

Mick: Hi, there--

Naecken is not there and Tobias is... well, kinda drunk.

Mick: --Oh. Uh... I'll just go...

Tobias: No, stay.

Mick: Okeeey...

He should have guessed it. Naecken obviously doesn't rest like anyone else, so it was obvious that he wouldn't be here now. And Mick alredy knows how Tobias feels about Christmas, so it was obvious that he'd be drinking by now.
Mick notices he's not really drunk... but he has consumed a lot of alcohol, as the bottles in the floor show. Maybe by growing up in the streets Tobias became mire used to alcohol than him, Mick thinks.

Tobias: So, why are you here?

Mick: I decided to leave Danny alone for a moment...

Tobias: Why?

Mick: I don't really wanna discuss it...

Tobias: C'mon, if you're gonna be here at least humor me.

Mick: Ok, ok... but you can't tell anyone...

Mick tells Tobias what Danny remembered about the team... about how they would all die in about a year according to history books.

Tobias: Whoa... are you sure it was us?

Mick: Yes, they reffered to as "Revolutionaries"... that fits us, right?

Tobias: "Revolutionaries"... yes, you're right.

Mick: OK, I'm gonna leave now... but remember DON'T TELL ANYONE... I don't think creating panic will make any good.

Tobias: Hey, who am I gonna tell? Neacken? He's been weirder than usual since the fight with the shadow thing.

Mick: Great. Bye.

Tobias: Bye.

Two seconds after Mick goes back to his caravan, Naecken teleports next to Tobias.

Tobias: Hey, Nae, guess what...?

Ok, maybe he was a little drunk...

"You've been drinking, haven't you?" Naecken asked.

"Just a couple of bottles," Tobias said. "I can handle it, though."

"What were you going to say?" Naecken asked.

"Well-..." Tobias hit the floor face first, having passed out.

"What are we going to do with you?" Naecken asked as put Tobias in his bed.

I walk among the vans, followed closely bi Li’ìJo. Tobias is sleeping, I think.

So, now we are seven. I wonder about this Kristogar. He seems very confident, but how can we sure about him? Why if he is another government agent, like Turner? Well, for the moment, we have not any other chance than trust him. Sometime I would like to being not alone in this. Maybe I should have trusted that Doctor Quantos, back in Mandelovia, months ago. What I had put in motion is quickly becoming too large for me to manage. Well, I will just try to keep the head out of the troubled water, so to speak.

In a tent, most of the circus personnel is celebrating the Christmas eve. I see Kristogar, Nowhereman, Naecken. The cat runs toward them. There is also Lorelei, and for a moment I feel I should go there, too.

But no. I am not in the mood.

Today I heard, unseen, the conversation between Tobias and Mxy, and I have kept thinking about the Christmas for all the day. I have been a lucky man for most of my life, and I never cared for the Christmas, then. But when my career as an Olympic runner ended, and I was exposed as a metahuman, things changed in my life. I became aware of poverty, of being an outcast. I became a junkie.

I found friendship in a young priest in my neighbourhood, he helped me to recover, to find a job and then opening my little restaurant. I, in turn, worked with him in raising founds for the poorest kids of the parish.

And the true meaning of Christmas founds me, I would say. Too bad Tobias was not one of those kids. But there was an ocean in the mid.

Anyway, it’s a quarter before midnight and I have left the circus to find a church, walking in my civvies among the dense fog.

And finally I do. A big, gothic catholic church, made by grey stones, grey like all the rest of the city.

I enter.

Oh!

The church is totally empty. How is this possible? It is a big church, it should be one of the much attended ones.

Strange.

I kneel on one of the firsts pews, right in front of the altar, and begin to pray.

“Good evening, sir” a voice says, behind me.

I turn. It’s a priest.

“Good evening. I was expecting a celebration.” My eyes go to the watch at my wrist. “It’s midnight”

“Merry Christmas, then” says the priest, sitting next to me.

“May I ask why no celebration for the Christmas?” I insist.

“You are from abroad?”

“Yes, I’m Italian and I am with the circus. Do I have to understand that you don’t want to talk about the mass?”

“It’s a sad thing, Mr.?”

“Sardella. Guido Sardella.”

“Father Sean.”

“If you like to talk, I would be very glad to hear.”

“Ok, sir, just because you asked. But is a strange story, really strange, and I bet you will not trust a single word of it”.

“I’m all ears”

“Well, it all began not many years ago. At that time, Thunder was a normal town. A beautiful town. Bright and sunny.
The whole world was normal, with no metahumans, no talks about alien, no demons or zombies raiding the streets of cities.
But then, the metagene was discovered, and the government appointed TriVex, a little private research centre based here in Thunder, with an assignment of many millions dollars to study the metagenome.
They began to build the tower in the bay, for the new offices and labs, but then the environmentalist started to denounce various forms of poisoning of the bay. Some journalists found documents about illegal founding by the gov, rake-offs and such.
Add the fact that the whole city was hating them for the construction of the tower, that was altering the traditional landscape of the bay, a world known tourist attraction, and it’s easy to understand how the stop to the project was near.
Well, nothing happened.
And all changed.
A mist began to spread from the bay, and it has never left since. The people, all the people of the city, have become like mindless robot. They seems normal people from outside, but when you begin to watch them closely, it’s easy to see that they are just weird. They watch the same channel on TV, they eat all alike, the drinks only a brand of beer, use only specific brand of wears or of any other kinds of things.
I have done some research, and I have found that every brand is somehow tied to TriVex.
But the most important thing, is that any charge toward TriVex has been dropped, and all seems happy about things are now.”

“And the mass? “

“Everybody has converted to a little fundamentalist church. The one frequented by Zachary Knell. The owner of TriVex.”

“And do you know how the pople are kept slave in this odd way?”

“No. Not exactly. But there is a little tell, among the fishermen at the docks. It’s nothing more that a fairy tale. They say that the fog is the poisoning breath of a marine monster that live in the bay. The Leviathan, they call it.”

“And why you are not affected?” I ask.

“Well, I hate to say this, but I am a metahuman”. His skin instantly turns red, then blue, yellow, green and then normal. “I have this strange ability, like a chameleon. Plus, I guess, the power to resist this mass hallucination”.

“Could be. But you shouldn’t hate your condition. There is nothing bad in being a metahuman”. The priest, at my words, is somehow astounded.

“A man of good will” he says.

“The world needs men of good will” I note.

“This city needs something more…” he whisper, with a sad look.

“Maybe” I say, and waving a little my right hand, I go to the main door.

Walking away from the church, I repeat, “Maybe”.

And then I begin to sing to myself.

You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

He's making a list and checking it twice
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake

Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

[ 12-27-2001: Message edited by: The Eurostar ]

"They call me Naecken, they seem to know me, and I like them. But who are they, really?"
They act as if I have great powers, but all I know is that I can move without walking. And I seem to be far stronger than anyone I have seen here. The loud person with the big hat that says he owns the place asked me to move a few elephants, so I picked them up in their van carried it to its parking spot. He "ooohed" and now I am the strong guy of the ring.

As Naecken jumps down from the roof and walks inside, a dwarf sneaks of into the shadows.

"Palindrome to Alphabet, I have a visual...Awaiting orders...Yes Sir...ofcourse Sir. Over and out."

Walker flew into a bulkhead across the room, shattering it as he clattered to the floor. The former geneticist winced as he pulled a foot-long shard of glass from his bleeding arm. Tossing the glass away and reaching up with his good arm, Walker grabbed a headset - one that he used to communicate with the rest of the EPS - and slid it onto his head.

"Walker to I.G.O.R. Come in, I.G.O.R.," Walker hissed into the microphone piece.

Static.

Walker swore silently as he peeked over the desk that shielded him from the carnage outide. And there he saw him, haloed and shrouded in a striking crimson aura.

Agent Turner.

Walker had to admit that this was unexpected, yet also terribly ironic. He had just found Turner's metagene cloning schematic, and now the man stood fifty feet away destroying his headquarters and maiming his team.

Walker sighed, slipping down onto the ground, which was covered with tin bits of wire, glass, and metal. His mind wandered as he ripped off a large piece of his labcoat, wrapping it tightly around the puncture wound on his arm, where Turner had telekinetically shoved a large shard of glass.

"We didn't even see him coming!" Walker hissed, thinking back to how Turner had busted in. He and Tweed had just finished mapping the metagene schematic when a large unseen blast knocked the two from thier positions. Tweed rolled safley out of the way as Walker had turned to see I.G.O.R. hovering there with Agent Turner lurking behind him.

Then, I.G.O.R. started firing.

Turner had somehow turned I.G.O.R. against them.

When Owens and Reynolds showed up to see what was going on, Turner was prepared. As he sent his scarlet energy coursing through their bodies, the two were hurled across the room.

A swift blow from an unseen Tweed caught Turner off-guard, but he quickly recooped, grabbing the crimeboss by the neck and tossing him through the large computer monitor.

An empathic wave of fear hit Turner's mind, but he quickly overcame it, telekinetically ramming Vidalia's head into a metal wall until the empathic connecion was severed.

The blinding flash of light erupted from Reynolds' skin as the man began floating in the air towards the assailant. Covering his eyes, Turner swatted the man away, his sin dimming to the point of total lack of illumination.

It was Walker who attempted the final assault. A piece of lead pipe in his hand, the man screamed, running at the glowing red form of the former MCCA uber-agent.

Suddenly, without warning, Walker's body stopped mid-lunge. The pipe in his hands slowly slipped from his fingers and began spinning rapidly around his head, stopping at Turner's leisure to swat him in the head, the gut, the groin, or the knees. Laughing, Turner had then hoisted him into the air, lifting man pieces of glass from the shattered monitor that the unconscious Tweed still lay in.

The shards began orbiting Walker's form, like electrons rotating an atom. Finally, the pieces began to make cuts on hs body. His face. His chest. His hands. His feet. And, finally, the shard that impaled him in the arm. Then, Turner tossed the man telekinetically across the room, as though he were a ragdoll.

Now, Turner bellowed with laughter, waking over to the computer banks as I.G.O.R. began downloading all the files on the EPS Central Core onto disk for the mad agent gone horribly rogue.

"This ain't over yet," Walker called feebly, but enough to attract Turner's attention.

"WHAT?" Turner laughed maniacally. "Look around you, Walker! I've WON! I know all about this place. Your operation, your team, your headquarters, your... help," Turner chuckled motioning to I.G.O.R., who was busy downloadng more system files. "What can you possibly do to defeat me?"

"Meet the wild card," Walker said smiling, pressing a button on his blt. A metal door slid open, revealing the menacing form of Agent "John Doe"... the most powerful metahuman known to man.

And he looked none too happy...

Inside the van which has been temporarly assigned to Mxy and Danny, I have called a meeting. Sitting around the old wooden round table that I rescued from the cabin where we first met, in Chicago, there are Nowhereman, Kristogar, Danny, Mxy, Naecken and Tobias.

I stand up and talk: "Guys... friends... this is the perfect night for our mission..."

"The rescuing of your son, Euro?" says Mxy.

"Yes, and more. Anybody of you knows anything about the Citadel, the TriVex tower?" I ask, and my eyes go to Kristogar.

"I tell you, Vic." the officer looked at his partner. "I have no idea what that thing was!"

"I heard a baby crying..."

"Babys don't have snakes coming out of their heads!" the security officer snapped back.

"Snakes? You actually saw snakes on his head?"

"They were hissing..."

"Tom B. First," the old man raised his spoon, dropping oat meal on the floor.

"Cripes!" Vic yelled. "We gotta clean that crap up, old man!"

"Tom B. First," came the reply.

"What the hell is this senile old goat doing here anyway?" Vic asked his partner.

"I think he showed signs of the meta-gene supposedly during the initial outbreaks, but the old man's records have been misplaced in the confusion that followed those first few weeks."

"I thought maybe this was the guy they thought had died and then came back to life?"

"You hear all kinds of crazy rumors around here."

"So he's kept here in observation in the hope his meta-gene will reappear sometime?"

"That's the plan."

"Stupid plan," Vic smirked. "Stupid old man. Not worth the trouble of keeping alive."

"Tom B. First!" the old man's voice was a bit louder than before.

"What? Did he understand me?"

"I doubt he understands anything, Vic." his partner grinned. "And you're probably right. If he doesn't show some sign of the meta-gene soon he probably will be...disposed of."

The big metal door clanged shut and the old man listened as the keys turned in the lock.

"Tom B. First," he said softly. A smile crept across his face as he shoved the last big spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth.

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Tom B. First ]

"I know what it's like to not have a father," Tobias said. "I wouldn't wish it upon anybody. We're going to bring your son back, and to hell with anyone who tries to stop us."

"And the rest of you?"

Everyone agreed to help with the mission. Even Li'l Jo meowed an okay.

"Let's get your son," Tobias said as he headed for the door.

"I'm worried about him," Eurostar said. "He's even more impulsive than usual."

"He'll be fine," Mick said. "He just needs to work out a few issues."

"He will," Dan said. "And soon."

"What are you talking about?" Eurostar asked.

"His father is alive," Dan said. "And their reunion is going to result in Tobias learning a very valuable lesson."

"How soon?" Mick asked.

"Not until after he meets his brother." Dan replied.

"Should we tell him?" Mick asked.

"No," Eurostar said. "Everything has to work out on it's own. But we're still going to stick together. That's what... friends, are for."

Then the old man jumped to hear the clanging of a billy club pounding on the locked door to his room. "Quiet down in there, Freak!" echoed loudly from outside the door.

"Tom B. First!" the old man screeched in shock, falling backwards first onto his bed and then sliding off the sheets onto the floor. The old man laid there for a long time trembling. He actually took the sheet that had slid down beside him and pulled it over his head. "Tom B. First," he repeated softly under the sheet over and over. Finally, the old man pulled the sheet off of his head and attemped to stand up. He could not. The old man was stuck. He had sat there sitting in a churled position with his knees close to his chest. This was not the problem though. As the old man looked down his right side he could not see where he should be sitting. His posterior had sunk through the floor and was now wedged into the floorboards. This particular part of his body was partially phased/partially solidified into the floor. The old man's face wrinkled up as if to concentrate. "Tom B. First," he muttered defiantly. His heart was racing at a frantic pace. It was obvious this situation was causing the old man discomfort. He braced his outstretched hands on both sides of his torso and up behind himself on the bed. "Tom B. First," he concentrated solely on pulling his posterior up and out of the floor. It was several more minutes before he was successful in his endeavor.

Upon finishing his task the old man laid flat on his bed. It was thirty-six seconds exactly that the old man heard the keys in the door. "Tom B. First?" he said excitedly.

"We've caught your vanishing act on camera, old man!" Vic grunted.

"Tom B. First." the old man mumbled.

"Now that we know what you can do..." Vic's companion smirked. "...we know what to do with you!" The two men took the old man out of the room.

"You're just going to love what comes next!" Vic giggled as they escorted the old man down the hall.

"Tom B. First," the old man muttered quite indifferently.

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Tom B. First ]

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Tom B. First ]

"He can do much more than that!"

Will Tweed cocked his head, "Such as?"

As far as we have been able to surmize, Bill.." the doctor paused to wipe his glasses with a tissue.

It was obvious to Will Tweed that the doctor was stalling to find the right words. "Just spit it out!" Will demanded.

"The old man rose from the dead three nights ago...we think." Dr. Walker said meekly.

"You think this old geezer rose from the dead!?!" Will said in a semi-state of disbelief and mild amusement.

"We have film..."

"Then roll the damn film, Walker!" Will said defiantly. "Rose from the dead." He snorted as he shook his head side to side.

"Test subject 43-A died on the operating table three days ago. A young man brought in to us during the initial outbreaks of the meta-gene." Walker explained as he turned off the lights.

"What freakish power had he displayed?"

"He had been seen floating through the air by his neighbors." Walker said as he walked over to the projector.

"There goes the neighborhood if some punk kid starts defying the laws of gravity." Tweed smirked. "Wait a minute!" Tweed said indignantly. "I though you said some old man had risen from the dead?"

"Not exactly." the Doctor retorted sheepishly. "Watch the film."

The projector whirled and the body of a young man is shown being given a cursory exam. "Test subject 43-A had died during experiments just minutes prior to this exam." Doctor Walker explained. "Next you'll see the body being placed in the first Hibernation Tomb, standard procedure as dictated by our organization."

"How many bodies are down there?" Tweed asked.

"This is the first one, Will."

"First come, first serve." Tweed reflected. "Hence, the reason why he got the first Hibernation Tomb. I'm really shocked there hasn't been more deaths."

"Cut to a film taken from the Hibernation Tomb about twenty minutes after the young man was placed inside."

Tweed watches as the door to the first Hibernation Tomb is opened slowly. "Guess the kid wasn't dead after all!"

"Watch." the Doctor scolded somewhat. Tweed glared at the doctor. Rethinking his tone the Doctor added, "Please watch."

Out of the mist stepped an old man, obviously disoriented and stumbling around for a minute and a half before security comes to take him into custody. The old man is shown being led away as men in white labcoats arrive to secure the first Hibernation Tomb. As the first Hibernation Tomb is fully opened and in full view of the camera a body can be seen still inside it.

"Ah! Test subject 43-A is still inside...and still dead I assume?" Tweed reasons aloud. The mist clears to reveal a twin of the old man laying in the first Hibernation Tomb where test subject 43-A should be.

"Amazing!" Tweed's scientific curiousity has been tweaked. "This old man named himself Tom B. First, I assume?"

"Actually that's the only thing he's said since coming out of that hibernation tomb. The guards have started calling him by that name."

"It's not a name, Doctor!" Tweed snapped.

"Wha-what...?" the doctor said nervosly.

"Tom B. First." Twed sneered. "Place the 'B' at the end of 'Tom', Doctor Walker. What do you get?"

"T-O-M-B...Tomb!"

"Tomb first!" Tweed snarled. The old man is saying, 'tomb first.'"

"His addled mind is asking to be returned to the first Hibernation Tomb, Doctor Walker." Tweed said. "I take it you've had him pretty well doped up since his resurrection?"

"Standard procedure..."

Will Tweed sighed. "He wants to reunite with his other body."

"But what is this all about?" Walker asked.

"Some type of meta-gene defense system would be my guess. Reunite the two old men and I bet you get one healthy young man?"

"Test subject 43-A?" Doctor Walker asked somewhat dumbfounded.

"No!" Tweed said sarcasticly. "You'll get the Backstreet Boys!"

"What was test subject 43-A's real name?"

"Oh!" the red-faced doctor shut off the projector and flipped on the lights. "I thought I had told you his name." He scrambled for 43-A's file.

"Here...it...is..." He scanned the top of the sheet. "It's L. Lance, sir." Doctor Walker read off his clipboard. "Mr. Lawrence Lance!"

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Tom B. First ]

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Tom B. First ]

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Tom B. First ]

"So, what, we can't get in is what you're saying?" Tobias asks.

"Think outside the boundaries for a moment," Kristogar replies. "The entrances to the labs are nearly impossible to get through, for obvious security reasons. Nobody can get in unless they're supposed to get in. However..."

"The exit wasn't designed that way," Nowhereman finishes, smiling.

Kristogar is once again impressed by the veteran know-how of the mad one. "Precisely. It's impossible to get in, but unbelievably easy to get out. The exit was designed for emergency use only, in the highly unlikely scenario of a successful siege. All it takes is an electromagnetic blast to unlock the exit door. Then, it will be easy to open from the inside."

"I can do that," Eurostar offers. "You are saying that you want me to phase in and open the door, yes?"

"Yes," says Kristogar. "I can supply the EM blast, a silent one at that. However, Eurostar, I need you to promise me that no matter what you see once you're inside, you will not act until we're with you. No...matter...what..."

Eurostar isn't sure that he likes the sound of Kristogar's tone, but he promises. "You really know what you're talking about? You are absolutely sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Kristogar states. I oughtta be...I designed the damn thing.

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Kristogar Velo ]

Danny: Excuse me, I think there's one more thing we have to discuss...

Mxy: Oh, the stuff you told Mick you remembered?

All: What?!

Danny(nervously): No... I was gonna say that we should consider leaving the circus... but thank you...

Nowhereman: Wait, what stuff you remembered?

Kristogar: Oh, right, you're from the future... Did you remember anything about us?

Tobias remembers what Mick told him earlier.

Tobias: Uh... look, I don't think we should...

Eurostar: Tobias, let Danny talk... if there's something about us he knows, I think we deserve to know it...

Naecken: I'm eager to know.

Nowhereman: Yeah, tell us, man!

Danny: We're gonna die, OK? History books say a year from now the seven of us are gonna die fighting an alien invasion.

The room is quiet.

Danny: Happy now?

Eurostar: That is... I mean... I don't know how to feel. I completely trusted your memories before when you told us before that a revolution was started in 2002 by seven men, but now I don't want to...

Mxy: Wait, wait, wait... seven men? Nu-uh, he said six men.

quote:

---

“...everyone in my time knows about the Revolution of 2002. It was started by six men, known as the Ghost, the Gentleman, the Speedster, the Angel, the Animalman and the Mad, which was their leader....”

---

Tobias: No, Eurostar is right, I'm pretty sure he said seven.

Nowhereman: I think not! I mean, I wasn't there at that time, but I remember clearly that Eurostar told me about that... and he mentioned six men!

Eurostar: This is pretty weird...

Kristogar: I think it's pretty obvious what's going on here...

Tobias: Would you care to explain us, then?

Kristogar: Sure. Why do Nowhereman and Mxy remember things slightly different than the rest? Well, as far as I know, Mxy comes from a different dimension, and Nowhereman's mind... is "outside this realm". What does this mean? That means that they are not affected by changes in the flow of time...

Eurostar: ...so, when you joined the team, we became seven and not six, making the history books of the future say "seven men" instead of "six men"... in other words...

Nowhereman: We're changing the future!

“Close one-”

"Let's get your son," is yelled from inside of the van as one of the back doors fly open, knocking the young man to the ground. His glasses fly off revealing his reptile like eyes. From the back of the van, Tobias steps out, shutting it behind him. Noticing the boy on the ground, no more than fourteen years of age, he quickly helps him to his feet.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to-“

“Don’t worry about it!” the kid said excitedly.

“One thing, what were you doing that close to the van?”

“Well-“ the boy began, “I was sorta listening to your secret meeting.”

“At least your honest about it, heh”

“I am just like you guys, watch!!!”

As the boy finished, he concentrated hard, almost to the point of shaking. After a few moments and a low yell, the boy’s skin turned a scaly green and hardened. His body now matched his eyes, which were red and green, very spooky.

“Wow, calm down” Tobias said as he looked around, making sure none of the normal humans around had seen a thing. “Turn back!”

“Oh, yeah, secret identities, right…”

The boy’s fists clenched together as his green skin shedded, revealing his normal form. He seemed disoriented for a moment, but than was back to his normal excited self.

“Can I be a part of the team???”

“Wait up, first things first…” Tobias was obviously still feeling the effects of his earlier binge drinking. “What’s your name?”

“Jason, Jason Thomas… But they call me reptile-boy”

“It’s nice to meet you Jason, I’m Tobias Christopher-“

“I know, you run really fast and stuff” Jason said, a smile plastered across his face. “And there is the ghost man, and guy with animal parts and shadow dude and weird guy who talks to himself and-“

“Ok, I see you know a lot about us…”

“Yeah, you guys are heroes…”

“What? Well, I guess…”

“You are, and I want to join!”

"We're changing the future!"

And he seemed so happy about it...

Eurostar is talking to this Reptile Kid. Jason something, I think his name is.

This team already has a guy who can turn his skin into lizard scales, thank-you-very-much Mister Jason Something...

"You know, Kristogar..." I say softly, while Eurostar spoke to Jason, "The history books said seven men died. I remember that now. But they didn't say there was only seven men on the team. Only that seven died."

"So there could have been some survivors... there's no way of saying how many people will be on the team by that point. People that just slipped away after they survived the battle," Kristogar replies.

"Exactly," I say.

"Interesting," He says, nodding.

"We're changing the future!"

Nowhereman's words still echoing in my head. Why would we want to change the future? The future is my time. My world. My home. Everything I am has already happened. My parents, my friends, my school.

What happens to my past if these guys change their future?

How would you like it if someone told you your past had never happened? That something else... some "alternate timeline"... had just come along and replaced it?

I overhear Eurostar talking to Jason.

"...we're sorry, Jason, but that's a risk we can't take. We're in a risky situation right now, and, well... we can't take the chance of an inexperienced young man getting hurt..."

So why the hell am I here?

"...it's simply far too dangerous..."

But I'm not a superhero. I'm not trained. I'm not experienced.

I'm just some guy.

I'm just me.

"...I would advise you to just go home. You can't follow us, I'm sorry..."

A hero is brave. Noble. Strong. Fearless.

I'm none of those things. What am I? A freak with voices in his head who can grow fur. And here I am, about to charge into a heavily fortified government building to do battle with the bad guys and rescue a kid.

This is not me.

I'm only here because I have nowhere else to go. Because the only place I come close to fitting in is with other freaks.

I'm only here because I'm scared to be anywhere else.

But where else could I be?

"We're changing the future!"

My own home could well be gone.

Jason slinks off into the night, disappointed.

"Okay. There's the entrance. Let's go," Eurostar says, marching forward.

At least he's confident.

The kid turns back.

“I was just… uhmmm… testing you” I say, while all my comrades watches me perplexed.

“What? You want to admit me in the team?”

“Well… I’m sorry, but there is a rule… to be in the team you must be at last seventeen. So, I can bend the rule just for you, you see… but, ehm… you could be our mascotte…”

The kid’s face turn red, his eyes begins to tears, he turns back and run away.

“What have I said?” I asks.

“You talked well… the first time” says Nowhereman. “Why have you wanted to ruin everything?”

“Because when he was going away I tough that he was knowing our secret. We have to keep that kid around us, we can’t have him to take part in the missions, but he must be one of us. It would be to dangerous to have him selling us to TriVex or something else, unless…”

“Well, I think he now has much more willingness to sell us than before, Cicciotto” says Kristogar, interrupting me.

“Unless, I was saying, you don’t have a mind wiper ray or something like, Mister Velo” I say, smiling.

“Well, I was working on it, I must admit, but I haven’t one completed yet, Eurostar” he responds, with an ironic expression.

“Well, there is no time to talk to him right now. I hope tomorrow will not be too late. OK, one more thing before we start the mission” I say, and come back inside the van. On the door is Danny, with a sad expression. “Don’t be afraid for the future, Dan”, I whisper. “If we are really changing the future, your memories will change with it. If you still remember your family, it means it still exist from where you have come from”.

The young man nods his heads. Then a nearly unnoticeable smile appears on his mouth.

I enter the van, and take a big box.

“Everybody, put on these costumes”. If someone with a camera spots us, we must be different from the stunt at the Zoo. I don’t want anybody to find a connection between our team and the circus”.

All of my friends look at the costumes with eyes wide open. Only Kristogar mutters “No way!”

But Nowhereman says “It could be a good idea”, so our newest recruit reluctantly agree to dress like us.

And a Santa Claus, one reindeer and five Santa’s helpers disappears in the darkness, heading toward the bay.

“How can we get there?” asks Tobias.

“I can…” begins Mxy, but I cut him.

“No. Mxy, you will open a portal for our return. We can’t have you exhausting yourself now. Tobias, go and find a boat”.

And from the shadows, Jason follows the team on their first real mission.

I'll show them all right!

"What's wrong with it?" Tobias asked as the others examined the rickety old boat.

"As long as it gets us from point A to point B." Naecken said. "Let's get some supplies and meet back here in two minutes."

As the team split up, Jason snuck aboard the boat and hid below deck...

"The drugs are sufficiently out of their systems?" Tweed asked.

"Yes."

"Sonic disruptors have been brought to the Stasis Lab?"

"Four of them placed in each corner."

"Tell me again about the construction marerials implemented in the building of the Stasis Lab." Tweed was going over every detail in his head. He had a potentially powerful meta-human in his grasp. A being who had escaped certain death by splitting his body into two bodies. A being who channeled his life force between both bodies. A being who was something much less certainly after being split into two beings, but alive. If his theory was correct once the two bodies gathered enough strength they could safely reintergrate and be exactly as they once were.

"The walls, floor, and ceiling are all composed of a special vibrating alloy which should make phasing impossible for Larry Lance if he should be reintergrated."

Should be reintergrated?" Tweed shot a hard glance at the Doctor.

"When he is reintergrated." Doctor Walker corrected himself nervously. "I must go on record that I wished to study the two subjects more thoroughly before attempting this reintergration."

"So noted." Tweed said flatly.

"If your theory is somehow correct, Tweed..." Doctor Walker said with a tone denoting disbelief. "...this could be a metamorphing cycle for this meta-human and he could reintergrate into..."

"A giant bug-eyed monster?" Tweed laughed. "Only one way to find out." They had reached the Stasis Lab. Tweed opened the door and in the center of the room were the two old men secured on gurneys obviously struggling against their bonds in an attempt to go to one another.

"The two subjects have been agitated since they first saw one another about fifthteen minutes ago." a technician manning a sheilded sonic disruptor announced in a muffled voice.

Tweed smiled at Doctor Walker.

"You'll notice their fingertips emitting...something." Another muffled voice announced from behind a sheilded console panel. "I've yet to determine what it is, but it is growing steadily stronger."

"Just being close to one another has automaticly started the process." Tweed said in a somewhat know it all tone.

"But what process?" Doctor Walker mumbled. Tweed had not heard him.

The two had reached the sheilded area just as a security channel activated on the console panel. "Tell Tweed that six to seven men have been spotted lurking about the building."

"Initiate standard security measures, moron!" Tweed barked into the communicator. "Unless it's damn important we are not to be bothered again!"

"Affirmative, sir!"

"Release their bonds!" Tweed ordered.

The technician pressed a button and the two old men ran to one another as their bonds were removed automaticly. As they touched great concussive force was unleashed like a bomb into the room.

Tweed lifted his head off of the floor. He had been thrown from out behind the sheilding. There was blood coming from his head. He could see all four men manning the sonic disruptors were either dead or unconscious. The lab technician was moaning, but not moving. Doctor Walker was obviously battered and hidden under the console panel muttering, "I told him so. I told him so!" over and over again. No sign of the two old men was apparent. Tweed was not surprised that the last thing he saw before slipping into unconsciousness again was a young man running out the door.

[ 12-29-2001: Message edited by: LLance ]

What was it Eurostar had said?

...“If we are really changing the future, your memories will change with it. If you still remember your family, it means it still exist from where you have come from”....

I know he was trying to be reassuring, but... all that means is, I can't trust my own memories.

Maybe we've changed the future already.

Maybe my memories have changed with it.

Maybe all the things I remember... my childhood. My family.

Maybe none of that ever happened to me.

“Are you ready, Santa?” asks Kristogar, handling me his electro-magnetic gun.

“Yes, little helper” it’s my answer, taking the huge device.

We are standing in front of a metallic door, facing directly the water. A security exit, said Kristogar.

“Remember, Cicciotto. Whatever you see, don’t act and open the door” says Kristogar Velo.

“Yeah, I remember. Be ready, everybody”.

I phase trough the door.

I’m in a large room, well lit, with many metallic cages. And inside one of the cage…

…my parents!

They are screaming, tortured by metallicspiky tentacles.

How can they be here?

They see me. “Edulcore, Edulcore, save us, we I beg you” cry my mother.

I run at them, crying. How much time has passed since the incident!

“Press that button, son!” shouts my father. “It’s the opening command for the cage”.

My finger goes to the button. The incident. The car crash. My father and my mother all covered by their own blood. How horrible it was. I was away, for the trials, when they died.

I turn my finger ghost just before hitting the button.

My parents died years ago. This is a trap!

I turn back, and blast the door with the gun. The door opens, and my friends run inside. Kristogar goes to a console, press a lot of buttons in a complex sequence, and the cages disappears.

“An hallucinogenic vibration make persons see their worst nightmares, Edulcore! Different for each one”.

“OK,, it’s gone” I whisper, still shaken by the scene.

I watches everyone, all dressed in elves costume, and Naecken in a reindeer suit.

“Ready?”

“Ready!” says Nowhereman.

“Ok, let’s follow Kristogar, he knows the place. I will phase trough the whole tower, to find the location of my son, then I will call you!” I says.

“Follow me!” says Kristogar, running toward a corridor.

I turn invisible, and levitate trough the ceiling, up and up.

Thirteen floors up, there is turmoil. Guards running everywhere, from the orders shout by the officers, it seems a prisoner has escaped.

But to attract my attention are two men in lab coat, one lying on the floor, one kneeling over the other. Two face I have seen before.

Two of the men that attacked me in the Zoo, at Chicago.

I, still invisible, go near them.

“I told you coming here it was a bad idea, Walker” says the larger one.

“Shut up, Tweed. I am tired of you acting as the boss. I am giving orders, you follow them. Without questioning him, ok?”

The fat metahuman nods his head, whispering something I don’t understand.

The other, Walker, that sports many scars on his face, helps the other to stands up.

“Tweed, Turner has destroyed half of our lab at Chicago. The only other place where I could have performed the tests was my old lab. Here at TriVex, in Thunder. Luckily I have still friends here, and we have been able to come here without Knell knowing. But now it’s better to go.”

Walker whispers something inside a communicator, and soon a strange portal, like the vortex from which they arrived at the Zoo, forms in the middle of the room. The two step in, and they disappear.

So, they are not really part of TriVex, from what I heard. And they, too, had to do with Turner, I think just about the same time he attacked us on the highway, judging from how the scars have healed on Walker’s face.

Anyway, there will be time to discover about them. Now, it’s time to find my son. And Knell.

[ 12-30-2001: Message edited by: The Eurostar ]

"They fell for it, then?" the reptilian hissed.

"Yes, sir," Curie said, looking at the viewscreen. "As we suspected, Kristogar Velo was among them and, having known about how to enter properly, showed them the way in."

"What'sss their ssstatussss?" Knell said, walking over to where Eddie sat in a small playpen.

"DNA indicators tell us that six metahumans are currently overriding security protocols on the main level to access the elevator shaft," Curie answered, looking to another screen.

"And Cicciotto?"

"According to these readouts, he's rapidly ascending to this floor. However, he's not in an elevator and we, as of now, lack visual confirmation..."

"He's coming..." Knell whispered to himself, though not quietly. He swept his arm down, bringing Eddie up to his chest and rubbing the child's back with his massive hand. "Are we ready for Cicciotto's arrival, Curie?"

"That we are, sir," Curie said, standing. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be making my way into the safe zone to deploy the army at your mark."

"Exssssellent!" Knell hissed with glee. "As soon as you get in there... deploy."

Curie walked into a small room, rolling hs eyes at his employer's ego and audacity. These metahumans are dangerous, Curie knew. He hoped the Leviathans would be enough to stop them...

No sooner had Curie pressed the button, then the six metahumans on the ground floor of the Citadel were surrounded by the Leviathan army.

Velo looked up from his place at the controls of the elevator and cocked his eyebrow. "Touche, Knell, old boy," he muttered as he saw them.

They were metahuman... once. Now, they were Knell's own pet creation. They were metahumans with gene-splicing. They were like their creator. They were like Knell - everyone of them a large, hulking mass of reptile, rasping breaths and acidic saliva dripping from the razor sharp teeth of their crushing mandibles.

And there were hundreds of them.

"Okay, guys," Velo said, returning to his work, "now would be an excellent time to... do whatever it is that you do..."

MEANWHILE...

Out on the shore, young Jason Thomas crawled out of the hardly-seaworthy boat to notice a huge serpent coming out of the sea. He curled himself into a ball and rolled as the mammoth creature lunged at the craft, smashing it to pieces.

"Whoa, man!" the boy said, dusting himself off. "I gotta go warn the others what happened to their boat!" And, with that, Jason Thomas ran into the heart of the beast...

"What do we do?" Mick asked. "There are hundreds of them? Oh, wait, I have an idea!"

"This better be good." Naecken said.

"It is." Mick said. "Mxy!"

Just then, his eyes lit up as a top hat and coat appeared from out of nowhere.

"Son of a bitch!" Mxy said. "Why do you always do this when we're in trouble?"

"Some plan," Tobias said. "Does anyone have any GOOD ideas?"

"Yeah," Danny said. "As a matter of fact, I know exactly how we're going to out of this."

"Don't just stand there, tell us." Tobias said.

"We surrender." Danny said.

"The hell-?" Naecken said.

"Trust me," Danny said. "It's all part of the plan."

The serpents lead the team into a service elevator, and press the number 36 button.

Silently and unseen, the young boy manages to sneak inside the closing backdoor.

I’m invisible, and nobody notices my passage. Yet, it’s impossible that with all this advanced equipment they have not yet tracked me. But even if it is a trap, I can’t stop. My son is up there, somewhere.

And finally I find him.

Little, and tender.

His little eyes marvels at my sight, a warm, incredible smile appearing on his teeth less mouth.

But he has many snakes sprouting out of his head.

And is an hideous, horrible reptilian monster the one who is holding him.

“Cicciotto, sssshow yoursssself! I know you are there!” hisses the monster. How can he know my name?

I turn visible, but still less denser than a normal human.

The eyes of the monster opens wide.

Fear? It doesn’t seems. What could…

…ah! The Santa costume!

“Oh oh oh! Merry Christmas, monster! Hand me my son!” I order, hoping to sound dangerous.

“Cicciotto! Thisss isss not your ssson, it’sss mine! Sssurrender now!”

“Knell! In the photo I saw, you were human. Physically, at last”.

The monster growls.

“And that’s my son, Knell. Blood of my blood. I don’t know what have you done to him, but I will find a way to take away those serpents. Now, hand me the kid!”

“No way, freak! You are trapped, don’t you underssstand?”

“I’m in ghost form, Knell. There is nothing you can do to me”

“But you can’t take the kid, without turning ssssolid. In that moment a dozen of lasssersss will cut trough your sssuperdenssse ssskin and will blow up your heart”.

I come close to him.

“I can put my hand trough your body, then turn solid and take your brain in my hand. If I die, you will die with me”.

“And Eddie will be orphan, Cicciotto”

It’s really an odd situation. I never tough that the kid would have been in Knell hands, him petting the kid like his own son. I can’t go back to my friends, bringing them here would only worsen the situation.

“There isss no really a way out, Eurossstar” hisses Knell, happy.

“I..I….” What I can do, really?

A dozen of reptilian monsters enter in the room.

“Thessse are my Leviathansss, Cicciotto”. The monster presses a button, and one of the steel wall opens, to reveal a larger chamber, filled with many more reptilian guards. Hanging from the wall, chained to their wrists, are my comrades, all in their elves suits, plus Naecken in the reindeer costume.

“Take your place in the wall, Euro. I bet the kidssss of the world will be very sssad, tomorrow, because Sssanta diesss tonight”

“How can you hope to chain me, monster?”

“We have stasssisss devicesss. Desssigned for another phasssing freak, but they will be good for you. Now, I repeat, take your place in the row!”

“Or?”

“Or I will kill one of your friends. Now!”

“Only the menace of killing myself would stop me, Knell. And you love him maybe as well as me!”

And I turn invisible and phase trough the ceiling, arriving out on the top of the tower. Outside, from the water an huge beast, like a marine serpents, is beginning to come out, to wrap itself around the tower.

A little flying shuttle leaves the tower, it’s easy to understand it’s Knell, with my son, leaving for place unknown.

“Merda!” I shout. But how could I have ever imagined that my son is treated by Knell as his son?!

There are cries and shouts coming from all the tower, and dozens of guards have just arrived on the terrace.

I phase back down. I have to freed my friends.

But when I am on the uppermost floor, all goes black.

And when I reopen my eyes, I’m hanging from the wall, along my six friends.

“Oh mamma!”

Eurostar’s eyes glance across the Leviathan army, ready to take apart the heroes. From across the line of heroes he hears Danny’s voice.

“Sorry guys, maybe surrendering wasn’t the best idea, but it sounded good at the time…”

Everyone else was silent, than he felt a chain rattle his arm. Tobias was attempting to tell him something. Turning to his teammate, he noticed his eyes fixated on one of the reptile creatures among the army, a small almost out of place creature, it was Jason, the kid from the circus.

“Ok, this is the big time,” Jason said to himself.

He had made his way to top of the huge tower, fitting in with the army of metagene holders who had been turned into snake and reptile-like creatures. He almost like it at first, other people like him. But then he saw the truth. These creatures were monsters, ripping apart the normal scientists, bone by bone. Eating flesh. And loving it.

The one that left, he must be the only reason that they didn’t eat the heroes.

Jason nodded is head to Eurostar. This was time. He had to prove himself.

He attempted to move, but couldn’t. He was too afraid. The time had come from him to prove himself, but he couldn’t. He was just too afraid.

Than, red lights flashed all around and alarms went off.

Jason snapped out of it, he sprinted across the battlefield, many of the creatures turning in confusion, and jumped at the restraints. With his razor sharp nails, he sliced through both Tobias’ and Eurostar’s restraints, freeing them.

“I DID IT!” he yelled with glee as one of the reptilian creatures sliced their huge claws into his back, piercing his dense green skin and shedding blood all over Eurostar, who lunged forward.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

[ 12-31-2001: Message edited by: T5 ]

[ 12-31-2001: Message edited by: T5 ]