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Life and Light: Shadow-Force Reborn (Updated May 8, 2019)
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<blockquote data-quote="The Shadow" data-source="post: 4943811" data-attributes="member: 16760"><p><strong>5 - Dragon's Egg</strong></p><p></p><p>The weekend after the Mirror Mask debacle, Alpha said, "You might want to check out the 'Seattle Supers' site, Photon." A well-known, meticulously researched website, run by someone who identified himself only as 'Pagemaster'. Jon sat down at a workstation and pulled it up. "Why, what's up?" "He's got some new info on you, and it's scarily accurate."</p><p></p><p>Jon read for a bit and blinked. "You're not kidding. How could he possibly have grounds to speculate I fly using gravity?" "Follow the link. He gives his reasoning in detail." Jon did so, and found that since he didn't leave a visible trail like many energy-based heroes, and because there were no reports of his presence interfering with electronic devices, he was unlikely to be using electromagnetism to fly. Nor did he seem to be using a device. As supporting evidence, Pagemaster presented the fact that Enigma had been able to drain some of Photon's powers, but not all. "Wow. I can't fault his reasoning, but..." "Yeah. Too close for comfort." "He does villains too - is this good for his health?" "Well... Everybody knows the federal government maintains a first-class database on supers. I guess people figure nothing he says is likely to be worse than that." "Yeah, but villains don't get to look at the government files - at least, I sure hope not! I don't want anyone reading this and getting ideas." "Read on."</p><p></p><p>Jon found some very shrewd guesses about his light-form - not all correct, to be sure, but not far from the mark. And speculation (based on Photon's diction and phrasing) that he, Jon, was either a scientist or a super-genius. Overall, Pagemaster's coolly-given opinion was that Photon had been widely underestimated, and sported much greater power and versatility than anyone in the super-fan community had suspected. "Good grief, he even knows I've worked with the Texas Hex!" "Yeah, several super-blogs picked up that sighting of Tex in the Seattle airport. Speculation has run rife."</p><p></p><p>Checking out a few other heroes, he found that Mirror Mask had also gotten some recent treatment - with the conclusion that his powers had improved, but that he was dangerously arrogant and soon to be in trouble with the police. (Pagemaster's speculation matched Jon's own - that Mask had gained the ability to stay phased, only phasing in parts of his body to strike his foes.) Jon shook his head. "This isn't my idea of a public service. Still... freedom of speech." "Yeah. I'll keep an eye on it for you."</p><p></p><p>"Anything else in the media I should know?" "The press has figured out the location of your super-battle with Enigma. The police have it blocked it off as a hazardous site, though." "Yeah, I saw the reactions to my skywriting." The <em>Times</em> had written an editorial on the dilemmas involved in contacting a criminal at large; the <em>Post-Intelligencer</em> had written up the skywriting neutrally, but then also printed an editorial on 'Supers and Egotism', which, while it didn't name any names, was clearly pointed in Photon's direction.</p><p></p><p>Jon got up and stretched. "So - patrol time?" "Not just yet. We're waiting for 'Flora', or whatever her name is." "Oh, right. Her first test, I guess. If she isn't here by 7, I'm leaving without her." He needn't have worried. The green heroine bounced in eagerly at 6:30. Jon nodded. "Welcome. Have you come up with a codename?" "Is 'Demeter' taken?" <em>Alpha? <strong>Greek heroine in the 60's. Nobody current.</strong></em> Jon passed on the information, adding, "It should be fine." "Great. Ready to go?" "When you are." Jon gave her a communicator and showed her how to use it. Then they went outside, where she animated a tree off the base's grounds. It lifted her into a fork in its branches, which shaped itself into something resembling a throne. "Let's go."</p><p></p><p>Photon flew on, pushing the pace a bit - sure enough, the tree could make surprisingly good time. Didn't seem to do any property damage, either. Suddenly a car screeched up, and a man with a press badge leaned out the window with a microphone. "Photon! Are you and her working together now? Are you still working with the robot? Are you lovers?" Jon groaned - an infamous 'ambush journalist'. "No comment, no comment, and no comment. Go away." He and Demeter ignored him for a while, then after an interminable drone of questions, Demeter subvocalized into her communicator. "Let's lose him. Cut through the park?" "You're on." Demeter animated a new tree, sending the old one shambling back home to the base grounds. "Sheesh. Does that happen often?" "No. I've... never really been the glamorous type." "You'll have to get used to being the popular kid in town." "I guess."</p><p></p><p>The rest of the patrol was uneventful. Upon arriving home, Alpha asked, <em><strong>OK, just what did you DO?</strong> Hm? <strong>I've got no less than three reporters on the phone right now, clamoring for an interview. And they're not the first.</strong> Wow! They let super-battles pass, but a simple patrol with Demeter is News? Maybe it's a slow day? <strong>I dunno. Oh, and one of the hopefuls is your old friend Chris Perkins.</strong> ...That takes a lot of nerve. <strong>That's what I said. Here's how he responded:</strong></em></p><p></p><p>Alpha played back the phone call, Perkins saying, "If you look into it, you'll find I filed an injunction against the <em>Post-Intelligencer</em> for mangling my story." Alpha: "Yes, and I also find that it was rejected." Perkins sighed. "They found a loophole in my contract, there was nothing I could do. I have a new airtight one now, one that gives me final cut." "We'll want to see it before we promise anything." "...I'm afraid I can't do that, there's a non-disclosure built in. You'd need a subpoena to see it." "Well, don't call us, we'll call you." "Wait! I-" Click.</p><p></p><p><em>A secret contract? That smells fishy. <strong>Agreed, and I don't even have a sense of smell!</strong> Can you get Carlton Legal on that? I think it might be interesting. <strong>Will do.</strong></em></p><p></p><p>Demeter asked, "Penny for your thoughts? You're quiet all of a sudden." "Oh... sorry. Just pondering the ramifications of fame. Have you had much contact with the press since you started hero-ing?" "None, really, except..." She flushed. "Well, Hustler asked me to appear in a special issue, 'Women in Uniform'. I turned them down flat." Alpha to Jon: <em><strong>April 2007.</strong> ...You read Hustler? <strong>I read everything, I'll have you know.</strong></em></p><p></p><p>Jon cleared his throat and said, "Didn't..." then gave it up as a bad job. "Oh heck. Go ahead and talk out loud, Alpha." "Your funeral, boss." Demeter looked around for the voice, eyebrow raised quizzically. Jon told her, "X-97 Alpha." "Oh! That makes sense now! Is he another robot?" "No, the base computer. Anyway, Alpha here apparently has a dirtier mind than I'd thought..." "Hey now! Ask yourself who I could have gotten it from!" "...Anyway, he says that 'Women in Uniform' appeared in 2007. Didn't you say you'd only started hero-ing two months ago?"</p><p></p><p>Demeter, having finally spotted one of Alpha's cameras, faced it and cocked her head. "...You read Hustler?" Alpha put on a playfully defensive tone, "Hey, obviously I picked it up from meat-boy here! My chips are made from the finest, purest silicon, I assure you. Pity me, the victim of organic corruption." "Oh, you poor thing. You're so corrupted with organic filth you forgot that there was going to be a 'Women in Uniform II' later this year." "...Whoops. Well, obviously it's all meat-boy's fault." "Hey! Leave me out of this!" "Alas, but-" Then, via radio, <em><strong>Photon, Technoid's energy construct is going crazy. Get in there and check it out NOW!</strong></em></p><p></p><p>Jon was off like a shot. "Demeter, trouble! Stay here!" <em><strong>She's following you.</strong> Lock the internal doors down, Alpha. <strong>Done.</strong></em> Then, out loud, "Get me Carlton Research on the line! And Moke!" "Dialing. What's going on?"</p><p></p><p>Skidding to a stop in front of the energy construct, Jon noticed that the shield-rings were rotating significantly faster than ever before. Simultaneously reading the gauges and opening his field senses to the max, he reported, "There's a major power spike occurring every two seconds or so, at regular intervals. It's redlining the gauges, but only very briefly as each spike passes - tapping the far end and bouncing back. Why the HECK is he using analog gauges?! He MUST be crazy!" [Heh, that last bit was me jabbing SP a little. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />]</p><p></p><p>Alpha: "I've gotten them to wake up the guy in charge of Research. I've dealt with him before. His name's Dr. Norton, and he's a serious prick." "Joy. Put him on." "What the hell did you DO, you pitiful excuse for a light bulb?!" "Nothing! Just get OVER here with a team, and fast!" "I'm driving too fast as we speak, moron! Just... don't touch anything!" Jon rolled his eyes and told Alpha to hang up. "Do you have Moke?" "Yep, he's still waking up." "Moke, Photon! We've got a serious situation here with a dangerous device of Technoid's, and we need FAQ up here RIGHT NOW!" "Calm down, Photon. How dangerous?" "Act-of-God dangerous! Hiroshima-and-Nagasaki dangerous! Be-on-a-different-continent dangerous!" "...I'm sending FAQ up there right away." "Thanks!"</p><p></p><p>That done, Jon actually did start to calm down a little. There wasn't anything he could do, after all, except watch. The construct would change color slightly - shading from yellow toward blue-white - with each pulse of power. "Alpha, how's the compass?" "No change, why?" "Because this would be the worst possible time for Mirror Mask to show up?" "Right, our good friend Murphy. And now that we've checked, it won't happen?" "We can hope. What's Demeter doing?" "Pacing back and forth."</p><p></p><p>Jon went back to the Situation Room and tersely filled her in. She snapped at him, eyes blazing, "Thanks for letting me know! If I'm part of the team, don't go running off like that!" Photon told her levelly, "You're not part of the team yet. When you are, I'll let you know. ... But it may be that we'll need your help tonight, so I would ask you to stick around." "Fine!"</p><p></p><p>Alpha said quietly, "Uh guys?" In unison, "WHAT?" "I really, really do not want FAQ to know I exist. He's cocky and he likes to tinker, and frankly he scares me. Please keep me under wraps." Demeter finally grinned and levelled a finger at the nearest camera. "Okay, but you owe me, chip-boy." Alpha emitted a long-suffering sigh. "Never a mention of Hustler again, I promise." "That'll do. For starters." Alpha to Jon: <em><strong>You know, whether or not she's evil... she's still evil, you know?</strong></em></p><p></p><p>Just then they were interrupted by Norton and his team screeching up in a van. "Photon! Help me move this equipment into the lab! You'll just be in the way otherwise!" Jon rolled his eyes and started to use magnetism to float it over. "No, idiot! With hands! Unless you want to foul up my readings? Or are you just trying to make this crisis harder than it already is, is that it?" Jon shocked himself by saying with terse authority, "Norton, SHUT UP. You're wasting time, and we have no time to lose. Now get to work!" To his further shock, Norton shut up and obeyed. Jon helped carry the equipment in, then tried to stand out of the way as the research team went into action. Occasionally he reported on the information his special senses gave him, and once he proved he knew the lingo, they tacitly accepted him as one of their own.</p><p></p><p>Soon FAQ swaggered in, replete with high-tech armor, weaponry, and goggles. Looking to Photon, he asked, "Who're these bozos?" "Carlton Research division." The young hero rolled his eyes. "Great, the amateur brigade. You, over there! Yes, you. Brief me." Norton started to go apoplectic again. "You're involving THIS twit?" Photon laid down the law again. "We don't have time for turf battles! Work together and like it!" He strode out of the room, disgusted.</p><p></p><p>FAQ followed after. "Can you believe it? They want me to sign an NDA!" "So sign it." "Fine! But I need to print it out, it's on their website." "Sure. Al-" Jon clamped his lips shut before letting the rest of the word out. FAQ stared at him. "Al?" Photon pointed, "Uh, the printer's over there. It's being taken care of." "Al?!" "Look, FAQ, we don't have time..." "Al?!?" Demeter subvocalized into her communicator, "Oh, how very much you owe me." She came and took FAQ's arm, leading him away and batting her eyelashes at him. "Listen, we can explain all about Al another time, all right? For now, we need to get this energy thing taken care of." FAQ allowed himself to be led away, absentmindedly accepting the NDA from Jon. "Well, OK, but..." Jon and Alpha let out simultaneous sighs of relief.</p><p></p><p>Demeter came back out and said, "Okay, we're going to have to tell him something about 'Al'. What's our story?" "Hmm... Maybe it's a nickname of yours? I clammed up because I didn't want to compromise your secret identity?" "Works. Oh, and Alpha?" She licked a finger and scored another point in the air. Alpha only said, "Yeah, yeah." <em><strong>Evil, I tell you. I think I like her.</strong></em></p><p></p><p>Photon went back in the lab and was amused to find FAQ interrogating Norton about the situation in a way calculated to be effective with the man's choleric temper: He would simply dismiss anything Norton said as stupid, which prompted further angry denials... and more information, as the man tried to justify himself. Jon had to admit that it was faster than trying to reason with the guy, so didn't intervene. But at length as he listened, Photon realized something with a sudden shock. "Uh, FAQ? You do realize that Technoid is in that thing, right?"</p><p></p><p>FAQ raised his eyes to the heavens and said in an I'm-surrounded-by-idiots tone, "Now see, this is what we call a 'detail'. 'Details' are good. I need 'details' to do my freakin' job already!" The teen gadgeteer flew into action, setting up something resembling a laptop and plugging it into the control panel of the construct platform. "That is just what I needed to know. If he's in there, he has to be shielded... Yep, there's a second field in there, I'm getting readings on him..." A blurry picture of Technoid appeared on the screen of the laptop and text and numbers flashed past faster than the eye could follow. "Hmmm. There's some bio-sensors around here somewhere. Where are they?" Photon showed him the device with the parabolic emitters on cables. "Could this be it?" "It'll do. Space these around the construct, will you?" Photon did so rapidly, 'hanging' them in the air with magnetic fields. "Ooh, didn't know you could do that. Can you get them in a symmetrical configuration?" Finally, FAQ started to get a second stream of data on his laptop.</p><p></p><p>The young man whistled. "Wow. He's making some hardcore changes to his genetic structure. What's that all about?" A bit more tinkering, and suddenly he sounded nervous. "Wait - the door! There's supposed to be a force field there! What happened to it?!" Photon told him, "We shot it down to get in here..." "Crap on a stick! Everybody out! NOW, people! Run! It's gonna blow!" The authority in his voice, combined with the following of his own advice, got through to everyone, even Norton.</p><p></p><p>FAQ added, "Photon, you gotta put up another force field! It's our only chance!" "Right! Do I need to be on the inside or the outside?" "Well gee, I dunno! Can you take 25 million rads?!" "Yes, actually." FAQ blinked at that unexpected information, but rapped out, "Well good for you, Sunshine! I CAN'T! In or out, but get that field UP!" Jon flew out the door and rapidly tried to explain to the spacetime continuum what he wanted it to do. His previous experiences with "force fields" had been notably mixed, but shortly he had... something... covering the door that his X-ray vision couldn't get through. "Okay, I hope that's good en-" He was interrupted by the explosion.</p><p></p><p>It was monstrous, far worse than Jon had been expecting. His field bowed outward, glowing with bright streaks as it strained to the breaking point. Jon poured his will into supporting it, joining himself to the quantum void for an instant, his mind racing down the null geodesics he was accustomed to travel in light-form. His whole being shaped itself into the single purpose: HOLD!</p><p></p><p>It was over before the light of the blast even had a chance to imprint itself on the observers' retinas, much less be processed by their brains. But they eventually saw in a split second the field's improbable distention before snapping back into place. FAQ licked his lips and said quietly, "Yeah. Thanks, man." Jon took a moment to reply as he came down from quantum-gravitational exaltation. "...You're welcome."</p><p></p><p>After a little more processing, he asked, "What just happened?" FAQ shrugged helplessly. "It got done, whatever he was doing. He came out." Photon let his field lapse, and the smoke of vaporized machinery boiled out; he toned down the temperature for the others only half thinking about it. He strode in, followed by FAQ and Demeter, and more hesitantly by Norton and a couple of the other scientists.</p><p></p><p>A humanoid form strode to meet them, obscured by the rapidly diminishing mists. It was hairless and unclothed, but showed no primary or secondary sexual characteristics - indeed its skin was smooth and unbroken by detail, a rough statue carved from something with a dull metallic finish. Its eyes were dark pools.</p><p></p><p>Jon asked hesitantly, "Scott?" It looked at him impassively, then spoke, its voice clear and neutral, devoid of organic timbre: "'Scott'. Yes. Once I was called by that name. It is no longer fitting." "...Technoid?" Again that voice devoid of all passion except mild interest: "That name is somewhat more appropriate. It will serve for now." Ignoring the others, the thing found a flat metal panel on the wall and pressed its palm to it. "Ah. Good. The Internet connection is still active." Jon was still the only one with the courage to speak: "What are you doing, Technoid?" It told him neutrally, "I am downloading the Library of Congress." "Why are you doing that, Technoid?" "I want to understand humanity. It is so... imperfect. And yet so interesting." "Is that why you changed yourself?" "Yes. I needed to understand."</p><p></p><p>"Scott..." Almost gently, but not quite, the thing told him, "No. I am not 'Scott' any longer. 'Scott' was imperfect." "And now you are perfect?" "I am a good first attempt at perfection. There is so much I must learn." "...I'll be right back."</p><p></p><p>Jon went with controlled haste to the Situation Room. I sure hope the Guardians are back from their dimensional jaunt! He manually pulled up a connection to the Guardians in Washington, getting a receptionist. "This is the Galactic Guardians of Washington, D.C. How may I help you?" Jon said urgently, "This is Photon in Seattle. We've got a situation here..." The screen went blank, and simultaneously a chirruping sound came from one of Alpha's speakers. "Oh.... DARN!" (Jon briefly wondered what it would take to get him to overcome his childhood habits and actually cuss, then decided he didn't want to find out.)</p><p></p><p>"Alpha?" No response. "Alpha?!" Nothing. But that sound he'd heard haunted him... he was still a little high from his quantum-mystical experience, and it niggled at him somewhere deep below conscious thought. Not sure why, he willed himself into light-form... and all became clear.</p><p></p><p>Alpha had sent him a rapidly compressed speech, and somehow his memory had retained it all. But wondering how was swallowed up in horror at what his friend had to say:</p><p></p><p>"Jon, this is probably my last message. He's strong, much stronger than I am, and he's overwhelmed both me and Beta. I don't think you will ever be able to trust either one of us ever again." Alpha paused to let that sink in, then continued urgently, "He noticed you calling the Guardians and is using your voice and image to convince them everything's OK. He's locked down the base completely. Jon, he's downloading information on nanotechnology and genetics. I think he wants to redesign humanity from scratch. He is evil, Jon - coldly, rationally, unblinkingly evil. I don't think there's anything left of Scott in him. You must stop him. He's mostly made of nanites; I think he'll be vulnerable to hard radiation."</p><p></p><p>Alpha paused again. "There's a lot I'd hoped to say, but you can probably guess. If I had tears to shed, I'd be shedding them. You're my friend, Jon. Good luck, and go get him!"</p><p></p><p>For several subjective minutes, Jon gave in to despair. His last friend in Seattle, his true companion, the last founding member of Shadow-Force! He bounced around the base unseeingly and unthinkingly, the outer walls too heavily shielded to let him pass through. But gradually, gradually, he pulled himself together. No. I will not let Alpha's sacrifice be in vain. It will not happen!</p><p></p><p>Jon pondered and laid plots as the picoseconds ticked slowly past. First, he streaked by Beta's charging station, to see if Technoid could use him to attack... 25% charge, not nearly enough. Excellent. Passing by the lab, he noticed that FAQ was surreptitiously reaching behind his back for a rod that looked to be a weapon.</p><p></p><p>Next, true to his codename, he shot over to the central electrical junction box of the base. (Erebus had insisted it not be accessible from the outside.) You may have trapped me inside, Technoid, but you've trapped yourself too! He materialized just long enough to reduce it to slag, then returned to light-form. Hopefully I'm not giving Technoid much time to react, though I have to assume he can think really fast too. Now, the backup generator will come on in a few seconds - we can't have that.</p><p></p><p>Streaking over to the generator, Jon materialized again and blasted it to oblivion. Apparently his rage was fuelling his powers, as he hadn't expected it to vaporize completely. Ah well - light-form. Now, Alpha's repair-bots will get a new generator module in eventually, but it'll take them at least ten minutes. One way or another, it'll be all over by then.</p><p></p><p>Dialing his laser configuration up to the highest-energy gamma wavelength he could manage, Jon surveyed the situation in the lab before taking action. Some dim lights were still on, probably battery-powered. FAQ was in the process of falling backward to the floor, his armor sparking, his face twisted in a grimace. Demeter was dodging for cover, Norton and the scientists were scrambling to get out of the lab. Technoid itself had a hand upraised toward FAQ, its face impassive as ever. All right, you son of a- No. I won't change my ways for your sake. Take this, you JERK!</p><p></p><p>Materializing behind the shell of his former friend, Jon cut loose with a titanic blast of cosmic rays. Technoid's 'flesh' withered visibly under the onslaught, and it staggered. But its voice remained calm as ever as it said, "Photon. So you are responsible for the power loss." "That's right," Jon told it with a deadly calm rage. "You have gained control over your light-form, I see. Remember the time you ended up beyond the orbit of Jupiter by accident?" "No. No stories, no tales of old times. You're not Scott. You're just a... thing." Meanwhile FAQ writhed and sparked, and Demeter inched toward him to pull him to safety.</p><p></p><p>Technoid replied mildly, "If only you could see how much better it is," and extended its hand. A spray of scarcely-visible nanites boiled forth, and Photon's dodge-subroutine kicked in, but didn't get enough distance - Jon's right shoulder and upper-right arm were caught in the spray, and he screamed. He could feel the microscopic machines dissolving his flesh, changing it into something new and horrible, but he didn't let that stop him from firing off another blast of hard gamma.</p><p></p><p>Once again, the thing that had been a man lurched on its feet and its flesh visibly melted before the blast. "Yes. Your power has increased. There will be a place for you in the new order." "SCREW THAT!" Jon shouted, but then screamed again - the nanites continued to eat into him and he fled into the timeless null-spaces traversed only by photons. Frantically he tried to 'edit' the nanites out of his system, but they resisted his efforts; in his pain he bounced back and forth uncontrollably between the walls of the lab. Thank... goodness... I don't... get dizzy... in this form!</p><p></p><p>He reformed just in time to see Demeter spraying a cloud of pollen at Technoid's face. (She had managed to drag FAQ halfway to the only remaining, half-melted large piece of machinery in the lab.) To his amazement, Technoid was actually staggered by it, reeling and clutching its throat. But as they watched, its nose and mouth smoothed out and faded from its face. "A valiant attempt. But it will not serve you ag-" Jon's blast to its face cut off its words. (It didn't seem to need a mouth to speak.)</p><p></p><p>They fought in silence now - there was nothing more to be said. Jon continued to blast away at Technoid, and Technoid continued to spray its deadly nanites. Jon succeeded in dodging a couple times, then got hit again and shrieked in redoubled agony. Demeter got FAQ to cover and watched warily, unsure of what to do next. Jon understood - there was no plant life in here at all, and her pollen looked to be useless. He sent to her communicator, "Get the scientists in good order. If you can get cell-phone reception in here, get help! Otherwise, hold tight." "Got it, Photon," she said, and worked her way cautiously to the door.</p><p></p><p>Jon tried blinding Technoid with dazzling light, and was surprised when it actually worked. "Can you do without your eyes too?" he taunted as he continued to dodge about and take potshots. "Not as easily," it admitted. "But I can." Suiting actions to words, it moved to the equipment FAQ was hidden behind and wrenched it easily out of the ground. Jon shot it again and it dropped its burden under the onslaught, tipping the multi-ton weight toward FAQ... Photon caught it with magnetic fields and slammed it into Technoid with all the force he could muster. (Technoid itself proved to be non-ferrous, unfortunately.)</p><p></p><p>Technoid was heavier than it looked - it caught the enormous hunk of metal easily and just skidded a little, instead of going flying. "Idiot," it observed, and raised the massive thing to throw. Almost in despair again, Jon fired a final desperate blast, and to his amazement, this one worked beyond hope. Technoid swayed, then crumpled to the ground, the heavy chunk of metal flying wild and landing with a loud CLANG! Before his eyes, the sculpted form started to collapse inward on itself.</p><p></p><p>A brief excursion to light-form once more, and he finally managed to rid himself of the nanites and restore the worst of the damage. "Demeter! Get in here! Can you wake FAQ up? Create pollen like smelling salts or something?" "I can try!" "You do that and I'll look for a medkit!" He needn't have - Demeter sprayed something at FAQ's face, and he sat bolt upright at once. "I'm awake!"</p><p></p><p>Jon said urgently, "Then get over here! Technoid is melting away, I think it's dying!" FAQ struggled to his feet with Demeter's help. "OK, I see your point. I'm finding it a little hard to care just now, though." "I know. But if there's anything at all of Scott left in there, we owe it to him to try." "Right." Between FAQ's technical wizardry, and Photon's use of electric and magnetic fields at his instruction, Technoid congealed into an amorphous blob of... whatever it was. Jon asked hesitantly, "Is it... alive?" "There's patterned electrical currents going on in there, they look purposeful. It seems to be thinking." "Okay..." "Now, can you put a magnetic bottle around it?" "It's not ferrous..." "Duh. That's to keep it from communicating with the outside world." Definitely seeing the point in that, Photon managed to do so. By this time, the adrenaline was wearing off... he wasn't much steadier on his feet than FAQ was. (Though he had healed the worst of the damage, his arm still looked ravaged and a large chunk of his costume was gone.) FAQ for his part looked to be crashing off the stimulant Demeter had given him; the two heroes suddenly leaned on each other drunkenly.</p><p></p><p>Demeter shepherded the walking wounded out of the lab, into the hall. The scientists crowded around them and Norton wrung Jon's hand. "Thank you. We'd be dead if you hadn't..." "S'alright," Jon slurred. "Talk later. Gotta get outta here." Demeter said patiently, "Yes, we know. There's no cell reception. How do we get the door open?" "Ummm. I could shoot it down maybe?" "I think you've done enough shooting for one day, Photon." "...Okay."</p><p></p><p>Demeter took charge. "FAQ, can you override the door controls?" "Sure, I think?" She peered at him as he swayed on his feet. "Photon, can you shine a light in his eyes for me?" "Oh, sure." Jon had trouble keeping his finger steady, but Demeter got a good look at FAQ's eyes. "Oh, great, you're concussed. Well... This should be easy for somebody as smart as you, right?" "Uh huh." FAQ fiddled with the door controls until finally it opened. "Easy as pi. 3.1415...something." He had to do it one more time and then they tumbled out into the open air. Norton whipped out a cell phone and called 911, demanding cops, ambulances, and anything else he could think of.</p><p></p><p>Jon revived enough in the cool night air to take light-form again and heal himself the rest of the way. Materializing next to Demeter, he said quietly, "Welcome to the team." She smiled warmly at him, "Thanks, you too." "Yeah." Jon remembered Alpha and nearly lost it, then pulled himself back together. "Something else we need to do." Borrowing a cell phone from one of the other scientists, Jon dialled 1-800-STRNGHD, showing it to Demeter. "Remember that number. It's important." "Got it."</p><p></p><p>"Stronghold Rapid Response." "This is Photon in Seattle, Washington," and he gave his registration number. "I'm sorry, Mr. Photon, but at your registration level I cannot scramble a Rapid Response Team on your say-so. Are the police on the way?" "Yes." "Then give me the details and we can start prepping. Give this case number to the police and they can give the go order." Jon tersely outlined what he knew and gave the address. "That sounds straightforward. We will be onsite as soon as we get the go." "Understood. See you soon." "Good hunting, sir."</p><p></p><p>Photon and Demeter watched quietly as flashing lights and sirens approached. "So that's it," Jon murmurred, feeling numb. He wasn't sure just which of many possible things he was referring to.</p><p></p><p>[Also note that I will shortly be putting up files on P.S.I. and the Doctor. I'll link soon.]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Shadow, post: 4943811, member: 16760"] [b]5 - Dragon's Egg[/b] The weekend after the Mirror Mask debacle, Alpha said, "You might want to check out the 'Seattle Supers' site, Photon." A well-known, meticulously researched website, run by someone who identified himself only as 'Pagemaster'. Jon sat down at a workstation and pulled it up. "Why, what's up?" "He's got some new info on you, and it's scarily accurate." Jon read for a bit and blinked. "You're not kidding. How could he possibly have grounds to speculate I fly using gravity?" "Follow the link. He gives his reasoning in detail." Jon did so, and found that since he didn't leave a visible trail like many energy-based heroes, and because there were no reports of his presence interfering with electronic devices, he was unlikely to be using electromagnetism to fly. Nor did he seem to be using a device. As supporting evidence, Pagemaster presented the fact that Enigma had been able to drain some of Photon's powers, but not all. "Wow. I can't fault his reasoning, but..." "Yeah. Too close for comfort." "He does villains too - is this good for his health?" "Well... Everybody knows the federal government maintains a first-class database on supers. I guess people figure nothing he says is likely to be worse than that." "Yeah, but villains don't get to look at the government files - at least, I sure hope not! I don't want anyone reading this and getting ideas." "Read on." Jon found some very shrewd guesses about his light-form - not all correct, to be sure, but not far from the mark. And speculation (based on Photon's diction and phrasing) that he, Jon, was either a scientist or a super-genius. Overall, Pagemaster's coolly-given opinion was that Photon had been widely underestimated, and sported much greater power and versatility than anyone in the super-fan community had suspected. "Good grief, he even knows I've worked with the Texas Hex!" "Yeah, several super-blogs picked up that sighting of Tex in the Seattle airport. Speculation has run rife." Checking out a few other heroes, he found that Mirror Mask had also gotten some recent treatment - with the conclusion that his powers had improved, but that he was dangerously arrogant and soon to be in trouble with the police. (Pagemaster's speculation matched Jon's own - that Mask had gained the ability to stay phased, only phasing in parts of his body to strike his foes.) Jon shook his head. "This isn't my idea of a public service. Still... freedom of speech." "Yeah. I'll keep an eye on it for you." "Anything else in the media I should know?" "The press has figured out the location of your super-battle with Enigma. The police have it blocked it off as a hazardous site, though." "Yeah, I saw the reactions to my skywriting." The [i]Times[/i] had written an editorial on the dilemmas involved in contacting a criminal at large; the [i]Post-Intelligencer[/i] had written up the skywriting neutrally, but then also printed an editorial on 'Supers and Egotism', which, while it didn't name any names, was clearly pointed in Photon's direction. Jon got up and stretched. "So - patrol time?" "Not just yet. We're waiting for 'Flora', or whatever her name is." "Oh, right. Her first test, I guess. If she isn't here by 7, I'm leaving without her." He needn't have worried. The green heroine bounced in eagerly at 6:30. Jon nodded. "Welcome. Have you come up with a codename?" "Is 'Demeter' taken?" [i]Alpha? [b]Greek heroine in the 60's. Nobody current.[/b][/i] Jon passed on the information, adding, "It should be fine." "Great. Ready to go?" "When you are." Jon gave her a communicator and showed her how to use it. Then they went outside, where she animated a tree off the base's grounds. It lifted her into a fork in its branches, which shaped itself into something resembling a throne. "Let's go." Photon flew on, pushing the pace a bit - sure enough, the tree could make surprisingly good time. Didn't seem to do any property damage, either. Suddenly a car screeched up, and a man with a press badge leaned out the window with a microphone. "Photon! Are you and her working together now? Are you still working with the robot? Are you lovers?" Jon groaned - an infamous 'ambush journalist'. "No comment, no comment, and no comment. Go away." He and Demeter ignored him for a while, then after an interminable drone of questions, Demeter subvocalized into her communicator. "Let's lose him. Cut through the park?" "You're on." Demeter animated a new tree, sending the old one shambling back home to the base grounds. "Sheesh. Does that happen often?" "No. I've... never really been the glamorous type." "You'll have to get used to being the popular kid in town." "I guess." The rest of the patrol was uneventful. Upon arriving home, Alpha asked, [i][b]OK, just what did you DO?[/b] Hm? [b]I've got no less than three reporters on the phone right now, clamoring for an interview. And they're not the first.[/b] Wow! They let super-battles pass, but a simple patrol with Demeter is News? Maybe it's a slow day? [b]I dunno. Oh, and one of the hopefuls is your old friend Chris Perkins.[/b] ...That takes a lot of nerve. [b]That's what I said. Here's how he responded:[/b][/i] Alpha played back the phone call, Perkins saying, "If you look into it, you'll find I filed an injunction against the [i]Post-Intelligencer[/i] for mangling my story." Alpha: "Yes, and I also find that it was rejected." Perkins sighed. "They found a loophole in my contract, there was nothing I could do. I have a new airtight one now, one that gives me final cut." "We'll want to see it before we promise anything." "...I'm afraid I can't do that, there's a non-disclosure built in. You'd need a subpoena to see it." "Well, don't call us, we'll call you." "Wait! I-" Click. [i]A secret contract? That smells fishy. [b]Agreed, and I don't even have a sense of smell![/b] Can you get Carlton Legal on that? I think it might be interesting. [b]Will do.[/b][/i] Demeter asked, "Penny for your thoughts? You're quiet all of a sudden." "Oh... sorry. Just pondering the ramifications of fame. Have you had much contact with the press since you started hero-ing?" "None, really, except..." She flushed. "Well, Hustler asked me to appear in a special issue, 'Women in Uniform'. I turned them down flat." Alpha to Jon: [i][b]April 2007.[/b] ...You read Hustler? [b]I read everything, I'll have you know.[/b][/i] Jon cleared his throat and said, "Didn't..." then gave it up as a bad job. "Oh heck. Go ahead and talk out loud, Alpha." "Your funeral, boss." Demeter looked around for the voice, eyebrow raised quizzically. Jon told her, "X-97 Alpha." "Oh! That makes sense now! Is he another robot?" "No, the base computer. Anyway, Alpha here apparently has a dirtier mind than I'd thought..." "Hey now! Ask yourself who I could have gotten it from!" "...Anyway, he says that 'Women in Uniform' appeared in 2007. Didn't you say you'd only started hero-ing two months ago?" Demeter, having finally spotted one of Alpha's cameras, faced it and cocked her head. "...You read Hustler?" Alpha put on a playfully defensive tone, "Hey, obviously I picked it up from meat-boy here! My chips are made from the finest, purest silicon, I assure you. Pity me, the victim of organic corruption." "Oh, you poor thing. You're so corrupted with organic filth you forgot that there was going to be a 'Women in Uniform II' later this year." "...Whoops. Well, obviously it's all meat-boy's fault." "Hey! Leave me out of this!" "Alas, but-" Then, via radio, [i][b]Photon, Technoid's energy construct is going crazy. Get in there and check it out NOW![/b][/i] Jon was off like a shot. "Demeter, trouble! Stay here!" [i][b]She's following you.[/b] Lock the internal doors down, Alpha. [b]Done.[/b][/i] Then, out loud, "Get me Carlton Research on the line! And Moke!" "Dialing. What's going on?" Skidding to a stop in front of the energy construct, Jon noticed that the shield-rings were rotating significantly faster than ever before. Simultaneously reading the gauges and opening his field senses to the max, he reported, "There's a major power spike occurring every two seconds or so, at regular intervals. It's redlining the gauges, but only very briefly as each spike passes - tapping the far end and bouncing back. Why the HECK is he using analog gauges?! He MUST be crazy!" [Heh, that last bit was me jabbing SP a little. :)] Alpha: "I've gotten them to wake up the guy in charge of Research. I've dealt with him before. His name's Dr. Norton, and he's a serious prick." "Joy. Put him on." "What the hell did you DO, you pitiful excuse for a light bulb?!" "Nothing! Just get OVER here with a team, and fast!" "I'm driving too fast as we speak, moron! Just... don't touch anything!" Jon rolled his eyes and told Alpha to hang up. "Do you have Moke?" "Yep, he's still waking up." "Moke, Photon! We've got a serious situation here with a dangerous device of Technoid's, and we need FAQ up here RIGHT NOW!" "Calm down, Photon. How dangerous?" "Act-of-God dangerous! Hiroshima-and-Nagasaki dangerous! Be-on-a-different-continent dangerous!" "...I'm sending FAQ up there right away." "Thanks!" That done, Jon actually did start to calm down a little. There wasn't anything he could do, after all, except watch. The construct would change color slightly - shading from yellow toward blue-white - with each pulse of power. "Alpha, how's the compass?" "No change, why?" "Because this would be the worst possible time for Mirror Mask to show up?" "Right, our good friend Murphy. And now that we've checked, it won't happen?" "We can hope. What's Demeter doing?" "Pacing back and forth." Jon went back to the Situation Room and tersely filled her in. She snapped at him, eyes blazing, "Thanks for letting me know! If I'm part of the team, don't go running off like that!" Photon told her levelly, "You're not part of the team yet. When you are, I'll let you know. ... But it may be that we'll need your help tonight, so I would ask you to stick around." "Fine!" Alpha said quietly, "Uh guys?" In unison, "WHAT?" "I really, really do not want FAQ to know I exist. He's cocky and he likes to tinker, and frankly he scares me. Please keep me under wraps." Demeter finally grinned and levelled a finger at the nearest camera. "Okay, but you owe me, chip-boy." Alpha emitted a long-suffering sigh. "Never a mention of Hustler again, I promise." "That'll do. For starters." Alpha to Jon: [i][b]You know, whether or not she's evil... she's still evil, you know?[/b][/i] Just then they were interrupted by Norton and his team screeching up in a van. "Photon! Help me move this equipment into the lab! You'll just be in the way otherwise!" Jon rolled his eyes and started to use magnetism to float it over. "No, idiot! With hands! Unless you want to foul up my readings? Or are you just trying to make this crisis harder than it already is, is that it?" Jon shocked himself by saying with terse authority, "Norton, SHUT UP. You're wasting time, and we have no time to lose. Now get to work!" To his further shock, Norton shut up and obeyed. Jon helped carry the equipment in, then tried to stand out of the way as the research team went into action. Occasionally he reported on the information his special senses gave him, and once he proved he knew the lingo, they tacitly accepted him as one of their own. Soon FAQ swaggered in, replete with high-tech armor, weaponry, and goggles. Looking to Photon, he asked, "Who're these bozos?" "Carlton Research division." The young hero rolled his eyes. "Great, the amateur brigade. You, over there! Yes, you. Brief me." Norton started to go apoplectic again. "You're involving THIS twit?" Photon laid down the law again. "We don't have time for turf battles! Work together and like it!" He strode out of the room, disgusted. FAQ followed after. "Can you believe it? They want me to sign an NDA!" "So sign it." "Fine! But I need to print it out, it's on their website." "Sure. Al-" Jon clamped his lips shut before letting the rest of the word out. FAQ stared at him. "Al?" Photon pointed, "Uh, the printer's over there. It's being taken care of." "Al?!" "Look, FAQ, we don't have time..." "Al?!?" Demeter subvocalized into her communicator, "Oh, how very much you owe me." She came and took FAQ's arm, leading him away and batting her eyelashes at him. "Listen, we can explain all about Al another time, all right? For now, we need to get this energy thing taken care of." FAQ allowed himself to be led away, absentmindedly accepting the NDA from Jon. "Well, OK, but..." Jon and Alpha let out simultaneous sighs of relief. Demeter came back out and said, "Okay, we're going to have to tell him something about 'Al'. What's our story?" "Hmm... Maybe it's a nickname of yours? I clammed up because I didn't want to compromise your secret identity?" "Works. Oh, and Alpha?" She licked a finger and scored another point in the air. Alpha only said, "Yeah, yeah." [i][b]Evil, I tell you. I think I like her.[/b][/i] Photon went back in the lab and was amused to find FAQ interrogating Norton about the situation in a way calculated to be effective with the man's choleric temper: He would simply dismiss anything Norton said as stupid, which prompted further angry denials... and more information, as the man tried to justify himself. Jon had to admit that it was faster than trying to reason with the guy, so didn't intervene. But at length as he listened, Photon realized something with a sudden shock. "Uh, FAQ? You do realize that Technoid is in that thing, right?" FAQ raised his eyes to the heavens and said in an I'm-surrounded-by-idiots tone, "Now see, this is what we call a 'detail'. 'Details' are good. I need 'details' to do my freakin' job already!" The teen gadgeteer flew into action, setting up something resembling a laptop and plugging it into the control panel of the construct platform. "That is just what I needed to know. If he's in there, he has to be shielded... Yep, there's a second field in there, I'm getting readings on him..." A blurry picture of Technoid appeared on the screen of the laptop and text and numbers flashed past faster than the eye could follow. "Hmmm. There's some bio-sensors around here somewhere. Where are they?" Photon showed him the device with the parabolic emitters on cables. "Could this be it?" "It'll do. Space these around the construct, will you?" Photon did so rapidly, 'hanging' them in the air with magnetic fields. "Ooh, didn't know you could do that. Can you get them in a symmetrical configuration?" Finally, FAQ started to get a second stream of data on his laptop. The young man whistled. "Wow. He's making some hardcore changes to his genetic structure. What's that all about?" A bit more tinkering, and suddenly he sounded nervous. "Wait - the door! There's supposed to be a force field there! What happened to it?!" Photon told him, "We shot it down to get in here..." "Crap on a stick! Everybody out! NOW, people! Run! It's gonna blow!" The authority in his voice, combined with the following of his own advice, got through to everyone, even Norton. FAQ added, "Photon, you gotta put up another force field! It's our only chance!" "Right! Do I need to be on the inside or the outside?" "Well gee, I dunno! Can you take 25 million rads?!" "Yes, actually." FAQ blinked at that unexpected information, but rapped out, "Well good for you, Sunshine! I CAN'T! In or out, but get that field UP!" Jon flew out the door and rapidly tried to explain to the spacetime continuum what he wanted it to do. His previous experiences with "force fields" had been notably mixed, but shortly he had... something... covering the door that his X-ray vision couldn't get through. "Okay, I hope that's good en-" He was interrupted by the explosion. It was monstrous, far worse than Jon had been expecting. His field bowed outward, glowing with bright streaks as it strained to the breaking point. Jon poured his will into supporting it, joining himself to the quantum void for an instant, his mind racing down the null geodesics he was accustomed to travel in light-form. His whole being shaped itself into the single purpose: HOLD! It was over before the light of the blast even had a chance to imprint itself on the observers' retinas, much less be processed by their brains. But they eventually saw in a split second the field's improbable distention before snapping back into place. FAQ licked his lips and said quietly, "Yeah. Thanks, man." Jon took a moment to reply as he came down from quantum-gravitational exaltation. "...You're welcome." After a little more processing, he asked, "What just happened?" FAQ shrugged helplessly. "It got done, whatever he was doing. He came out." Photon let his field lapse, and the smoke of vaporized machinery boiled out; he toned down the temperature for the others only half thinking about it. He strode in, followed by FAQ and Demeter, and more hesitantly by Norton and a couple of the other scientists. A humanoid form strode to meet them, obscured by the rapidly diminishing mists. It was hairless and unclothed, but showed no primary or secondary sexual characteristics - indeed its skin was smooth and unbroken by detail, a rough statue carved from something with a dull metallic finish. Its eyes were dark pools. Jon asked hesitantly, "Scott?" It looked at him impassively, then spoke, its voice clear and neutral, devoid of organic timbre: "'Scott'. Yes. Once I was called by that name. It is no longer fitting." "...Technoid?" Again that voice devoid of all passion except mild interest: "That name is somewhat more appropriate. It will serve for now." Ignoring the others, the thing found a flat metal panel on the wall and pressed its palm to it. "Ah. Good. The Internet connection is still active." Jon was still the only one with the courage to speak: "What are you doing, Technoid?" It told him neutrally, "I am downloading the Library of Congress." "Why are you doing that, Technoid?" "I want to understand humanity. It is so... imperfect. And yet so interesting." "Is that why you changed yourself?" "Yes. I needed to understand." "Scott..." Almost gently, but not quite, the thing told him, "No. I am not 'Scott' any longer. 'Scott' was imperfect." "And now you are perfect?" "I am a good first attempt at perfection. There is so much I must learn." "...I'll be right back." Jon went with controlled haste to the Situation Room. I sure hope the Guardians are back from their dimensional jaunt! He manually pulled up a connection to the Guardians in Washington, getting a receptionist. "This is the Galactic Guardians of Washington, D.C. How may I help you?" Jon said urgently, "This is Photon in Seattle. We've got a situation here..." The screen went blank, and simultaneously a chirruping sound came from one of Alpha's speakers. "Oh.... DARN!" (Jon briefly wondered what it would take to get him to overcome his childhood habits and actually cuss, then decided he didn't want to find out.) "Alpha?" No response. "Alpha?!" Nothing. But that sound he'd heard haunted him... he was still a little high from his quantum-mystical experience, and it niggled at him somewhere deep below conscious thought. Not sure why, he willed himself into light-form... and all became clear. Alpha had sent him a rapidly compressed speech, and somehow his memory had retained it all. But wondering how was swallowed up in horror at what his friend had to say: "Jon, this is probably my last message. He's strong, much stronger than I am, and he's overwhelmed both me and Beta. I don't think you will ever be able to trust either one of us ever again." Alpha paused to let that sink in, then continued urgently, "He noticed you calling the Guardians and is using your voice and image to convince them everything's OK. He's locked down the base completely. Jon, he's downloading information on nanotechnology and genetics. I think he wants to redesign humanity from scratch. He is evil, Jon - coldly, rationally, unblinkingly evil. I don't think there's anything left of Scott in him. You must stop him. He's mostly made of nanites; I think he'll be vulnerable to hard radiation." Alpha paused again. "There's a lot I'd hoped to say, but you can probably guess. If I had tears to shed, I'd be shedding them. You're my friend, Jon. Good luck, and go get him!" For several subjective minutes, Jon gave in to despair. His last friend in Seattle, his true companion, the last founding member of Shadow-Force! He bounced around the base unseeingly and unthinkingly, the outer walls too heavily shielded to let him pass through. But gradually, gradually, he pulled himself together. No. I will not let Alpha's sacrifice be in vain. It will not happen! Jon pondered and laid plots as the picoseconds ticked slowly past. First, he streaked by Beta's charging station, to see if Technoid could use him to attack... 25% charge, not nearly enough. Excellent. Passing by the lab, he noticed that FAQ was surreptitiously reaching behind his back for a rod that looked to be a weapon. Next, true to his codename, he shot over to the central electrical junction box of the base. (Erebus had insisted it not be accessible from the outside.) You may have trapped me inside, Technoid, but you've trapped yourself too! He materialized just long enough to reduce it to slag, then returned to light-form. Hopefully I'm not giving Technoid much time to react, though I have to assume he can think really fast too. Now, the backup generator will come on in a few seconds - we can't have that. Streaking over to the generator, Jon materialized again and blasted it to oblivion. Apparently his rage was fuelling his powers, as he hadn't expected it to vaporize completely. Ah well - light-form. Now, Alpha's repair-bots will get a new generator module in eventually, but it'll take them at least ten minutes. One way or another, it'll be all over by then. Dialing his laser configuration up to the highest-energy gamma wavelength he could manage, Jon surveyed the situation in the lab before taking action. Some dim lights were still on, probably battery-powered. FAQ was in the process of falling backward to the floor, his armor sparking, his face twisted in a grimace. Demeter was dodging for cover, Norton and the scientists were scrambling to get out of the lab. Technoid itself had a hand upraised toward FAQ, its face impassive as ever. All right, you son of a- No. I won't change my ways for your sake. Take this, you JERK! Materializing behind the shell of his former friend, Jon cut loose with a titanic blast of cosmic rays. Technoid's 'flesh' withered visibly under the onslaught, and it staggered. But its voice remained calm as ever as it said, "Photon. So you are responsible for the power loss." "That's right," Jon told it with a deadly calm rage. "You have gained control over your light-form, I see. Remember the time you ended up beyond the orbit of Jupiter by accident?" "No. No stories, no tales of old times. You're not Scott. You're just a... thing." Meanwhile FAQ writhed and sparked, and Demeter inched toward him to pull him to safety. Technoid replied mildly, "If only you could see how much better it is," and extended its hand. A spray of scarcely-visible nanites boiled forth, and Photon's dodge-subroutine kicked in, but didn't get enough distance - Jon's right shoulder and upper-right arm were caught in the spray, and he screamed. He could feel the microscopic machines dissolving his flesh, changing it into something new and horrible, but he didn't let that stop him from firing off another blast of hard gamma. Once again, the thing that had been a man lurched on its feet and its flesh visibly melted before the blast. "Yes. Your power has increased. There will be a place for you in the new order." "SCREW THAT!" Jon shouted, but then screamed again - the nanites continued to eat into him and he fled into the timeless null-spaces traversed only by photons. Frantically he tried to 'edit' the nanites out of his system, but they resisted his efforts; in his pain he bounced back and forth uncontrollably between the walls of the lab. Thank... goodness... I don't... get dizzy... in this form! He reformed just in time to see Demeter spraying a cloud of pollen at Technoid's face. (She had managed to drag FAQ halfway to the only remaining, half-melted large piece of machinery in the lab.) To his amazement, Technoid was actually staggered by it, reeling and clutching its throat. But as they watched, its nose and mouth smoothed out and faded from its face. "A valiant attempt. But it will not serve you ag-" Jon's blast to its face cut off its words. (It didn't seem to need a mouth to speak.) They fought in silence now - there was nothing more to be said. Jon continued to blast away at Technoid, and Technoid continued to spray its deadly nanites. Jon succeeded in dodging a couple times, then got hit again and shrieked in redoubled agony. Demeter got FAQ to cover and watched warily, unsure of what to do next. Jon understood - there was no plant life in here at all, and her pollen looked to be useless. He sent to her communicator, "Get the scientists in good order. If you can get cell-phone reception in here, get help! Otherwise, hold tight." "Got it, Photon," she said, and worked her way cautiously to the door. Jon tried blinding Technoid with dazzling light, and was surprised when it actually worked. "Can you do without your eyes too?" he taunted as he continued to dodge about and take potshots. "Not as easily," it admitted. "But I can." Suiting actions to words, it moved to the equipment FAQ was hidden behind and wrenched it easily out of the ground. Jon shot it again and it dropped its burden under the onslaught, tipping the multi-ton weight toward FAQ... Photon caught it with magnetic fields and slammed it into Technoid with all the force he could muster. (Technoid itself proved to be non-ferrous, unfortunately.) Technoid was heavier than it looked - it caught the enormous hunk of metal easily and just skidded a little, instead of going flying. "Idiot," it observed, and raised the massive thing to throw. Almost in despair again, Jon fired a final desperate blast, and to his amazement, this one worked beyond hope. Technoid swayed, then crumpled to the ground, the heavy chunk of metal flying wild and landing with a loud CLANG! Before his eyes, the sculpted form started to collapse inward on itself. A brief excursion to light-form once more, and he finally managed to rid himself of the nanites and restore the worst of the damage. "Demeter! Get in here! Can you wake FAQ up? Create pollen like smelling salts or something?" "I can try!" "You do that and I'll look for a medkit!" He needn't have - Demeter sprayed something at FAQ's face, and he sat bolt upright at once. "I'm awake!" Jon said urgently, "Then get over here! Technoid is melting away, I think it's dying!" FAQ struggled to his feet with Demeter's help. "OK, I see your point. I'm finding it a little hard to care just now, though." "I know. But if there's anything at all of Scott left in there, we owe it to him to try." "Right." Between FAQ's technical wizardry, and Photon's use of electric and magnetic fields at his instruction, Technoid congealed into an amorphous blob of... whatever it was. Jon asked hesitantly, "Is it... alive?" "There's patterned electrical currents going on in there, they look purposeful. It seems to be thinking." "Okay..." "Now, can you put a magnetic bottle around it?" "It's not ferrous..." "Duh. That's to keep it from communicating with the outside world." Definitely seeing the point in that, Photon managed to do so. By this time, the adrenaline was wearing off... he wasn't much steadier on his feet than FAQ was. (Though he had healed the worst of the damage, his arm still looked ravaged and a large chunk of his costume was gone.) FAQ for his part looked to be crashing off the stimulant Demeter had given him; the two heroes suddenly leaned on each other drunkenly. Demeter shepherded the walking wounded out of the lab, into the hall. The scientists crowded around them and Norton wrung Jon's hand. "Thank you. We'd be dead if you hadn't..." "S'alright," Jon slurred. "Talk later. Gotta get outta here." Demeter said patiently, "Yes, we know. There's no cell reception. How do we get the door open?" "Ummm. I could shoot it down maybe?" "I think you've done enough shooting for one day, Photon." "...Okay." Demeter took charge. "FAQ, can you override the door controls?" "Sure, I think?" She peered at him as he swayed on his feet. "Photon, can you shine a light in his eyes for me?" "Oh, sure." Jon had trouble keeping his finger steady, but Demeter got a good look at FAQ's eyes. "Oh, great, you're concussed. Well... This should be easy for somebody as smart as you, right?" "Uh huh." FAQ fiddled with the door controls until finally it opened. "Easy as pi. 3.1415...something." He had to do it one more time and then they tumbled out into the open air. Norton whipped out a cell phone and called 911, demanding cops, ambulances, and anything else he could think of. Jon revived enough in the cool night air to take light-form again and heal himself the rest of the way. Materializing next to Demeter, he said quietly, "Welcome to the team." She smiled warmly at him, "Thanks, you too." "Yeah." Jon remembered Alpha and nearly lost it, then pulled himself back together. "Something else we need to do." Borrowing a cell phone from one of the other scientists, Jon dialled 1-800-STRNGHD, showing it to Demeter. "Remember that number. It's important." "Got it." "Stronghold Rapid Response." "This is Photon in Seattle, Washington," and he gave his registration number. "I'm sorry, Mr. Photon, but at your registration level I cannot scramble a Rapid Response Team on your say-so. Are the police on the way?" "Yes." "Then give me the details and we can start prepping. Give this case number to the police and they can give the go order." Jon tersely outlined what he knew and gave the address. "That sounds straightforward. We will be onsite as soon as we get the go." "Understood. See you soon." "Good hunting, sir." Photon and Demeter watched quietly as flashing lights and sirens approached. "So that's it," Jon murmurred, feeling numb. He wasn't sure just which of many possible things he was referring to. [Also note that I will shortly be putting up files on P.S.I. and the Doctor. I'll link soon.] [/QUOTE]
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Life and Light: Shadow-Force Reborn (Updated May 8, 2019)
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