TheDayKnight
First Post
The Unbelievable Oddsquad #1: Days of Black Earth
In the lush jungles of Aeonia Abscissa, a temple-palace rises from the canopy like a gilded warrior. She stands on balcony, surveying her realm. Two hands rest on her hips and her other two arms are folded under her breast. Thick black hair frames her face and spills down her muscled back. It is adorned with small ivory skulls. She is Kali and she is discontented.
“Long have I lived with no mate worthy of me,” she grumbles to the landscape, “My children are frail and worthless. But I have found one who shall provide me with mighty children. I have found the one being in all of the Omniverse who wields the power to possess me. For him alone, I am willing to break the Godspact. For him alone, I will to brave the wrath of every pantheon here in Aeonia Abscissa. He is Omega, Lord of Entropy, Avatar of Terminus the Living Dimension! And I shall present with a wedding gift worthy of his greatness!”
From the shadows of the palace, a winged tiger-man steps forth. A bejeweled turban covers his head and a golden belt girds his loins. “The breach is nearly complete, Mother.” Rakshasa purrs. “Danuvas and the Naga have assembled a legion of Laughing Demons. We are ready for your command.”
A smile tugs at the corner of Kali’s mouth, “Good child. We will soon meet your new father.”
*
Anthony Kind looks up from his laptop at the actors waiting patiently. Anthony has meticulously added the explosions to the newest scene of “Trouble in Shangri-La”. He is proud of his work as one of New Horizon Media’s top FX men.
“You are needed at Wading Way.”
Anthony looks around. No one appears to have spoken to him.
“The situation is most urgent, Fractal. Your help will be needed in this dire time.”
The voice echoed in his head. Whoever had contacted him knew Fractal’s secret identity! He would get to the bottom of this immediately. Anthony waves to the film’s director and motions that he is leaving. Sam Raimi waves back and nods.
*
Molasses lounges on a thick sofa. His feet are propped up on an exquisite coffee table. The faces on the wall-mounted computer screen haunt him: The Fourth Estate, Leatherette, and Vegas. Weeks ago, The original Oddsquad had been transported to another planet by a malfunctioning portal. They had fought their way through a crew of Nullbots, traveled across the planet Void, and dove through a return portal. But only Molasses had returned. (These events are partially chronicled in The Unbelievable Oddsquad limited series – your faithful editor).
Dr. David Crispin sits in his human form and broods. Why is he the only one to have returned? Where had the rest of the Oddsquad gone? Searches have turned up nothing. Even Adam Odd cannot locate the rest of the team. There is a small cough behind him. Startled, Dr. Crispin jumps from the couch and assumes his tarry Molasses form.
“Hello, Dr. Crispin. Welcome, Eothovox,” Adam Odd greets both Molasses and the spirit of the tar pit that lurks within the corner of David Crispin’s mind. “I still bear no news concerning your comrades. But your help is once again needed, Molasses. Please meet me in the foyer. I will explain everything there and introduce you to a new teammate.”
The First Man disappears before the Man of Tar can even speak.
*
He wakes up slowly, rubbing the crust from his eyes. His head throbs with a vice-like ache. The room offers little light and nothing in the way of furniture.
“Where am I? God! What has happened?” he clutches his head, “ohhh…I need to lie back down.”
A bed made of a deep violet goop appears from thin air. He looks in puzzlement, but thinking makes his head hurt worse. The main lies down on the bed, pressing at the ache behind his eyes. In less than a minute, the headache disappears completely. He rises from the bed to begin exploring his dim room. With a small “voomp” the bed disappears.
“What the…” Anger swiftly fills him, “WHOEVER is playing games here had better stop!”
There is no reply, only silence.
“At least you could give me a chair!”
The man feels a small tingle in his forehead and a purplish chair materializes before him. He examines the chair. It is made of the same weird substance as the bed.
“Did I make that?” he thinks, “Well, if I did, then maybe I can make it…”
Before his thought is finished, the chair winks into nothingness.
“I made that stuff! What’s going on here?!? I’m… uh…” The man stops in his tracks, he can remember nothing except for his name: The Colloidian.
“I cannot explain who you are or why you are here.” A voice rang in The Colloidian’s head.
A tall man of regal bearing steps from the darkness into the room. “I am Adam Odd, known to some as the First Man. In answer to the many questions you have, I know only that you mysteriously appeared in this room three days ago. You have been in a coma-like slumber ever since. Your mind offers no clues either… only that you are called The Colloidian and have a heroic heart.
“I have an offer for you, sir. Great danger threatens this world. If you agree to help, I will do all that I can to aid you regain your past.”
The Colloidian shrugs, “Sure. If the world blows-up, what chance do I have of finding out who I am?”
*
In the foyer, Adam Odd gestured towards the man of tar, “Colloidian, this is Molasses… a founding member of the Oddsquad.”
Molasses nodded at the amnesiac.
Adam Odd announced, “There is danger that threatens our world.”
“There won’t be anymore portals, will there?” the tar hero interrupted.
“Not a portal so much as a dimensional breach.”
“I am really beginning to hate portals, rifts, breaches…”
The First Man continues, “Kali, the Black Earth Mother, goddess of destruction, has broken the GodsPact. Long ago, the gods of the world merged their realms into the dimension now known as Aeonia Abscissa. They left Earth for good, making a Pact that none would ever return. But now Kali returns. As to why… I have been unable to discern.
“She must be stopped. She must be defeated and cast back into Aeonia Abscissa. Since only Molasses has returned from the planet Void, I am assembling a new Oddsquad.”
Molasses looks relieved. He didn’t relish the idea of fighting a Demon Goddess in single combat.
“Colloidian. Molasses. Go to Wading Way. Kali will emerge there. I have also sent the other member of the new Oddsquad to meet you there. His name is Fractal.”
“Portals,” Molasses muttered, “Why does it always have to be portals.”
Adam Odd sighed, “I have never met another archaeologist with such a dislike of gateways…”
*
Wading Way is filled with stoic businessmen, honking taxis, and towering skyscrapers. The street runs along the Wading River. A few boats move lazily on the water. Fractal steps out of his car. He is wearing his metallic blue outfit and a pair of reflective blue goggle rest over his eyes. Near the Skyline Plaza stands a man, black as night, seemingly made of tar. Next to him, stands a man in a violet suit with green wristbands. A green strip runs from his wrist to his shoulder. A purple domino mask outlines his eyes. They HAVE to be the heroes Fractal is to meet.
The tar man notices him and waves, “You must be Fractal. Welcome to the Oddsquad.”
Suddenly, an oppressive feeling washes over the financial district of Freedom City. Quiet fills the air and pedestrians nervously glance over their shoulders.
“Here it comes,” Molasses winces.
Fractal looks to the side of a bus that advertises an upcoming jazz festival in Liberty Park. With a quick beckoning gesture, the images leave the bus and begin to circle around the hero, forming a sturdy force field. He then points at a huge billboard picturing the renowned Freedom League. The image of Captain Thunder flies down to stand at Fractal’s side. A few bystanders oh and ah at the appearance of such a well-loved hero.
Molasses stretches his arms upward, grabbing the walls of the Skyline Plaza. His tarry hands stick to the side of the building and then the rest of his body follows. The Man of Tar surveys his surroundings forty feet above the pavement. The Colloidian wanders toward the river. It seems as if the blanket of dread originates somewhere over the Wading River. He looks into the sky.
And it appears, the image of a bone-white skull. It grows into an immense sight, filling the air above the river. Its mouth opens and a slash of strobing light appears within. Then a figure emerges from the skull’s mouth. It is a woman with skin as rich and dark as coffee. Her lustrous hair is blacker than midnight and she has eyes to match. A row of ivory skulls pins her hair from her face. She is dressed in a two-piece of gold and diamonds. Her four arms end in nailed hands that tremble with deadly eagerness.
Her voice booms with the might of a thunderstorm, “Tremble, mortals of Earth! Kali has returned! Find those that you love and love them for the last days of the world are upon you! I shall bring Omega, Avatar of Terminus, to this place and present it as a bridal gift!”
With this announcement, she vanishes from sight. The maw of the ghostly cranium widens yet again. Chittering, Laughing Demons vomit forth. Like the tide, they surge from the waters of the Wading River. Then the demonic captains arrive, The Children of Kali. Danuvas the Giant stands calf deep in the river. His three eyes glower at the puny mortals. A snake-woman slides into the murky water. The Naga’s forked tongue tastes the delicious flesh of human in the air. Lastly, born on wings of white, tinged with the dried blood of his prey, comes Rakshasa.
And so begins the battle. The tiger man swoops over to confront Molasses, high above the rest of the melee. The Laughing Demons leap into the fray like spastic frogs. The Naga slithers from the water and catches the gaze of Molasses.
Her body sways in a hypnotizing serpent-dance, “Obey me.”
But Molasses shakes off the mind control. The Colloidian creates and hurls purple bricks made of his iron-hard gel. Two Laughing Demons fall to the ground. They fade away, banished back to Aeonia Abscissa. The image of Captain Thunder hurls lightning at Danuvas. Fractal spies a Marine recruiting posters and pulls forth a squadron of soldiers. Danuvas charges Captain Thunder and with a mighty haymaker, shatters the image into a thousand rainbow slivers.
An uneasy gasp escapes from the brave onlookers.
Molasses’ arms stretch towards the ground, grabbing a demon and hauling it into the air. The bloodthirsty Rakshasa dive-bombs the man of tar. Molasses reels at the attack and loses his grip on the demon. Its scaly hide protects it from the fall. The demon brethren again surge forward, a wave of fangs and claws. Most of the Marines fall to the demon’s attacks. The Naga again attempts to charm Molasses with her gaze. Again, it is to no avail. The Colloidian fights his way back from the edge of the Wading River towards the Skyline Plaza. More demons fall to his quick attacks. Fractal summons a fire from an anti-smoking add and blasts Danuvas with it. The Giant laughs at the feeble flames. He turns and smashes The Colloidian under his hand.
Molasses and Rakshasa continue to face off. The Naga approaches Fractal and breathes a poisonous gas into his face. The weakened hero backs away and with his powers of image-control, rips the face from a thirty-foot tall billboard model. The face wraps around the Naga, blocking her gaze and squeezing the breath from her. The Collodian continues his attacks on the Laughing Demons, all the while fending off the hammering blows of Danuvas.
Fractal decides to bring in the Marine’s heavy artillery. A tank appears on Wading Way, followed by a pair of Harriers. The Collodian and jets turn their attention to Danuvas. Much of the battle begins to spill into the Plaza itself. Molasses and Rakshasa still trade blows. But with the appearance of the Marine army, the Children of Kali turn their attention to the master of the solid images. Fractal is battered under a unified assault and loses his focus. The suffocating face, the tanks, and harassing Harriers all disappear back into their respective pictures. Fractal leaves the heat of battle after again being poisoned by The Naga. He summons a Marine into the middle of the conflict.
“Suicide Marine!” Fractal yells.
With widened eyes, Molasses stretches himself to the ceiling of the Skyline Plaza. The Collodian bravely stands his ground with full confidence that his regeneration will protect him. The Marine pulls the pin on his grenade and a roiling ball of flames engulfs the ground floor of the building. Burnt and battered, The Collodian still manages to hurl a spiked ball of purple goop at the staggering giant. With a groan, Danuvas falls to the ground. Like the Laughing Demons before him, he disappears back to Aeonia Abscissa. With a snarl, Rakshasa grabs The Naga and speeds into the sky.
A silence falls upon Wading Way. Even the sirens in the background seem hushed for a moment. And then a cheer of victory bursts forth.
In the lush jungles of Aeonia Abscissa, a temple-palace rises from the canopy like a gilded warrior. She stands on balcony, surveying her realm. Two hands rest on her hips and her other two arms are folded under her breast. Thick black hair frames her face and spills down her muscled back. It is adorned with small ivory skulls. She is Kali and she is discontented.
“Long have I lived with no mate worthy of me,” she grumbles to the landscape, “My children are frail and worthless. But I have found one who shall provide me with mighty children. I have found the one being in all of the Omniverse who wields the power to possess me. For him alone, I am willing to break the Godspact. For him alone, I will to brave the wrath of every pantheon here in Aeonia Abscissa. He is Omega, Lord of Entropy, Avatar of Terminus the Living Dimension! And I shall present with a wedding gift worthy of his greatness!”
From the shadows of the palace, a winged tiger-man steps forth. A bejeweled turban covers his head and a golden belt girds his loins. “The breach is nearly complete, Mother.” Rakshasa purrs. “Danuvas and the Naga have assembled a legion of Laughing Demons. We are ready for your command.”
A smile tugs at the corner of Kali’s mouth, “Good child. We will soon meet your new father.”
*
Anthony Kind looks up from his laptop at the actors waiting patiently. Anthony has meticulously added the explosions to the newest scene of “Trouble in Shangri-La”. He is proud of his work as one of New Horizon Media’s top FX men.
“You are needed at Wading Way.”
Anthony looks around. No one appears to have spoken to him.
“The situation is most urgent, Fractal. Your help will be needed in this dire time.”
The voice echoed in his head. Whoever had contacted him knew Fractal’s secret identity! He would get to the bottom of this immediately. Anthony waves to the film’s director and motions that he is leaving. Sam Raimi waves back and nods.
*
Molasses lounges on a thick sofa. His feet are propped up on an exquisite coffee table. The faces on the wall-mounted computer screen haunt him: The Fourth Estate, Leatherette, and Vegas. Weeks ago, The original Oddsquad had been transported to another planet by a malfunctioning portal. They had fought their way through a crew of Nullbots, traveled across the planet Void, and dove through a return portal. But only Molasses had returned. (These events are partially chronicled in The Unbelievable Oddsquad limited series – your faithful editor).
Dr. David Crispin sits in his human form and broods. Why is he the only one to have returned? Where had the rest of the Oddsquad gone? Searches have turned up nothing. Even Adam Odd cannot locate the rest of the team. There is a small cough behind him. Startled, Dr. Crispin jumps from the couch and assumes his tarry Molasses form.
“Hello, Dr. Crispin. Welcome, Eothovox,” Adam Odd greets both Molasses and the spirit of the tar pit that lurks within the corner of David Crispin’s mind. “I still bear no news concerning your comrades. But your help is once again needed, Molasses. Please meet me in the foyer. I will explain everything there and introduce you to a new teammate.”
The First Man disappears before the Man of Tar can even speak.
*
He wakes up slowly, rubbing the crust from his eyes. His head throbs with a vice-like ache. The room offers little light and nothing in the way of furniture.
“Where am I? God! What has happened?” he clutches his head, “ohhh…I need to lie back down.”
A bed made of a deep violet goop appears from thin air. He looks in puzzlement, but thinking makes his head hurt worse. The main lies down on the bed, pressing at the ache behind his eyes. In less than a minute, the headache disappears completely. He rises from the bed to begin exploring his dim room. With a small “voomp” the bed disappears.
“What the…” Anger swiftly fills him, “WHOEVER is playing games here had better stop!”
There is no reply, only silence.
“At least you could give me a chair!”
The man feels a small tingle in his forehead and a purplish chair materializes before him. He examines the chair. It is made of the same weird substance as the bed.
“Did I make that?” he thinks, “Well, if I did, then maybe I can make it…”
Before his thought is finished, the chair winks into nothingness.
“I made that stuff! What’s going on here?!? I’m… uh…” The man stops in his tracks, he can remember nothing except for his name: The Colloidian.
“I cannot explain who you are or why you are here.” A voice rang in The Colloidian’s head.
A tall man of regal bearing steps from the darkness into the room. “I am Adam Odd, known to some as the First Man. In answer to the many questions you have, I know only that you mysteriously appeared in this room three days ago. You have been in a coma-like slumber ever since. Your mind offers no clues either… only that you are called The Colloidian and have a heroic heart.
“I have an offer for you, sir. Great danger threatens this world. If you agree to help, I will do all that I can to aid you regain your past.”
The Colloidian shrugs, “Sure. If the world blows-up, what chance do I have of finding out who I am?”
*
In the foyer, Adam Odd gestured towards the man of tar, “Colloidian, this is Molasses… a founding member of the Oddsquad.”
Molasses nodded at the amnesiac.
Adam Odd announced, “There is danger that threatens our world.”
“There won’t be anymore portals, will there?” the tar hero interrupted.
“Not a portal so much as a dimensional breach.”
“I am really beginning to hate portals, rifts, breaches…”
The First Man continues, “Kali, the Black Earth Mother, goddess of destruction, has broken the GodsPact. Long ago, the gods of the world merged their realms into the dimension now known as Aeonia Abscissa. They left Earth for good, making a Pact that none would ever return. But now Kali returns. As to why… I have been unable to discern.
“She must be stopped. She must be defeated and cast back into Aeonia Abscissa. Since only Molasses has returned from the planet Void, I am assembling a new Oddsquad.”
Molasses looks relieved. He didn’t relish the idea of fighting a Demon Goddess in single combat.
“Colloidian. Molasses. Go to Wading Way. Kali will emerge there. I have also sent the other member of the new Oddsquad to meet you there. His name is Fractal.”
“Portals,” Molasses muttered, “Why does it always have to be portals.”
Adam Odd sighed, “I have never met another archaeologist with such a dislike of gateways…”
*
Wading Way is filled with stoic businessmen, honking taxis, and towering skyscrapers. The street runs along the Wading River. A few boats move lazily on the water. Fractal steps out of his car. He is wearing his metallic blue outfit and a pair of reflective blue goggle rest over his eyes. Near the Skyline Plaza stands a man, black as night, seemingly made of tar. Next to him, stands a man in a violet suit with green wristbands. A green strip runs from his wrist to his shoulder. A purple domino mask outlines his eyes. They HAVE to be the heroes Fractal is to meet.
The tar man notices him and waves, “You must be Fractal. Welcome to the Oddsquad.”
Suddenly, an oppressive feeling washes over the financial district of Freedom City. Quiet fills the air and pedestrians nervously glance over their shoulders.
“Here it comes,” Molasses winces.
Fractal looks to the side of a bus that advertises an upcoming jazz festival in Liberty Park. With a quick beckoning gesture, the images leave the bus and begin to circle around the hero, forming a sturdy force field. He then points at a huge billboard picturing the renowned Freedom League. The image of Captain Thunder flies down to stand at Fractal’s side. A few bystanders oh and ah at the appearance of such a well-loved hero.
Molasses stretches his arms upward, grabbing the walls of the Skyline Plaza. His tarry hands stick to the side of the building and then the rest of his body follows. The Man of Tar surveys his surroundings forty feet above the pavement. The Colloidian wanders toward the river. It seems as if the blanket of dread originates somewhere over the Wading River. He looks into the sky.
And it appears, the image of a bone-white skull. It grows into an immense sight, filling the air above the river. Its mouth opens and a slash of strobing light appears within. Then a figure emerges from the skull’s mouth. It is a woman with skin as rich and dark as coffee. Her lustrous hair is blacker than midnight and she has eyes to match. A row of ivory skulls pins her hair from her face. She is dressed in a two-piece of gold and diamonds. Her four arms end in nailed hands that tremble with deadly eagerness.
Her voice booms with the might of a thunderstorm, “Tremble, mortals of Earth! Kali has returned! Find those that you love and love them for the last days of the world are upon you! I shall bring Omega, Avatar of Terminus, to this place and present it as a bridal gift!”
With this announcement, she vanishes from sight. The maw of the ghostly cranium widens yet again. Chittering, Laughing Demons vomit forth. Like the tide, they surge from the waters of the Wading River. Then the demonic captains arrive, The Children of Kali. Danuvas the Giant stands calf deep in the river. His three eyes glower at the puny mortals. A snake-woman slides into the murky water. The Naga’s forked tongue tastes the delicious flesh of human in the air. Lastly, born on wings of white, tinged with the dried blood of his prey, comes Rakshasa.
And so begins the battle. The tiger man swoops over to confront Molasses, high above the rest of the melee. The Laughing Demons leap into the fray like spastic frogs. The Naga slithers from the water and catches the gaze of Molasses.
Her body sways in a hypnotizing serpent-dance, “Obey me.”
But Molasses shakes off the mind control. The Colloidian creates and hurls purple bricks made of his iron-hard gel. Two Laughing Demons fall to the ground. They fade away, banished back to Aeonia Abscissa. The image of Captain Thunder hurls lightning at Danuvas. Fractal spies a Marine recruiting posters and pulls forth a squadron of soldiers. Danuvas charges Captain Thunder and with a mighty haymaker, shatters the image into a thousand rainbow slivers.
An uneasy gasp escapes from the brave onlookers.
Molasses’ arms stretch towards the ground, grabbing a demon and hauling it into the air. The bloodthirsty Rakshasa dive-bombs the man of tar. Molasses reels at the attack and loses his grip on the demon. Its scaly hide protects it from the fall. The demon brethren again surge forward, a wave of fangs and claws. Most of the Marines fall to the demon’s attacks. The Naga again attempts to charm Molasses with her gaze. Again, it is to no avail. The Colloidian fights his way back from the edge of the Wading River towards the Skyline Plaza. More demons fall to his quick attacks. Fractal summons a fire from an anti-smoking add and blasts Danuvas with it. The Giant laughs at the feeble flames. He turns and smashes The Colloidian under his hand.
Molasses and Rakshasa continue to face off. The Naga approaches Fractal and breathes a poisonous gas into his face. The weakened hero backs away and with his powers of image-control, rips the face from a thirty-foot tall billboard model. The face wraps around the Naga, blocking her gaze and squeezing the breath from her. The Collodian continues his attacks on the Laughing Demons, all the while fending off the hammering blows of Danuvas.
Fractal decides to bring in the Marine’s heavy artillery. A tank appears on Wading Way, followed by a pair of Harriers. The Collodian and jets turn their attention to Danuvas. Much of the battle begins to spill into the Plaza itself. Molasses and Rakshasa still trade blows. But with the appearance of the Marine army, the Children of Kali turn their attention to the master of the solid images. Fractal is battered under a unified assault and loses his focus. The suffocating face, the tanks, and harassing Harriers all disappear back into their respective pictures. Fractal leaves the heat of battle after again being poisoned by The Naga. He summons a Marine into the middle of the conflict.
“Suicide Marine!” Fractal yells.
With widened eyes, Molasses stretches himself to the ceiling of the Skyline Plaza. The Collodian bravely stands his ground with full confidence that his regeneration will protect him. The Marine pulls the pin on his grenade and a roiling ball of flames engulfs the ground floor of the building. Burnt and battered, The Collodian still manages to hurl a spiked ball of purple goop at the staggering giant. With a groan, Danuvas falls to the ground. Like the Laughing Demons before him, he disappears back to Aeonia Abscissa. With a snarl, Rakshasa grabs The Naga and speeds into the sky.
A silence falls upon Wading Way. Even the sirens in the background seem hushed for a moment. And then a cheer of victory bursts forth.
