Floating in the vaccuum of space, a single sattelite drifted far off course with the instruments inside still feebly registering the various flashes of light or motion as it continued it's endless voyage through the galaxy.
A flicker of light began to be registered on the monitors prompting the machines to begin ticking at the approach. As it got closer they began to accelerate, soon hitting the top end of the scale before finally skittering and breaking from the energy being emitted by the anomaly.
The light streaked past the sattelite and continued it's journey to the sattelite's planet of origin.
- - - Episode 1: Symbiosis - - -
The clatter of hob-nail boots over the ruined remains of the city echoed through the still air, as the small group of humans collected in a relatively hidden position behind a ruined church. Their leader took a moment to glance up at the sky and try to guess what moment of the cycle they were on.
It was pointless as always, the air was filled with the same dark clouds as it always was but some hidden part of his mind still made him think he should look. Cursing to himself, he slipped back into their hiding place to check on his companions.
Two women and one other man, one of the woman had bleached blonde hair and was carrying the majority of the food supplies they'd managed to find. The other was sitting and catching her breath while she tweaked her handgun. It wasn't one of the new models they'd managed to obtain, but it was effective against converts.
Absent-mindedly touching the strange pistol shaped weapon he had strapped to his hip, the leader began to wonder whether humanity ever stood a chance of getting back to normal. Whatever that was. He'd been born under this blackened sky and couldn't imagine the sunlight the elders talked about.
"Alright guys," he said finally "We need to get going again, we're nearly home. Just need to get to Sub-1 and we can get to Stronghold. Nat, you take point, Laura's with me and Tommy can bring up the rear"
There was a noticable sigh of relief from Laura and a slightly hurt nod of acquiescence from Tommy. There was tension in the group that he planned to try and resolve, but talking with Laura came first.
"We got it Jason" Nat smiled, her blonde hair waving in the slight breeze as she poked her head free. Seeing the route was clear she signalled the others up and they began their long trek to safety through the dusky remains of Earth.
\-/-\-/
Walking through the ruins of a park, Jason took the time to ask Laura some of the questions he thought she might have an easier time answering than Tommy.
"So, what's the problem with you and Tommy?" He asked, subtlety wasn't his strong suit (and was most definitely not why he was leader of a scavenge team)
"Problem? Who says there's a problem?" Laura replied airily, looking for possible snipers as Nat carefully navigated a still mostly intact statue that had fallen to obstruct their path. Jason gave her one of his patented 'tell the truth' looks and smiled as she sighed, clearly about to spill the beans
"Alright, look, he said that he was in love with me. I mean, talk about inappropriate! We're living in a barren wasteland and he's talking about love! I told him to get lost but he's not even angry, he's just still... LIKING me. It's annoying" She huffed
Jason laughed, covering his eyes with the palm of his hand to hide the tears of laughter"Wait, wait, you're angry because he loves you? Ahhh, thanks Laura. It's good to know you two are keeping the human spirit alive" upon seeing the confusion on her face he added "Maybe you should consider how you feel before rejecting him?"
Jason walked on a ways with a dumb-struck Laura behind him, he shouted over his shoulder "You doing alright, Tommy?"
Tommy nodded his reply, a little shyly (the guy's biggest problem as far as Jason could see) and held a finger to his lips. Jason's face blanched, he recognised the symbol. It was pretty innocuous for most people, it meant 'be quiet'. But for scavenge teams it meant something else.
'They're listening'
Jason walked as casually as he could up to Nat and gave her the same signal. She too looked terrified, realising they couldn't use Sub-1 any more, she made an abrupt right turn and lead the party into the basement of a destroyed home through a small 3 foot high window.
As Tommy slipped through, Jason began re-loading his pistol as quietly as he could
"Alright team," Jason started "We need to try and take care of this-"
There was a sudden rush of air and a scorching in the air. The whole region seemed filled with an indescribable light, a strange sound filled the atmosphere it sounded like radio static being assembled into mangled words. The whole team was dropped to their knees as the sound assailed them, threatening to knock them unconscious.
Then, with no warning, it ended. Silence reigned once more.
Cautiously, Jason looked outside to see a strange metallic chamber being erected directly across from Sub-1. It was only converts working on it, but they weren't there a second ago. Tommy whispered to Jason
"They were the ones I saw watching us" his eyes flitting upwards to examine the chamber as well as the people working on it. The black and purple uniforms were tight across their chests and the prominent veins of the implants under their skin were repugnant in the dim light.
The converts were focused on their task, seeing their chance, Jason had to make a decision quickly. Wait until they leave naturally, risking exposure. Or try and attempt a run. If they made the run, they'd all be safe. Sub-1 was a modified elevator leading directly to Stronghold and as long as the converts didn't see it, they'd be fine.
But if they saw... that'd be the end of everything.
Jason chewed his lip, he had to make a decision soon. He saw Nat looking furtively at the entrance, Laura looking to him for his choice and Tommy... looking at Laura. Whatever else happened, he decided, those two kids were getting home.
"Alright, we're going over" Jason finally announced. His companions nodded and as one, they crept out of the basement. A minimal line of cover existed, made of concrete. From here, it was clear the chamber was made of a very thin metal. The converts were shaping it with their bare-hands. While they were strong, they couldn't bend steel. A strange dial seemed to be indicating something to their leader as he kept checking it.
Sneaking past, the team managed to reach the entrance to Sub-1, when it happened.
Nat stepped on a rock she hadn't seen and accidentally kicked it out, bouncing down the steps. The steady tap, tap, tap of the stone falling down the stairs was like an alarm clock to the converts. The leader's jaw opened as sounds flew out resembling words
"TERR-UR-ISHTS" it proclaimed as the converts grabbed for their weapons.
"Run!" Jason bellowed, as they began sprinting down the steps. They reached the lift, Nat diving in first, followed by Laura and then Jason. As he reached the back he suddenly saw the doors slam shut.
Bewildered, he looked up to see... Tommy. Standing with his hand pressed on the close button. Their eyes met and the message was conveyed.
The converts could not find Stronghold.
Tommy hefted his own pistol and began firing, Jason screamed at him to open the doors, Nat frantically tried to rewire the panels before the elevator left and Laura could only watch...
The weapons fired bolts of purple lightning, they scorched the lift but did no damage to the pyrex doors as Tommy retaliated. He got nearly all of them, a stray shot demolishing the chamber the converts had built but it wasn't enough.
A blast struck his stomach and he doubled over immediately, blood spilling through his fingers as he clutched at the hole where his midsection had been. To the horrified eyes of his friends, he raised his pistol one last time and hit the final convert square in the forehead. Sub-1 was safe. Laura was safe.
Tommy fell slowly, his friends got to see him hit the ground for only a few seconds before the lift launched. Rocketting downwards, to Stronghold. Jason pounded on the elevator, screamed at Tommy for being an idiot. Nat sobbed quietly in a corned while Laura said... nothing.
The lift halted, as the trio exited. The food they had found, that had seemed so precious moments before, seemed useless now.
Tommy was gone.
They quietly dispersed, each heading to their own quarters to grieve. For the dear friend they had lost.
\-/-\-/
It was 2 days later, while Jason was training in the gym that they heard the news. A survivor had been found, lying unconscious in the street. With a distinct lack of interest, Jason still went to greet the new guy.
He'd done the same thing for Tommy only a year ago.
As he walked through the crowd he noticed something odd, some people at the front were arguing intensely. One of them was Nat, who looked about ready to kill someone. Weaving through the crowd, he reached the commotion and saw why she was so upset.
It was Tommy.
Gritting his own teeth, and determined not to do anything drastic he got ready to chew out the insensitive prick that had brought Tommy's Corpse down as a survivor when he was pre-empted by Nat.
"We saw him, DIE! Dragging his corpse down here is disrespectful in the extreme!"
"Thats what I'm telling you, you crazy broad!" The team leader was shouting, his face generally expressing a mix of shock and insult "He isn't dead! Check his pulse! He's even got a whole stomach! He can't be your friend!"
But Jason saw clearer. It was him. It was Tommy lying in a soldiers arms. The slow rhythmic breathing of his chest showed he was alive, but how could that be possible? He'd had his stomach destroyed, that was fatal. Had 'they' repaired him? If so... was he even Tommy any more?
\-/-\-/
Name: Thomas Starr
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Status: K.I.A
Family: None
Religion: None
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Character Summary: Quiet, observant, good for scavenging duties as a result.
Despite not saying much seems to observe great deal.
Cares for Stronghold greatly. Recomended for Scavenger role.
Conversion risk: 6%
Final Report: Died from Nega-Bolt shot direct to abdomen, believed to have died in minutes. Witnessed by Jason Gabel, Natalia Deaver and Laura Hawke. Picture added to memorial wall.
\-/-\-/
His eyes slowly opened to the dull light of a hospital room. Sitting up in bed, he felt...strange. He looked down and saw arms... hands. He examined them curiously, experimentally bending his fingers. Gingerly, he tugged aside the pale green sheets that were restraining him and wandered over to a mirror.
He poked and prodded his face, the green-brown eyes, the mess of hair and a spatter of freckles. It was a face alright. Shuffling over to the door, he raised a hand and watched as it was withdrawn and saw a woman opposite him.
Black hair, short cut, blue eyes, she looked different from him. But pleasing in some way he didn't fully understand but was wise enough not to ignore.
How should he react?
The question was taken out of his hands as she threw her arms around him and began crying into his chest (which he noticed was covered by a greenish thing that actually WASN'T part of his body) sobbing the same words over and over again
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Laura cried, her tears streaming down her cheeks, relief and regret surging out at once as she saw that Tommy was alive, he hadn't been killed as she'd thought.
And the man with this girl crying into his chest thought simply
"Oh no... She doesn't know he's dead"
Raising her eyes, puffy with tears Laura looked into his eyes and saw... pity? She withdrew slightly and looked at him
"Tommy? What's wrong, you look strange"
Panicking, the man tried his best to simulate an emotion "Oh, I'm fine! I just... my memories hazy, I can't remember anything... do you know where I am?" Thinking he'd been successful, he was deeply concerned when he saw her face suddenly look distraught.
Laura couldn't believe it, his memory was gone? Did that mean that Tommy was gone after all but his body was still walking around? Oh no, that was too cruel that was...
"I'm sorry, I-I have to go" Laura choked out, turning and dashing from the room. The man watched after her, sadly.
"I'm sorry," he thought "He must have loved you very much". Taking a moment to assess his surroundings, he made sure that he still had the items he needed. A silver wristband that resembled a high-tech watch and a thin device with a press-down top. Slipping the band around his wrist, he found the clothes he'd been left and tried them on.
He looked better in the clothes. Dirty red T-shirt, loose black jeans. He felt like he was getting to know the man who's body he'd stolen. Sighing, he gathered his things and got ready to leave.
\-/-\-/
Jason was filled with turbulent emotions. On the one hand, he wanted Tommy to be alive but on the other, if he'd been converted, he'd have to be put down for his own good. But he didn't look like he'd been modified, could he still be human? Jason's thoughts trailed off as he saw Laura crying outside the hospital.
He hadn't seen her since Tommy's death and her reaction didn't seem promising. Jogging over he rested a hand on her shoulder immediately
"Laura, what's wrong?" he asked, his own paranoia making him fear the worst. Through wracked sobs, Laura managed to get out
"Tommy... he lost his memory" her tears kept falling as Jason tried to work out if that was good or bad news. She was clearly unharmed (well, physically, mentally she was devestated) but did that mean he wasn't converted.
While he was thinking this, Jason caught a glint out of the corner of his eye and reflexive dived. Luckily, this was the right thing to do as a streak of purple plasma zipped over head and burnt through one of the metal sheets that made up the hospital walls.
He heard the heavy even tread of soldiers and glanced up to see a grand total of Ten converted standing in front of him. That was impossible! How did they get in here without triggering any alarms? How'd they even find this place? Were they here for Tommy?
Jason wasted no time getting to his feet, he was unarmed but that wasn't about to stop him. He immediately leapt forward, lashing out with a kick slamming one of them square in the head but not hard enough to knock them out.
With fingers like a vice, the converted member he'd hit grabbed Jason's leg and hurled him away. He hit the ground hard, bouncing once before rolling to a stop. The remaining members advanced on Laura who was still trying to supress her tears enough to fight back.
Jason tried to reach towards Laura, straining with his hand despite the incredible distance. But the pain was too much, his vision blurred as he fell into unconsciousness. The converted who was closest to Laura grabbed her idly by the neck as she tried to jab him in the eyes and began to squeeze. He opened his mouth and a pre-recorded voice echoed out, that of a charming old man, and began to ask her questions
"Now tell me, sweetheart. Where is the Ultaran?"
"The what?" Laura asked, confusion and grief mingling as one as she tried to focus through her surging feelings.
"The Ultaran, sweetheart. Come now, you can tell me. I sound trustworthy, don't I?"
"I... I don't know" Laura sobbed "Why is this happening? We just got Tommy back, and now we're going to die"
"Tommy, you say?" The converted holding her tightened his grip, his face remaining expressionless "Thanks doll-face, I hope the afterlife's more pleasent" Laura could see spots appearing on her vision as her oxygen supply was cut, she gasped for breath as she too began to slip into unconciousness.
"Let her go!"
Laura felt herself falling, her eyes slipping over to one side she saw a blurred figure standing by the hospital's entrance and she tried in her rasping voice to say his name. She couldn't manage it as she joined Jason by blacking out.
The converted were happy at least. They'd found the Ultaran
"So good of you to show up, sport"
\-/-\-/
As they converged onto him, the man held a hand up, his brown hair fluttering in front of his eyes as he looked the converted in front of him dead in the face
"How many humans did you kill on your way here?"
"You gotta ask? Fine, we eliminated SEVEN humans" the voice switched to a digitial style for the number.
"Ahh. That's bad for you. Two reasons. First one, it means no-one's here for me to worry about scaring and making my job harder and two... you gave me a lot of motivation"
Swinging his hands up, he slammed his right palm onto the large flat face of the wristband and caused a small spark of orange to burst forth before his whole body began to glow. With a sudden explosion of incandescent light, his body reformed.
A red body with silver and blue armour mingled in, a silver helmet with two ridges along the fore-head and four along the cheeks. Luminous glowing eyes. A blue glow on his chest
The converted recognised the figure standing before them, but were baffled by his loss of stature.
"Hey, buddy, I thought your kind was 100 feet tall or something?"
"Oh? Well, I can see why that's more well known. After all, EVERYONE sees us fight the giant monsters" There was a flash of light and a loud crash, the converted's leader looked around and saw one of his followers imbedded into the ground, oil spilling from his damaged joints
"People don't always see us when we don't"
With a gargled war-cry, the converted began to attack. With a flash of light, the Ultaran vanished again, re-appearing suddenly with a sweeping kick, the converted he hit were thrown into the hospital's steel walls and ricochetted with the force, stains of oil showing the severe damage they suffered.
Striking from behind, one of the converted was surprised to be blocked and even more surprised to find himself being thrown head-first into the ground by a hip-toss, directly in front of two of his allies. Without even a second to react, they too were struck by palm strikes from the mysterious warrior.
Oil burst from their backs as the damage tore through them internally, they were under-prepared. As one of them succumbed to his injuries it announced
"Change tactics. Ranged. Victims"
The remaining converted raised their weapons and began firing at Jason and Laura. The man that was using Tommy's shape threw up both hands and a sparkle of orange light suddenly formed in front of both humans absorbing the Nega-Bolt energies easily. Turning to attack him again, they were in time to see the figure with his right arm rised vertically and his left off to one side
"Spacium Ray!" Bringing his right arm down, and left across to meet up, the silver-helmetted man unleashed a blast of energy. The laser obliterated the remaining converts as it sweeped across them, finally scorching the lower legs off of the former leader who squawked in discomfort as he collapsed to the floor.
Walking over, the Ultaran held his hand over the final converted as a small halo of energy floated around his hand
"How'd you get so powerful? We had you in that cage!"
"Because, I'm not just the Ultaran. I combined with this human to make a new life-form. We are, Ultraman!" The energy ring blasted what remained of the converted as the blue indicator on his chest began to blip red and flash.
"Uh-oh" Ultraman murmured as his body glowed once more "Might have bitten off more than I can chew..." the world went dark around him as he collapsed to the floor, the strain of battle showing. As he drifted off to sleep he wondered again if there were anyway to regain this body's memories...
So, that's the first chapter