Edward Kidman was packing his things and getting ready to head out when his beloved Zoë came up behind him and squeezed him gently.
"Where are you going?" The small woman asked as her red hair tickled his back so gently he could barely feel it through his shirt.
"We've picked up some Hazard Inc. craft movement. It looks like they're headed for the new power plant."
"I'm coming too," Zoë said earnestly.
Edward turned around and planted a hand on each of her sides. "No. You're not." He said as lovingly as he could.
"Why not?" she protested.
"Because it's dangerous," Edward said. "Those guys have no respect for any kind of life. I don't want them anywhere near the light of mine."
"Says the guy taking on an evil organization with a pointy metal stick." Zoë persisted.
"Sword." Edward said matter-of-factly. His battles against the rapidly advancing Hazard Inc. required that he owned a weapon of some sort. This thing was little more than a showcase item he bought at a flea market, but in a pinch it worked better than a pair of fists. "And I've trained with it." He continued. "I know how to use it. What weapons have you mastered?"
Zoë inhaled audibly to show her indignance.
"I'm sorry." Edward softened. "I didn't mean it like that. I just mean to say that I can take whatever they throw at me and you… well, I want you to stay here where it's safe."
"Because I'm a woman?" Zoë snarked.
"Because you're precious to me." Edward corrected.
"I get it." Zoë admitted. "You're worried about me. But what if I'm worried about you?"
"You needn't be," Edward comforted. "I know what I'm doing. Besides, I've got Allan and Vicky with their superpowers to help out. We'll be fine. Just stay home and keep my heart safe, Okay?"
The couple embraced.
"Okay," Zoë said. "Just promise me you'll hurry back."
Zoë waved as Allan, Edward and Vicky boarded the train. It slowly started to move off. A little too slowly, in fact: In the few seconds it took to leave the station Zoë had time to entertain the thought of stowing away on it. A thought that arrived like an uninvited guest who takes advantage of your politeness, lets themselves into your home and slowly takes over the house until you make them leave. This thought only needed a few seconds to take over and before Zoë knew what she was doing, before she could say "wait a minute, this is crazy" she found herself climbing through the backmost window of the backmost car. By the time she came to her senses it was already too late.
Edward was seated by the window, resting his head on his palm. He sighed as he gazed out over the dull yellow field as it flew by in a seemingly homogenous blur.
"Miss her already, do you?" Allan was simply stating the obvious.
"I know we left her behind for her safety and all but," he lamented "it just feels sad to be on a train to the coast and she's not sitting next to me."
"I can see how that could sting." Vicky comforted.
"All things considered," Edward continued, "despite my common sense, better judgement and all rationality, I really wish she were here right now."
Just then a pair of green eyes partially shrouded in a curtain of bright red fringe appeared in the doorway
"Aww, do you mean that?" the personification of Edward's wish come true teased.
Edward jumped out of his seat and nearly choked on nothing. "What are you doing on the train?" he almost shouted as he automatically embraced her.
"It's funny," she answered innocently. "I asked myself that very question the moment it was too late for an answer to matter."
"Reason or no," Edward conceded, "I'm glad you're here. If you're that certain you can help, who am I to tell you you're wrong?"
"Tickets, please." The conductor had poked his head through the door and the two couples froze.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir," Zoë broke the uncomfortable silence. "It looks like there's been some sort of mistake."
The conductor raised an eyebrow.
"It looks like even though we meant to buy four tickets, we ended up only getting three." She explained.
The conductor sighed, giving them the benefit of the doubt but in no mood to give anyone a free ride just because someone claims there was a mistake. "All right," he said finally. "But you'd better buy another ticket at the next station." The group promised in chorus.
"For someone so impulsive you sure are a quick thinker," Allan pointed out once they were sure the conductor had moved to the next train car. Zoë giggled.
Edward curled his arms around the subject of his adoration and gazed deep into her eyes.
"What am I gonna do with you?" He asked hopelessly.
"There's nothing you can do. You love me too much." Zoë smiled. "The real question is: what would you do without me?" Edward sighed happily.
A few hours later the train stopped at a station near the coast. With the matter of the "mistaken" ticket purchase long since resolved the conductor greeted the group with a mild 'next time be more observant' type of warning and they were off.
"Well, here we are." Allan said once they reached the site of the power plant. The security was tight since there were equal amounts of danger and valuable materials inside, and anyone who was neither a tour group nor employee had little to no chance of making it even past the first set of guards.
"If I know Hazard Inc." Edward began, "They already have a way in. Any idea where we can find one?"
"I don't think 'Excuse us, but we believe your facility might be under threat from an evil organization, mind if we poke around?' would cut it." Vicky remarked.
"I think I might see an entrance," Zoë said as she walked innocently yet sheepishly toward one of the tour guides ready to lead a group of people into the facility. "Follow me and play along."
The tour guide noticed the group of young people walking toward her and couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.
"Sorry to interrupt," Zoë said sweetly. "I couldn't help but notice you were a tour guide."
"I am. How can I help you?" she said cautiously.
"Here's the thing:" the red-haired visitor explained. "My friends and I booked a tour of this power plant online but it turned out the whole thing was a scam. Our guide should have been here hours ago and the cellphone number he gave us doesn't exist. Do you mind if we join your group instead? We'll pay full price, of course."
The woman gave the four young faces a look and was persuaded by the disappointment in their expressions. "All right." She said. You can join our group.
"Thank you so much!" Vicky said so politely she almost curtseyed.
The four friends added themselves to the back of the tour group which slowly filed into the power plant.
"Another winning improv' by Zoë Wright!" Allan applauded.
"I concede," Edward agreed. "It would have been a mistake not to bring you along."
"So I get to be on the team?" Zoë said almost bursting with glee.
"You can help us get into and out of situations, but I don't want you anywhere near a fight. If there's any danger-"
As if a spiteful genie had heard him, at the word "danger" Edward's sentence was cut short by an alarm. Without noticing it he had walked through a metal detector which picked up the sword he was carrying in his coat. Two security guards by the entrance readied themselves to grab him. Just as they were about to lunge, Allan pushed him out of the way and was seized instead. Reacting automatically, Edward embraced the momentum from Allan's push and broke into a run.
Commands were shouted and more security guards poured into the foyer. Edward ducked one and ran with everything he could. He desperately scanned the area: If he was lucky he knew exactly what to look for. Finally he spotted it: a security guard running away from him. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself as hard as he could while more guards swarmed around him. When he knew he could not avoid the next tackle he pulled out his sword and threw it at the fleeing guard. The blade left his hand just as the weight of a guard crashed down on him. It soared like a javelin and to the horror of everyone present pegged into the back of the fleeing guard.
For a moment time stood still. The victim of this seemingly senseless attack sank to one knee and rested a hand on the other. For a moment he struggled to return to his feet, then his uniform drifted limply to the ground as a dark liquid oozed from the sleeves and neck. His face turned out to be a mask and it too fell and hit the ground with a plastic rattle.
"What… was that?" the guard who tackled Edward asked in horror.
"That was the reason we snuck in here," Edward grunted under his weight. "Or at least, one of his artificially created minions."
The security guard helped Edward up and dusted off his back. "I think you'd better come up to the security office."
The four intruders were seated at a table, having each been given a warm beverage.
"Why would this organization target our power plant, out of all the power plants in the country?" the head of security asked cluelessly.
"We were hoping you could tell us." Edward said after gulping down a mouthful of coffee.
Zoë blew on her tea and sipped at it carefully. "Is there anything of particular value in this power plant? Maybe something you wouldn't want falling into the wrong hands?"
"I'm just head of security," the guard began, "So I don't know about everything that goes on behind closed doors. But because I'm head of security I know which doors are closed. I know we got a couple nerds working on some new power generation tech. It's all super hush-hush so I'm pretty sure it's something huge."
"That must be what Hazard Inc. is after. Whatever it is." Vicky concluded.
"Can you take us to see one of these 'nerds'?" Edward requested.
"This new technology we're working on is really quite something," the power plant's head of research and development bragged. "I can understand why someone would want to steal it."
"What exactly does it do?" Edward enquired.
"I'm not allowed to say." The white-coated employee answered automatically, "But it could change the future of power generation forever."
"Hazard Inc. could certainly do with some more electrical power under their belt," Allan remarked. "I think it's safe to say you could use our help."
"Forgive me for asking," the scientist began, "But how exactly do you plan on assisting us?"
"We possess some special skills," Vicky answered. "They've proven pretty useful in battling these guys in the past."
"There is one other thing, though." The people seated at the table all turned their faces toward Edward. "When we engage Hazard Inc. I'd like you to keep Zoë here locked in the most secure place imaginable. Underground if possible."
"Edward!" Zoë protested. "Don't lock me up! I want to help!"
"I know you do. And you already have." Edward comforted. "But I don't want to see you hurt. I need you safe and protected when those monsters arrive."
"I'll be fine!" Zoë's large green eyes spoke of unwavering determination. "We've got Vicky to heal us."
"That's true. But she can't raise the dead. If those animals get their hands on you… I don't even want to picture-"
The next moment the building was rocked by an explosion.
"What was that?" the power plant employee was visibly rattled.
"They're here." Allan said plainly and the four friends stood up.
"You're staying here." Edward said stubbornly. Zoë looked disgruntled but sat back down.
"Make sure she stays here and she stays safe!" Edward called as the three fighters charged out of the office.
The damage to the facility suggested the bomb was planted inside. It was obvious that the Biotroop that Edward had defeated earlier had served its purpose before it was dealt with.
Leather Jack stepped in through the hole in the wall waving away the smoke with his hat. His right-hand Professor Tech followed closely. The two surveyed the scene they had just invaded: It was an enormous clearing surrounded by about twelve floors of railings connected by staircases. The railings were circular and overlooked a large opening in the floor leading to the power plant's massive reactor core. Beyond the ceiling thick cables ran from terminals connected to the core via a central pillar that led all the way from the ceiling down to the core. The pillar stood in the middle of the hole and was isolated and reinforced immensely.
"I didn't expect it to be this easy," the mastermind said through his teeth as they clenched a lit cigar.
The three heroes assembled in front of the pair of villains and glared courageously.
"Oh, you three." Jack said coldly. "Don't worry, we won't be any trouble. We'll just pick up our order and leave."
"There is a hole in the wall!" Allan exclaimed emphatically.
"Do you like it?" Jack mocked. It really gives the place some much needed air. He turned to Tech and his face became serious. "Deploy the scouts."
Tech produced a remote control from the recesses of his long white coat and pressed a button. Just then a swarm of small flying robots poured in through the hole that was blasted open earlier.
Edward held his sword in front of Jack's nose. "I'm afraid we can't let you go any farther."
"Then I'd be happy to assist you!" Jack said as he swatted the flat of Edward's blade with his forearm.
Edward charged but Jack dive rolled out of his path. He met with the prongs of Allan's trident but aimed back with a pistol. Allan twisted his trident to disarm his attacker sending the gun high into the air, but Jack used the opening to get in close and land a knuckle on Allan's chin. Allan reeled and Jack pushed him away with his foot then caught the pistol just as it came down. He sent out three shots at Vicky flying overhead, who swooped to dodge them. Edward stepped in and grabbed Jack's wrist, trying to seize the weapon, but Jack used his free hand to pull out a knife and hold it to Edward's chin. Just then Allan came up behind Jack and gripped him in a two-armed hold, forcing both weapon-wielding hands upward where they could do no harm. Edward and Vicky stood in front of him smugly.
"You're not going anywhere," Allan said to Jack. Ed, grab his flunky.
The moment Edward turned to face Professor Tech a device strapped to the villain's wrist beeped. "Found it!" he said cheerfully.
Jack leaned forward and flipped his captor over himself, setting him down hard on his two allies. The pair of intruders made a break for a staircase and Jack whistled.
Just then a giant mass of something like a man walked in and glared at the heroes as they were about to pursue their foes. He stood as tall as Allan standing on Edward's shoulders and would have taken up two seats flying economy class on an airplane. He knocked all three heroes over with a single wave of his massive arm.
"This is Mayhem!" Jack called out from beyond a railing one flight of stairs up. "We just pulled him out of the oven this morning so he's still nice and fresh. I knew I'd have to be rude and leave you there while I tended to business, so I brought him along to keep you company."
Vicky shifted back to her plain form and landed on her feet beside Allan. She threw her grappling hook and its rope curled around the monster's foot. She pulled as hard as she could, managing to yank Mayhem's foot out from underneath him, but it did not seem to affect his balance. Instead, a look of mild annoyance came to his face and he put his foot back down hard, pulling Vicky down onto her face. She hit the ground and Allan helped her up.
Edward rushed toward the hulking mutant with his sword, but the mountain of brawn caught it with one hand and pulled it from his attacker's grip. He effortlessly flung the blade and it landed two floors up. Next he lifted Edward by the ribcage like he was an action figure and drove him into a nearby wall. His limbs went limp.
"I don't like you hurting my brother, or my girlfriend!" Allan snarled at the monster and blasted a steady beam to the back of his neck. Mayhem winced like someone enduring a bee sting and walked up to Allan as the trident continued to cast its harsh light. He took the trident by the prongs, plucked it from Allan's grip and batted him away with it. Dropping it where he stood, he walked back to Edward.
Meanwhile, Zoë was still sitting in the meeting room where the group had left her.
"I do hope they're doing okay," she worried aloud and then turned to the power plant employee seated at the table with her. "They've been gone a while now."
"We can check on them if you like." The researcher offered.
"It could be dangerous," Zoë protested. "Edward asked me to stay in here."
"We don't have to go anywhere." The employee said, pointing a remote at the large television in the front of the room. The screen flickered to life and showed the main entrance where Edward had earlier set off an alarm. "We should see them on one of these," the scientist said as he flicked through different views of the power plant facility until finally settling on Mayhem lifting a limp Edward, ready to crush him into pulp. Zoë screamed.
"What is that thing?" she cried shakily. Without a moment's thought she stood up and stormed out. Racing down the stairs she came across Edward's sword and bent down to pick it up. As she came upright her gaze met Leather Jack and Professor Tech. The latter was carrying a file.
"Hello, little lady. Are you lost?" Jack said with smooth omen in his voice.
Zoë swallowed her panic and raised the sword, pointing it at the thieves. "Call off your goon." She said firmly.
Jack smiled. "As you wish. Mayhem! To me, please!"
Mayhem did something between a grunt and a sigh and set Edward down. With a push of his powerful legs he shot into the air and landed on the balcony where his master was waiting. Vicky had finished healing Allan and was now able to tend to Edward.
Edward opened his eyes. "Where did he go?"
"He jumped up to a higher floor. I think Jack called him." Allan answered.
"Zoë!" Edward turned white. He sprang to his feet and the two men raced up the stairs as fast as their legs would carry them while Vicky flew ahead.
"We got what we came for. Take us home," Jack ordered. "But get this nuisance out of the way first, will you?"
Mayhem picked up the small woman who groaned and twitched as she fought to free herself from the grip of his giant hand. He walked to the balcony and tossed her through the ceiling where she connected with the overhead power cords.
In cartoons when a character suffers an electric shock they shake humorously for a few seconds while emitting a blue or yellow light. Often you can also see their skeleton and afterwards they are mostly fine, with maybe some smoke rising from the top of their head.
This was nothing like that.
Due to the sheer magnitude of the power generated by the reactor core there was a single snapping sound like a mosquito flying into a bug zapper, but much louder. Zoë's charred body fell from the hole in the ceiling just in time for Allan, Edward and Vicky to look up and see her. As fast as she could, Vicky switched forms and threw her grappling hook. It looped around Zoë's ankle and Vicky pulled with all her might, but she was a split second too late, and just as the rope tightened Zoë's body disappeared into the hole leading to the reactor core.
"Zoë!" Edward roared and threw himself over the railing. He plummeted two levels and broke both legs but he did not feel the pain. The rope tensed. The charred woman emerged from the hole and was set down gently on the floor. Using his arms Edward desperately hauled himself across the floor to where the smoking body of his sweetheart lay motionless.
"Heal her! Heal her, Vicky!" he shouted hysterically.
"Your legs…" Vicky said urgently.
"Zoë first!" Edward insisted.
Vicky stretched out a palm and bathed Zoë in warm yellow light, but nothing happened.
"What's going on? Why isn't it working?" Edward asked shakily.
"Because I can't bring people back from the dead," Vicky said bitterly. "If there's no breath or heartbeat there's nothing I can do. She's gone. I'm sorry."
"No. No!" Edward screamed, struggling violently on the floor. Vicky turned to Edward and somberly healed his legs. He raised himself to his knees and hunched over Zoë's remains, breaking on the inside.
"I told her to stay home," he said in a trembling whisper. "I made her feel like she had something to prove. That's why she came along. This was my fault. I did this."
"That's not true," Allan had joined them. "You did everything you could to keep her safe. She came despite that. Hazard Inc. did this."
"Zoë!" was all Edward could manage. "I said I could take whatever they threw at me. I was so wrong…" A tear rolled down Edward's nose and landed on Zoë's arm, causing it to twitch violently. Edward started. "What… What just-?" he was unable to complete the question.
"She must still be loaded with electricity from the shock." Vicky ventured. The salty water must have conducted it through what muscle still remains in her arm.
"So… If we could do the same thing with her heart… that's almost like a heartbeat, right? You could try… you could try again." He ventured desperately.
"I don't know if it works like that, but we could try it." Vicky replied. "If we don't we'll wish we had."
Edward rose to his feet and seized his brother by the front of his shirt. "Allan! The ocean is right outside! Draw in some water, quickly!"
"Yes, of course!" Allan rushed to a nearby window where he could get a view of the sea. He pulled at the foaming surface with his mind and a steady stream drifted through the window as if through an invisible hose.
Allan directed the stream at the burnt remains of Zoë's chest and sure enough her body twisted, lifting her upper half off the ground. Vicky closed her eyes and again shone her pale light on Zoë, searching desperately for a single spark of life.
Like someone blowing at a smoking clump of grass after using his last match, she delicately tended to the fragile flame that flickered in her imagination.
"It's working!" she exclaimed. "Somebody cover her!" - Zoë's clothes had burnt to ash in the shock.
Air rushed back into Zoë's lungs as her charred flesh regained its pink colour. Edward quickly removed his coat and draped it over her just as her skin was forming over her muscles.
Edward choked on his breath as Zoë came back to life. She weakly opened her eyes and looked at her friends. "Did we win?" she asked softly.
Edward dropped to the floor and threw his arms around Zoë. He sobbed happily as he squeezed her small frame against his, taking care not to move the coat too much.
Hazard Inc. had long since left the scene with their bounty, but Edward was overjoyed that Zoë was alive and nothing could affect his mood beyond that. On the train ride home the friends sat quietly, Edward unable to let Zoë's hand out of his grip or her face out of his sight.
"Edward, you're making me blush." She said, trying to hide her face behind the sleeves of her new shirt.
"Then blush." Edward said. "I don't want to miss any of it."
Allan's phone beeped and he looked at the screen, swiping through the new message with his thumb.
"The power plant management has decided to cut their losses and move ahead." He said. "They're going to focus on improving security so their next project doesn't go down the same route."
"Don't you think we should go after Jack and recover the stolen work?" Vicky asked.
"We will." Edward said. "But that's another day's battle. For now, I'm just glad we're all alive."
He leaned toward Zoë and tried to kiss her, but a light jolt of electricity zapped his lips.
"Sorry," Zoë giggled. "Must be static."
"But I've been holding your hand this whole time." Edward retorted.
"Could… could I…" Zoë dared. She held a hand at the light mounted to the wall of their compartment. There was a soft buzzing sound and the light gradually began to glow. Everyone present gasped.
"This is incredible!" Zoë said, staring at her hands. "I should have died!"
"You did." Vicky pointed out.
"And now this?" Zoë continued. "Was it the reactor? Or the shock?"
"Who can say?" Edward ventured. "But I think you'll be joining us in our fight from now on."
"Are you sure?" Allan cautioned. "We almost lost her today. Maybe we won't be so lucky next time."
"Now that she has a power like you guys," Edward replied, "I don't think we'll need to rely on luck quite as much. I say we go home and see what Zoë can do."
"So… You don't regret letting me come along?" Zoë asked hopefully.
"I'm never leaving you at home ever again." Edward smiled.
THE END
Epilogue
A mechanical door slid open and Leather Jack let himself into Professor Tech's laboratory.
"What are we thinking, doc?" he asked as Tech was pouring over research notes. "Did our informant come through?"
"I would very much say so," Tech said happily. "Looks like we tortured the right person for once."
"Glad to hear it. What do we got?" Jack enquired.
"Imagine being able to manipulate nuclear fission and fusion like it were clay in your hands." The scientist said, making no effort to hide his excitement. "Now imagine all our biotroops held this kind of power. We'd be unstoppable."
"Sounds like good times are ahead." Jack lit a cigar. "When will it be ready?"
"That's the only bad news." Tech answered. "It's going to take a while. And we'll need a test subject. Preferably human."
"Every dark cloud really does have a silver lining." Jack smirked. "I know just the guy. Mayhem caused some collateral damage earlier today, and I'm pretty sure a certain Mister Kidman would love to be put out of his misery…"