"90's Kid! Where the hell is my variable cryptochisel! Where is my hyperresonant mallet! And where is my damn super glue!" yelled an accented voice. It came from a man in a trench coat and gloves and peculiar goggles.
"90's Kid is on the ship, Linksano." snapped Linkara, whos comic reading was disrupted by his yelling.
"Damn that child of grunge stricken decades past! I've been trying to find way to help our Gunslinger friend. I probably would be faster at it if 90's kid didn't stop borrowing my tools without permission!" Linksano mumbled. "What could he be doing!?"
Nirvana blared loudly and echoed on the walls of the hangar bay of Comicron-1. It held the Vigilant, the scout ship named by the fans. 90's Kid sat in the cockpit of that small ship messing around with various things inside. He screwed open some panels, laid wires across the floor and was examining a piece he took out as he sang. "I'm so happy because today I've found my friends! They're in my head. I'm so ugly but that's okay cause so are you! We've broken our mirrors! Sunday morning is everyday for all I ca-"
"90's Kid!" interrupted Dr. Linksano, marching into the hangar of the ship.
"Hey Linksano!" he exclaimed peeking his head outside with a smile and his usual nod.
"Quit borrowing my stuff without permission! You don't know how to use these delicate tools!"
"Cha! I know enough science stuff."
"You went into my lab and fused my lab rat with a toy motorcycle!" screamed Linksano, wildly gesturing at the absurdity of saying such a thing.
"I thought that way I could have real life Biker Mice from Marrrs!" 90's Kid said with his usual inflection.
Under Linksano's goggles he glared at 90's Kid and just grabbed his tools and left. He turned his head to 90's Kid. "Stay out of my laboratory!"
90's Kid sat there a bit dejected, but cheered up right away once his favorite part of the song came one. "I miss you! I'm not gonna crack! I love you! I'm not gonna crack! I kill you! I'm not gonna crack!" he sang taking out a screwdriver. As he flipped switches and examined things, he laughed to himself. He noticed a glowing cube in one compartment. I wondered what that is, he thought. Instead, he went back to what he was trying to do.
Debris and various items were beamed onto a small ship. The ship was no bigger than a large truck but was outfitted with impressive boosters not found on many ships that size. It wasn't very sleek and had obvious added on parts that made the ship look geometric and bulky. The hull had an attached laser cannon that came from a military spacecraft. Two smaller cannons were on each side, but you could tell they came from different origins with one being square and the other round and long. The only thing that made the ship look unified was the red paint that decorated it. This was in another part of space, in another dimension. The Bulk n' Skull, was a ship made job and a quest.
It wasn't much, but it was the mobile home for Melcandith "Melcandy" Williamson and it was good enough for her. Who wouldn't feel fond of living inside something made with their hands? The hodge podge ship was her pride and joy.
Her control room was round and behind her was her dining/living/everything room and a small room where she slept. She may have built the ship, but it barely enough space for one person. "Sad. Must've been quite a shootout to make this much debris" she said leaning back in her captain's chair. "Cleanse the material of anything organic just in case, Telly." Her voice had a slight southern twang that was pleasant and subtle.
"Complying and noting that this is gross." Said a voice that sounded robotic and female.
"Your face is gross." Melcandy teased.
"Being that you programmed my face, it's entirely your fault." Telly snarked. The interface was actually a face on the main screen of the ship. It was all red and bald with female features and blue eyes.
"Whatever."
"I win this insult contest. Mel: 32 Telly: 193."
"It's good day, so I'll let you have that... Again." she told her interfaceas she rose to head to the fridge nearby She began to take out her usual breakfast. Cereal, milk, and a strange fruit shaped liked the letter T that she found on her journeys. It tasted like cranberries. She sat her bowl and food on a table across from a framed photograph."Telly. Make note of some of the stuff we found. I'll go down and sort it later. Oh, and let me know if you found IT."
"Yes, Melcandy."
As she prepared her meal she looked at the photograph. She remembered a time when she would make two meals in the morning. Before she took a bite, she looked over at the picture which was of a long haired blonde man. "Good morning, Jearis." She said changing into a downtrodden expression. "I miss ya."
"Melcandy! It's IT!" Telly interrupted. She dashed away from the breakfast table and jumped down a hole in the floor instead of taking the ladder. She opened the airlock and a pile of junk fell out and spread across the floor. Amidst the rubble and scrap parts was a faint glow within a container. Melcandy's face slowly grew a smile.
In a town called Shoreview lived a nerdy comic reviewer, which is weird by itself. However, he saved the world, he fought a war with a micronation, owned a spaceship and used magic. He was the resident ultra geek, comic book loving, fedora wearing, wizard like young man, Linkara. A man stressed over the cleanliness of his extremely nerdy apartment.
"This is very unlike you, Kid." said Harvey Finevoice, a man in a black tux and a matching hat. He took a puff from his cigarette. "Usually, I'm the one that gets you guys to clean up around here."
"Well," Linkara sighed. "Me and Jearis been through a lot and didn't start on the best of circumstances. Yeah, we're making amends and he helped with our problems too, but we never hung out as just friends." He paused and caressed his gun in his holster as he became shamefaced. "We both made mistakes and accepted each other apologies, but I'd like to have a friendship."
A ding went off in the kitchen. Harvey sniffed. "Hot pockets?"
"Pizza rolls. I hate Hot Pockets." Linkara said.
"They're pretty good but I'd hate them too if I heard three hours of the word over and over." a familiar voice stated behind them. Jearis stood there with a smug smile and crossed arms.
"Jeez, blondie!" Harvey shouted. "You gonna give me a heart attack."
"I have that tendency." he explained in his southern drawl with a smirk. Harvey reciprocated with a scowl before forcing a smile. Linkara nervousness was hidden beneath his neighborly demeanor, a technique he mastered. "So, what's for dinner?" Jearis asked.
A half an hour passed till they finished the pizza rolls and then began the main course of spaghetti and garlic bread. Obviously with the pizza rolls, it's an Italian theme. Are pizza rolls even Italian enough to count this meal as a theme? Is this just half assed American style of an Italian meal? These were the thoughts in Linkara's head as they awkwardly ate the damn pasta in silence.
Harvey went out to a gig. Linksano took his plate to his room. 90's kid did the same, but had snuck a whisk and a crab mallet in his pocket from the kitchen. Finally, Pollo was with Sierra talking trash and doing the daily task of helping Jearis. This left the two alone to bond and do whatever. The problem was finding a whatever to do.
Jearis broke the silence. "I once accidentally ate my hair when eating pasta." Linkara laughed and almost choked.
Some time passed again and they sat on the couch far apart from each other. Friendly topics raced through Linkara's mind. He finally chose one he was comfortable with.
"So... Comics. Like them, Jearis?" Linkara asked on his turn to break the silence.
"Nah, not my thing." he answered.
"Oh." Linkara thought of some recommendations. "You can borrow any if you want to try. I recommend anything by Gail Simone, or my favorite series 52. Or maybe, THIS!" He stepped to his bookshelf and pulled out his favorite comic. It was JLA: The Technis Imperative. A sure fire comic to get someone interested, he thought. He began to hand it to Jearis. "Jearis, this baby is abo-"
Jearis sneezed on his comic and his hands. They both were poker faced at the awkward moment.
"Sorry." he said shyly.
"It's okay. Bless you." Linkara said. "So, what do you like?"
"Music. I reviewed it back in the day. I was in a band once too. Those were good ol' days. You like any bands, Linkara?"
"I don't really follow any bands. I do like songs though."
"Oh." Jearis said kind of disappointed. I would have liked a hardcore music conversation. I could use Todd in the Shadows number, he thought.
Time passed and Linkara had the idea of playing something to bridge the gap between them. It helped keep the strange silence at bay. When Spoony visited, Tekken was left, so they decided to play it. Linkara was winning 3 to 1 despite utterly sucking.
"I haven't played any games like this since..." Jearis paused. He gulped, turned sullen and put down his controller. "Since I had everyone on my ship. I had a gaming friend with a gun. A huge geek. He called his gun his 'waifu.' " Linkara grinned. He was glad his friend seemed to be opening up a bit more. "There was this one critic who was dumb with an ego and kinda wanted to be the leader."
"I know someone who is like that! Well, used to be like that. More then than now." Linkara told him. "I have a few adventures to tell you."
Melcandy sweated over table of tools, pieces of metal, scraps, wire and a glowing cube. A tool would be use, tossed, then hammering would start. Building can be haphazard for some creators. "Telly, what is the next part of the directions?" she inquired.
"After screwing in the limiter brace, copy the signature of the dimension drive into the hard drive. Sync it with the system." Telly explained. "This will create a localized, non-corrosive amalgamation of asynchronous space that's also compact and will fit in your pocket."
"Okay, I understood part of that." Melcandy sighed. "If I'm going to do this, I need an anchor. I also need a better explanation to make one."
"Make the stuff do the thing. The end."
"Screw you, Telly."
"Mel: 32 Telly: 194."
Melcandy then screwed in a piece and she heard a hum. "I think I did it!" she exclaimed. "Or doing it. Right?"
"Perhaps. We'll see."
"We can't see! If I jump to another world, I might die instantly!" Melcandy yelled. She sighed and brushed back her bangs with her hand. "At least installing that dimensional drive will be easier than braiding Jearis' hair." She laughed. "Or him accidentally eating it in pasta!"
The night ended late at Linkara's apartment. After a few rounds of Tekken, talking about adventures they had in the past, Jearis got ready to beam home.
"Thanks. You know. For this." Jearis said holding out his hand.
Linkara shook it and said "No problem. It's good to make time for friends and not just talk business."
"Yeah. It reminded me of old times." Jearis told him with a wistful look in his eyes. He didn't have to say anything to Linkara. One look at Jearis and you could tell that his mind was in a tornado of nostalgia and caught in causalities. Linkara understood that feeling well and a small twinge of guilt from stranding him in this world came up. It made him have a despondent demeanor for a second, but he remembered what he said to him when he apologized. That was something they both had to remember.
"Let's go out next time." Jearis said and broke Linkara's brief thoughts. "A bar." Then he beamed home.
Pollo beamed back into the living room and hovered over to Linkara. "How was your date?" He joked.
"Ha!" Linkara snarked at the little blue robot.
The hodge podge ship was going through the final tests. Blips, beeps and lights went off and you knew that meant some stuff was about to happen. Melcandy paced around the cabin of the ship furiously as she ran last minute checks.
"Dimensional drive online." stated Telly.
"Activate one! Activate two! Core pulse?"
"At maximum. Engines synced. Backflow power to stabilization."
"Localize the D field and isolate the plasma capacitor for easier warp!"
"Affirmative. Activated three. Anything else, Melcandy?"
"Blah blah techno thingy space talk!" joked Melcandy. She looked down at her anchor to her world. It was a necklace she created. On it she etched the same pattern that was on her husband's pocket watch. With it she could go back to her world and hopefully with him. She held her necklace and smiled.
"All checks are complete. Shall we go?"
"Yes." Melcandy confirmed. The ship then opened a hole in front of it and flew its way through.
She collapsed into the captain's seat. She laid her head back and closed her eyes. Jearis. Wait for me. I'm going to find you.
The next day, Linksano stomped into the hangar of Comicron-1. His breath was heavy and his face was scowling. "90's Kid! Get down here!" he shrieked.
"Ugh, what is it dude!? I don't have your tools! Stop yelling at me!" he yelled down from the cockpit of the Vigilant.
"You took another important tool! I need that whisk for my omelets!" Linksano shouted. 90's Kid tossed it down.
"Can I have bacon with mine?"
Linksano looked at 90's Kid cockeyed, not that you could tell with the goggles. They both looked at each other in a huff. "Fine." Linksano grumbled as he walked away.
90's Kid smiled as he turned on his music. A pattern of beeps interupted and he found the button on the ship's console to stop it. A video popped up on the screen. He saw a woman with short black hair kept up in a messy ponytail with long bangs parted to the sides. She had dark caramel colored skin and wore a thin white tank top under her open, unzipped, red jumpsuit. A necklace hung in the middle of her chest.
"Hello. This is Melcandith Williamson of the ship Bulk n' Skull. Do you read me?"
90's Kid looked up with a smile. He greeted her enthusiastically."Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!"
End Chapter 1