Chapter 8: Wonderland of the Mind
In the greatest times of stress or adversity, it was common knowledge that human nature tended to dwell upon the less productive concepts of human civilization. It seemed a far greater use of one's time to curse fate or blame the hardships suffered during life on the occasional bout of bad luck rather than to face the adversity that challenged man. Humans after all were blameless in the mishandling of their own actions, and thus if they were without fault, the blame certainly lay in the lap of whatever inconsequential deity governed the course of their lives.
The concept of fate was nothing short of a disillusioned façade by which mankind could salvage some meaning to the inexplicable meanderings of existence. Edwin Alva knew this fully, for the stars or some benevolent incorporeal benefactor did not govern life, he did. Only the scores of weak and uneducated citizens believed their lives were ruled by unseen forces. In truth, their lives were not so fortunate in the matter. God, fate and the fortunes of luck did not rule over the sheep of society, it was driven by the divine presence of the human spirit.
As he reviewed the recent reports of materials and funds requested by the brilliant Doctor Menace, Alva reclined his stylish office chair, a brief smile adorning his face as he recognized the fulfillment of his plans. The fact that he was no longer in contact with Ebon or any other member of the Meta-Breed was of no consequence to him. In the end, the realizations of his ambitions were all that mattered. Soon, the entire city would realize how truly powerless they were.
# # #
Static sat against the dusty couch of the abandoned gas station, the balls of his hands pressed against his eye sockets in a failed attempt to force the building migraine from his head. It had been bad enough that, when he had finally sat down with Sharon, Adam and his father to discuss her realization of his alternate life with her, she hadn't stopped screaming for the two hours he desperately attempted to defend himself. It had surprised him however that the source of her anger wasn't that he had kept it from her all this time; it was that he was risking his life at all, and her greatest fear was bearing witness to a statue of memorial in his honor to go beside the one of their mother. That fear had silenced him and he considered how to ease her mind, but even the argument of Adam's dual life hadn't affected her as she said, she knew RubberBand Man before she knew Adam. But in Virgil's case, she knew him as her brother before Static ever appeared. As odd as it sounded, it made sense.
But Static had little time to think about the situation with his sister as the dual arguing forms of Gear and Shebang now faced him, each speaking loudly in an attempt to have their words heard over the other. Though their apparent anger was directed at him, he found it slightly amusing and considerate that they had attempted to compete with each other over their own indignation.
The source of their bitter tirade however had perched on the back of an old office chair located in the far corner of the gas station as she watched the bitter exchange. Feeling the sense of déje vu, Static waited for the argument to die down enough for him to voice his own words of defense. Stealing a sideways glance at the elastic hero hovering near the confrontation but keep a safe distance, Static felt a bit reassured as RubberBand Man offered a solemn smile in the hopes of comforting the verbally assaulted teenager.
"What were you thinking V, bringing her here? Talk about security issues!"
"I don't trust her! We need to bounce her feathered butt right out of here!"
It was usually the same argument regardless, a string of complaints that would repeat themselves every five minutes or so, and Static had stopped listening some fifteen minutes ago. However his patience was spent last night during his attempted conversation with his sister and he wondered inwardly how he had lasted so long listening to his two allies.
Extending his fingers and allowing a series of electrical tendrils to dance across the interior of the head quarters, Static stood up and stared at his two friends. "I've had enough of this, both of you shut up!"
The unexpected outburst had silenced the pair as they stared, surprised at their appointed leader. "The reason I brought her here was there was no where else for her to go. Yes, I understand the security risks Gear, and yes, I'm not sure if I trust her either Shebang, but she came to us asking for help, and I made a promise that we would help her. And that," he said, a spark of electricity dancing from his eyes, "is why she is here."
The two fell silent, Shebang crossing her arms and glaring at the electrically charged hero as if his answer had not satisfied her, Gear dropping his face to stare at the ground and shuffled his feet from side to side. It was a tense, awkward moment, yet taking a deep breath; Static pushed forward regardless, ignoring Shebang's unspoken protests.
"Gear, do you have any more of that serum you used at the warehouse to turn Tamara back to normal?"
Gear raised his head sheepishly and gazed at his best friend in reserved embarrassment, "No, sorry Static. Shiv snagged the only mixture I had of it and tossed it towards Ebon who teleported it away. No telling where it went. But I can make up some more. It may take a while, but it shouldn't be a problem."
Static took a moment to steal a glance at the patiently waiting Talon before turning back to Gear. However, before he could speak again, the blaring alarm from Backpack's warning system caused everyone in the gas station to tense as they stared at the portable robot.
"Well this is unusual," Gear responded, two fingers pressed against the side of his helmet as if the action caused the monitor within his visor to come into sharper focus. "It appears the Breed aren't into consolidation any more. They've hit both the Dakota Bank and Trust and Mercy General Hospital. If what I'm reading is correct, they synchronized their plan. They hit both locations within minutes of each other."
"Great, and their both on opposite sides of the city," Shebang said, her arms unfolding as she tensed her body for the preparing conflict.
"Well, we're going to hit them both as well," Static replied, looking at the group around him. Adam, you and Shebang take care of County General, I'll take Talon and stop the bangers at the bank." The plan was met with immediate objection however as three of the assembled occupants raised their own concerns.
"Why you taking her?"
"What V, you want me to stay here?"
"Who ever said I was helping you in the first place?"
Static looked at RubberBand Man in so hope of support but the elastic hero could only muster a small, sympathetic smile as he shrugged his shoulders. "Enough," The electric hero said for the second time, trying to get everyone's attention. "Shebang, you and RubberBand Man's powers don't focus on energy, and you two are the best at stealth, we need to protect the patients above all else, and jumping into the fight and shooting electricity isn't going to help the situation. Gear, I need to you stay and work on an antidote to turn Teresa back to normal. Also I want you to monitor us from here. I don't like the idea that we're separated like this so in case we get in trouble, you need to keep us in contact."
Turning back to Talon, Static took a deep sigh and prepared to convince the feathered Bang Baby he needed her to assist him. "Since Gear is staying to fix you a cure, that puts us one person down, and I need your help Teresa. As an act of good faith."
"Fine," Talon remarked, frowning bitterly yet resigning herself to help her one-time enemy. "But you better not expect this to be a regular event."
"Don't worry about that Talon," Shebang snapped as she stepped between Static and the winged young woman, "as soon as Gear fixes you back to normal, your butt is out of here. And if you ever tell anyone about this place, I'll hunt you down myself!"
Talon smirked as she parted her lips, allowing a small screech to exit her mouth that buffeted against the martial artist and caused her to stumble back into Static. "Don't worry cupcake, I'm out of here once I get that cure. I've had enough of being a freak to last me a dozen life times." Turning her back on the assembled heroes, Talon walked out of the gas station and took to the air.
"I don't like it Static, and I don't trust her," Shebang said, turning slightly to address her friend. "Just be careful." Leaving the headquarters followed by RubberBand Man, Static shook his head slightly as he looked at his partner, the tech genius offering only a slight smirk as he watched his friend shake his head again before leaving.
# # #
Grendel had spent a greater part of the past week scouting Mercy General Hospital, his sorrowful eyes alert for any doctor he felt might be able to help him revert back to his normal self. He wasn't sure how he would locate such an expert and even less certain how he would begin to approach the doctor in question, but it was the only semblance of hope he had.
Of course, that was before the two other people had entered the hospital. He hadn't even paid attention to them, and would have paid no mind to them at all had the red-haired individual not hurled a fireball into the unattended ambulance, causing it to explode in a violent burst of fire. Grendel ducked further back into his alley, watching the carnage as the fire wielding villain tormented the screaming people while the second man, using a series of long snaking tentacles tore through cars and harassed any civilian the arsonist managed to miss in his torment.
He was angry at the scene of destruction, realizing these men were something from a child's nightmare, cruel, vindictive and for lack of a better work, evil. But despite his own observations, Grendel was afraid, not only of the powerful criminals, but of the people's reactions to them. They would fear him as much as they feared their attackers. And despite his willingness to belong in the world, he knew he was as removed from civilization as the two vandals.
With a deep sigh that shook his body at the realization, Grendel turned his back on the chaos and left to return to his hiding.
# # #
Static and Talon had arrived at the bank in relatively fast time, swooping into the large, cavernous hole that welcomed the two into the chaos inside. It was nothing short of literal anarchy as Puff and Onyx thought to torment the terrified patrons who sought to seek cover beneath desks, chairs or whatever could be used to protect them from the powerful Bang Babies.
Puff giggled gleefully as she swooped about, dive-bombing the terrified hostages while Onyx worked on ripping the vault from the wall. Making a quick decision, Static signaled Talon to stop Puff while he dealt with Onyx.
It was simple enough for Talon, as the acidic young woman had not realized that Static had arrived. Yet as Talon swooped to intercept the floating villain, her eyes fell on a terrified young woman cradling a screaming infant in her arms as she pleaded with the aerial criminal not to harm her child. An unfamiliar and equally unpleasant pain stabbed that the center of Talon's being as she quickly moved to batter Puff aside and away from the frightened crowd.
"I'm surprised you have the guts to show your face Talon," Puff smiled at her former ally as she allowed a gust of acidic wind to pass from her mouth. "You know your marked don't you? The Breed will never forgive you for betraying us, and don't ask what Hotstreak has planned for you."
Using her wings to shift the current of air and disperse the toxic cloud, Talon let loose a sonic screech that sent the taunting Bang Baby colliding with the wall of the bank and knocking her to the ground.
Static had magnetically sealed the vault door and was currently avoiding the large, crushing hands of Onyx as the powerful Bang Baby continued to swipe at the agile young man, like a giant trying to swat a fly. However the slight distraction from the Shock Vox caused Static to struggle as he avoided another swing by the stony villain.
"What is it Gear, I'm a bit busy," Static snarled into the communications consol as he avoided another near grab.
"We've got a problem Static," Gear's voice broke across the silence, his tone near panicked. "Get out of there now. Shebang and RBM just told me that no sooner than they arrived that Ebon apparently teleported Hotstreak and Chainlink from the scene. The Bank and hospital were only decoys. Word just came in where Ebon is attacking..."
Static watched in stunned silence as two identical vortex appeared within the walls of the bank, taking both Onyx and Puff from the confrontation. Talon had made an attempt to follow the smirking Puff, yet the portal had repelled her, as if Ebon's purpose was to bring back only his allies. "Where are they Gear?"
# # #
Ebon, Shiv and Jersey had found it relatively easy to infiltrate the Dakota State Penitentiary, having faced little less than mild resistance, much to the chagrin of Shiv. The prison itself was not actually in Dakota but the neighboring suburb of Glensboro, thus Puff orchestrated the bate and switch plan that distracted Static and his crew while Ebon and his team made their way towards their target.
Maximum security obviously meant something different to the guards of the prison as Ebon shook his head at the body of the unconscious prison officer that fell at the feet of the cackling Shiv. Feeling the need to expunge his growing excitement at having new victims to torment, the blademaster used the energy of his power to slice through the nearest bars of the prison cellblock, allowing the shaken but thankful inmate the opportunity to slip past the trio and make his escape.
"Interesting crowd you run with Ebon," Jersey purred as she continued to make her way down the hallway towards their determined destination, shaking her head in mild disbelief as Shiv continued to separate the cell bars from the wall.
"It's all part of the plan Jersey," Ebon remarked, smirking as another score of inmates hurried down the passageway, many stopping by the unconscious and incapacitated officers to relieve them of whatever weapons they possessed. "The guards will be so worried trying to gather the rest of the inmates they won't even bother looking for us. Not that it matters. We only need to get our passenger and get out of here."
"Really, and who might that be?" Jersey asked suggestively as she turned her face to watch as Shiv seemed intent on taunting the man inside the prison cell, his voice yelling obscenities at the cackling thug.
"Looks like Shiv found him," Ebon responded, gliding to the front of the prison cell and looking at the large, heavyset young man inside.
Seeing Ebon, Heavy C started barking out orders at his one time running buddy. "Bout time you got here Ebon, I was about to put a hurtin on this cretin."
"Not likely Slipstream, what with that shiny little inhibitor collar they have you wearing."
"Just get me out of here Ebon, I've been wasting away in this jail cell."
"Yeah, you look like you lost some weight," the shadow master remarked sarcastically before turning to Shiv and nodding his head once. The energy focused blade master tore through the bars with simple ease as the heavy, reinforced steel fell to the floor, allowing the thick set delinquent to step into the hallway. "Jersey, you want to undo that collar of his?"
The red-skinned woman shrugged her shoulders as if the matter made little difference to her and worked on decoding the circuitry that suppressed his power. However her patience were spent by the annoying antics of Shiv and now as she grew bored in her attempt to disconnect the collar, she unleashed a blast of phosphoric energy into the inhibitor, frying the circuitry.
Heaving a heavy sigh of relief as the two halves of the neck ring fell to the floor, Slipstream smiled in triumph as he turned his face toward the cell that had been his home for nearly a year, a great blast of wind that came from no where yet encompassed everything tore through the wall and blasted the contents of his cell into the open air.
"Now I can see why you were so eager to recruit him," Jersey said, an appraising smile donning her features.
Ignoring her obvious comment, Ebon addressed Slipstream, "Remember our arrangement Heavy C, we get you out, you help us out."
"Hey man, the code of the street ain't lost on me. You got an ally brudder."
# # #
Static had not stopped mentally criticizing himself since he had returned to the gas station. The entire operation had been a debacle from the beginning, and despite his unease at having split the team to handle the multiple threats; he was unprepared for the attack on the prison that, by all intents and purposes, was Ebon's real target.
Five prison guards were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, and of the twenty-seven prisoners to escape the maximum-security cellblock eleven were still at large. Of course, that still had not erased the failure of capturing either of the two pairs of villains that terrorized both the Dakota Bank and Trust and Mercy General Hospital nor the damage inflicted by their attack.
"Some days you need to take a step back to look at the larger picture," Gear had said upon the arrival of the four would be saviors. Though managing to secure many of the escaped convicts, they had arrived at Dakota Federal Penitentiary too late to stop Ebon, and it was evident that that had been his whole purpose.
The rest had gathered in a semi-circle, with the exception of Talon who returned to her corner to observe the proceedings, each staring apprehensively as Static paced the length of the cluttered gas station, the occasional burst of electricity shooting aimlessly from his body as he did so.
"It wasn't a complete loss," Shebang said, trying desperately to ease the young man's mind and looking towards the others in some plea of assistance, "we all came back in one piece. At least now we know they wanted someone from the prison."
"No," Static replied, his eyes glowing menacingly as he turned towards his friends, "they succeeded in breaking someone out of prison and caused a lot of innocent people to get hurt. That was my failure."
"You can't do this to yourself man," RubberBand Man said, taking a step forward and placing his hand on the younger man's shoulders in an attempt to calm his nervous tirade. "We're part of team, right? That means we all share the blame and failures along with the successes. You think any of us don't feel badly about what happened to those guards? But we can't dwell on what went wrong. We need to figure out how to make it better."
Static paused, his eyes closed tightly in absorption as he listened to Adam's declaration. Nodding his head briefly, he took the words to heart, the worst of his self-destructive musings behind him. "Your right. You're all right. I'm sorry..."
"Don't sweat it V," Gear smiled to his partner. "We've all had our down times too, just don't forget that we're here for you like you're always there for us."
Static smiled warmly at his best friend, thankful for the friends around him. Yet the sudden, nervous movement in the corner had drawn everyone's attention to Talon as she sheepishly turned her eyes to the floor. For the most part, everyone had forgotten she was there, the vial of serum Gear had concocted held tightly in her hands, but they had all been preoccupied by the failures of the day to realize she was still there.
Taking a few unsure steps toward the assembled heroes, Talon raised her head to face Static, "Can I talk to you for a minute Static?" It was the only words she had spoken since returning from the bank with the electric hero, and when they slipped past her lips, the words were cautious and uncertain.
A confused look crossing his face as he watched Talon leave the gas station; Static shrugged his shoulders and looked back at his friends. As no one appeared to make any objections, though Shebang's expression said more than words could, Static followed the feathered teen from the headquarters, into the bright light of the afternoon sun.
Surprised to see her waiting for him on the roof of a nearby office building, Static expanded his flying disc and propelled himself to meet the Bang Baby. When he came within a sight of the young woman, he saw her fumbling with the glass vial, as if working out some prepared speech in her mind.
"What's up Talon?" Static asked, taking a step towards the uncertain figure yet keeping a relative distance.
Staring at the vial for a few more moments before speaking, she drew in a quick breath before starting. "I've some bad things in my life haven't I?"
It was a rhetorical question, as Static had no idea how else to answer it than to simply let it pass unsaid between them.
"I never really realized how much I did before you know," she asked again, yet still her eyes were fixed on the vial that, to her mind held her salvation. "But when we were at the bank, and I saw that terrified woman holding the baby, the only thought that came to my mind was my mother. And I felt this guilt when I remembered that not too long ago, I was the one tormenting people and hurting them. It made me sick realizing that.
"All I ever wanted was to be normal," she said again, clutching the serum tightly in her hand. "To be able to go back to my mother, help her so she doesn't have to kill herself working so my sister and I can get a good education and get out of the life she's strapped to. But as I realized how terrified that woman was as Puff was about to attack her, I realized that all the things I've done won't ease the guilt. How can I go back to my mother with all the hateful, horrible crimes I've committed?"
Talon paused a moment to brush a tear from her eye as stared again at the potion, the lure of using it and being free from the monster she saw whenever she looked in the mirror nearly overpowering her resolve to complete her confession. "I've done some bad things." It wasn't a question this time, more a declaration of self-discovery. Yet as she tore her eyes away from the alluring vial in her hand, she quickly turned and held the vial out to Static.
His brow furrowing in confusion, Static unsteadily reached out his hand and took to test tube from Talon. "I know it's wrong of me to ask you this, and if you say no I'll understand," Talon began, closing her eyes as she took another deep breath as if preparing herself for a particularly difficult confrontation. "But, and believe me, I want to be human again more than anything, but I want to do it with a clean slate."
After another moment of silence, where Static considered what could be said and Talon contemplated how to continue, the latter spoke again. "I want to make up for all the bad things I've done Static, but I don't think I'll ever be able to do that without being who I am now. So, if I can ask you for a favor, please keep that antidote for me. When I finish repaying my debts for all the wrong I've done, then I'll take it. But for now...if you think you could use another person to help you, then I'd like to offer."
Static remained silent for several moments. Internally, he had some reservations about accepting Talon's assistance, yet her words were painfully honest and touched him in their desperate sincerity. Sighing, he walked toward the edge of the roof and turned toward Talon. "Come on, let's see what the others say. I can't promise they'll accept you, but we'll see what they say."
-To be continued
# # #
A/N: I must say, I have the greatest group of reviewers any fanfic writer could ask for. If you'll beg my forgiveness, I'd like to thank a bunch of you who've helped make my story more focused. I greatly appreciate it.Mightierdandasword: Your reviews and questions always get me thinking about my overall plan and help me work out some issues that may develop that I hadn't thought of. I really appreciate it.
Sparky Genocide: Your reviews are always short, sweet and to the point. Thanks for taking the time to let me know what you think; it really does inspire me to write more.
Worker72: I do admit, Sharon did seem a bit OOC to me, and I wanted to avoid that, but her shock of learning Static's identity was based more on her willingness to believe it wasn't him than to find out it was. Regardless, thanks for pointing out that bit of confusion, I'll try to fix it between the "loving" siblings.
possom2009: Don't worry, I have some interesting theories regarding Gear's antidote for Talon, but all good things come.
trecebo: Heh, thanks to your suggestion, I avoided the whole conversation between Sharon and Virgil about the discovery and just had him chicken out. I was actually considering the fight between them until you made your plea not to have the a-typical argument when the powers are discovered and I think it worked out better that way. Thanks for your suggestions, they do help and I do use them.
android181: You always have great ideas that help me shape my story android. Unfortunately I have no intentions to bring Nightingale into the story, and in my opinion, the only love interest for Static should be Daisy with the whole Lois Lane/Mary Jane thing going on. But thank you so much for your interest in giving me some great ideas.
Kate Maxwell: Always among the first to review my chapters. Thanks much for all of your kind words and recommendations Kate; they've helped inspire me quite a bit.
RaiAl: Sorry for the suspense and I try to get the chapters out quickly but it doesn't always happen. A special thanks to you Rai because you let me in on the mysteries of Permafrost. I hope I do her justice. Again, thanks for your patience and reviews.
Shadow-Spider: Thank you for all your kind and enthusiastic words that help inspire me to keep writing.
Please forgive me if I've forgotten anyone. It's completely unintentional. Again, thank you to everyone who's read my story and helped me correct my dismal punctuation or led me to consider a new angle for my story. You're all wonderful people and I thank you all.