Episode Seven: Showdown at Sherman High

The aliens that came were truly marvels. Two with seemingly invincible armored suits, one that was made of pure fire, one dog-like robot with technology beyond G3's understanding…and many of these creatures were so big.

The latest one was no exception. The monster was another mystery of life; for it had no true form. It was massive blob of liquid; no organs, bone structure, or core. Titan had battled the creature in the highways of Sherman, during a very crowded traffic jam. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the entire area was splattered with the unfamiliar black goop of the dead creature. Titan had somehow used radio waves that turned living black matter into dead black matter.

Dead matter that now covered a fifth of the city. And it was G3's job to clean it all up.

Solomon oversaw this retrieval personally; these remains were particularly dangerous. For one thing, he didn't want anyone (especially Steel) to get their hands on it. Steel was thankfully far away at the moment, on a military mission outside the country. Solomon still kept an eye out for anyone Steel might have sent for him. He wouldn't allow a single drop of this alien to fall into Steel's hands.

But another important matter was that, for all they knew, the creature could still be alive. There was no pulse through it, no heartbeat, no way to tell the difference between living remains and dead remains besides the fact that none of it was moving.

His agents swarmed the streets that G3 had quarantined. They carried vacuum packs to suck up the black tar-like substance. They reached down through the cracks of the road and under the cars that were left behind to retrieve the matter. Despite the fact that the fight had been quick and there had been no causalities, there had still been damage to the city. His agents had to navigate the destruction carefully.

Solomon watched them, perched on a road above. He saw so many places where the tar-alien could have left itself behind. Hundreds of his agents were scouring for it, but Solomon was still clear. "Make sure you get every last bit of it."

Just then, the unmoving matter shook and rumbled. All of it slithered away from his agents. The packs his agents carried cracked open, and the tar they had gathered leapt out. More crept out from other places in the streets and it began to gather up, but rather than turn into the frog-like monster it had been before, the matter drew away and flowed all in one direction.

Solomon watched as the last of it climbed over an overturned road and vanished from view. He knew the direction it was going; Sherman High.

OOO

The monster had eaten Sherman High School. By the time G3 got there, news reporters were arriving as well. Solomon had to send some of his agents not in uniform (they were disguised as regular police officers to keep G3 hidden) to cut the public off from the school. It wasn't long, however, before panicked parents showed up as well. They were more difficult to keep away, but Solomon's agents managed.

The school looked like it had been iced over like a cake, or dipped in black paint. The monster had completely enveloped the building; no one could get through. No windows or doors were open.

"Are we in contact with anyone inside there?" Solomon asked one agent. He stared straight ahead at the covered walls of the school a few feet away from him. A few agents had already tried to break through; the black matter had grabbed them and thrown them away, spitting them out thankfully unharmed.

"Yes sir," the agent replied. "There are a handful of students who have called their parents, and our agents are interviewing them over the phone now."

Solomon turned around. "And?"

"They are unable to see anything that is going on outside," the agent reported. "Many students have found hiding places, but they say that smaller versions of the creature are wandering the school."

Solomon came to full alert and felt a flicker of fear-adrenaline pass through his heart. "What?" Was the monster attacking the students inside?

"The creatures aren't hurting anyone inside, sir," the agent said hurriedly. "They've grabbed a few students, but they throw them away immediately."

…It hit Solomon like a bolt of lightning; the creature was looking for Lance and Ilana. How did it know they were even in this school? However it had found out, it had locked down this spot. It wasn't letting anyone in or out, and was scouring the building for the two aliens, Lance and Ilana.

And it was not harming the humans.

What a revelation. Now that Solomon had so much evidence together, he began to see the bigger picture. None of the monsters that had come yet had explicitly gone after earthlings. The fire monster had attacked a city, but once Titan appeared it focused on that. The dog-robot had travelled from Egypt to America to pursue Titan. This monster had covered up this entire school to catch Lance and Ilana, who were behind Titan. All of the monsters had targeted Titan.

They were after Titan. Titan wasn't just the defender against the monsters; it was the attraction. The monsters just didn't seem to care what got in their way in their pursuit of the giant robot.

Why would they be after Titan? Was Titan actually protecting earth, or simply defending itself?

No. Solomon remembered how Titan had avoided landing on people while fighting the dog-robot. And it had endured a lightning bolt to protect a hospital. It did care about humans.

Solomon put his hands in his pockets. He would think on this more, and ask his superior about it. But it was clear that Titan was the one who had brought all these monsters to earth.

He glanced side to side; his scientists were trying to examine the black matter on the walls. They tried to take samples, but the goop escaped even the tightest containers and returned itself to the school. There was no way to get through.

Well if the monster wasn't hurting any earthlings, Solomon wasn't overly concerned. Perhaps if it caught Lance and Ilana, the arrival of the destructive alien monsters would stop. Or perhaps not, in which case earth would lose its defender.

Solomon couldn't help in the first place. Lance and Ilana would have to defend themselves. For now, G3 would do nothing.

As usual, he thought with a little spite. But perhaps that wouldn't be the case for much longer, once he presented this new theory to his superior. Surely once his superior knew that Titan was the attractor of the monsters, he would agree to do something.

"Reinforce the perimeter," Solomon ordered. He turned away from the school and began walking to the G3 vehicle. G3 couldn't come here on hovercrafts without attracting attention, so they had used hover-cars. They appeared as limousines, but were capable of flight.

He paused at the door of the car, hand holding it open. "Do not let anyone near the school, even if that creature lets it go. Contact me if there is any change."

Solomon entered the car and closed the door. He sat down and brought up a holo-screen. Inside the car, things were just as advanced as G3 HQ. He had access to the entire G3 database. From here, he could monitor the situation and examine the information that his agents were picking up back at the school.

In a few minutes, the limousine hummed as it reached the edge of the city and took flight. It wasn't strong enough to reach the high altitude of G3, but a fully powered hovercraft jet would pick them up.

G3 was intercepting every call that was made from the inside of the school. Solomon listened in on a few, wanting firsthand accounts of what was going on inside.

"I can't open the windows!"

"The monsters are grabbing people!"

"We're hiding in one of the classrooms, and we've blocked off the door."

"Mom, can you come get me? It's weird here. It's so weird."

The limousine bumped as it entered a G3 hovercraft. Once the car was securely on, Solomon opened the door and stepped onto the ship. He went to another sector of the jet and then continued to monitor the signals.

Solomon looked through the data and saw that there was one signal that G3 could detect, but not intercept. He looked into it; G3 scanners said that the signal was communicating within school. Someone in there had an advanced, masked signal, and they were communicating with other people in the school.

It had to be Lance and Ilana. Had the monsters caught them, or were they still on the run?

Solomon couldn't look into it further as all the reading became very strange. They all cut off for a moment, and then all of them blazed to life. They began radiating the same signal, but there were no voices being carried; only a frequency.

"Sir!"

"Report," Solomon said immediately, lifting his com device. What was going on? What was happening to all these teenager's cell phones?

"Sir, the creature seems to be…evaporating," the agent's voice carried wonder. "It's all just vanishing, leaving nothing behind."

Hm. Well, that assured Solomon that it was completely dead this time. He glanced at the readings from the school. Titan had used radio waves to knock the creature out before. Lance and Ilana must have figured out a better wave to use this time, but not had a strong enough signal without Titan. In which case, they had used their classmate's phones.

Solomon slowly exhaled. So they had triumphed after all, even without being able to call Titan to defend them. Titan, both defender and attractor, still was free and alive, as were the aliens behind it.

"Scan the school for any sign of residue," Solomon ordered. "Then return to base."

Solomon turned off the com and glanced out the window. G3 HQ was in sight, its massive form hidden in clouds. The hovercraft was asking for permission to dock.

As soon as they landed, Solomon went to visit his superior. He climbed down the ladder and turned to the dark spot when his superior normally sat.

Surely this had gone on enough. His superior wanted to watch and learn about the aliens, and Solomon had learned something. Once he told his superior, his superior would finally allow action.

"Sir," Solomon addressed. "I believe I have found valuable information on the aliens."

There was a pause as his superior gathered the breath to speak with. "Oh, Solomon?"

"I believe the monsters are here because of them," Solomon explained. "The latest monster targeted the Lunises, and the Lunises only. Monsters in the past have gone after Titan, too."

He heard his superior's breathing; nothing more.

"…Sir," Solomon pressed. "We now know that Titan has been attracting these monsters. We have to act."

"No."

Solomon was stunned into silence. He'd done as his superior said and watched them, and yet the man still didn't want to do anything? They had learned what the monsters had come for; Titan. Shouldn't G3 inspect Titan, finally, and get some real answers?

"Sir, I don't believe—"

"Watch them, Solomon. Nothing more." Solomon heard a particularly labored breath. "Nothing more."

Episode Eight: Shadows of Youth

This episode is a flashback, so nothing for this one!

Episode Nine: Tashy 497

Solomon had his fists on his hips.

"G3 has jurisdiction over all alien involvement," he argued. "There is alien material there. You cannot stop us from going in, 'military quarantine' or not."

"General Steel has ordered that no one may enter the premises."

"I countermand the orders."

"No, sir."

Solomon stared at the imbecile in frustration. No, he supposed he couldn't blame this soldier for merely following orders. It was Steel's fault for making everything complicated. Solomon had thought he was done with the general, but apparently not.

Less than an hour ago, an alien ship, a huge ship had entered earth's atmosphere. Solomon had been shocked when he saw it on G3 scanners. It was over twenty times the size of Titan. Forget monsters, if this thing broke earth's atmosphere, the impact would kill millions.

Titan had come, however, and torn the ship to bits. Those 'bits' (for they were still quite huge) had scattered like litter over the fields outside Sherman. It was G3's job, as always, to clean it up; but General Steel had gotten there first, and locked off the area. When G3 tried to move in, soldiers had refused to let them pass. One US soldier had shot at them, though thankfully missed. Still, it made the whole situation a lot more tense.

Solomon's agents were too smart to retaliate, and Solomon was grateful for that. If an American soldier was killed, people would want to know how, which would lead them to G3. Cover stories could be made, but also uncovered. Better for there to be no story at all. Nothing that would attract unwanted attention. Not to mention, if G3 were to harm an American soldier, it would damage G3's relation with the government.

Solomon hadn't planned to go for this retrieval; he'd meant to leave it to his agents. But due to this mess, he was getting ready to fly down there and hash out this situation himself. Still, while waiting for Team Beta to prepare for departure, he would argue from afar all he could.

"I demand to see your superior," Solomon glared at the screen of the soldier.

"General Steel is unavailable at the moment." The soldier's tone was that of a phone operator who was dealing with a particularly annoying customer. It irked Solomon. His patience was wearing thin.

"Isn't he on-site? G3 has authority over these matters! Give me communication to him!"

"No, sir."

Solomon hissed. "The military cannot interact with alien material. G3 has rights to all of it. Anything you take from that field belongs to us, and we will get it back." It was a threat and a promise.

G3 had good lawyers and knew what strings to pull. They would get the metal back, eventually, but there was always the chance Steel might cause another fiasco first. The general apparently hadn't learned from the disaster with the alien hurricane he had created.

Solomon's com dinged a high-priority message. He glanced at it and froze; his superior had summoned him.

His superior rarely did anything outside of that room, so when he did, Solomon obeyed. He was frustrated that his superior had to choose now to have chat, right in the middle of this predicament. But perhaps his superior had an idea of how to sort this out. Solomon would welcome the help.

Still, he glared at the soldier who had annoyed him so.

"We're not done yet," Solomon growled, and shut off the com. He knew he was showing his rage too much. He was normally calm in all situations, but he had thought Steel had finally learned his lesson. To be bothered by an old, pointless, should-be-solved problem got on his nerves.

"Hold Team Beta," Solomon ordered. "I will be back momentarily, and then we will depart." With that he whirled and stormed down the corridors of G3 base.

He didn't bother with the ladder. He merely leapt down the hole and landed on his feet. He glanced up at the darkness.

"Sir," he said, his frustration lacing his voice even in such a short, single word.

"…You let your emotions get the better of you, Solomon."

He was right, and Solomon knew it. He should be better than this. Solomon deeply breathed in, then out. "Yes, sir." He didn't try to hide it. He had bottled up his anger of how he wasn't allowed to capture Lance and Ilana, and Steel's latest mischief was the straw that broke the camel's back.

His superior merely breathed for what seemed like a long time. Solomon resisted the urge to tap his foot. He wanted to get to the field swiftly, before Steel could gather much of the alien ship parts.

"…You need to let this go, Solomon."

Solomon took another deep breath, forcing himself to be calm as a fresh wave of annoyance washed over him. Had his superior called him all this way merely to lecture him on his feelings?

"I will control my emotions, sir." He struggled to keep his voice steady, and failed.

"That…and this."

Solomon creased his forehead in confusion. "'This,' sir?"

"Steel," his superior said. "He is gathering the alien material. You need to let it go."

Solomon mouth opened a smidge as he gaped. "What?!"

"You have to let Steel have the material."

"No!" Solomon burst out. "Steel has already caused destruction and chaos with his careless treatment of alien material! G3 has jurisdiction over this, Steel is not allowed to be anywhere near those ship parts, much less have it!"

Silence.

…So much for being able to control his emotions. Solomon was struggling with that today, and he berated himself for his own outburst. He kept himself perfectly still, waiting for his superior's response…and judgement.

It was a long, long time.

"Julius Steel wishes to be the strongest," his superior finally said. "He is a man who only trusts himself, and wishes to be the best and most powerful. He despises the idea of anyone who is stronger than him and his forces. Thus, he hates Titan and the other aliens, for they are. They make him feel…weak."

Solomon swallowed, wondering where this examination of character was going.

"Steel wishes to defeat the aliens, whether they are allies or not, because they are stronger than him. In his view, anything stronger than him is an enemy. He believes that this metal will help him gain strength. And he won't let go of it easily."

Solomon stared at his superior. What did any of this matter? Steel was an annoying obstacle, but none of G3's concern. Solomon had considered Steel's motives and character before, but not to this depth.

"That doesn't matter," Solomon said when he was sure his superior wanted him to speak. "G3 is stronger and has jurisdiction; we will get the metal back, whether Steel likes it or not."

"He will not allow that quietly."

"He can try all he wants; we'll still get the metal."

"No. He will not be quiet."

Solomon realized his superior's point. Steel was required by law to not breathe a word to anyone about G3, but Steel had already broken rules like that. Even now he broke the rule that he wasn't supposed to involve in alien matters. Steel had proven that he was not afraid to break the law—he considered himself above it.

If G3 took this metal, Steel would be furious. He would demand it back, and make a media circus out of it. G3 would be dragged into the spotlight of the world, made public for everyone to see. The aliens would become aware of G3. The huge lengths Solomon, his superior, and every G3 agent went to in order to stay hidden would all be gone when Steel opened his mouth.

Solomon wasn't willing to let it go so easily, however. "Steel is dangerous. We cannot allow him to have this material."

"And we cannot be brought into the light."

"He is breaking the contracts!" Solomon kept his voice at the same volume, but he allowed the intensity and firmness to enter in. "I am willing to come out of hiding to prevent another disaster like the storm."

"I am not."

Solomon knew his superior's will trumped his own. He wanted to argue more, but there was no point. This was final. Steel was getting the metal, not G3. Who knew what the trigger-happy general would do with it.

Solomon whirled around and jumped out of the room. He turned back and headed for his quarters.

A few steps out he lifted his com device. "At ease, Team Beta. We're not leaving today. Call back the retrieval teams."

Solomon would obey this order—but this was it. He was tired of being without answers. He wanted them now.

OOO

The next morning the two aliens, the purple and gold robots who were really Lance and Ilana, made an appearance on a highway. They had flown around the streets for a bit, causing a few crashes, saving a few people from those crashes, and then they flew away.

A few hours later, Titan left the planet earth.

Solomon had been panicked when he read that report—was he too late? Was earth's protector abandoning them? He monitored Titan in the control room through the other G3 space station satellites. There were many space stations throughout the system; so far, there were permanent stations on Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and the farthest one was on Saturn. From the information that they sent back to earth, he could see images of what was happening with Titan.

Titan's form had changed—he assumed to adapt to the space travel. Two huge wings came from its back, it helmet closed in, and its legs became bulkier to have bigger rockets and fly faster. Solomon could not help but be fascinated with how the robot changed and adapted.

Titan left the system and Solomon was almost certain by that point that Titan was leaving humanity—but then it stopped. Solomon barely had any view of it; it was floating at the edge of the telescope's reach. Titan wasn't a huge star or planet, as these satellites were meant to observe. It hardly appeared on the screen.

His view was obscured by a white flash.

"Did something happen to the telescope?" Solomon demanded his nearest agent.

"No, sir," the agent said, voice puzzled. "That is the image."

A scientist stepped forward and looked at the projection. "It's an explosion of some kind," the scientist said.

Why would Titan fly all the way out there to blow something up? Was there a monster all that distance away? Wouldn't G3 have seen it? Did Titan actually have that destructive power?

"Sir, I might have something to explain this," an agent stepped up. Solomon turned to him as the agent stood straight at attention. "I was on the last retrieval team." …The retrieval team that hadn't retrieved anything. Solomon wondered what this agent thought about that. "There was one part of the crashed ship that appeared to be a warhead."

Warhead? An explosion? So that ship was sent to blow something up?

…No. As Solomon looked back at the image of the explosion, he realized a force of that size and power would have destroyed all earth. Nothing would have survived it.

…He pondered this for even a few hours later. Whatever sent these monsters was willing—and able—to destroy the earth. It did not care for humanity at all, and was perfectly willing to destroy them all. Titan was their only defender. But Solomon wasn't satisfied with the information he had on it.

Solomon needed answers.

Ten: Lessons in Love

Lance and Ilana had gone to an observatory three weeks after the warhead's explosion. They pointed out the cosmic formation caused by the warhead's explosion to a human astronomer. As they had 'found' (made) it, they got to name it. They called it "Tashy497."

Solomon wondered what that meant on their planet. Had they seen these formations before, or had they actually made up a name? The formation was beautiful, purple-pink and green in color, and as it was so far away Solomon could appreciate its beauty rather than wonder if it was a threat.

Titan, however, could be a threat. And now, secret from his superior, Solomon was planning for when he would finally capture Lance and Ilana Lunis.