Disclaimer: I don't own Ultraman in any of his incarnations. The fact is, none of us owns anything of any value, otherwise we wouldn't be doing these. Ah well. Tsuburaya gots the rights to the series.
Ultraman the First
REGENERATE
Chapter two
It had been nearly a month since the monster attack on the Valhallan capital. VICTORY, the new military force of Valhalla, had taken this time to lick their wounds from the first battle. Realizing that they were ill prepared to deal with the giant beasts, the head brass of VICTORY commissioned the formation of a new unit to study these giant monstrosities. Under the supervision of Col. Xander and under the direct command of Captain Shin Hayata, a veteran soldier, the Scientific Mutant Investigation Unit, or the "Science Patrol" as it was more commonly known, was formed.
Shortly after its formation, the captain called a meeting of the Science Patrol to discuss their function in VICTORY. He played footage of the battle between the monster Bemular and the strange silver giant that had been code-named Ultraman. His teammates, Corporal Ron Donahue, genius mechanic and inventor; Corporal Anne Janson, a twenty-one year old prodigy physicist, still in collage; and Lieutenant Max Reilly, the soldier of the group; all watched the footage with great interest. When it ended, Capt. Hayata paused it on an image of Ultraman and turned up the lights of the room.
"This," he said, pointing at the view screen, "is the reason why we're here gentlemen and lady. This is the subject of our studies here. This is what we were all brought together to analyze and classify. Any questions before we get started?"
Janson, after pushing her glasses up her nose, raised her hand and spoke, "I thought we were gathered to study the giant monsters. Why the sudden interest in Ultraman?"
Capt. Hayata sighed. "The fact is," he said, "that we have no idea who Ultraman really is or what he's capable of. Even if he appears to be our ally now, if that were to ever change we'd need to know all we can of him to protect ourselves."
"That seems a little paranoid Sir," Janson replied.
Capt. Hayata walked up to Janson and said, "In war, having a healthy bit of paranoia can help you stay alive. Keep in mind, I've been through heavy combat training for a good part of my life. So if I do come off as paranoid it's for a good reason. Okay?"
Janson simply nodded and said, "Yes sir."
"Good," Capt. Hayata responded as he moved back to the screen. "Now, I want all of you to study the battle footage and various analyses of the battle area and tell me what you've found out as soon as possible. Dismissed."
The three Science Patrol members stood and saluted, saying, "Yes Sir."
It had been almost a month since the monster attack on the Valhallan capital. A month since his father's death. A month since he became the silver giant and fought Bemular. A month since he had given himself the codename Ultraman. Usagi Shundo had never expected to have to deal with any of these things.
He stood by his father's gravestone, himself silent as the grave. He looked at the strange black rod in his hand. The rod that had been given to him by the alien Ultora Ma'un, who called it the Beta Capsule. Usagi kept it in the pocket of his jacket at all times, ready to use its power to transform in an instant.
"Shundo."
Usagi didn't have to turn to know the voice came from Col. Xander. "Forget it Xander," he said.
"I haven't said it yet," replied the Colonel.
Usagi began to walk away, continuing, "You want me to become a member of VICTORY. I've told you before, I'm not interested in joining the war."
"No one says you have to," replied Xander, following the teen. "Not directly at any rate. Will you listen?" Usagi stayed silent but kept walking. Figuring, well, he didn't say no, Xander continued, "We've formed a new unit to take on these monsters. It needs soldiers. Where better to work than with the group that will be helping you tackle these monsters?"
"Look Colonel," Usagi said impatiently, "I appreciate that you and the brass kept my secret on a need to know basis. It makes life easier knowing I won't have to deal with paparazzi day and night. But with all due respect, I'm not a soldier. I don't fight or kill, it's not in me."
"Tell that to your giant silver alter-ego."
Usagi stopped. The Colonel had a point. As Ultraman, Usagi hadn't hesitated to kill Bemular. He was also right about the job. Being a part of this unit meant he'd be close to the action at all times, and it would also give him a heads up on possible weaknesses. Sighing, he turned his face towards the Colonel and said, "I'll think about it. No promises."
Xander smiled. "That's all I ask."
The subway stations beneath the streets of Valhalla capital had to undergo hundreds of reconstructions after the attack. The driver of the train was already receiving complaints from busy passengers about their schedule delays due to the renovating being done in the tunnels. Like it was his fault they weren't smart enough to take an earlier train. Damn monster! He thought. As if my job wasn't hard enough…
Suddenly, up ahead he saw movement. A large brown tube covered in strange spikes was moving through the floor of the tunnel and away from his train.
All the driver could say was, "HOLY SHIT!" before pulling the break with all his might. But the inertia of the train was too great and the driver was forced to run as the front car collided with the tube and was torn up by the fast moving brown mass. He covered his ears at the sharp grinding of the two materials. Then, surprisingly, the grinding stopped. The driver turned, just in time to see the twin ended tail of the tube slither off.
Once again, passengers came up to complain. But when they saw that the front car was all but gone, they all found themselves speechless.
The driver sat on the back of an ambulance. He was talking to Cap. Hayata about what had happened. The poor man was extremely shook up, not to mention being half deaf from the grinding sound.
"… Then," he said, "I turned and saw… I guess it was a tail of some sort… I saw it disappear down the tunnel."
"Did you see anything else?" asked Hayata.
"Say what now?" Asked the man, turning his head to hear better.
Hayata sighed and said, "Never mind." He waved to the medics to come and care for the driver as he walked away. He put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it as he watched the maintenance crew examine the excavated train wreckage. What the hell has a hide strong enough to do that?
Anne looked over the edge of the hole left by the creature. Next to her was Reilly, and both watched as the eager Donahue lowered down on a winch. Donahue turned on his flashlight as he touched bottom.
"Blimey!" He said, speaking in his British accent. "You lot should see this. What ever the bloody hell was down here, the bugger was huge."
"You see anything?" called Janson.
"Not yet," Donahue replied. But as he panned around with his light, he saw a piece of brownish material. " 'Old on, I think I've got some'n." He picked up the material. It was large and round and had a sort of quill protruding from one side. "Looks like a huge scale of some kind. Probably from our tunneling friend."
" 'Ow big is it Ron?" asked Reilly loudly. He too spoke with a British accent.
" 'Bout a foot and a half, maybe two feet in diameter," Donahue replied. "We'll have to take it back to base and examine it."
"Right," Reilly called back. "We'll haul you up."
A couple of hours later, the scale was delivered to the analysis lab added to VICTORY for the use of Science Patrol. The lab techs looked over and scanned the scale intently as the Science Patrol watched.
The head scientist, Dr. Morrison, after nearly an hour of study, walked up to Cap. Hayata and said, "We've finished our analysis Captain."
"And…" Hayata replied.
"It's defiantly reptilian in nature. The genetic analysis shows the same type of genetic manipulation that we saw in Bemular's. It's definitely another URE mutant weapon. It seems to be using our subway and sewer systems to get around."
"Have you figured out why the scale has a quill?" Asked Janson.
The Doctor continued, "We think the creature is snake-like in appearance. The quills are designed to aid in its movement through the tunnel system. That quill is super sharp and as strong as hard steel. It could cut though stone and metal easily, which explains how the creature is such a proficient burrower."
"And how the train was torn up so bad," commented Donahue.
"So," said Reilly, "What size heel do we use to crush this serpent's head?"
"Relax mate," Donahue replied. "I already 'ave my crew modifying a little toy for our sewer serpent to play with."
Usagi looked intently at the newspaper. The article about the subway accident held his full attention. The paper made no mention of a monster, but the fact that VICTORY felt compelled to shut down all subway stations in the capital and surrounding districts was a dead giveaway something was up. Looks like Ultraman is going to have to make another appearance.
Erica, who was visiting Usagi's apartment, sat next to him on the couch. "Usagi-kun, Daijoubu?"
"I'm fine Erica," he replied. "There's been an accident in the subway. A train was extremely damaged."
"Was it another monster?" She asked.
"They aren't saying," he said. "But I can read between the lines."
Erica looked into his eyes. She could tell he was deep in thought. "There's something else, isn't there?"
Usagi put down the paper and sighed. "Col. Xander asked me to join again," he said.
Hearing that name again caused a swell of anger to build up in Erica. It took all the effort she had to keep from shouting as she said, "That jerk! Why can't he just take no for answer?"
Usagi chuckled. "I don't think he'd be a Colonel if he did."
"Still," she said, "I can't stand the fact that he has no respect for your wishes. You told him you aren't interested, but he doesn't stop."
"Actually," replied Usagi, "this time I said I would think about it."
"Na-nii?!" Erica cried out.
Usagi looked at her and saw the shock on her face. "I know," he said, "it's crazy. But it would bring new money in to help my mom, and it would give me access to valuable data that I can use as Ultraman."
"But you could get killed!" she said.
"That's a risk I'm going to take anyway," he replied.
Erica turned away. She remembered him saying that his powers as Ultraman had nasty backfire. If he stayed Ultraman for more than three minutes, he would die. It was a fact she hadn't tried to dwell on, but one that made her dread his next battle. But, she also didn't want him to risk himself as him. "Usagi," she said, sorrowfully, "I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want to knock on your door and know you won't be on the other side." She turned to him, revealing her teary eyes to him. "I don't want to lose you."
Usagi sighed as he pulled her into an embrace. "You won't. I can take care of myself." He held her close and comforted her.
And if you can't, I can.
Usagi smiled a little at hearing Ma'un's voice in his head. It was a part of the symbiosis they had obtained that he liked. It was nice to have someone to talk to every now and then that had an understanding of what you meant at a deeper level.
Thanks for the input, thought Usagi. I wish she could hear it.
Donahue was sitting behind the controls of the vehicle his crew had assembled. It was a subway car modified with jet thrusters and large laser-gun turrets facing the rear.
Donahue eagerly explained the machine to his comrades. "The machine will make quick maneuvers in the tunnels," he said. "With any luck, the snake'll come at us from the side with the turrets."
"But will lasers be enough?" Asked Reilly.
"They won't have to be," replied the captain. "They just have to drew it out into the open. Into our snare."
"Right," replied Donahue. "This is just the bait. The rest is up to the Vikings and Odins. Hopefully that'll be enough."
"Amen to that," said Janson.
A few days later, an entrance and exit-way into the city tunnels was made near where the accident had occurred. The modified car was loaded inside, with Donahue at the helm and Reilly at the guns. A unit of Vikings stood at the ready ten yards from the entrance, while a squadron of Odins circled above.
Once below, the two pilots turned on the machine and moved into the dark tunnel. After traveling several miles by power of the wheels, the two Science patrollers began to feel the tension.
"Hey, Ron," said Reilly. "What are the odds of us finding this bugger?"
"Ask Anne," Replied Donahue. "She's the physicist, I'm just the gizmo guy with the good looks."
Up above, Janson and the captain watched a sensor grid map, which showed the train's location. They also felt the tension building.
"No hits yet Captain," said Donahue over the radio.
"Roger," he replied. "Keep your eyes and ears alert."
"Roger."
For several hours they moved through the tunnels. After a while, Cap. Hayata began to consider calling the mission off. Then…
"Captain."
Hayata turned towards the radio at Reilly's voice. "What is it Reilly?"
"We just heard a sound up ahead. It may be nothing but… No, I'm picking up something on the infrared. It's getting bigger… moving towards us! Shit! It's the target!"
"Move out Dammit!" Hayata shouted, anxiety now being substituted with worry.
Below, the two soldiers readied to run for their lives.
"You heard the captain!" shouted Reilly. "Let's go!!"
Donahue flipped the ignition and all Reilly heard him say was, "HANG ON!!!" before the engines fired, sending them hurtling down the tunnel. But even as they sped away, the giant serpent gained on them. It had a black face-plate and no eyes that could be seen. From the sides of its mouth came mandible fangs, bending inward. The creature screeched as it chased the machine down the tunnels.
Reilly targeted and fired the guns. Even though the lasers made some obvious cuts in the creature's mouth, they couldn't penetrate the skull-plate. "Captain!" He shouted into his mic. "The lasers aren't cutting it! Ready the trap!"
Up above everyone readied themselves for the strike. Viking drivers armed their cannon and Odin pilots moved their jets into battle formation.
Below, the two Science patrollers tried desperately to keep their pursuer at bay. But the beast continued to gain as they neared their exit.
"Can't you make this bloody thing go faster?!?" Shouted Reilly.
"No!" replied Donahue. "I think the engines are gonna give out!"
A loud whir was heard as the left engine began to slow down.
"Scratch that! I'm sure the engines are gonna give out!"
Reilly's eyes opened wide in horror as he watched the approaching serpent open its fanged jaws.
Above everyone watched the entrance from a distance. Hayata and Jenson watched with nervous anticipation. Dust started to rise from the tunnel. Then, like a bolt of brown lightning, the serpent shot out of the tunnel and towered over the neighboring buildings, spreading the red and brown frills on its neck.
In its mouth was the modified train, held in place by its teeth and fangs.
"It has the others!" cried Jenson.
"Hold fire!" shouted Hayata.
"Sorry Sir," replied a Viking driver over the radio. "We have specific orders to kill that thing. Personnel casualties are not a factor."
"I'm in command here dammit!" He shouted into the mic. "Those are my people up there."
The driver didn't respond. Instead, the cannons of the tanks began to fire. The serpent turned itself so the shells hit the sides of its body. The shells exploded against the scaled sides, but had no effect on the serpent. The Odins moved in to strike. But, somehow aware of their presence, the serpent turned its head toward the jets and, dislodging them from the train, spat an acidic substance from its mandible fangs at them. The acid ate away at the wings, causing the jets to crash not far away.
Everyone watched in horror as the beast counter-striked. Acid eating away at tanks and jets, and the buildings surrounding the entrance as well. Hayata stood anxiously, waiting for a miracle.
Usagi had heard the cannon fire. He was on the roof of his apartment. In the distance, he could see the serpent's head. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the Beta Capsule.
"I hoped this day wouldn't come."
Usagi turned slightly. Erica stood behind him. He remained silent.
"I don't want you to go," She said. "But you have to, don't you?"
"I'll be fine," he replied.
"I know," she said. "Just come back alive."
Usagi chuckled. "Not a problem." He raised the Beta Capsule in the air.
"Good luck, Usagi-kun."
He pressed the button.
The vortex formed in the air. From the center, Ultraman flew out and into the fray. He ran up and punched the serpent, knocking the train loose. He turned over and caught it before it crashed. He placed it down gently then threw an energy disk at the serpent. The beast dodged it and dove back underground.
Janson and Hayata watched in amaze as the silver giant stood above them. Words couldn't describe their awe at that moment. Even Hayata, who from the beginning stated he didn't trust this giant, felt a strange trust in him now.
Ultraman moved into the streets, waiting for the creature. Sure enough, it popped up next to him and shot acid at him. Ultraman rolled out of the way, leaving the acid to dissolve part of the building wall behind him. Ultraman rolled onto his feet and threw another disk. This time the serpent turned his scaled side towards the disk and took it. The blade did no damage, and the serpent merely dove underground again. Ultraman got up and held his arms at the ready. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, the creature jumped out of the ground, slashing him across the back and diving back in. Then it did it again, and again, and again!
Ultraman fell to the ground in pain. His color timer started flashing, his time running out. Dammit! He thought. How can I fight something so strong and fast?
Usagi, it isn't invincible. It guards it underbelly fervently. That's its weak-point! Hit it there and the battle is finished.
Ultraman slowly stood up. His eyes changed color from yellow to red as he looked around. His vision now accessed the infra-red spectrum, allowing him to see heat sources. After a second, he saw the monster's heat. He lifted his leg and thrust it down right on the serpent's head, causing its body to fly up from the inertia. Quickly, Ultraman grabbed its body. He charged his fingers with energy and drove them right into its gut. The creature screeched in pain as Ultraman's energized hand cut into its guts.
Ultraman pulled its head out of the ground and pulled its body out by force. Then, using all the force and speed he could muster, he hurled it into the air. He thrust his arms to the left, then raised them above his head. The energy flowed into them. He brought them down in the plus formation and let out the Specium Slayer Light Stream. The beam hit the serpent dead on in the underbelly. The energy spread through its body like a sparks on a fuse. In an instant it exploded into dust.
Hayata and Janson looked up at the giant in amaze. Janson looked over and saw Hayata smile the first smile she'd ever seen him give.
"Paranoia fading Sir?" she asked.
Hayata sighed, "Maybe. Its had to hate a guy who's more willing to save people then the ones the people work with."
Janson smiled. "Amen to that Sir."
Ultraman sighed his relief. Then, looking towards the sky, he leaped up and flew away. After reaching a height that he knew he couldn't be seen at, he dissolved into his dust form and headed back down to become Usagi once again. After reforming, he was greeted by an embrace from Erica. As he held the girl of his dreams in his arms, he came to a hard decision. Hard, because he didn't want to see her reaction when he told her
The next day Cap. Hayata called yet another meeting of the Science Patrol. Both Reilly and Donahue were heavily bandaged, but good enough to work.
Hayata stood before his team and spoke, "Team, our first mission was a slight success. And, even though I won't say I totally trust him, I have to admit, much of the credit for our final victory goes to Ultraman."
"Makes ya' wish he'd join VICTORY, eh?" said Reilly as he slapped Donahue's shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. "Oh, sorry mate."
"Bloody moron," Donahue replied as he hit Reilly back.
Reilly winced as he said, "I said I was sorry."
"Easy you two," said the captain. "Speaking of joining, we have a new teammate under recommendation by Col. Xander." He moved over and opened the door to the room.
A young man with long cut black hair walked in in a brand new VICTORY Uniform. He saluted the others and said, "Privet Usagi Shundo reporting for duty Sirs!"
"General, why did you order the men to fire, even though Hayata's men were in the way?"
"This is war Col. The lives of two soldiers don't hold water to the lives of the people of our nation."
"They do to the Captain, and to me."
"I'm sorry you feel that way Col. I know Hayata was your mentor, but we can't afford loyalties like that. If you do, you won't last long."
"You're wrong sir."
"Hmm."
"That loyalty is what makes us strong. It's what'll help us win this war."
"…………Dismissed."
"Aye Sir."
(Hope you liked this Chapter. Next time, Usagi tries to fit-in in Science Patrol. A great aerial battle ensues. Read and Review.)
Kaiju in this chapter.
Mutant #457, Edenodon.
