by David Reiss
“To remind our viewers, Blackjack has superhuman strength and toughness. Gamma once threw a motorcycle at Blackjack and the villain shrugged off the blow and continued fighting. If even one of his blows landed on Red Ghost-”
“And yet, the Red Ghost is whittling him down. I can't imagine the amount of practice and dedication that it took to gain this kind of skill.”
“The Red Ghost was one of a kind.”
“That he was. Now, the two scenes we've brought you highlighted the Red Ghost's skill as an individual fighter, but what made him so admired and sought-after as a teammate was his ability to coordinate his attacks with a group. This next video shows his first confrontation against Doctor Fid.”
“That's...somewhat foreboding. It's hard to watch this, knowing how their conflict eventually ended.”
“That's true, Pam. Even so, this is an important battle to watch if you want to develop an understanding of why the Red Ghost was such an integral part of the superhero community. The Red Ghost had transferred to the Boston Guardians only days before this fight took place so he'd had only limited time to train alongside his new companions.”
“Look how smoothly he's coordinating his attacks alongside Titan and Veridian!”
“That's exactly what I wanted to highlight. Almost instantly, the Red Ghost was able to determine where he needed to be and what he needed to do in order to support his partners. His teamwork was awe inspiring.”
“He's not using those telescoping batons here.”
“Not against a powerhouse like Doctor Fid! Here he's using blaster pistols that were a gift from Sphinx. Remember, this is only four weeks after Doctor Fid nearly paralyzed Clash.”
“And still, the Red Ghost was willing to close to hand-to-hand range to support Titan.”
“He's keeping Doctor Fid occupied so that the villain can't focus entirely on the Guardians' leader. Also, watch how he starts to draw Doctor Fid to the left here, and -”
“And wham! Aeon and Veridian take perfect advantage, knocking Doctor Fid down.”
“And here, Titan takes center stage...pounding on the supervillain mercilessly, while his teammates stand back and continue to lay down fire.”
“Doctor Fid's armor looks very badly damaged, here. He does manage to push Titan back-”
“Watch this improvisation! This is truly remarkable. The Red Ghost sees a length of chain coiled at a work-site...”
“...and, he's managed to catch it around Doctor Fid's wrist.”
“Exactly. Now, the Red Ghost can't overpower Doctor Fid, but he can distort his aim and inconvenience him. Every time Doctor Fid pulls free, the Red Ghost turns to mist and re-forms just in-time to re-grab the chain.”
“He's setting Doctor Fid up for combination attack after combination attack...Lining him up for Titan's haymaker and Veridian's energy blasts.”
“I've combed through a lot of footage - a lot! - and I think that this is the closest that anyone has come to capturing Doctor Fid. He escapes here, but look how slowly he's flying!”
“Let's watch this again, this time in slow motion. Doctor Fid has pulled the chain away from the Red Ghost and the Ghost immediately turned to his mist form. The chain swings wide as Doctor Fid turns to fire some sort of energy blast at Aeon. The Red Ghost has slipped around Doctor Fid and reformed just in time to grab the chain again. He gives it a tug and-”
“And Doctor Fid is pulled off balance just in time to receive an uppercut from Titan. Remarkable!”
“The Red Ghost stayed with the Boston Guardians for the remainder of his crime-fighting career. It's obvious that he developed close ties to his team mates, and we want to once again offer our condolences to them for their loss.”
“Absolutely.”
“But, this was his first battle at their side.”
“So, on his first outing with the Guardians...the Red Ghost helped the Boston team nearly defeat their most powerful enemy?”
“That's correct.”
“It's no wonder that the conflict between Doctor Fid and the Red Ghost became so personal.”
“Very true, Pam. In a way, that's what makes this so tragic. For years, many of us here at KNN have feared that Doctor Fid would make an example of his long-time foe...but when the supervillain joined the Eff-Tee-Dub, the Red Ghost had been one of few heroes who had publicly stated his belief that Doctor Fid would abide by his oath to avoid all unnecessary violence.”
“How sad. Do you think that Doctor Fid planned this all along to put the Red Ghost off his guard?”
“I don't think that we'll ever know. The FTW has already denounced Doctor Fid, but even they weren't able to explain what happened. Now, we have to pause for a commercial break...but stay tuned. KNN CapeWatch’s tribute to the Red Ghost will continue after these messages.”
◊◊◊
Terry Markham returned to the office, and I worked to maintain my professional facade. The death of a local hero was big news, a common object of discussion at the water coolers and break areas. Everyone remembered when Doctor Fid had broken into our lab and spoke of how lucky we all were that the villain hadn't harmed anyone during his attack. A few spoke of having met the Red Ghost at the time; he'd interviewed several employees who had been on-site at the time of the robbery.
When some discussed the possibility of a company-wide fundraiser, I gave my OK and passed the work off to HR to organize the effort. I donated and sent a company-wide email of support but otherwise stayed clear.
Sometimes, my job as CEO of a moderately large company consisted of digesting massive amounts of information and using that information to make informed decisions. Market studies, reports from the company's directors, correspondence...Those tasks came easily to me and left me with significant time for personal projects. Other times...my job consisted of endless conference calls and meetings. Sadly, the next week was looking to be more the latter than the former.
Human trials for the nanite treatments were proceeding well and had generated significant interest from investors and medical firms and news organizations. The devices under test were nowhere near so complex as the versions that were coursing through my own veins, but the simpler single-task variants were still capable of saving many lives. Much of the publicity aspect was handled by our marketing department, but when large enough deals were on the table...the CEO was needed to shake hands and smile for the camera.
I'd spent countless hours training myself, and countless more (under the careful knives of my surgical automatons) enduring physical and cosmetic surgeries to make Terry Markham the right man for these chores. Though competent to fill the role, I would much rather have hidden away in my office! Behind closed doors, I could at least put time towards Doctor Fid's tasks as well. With all that had happened, I ached to spend more time in a lab.
Fortunately, Whisper had found a research team in Tromso that was doing remarkable work mapping solar flares and ionospheric disruptions. Stealing their handiwork and integrating their calculations into my old teleportation platforms would, hopefully, eliminate the dangers that had long imperiled that mode of travel. When that effort had been completed, Whisper and I could visit the Mk 35 in its deep-ocean home and put the final touches upon her creation.
A few more games of pretend had revealed that Whisper could not allow me access to Apotheosis' orichalcum foundry and was limited in what she could tell me about its capabilities. If I even hinted that I knew of the foundry's operational status, there would be a headache and a confusing game of make-believe questions soon to follow. There were, however, no limitations upon what Whisper chose to do with the remarkable foundry's product.
A few small samples had appeared as though by magic in my primary lab. Experiments were still in their early stages, but the properties that I'd unearthed thus far were astounding. Apotheosis—Whisper's father—had been a visionary! Every minute away from my studies was resented.
Necessary, but resented.
I wanted the teleportation platforms upgra
ded! I wanted the orichalcum-framed Mk 35 heavy-combat armor completed! Most important, however, was finishing repairs and minor upgrades upon the Mk 36 medium-combat. Given the current uproar, I'd thought it best to give Doctor Fid some time out of the public eye...but there was one important errand that needed to be performed before approaching any other task.
◊◊◊
Once more, I fell from the sky with all stealth-technologies enabled and overcame the alien refugee compound's security. Again, I navigated the shadows and made my way to the art studio that had once been a hangar. And, another time, I slipped through the unlocked studio's door.
“I told you that you are not welcome here, murderer,” Joan the Glassblower's musical voice stated evenly.
“You did,” I replied, vocoder making my soft voice menacing. “But there is something that I need from you.”
“You will get nothing from me,” she lifted her chin defiantly.
“The last time that I was here, I came as Starnyx's proxy. It was his quest that I was performing and his rules that I followed.” I increased the intensity of the red-glow emanating from the Mk 36's joints, wisps of energy trailing behind as I drifted forward slowly. “Tonight, I am here as Doctor Fid. I beg you, do not test me.”
“So you give up your friend's quest so easily?” she scoffed. “Starnyx was wrong to have trusted you even a little.”
“Not at all. The information that he had sought has been uncovered.”
“You will still get nothing, but I am curious to know how Starnyx's quest ended.”
“He discovered that your colony ship did not suffer a serendipitous systems failure; Sphinx and Peregrine conspired to crash your ship.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “Why would they do this?!?”
“I am reasonably certain that the Sphinx let more than nine hundred of your compatriots die to prevent the Legion’s main forces from detecting the craft as the hyperspace technology entered Earth's gravity well,” I said, struggling to maintain a monotone voice. “I initially believed that she'd done this covertly—rather than simply telling you to maintain orbit—because her knowledge of the Legion was some great secret that she was willing to kill to defend. A different theory now seems more fitting.”
“And what is your second theory?” Joan's voice sounded thready, weak with shock. She was, no doubt, thinking of the cousin she'd lost when the colony ship crashed.
“That Sphinx concealed her actions because she was worried that someone present was under the control of a Legion officer, and thus did not wish to tip her hand.”
Joan the Glassblower went as still as one of the beautiful statuettes that she'd arrayed along the back wall.
“The Legion is here but not in force,” I continued. “My current theory is that a limited number are present, and that they are trapped on Earth with sufficiently limited resources that they cannot contact their superiors...or else there would have been no purpose to keeping Legion's main forces unaware of your presence here. Sphinx would not have needed to down your ship if the Legion officers here could simply communicate back to their empire.”
“How can you be certain of any of this?”
“You have, no doubt, heard that I murdered the Red Ghost. This is inaccurate,” I growled, tension making my throat ache. “The Red Ghost was killed facing a Legion officer.”
“No!”
“Yes.” My hands clenched to helpless fists. “I was there. I executed the being responsible, but I am certain that he was not alone on this planet.”
“You have proof?” There was pain in her melodic voice, a violin being tortured; She didn't want to believe me, but the fear that I might not be lying cut too deep to ignore.
“I have video footage taken from my armor,” I replied. “And sensor readings taken from my drones.”
“Show me,” she ordered simply.
And so I did. From the first moment that she saw the Red Ghost's body language, she trembled and emitted a low mourning keen. Her luminescent eyes seemed to dim but did not waver from the holographic display for the entirety of the battle. When I showed her the footage of the Legion officer's death, it seemed to me that her expression was torn between glee and horror.
“What do you need from me?” she asked finally, looking defeated. No matter how great her distrust of Doctor Fid, I supposed, her fear and hatred of the Legion ran deeper.
“You said that the true leader of your rebellion had created a device that detected when one of the Legion psychics was near,” I answered. “I require those plans.”
“Then you shall have them.”
◊◊◊
“Welcome back to KNN CapeWatch, I'm Stan Morrow and sitting next to me is Pamela Green. New information has come to light that may explain why Doctor Fid was provoked into murdering the Red Ghost!”
“As we've seen during this tribute, the Red Ghost was a talented engineer. He invented much of his own equipment and regularly modified technology that had been captured from his foes. We've recently discovered that the Red Ghost had reverse engineered systems taken from one of Doctor Fid's devices!”
“That's right, Pam. Apparently, the Red Ghost intended to put the supervillain's technology to more productive use; it's been revealed that the Red Ghost had created a limited liability corporation to license safety devices to major automobile manufacturers. Video from a German test facility has leaked to the internet, and we've gotten permission from the manufacturer to play it here. Again, this is technology that the Red Ghost reverse engineered from Doctor Fid.”
“This footage shows a simulated seventy-five-mile-per-hour head-on collision, with the Red Ghost's safety device installed in one vehicle.”
“Wow! It looks like both cars were completely demolished!”
“They were...but watch this side-by-side slow-motion video of the passenger compartments. In one car, the air bags deployed but the crash-test dummies were thrown forward in their seats and still suffered significant trauma. Debris was scattered throughout the compartment with damaging force. But in the other vehicle...”
“The air bags deploy, but the dummies barely lean forward enough to impact them.”
“It doesn't look like a major impact. It looks more like the driver stepped lightly on the brakes!”
“There's no debris being thrown around, either. Look, there's a cel-phone on the dashboard and it's barely moving!”
“Remarkable! The Red Ghost could have saved a lot of lives with this technology.”
“And he could have made a lot of money, too.”
“As I'm sure that all our viewers know, villains cannot profit from technology used in their crimes; whoever reverse engineers the technologies can apply for patents and reap the rewards. It looks as though the Red Ghost was prepared to do just that. According to the corporation's founding documents, however, most of the profits from selling these 'inertial displacement systems' was intended to go to charity!”
“The Red Ghost really was an extraordinary person.”
“That he was.”
“It's now suspected that Doctor Fid found out about the Red Ghost's plans and confronted the hero. Maybe he wanted a cut of the profits, or perhaps he just didn't want the technology released...in any case, we believe that the conflict escalated and that the Red Ghost was killed in the final battle.”
“The Red Ghost left his recently-created corporation and all the patents under the control of one of his team-mates, but already automotive manufacturers are canceling their orders.”
“No one wants the liability of being the first to install these devices if it will send Doctor Fid on the warpath!”
“I know that I wouldn't!”
“Sadly, it looks as though the 'inertial displacement systems' will not be making their way into the family sedan any time soon. The threat of Doctor Fid's anger will keep the Red Ghost's final, extraordinary achievement from benefiting the public.”
“Sad.”
“Tragic. From this day forward, every
life lost that the Red Ghost's device could have saved...that blood is on Doctor Fid's hands.”
“Wherever he is, I hope that he's satisfied.”
◊◊◊
To recap: A man that I'd respected and intended to work with had been murdered by the same group of entities that had likely murdered my best friend. I'd been ostracized from a hacktivist collective that had been formed by said friend. Blame had fallen upon me for a horrific crime that I (for once) had not actually committed. A significant percentage of the most powerful superheroes in North America were actively seeking my destruction because of that accusation. And technology intended to save lives was now being suppressed...and fault for that suppression was being attributed to me as well.
Some days my greatest desire was to find someone to punch, and to keep punching until either I ran out of rage...or else until the sun stopped burning. Whichever came first. It was fortunate, then, that upgrades to the teleportation platforms were nearly complete; the Mk 35 would soon be in my possession.
The investigation into the Legion's actions on Earth had stalled; I had many suspicions but little in the way of proof! More direct means of gathering information would be needed in order to move the inquiry forward.
It was time to confront Valiant.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Catching valiant’s attention would normally be a simple affair: show up in Washington D.C.’s restricted airspace and spend some quality time playing with the Air Force’s hasty defense. There were politicians whose entire pork barrel career relied upon manufacturing replacement fighter jets, so really…that portion of the afternoon would have been a public service. The senators running for cover below should have been grateful that I was doing my part to keep their constituents employed.
Sooner or later, the crack of the sound-barrier being broken would echo in the distance... followed shortly by the bone-shattering impact of the world’s most powerful punch. And thus, battle with Valiant would be joined.
The normal problem would be to construct protections capable of surviving that punch and all the violence that would follow. The last time that I’d fought Valiant directly, Doctor Fid had been wearing the Mk 11; every blow had shed layers of ablative shielding but the powered armor had remained combat effective for more than twelve minutes. No Earth-born threat had ever exceeded Doctor Fid’s record!
