The monster heard a voice from behind.
“Hey! Lobster-Man!”
Apparently not all the humans had fled for their lives. Tūkaitaua ignored the words. The humans possessed no weapons capable of delaying it for long. This idea was quickly reassessed when a sudden blast of golden energy coursed through the creature’s body, conducted along its exoskeleton. The effect was paralyzing. Tūkaitaua felt every nerve in its body tingle with the aftereffects of pain.
Weakened but not vanquished, the monster twisted its head one hundred and eighty degrees and saw a human, encased entirely in some sort of golden armor, standing behind him.
“That's right, I’m talking to you!” said Theodore.
Wonder Hero Gold ran forward and grabbed Tūkaitaua by one of its claws and, with more strength than the monster’s understanding of human genetics deemed possible, hurled the creature out of the twelve-foot deep tunnel. Tūkaitaua was suddenly in the daylight, but its birdlike eyes adjusted quickly to the glare. The monster’s head jerked in response to the voice of a human female.
“Jay!”
Tūkaitaua attempted to rise to its feet, only to be immediately blasted with a soul destroying ray of jet-black energy, energy that seemed to weaken the creature's strength and sap its will. The blast caused Tūkaitaua to drop back to the ground, gasping for breath.
Before the monster could determine a defensive course of action there came the voice of the human female again. “Kalomo!”
Tūkaitaua twisted its neck in time to see another human, again in full armor, white where the other was gold. With a screech that called to mind both a bird of prey and the roar of an enraged primate the creature moved to rip and chop the human, finding nothing but empty air. Wonder Hero Ghost gracefully sidestepped the attack and summoned a vorpal blade of blinding white energy. In two quick strokes Tūkaitaua’s claws were sliced off, falling harmlessly to the grass.
Tūkaitaua raised its smaller, human arms, each bearing an automatic rifle, and fired a full barrage of bullets at Kalomo. “I am Tūkaitaua! Son of Wigu, destroyer of Worlds!” screeched the monster with desperation and pain.
Kalomo instinctually raised his hands and took a step back, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off his armor. “I’m Kalomo, son of Ezekial, seller of tennis rackets!” To Kalomo the bullets felt like little more than light rain.
Behind Tūkaitaua, Susan vaulted forward, summoning vibrant crimson energy around her right hand. When the team had arrived Susan had taken readings of Tūkaitaua, and the Wonder Computer had immediately identified the alien gem within the creature as the source of its power. With this information Susan was able to lock her armor’s targeting systems on the gem with barely a thought. As Tūkaitaua continued to buffet Kalomo with harmless bullets, Susan punched through the crunchy exoskeleton and grabbed the jewel.
The creature shuddered, understanding its defeat an instant before it could no longer understand anything. With a furious "Hai!" Susan removed her arm from the creature's back, ripping the gem free from its cocoon of sinews and cartilage. What was left of Tūkaitaua screamed and thrashed and died in a violent, yet ultimately harmless fit. After a few moments, its fury exhausted, the creature fell silent.
The Wonder Heroes gathered around Susan as she held the gem in her hand. “What should I do with this?” she asked.
Over their comms the Wonder Computer said, “The gem is very dangerous, and should be kept in stasis until it can be safely destroyed.”
Jay looked at the gem. “We should throw it into the sun.”
“The resulting super nova would destroy the Earth,” said the Wonder Computer simply.
Kalomo laughed. “Let's not do Jay's idea.”
Everyone, even Jay, laughed.
There was a flash of blue energy as Matt teleported in beside the body of Tūkaitaua. The assembled Wonder Heroes jumped at their teammates unexpected arrival. Jay summoned his protective ebony energy shield and then quickly dismissed it, hoping nobody would notice.
Matt kicked at the alien’s body absently and said, “Good job.”
“Thanks,” said Susan, tossing the gem to Matt, who caught it and examined it more closely.
“These things spawn in the hearts of stars,” said Matt, “causing them to go supernova, and spreading their seeds to other systems. Once they have a host body they can generate enough power to become almost impossible to kill.”
Matt held the gem out in his hand and the team watched it vanish as the Wonder Computer teleported the dangerous alien seed into secure storage deep inside Wonder Base. Matt retracted his helmet and, as if given permission, the rest of the team followed suit. They could now talk face to face.
“I’ve got to get back to Cassie," said Matt, “All that’s left here is cleanup, and that’s not our job.” Matt paused, for a moment, collected his thoughts and said, “Listen, the Stillmans, Cassie’s grandparents, are having a little gathering, and they asked me to invite all of you. They especially want to meet you Jay, you took over their son’s job, after all. The rest of you too, of course.”
The team exchanged quick looks, and they all nodded. Susan was pleased that the entire team immediately accepted the invitation.
“I mean,” continued Matt, “I know it's going to be weird…”
“We’d love too,” said Susan.
Matt sprouted a small smile, "Thank you," he said.
With a flash of multicolored light the Wonder Heroes teleported away.
Wonder Heroes 4.10
The Fornaxian Mega-Fortress is located over five hundred thousand light years from Earth in a region of space known as the Havoc Exhaustion, a starless dark matter void. Within the fortress, a labyrinthine knot of folded macro and micro dimensions, Klotax Midibarion walked as fast as his long legs could carry him along the thin, extended slinkways that joined, web-like, the various sub-fortresses in orbit around the dominant central hyper-sphere. A giant warrior from a race of warriors, Klotax had found victory in only a few battles during his many years of life, so he was held in high regard, and maintained a height in excess of five feet. A million millennia of tradition demanded that Fornaxian Warriors give up a bit of height for every battle won so that the greater one’s battlefield accomplishments, the shorter the warrior. This loss of height and strength caused each successive battle to become more difficult, requiring greater cunning and skill. Great warriors stood less than four feet tall, but Klotax at nearly two meters, was considered an embarrassment. His height was his humiliation.
From truly ancient times, when the universe before ours was dying and the Fornax Collective found ways to survive the contraction of the old and the sudden expansion of a new universe, came stories of warriors so diminutive and yet conversely so powerful, that they gave up all their height, ultimately vanishing into the mysteries of the atomic microverse, having achieved the perfection of warrior nothingness. For Klotax Midibarion such honors were unimaginable. Here, on the outskirts of the Mega-Fortress, he was little more than a scientist, too tall to earn the respect of either the tiny warriors who looked up at him with contempt and derision or the children that matched his height.
Two warriors, Swift Raptor class to judge from the elaborate red inking on their black exoskeletons and both just over three feet in height, approached Klotax from the opposite direction, and Klotax was forced to accede the right of way to them. He did so by veering off the side of the slinkway and hanging beneath: his legs, like an insect of Earth, allowed him to walk upside down in this low gravity environment. The warriors looked up to Klotax, who raised his head in shame.
Moments later Klotax entered the intra-spherical Mega-Fortress, and begged an audience with the Fornaxian leader. Klotax, with his ranking so high in the governmental hierarchy, then had to wait until lower ranking, and therefore more important messengers were seen to. Some of the Fornaxian Warriors who passed through the Mega-Fortress that day maintained heights of little more than two feet. Klotax looked
down on these warriors with envy.
Leaving the clean up of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant to others, the Wonder Heroes reappeared at the gravesite in Arlington. Most of the attendees were gone, leaving only a few clusters of chatting dignitaries. General Rumpole was talking to some of the men who worked in the graveyard, seeing to some small details as to the burial of his friends. At the appearance of the new team he excused himself and walked briskly towards them.
“Things went well in California. Good job.” The General turned to Matt, “Cassie left with her grandparents. They should be arriving at the house in about an hour.”
“Is she…” began Matt, but the General raised a hand to calm him.
“They’re being monitored by satellite. If there’s the slightest problem you can be there in a wink.”
Matt relaxed, but only slightly. Susan wanted to comfort him and moved to place a hand on his shoulder, but Matt kept her and the entire team at an emotional distance, so she hesitated. Her hand wavered but ultimately she did not connect. Fortunately, the General had no such qualms. He placed a hand on Matt’s shoulder and said, “It’s going to be okay, Matt.”
Matt nodded, but he was not so sure.
The General clapped his hands, changing the subject and the tone instantly. “I’ve got new clothes for all of you in a van nearby.”
“Really?” asked Jay, “Good planning.”
“It’s my job,” said the General.
The gathering after the funeral was a surreal experience for the team. Except for Matt and General Rumpole the team knew no one at the gathering, yet everyone knew who they were, of course. Susan worried when the Stillmans cornered Jay and peppered him with details about their son, Wonder Hero Shadow. She feared that Jay’s sometimes oafish behavior would manifest itself, but Jay could be both charming and polite when the situation called for it, and she saw Jeff’s parents smiling through their tears as they talked to him.
Kalomo and Theodore were caught up in conversation with Jeff’s cousins, so Susan sat alone on a folding chair, sipping generic ginger ale from a clear plastic cup and trying not to succumb to the overwhelming sadness and quietude that permeated the gathering. She saw someone peeking out from under the tablecloth that covered the banquet table, and recognized Cassie staring at her. Susan smiled and the three-year-old girl disappeared again.
Susan pretended to look away, and when she sensed Cassie looking at her, she quickly made eye contact. Cassie again hid, and they continued to play this game until they were interrupted. An older man sat down next to Susan and introduced himself as Charlie Flicker. It took Susan a second to make the connection.
“Flicker?" she asked, "as in Harlan Flicker?”
Charlie Flicker was a large, chubby man, in his sixties, with white hair and red face. He smelled of alcohol. He nodded nervously, his face and neck quivering like jelly. “Yes, I’m his mother’s brother. His uncle.”
Susan nodded. Not knowing what to say, she blurted out, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Charlie Flicker let out a nervous laugh. “It’s nice of you to say so.” He produced a handkerchief from his pocket and patted his forehead. “Everyone here has been so nice.”
There was an uncomfortable moment of silence, as neither seemed able to find something appropriate to say. Susan glanced at the table where Cassie was hiding, but it seemed she was not playing anymore.
“Harlan was a bad kid,” said Charlie suddenly.
“He was a hero…” began Susan, unsure of what to say.
Charlie nodded. “He was brave, but he wasn’t like you, or the rest of them. To Harlan it wasn’t about doing good, it was about getting what he wanted.”
Susan let this settle in before asking, “Then why are you here?”
“I’m his only family. The last of the Flicker line,” said the older man, “Came to pay my respects to a family best forgotten.”
“Oh. That’s so sad.”
Charlie Flicker produced a flask of brandy from inside his coat pocket. He unscrewed the cap and took a quick swig. “I guess it is.”
Susan wanted out of this uncomfortable conversation, and her wishes were answered when she felt a small hand on her knee. She turned to see the smiling face of Cassie Stillman, still too young to completely understand the circumstances of this gathering. Cassie whispered something and Susan had to lean forward to hear it.
“I know your secret,” repeated Cassie.
Susan played along. “Oh yeah? What’s my secret?”
“You’re really Uncle Paul in disguise.”
Susan inhaled sharply. She wanted to explain that she was not Cassie’s Uncle Paul: he had died in battle days before, they were at a gathering in his honor right now; but before Susan could collect her thoughts Cassie had run off. She was playing some kind of game with a younger cousin. Cassie’s words had surprised Susan, but they were merely the observations of a small child playing a game, so Susan dismissed them from her mind.
“Cute kid,” said Charlie Flicker, still seated next to her, “I’m still glad I never had any though.”
The next morning, at five a.m. mountain time, the Wonder Computer turned the lights on low in Wonder Hero Jet’s quarters and began playing music from Jay’s favorite Umbrage album. Today was visiting day for the families of the new Wonder Heroes. Jay’s father was taking the Magma Corp helicopter, and would be arriving in about two hours. Jay contemplated his day as he stared at the ceiling of his room. He thought about the reunion with his father, the inevitable press coverage, and the false smiles he would have to maintain.
“Computer, turn off the lights and the music, and give me one more hour, okay?”
Two full cycles passed before Klotax was allowed access to the Low Hall of the Mega-Fortress. His head hanging down and his posture slumped, Klotax walked into the deliberating room of the ruling council of Fornax. Here the lowest warriors gathered to decide on the budget, law and policy that would determine the lives of all who dwelt within the Fornax Collective. Klotax had memories from ages ago of playing here as a child, before the policy sessions began. The Low Hall was in session now, filled with diminutive warriors occupying seats Klotax would never be tiny enough to claim for his own. Some warriors openly snickered at him: he was a great lumbering oaf, hardly fit to be in a room filled with such crafty and glorious warriors.
Klotax spied, down an adjoining corridor, a Fornaxian only slightly shorter than himself, and heartened at the discovery that someone could gather only a little more glory than he and be admitted to this hallowed hall. Then Klotax saw the sanitizer brush his fellow Goliath worked, and realized he was observing a mere janitor, not a warrior. Klotax could not comprehend how the janitor could suffer the perpetual indignity of being looked up to as he worked throughout the day in such diminutive and illustrious company.
As Klotax walked across the Low Hall the ceiling became lower and the floors curved upwards, until he was forced to duck his head, and eventually crawl on his hands and knees into the presence of the Fornax Dwarf, the mightiest living warrior in the Fornaxian Collective. Huddled and crawling as he was, Klotax was still forced to look down on the Fornax Dwarf, who stood no taller than eleven inches. The leader of the Fornaxian Collective looked up at Klotax with unconcealed disappointment. The shame of his great height paled beside Klotax’s greater shame: The Fornax Dwarf, the most infinitesimal living warrior, was his blood relative.
With waves of shame Klotax said, “Greetings, Father.”
At 6am the Wonder Computer again filled the room with low lights and loud music. Jay covered his head with a pillow and said something indecipherable.
The Wonder Computer attempted to process the words but was unable to. “I am sorry, Jay, I did not understand your last statement. Please repeat.”
Jay removed the pillow from his face. “One more hour, okay?”
On his hands and knees, Klotax looked down upon his father as his father looked up to Klotax, his so
n and his shame.
The Fornax Dwarf had a voice that was sharp, high pitched and commanding. “What brings one so vast to the Diminutive Hall of Warriors?”
“Your Smallness, I bring word of a change in status concerning the planet Earth.”
“Earth? A race of giants, if I recall.” There was much laughter in the Low Hall at this observation. More seriously, the Fornax Dwarf continued, “I remember this Earth. They are protected by Cassiopeian technology, are they not?”
“They are, sir,” responded Klotax, “The Cassiopeians granted the inhabitants of Earth limited use of their technology so they might protect themselves from the incursions of more advanced species. The protectors of the planet call themselves the Wonder Heroes.”
The Fornax Dwarf stood up and paced back and forth before his tiny throne. Klotax noticed that his father walked with knees slightly bent and with a stoop in his shoulders, the better to project the appearance of even lesser height. “Cassiopeian Technology makes for a formidable foe,” said the Dwarf, “I remember besting such technology in my youth, on a planet called Shrum. A ridiculous looking species, with springs for legs. Did a lot of hopping about during the battle, I recall.”
The Fornax Dwarf smiled, “I remember why this planet is so familiar. My son challenged one of the planet’s protectors some time ago, and was defeated in combat.”
Klotax raised his head in shame.
His father fixed him with his con-ascending glare. “What is the nature of this change in status?”
“Jeffrey Stillman, Wonder Hero Shadow, has died. He was betrayed in battle most dishonorably. His replacement is a human named Jay Parker.” Klotax tried to keep his excitement from deepening his voice.
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