 |
 |
|
|
|
Chapter Eight Sunday, 04-Jul-1999 15:22:28
Chapter eight, Visionary “Still no sign of Zemo or Sersi” Magnetic Techbird reported. “The shareholders of the Baron’s corporation will undoubtedly know within the next twenty-four hours of their primary stockholder’s assumed demise.” Hal Vanderbilt tapped his chin thoughtfully. Two less pieces of the puzzle to worry about, it would seem. Still, the gambit in Oceana was a truly grand scheme, a fitting end to Zemo’s career. Had he not lost control of The Terrible One, he could have finally succeeded in ruling the world. “Put our support behind Shifter,” HV ordered. “He’s most suited to be the new Chairman of the board, there… although be sure to emphasize that it’s an interim position, pending confirmation of Zemo’s death.” With that he switched off the view screen. Ah, corporate politics… the only true politics remaining. HV turned his chair to look out over the rain-drenched skyline. If there was a pang of conscious, it was quickly squelched. A True Hero was willing to sacrifice his life for the betterment of the world, was he not? Then certainly, HV mused; one willing to sacrifice his soul deserved the title even more… “Almost got it” Jarvis whispered, turning the final screw. The vent grate suddenly came free, forcing him to lunge to catch it before it could drop the twenty feet to the floor with a resounding clang. “Okay,” he said with a sigh of relief, “lower me down” Lisa grabbed his wrist and slid forward in the vent until Jarvis was hanging halfway to the floor. After releasing him, she pulled herself out of the ventilation ducts as well, dropping gracefully to his side. A quick look around confirmed that the cavernous room was, indeed, deserted. Jarvis pressed a button on the communications watch that the Canadian Resistance had provided for him. “All right,” he said, “We’re in. We seem to be…” he broke off as he gazed about the room. “What? Where are you?” Fleabot asked hurriedly. Lisa let out a low whistle, and then silently cursed. This was all they needed. “We’re in HV’s trophy room.” There was a pause before the robot responded. “I… see. As I told you, those blueprints were old, and Vanderbilt Towers isn’t an easy building to get information about…” Lisa ignored him, watching Jarvis carefully. They couldn’t have found themselves in a worse spot… especially with his delicate ego. The room was practically a museum to the defunct Lair Legion. Hanging from the ceiling was what seemed to be the restored Lairplane. Banjooo’s old water-tank was positioned along the back wall, and the head of the Giant Samurai Robot rested at the south end of the room. Jarvis was simply standing in front of a glass case, staring at a dusty chessboard. Lisa slowly walked around Zemo’s time platform to stand by his side. “It wasn’t your fault” she said again. She had been saying that for years. “It was a sacrifice that all of them were willing to make… you can’t keep blaming yourself.” He didn’t answer. Instead, he walked over to one of the newer items, past the head of the robotic Hallie, past a rather curious purple pelt. In a Plexiglas display was what, to anyone else, would have been a mysterious exhibit; a life-sized mannequin wrapped in a brown, dead fern… much as a building is wrapped in ivy. “Perhaps…” he finally said thoughtfully, “there have been far too many sacrifices for what we’ve gained in return.” “I had to sedate him” The Diabolical Dr. Moo was saying as she connected the tubes to Visionary’s arm for another transfusion. Thankfully this was almost over… the fluorescent lights in the lab were giving her a splitting headache. “He woke up from the last session screaming.” She inspected the insertion, and started the flow of nanites. “How far along is he now?” HV asked, looking at the prone man. “The nanites have replaced about ninety percent of his original matter. It will take this last infusion another four to six hours to alter whatever remains of the original Visionary.” “And then?” Moo grinned, despite her throbbing head. “He’ll be immortal, incapable of being destroyed.” She examined his blood vessels as they swarmed with the microscopic circuitry. “Unlike the other test subjects, he was able to survive the process—most likely due to his unique original nature.” HV sniffed dismissively, “What about his memory?” The doctor made a face. “A delicate matter… As his brain is replaced by nano-circuits, we can continue to remove various parts of his long-term memory, but the risk is decreased mental aptitude.” She looked at him as he snorted. “True, he’s not exactly MENSA material right now, but at least he knows how to walk and talk… Mess with him too much, and that may change.” A red light blinked on the phone hanging by the door. HV strode over and answered it with a curt “What?”. He listened for a moment, then replied “Hold your men back. I’ll send a… specialist… to deal with the situation.” He hung up the phone and turned back to the doctor. “It seems your sister and Jarvis have somehow entered the building…” he nodded towards the prone Visionary. “Wake him up, I want to see what he can do.” “What?!” Moo exclaimed. “It’s too soon. We should at least wait for the final treatment to fully take effect…” “I thought you said that the process has altered over ninety percent of his matter” HV said levelly. “What weakness could he possibly have?” “His heart! You know that!” Moo snapped, intensely irritated. “We needed his circulatory system to spread the nanites! It’s one of the last organs to be altered!” HV smiled. “Thank you doctor, that’s all I need to know.” The Diabolical Dr. Moo felt an rush in the back of her skull, and her headache disappeared totally, at least for a moment. In that split second, she could almost swear that HV was wearing a polished steel mask, complete with jutting horns… but then she realized that she must have been mistaken. “I believe you were about to wake him up…” HV prodded. “Isn’t that right?” Vanderbilt Towers stood on the horizon, gleaming despite the constant rain that fell upon it. NTU went numb inside upon seeing it. Built out of a trampled society, protected by advanced technology… technology he himself had created and bestowed upon the rulers of the world. He knew that She had trusted his genius, and he had failed her. He gave his armors and inventions freely to make the world better, and he had failed it as well. It was time to take something back… “Are you ready?” The Departed asked. The former Evil spiffy was constantly at his side, keeping NTU’s focus sharp. NTU just nodded. Vanderbilt Towers stood as a symbol of every mistake he had made. He clenched a gauntleted fist and they continued on. By morning, he swore, it would stand no more. Visionary was in the lab… He remembered the lab. He did not, however, remember anything before the lab. He watched as the man in the polished steel helmet dismissed the woman that had been working with him. He couldn’t remember much about her, either. He turned his attention to his wrist, where, if he concentrated, he could make what looked like a small energy weapon deploy from the back of his hand. He retracted it and deployed it again, and again. The skin opening up fascinated him almost as much as it repulsed him. Somewhere, in the back of what remained of his mind, he could here a faint, pathetic denial. “Here” the horned man said, holding out a helmet. “You’ll need to wear this.” Visionary took the helmet and fastened it under his chin before he even thought to ask why. “You’re in charge of security” the man replied coolly. “There are two trespassers downstairs… It is you job to subdue them.” “It… it is?” He asked quietly. He groped for answers in his mind, but none were forthcoming. “The trespassers are extremely dangerous” the man informed him. “Do whatever is necessary to bring them in, and then you can go home… to Cheryl.” “Cheryl?” No memories were sparked by the name, yet it seemed to ignite a terrible longing within him. “Yes… I’d like to go home… to Cheryl.” The man nodded. “I believe…” he said quietly, “…that can be arraigned.” “Jarvis…” Lisa prodded, concerned. “Jarvis… we’ve got to get going. Security could be here any minute.” “Hmmmm?” he asked, tearing his gaze away from the mounted fern. “Oh… yes… right.” He hit the communicator button on his watch. “Which way now, Fleabot?” There was a brief burst of static, and then the miniature robot's voice came back. “According to the original building designs, there should be an elevator shaft on the south side of that room that leads to the penthouse…” They made their way across the room to stand before the colossal head of the Samurai Robot. “Could they have removed it?” Lisa asked, staring at the huge face. “Possibly” Jarvis answered, “but I remember NTU telling me that there was an access tube in the back of this thing’s throat… a perfect place to hide a private elevator, I’d say.” With little trepidation, they climbed into the gaping maw and made there way past the robotic tonsils. The elevator was there, all right. The bad news was that a laser grid blocked the doors, humming softly. Lisa nodded to the keypad. “Why don’t you and Fleabot see if you can hack into that thing…” she suggested. “I’m going to see if there’s a way to cut the power.” Jarvis raised an eyebrow. “The penthouse is still thirty-odd stories up” he noted, “That’s a long way to climb.” She flashed him a smile. “Infinitely more fun than being reduced to smoking particles…” she stated with a glance towards the laser beams. Jarvis simply shrugged. As she turned to inspect some huge cables running down the back of the tongue, they heard an echoing, thunderous *clang*. “ATTENTION INTUDERS…” an amplified voice rang out. “THE ROOM HAS BEEN SEALED. SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY OR YOU WILL BE FORCEABLY SUBDUED.” The voice had an odd, mechanical distortion to it. Jarvis cursed. “We got trouble…” he whispered into the comm.-link. They crept to the lips of the GSR and peered out. A figure stood in the center of the room. Jarvis opened a video feed back to the Canadian Resistance headquarters. “Can you tell us what we’re up against?” he asked quietly. There was another pulse of static, then Fleabot answered. “I don’t know where they came from, but this morning someone downloaded us the schematics for a Vanderbilt Security Drone…” he said warily. “According to this, it has incredible regenerative capabilities… my God, this is advanced tech… An army of these VSD’s would be unstoppable… our informant claims that only this prototype is successfully operational…” the robot paused. “If this is true, we’ll have to make sure things stay that way… You’ll have to destroy it.” “And if it’s a lie?” Jarvis asked pointedly. “Can’t take that chance.” Zip replied. “Besides, you’re the ones locked in a room with it…” Lisa grunted. “Good point.” She turned back to her husband. “Go back and get that elevator working. I won’t take long.” Jarvis looked like he was about to argue, but then thought better of it. “I’ve lost too many friends already, I don’t want to lose a wife, as well” he said, his eyes slightly haunted. “Just be careful…” “As a mouse” she promised with a grin, crushing a giant incisor like one might crush a ball of tinfoil. She flipped on her own communicator. “All right, so how do we take this guy down?” They weren’t coming. Visionary cursed under his helmet. The last thing he wanted was a fight. Besides, this room was all rather unnerving. There was a nagging familiarity about the place. Bizarre odds and ends filled trophy cases, collecting dust now that their mysterious purposes were over. In a way, he almost envied them. Capture these intruders, he had been told, and he could go home (wherever that was) to Cheryl (whoever that was). Yet it was more than enough incentive, strangely, to flush these trespassers out. He just wished he didn’t have to play hide and seek with them… Thankfully, the woman at least, decided to spare him the trouble. She came striding out of a tremendous robotic head, as casually as one might exit a shoe store. “Hiya, tall, dark and pneumatic…” she purred. “We’re you looking for little ol’ me?” A shock of recognition ran through his mind like a brush fire, but it left no memories behind to explain the reaction. Instead, it had a decidedly more sinister effect… Visionary’s mind went into a seizure, and he nearly collapsed. When he finally regained control, he felt oddly detached from his body, as if it were somehow on auto-pilot. He turned to see the woman watching him carefully, a curious look on her face. “Hello, dear sister…” Visionary said in someone else’s voice, “about time you got here.” “Moo?” the woman asked, shocked. “What…” “HV intended my work to be turned against that butler husband of yours, but I left this little sleeper program behind as a special gift for you.” The doctor’s voice continued. “Family, above all, sister… that’s how it should be. You constantly blew me off to go gallivanting around with your Lair friends… how I hated you for that. Which makes this particular revenge so extra sweet. Good bye, Lisa… and remember, Cyanide is all natural too.” Lisa stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face, making her an extremely easy target for the energy cannon extruding from the back of Visionary’s wrist. With a bright flash of light, the woman was flung savagely across the room, finally crashing through the mounted skeleton of a winged horse. Visionary pressed the attack, forcing her to dive aside. She skidded into a Plexiglas display holding a mailbag. “Son of a…” she muttered, twisting, catlike, to her feet again. She thrust her hand into the bag, and pulled out a handful of postcards. With a wicked grin, she flung them at him with tremendous speed. Not particularly afraid of cardboard, Visionary ignored the attack. That was an obvious mistake. The letters were extremely sharp, and bit deeply into his extended arm, severing his wrist completely. Interestingly, he felt no pain… Whether this was due to the programming of the doctor or simply a dulled nervous system was unclear. Even more interesting, however, was the fact that he had already begun to grow another hand… Wires and circuits were rushing forth from his severed wrist, collating into a simple skeletal structure in a matter of seconds. Lisa watched this with a mixture of fear and disgust. Then she lifted a nearby light-blue, Ford Pinto over her head and brought it crushing down on top of him. “What the hell was that?” Lisa demanded into her comm.-link, as she strove to put some distance between her and the VSD and to lead it farther away from Jarvis. It was already climbing out of the wrecked automobile. “We told you it had incredible regenerative properties…” Zip reminded her. “You’ve got to get to it’s processor… it should be located in the center of the chest.” She crouched behind a rocket-powered canoe and peeked back towards the mechanical monster that her sister had apparently sicced on her. It was walking slowly through the exhibits, and paused briefly to consider a Zorro costume hanging loosely on a mannequin. While his attention was diverted, she crept over to another display and removed a specific item with a grin. Visionary looked behind the case containing a cracked gem, complete with warning labels about it’s use and abuse, as well as a small pendant, which had lost whatever luster it might have contained. Vague images fluttered across his mind, making it hard to concentrate. He walked past a pile of black feathers, and something labeled a ‘Movie Gun’, when he heard a slight noise behind him. Spinning, he was just in time to see Lisa step out from behind a suit of battered, pink armor. “Let me introduce you to a favorite of mine…” She shot him with some kind of ray, flinging him backwards through a collection of hats to crash into the side of a huge water tank. “Consider yourself spanked” she said smugly. He regained his footing, but not before she could slowly lift a depressingly colored, ominous tour-bus… She swung the great vehicle around and finally released it. Sparks flew as it scraped along the floor on its side with tremendous speed, crashing into him and pushing him through the glass wall of the tank. Huge shards of glass punctured his body as gallons of salt water washed over him. Pinned beneath the massive vehicle, his wounds began to repair themselves. Lisa approached him, hefting a sword with a gold and purple hilt. “You’re still not dead?” she asked, shaking her head in amazement. “Are you for real?” Visionary glanced to the wires and components that were rebuilding his body. Whatever faint denial had been crying out in the back of his mind finally died away. “No…” he said sadly as she raised the sword. “…I suppose not.” She plunged the blade down through its chest with her enhanced strength. He made no attempt to resist. Blood. There shouldn’t be blood, Lisa thought, freezing at the sight of the crimson liquid coating the sword. She looked down at the VSD. It was still breathing very faintly (why did a machine need to breath?), but the wounds were no longer regenerating. Beneath the thing’s cracked visor, she could see lips moving. She carefully knelt down and listened to the thing’s voice for the first time without the helmet’s electronic distortion. “Yes Yo…” it said weakly, unfocused. A chill ran threw her at the name. “I think I’d like that… very… much…” Her sister’s words came back to her… “You constantly blew me off to go gallivanting around with your Lair friends… which makes this particular revenge so extra sweet…” The VSD had stopped moving. Slowly, she reached to undo the chinstrap holding on the helmet. “Lisa!” Jarvis cried, startling her. “My God… look at this place… are you all right?” She sighed, tightened the strap with shaking hands and turned to face him. He stood in the midst of the wreckage, the twisted reminders of their past strewn about the floor. “Too many friends…” she said softly to herself before raising her eyes to meet his gaze. “I’m fine” she assured him in her most cocky tone of voice. He nodded with obvious relief. “We’ve cracked the code to the elevator… are you ready?” Lisa looked at the remaining trophy cases, lingering on the one containing the dead fern. The past propped up for one man’s private entertainment. “Is that laser grid still operational?” she asked, unable to keep the anger out of her voice. Her husband blinked in surprise. “It could be… why?” Though the time being spent was making him incredibly nervous, Jarvis didn’t question Lisa as they gathered up as many of the personal items from the trophy room as possible and, one by one, feed them into the laser grid. Each one disappeared in a bright flash, leaving only free molecules and a slightly metallic odor to mark it’s passing. In truth, with each one burned away, Jarvis felt as though a burden was lifted. He wondered if this was what his wife had in mind all along… Finally, Lisa returned carrying the body of the VSD. Wires and circuits ran from various openings on it, creating a horrifying hybrid of seeming flesh and machine. “What *is* that thing?” he asked, repulsed. Without pause, Lisa hefted it into the laser field, where it flashed briefly and then was gone, leaving a slight wisp of smoke. “Just a memory, now.” Lisa answered quietly. She cleared her throat. “Well… Let’s move on. I think we’ve both spent enough time living in the past…” to be continued by the Chronicler of Stories… by Visionary |
| Just for the hell of it... a repost of Return to the Parodyverse. (n/t) (spiffy) (04-Jul-1999 15:17:35) |
|
Copyright © ITW Newcorp, Inc. 1997-1999
All rights reserved.