Terror

It’s been over two months now, but we’re still recovering from the terrible shock. Nosedive has only recently regained the strength to continue his off-season training. Sometimes, he still gets pale and I have to put him on the bench by force.

But I’m getting way ahead of myself.

It was Tanya who told me that Dragaunus had stopped off the entire water supply of North America. In three days, everyone on the continent would die. In ten, the rest of the world would follow.

I must have developed a leader’s instinct somewhere in the past two years, because before I had completely registered the news, I was ordering the rest of my teammates to get geared for battle. It was two in the morning.

What happened next, I’m not sure. Maybe everyone came up in a state of half-sleep. Maybe someone asked me what was going on. Maybe there were cries of outrage. I don’t know. It’s all kind of hazy. The only thing I distinctly remember about that moment is that we were contacted by the Saurians, and 10 seconds later, we had piled into the Migrator and were heading for a deserted area well outside town. (I was told later by Mallory that Dragaunus had revealed his location so he could make us see his Master Plan before he destroyed us.)

If this account seems sloppy and disconnected to you, imagine how I felt, speeding down a dark and empty road at Drake-only-knows how many miles per hour to meet my deadliest enemy in what could turn out to be decisive combat not five minutes after I had just woken up. A few times in the quiet of the drive I had to wonder if I was going crazy.

It was while I was wondering this when Duke broke the dead-silence with the slap of his fist in his palm.

“That no-good, conniving, dirty-dealing, under-handed son of a side-winding slimeball!” he raged in an outburst of pent-up fury. “Gateway generator or no, I say we should run him into the ground for this!”

“I agree,” Mallory answered, the first time I can remember her agreeing with Duke. “Even for them, this is a cheap shot!”

“Protecting the people of the earth is our first priority,” I heard myself say. “Once the planet is safe, we can worry about making Dragaunus pay for his crimes.”

“Wildwing speaks wisely,” said Grin directly behind me. “In a quest for revenge, we often lose far more than we gain.”

“Yeah,” said Duke, resignedly. “But still...”

“I know,” I said.

And I did know. I’d felt the same way when the Saurians destroyed my home. Murdered my parents. Shot down my five-year-old sister in cold blood. I’d felt the same way shivering in a damp cell, with only a threadbare, bloodstained suit of rags between me and the cold, holding my limp and ragged brother after 18 hours of enforced hard labor. A breath away from hell. And I’d felt the same way seeing an Anaheim ten years in the future, what the city that had become a second home to me would become should we fail. Should I fail. Yes, I’d felt the same way then, and I felt the same way now. I wanted revenge, too. But it was not my duty to take it. Mine was to protect the fallen and the helpless, and that was what I intended to do. Even to my last breath.

That was the one thing I was sure of that day.

Shortly after Duke fell silent, I noticed Tanya, directly to my right, had not spoken or even moved. She is usually the most active; there is always something for the team tech to do, and her silence struck me as odd.

“Tanya, are you okay?” I asked, sparing only a second to glance away from the road.

“I just don’t understand how this could happen,” she said. “It’s like the world just stopped turning.”

I nodded, unable to find words. My world had stopped turning once. All too familiar was the hollow feeling of shock, despair and regret that was beyond the words of any language to describe. I pried one hand from its iron grip on the steering wheel and laid it gently on Tanya’s shoulder. A few seconds passed--the last seconds of peace any of us would know for a long time--and before we knew it, we’d arrived.

One strange thing I will say about Dragaunus’ ship, the Raptor. It seems to grow larger and more ominous each time I see it. Now was no different. Through the red glare of DuCaine’s--now my--Mask, the Saurian warship towered some ten stories over us, a colossus of metal and death. I caught a sense of intimidation and forced it not to blow into full-fledged fear. Under the Mask there formed a layer of sweat, and I was forced to clench my hands into fists to keep them steady. As always, it was not for myself that I feared, but for my friends and of what would happen if we failed. Even when someone knows that they must not fail, there is always a deep sense of foreboding, and that was what haunted me now.

I parked the Migrator just out of the Raptor’s powered-down laser range (as long as the ship was not airborne, it could only fire so far) and after a few bone-chilling seconds, opened the ramp.

I led my friends towards the ship, each of us prepared for anything. So well prepared, in fact, that nothing would have startled us. We were therefore very startled when nothing happened. The ship appeared abandoned as it towered above us, blocking the first ray of light from the rising sun.

“We’ll split up and look around,” I said. “But keep your eyes open for traps.”

Mallory, Tanya, and Grin vanished around the right side of the ship, with Duke, Nosedive and I took the left.

Nosedive walked close beside me, his expression as rigid as I have ever seen it.

“Keep your eyes peeled, brother,” I murmured to him.

“As if anyone could see this coming,” he murmured back.

To this, I had no answer.

The tense silence hung in the air like electricity, striking us all with painful agitation as we continued our investigation. I could hear Duke’s harsh breathing behind me, and I knew he was restraining another burst of fury. I turned to give him some encouragement... and found myself staring into the face of Dragaunus himself. He had been following us unheard... and armed.

“Look out!” I cried, raising my arm to activate my ice-shield. But my companions and I barely had another second before we were all struck down by a stun blast.

I awoke to a deep, dull ache in my arms, which gradually increased in intensity until I could no longer stand it. I opened my eyes and found I had been shackled to the wall, my hands over my head. Nearby were my friends, all in the same position. Mallory, Tanya, and Grin were already awake; evidently, they’d been captured first. Nosedive and Duke were just beginning to come to. Everyone had been stripped of weapons, communicators, and armor. Even my Mask was gone.

Nosedive groaned. “What happened?”

“You can’t tell?” I replied dryly.

“Where’s Dragaunus?” asked Mallory.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But we’ll probably find out soon.”

For once, I was right. At that moment the door burst open with a mighty clang and we were unchained by a dozen red hunter drones. 2-to-1 are not usually bad odds for us, but then, we are usually armed. No one made a sound as we were marched to the command deck, not even Grin. For a moment, I wondered why, then I figured it out.

They were waiting for me to select our best chance, so they could follow my lead.

This kind of responsibility frightens me by nature, but my fear was outweighed by the pride I had in their trust. I kept my eyes open, waiting for our golden opportunity.

I was not disappointed.

We were led up to a platform on which Dragaunus was standing, his back to us, facing a monumental view-screen. The drones forced us to our knees, but still I kept quiet. I wanted Lizard-boy to spout off his plot first.

Dragaunus stayed with his back to us for a long time, while the drones’ metal arms held us in a painfully submissive position. Finally, he turned around and, with a wave of his claw, dismissed all but two of his robotic servants. The message of the gesture was easily deciphered: “How the Mighty have fallen.” As he laughed aloud I bit back my remarks as I waited patiently for his inevitable revelation.

Finally he turned, and I once again found myself staring into those blood-thirsty yellow eyes. In them burned a look that meant insanity in any species. Dragaunus was power-mad, like the whole of his race, ready to consume anything in his path. He flexed his claws giddily, full of smugness at his apparent victory. “I suppose you’re all wondering why I called you here today.”

It took all my will not to spit in his face.

“I called you here,” he continued, “because I wished to share with you the absolute brilliance of my plan, before I continued reveling in your absolute defeat.”

“So shoot, genius,” I snapped, cutting off any remarks from the others that might have resulted in more disastrous consequences. I managed to produce an air of final defiance, adding to Dragaunus’ sureness of our defeat.

“As you all know, I’ve deprived this entire continent from it’s most vital resource, but no doubt you’re wondering how. Quite a simple process, really. All it calls for is a high-power heat laser, a few compression tanks, and someone who knows a few things about global conquest.”

So that was it. I’d heard theories about instantaneous evaporation as a means to ship more water in less time and taking up less space to drought victims half-way across the globe. Now, it seemed Dragaunus had found a way to use it to conquer the globe.

“Even as we speak, thousands of people are feeling the grip of my claws around their insignificant world. In a few days, the earth will be mine! And after I’ve forced it’s inhabitants to repair and refuel the Raptor, I will begin my conquest of this entire galaxy!!!”

These last words ended in a typical shout that made me visibly shiver. He really was insane.

“It’s really too bad you won’t be around to appreciate it,” he concluded when he’d calmed himself.

“We’ve had enough appreciation to last us a lifetime,” I replied.

Dragaunus laughed at my boldness and summoned back his robots. “Take them to the lower deck. Have them executed one by one.” Then he looked me right in the eye. “Their leader last. I want her to watch the rest of her friends die.”

That tears it, I thought, glaring at Dragaunus for all I was worth.

The guards started to drag us away. We were led down to the lower levels of the ship, where I noticed a door sealed with a metal bar. An idea formed, and I caught Grin’s eye. He nodded; he’d noticed it too. As soon as he was beside the door, I shouted, “Get down!”

Everyone dropped but Grin, who ripped the bar off the door, and swatted away the twelve droids like they were flies. The rusty door fell open, and there inside were our weapons. Within seconds we were once again ready for action.

“Dive, try to find those compression tanks. Tanya, go with him and see if you can find a way to restore the water supply. The rest of us will go after Dragaunus.”

Once again, we split up. Only this time, they were the ones who did not know where we were.

Which gave us the advantage.

On the other hand, our escape had once again been unnaturally easy, which meant I could have been leading my friends into another trap. Wouldn’t be the first time, I thought to myself. With the Mask once more hiding my face, I let myself begin to worry.

But worry, to a certain extent, made me a more effective weapon against the natural Saurian arrogance of my enemies. And with my closest friends following me I needed to be as effective as possible.

My heart beating fast, I lead my teammates up to the command deck. There were no more guards. Dragaunus probably thought us all dead by now. A few moments of listening to his shouts of elation from the command deck confirmed my suspicions. I signaled for my friends to keep quiet, and we crept up to the open doorway.

“I’ll let him think that I’m alone,” I whispered, “and we’ll take him by surprise.”

Mal, Duke, and Grin positioned themselves outside the door, while I went in and cocked my arm-mounted puck-launcher. “Dragaunus!” I cried with a fierceness that was not all pretend.

Dragaunus turned, surprised at first, then amused at what he took to be a suicidal madness brought on by grief and rage. “Well, look who’s here. Come to join the party, Wildwing, or were you just dropping by?”

His arrogance was really getting to me. “I’ve just about had it with you, scum-ball. On your guard.”

With that, I fired several times, knocking out several controls. This made Dragaunus angry. “Now you’ll see what it means to get on my bad side,” he snarled. He fired several blasts at me, not stun blasts this time, which I just barely caught on my ice shield. At the first opening, I leaped up to the platform, and threw a punch at Dragaunus that actually knocked the blaster off his claw. Thus unarmed, I could have easily finished him off. Strangely, though, this thought did not occur to me until it was too late. I have never had much of a heart for killing.

Our battle continued with fisticuffs, until a powerful left-hook slammed me against the raised platform’s side outer railing. The protruding bolts slammed into my back. I collapsed, immobilized. Dragaunus’ long, yellow claws hovered inches from my throat, my back hurt too badly to even move.

“Finally, the last of you meddlesome heroes will be destroyed!”

Dragaunus raised his arm, ready to deliver the fatal blow. But he never got a chance. A puck exploded in the air above him, and he whirled around to see my companions train their weapons on him.

I did the same. “You didn’t think you could get rid of us that easily, did you?”

“We’d-a been here sooner,” said Duke, “c’ept we ran into some old friends.”

“Wraith, Siege, and the Chameleon, I’ll bet,” I said. “Take Lizard-lips here into custody, and I’ll see if I can help Tanya and Nosedive return the water supply.”

At that moment, the ship rocked with a loud explosion.

I came to a few seconds later. Duke, Mal, and Grin were alright. Dragaunus was pinned under the shrapnel somewhere. The overall ship was still intact, but the force had shaken some pretty heavy damage.

I flipped open my comm. Broken. I swore under my breath and pulled myself into an upright position. The explosion must have come from below where...

Ignoring the various gashes and bruises I had received, I headed for the lower deck at a dead sprint. I could not rid myself of the picture of Nosedive trapped beneath the rubble, Tanya crushed beside him. I nearly tripped over Wraith and Chameleon, bound and unconscious. Siege was not with them. He must have set the explosion off.

It seemed like forever before I finally got to the bottom levels of the ship. I bolted for where the damage was the worst, where the explosion must have been centered, and thankfully ran into Tanya, dirty and coughing, but standing up.

I supported her by the shoulders and leaned her against a relatively clear wall. “Where’s Nosedive?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she choked. “I lost him just as the explos--” Her words were lost in a fit of coughing.

With no other choice, I left her in search of my brother.

“Nosedive!” I screamed, ignoring the thick ash in the air that threatened to blind or strangle me. “Nosedive!!”

“Here...”

I turned towards the soft, hoarse response, and looked to see a tangled mass of dirty blond hair through the dark chamber. I ran and knelt beside my brother, half buried by the destruction. I could barely recognize him through the grime and blood on his face.

“What happened?”

“Siege... fired at us...” he whispered between gasps of pain. “Shots... went wild... Hit something...” I held his head as he began to cough. He opened his mouth again.

“Don’t try to speak,” I said. “Save your strength until I can get you out of here.”

But he didn’t listen. He rarely does. “The... the water’s... back where it should be... He... can’t hurt us... anymore.”

I held onto him, tightly. Already, he had gone limp in my arms, robbed of the strength to even hold his head up. “Hold on, baby brother,” I said softly. “You’re gonna be okay, I promise. Hold on.”

He just looked at me, his eyes half-closed.

Say something! I pleaded silently. A wisecrack, a joke, anything! Let me know you’re alright!

But he just looked at me. His blue eyes, identical to my own, shone through the dark with a light emblematic of our family. He moved his dry, blackened lips, and I heard from him a weak and tortured whisper.

Then he closed his eyes.

No! my mind, my heart, my soul screamed. This can’t happen. Not now, not like this! Tears that burned like fire brimmed and flowed from my eyes. Had I come through all this only to watch my brother die? Had I become so strong only to be completely helpless the one time it really mattered? I listened to his ragged breathing, and whispered soft encouragements. In that time, a few moments or a few hours, I’d have given anything for the chance to help him. The chance to get him to safety.

Even for the chance to take his place.

And then, suddenly, I heard my name being called. Tanya had gone back for the others. I called back to them, and in a few seconds I was rejoined by my teammates.

“We’ve got to get him out of here,” I said, somehow finding the strength to give orders.

Grin lifted Nosedive gently out of the rubble. I felt Mallory’s hand on my shoulder, and I knew she knew what I was feeling. “Don’t you worry, Wing,” said Duke beside me. “He’ll be okay.” And then they were helping me to my feet.

Dragaunus got away. Again. And for the longest time I didn’t care. Nosedive kept slipping in and out of various stages of consciousness and for the next nine days it was touch-and-go. During that time, I remained diligently beside him, never leaving his room, and never sleeping more than four hours at a time. When he finally regained the strength to sit up and talk, the first thing he did was ask if I was alright.

“Me?” I said. “You’re the one who’s been out cold for nine days.”

Nosedive gave a short laugh. “You’re the one who’s ready to pass out. You look worse than I feel. Don’t tell me you’ve been sitting here the whole time.”

I shook my head and got up... and felt the sore stiffness of my back as it made an audible crack.

“Uh-huh,” said Dive. “I thought so. Anyone else I would have said it was impossible, but you...” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t put anything past you. Go tell the guys I’m up and don’t come back until you’ve eaten something and had a good long nap. That’s an order.”

“I thought I was the older one,” I said, smiling.

It sure felt good to smile.

The End

Terror was my literary response to what is being referred to in my area as Nine-Eleven. Everyone in the story is a representation of some aspect of the terrorist attacks. They are as follows:

Dragaunus and the Saurians represent the evil of terrorism itself, not just Bin Ladin and the Taliban, but all usurpers of justice and human rights.