Written by Barry Reese
"The Second Life of Ken Clarkson"
Orb Conglomerate HQ, Northern California. October 2, 1999
The two men were both bald, their eyes obscured by the dark glasses they wore. Their matching suits clung to their well-muscles bodies and, from a distance, one would almost assume that they were twins. Upon closer inspection, one would detect minor differences in skin tone but few, if any, would be bold enough to come within that sort of range. For the Men in Black radiated power and only the bravest of humans could bear their presence.
The darker-skinned of the two stared up at the gleaming Orb Industries sign that adorned the side of the building. Placed there within the last 24 hours, it was a testament to Aric Dacia's immense will. He had reclaimed what was his, transforming the small company known as Viatek into the heart of a reborn Orb. "He's dangerous. Getting the armor from him will be difficult."
The more olive-skinned MIB shook his head. "Who says we'll have to do that? If we capture Dacia and transform him, the armor will be ours by proxy."
"Perhaps. But we must move cautiously -- we cannot afford to meet the same sort of end that our last crew did*."
(*In the classic Visitor # 13.)
"Agreed. Caution is essential."
Nodding together, the two Men in Black began slowly walking towards Orb. With the proper exercising of their powers, X-O Manowar would be theirs.
Aric Dacia's Office
"Would you please explain yourself? I have never liked games, nor surprises." Aric Dacia, cloaked in the trappings of the modern world -- a suit and tie -- stood with arms crossed in the center of his office. He had returned from Nevada several hours before, only to find his answering machine filled with messages from Gamin. Though she didn't go into detail, it was obvious that she had something important to tell him. Now that he was with her, however, she seemed quite content to drop only vague hints.
Gamin bit her nails and sighed. "Geez, it's not like it's easy to just come out and say this, y'know. Look," Gamin placed her hands on Aric's arms, "I know from what you've told me that you had a real tough time losing your friends, right? Randy and Ken?"
Aric shifted uncomfortably. "That goes without saying."
"Well... this concerns them, sort of. One of them, anyway."
Aric's eyes narrowed. "Go on...."
"Yesterday, a guy popped up in the office with me. He looked real prissy and all, but I'd never seen him before... anyway, he told me that he was Ken. Ken Clarkson."
Aric roared, turning away from her. His face was contorted into an expression of pure rage. "How dare--! Where is he? I'll kill whoever it was. No one taunts me this way!"
"Aww, Big Guy -- I never knew you cared this much. Makes me wish I'd played my cards differently at the beginning, let me tell you."
Aric stopped in his tracks. He turned slowly, his eyes wide. "Ken...?"
Standing beside Gamin was Ken Clarkson, just as Aric remembered him. Thin, with an almost effeminate stance, he was dressed in a nice black suit. A wine-colored shirt and black tie completed the ensemble. He smiled somewhat smugly at Aric's expression. "Calm down. You'd think you'd seen a ghost or something."
"Thanks - keep the change." Samantha Jones, archaeologist and explorer, stepped back as the cab pulled away. She hefted her suitcase and walked towards the entrance to Orb Industries, her heart pounding in her chest. After all these years, she was finally going to do it -- come face-to-face with Aric Dacia.
She was so engrossed in her daydreams that she didn't even notice the two dark-garbed men until they bumped into her. She staggered back, a frown on her face. "Excuse me."
The darker of the two MIBs turned to face her, his glasses low on the ridge of his nose. His dark eyes glittered as they took her in. For a moment, she started to flush, thinking that his stare was sexual in nature -- but she slowly realized that wasn't the case. "You're excused, Dr. Jones. No harm done."
Samantha stood flatflooted while they entered the building. Something nagged at her, not only about the man's stare but something else. With a start, she realized what it was. "How did you know my name....?"
"How can this be?!" Aric stood at arm's length from his friend, his hands on Ken's shoulder. "Is this another trick of Crescendo's?"
Ken's face darkened. "Crescendo? You know, that name does ring a bell."
"It should, Ken. She killed you."
"Killed me?!" Ken looked around in a panic. "That's not funny, Big Guy. Listen, maybe we should get Randy in here -- she might be able to talk some sense into you."
"Randy is dead, Ken. Crescendo killed her when she took over Orb*."
(*See X-O Manowar # 45-47)
Ken's lip trembled. "She's dead? God, Aric, I'm sorry...."
Gamin stepped between them, keeping her eyes on Aric's. "There's more to this than meets the eye, Aric -- you saw it yourself, if you think about it. Ken wasn't here and then he was. He didn't enter through the door -- and he didn't leave through one yesterday, either. He disappeared."
Aric rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. "Perhaps Ken is a ghost, a wraith of some kind. There may be sorcery involved...."
Ken held up a hand, looking frightened. "Whoa. Slow down... I'm not dead, okay?"
Gamin watched Ken carefully. "We have to consider that it's a trick, too, Aric. Like you said, it could be Crescendo again."
Ken slammed his fist on the desk. "Damnit, stop talking about me like that! I'm not a trick and I'm not dead!"
"Calm down. We can resolve this easily enough." Aric moved towards him, raising his hand. The X-O control ring on his finger glinted in the light. "Good Skin... to me."
The alien armor flew towards him, unwrapping from the metal sphere that it usually hid itself in. The armor wrapped around Aric like a lover, covering him from head-to-toe. He couldn't but notice that Gamin was watching him with intense interest. He'd seen the look in her eyes before and had returned it in kind more than once. He smiled softly at her before turning back to Ken. "I'll have Bekhara scan you, Ken. If you're not human, the Good Skin will know."
Ken bit his tongue but his expression was one of distaste. He waited patiently while Aric conducted his scans, but eventually lost control of himself. "Well?"
Aric was frowning. "Bekhara recognizes the energy signatures that surround you. The Good Skin says that they are a mixture of its own energy emissions and..."
Ken waved his hands impatiently. "And...?"
"Gamin's holographic technology. The armor says that you are not a living being, Ken."
"Wait!" Samantha caught the elevator just in time, pressing her hand between the rapidly closing doors. She panted as she stepped inside, not noticing at first that she wasn't alone in the lift. The two Men in Black regarded her evenly.
"You're here to see Mr. Dacia?"
Samantha turned to face the same MIB that she'd spoken to outside. "Yes... Actually, I'm glad that we're sharing this ride. How did you know my name before? Have we met?"
The Man in Black looked amused. "Not quite, doctor. We merely move in many of the same circles. My colleague and I sometimes find ourselves at the scenes of, shall we say, mysterious happenings? Your curiosity frequently brings you to those same scenes."
Samantha pondered that while the elevator opened. A secretary sat behind a large desk, typing something up on Orb letterhead. She turned to face the trio as they exited the elevator. "Hi there! Are you here to see Mr. Dacia or Ms. Ketch?"
The dark-skinned Man in Black spoke first. "Dacia. It's an emergency."
The secretary smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Dacia has left strict orders that he's not to be disturbed. You're welcome to wait if you'd like, however."
The Man in Black grunted. "No thank you. I'm sure he'll find the time for us." Energy swirled around the two of them, glowing brighter and brighter as both Samantha and the secretary backed away in surprise.
When the glow faded, the two men were gone.
"I can't be a hologram -- I'm me!"
Gamin shrugged. "Maybe you're like that doctor on Star Trek Voyager. He's a hologram and he's alive, too. Or something like that."
Ken sat down heavily in Aric's chair. "A hologram...."
Aric came forward and touched Ken's shoulder. "It's going to be fine. The important thing is that you're here with me. I've regained Orb, Ken! Everything will be back the way it once was!"
"Easy for you to say. You're alive. What about me? I'm just hard light or something."
Aric mused on that for a moment. "Some of your energy signature matches that of Bekhara...." The Visigoth looked skyward, speaking aloud as he said, "Good Skin... Tell me, did you play a part in this? Are you responsible for Ken's return?"
The armor fed information through the telepathic link it shared with its host, revealing the truth piece by piece. When it was done, Aric could only shake his head in amazement. "Such sorcery, Good Skin. If I did not trust you with my life, you would frighten me."
Ken leaned forward. "What did it say?"
Gamin looked interested as well. "Did it tell you how it got ahold of my holographic equipment?"
"Do you remember when you used the neurocortical transmitter on me*? Apparently, when I summoned the Good Skin to me, I was still attached to the transmitter...."
(*In issue 69 - go back and see for yourself.)
Gamin nodded. "Sure. I didn't turn it off until I was sure you were out of Crescendo's little mindtrap...."
"The Good Skin recognized the technology as Spider-Alien," Aric's voice had a cold edge to it now and Gamin looked away. She'd kept that little tidbit from him, knowing his distaste for all things Spider-Alien. "And melded with it. Even though you turned off the transmitter right then, it had already taken what it needed - creating a link between your transmitter and the armor. In recent weeks, I've come to miss Ken more and more. His business sense especially would have been useful to me during my takeover of Orb... The armor and the transmitter worked together to give me Ken."
Gamin held up a finger. "Whoa. Back up. If that's the case, then why did I run into him first?"
"Because he is being broadcast directly into our brains by your transmitter, which has only a small range."
Gamin rummaged through her pouch. "Can't be. I haven't turned it... on." She peered at the flashing trasmitter. "Your armor turned it on?"
"When the program was ready, yes. He blinked off yesterday when I called on Bekhara's reserves, severing the connection between it and the transmitter. And he reappeared today when Bekhara sensed that you wanted him to."
"Excuse me! I am here, you know." Ken was pacing now, looking more and more distressed. "So I'm not real? I'm just a program that thinks it's real and that acts like you remember me acting? Is that right?"
Aric shrugged. "I believe so. If you'd rather, I can force Bekhara to shut you down...."
"Gee, thanks." Ken pouted. "So you can make anybody with this gizmo? Randy, your uncle Alaric, anybody?"
Aric looked thoughtful. "I suppose I could, yes -- though there is a limit to only one program being run at a time. But I'm not going to. I'm ordering Bekhara to delete the program from its database. You'll be activated whenever we turn on the transmitter, but the armor won't create any new programs with it. To do that..." He looked away, remembering the false security he'd felt in Crescendo's illusion-based world, "...To do that would lead to madness."
Ken shook his head. "Big Guy... No. This isn't right. You could have Randy back -- Hell, you should have Randy back. Delete me and have that gizmo whip you up a new girl.... I'm not worth it."
Aric glanced at Gamin, wondering what was running through her mind right now. He sighed. "No. I... lost her. More than once. And I won't do that again, especially not this way. If I had known what Bekhara was doing, I would have prevented it but it's too late now. You're here. And I plan to let you continue to exist, in whatever spectral form this may be."
Ken grinned. "You really know how to touch a guy."
Gamin tried not to let her reaction show. She'd been afraid that Aric was going to bring back Randy... If he did, she was sure there wouldn't be a place for a thief in the picture. "So what now?"
"Now we..." Aric paused, sensing Bekhara's alarm. He turned to Gamin. "Be on guard! Ken -- We shall talk later!" Ken started to protest, but he was blinked out of existence as Gamin turned the transmitter off. Aric was staring at two glowing points of light. The light coalesced into two men, both dressed in dark suits. "So. Good Skin was right -- we have visitors."
The closest MIB smiled. "I apologize for the intrusion, Mr. Dacia. But we have come to discuss a mutual alliance that may prove beneficial to each of us. You see, we are a small group of settlers, come to this area from very far away. We have need of powerful beings such as yourself. If you agree to visit our mothership, we can promise you that we have much to offer in return."
X-O Manowar frowned. "Mothership? You are aliens, like the ones who kidnapped me... Come to pillage this world like it was nothing more than a small village that stands in your way? Begone. I traffic not with aliens."
The Man in Black removed his glasses. "That's a pity, Mr. Dacia. Because if you don't want to come of your own free will... then we have no alternative but to take you by force." Energy swirled around him, raising in force as his comrade joined in. "Energy manipulation is the least of our abilities, barbarian... as you'll learn. When your eyes have been opened to our ways, you'll thank us."
A tremendous wave of energy slammed into X-O, knocking him back. He could feel his Good Skin trying to absorb most of it, but the pain was still intense. "To hell with you, dogs!"
X-O fired an ion blast that sent one of the MIBs flying through the window. The other fell back a step, grimacing. "Mr. Dacia, please don't make this any more difficult. You'll regret it."
Gamin, trying to stay out of X-O's way, knelt behind the desk. She peered over as X-O rushed the dark-skinned man. "You invade my sanctuary and try to bargain for peace? Never!"
X-O wrapped his arms around the Man in Black, squeezing. The MIB cried out but struggled very little. "Ugh...Mr. Dacia... You'll be a changed man very soon."
A beam of light rose up from the locked combatants. It pierced the roof, directly connecting the Man in Black with the hovering mothership, miles above. X-O started to pull away. "What manner of magic...?"
"No magic, barbarian. Only highly advanced science. Of course, that's the same thing to an uncivilized brute, isn't it?"
A humm filled the air, making Gamin's hair stand on end. She blinked -- and they were gone. She leaped over the desk and made her way to the shattered window. There was no sign of the Men in Black, nor of X-O. "Oh, Aric... Where are you now?"
NEXT ISSUE : X-O Manowar is a captive of the Men in Black, but does that mean he's helpless? Far from it! Plus : Gamin meets Samantha Jones, with surprising results. And more on the Holo-Ken!
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Well, you either think I'm brilliant now or a real idiot. The 'resurrection' of Ken Clarkson wasn't something I planned when I started the series, but it was something that developed naturally while I was re-reading my past issues. I love writing his character and I expect there will be humor to be found in coming issues, as he deals with his status as a holographic being. Is he truly alive? We'll see.
The Men in Black were villains in the great Visitor series. I always wanted to see them tangle with X-O and next issue (set mostly on the mothership) will be packed with action.
I promise the Samantha Jones subplot is going somewhere. Slowly, yes, but it is moving forward.
Please let me know what you think.