Timeline 1962 Issue 6

The Fight For Life!

As he approached, Stonecold’s glimmering white teeth were all that Will Walden could see. Normal human teeth inside a being monstrous both physically and mentally.

Stonecold pulled a block of metal sheeting from the wall of the hallway and chucked it at Will and Harmony. Soundwave (Will reminded himself again to remember to use her codename) pushed Will behind her and unleashed a burst of concentrated sound. The chunk of metal twisted as it was hit by the burst and flew off to one side, crashing in to the wall with enough force to tear a whole straight through, exposing a layer of sod beneath.

“Dang! We’re underground!” Will didn’t really hear the concern in her voice. His focus remained elsewhere. His eyes remained focused on the approaching Stonecold’s malicious grin. But his main focus was elsewhere, on his own personal flying saucer as it winged through the Federation skies above, coming ever towards them.

“I’m going to kill you, girl,” Stonecold growled. “And I’ll make sure you never, ever walk again, little man. Both of you are fools for thinking to challenge me!” Stonecold started charging towards the teenagers.

The clang of impact from behind Harmony and Will brought the three combatants to a halt. All turned to the steel door and the sound of it tearing away from its mooring.

Will grabbed Harmony by the shoulders. “Get down.”

She dropped to the floor beside him just as the saucer slammed the door off its hinges.

*****

Matt Ledger really didn’t have a clue where the strange flying saucer was going to lead him, but the Federation Museum of Science & Industry was fairly low on his list of choices. He couldn’t really argue with his (literally) eagle eyes as it crashed through the building. Looking around, Matt just thanked his lucky stars that no exhibit had taken any significant damage from the impact. The last thing he wanted to here at this point would be the Doc’s lecture about property damage and irreplaceable artifacts and whatever else.

He swooped down after the alien craft as it tore straight in to the building’s floor. He let himself return to human form and looked down in to the hole the craft had made. The saucer seemed to have opened the way to some kind of sub-basement under the museum proper. Matt didn’t quite know what to make of it.

Time to call in Uncle Theo, he thought. Matt keyed the com unit on his belt. “Animale to Doc and Coal.”

Coal’s gruff voice answered. “We read you, kid.”

“I’m at the Science Museum. The saucer’s currently underneath it.”

The sound of metal on metal impact drew his view back down to the sub-basement. “And I don’t know exactly what’s going on down there, but I think its time for Team Challenger to hop in to action.”

Coal didn’t answer for a moment. Matt could hear the faint sound of his uncle talking to his carbon-covered friend.

“You still there, kid.”

“I read you, big guy.”

“Doc says we’ve got an ETA of about five minutes. Like it or not, stay put to the cavalry arrives.”

The metal on metal shriek rang out again, this time followed by a horrible tearing noise.

“I’ll try,” Animale said, “but I don’t know if the UFO’s going to give me that kind of time.”

*****

Stonecold turned just in time for the saucer to collide with his chest. He crumpled under the impact and Will whooped with excitement. The monster never knew what hit it.

“Quick,” Soundwave yelled. “We’ve got to get out of here before either that beast or the alien wakes up.”

Will smiled. “I don’t think we’ve got to worry about either one of them.”

The saucer began to shift. Will turned back towards it. He wasn’t moving it. That could only mean one thing.

Stonecold stood up, shoving the saucer aside. He smiled again, despite a large gash of rocky covering missing from his back. A dark puss leaked from the wound, but Stonecold seemed not to even notice.

“That wasn’t very nice now,” he said. “Here I invite you in to my home, Mr. Walden, and all you do is break things, invite your nasty little strumpet over, and try to kill me. Not very polite at all I must say.”

The freak had lost all connection to reality now. Will prepared himself for the forthcoming attack, but Soundwave pushed him back behind her.

“I’m the meta here. I’ll take the attack.”

Will pulled her back and turned her towards him. “Trust me,” he said. “I know what I’m doing, all right.” She nodded. “When I tell you, I want you to make a break for the UFO.”

“But-“

“No buts. You’ve got to trust me, all right.?”

“Yeah.”

Stonecold made a show of cracking each knuckle as he closed in on them again. Will stepped back in front of Soundwave and started towards the monster. He hoped his own apparent bravado would distract Stonecold.

Will closed his eyes as Stonecold approached. He focused on his foe, and on every rock-like plate he could visualize in his head. The corridor came next, as he tried to remember every rend and tear in the structure left by their battle. He focused on those walls, the damage, and the raw sheets of metal laying about.

“Go,” he yelled out. “Go now!”

He pulled inward on all of it, focusing every in to one gravitational center, right on Stonecold’s back. The screech of metal as it tore free from the walls all at once proved nearly deafening. He prayed Harmony heard his cry as he started towards the saucer.

He kept his eyes closed as he ran, as he heard the first sounds of metal hitting Stonecold’s rock hide. He continued forward, hoping his own attack wouldn’t send a sheet of metal flying through him.

Will opened his eyes, just in time to avoid smashing face first in to the saucer. Harmony was already climbing on top of it as the entire tunnel came apart around them. Will felt the hatch open as he climbed on top of it.

“Get in,” he said. Harmony looked at him, as if the prospect of entering the saucer was far more frightening the destruction around them. “Do it!”

She started to climb down in to the small hatch as Will clamored up beside her. He pushed her in and jumped in behind. The saucer’s hatch closed behind him. A moment later, a sheet of metal flew past where Will’s head had been only moments before.

Will sat just behind Harmony who sat hunched over with both arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Will hoped she would be all right.

He looked back up at Stonecold, barely visible as metal, wood, and dirt flew at him from all directions. He flailed around, trying to fend off the attacks as best as he could, but it was far too much for him. Impact after impact slipped past his defense, tearing away more of his hide.

A rumbling brought Will’s vision up and he saw the very roof, now nearly barren of metal, as it began to shift above them. Will forced the saucer in to the air. Will let his assault on Stonecold fade. A second later, the saucer shot backward out of the tunnel and in to the museum proper.

The tunnel collapsed behind them as they shot off in to the sky.

*****

Animale couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched the museum collapse in upon itself. Soundwave was-

He pushed the thought from his mind. He needed to focus on keeping the collapse from taken any more lives. He swooped down to the still unstable ground. He shifted from eagle in to gorilla form and began work on stabilizing one of the collapsing pillars. Even with the greater strength of his ape form, it took a great deal of effort to wedge it in to place as the police officers and rescue workers on scene from the previous damage could pull back.

As the last normals left the scene he let the pillar fall, switching in to the form of a jay as it came down. He flew up and out of the museum. The ground began to rumble again.

Not again, he thought.

The UFO shot out of the wreckage. Animale barely had time to flap out of the way as it blasted up and in to the Federation sky. He could do nothing but watch it disappear in to the horizon and pray for the safety of Harmony Ledger.

*****

Will settled the saucer down just outside of Middlebury High School. He figured their shared school would be the best place to leave Harmony without revealing too much to her teammates.

“Thanks,” he said to her just after they touched down. “I don’t think I would have made it through all that if you hadn’t arrived.

“Don’t worry about it,” Harmony said. “It’s sort of my family’s job.”

“Are you going to tell them about me?”

She shook her head. “I’ll tell them you’re a meta, not an alien, but I’ll leave it at that. No need for them to know if you don’t want them too. You could join us though, instead.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I think it’s time for me to pull back on the whole metahero thing and focus back on school. I’ve only been doing this for a week and I’ve nearly died three times already.”

Harmony laughed. “You get used to it after awhile.”

Will gave the cockpit a nudge with his mind and it slid open. “Will I see you again?”

“Be sure of it,” Harmony said. “We go to the same school after all.”

She smiled and waved as Will took the saucer back in to the sky. He would have to find a new hiding place for the vehicle, but Will already knew he wouldn’t be giving up the hero game just yet. Good or bad, these powers and his vehicle were the best things to ever come in to his life, and he would prove himself worthy of the responsibility.

UFO was here to stay.