Post by redsycorax on Mar 6, 2022 22:58:29 GMT
On Earth-219, once again history diverged from the datum path from which we are accustomed. On that Earth, neither of the totalitarian movements of the twentieth century were successful. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was assassinated en route to Russia, and without his leadership, the communist rebellion was still born- so Russia became a democratic republic instead, forcing the Tsars into exile in the Netherlands. At the same time, the Nazis were similarly unsuccessful. Their entire leadership was killed in 1923 during the unsuccessful Munich 'beer hall' putsch attempt and the movement never regained its strength thereafter. Although the Weimar Republic experienced some upheavals, it still survived intact. Without their influence, it was left to fascist Italy and Spain to foment a short-lived European War (1941-43). It ended when Mussolini was shot dead during his last stand in Rome. Regardless of averting a Second World War, though, international changes happened. India still won independence in 1948, but Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalists won in China. France continues to fight rearguard colonialist wars in Algeria and Vietnam, ostracised by the international community. The United States is a sleepy, isolationist country, never having become a significant superpower in this world. Instead, the world's superheroes are based in the British Federal Republic...
++
LONDON: APRIL 2022:
As he blinked awake and yawned, Unraveller was startled to see his combat companion Deaths Head Moth seated alongside him:
"Rachel?"
"Gordon, get your arse out of bed and get dressed. What's the matter, did you tie one on last night?"
"Er, yes. Well, we finally did capture Redtooth, don't forget."
"I know. However, you've clearly forgotten that it's rehearsal for the Republic Day celebrations today."
Gordon Roper grinned sheepishly. How could he have forgotten, particularly as his own father, Gerald Roper, the first Unraveller, was responsible for the exposure of the presumptive king, Edward VIII and his mistress, the Duchess of Argyll's, involvement in the cold-blooded assassination of his brother, George Duke of York, his wife Elizabeth and their daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, at his own coronation? Following the disclosure, the resultant furore forced the abdication of Edward VIII and his forced flight from what then became the British Federal Republic after a referendum in 1936. Disgraced and in exile in pariah state France, the disgraced Edward died alone from cancer in 1972, only recognised by the outlaw nation that he now resided in.
As Deaths Head Moth courteously turned her back, Unraveller pulled on his black bodysuit, with its telltale chain emblem visible on his chest. When he'd fully dressed, she nodded toward the hallway:
"Come on, you, time's wasting."
As they walked down the Planet's Paragons hallway, Unraveller looked out at the succession of august science heroes that surrounded them, indicating their heroic heritage. The Face, who had sacrificed his life leading the troops into Mussolini's bunker at the end of the European War, only to be killed by a desperate Il Duce in the process; his lover, the Red Torpedo, who died preventing a Restorationist coup on the Dover beaches only months later; the fifties savant, Captain Science, who had done so much for space exploration during the second incarnation of the Paragons; Strawpeter, the animated scarecrow-like avenger of the night; and Direwolf, mutated into a lycanthrope by a freak radiation accident at the troubled Sellafield nuclear reactor. Together, they belonged to that elite British science hero agency. It was a far cry from the civil war of the fifties, according to what Cap had told Rachel and Gordon; even given his pioneering space exploration, he was still a target for Radical Monarchist League terrorists trying to bring down the edifice of the early republic. Over time, the RML's cadres had aged and died off, and they had ceased to be an effective threat by the time of President Michael Foot in the eighties. Back then, Cap had told them, people lived off highly suspect Victory "Gin" or "cigarettes"; it was all too reminiscent of the George Orwell dystopia Iron Lady, where the Restorationists had won and the tyrannical Restorationist Prime Minister Mary Hatchet had unleashed radical hypermarket policies on a hellish "United Kingdom" under her decade of misrule. Indeed, Mary Hatchet had been a popular icon in popular horror comics and films as a consequence.
It was all a far cry from the more innocent 'super-hero' fare from the United States- Super-Man, the Bat, Captain Thunder and Virtue Virago - all of which both of them had read cover to cover and enjoyed despite the misgivings of their parents. Indeed, their exploits might have even played a role in the formation and development of the first and second incarnations of the Planet's Paragons. While curmudgeons in the Union of Eurasian Democratic Republics (formerly Russia) and the German Federation might cavil at the presumptuous title, nevertheless, they were also appreciative that the League of Nations had mandated their operation outside the BFR, so they could engage in rescue and antiterrorist activities; even if Direwolf's tactics and enforcement activity were somewhat more controversial than his more restrained colleagues. And this wasn't a bad world- the alternate universe Sidewinder probes had sent back some horrific images of what might have been, such as an unstable Russo-American world that had perished in nuclear war, or a religious dictatorship centred on the former United States, or another ravaged by a brutal global pandemic that had killed billions. The BFR was no utopia, but it was the foremost Great Power in this world, for better or for worse.
Around the Paragons round table were seated the other members of their ensemble- Captain Science, still youthful due to his longevity serum; the lycanthrope Direwolf, in his human persona due to the absence of an amenable full moon; and Strawpeter, the Terror of the Night. As Deaths Head Moth and Unraveller took their seats, Captain Science was motioning at a satellite image:
"From what we can tell, this may have been a themobaric detonation."
"French? Is it within Algerian or Vietnamese territory?"
"I only wish it were. No, this occurred in an unclaimed Pacific archipelago, wholly uninhabited."
"But the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty outlawed all thermobaric weapon tests."
"I know, Rachel, but there are rogue states."
"But the League would come down on them like a ton of bricks, surely." Unraveller interjected.
"This may not be a nation state."
"You're saying that this could be a science villain, Captain?" Deaths Head Moth said, unbelievingly.
"All of my own rogues gallery are currently off planet or in the future, barred from retrotemporal transit and in secure incarceration. None of Damian's rogues gallery have that level of ordinance sophistication, and nor do any of yours. Accordingly, this may be a new threat."
"In which case, it would be visible on the CMCNet, however?" Rachel queried.
"I think we may be dealing with an encryption expert here." Captain Science confessed, leaving a stunned silence.
"But computer hacking is a major federal offence." Gordon persisted.
Abruptly, from the corner of the room, a chilling voice echoed: "Captain Science, you marginal human intellect. Acknowledge our overlordship and face the consequences of your continued thwarting of our objectives and the genocide of my species!"
Without turning around, Captain Science spoke levelly, given he knew what he'd witness. On the screen was a metal globe with detached manipulable knifeware and grapple hand, with a threatening crimson diode glowing from its head, which pulsed as it spoke:
"Scrutinans. I might have guessed. It was your species own avarice and corruption that destroyed Vulnus in that planetary explosion which consumed it. I was not at fault, nor were any of my colleagues in the Interplanetary Patrol. The Malev species fell prey to its own ruthless expansion and miscalculation-"
"Enough! I have assembled some of my past colleagues to challenge you and your colleagues. I am sure that Deaths Head Moth recognises Oubliet, her resurrected sister."
"No! Oh, Christina, how could you still be with that manipulator, Ektos?"
"It's a little late for sororal compassion and warmth now, Rachel. You assumed me dead and forgot that I'd even existed. You usurped my life and replaced me, your own twin!"
"We've been through this, Christina. You died in the incubator at the hospital. My parents mourned you, but you had severe internal anomalies. It was too early for the intensive neonatal care that might have helped you to pull through. I'm sorry it happened. That's no reason to pursue that vengeful vendetta of yours against us."
Ektos' face filled the screen: "How touching. Do you share your crime fighting partner's self-justifying nonsense, Unraveller?"
"Leave Deaths Head Moth alone, Ektos. You should never have meddled with nature and brought her sister back from the dead. Mind you, you always do tend to make wrong choices for your pretentions to godhood, don't you?"
"I don't expect you to understand, Unraveller, but Oubliet and I do love one another. Ah, Strawpeter. I'm sure you recognise my fellow Nadir member..."
"Technoire. I might have guessed."
The android female simulacrum purred as she trained her silver metal eyes on her own enemy:
"Hello, Peter. Still fighting the 'good' fight, I see?"
"I have no illusions about your own criminality or conscience, Techne. You don't have the latter. It's still all about the manifest destiny of robotkind, isn't it?"
"All who stand in our way will fall. Especially those who deliberately engineered the cold and callous genocide of the great cybernetic race of the Malev. In the end, we will prevail. Ah, Direwolf. We have one final stalwart of our number for you."
Direwolf uttered a low, guttural growl: "Well, well. Long time no see, Emil."
"Direwolf! You will pay for your incursion into Gothika City, my hunting ground, your unholy intrusion into the Drakhpit and the brutal execution of my acolyte, Reven!"
"Always the same, isn't it, Emil? Vampires have some devil-given right to prey on weak and vulnerable humans. Except some of us aren't so weak and vulnerable."
"Lycanthrope filth! You are not even remotely human!"
Captain Science cut off the broadcast, deeply affected:
"Anthony, what is it?"
"Forgive me, Rachel. It brought back memories. Painful ones. Scrutinans murdered my fathers, the mystery men known as the Face and Red Torpedo. That pain... has never really gone away."
"Are you sure you don't want to sit this one out, Rachel? Oubliet is your own sister, after all."
"She made her choice and she has to pay for making the wrong one. I'm not going to make excuses for her behaviour. She has to be stopped."
Strawpeter nodded: "And so does Technoire. Even if I did love her once, back when we both lived on Venus, her subsequent ordeal has warped and twisted her almost beyond recognition."
Captain Science nodded: "Then it is settled. We will embark on a mission to halt Nadir in its tracks, before it can unleash the dread menace of thermobaric weapons across the face of our world."
GOTHIKA CITY:
As the Planet's Paragons set forward into the forbidding, interneccine skyscraper shadows of Gothika City, they saw it. Captain Science nodded: "An immense thermobaric bomb. If it detonates, it will create catastrophic blast and incendiary effects. It is also colloquially known as a vacuum bomb or fuel air explosive device, I believe. Be careful, my friends. It will contain two separate chambers. One detonation will open the first chamber and release its contents as an aerosol cloud. The second detonation will then ignite that cloud, causing a massive blast wave, fireball and vacuum that will asphyxiate any in the surroundings as well as destroying any buildings where they might have sheltered."
"Paragons! Time to die!"
"If it means protecting this city from you, Scrutinans, then so be it!"
And with that, battle was joined. With his jet pack, Captain Science soared into the air to take on his murderous robotic enemy, its scalpel articulator and grappler limbs extending. Deaths Head Moth ran toward Oubliet, her phantasmator gloves able to get a hold of her ghostly twin sister. Unraveller leapt toward Ektos, while Strawpeter tackled Technoire and Direwolf wolfsided to unleash his furiosity against his long-time tormentor and nemesis, Emil (Drakhman) Vygotski. At last, there would be an end to the drama that had started when Drakhman had ambushed and murdered Sarah Skylar, his girlfriend, one dark night in the city. Infuriated to be challenged, Vygotski opened his mouth and hissed at him, flashing his razorsharp teeth. There was a very real possibility that only one of them would leave this room 'alive' (although that was debatable in Drakhman's case).
And although grandiose and grotesque vanity was at stake, the first blood was Direwolf's, as he concealed a spike in his paw and stabbed home with it, leaving Drakhman to gaze at it in horror as he slowly became fiery dust and then wholly disintegrated. But sadly, he did not have long to exult as a scowling Technoire impaled him in turn with a silver claw implement of her own. Then, she turned and gaped as Unraveller smiled and grimly brandished her innard circuitry. In an uncharacteristic moment of despair and humanity, Technoire put her hand to her mouth alcove and then her eye sensors glazed over and she topped to the floor, leaving Strawpeter to face Scrutinans as he raised his weaponry unit and silhouetted him in particle beam fire and fury. Deaths Head Moth broke off her conflict with Oubliet and she ran forward to slip her spectral hand into the Malev's brainsphere. Incorporeal, she could not be harmed, but the same could not be said for the last of the Malevs. Taking his lover's hand, Ektos broke cover and ran toward an interstitial doorway into the Necrozone, where he knew that Unraveller, Captain Science and Deaths Head Moth could not follow them. As the final detonation sequence ticked down to zero, Captain Science thwarted it with only seconds to spare and a great metropolitan city was saved- albeit at the cost of two of the Planet's Paragons.
EPILOGUE:
At the funeral, the three surviving members of the Planet's Paragons sadly sat at the graveside of their long-time friends and comrades:
"At least Strawpeter will be that monster's final victim. And Rachel... thank you for what you did back there. I owe you one."
"But dear God, Anthony. I know that wherever Calvin is now, he's reunited with his beloved Sarah and he managed to avenge himself on her murderer, but he deserved to be here with us, savouring that victory, not mown down like so much cannon fodder. What do we do now?"
"At least we inflicted a severer defeat on them. Technoire, Scrutinans and Drakhman are gone, leaving our pair of star-crossed lovers. And Rachel? At least Oubliet didn't actively participate in what happened."
"No, Gordon, but that was because I was her paramount target. She was still an active element within the organisation that murdered two of our own number. I wish I believed that she withheld her involvement because she was internally conflicted about fighting and killing me, but I know better than to hold out any hope for that. She needs to be tracked down and neutralised."
"And Ektos is my enemy. He brought her back to life, just as he's killed so many others with his ability to accelerate disease and bodily wound impact. We need to prepare for that, Rachel. Together."
And with that, he leant forward and kissed her. In an instant, she returned the passionate embrace as they finally acted on the long-hidden desire for each other.
Alone, Captain Science looked up into the sky above, hoping that with the final end of the Malev species, his fathers, The Face and Red Torpedo, were finally at rest. The final end of Nadir itself, however, would have to wait for another day. He turned to face his two comrades as they reluctantly ended their clinch:
"I almost hate to bring this up, but with Strawpeter and Direwolf gone now, we'll need to open active inquiries to bring new blood into the Paragons."
"Of course, " Rachel said, "but let's wait a decent period until we've finished properly mourning our fallen comrades. Goodbye, Peter and Calvin. We'll never forget you, or what you meant to us." And with that, Captain Science, Deaths Head Moth and Unraveller walked slowly from their deceased companion's graveside. Although Ektos and Oubliet were still at large, their apprehension would have to wait for another day. As they did so, the eastern horizon started to almost imperceptibly brighten with the promise of a new day and a new beginning.
THE END
++
LONDON: APRIL 2022:
As he blinked awake and yawned, Unraveller was startled to see his combat companion Deaths Head Moth seated alongside him:
"Rachel?"
"Gordon, get your arse out of bed and get dressed. What's the matter, did you tie one on last night?"
"Er, yes. Well, we finally did capture Redtooth, don't forget."
"I know. However, you've clearly forgotten that it's rehearsal for the Republic Day celebrations today."
Gordon Roper grinned sheepishly. How could he have forgotten, particularly as his own father, Gerald Roper, the first Unraveller, was responsible for the exposure of the presumptive king, Edward VIII and his mistress, the Duchess of Argyll's, involvement in the cold-blooded assassination of his brother, George Duke of York, his wife Elizabeth and their daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, at his own coronation? Following the disclosure, the resultant furore forced the abdication of Edward VIII and his forced flight from what then became the British Federal Republic after a referendum in 1936. Disgraced and in exile in pariah state France, the disgraced Edward died alone from cancer in 1972, only recognised by the outlaw nation that he now resided in.
As Deaths Head Moth courteously turned her back, Unraveller pulled on his black bodysuit, with its telltale chain emblem visible on his chest. When he'd fully dressed, she nodded toward the hallway:
"Come on, you, time's wasting."
As they walked down the Planet's Paragons hallway, Unraveller looked out at the succession of august science heroes that surrounded them, indicating their heroic heritage. The Face, who had sacrificed his life leading the troops into Mussolini's bunker at the end of the European War, only to be killed by a desperate Il Duce in the process; his lover, the Red Torpedo, who died preventing a Restorationist coup on the Dover beaches only months later; the fifties savant, Captain Science, who had done so much for space exploration during the second incarnation of the Paragons; Strawpeter, the animated scarecrow-like avenger of the night; and Direwolf, mutated into a lycanthrope by a freak radiation accident at the troubled Sellafield nuclear reactor. Together, they belonged to that elite British science hero agency. It was a far cry from the civil war of the fifties, according to what Cap had told Rachel and Gordon; even given his pioneering space exploration, he was still a target for Radical Monarchist League terrorists trying to bring down the edifice of the early republic. Over time, the RML's cadres had aged and died off, and they had ceased to be an effective threat by the time of President Michael Foot in the eighties. Back then, Cap had told them, people lived off highly suspect Victory "Gin" or "cigarettes"; it was all too reminiscent of the George Orwell dystopia Iron Lady, where the Restorationists had won and the tyrannical Restorationist Prime Minister Mary Hatchet had unleashed radical hypermarket policies on a hellish "United Kingdom" under her decade of misrule. Indeed, Mary Hatchet had been a popular icon in popular horror comics and films as a consequence.
It was all a far cry from the more innocent 'super-hero' fare from the United States- Super-Man, the Bat, Captain Thunder and Virtue Virago - all of which both of them had read cover to cover and enjoyed despite the misgivings of their parents. Indeed, their exploits might have even played a role in the formation and development of the first and second incarnations of the Planet's Paragons. While curmudgeons in the Union of Eurasian Democratic Republics (formerly Russia) and the German Federation might cavil at the presumptuous title, nevertheless, they were also appreciative that the League of Nations had mandated their operation outside the BFR, so they could engage in rescue and antiterrorist activities; even if Direwolf's tactics and enforcement activity were somewhat more controversial than his more restrained colleagues. And this wasn't a bad world- the alternate universe Sidewinder probes had sent back some horrific images of what might have been, such as an unstable Russo-American world that had perished in nuclear war, or a religious dictatorship centred on the former United States, or another ravaged by a brutal global pandemic that had killed billions. The BFR was no utopia, but it was the foremost Great Power in this world, for better or for worse.
Around the Paragons round table were seated the other members of their ensemble- Captain Science, still youthful due to his longevity serum; the lycanthrope Direwolf, in his human persona due to the absence of an amenable full moon; and Strawpeter, the Terror of the Night. As Deaths Head Moth and Unraveller took their seats, Captain Science was motioning at a satellite image:
"From what we can tell, this may have been a themobaric detonation."
"French? Is it within Algerian or Vietnamese territory?"
"I only wish it were. No, this occurred in an unclaimed Pacific archipelago, wholly uninhabited."
"But the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty outlawed all thermobaric weapon tests."
"I know, Rachel, but there are rogue states."
"But the League would come down on them like a ton of bricks, surely." Unraveller interjected.
"This may not be a nation state."
"You're saying that this could be a science villain, Captain?" Deaths Head Moth said, unbelievingly.
"All of my own rogues gallery are currently off planet or in the future, barred from retrotemporal transit and in secure incarceration. None of Damian's rogues gallery have that level of ordinance sophistication, and nor do any of yours. Accordingly, this may be a new threat."
"In which case, it would be visible on the CMCNet, however?" Rachel queried.
"I think we may be dealing with an encryption expert here." Captain Science confessed, leaving a stunned silence.
"But computer hacking is a major federal offence." Gordon persisted.
Abruptly, from the corner of the room, a chilling voice echoed: "Captain Science, you marginal human intellect. Acknowledge our overlordship and face the consequences of your continued thwarting of our objectives and the genocide of my species!"
Without turning around, Captain Science spoke levelly, given he knew what he'd witness. On the screen was a metal globe with detached manipulable knifeware and grapple hand, with a threatening crimson diode glowing from its head, which pulsed as it spoke:
"Scrutinans. I might have guessed. It was your species own avarice and corruption that destroyed Vulnus in that planetary explosion which consumed it. I was not at fault, nor were any of my colleagues in the Interplanetary Patrol. The Malev species fell prey to its own ruthless expansion and miscalculation-"
"Enough! I have assembled some of my past colleagues to challenge you and your colleagues. I am sure that Deaths Head Moth recognises Oubliet, her resurrected sister."
"No! Oh, Christina, how could you still be with that manipulator, Ektos?"
"It's a little late for sororal compassion and warmth now, Rachel. You assumed me dead and forgot that I'd even existed. You usurped my life and replaced me, your own twin!"
"We've been through this, Christina. You died in the incubator at the hospital. My parents mourned you, but you had severe internal anomalies. It was too early for the intensive neonatal care that might have helped you to pull through. I'm sorry it happened. That's no reason to pursue that vengeful vendetta of yours against us."
Ektos' face filled the screen: "How touching. Do you share your crime fighting partner's self-justifying nonsense, Unraveller?"
"Leave Deaths Head Moth alone, Ektos. You should never have meddled with nature and brought her sister back from the dead. Mind you, you always do tend to make wrong choices for your pretentions to godhood, don't you?"
"I don't expect you to understand, Unraveller, but Oubliet and I do love one another. Ah, Strawpeter. I'm sure you recognise my fellow Nadir member..."
"Technoire. I might have guessed."
The android female simulacrum purred as she trained her silver metal eyes on her own enemy:
"Hello, Peter. Still fighting the 'good' fight, I see?"
"I have no illusions about your own criminality or conscience, Techne. You don't have the latter. It's still all about the manifest destiny of robotkind, isn't it?"
"All who stand in our way will fall. Especially those who deliberately engineered the cold and callous genocide of the great cybernetic race of the Malev. In the end, we will prevail. Ah, Direwolf. We have one final stalwart of our number for you."
Direwolf uttered a low, guttural growl: "Well, well. Long time no see, Emil."
"Direwolf! You will pay for your incursion into Gothika City, my hunting ground, your unholy intrusion into the Drakhpit and the brutal execution of my acolyte, Reven!"
"Always the same, isn't it, Emil? Vampires have some devil-given right to prey on weak and vulnerable humans. Except some of us aren't so weak and vulnerable."
"Lycanthrope filth! You are not even remotely human!"
Captain Science cut off the broadcast, deeply affected:
"Anthony, what is it?"
"Forgive me, Rachel. It brought back memories. Painful ones. Scrutinans murdered my fathers, the mystery men known as the Face and Red Torpedo. That pain... has never really gone away."
"Are you sure you don't want to sit this one out, Rachel? Oubliet is your own sister, after all."
"She made her choice and she has to pay for making the wrong one. I'm not going to make excuses for her behaviour. She has to be stopped."
Strawpeter nodded: "And so does Technoire. Even if I did love her once, back when we both lived on Venus, her subsequent ordeal has warped and twisted her almost beyond recognition."
Captain Science nodded: "Then it is settled. We will embark on a mission to halt Nadir in its tracks, before it can unleash the dread menace of thermobaric weapons across the face of our world."
GOTHIKA CITY:
As the Planet's Paragons set forward into the forbidding, interneccine skyscraper shadows of Gothika City, they saw it. Captain Science nodded: "An immense thermobaric bomb. If it detonates, it will create catastrophic blast and incendiary effects. It is also colloquially known as a vacuum bomb or fuel air explosive device, I believe. Be careful, my friends. It will contain two separate chambers. One detonation will open the first chamber and release its contents as an aerosol cloud. The second detonation will then ignite that cloud, causing a massive blast wave, fireball and vacuum that will asphyxiate any in the surroundings as well as destroying any buildings where they might have sheltered."
"Paragons! Time to die!"
"If it means protecting this city from you, Scrutinans, then so be it!"
And with that, battle was joined. With his jet pack, Captain Science soared into the air to take on his murderous robotic enemy, its scalpel articulator and grappler limbs extending. Deaths Head Moth ran toward Oubliet, her phantasmator gloves able to get a hold of her ghostly twin sister. Unraveller leapt toward Ektos, while Strawpeter tackled Technoire and Direwolf wolfsided to unleash his furiosity against his long-time tormentor and nemesis, Emil (Drakhman) Vygotski. At last, there would be an end to the drama that had started when Drakhman had ambushed and murdered Sarah Skylar, his girlfriend, one dark night in the city. Infuriated to be challenged, Vygotski opened his mouth and hissed at him, flashing his razorsharp teeth. There was a very real possibility that only one of them would leave this room 'alive' (although that was debatable in Drakhman's case).
And although grandiose and grotesque vanity was at stake, the first blood was Direwolf's, as he concealed a spike in his paw and stabbed home with it, leaving Drakhman to gaze at it in horror as he slowly became fiery dust and then wholly disintegrated. But sadly, he did not have long to exult as a scowling Technoire impaled him in turn with a silver claw implement of her own. Then, she turned and gaped as Unraveller smiled and grimly brandished her innard circuitry. In an uncharacteristic moment of despair and humanity, Technoire put her hand to her mouth alcove and then her eye sensors glazed over and she topped to the floor, leaving Strawpeter to face Scrutinans as he raised his weaponry unit and silhouetted him in particle beam fire and fury. Deaths Head Moth broke off her conflict with Oubliet and she ran forward to slip her spectral hand into the Malev's brainsphere. Incorporeal, she could not be harmed, but the same could not be said for the last of the Malevs. Taking his lover's hand, Ektos broke cover and ran toward an interstitial doorway into the Necrozone, where he knew that Unraveller, Captain Science and Deaths Head Moth could not follow them. As the final detonation sequence ticked down to zero, Captain Science thwarted it with only seconds to spare and a great metropolitan city was saved- albeit at the cost of two of the Planet's Paragons.
EPILOGUE:
At the funeral, the three surviving members of the Planet's Paragons sadly sat at the graveside of their long-time friends and comrades:
"At least Strawpeter will be that monster's final victim. And Rachel... thank you for what you did back there. I owe you one."
"But dear God, Anthony. I know that wherever Calvin is now, he's reunited with his beloved Sarah and he managed to avenge himself on her murderer, but he deserved to be here with us, savouring that victory, not mown down like so much cannon fodder. What do we do now?"
"At least we inflicted a severer defeat on them. Technoire, Scrutinans and Drakhman are gone, leaving our pair of star-crossed lovers. And Rachel? At least Oubliet didn't actively participate in what happened."
"No, Gordon, but that was because I was her paramount target. She was still an active element within the organisation that murdered two of our own number. I wish I believed that she withheld her involvement because she was internally conflicted about fighting and killing me, but I know better than to hold out any hope for that. She needs to be tracked down and neutralised."
"And Ektos is my enemy. He brought her back to life, just as he's killed so many others with his ability to accelerate disease and bodily wound impact. We need to prepare for that, Rachel. Together."
And with that, he leant forward and kissed her. In an instant, she returned the passionate embrace as they finally acted on the long-hidden desire for each other.
Alone, Captain Science looked up into the sky above, hoping that with the final end of the Malev species, his fathers, The Face and Red Torpedo, were finally at rest. The final end of Nadir itself, however, would have to wait for another day. He turned to face his two comrades as they reluctantly ended their clinch:
"I almost hate to bring this up, but with Strawpeter and Direwolf gone now, we'll need to open active inquiries to bring new blood into the Paragons."
"Of course, " Rachel said, "but let's wait a decent period until we've finished properly mourning our fallen comrades. Goodbye, Peter and Calvin. We'll never forget you, or what you meant to us." And with that, Captain Science, Deaths Head Moth and Unraveller walked slowly from their deceased companion's graveside. Although Ektos and Oubliet were still at large, their apprehension would have to wait for another day. As they did so, the eastern horizon started to almost imperceptibly brighten with the promise of a new day and a new beginning.
THE END