Premiere #47: In Consequence


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What happens when the war is over but the peace has yet to be won, from... the Hooded Hood
Fri Jul 11, 2003 at 09:01:04 am EST
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Premiere #47: In Consequence

“Milady, we have communication!” the senior tech called across the Operations Room to the ruler of the planet. “We are getting a signal. From Technopolis.”
“From Technopolis?” Lisa Waltz worried, with a glance over at Starpom Omega. “That’s either very good or very bad.”
“It’s Windblossom.”
“The little girl?” the Sov-Blok science hero frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Put her on speaker,” Lisa ordered. “Hello? Kareen?”
“Lisa? Oh, we finally got through!”
“What happened?” demanded Starpom Omaga. “How is it you are transmitting from Technopolis?”
“The war’s over,” Windblossom explained. “We’ve won!”
“We did?” Lisa asked. “I mean, yes, we did. Wonderful.”
“What happened?” Josef Casparov demanded. “When you went silent we thought the worst. Every day here it has been harder and harder to hold this world together. We need Premiere. People only trust Premiere.”
That was true a week ago, Lisa thought. Now they trust you as well, Josef.
“We assaulted the city. Premiere and the Lair Legion got in. The Legion took down the science villains before falling themselves. Premiere killed Steel Enforcer and then he took down the Red Watchman.” She blushed and added. “Phase Shift killed Dr Zalas.”
“Casualties?” asked Lisa.
Windblossom paled again. “Too many to count just now. Power and C&C systems are still down across most of the city, but things are calming now the surviving science police are free from control. SPUD forces have taken the remaining science villains into custody. We don’t have secure facilities we can trust right now. A lot of your friends were pretty beaten up but we have them on regenerators.”
“I can see you you’ve been busy,” Lisa admitted.
“But you come home now, ya?” Starpom Omega almost pleaded. “You fix up those interdimensional generators and you get Technopolis back where it belongs. We need to work together now. We could make a better world if only we can work together.”
“Yes, we’ll be coming home as soon as Hacker Nine and Al B. Harper and NTU-150 can set things up,” Kareen O’Connell promised. “Martin – Phase Shift – is terribly worried because the military-industrial complexes here on this planet are looking rather enviously at our property. There’s talk of war crimes trials and of reparations made by seizure of technology, possibly of an occupying force in Technopolis to ensure no further aggression.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” agreed Lisa Waltz. “Can you get a one-person transfer gate up and running so I can get across there and rip Garrick’s spleen out?”
“I think we could manage something for that good a cause, yes,” promised Windblossom.

_______________


The SPUD helicarrier lay at a thirty degree list which made navigating the wrecked command deck something of a challenge, but Dan Drury, commanding the combined allied forces for Earth's liberation strode across them like a pirate king fending off boarders and calling for more cannons. "C'mon. There's seventy zillion dollarsworth of technology on this damn bucket," he shouted. "Find me a phone that works!"
"We've got a feed from Europe," Al B. Harper called from under the comms console. He worked feverishly to splice wires and put the ship in touch with Sir Mumphrey Wilton and NATO Command. Later he'd find time to go and get the shrapnel removed from his arm and leg.
“Drury? Drury is that you?” came a crusty English voice over the makeshift loudspeakers.
“Yeah. You got us. And we got Technopolis. The shield’s down, resistance is fragmented, and we have a ground force moving in to take possession by nightfall.”
“Casualties?”
Drury sighed. “Too many. We’re still shipping people back here, but it’s lookin’ like seventy percent of our fly-guys, mebbe half the ground-pounders. We lost a lot of materiel too. The Helicarrier’s down, and we got a wrecked conventional aircraft carrier up a mountain as well.”
Asil’s anxious voice came over the feed. “What about the League and the Legion?”
“Rocky. We lost Dark Knight an’ the Manga Shoggoth. Windblossom’s got a lot of them on Technopolis regenerator units to save ‘em. Exile, Finny, Ziles, CSFB!, an’ NTU-150 are probably worst off. We’re still missin’ a few people, but the fighting’s still happenin’ in isolated corners. What’s the story in the rest of the world?”
“We’ve heard from the West Coast. The science villains have been brought down. The JBH have a lot in custody pending determination,” Sir Mumphrey reported. “The Abandoned Legion seem to have vanished, though. Nobody’s sure whether they’re casualties or because they thought those warrants for their arrest might be reactivated or what.”
“We’ve heard from Europe and Africa, too,” Asil added. “And from Paradopolis, where no one’s quite sure why they’re still alive. When Technopolis fell the fight went out of the conquerors.”
“Hmph. Now everybody’s comin’ out of hiding explaining that they never really surrendered to the Red Watchman at all,” growled Mumphrey.
A new voice came over the speakers and Drury’s face darkened. “What about Technopolis now?” Herbert P. Garrick demanded. “We have to occupy it, sequester it’s technology before somebody else gets it.”
“These people have been victims,” argued Lisette from the SPUD command deck. “They need humanitarian aid not an army of occupation.”
“If we don’t do it someone else will,” Drury warned. “That’s a real big horde of super-science goodies sitting there all unprotected right now.”
“It makes sense to secure such equipment before it falls into the wrong hands,” Natalia Romanza considered.
“You mean not our hands,” Lisette snorted indignantly.
“Hey, it’s not our decision anyway,” shrugged Dan Drury, lighting up his last cigar and turning to the other man who clung to the wreckage of the command deck. “Mr President?”
“Take it.”

_______________


Technopolis command functions had been transferred to the tertiary control center, six miles southwest of the shattered Science Council Building. There Hacker 9 and his impromptu assembly of technicians were frantically trying to restore functionality to a crippled city.
“How’s it going?” asked Phase Shift. Martin Hernandez was surprised to find himself the ranking active science hero, but he was rising to the occasion with remarkable confidence. “We need the power grids back to service the life support functions pretty soon.”
“On it,” promised H9, bypassing security protocols with casual ease as he jury-rigged systems in ways their designers had never imagined. “But Premiere told me he wanted the dimensional jump engines online as a priority.”
“The jump engines?” Phase Shift frowned. “We’ve already restored a small-scale personal portal gate.”
“His heroness wants the whole city good to go,” Hacker 9 replied. “I guess he’s heard something. And he has level eight senses after all.”
“We can’t just… leave!”
“We can’t just stay, either,” Premiere advised him. Martin tried not to gasp at the appearance of the city’s savior. The flesh and hair had started to grow back on Victor Brooke’s body, and his replacement uniform didn’t stain with blood; that was the best that could be said.
“Sir?”
Premiere pointed through the duraglass window. “Allied tank column approaching from the south. The remaining allied forces here have already established a secure perimeter. By night those soldiers will want to occupy the city. I don’t blame them, but I can’t allow it.”
Martin Hernandez nodded. “I see that. But we’ve done so much harm to this world…”
“The least harm we can do now is to go. If they try to seize our city we’ll have to fight them. If they gain our technology they’ll go to war with each other and with us over it. We’ll get home, establish a one-way portal for them to return the stray science-villains they have in custody as they see fit after local judicial processes. But we can’t stay here or I’ll end up having to kill the Lair Legion to save Technopolis.”
Phase Shift was uncertain that Premiere could keep standing much longer, let alone battle this world’s foremost heroes. “I’m sorry about Xanadelle,” he said.
Victor Brooke nodded. “I tried to spare her, you know. I tried to destroy her remains with my thermal spray when I first had to kill her to prevent Zalas bringing her back. I just hadn’t factored in the Watchman’s power.”
“The Watchman won’t harm anybody ever again,” Phase Shift promised. “I, er, sir, I killed Science Councilor Zalas.”
“Yes. Good job, lad.”
“Sir?”
“Carry on, Martin. You’re doing fine.”

_______________


Premiere found Dancer helping with the damage reclamation down by the Science Compound. She was working with Goldeneyed, Hatman, Sorceress, dull thud and Amazing Guy to clear debris and check for survivors. Nearby Lisa was comparing notes with Visionary and Cheryl.
“Victor!” Dancer gasped, seeing the last science hero’s condition for the first time. “You should be in bed!”
“That’s what you always tell me,” he smiled, accepting her embrace. She felt very good in his arms. “But it’s not to be.”
Sarah Shepherdson looked up as she caught the note in his voice. “You’re not staying, are you? You’re taking the city back?”
The other Legionnaires realized something was happening.
“Leaving?” Hatman frowned. “I don’t think that’s authorized.”
“I don’t need authorization,” Premiere answered. “We’re going home.”
“You can’t just…” the capped crusader protested, but Sorceress laid a restraining arm on him.
“If he hasn’t won the right to go home, who has?” she asked softly.
Dancer looked up at the torn, bloody face of the last science hero. “I can’t go with you, Victor” she told him. “You know I have to stay here, right?”
“Yes. Maybe if Xanadalle hadn’t…”
Dancer silenced him with a kiss. Her mouth came away smeared with his blood. “Goodbye.”

_______________


Dan Drury was touring the overcrowded and beaten up helicarrier medical deck when the alarm came in. “Sir, we’ve just got word from Goldeneyed. Premiere’s taking Technopolis back. Back to its own world!”
Drury grabbed the communicator. “Helicarrier ta Lair Legion! Come in fast! You gotta stop Technopolis leaving. Presidential orders.”
“Sorry, man,” came back Trickshot’s disrespectful voice. “You’re breakin’ up. Crackle. Fizz.”
“You’re not going to convince them to help you conquer Technopolis,” spiffy warned as he, Nats, and ManMan emerged from having their wounds treated. “And good for them.”
“It’s better for everybody if they just get out of here,” agreed Nats. “It feels wrong for them to have done that dimensional rift jump thingie in the first place.”
On one of the intensive care beds, the bloody winged form of Pegasus stirred restlessly in morphine-aided sleep. “Nnnnooooooo,” she moaned. “No, they mustn’t…”
“If she’s waking up I want more security on her,” Drury warned.
“She said something earlier,” Knifey noted. “Before she went down. Something about a mission. About… sabotaging dimensional generators?”
“Yessss,” moaned Pegasus, struggling feebly at her restraints. “Mustn’t use them… everyone will die…”

_______________


“Jump generators at 67% yield,” reported the Chief Trans-Conduit Technician, “That’s the best we’re going to manage. Dimensional integrity field at 71%.”
“Best recommendation, Dr Fallister?” asked Premiere
“Go now, or not at all.”
“All the Earth soldiers and Science Heroes clear?” Premiere asked Phase Shift.
“All that want to go, yes,” agreed the young man.
“As many of our sick and prisoners as we can manage back in the city?”
“Being treated now, with what we’ve got,” Windblossom reported.
“Incoming call from Colonel Drury,” warned Phase Shift. “It’s flagged as urgent.”
“Ignore it,” Premiere commanded. “Dr Fallister… Jump!”

_______________


Space warped around the vast city of Technopolis. The silver city rippled and distorted, and for a moment reality redefined itself. Then with a scream of worlds dying it vanished from the Parodyverse.
Falcon flew over the crater at maximum speed. “It’s too late,” he reported in bleak, deadly tones. “They’ve gone.”

Original concepts, characters, and situations copyright © 2003 reserved by Ian Watson. Other Parodyverse characters copyright © 2003 to their creators. The use of characters and situations reminiscent of other popular works do not constitute a challenge to the copyrights or trademarks of those works. The right of Ian Watson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved.


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