FORCED AGROUND

Part III

By Ben Hobson

Davis’ suite inside the Needle, home to the Empire of Khan

The messenger is another one of Khan’s women; slim, well-built, exotic, and extremely polite. She presses her four hands against one another bows again, her dark hair falling around her shoulders. “His Lord Khan has sent me to inform you that he will be unable to meet you at the scheduled time. Duties of state have called him away. His Majesty sends his apologizes.”

“Alright.” Davis says, disappointment filling his voice as the aide steps back away from the door. “Thanks. I guess.” He lets the door slide shut and gently bangs one fist against it. “Damn.”

“Lemme guess,” May says from further in the suite. “The big cat can’t play?”

“This is getting old.” Davis says angrily as he stomps into the room. “And I’m getting pissed.” He stops in the living area, where May sits in the comfortable couch. The young man doesn’t sit though, bubbling anger keeps him moving around the room.

From the small kitchen area, Steve chimes in. “He’s giving you the run-around.”

“I know,” Davis says, glaring at him. “But what am I supposed to do about it?”

“You’re the one who can travel between realities,” he says as he joins May on the couch. “We leave when you say so – so say so.”

“I’m not leaving until I know what the hell is going on,” Davis replies, leaning against the couch. “I need to see Irene. I won’t leave until I can talk to her.”

“I do miss her,” May says with a pout. “She had a nice, calming aura. Personally, I’m just down to move on cuz this world is BOH-RING. I was lookin’ forward to seein’ all kinds weird worlds and strange peoples and places where people talk backwards y’know?” she says, leaning backwards over the arm rest. “Instead all I get is this: Bad TV land. Blegh.”

“We need a plan,” Davis says, putting on his – as May calls it – thinking face. “A plan. A course of action. A-a modus operandi. A to-do list. A…a…anybody feel free to chime in here. With anything.”

“I’m retired,” Steve says, grabbing the remote from May.

“I’ve never been a big ‘planner,’ y’know?” May says. “More of a…do as you will-er. Y’dig?”

Davis glares at the both of them. “C’mon guys! I’m the least experienced guy in this room when it comes to dealing with-with – with stuff like this! Why do I need to come up with a plan!?”

“Cuz I’m retired,” Steve repeats, finishing off his sandwich. “And in my opinion, this place isn’t too bad.” “Bloody useless,” Davis mumbles, just loud enough that the other two can hear. “I’m gonna go talk to Doom then. Maybe he can come up with something.” As Davis opens up a slipstream below himself, his silver board flashes into existence.

The Sewing Room
Bay 29802 – the Excelsior

Whatever additions Doom had made to the Excelsior, Davis couldn’t tell what they were. He floats through the air smoothly, cutting the board back and forth in a gentle swaying motion. The only change he notices at all actually is the fact that the bay door is closed. Bright lights fill the actual bay itself, so there’s no problem there, but why is the door shut?

Putting aside that concern for later, Davis finally lands on the deck. His board disappears back into the fabric of reality and his bare feet touch upon the wooden ship. Davis had only been on the strange ship once – and even then, not for very long. Just after they entered this reality the Excelsior was shot down. Since then, Davis and his companions had the luxury of staying in the Needle. The only ones who hadn’t were Irene – who had been taken away by Khan – and Doom, whose protective issues forced him to stay with the ship. Despite this though, Davis still liked the ship. Slipping his hands into his khaki shorts, Davis starts to stroll towards the door that leads inward.

“Psssst! Davis.” Doom’s voice says from nearby. “I am over here.”

Pausing, the young surfer looks around the deck. There wasn’t anyone in sight when he landed and there certainly wasn’t anyone now. “Doom?”

“I am invisible,” Doom whispers back. “I am at the edge of the ship. Lean on the railing.”

Puzzled, Davis carefully walks to the railing, trying to not bump into Doom. Reaching the wooden rail safely, Davis leans on his elbows. “So, ah, why the invisibility?”

“Scoot to your left.”

Davis does.

“That’s better,” Doom replies. “I noticed the other day that the number of guards has gone up; from two to six. They are also carrying equipment.”

Leaning comfortably, Davis looks at where Doom should be. “Suspicious,” he says sarcastically.

“It is!” Doom whispers loudly. “I’ve been running scans over the equipment and men and it’s all incredibly advanced technology. I believe that they are studying my baby here.” Davis can hear Doom’s metal hand run over the railing. “Those devices are x-ray recorders and molecular analyzers. They’re STEALING my work!”

Davis stands up, his apprehension at allying with Khan increasing. “I don’t like this. I didn’t agree to letting them study the ship, just me.”

“We need to something!” Doom pleads, resting an invisible hand on Davis’ shoulder. “I think we should leave as soon as possible. Get the others, get them back here, and we’re gone in minutes!”

Davis shakes his head. “They’ve taken Irene, Doom. I-I don’t know why, I don’t know where. But I need to talk to her. She was telling me…” he looks down at the ground. “She was telling me something important.”

“AH,” Doom says, a smile evident in his voice. “A search and rescue mission, then! I’m surprised you haven’t brought this up to Ms. Marvel yet. With her magic it should be easy to find our erstwhile crew member.”

“Ms. Marvel?” Davis asks.

“The bewitching Ms. May Parker.” Doom replies casually.

“Oh, okay. And for the record, I have brought this up to May. And Steve. But they’re totally useless. May’s spells aren’t working and – “ “Well, they aren’t working because they’re being blocked,” Doom says casually. “Obviously.”

If Davis had been drinking something, he would have done a spit take. “WHAT?!”

“Yeah.” Doom continues. “My sensors have been picking up arcane signals all over this place. I’ve been decrypting them in my spare time, along with some of Khan’s morerobust channels of communication, and I’ve found two different spells of obfuscation aimed at Ms. Marvel. They’re pretty well woven too, I was impressed.”

Staring into the nothing-that-is-Doom, Davis’ eyes are wide. “We’re being played. I’m being played. I am REALLY being played here.”

“I’m not an expert,” Doom says. “But generally speaking….yes.”

Davis looks off to the side. “Shit.”

Invisibly nodding, Doom agrees.

War Room 034
Khan’s current location

One of the most problematic features of invading all of Creation is the fact that there is no “right” way to do it. There is no “lay of the land” to follow, rivers to ford, oceans to cross. Just the solid, steady movement of troops into whatever realities that Khan’s scientists can find and the ongoing struggle of claiming that branch. Multiple campaigns are run at the same time, thus creating the need for more than one fully equipped War Room.

The particular brane that Khan was involved in had been particularly difficult. Nearly two dozen people fill the two-story tall space, all of them analyzing data streams, video recordings, hourly reports, troop and supply requests, and enemy strength analysis. At the moment, Khan stands over a hologram projector that runs the currently ongoing struggle against this world’s indigenous people – a strange wolf-squid hybrid. Three others strategist surround the table, arguing the course of the battle, when one of the Khan’s many aides steps up next to him.

“What is it?” He asks, the projector casting a blue hue on his purple face.

“Davis Cameron has become aware of the spell-work.”

“Hm,” Khan barely replies, his interest focused on the battle at hand. He had talked quite a bit with Davis, assessing the boy, and honestly, he wasn’t a threat. He was lazy, simple, and a coward at heart. His “shipmates” weren’t much better, despite their raw potential, and there was little unity in the group. With Irene Cameron out of the way, they were little more than four strangers.

The emperor doesn’t even look away from the projection. “Move things to phase two then.”

Bowing, the aide adjusts her circlet. “Your majesty.”

The Sewing Room
Bay 29802 – the Excelsior

Inside Bay 29802, the lights very suddenly go out.

“Get to the Helm.” Doom says, pushing Davis towards the back of the ship. Below them, the six guards that Doom had been watching all suddenly light up. It’s subtle, and there are only a few lights per guard, but it’s enough to know that trouble is coming. Even worse is when another four also drop their invisibility fields – which Doom didn’t even know they HAD.

Inside his armor, Doom watches the happenings with ease. He very rarely looks at things through his regular eyes, instead preferring to view the world through screens, x-ray readouts, infrared scanners, and telepathic probes. All of his readings concur: this isn’t good. “Get to the Helm, NOW.”

“I can’t even see, what – ” Laser fire erupts from the guns of the guards, burning red streaks into the darkness! They would have easily taken off Davis’ head if it wasn’t for Doom shoving the young man aside. “Fuck!”

“Get to the Helm, get us moving!” Doom says, rushing towards a new door. Underneath his mask, he smiles. “I’ll get the defenses online.”

Davis’ suite

While neither May nor Rogers considered themselves geniuses, it didn’t take one to figure out what was going on when the windows were shuttered by metal planks and the lights went out. With an annoyed sigh, Rogers immediately transforms into Geist and sticks out his hand.

“What are you doing?” May asks as she holds up a hand. “Shirak.” A small globe of light surrounds her hand as she stands up, already pulling up defensive spells in her head. It’s a good thing too, because a teleportation portal suddenly opens! A small contingent of men and women stand ready, three of them dressed in the garb of mage soldiers. “By the Loins of Leiber!” May shouts, dropping her blue shades onto her nose as she summons up a protection spell.

Four men surround Geist, covered in the black armor of the regular guards, accented with pentagrams, scrolling designs, and small horns in the front of their helmets. They all carry strange rifles – they are metal and black, but with organic shapes, twists and turns. Whatever they fired, it would most likely not be a good idea to be hit by them.

Geist’s voice is a breaking whisper. “Stand down gentlemen.”

“Please,” the lead soldier says arrogantly, his voice a raspy whisper. “YOU stand down. We aren’t under orders to take you alive.”

“Good,” Geist replies as his shield finally bursts through the wall, slamming into the head of the lead guard. “At least we’re on equal terms.” Flying through the air, flinging dark ichor everywhere, the shield returns to Geist just as the demon rifles begin to fire! Angling the ricochets towards May’s attackers, Geist hunkers down and charges at the men.

May, meanwhile, pulls up shield after iridescent shield, blocking every attack that her three opponents fire at her. Thanks to her own nature, May wasn’t very big on attacking people. The fact that she had brought total peace to her own world didn’t help – she has little experience in fights, much less using offensive spells.

Her shields shatter quickly. Distraction charms and annoyance chants don’t even phase these mages. They are soldiers and their skills are hardened. The Crimson Bands of Cytorrak stream from one of the mages, blocked by the Swirling Blue of Scylla, while the LanceAnguish is fired from another. Each new spell takes a toll and May she’s very quickly sweating and frustrated. “C-c’mon cats – isn’t t-there someway we can talk this out?”

“Just kill them, May!” Geist shouts as he drags his shield through the body of the last demon-soldier. The first one, with the head wound, is already standing up, his helmet shattered. Geist grabs one of the demon-rifles and aims it at May’s attackers. He unleashes a spray of fire, all of it blocked by May! “What are you doing!?!” Not paying his own enemies enough mind, Geist is suddenly knocked in the back of the head by a rifle. The blow stuns him, sending the old soldier onto the ground.

“I-I won’t!” May shouts, her own defenses suddenly overwhelmed! Bright streaks of energy surround her, bind her, covering her hands and mouth in anti-spell energy.

The enemy squad starts to gather their wits, the battle won. The lead demon soldier bends over Geist and starts to bind his arms together when the unexpected happens.

The Excelsior suddenly bursts through the wall.

Glass, metal, plastics, and concrete fly into the room! The prow of the wooden ship scrapes along the ceiling, pulling down the paneling and support structure. Steel flooring is shredded like paper, splitting the carpet and upending the furniture. Then, just as easily as it entered, the ship pulls back! Lowering it so that the deck is level with the floor, Doom – his blue garment fluttering in the high altitude winds – peers into the room. His two arms burst out, stretching across the space, and grab May and Geist! As he yanks them both towards the craft, the squad suddenly regains their composure and starts to fire!

But they are too late. With its members safely back aboard, the Excelsior pulls away and drops out of this reality.

The Inbetween
The Excelsior

Davis leaves the helm quickly, his short board hovering under his feet as he launches himself over the railing. “Is everyone okay?”

“We’re alive,” Geist replies, looking at the young man. “Surprisingly.”

“Hang on.” Doom says to May, the young woman struggling against her bonds. “I haven’t studied much of the arcane, but I do know one spell: Ctrlaltdlt.” The energy bonds burst and instantly May is freed.

“How did you – ?”

“When you begin to study the fundamentals of Reality from inside Reality, all kinds of short cuts become obvious.” Doom replies, a smile under his mask. “Coding it to computer programming helps me remember it.”

Thoroughly impressed, May takes his hand and stands up. “I gotta learn me that one.”

“In time,” Doom says, turning to Davis. “Are we going back?”

“Yeah,” Davis says, nodding bravely to cover his shaking knees. He looks from Doom to May to Geist. “I have a plan.”

Although it was impossible to tell thanks to the fact that his face is a skull, Geist grins wider. “About damn time.”

The Needle
War Room 034

“Your majesty.”

Khan glances over his shoulder, his attention still focused on the wolf-squid people. “What is it?”

“Phase 2 has failed sir,” the aide reports. “Davis Cameron, his crew minus Irene Cameron, and their ship have all escaped our reality.”

Frowning, Khan looks back over the projected battlefield. “Not that terrible a loss, given the back-ups I put into place. Are the tracking devices working?”

The aide adjusts her circlet. “Yes sir. The results are strange but they are working.”

“Excellent,” Khan replies with a smile. “I didn’t give you those parts for free Doom.” he says, standing up proudly. “And we still have that “Legacy” woman as well, which is a personal victory. This didn’t turn out badly at all.”

The aide’s eyes suddenly light up as she examines the information on her circlet. “Your majesty?”

“Yes?” He says, cocking an eyebrow as he turns to look at her. The aide looks at him, then back down at the information. She really does not want to report what she’s reading.

But she does.

Elsewhere in the Needle

The Spirit of Vengeance, despite many common beliefs, is actually an angelic power. Bestowed by God upon mortals so that they might punish the wicked, the Spirit is power personified. No mortal host has ever truly tapped into the power of the Spirit; they’ve generally had no need. The basic powers that it gives to the host are mighty enough. However…if one were to look into that power base…they would find it unending.

Geist – no longer holding back – tears through the Needle. Pushing his body like never before, Geist tears through steel like it’s paper, obliterates any guards and soldiers he comes against with ease, punishing their souls as well as their bodies. His shield flies around his body, blocking bullets and blows with unnerving speed, smashing and slashing through any obstacles. It makes a disquieting hum as it moves.

“It’s Judgment Day fellas,” Geist says, staring down a hall of guards. He works his bony fingers, blood dripping from them. “And the judge ain’t happy.”

Outside the Needle

Ms. Marvel’s knuckles are almost bone white thanks to her grip on the small railing that encircles the steering disc of the Excelsior. A wild grin stretches across her face while her eyes are lit up behind her blue spectacles. She throws her body into every movement, twisting and turning and looping the ship around the Needle with a chaotic ease!

The newly installed defense systems – scavenged from the Khan’s own Slash-ships – slide open along the sides of the ship. A dozen laser cannons line up along the sides of the ship, powered by it’s top secret engine. Protective spells from May enhance light-grade force fields, repelling the red blasts that streak out from the Needle as the Excelsior’s cannons fire burst after burst of yellow energy.

With a wild yell and a mad grin, Ms. Marvel swings around for another barrage.

War Room 034

“They’re WHAT?” Khan shouts, turning on the aide in an instant. It wasn’t easy to disturb to his calm, but this news was outrageous. He grabs his own circlet and pulls up the information himself, verifying it with wide eyes. Khan looks into the empty air for a second, his mind racing. “A false positive,” he mumbles to himself. “Doom must have hacked my own trackers…clever.” A sly smile of appreciation grows on his face. “I underestimated you sir. Well played. But they very clearly came back – and it must be for Irene.”

Twisting his circlet, Khan activates a small series of buttons. In an instant, a suit of elegant body armor appears around him. Largely gold in color, with a patch of red over the stomach, the armor is thick yet light. An elegant red cape unfurls behind Khan, while a large broadsword appears at his side.

Moving comfortably in his familiar armor, Khan heads for the elevator. “I’m going to the prison levels.”

Meanwhile, in the Gallery

The plan was three-fold and Doom had to admit, he was impressed. He was a scientist and strategy was largely outside his field of interest, but he had to give Davis credit. Assuming they all lived and that they all pulled this off, it’s a brilliant plan. Geist and Marvel distract the forces at large. Davis heads to find and free Legacy, which will probably get some attention. And unbeknownst to all, Doom slips into the Gallery and steals all of Khan’s information.

The door to the Gallery slides open, both of the guards slumped onto the floor of the corridor. Turning visible again, Doom enters the room and makes a bee-line for the projector. He pulls back his hood, revealing a partially covered face. The majority of his mask – the faceplate – had been removed and given to Davis. Now that they were outside of obfuscation spell-work, May was easily able to find Legacy, but she had no map. Thankfully though, Doom did, hacked from Khan’s own information network.

The revelation of Doom’s identity will have to wait though. A tech mesh interface covering still hides his skin and facial features. Only his eyes – filled with glee at the files that are available to him as he starts to hack the projector – are clear.

The prison levels

The Needle is an amazing piece of quantum science. Thanks to the highly advanced technology at Khan’s disposal, the Needle exists in every reality that Khan rules – just slightly out of alignment with every reality save one. Depending on which reality Khan feels needs his personal attention, the Needle can be shifted into or out of synch. It’s brilliant, it’s amazing, and it makes having enough space a constant problem. So many people need to stay in the Needle and an almost equal amount need to visit for matters of state that space is tough commodity to come by. Even down here, in the prison levels, space is at a premium.

Most of Khan’s enemies are killed. Considering how many worlds he rules and how many of those worlds have oddly powered super-humans, it’s just not worth the risk. Better to have them dead and gone and face only a normal population.

However, there are the very few dissidents that warrant keeping alive. Khan’s personal victories – bitter rivals, traitors, or living resources that he just hasn’t used yet.

It’s into category three that Irene Cameron was placed.

Her cell is simple. Light grey metal walls and floors with an energy field gate. Small bed. Small toilet. Nothing else, save for the power inhibitors in the walls. Cozy and basic. These types of cells like the walls which make up floor after floor of prison.

Through these floors and walls, Slipstream flies through the air. His street clothes are gone, replaced by his black and red uniform, and Doom’s faceplate is pressed against his own. It’s an uncomfortable fit, but the guide maps are crucial if Davis is to pull this off – even more so since he keep skipping levels. Opening another slipstream, he dives inside, cutting through another six floors, and finally finds himself on the right one. Guards shout and cry out as he suddenly appears!

Moving quickly, Davis reaches around behind himself. A thick black belt of toys – stolen off of one of Geist’s victims – is wrapped around him. Grabbing one of the demon-guns, Slipstream brings it around and fires wildly. He’s trying to scare, not kill, and the guards scatter. When he’s able to, Slipstream bounces off of a guards head, smashing them into the walls or floor.

Finally he swings in front of Irene’s cell. Doom had warned him about the power inhibitors. Simply opening a stream into the cell was out of the question. So Slipstream aims the gun at the access panel and fires until the energy wall gives out.

“Davis?” Irene asks, standing. Gone is her black clothing, replaced by a plain white jumpsuit.

“Hey,” he replies, pulling off Doom’s mask. “That suit almost matches your hair. Nice.”

Smiling, Irene runs out and hugs him. “I-I didn’t think y-you’d come.”

“You’ve got too much to tell me for me to just leave you here,” Davis replies, hugging her back. “And ‘sides, the ship needs it’s crew.” He pulls back here, putting the metal mask back on. “Now c’mon, let’s roll. I gotta collect everyone before we can book it.”

“I don’t think so, Davis,” Khan’s voice suddenly says from down the hall. The pair of fugitives turn, surprised to see him in full armor. “You can’t honestly expect to pull a fast one on me.”

Steeling himself, Davis aims the demon-gun at him. “No one is who they claim to be Khan.” he says. “And nothing is what it seems.”

“Ha! Not even you,” Khan says. Then he shrugs casually. “Too bad.” Suddenly he bursts forward, thrusters beneath his cape exploding into life. “I WANTED TO TAKE YOU ALIVE!”

“Never again,” Slipstream comments, pulling Irene up onto the board. Leaning forward, Slipstream and Legacy rush forward, the demon-guy aimed in front of them. The cells rush past and air flies by both fighters, Khan’s sword glinting, his mouth a cruel smile, while Davis and Legacy’s hair whips in the wind, their eyes narrow, her grip on him tight and close as Khan pulls his sword back! Prepares to swing!

And in mere nanoseconds, Slipstream and Legacy slide from this floor –

The Gallery

– to another, grabbing Doom in surprise and then onto –

Floor 3,409

– another where they pick up Geist and then finally –

The Excelsior

– back to their ship! The small group dumps out onto the bridge, Davis not stopping for a second as he tosses Doom’s mask aside. May lets out a shout of happiness, but Slipstream doesn’t pay it any attention. Sliding over the wooden deck and up the stairs, he slides into the helmsmen position as May steps aside. Locking his board and energy into place, the Excelsior shudders, and they start to pull away from the Needle quickly. With one last look back – Davis flipping the tower the Bird – they exit this reality and fall back into the Inbetween.