Cosmic Disruption

Part 2

“Escalation”

Roll Call:
Jay “The Malleable Man”
Scarlett Speedstress
Iron Maiden
The Cheat
Fenrir
The Midnight Runner
Luna Huntress
Arc Angel
Countdown
Mooncat
Beast Nelson
Lionheart
Pendragon
The Mirage
Solarwind
X-Ray Man
UltraDoll
Got-Gal
Will O’Wisp
Nebula
Whiplash
Runway
Oakheart
White Lightning
Carrumble
Black Mist
The Sentinel

Rescue Team:

The Sentinel stared at the sheer wall of flames before him.  It was hard to believe that in such a short space of time the famous Helix City skyline was smudged crimson as its city centre burned.  “Speedstress…” he indicated, pointing towards the disaster unfolding before them.  For her part, Scarlett Speedstress was already moving.  A blur of light was all that remained where she had been. They had arranged she would scout ahead and act as liaison between the members of this group and potentially the heroes with the Crowd Control group.

“The Fire Service aren’t having much luck,” The Cheat observed.  It was in his nature to try and find humour in a situation, but looking at the horrific scene across the way, feeling the sheer heat on his face, there was little here that could be considered funny.  “We should get over there,” he concluded lamely.  It was clear the two dozen fire engine’s joint assault on the inferno was having little or no effect.  The flame had reached too great a level.
“There must be hundreds of people trapped in there,” Oakheart rumbled, his heart filled with a mixture of horror, sadness and sheer fury.

“You ready, ma’am?” Whiplash asked Arc Angel.  The beautiful fey woman nodded resolutely.  “Yes,” She breathed.  “I am most certainly ready.”
As a group the team headed across the street with The Sentinel and The Midnight Runner taking the lead.  “I’ll need Oakheart to get me up to the top floor,” The Runner said.  “Somebody needs to reach the higher levels or those people are finished.”
“It’ll be hell up there,” The Sentinel warned him.
Midnight Runner nodded: “I know.”

Scarlett Speedstress was back, hopping from foot to foot, her face cycling through emotions as quickly as her body jittered and jumped.  She literally was unable to stand still.  “Thefireserviceareintroubleandthey’vealreadylostmenandsomeofthemhavebeenkilledby…”
“Slow down,” The Sentinel told her.  “Take a breath.  We need to understand your words.”
The Speedstress nodded.  “The flames aren’t the only problem.  As if the fire weren’t enough, it seems there are enemies within the burning buildings.  Some people who have entered to rescue folk have been murdered.  Nobody seems to know who, or what, is doing it.”
“Bad guys in the burning buildings?” The Cheat muttered.  “That’s just great.”
“Unexpected,” The Sentinel said.  “I smell a rat.  Our group was chosen for its rescue capabilities, not for its combat skills.”
“I can fight,” Oakheart assured him, grimly.
“I know ya’ can, pardner,” Whiplash smiled, “I know ya’ can.”

“I would generally assume that splitting up was a bad idea,” The Sentinel said as they approached the front of a building block whose windows flickered with fire like the eyes of a devil.  “But there is too much space here.  We can’t rescue enough people in one group.  We have no choice but to spread out.  Speedstress, perhaps you can do your best to act as a go-between for each of us?”
“Sure,” Scarlett smiled enthusiastically.  “If I move fast enough I can barely feel the heat.  I can go anywhere.”
“Be careful, “ Arc Angel told her.  “You aren’t invulnerable.”

The Midnight Runner had already explained to Oakheart what he needed.  Able to grow to huge size, Oakheart could easily reach the second floor windows and in some cases even the third story.  This wasn’t the rooftops by a long stretch, but it gave Midnight Runner a good start.  “Let’s go,” he told the tree-like hero.
Oakheart picked Midnight Runner up, stood his roots firm on the concrete, and soared up into the air, getting larger and more powerful by the second.  To a bystander it would appear as if a mighty redwood had just grown from sapling to monolith in a few seconds.  Very carefully, Oakheart placed the Midnight Runner into a window that was not spewing black smoke into the sky.  “Good luck,” he rumbled.
“Just stay nearby,” Midnight Runner smiled, “I’ll be bringing people for extraction in short order.” The inside of the building was incredibly hot, but for the moment that wasn’t a problem.  Midnight Runner was resistant to heat and fire.  He couldn’t survive a serious blaze, but here on the periphery he was only a little uncomfortable.  He felt sorry for the others though.  They didn’t have the benefit of his powers.

The Cheat ran along behind Whiplash and watched as the Western hero flicked out a snakelike cord with an audible crack!  The whip tangled itself over a jutting masonry beam. Whiplash then used the line to climb arduously up to the second floor and enter the building via a smoking rent in the concrete.
“Impressive,” The Cheat nodded.
“What’s your plan?” Arc Angel asked as she came up behind him.  “You don’t seem to have a useful gadget like that whip.”
“Yeah,” The Cheat smiled.  “But I’ve got five aces.”  With a grin he stretched both his arms twice, three times, four times their normal length.  Grabbing onto a window sill he retracted their elasticity and pulled himself up and into the burning ruin.
“Oh,” Arc Angel smiled.  “That’ll work.”
“How about you?” The Cheat called back.  “Need some help?” He was ready to stretch down and pull her up, but before he had a chance Arc Angel appeared beside him, her feathery wings fluttering softly.  “No thank you,” She smiled, “I’m fine.”

Oakheart used the time that Midnight Runner was gone to similarly boost The Sentinel to a different high access point.  “Be careful boss man,” he said.  “Remember there are unknown threats in there.  Maybe more dangerous than the fire?”
“Don’t worry about me,” The Sentinel said.  “I have a number of senses which make me difficult to sneak up on.  But be ready.  You’re our muscle.  If one of the team runs into trouble, its you who will need to charge in and back them up.”
“Gotcha,” Oakheart nodded.  He didn’t like to wait outside, but he knew this was where he was presently the most use.  His sheer size and wooden body made him a liability in an inferno, but out here he could be more versatile than any fire engine’s ladder or safety platform.  And if he was needed inside?  So be it.  He’d be ready.

Scarlett Speedstress took the stairs, such as they were.  Stony and functional they were usually only the backup to the elevator, but now they were the obvious route of ascent.  Taking her job seriously, she planned to check in on The Sentinel and The Midnight Runner who were higher up, then head back down and take any communication to the others.  Flames licked and caressed from areas all along the way, making the stairs deadly to any normal person.  But Scarlett Speedstress was moving far too fast for the fire to gain any purchase on her.  Nevertheless, she was aware of the accumulating heat, which was beginning to make her skin ache.  She couldn’t ignore the thick oxygen either, burning her throat with every lungful she sucked in.  She hit the fourth floor and took the door in a flash, literally vaulting through a wall of crimson flames and landing on a patch of unscorched ground beyond.  She had seen Midnight Runner extract several people already, handing them from the third floor to Oakheart’s waiting hands.  But then he’d headed higher, trying to reach a family on the next floor up.  Scarlett planned to help as best she could.

Midnight Runner rubbed the soot from his eyes and tried to ignore the scorching heat on his flesh.  He could trigger his force field and add to his protection that way, but he had limited power reserves and was saving the field as a last resort.    He could hear the baby crying on the other side of the door, the mother sobbing, the father groaning in pain.  The portal was blocked by rubble and fallen timber.  Super strength wasn’t one of his gifts, but that didn’t mean he was going to give up.  He didn’t have much time to get them out, smoke was already beginning to accumulate in a dangerous way.  They would suffocate in there long before the flames would reach them.  Splaying his fingers, Midnight Runner released a midnight blue spray of plasma energy, letting the force of it smash into the obstacles furiously.  When the smoke cleared, most of the wreckage was gone and the door was almost accessible.  All that remained was a huge piece of timber wedged against it.  “Damn,” Midnight Runner cursed.  He knew he was never going to be able to lift that alone.

The Cheat was finding that he was better at this rescue stuff than he had imagined he would be.  It turned out, being able to stretch your body in impossible ways was very useful for getting people out of difficult situations.  He’d already passed at least a dozen people through windows and into Oakheart’s safe grasp with the assistance of his elastic limbs.  But he’d felt a chill when he’d heard the cries coming from beyond the elevator doors.  The Cheat had managed to pull the doors partially apart and could see the bottom of the elevator about fifteen feet above him.    Down below, flames were licking their way higher and higher up the shaft.
“Are you okay up there?” The Cheat called.
“Oh thank god!” He heard a woman’s voice.  “Who is that?  Can you help us?  We’re trapped in here!”
The Cheat was already very hot.  Trapped in that metal box above the flames must be like being in a cooking pot atop a burning stove.
“How many of you are there?” The Cheat called.
“Seven,” Came a male voice.  “Two men, two women, two children and a baby.”
“Okay,” The Cheat said, “Don’t worry.  I’m a super-hero.  I’m going to get you out.”

The woman was leaning on Arc Angel as they came around the corner.  Her ankle was broken and the heroine was supporting the majority of her weight.  “Don’t worry,” Arc Angel said, “We’ll be out in a moment.  I have a friend outside…”
She stopped.  She could see the window at the end of the corridor, but she couldn’t reach it.  Something was blocking her way.  Or, more accurately, someone.
“Who is that?” The injured women groaned, “A friend of yours?”
“No,” Arc Angel said worriedly.  “I don’t believe he is.”
Preventing progress along the corridor stood a caped figure.  Dressed entirely in black and dark grey he managed to combine a mass of athletic muscle with smooth, almost elegant movement.  Arc Angel wasn’t a fighter, by choice. But she’d seen enough of them to recognise this as a very dangerous opponent.  Something about the way he moved was odd.  Difficult to concentrate on.  Hard to follow.
“What have we here?” The man asked, a wry smile tipping up one side of his mouth.
“I’m trying to save people,” Arc Angel told him.  “Stand aside, or help me.”
“I don’t think so,” The Man smiled darkly.  “I think I’d prefer to fight.  But I don’t think you are going to offer much challenge.”
“You might be surprised,” Arc Angel warned him.  She was stronger than she looked!
”I doubt it,” The Man told her.  “I hope so.  But I doubt it.”
“Is everything okay, Ma’am?” Came another voice.  From a side corridor Whiplash emerged.  “Or is this fella’ giving you some trouble?” he added menacingly.  The hero let his whip uncoil beside him, literally thrumming with power.
“Excellent,” The mystery man smiled now.  “This will be much more entertaining.  Two for the price of one!”

Oakheart took the young boy from The Sentinel’s arms and lowered him to the floor.  “Everybody okay?” he asked.
“I saw Scarlett Speedstress a few minutes ago,” The Sentinel said, “All seems to be going well.  The Fire Service have got control of the adjacent building, so if we can clear this one we’ll be fine.  I sent her up to check on Midnight Runner.”
“Yeah, I saw her,” Oakheart agreed.  “She’s gone to the fourth floor to catch him up.  There’s people stuck up there…”
“I’m going back in,” The Sentinel said.
“You aren’t looking too good, boss,” Oakheart told him.  The Sentinel nodded.  The flames and heat were taking their toll.  Several times he’d had to stop and cough up a lungful of smoke before proceeding.  His skin was black, which was covering the minor burns he had sustained.  “People trapped in here will look worse, If we don’t get them out.” Just then The Sentinel froze.
“What’s up?” Oakheart asked.
“Something strange…” The Sentinel told him.  The hero’s senses were all exceptionally heightened.  Sometimes, when all three were in overdrive, he gained a kind of ‘combined’ sense from their union.  He was noticing that now.  “Something inside the building is wrong.  Really wrong.  Something that shouldn’t be here…”
“What do you mean?” Oakheart asked.
“Don’t know,” The Sentinel said sternly.  “But I’m going to find out…”

Space Combat Team:

“I didn’t even know the Earth had spacecraft like this,” Nebula said.
“Most people don’t,” The military officer smiled as he helped the heroes get strapped into their seats for take-off.  “But there are threats out there and the governments of the world have to be ready to deal with them.  Getting into orbit isn’t as much of a problem as it used to be.  But it’s still expensive, so we try not to do it without due cause.”
“This qualifies as due cause, I think,” X-Ray Man said.
“I’d say so,” The officer agreed.  “Is everybody ready?”
The heroes nodded and so the officer withdrew, saluting them as he left.
“I don’t want to worry anybody, but there was something kinda final about that, didn’t you think?” Pendragon asked.
“Let’s not get paranoid,” White Lightning said.  “We’ll be okay.”

“Let’s keep the talking to a minimum,” Solarwind called back, his voice flat and hard.  “There’s no need for idle chatter.”
“Alternatively,” Iron Maiden muttered, “You could stop being such a pompous ass.”
Got-Gal giggled at her side, eliciting a sharp gaze from Solarwind.  “Oops,” She whispered excitedly, “I think I upset our commander.”
“I wouldn’t let it worry you,” said Ultra-Doll from nearby: “I get the feeling he spends most of his life that way.”

Nebula was as friendly as the next guy, but honestly, he wasn’t usually a mixer.  Sitting and listening to the other heroes talking he found himself considering what they were about to attempt.  They had been supplied with external space suits, which had protection, oxygen and propulsion.  Once they were in orbit they would change into the suits and actually fly out into space.  It was simultaneously exciting and nerve-wracking.  He was rather looking forward to it, despite the danger involved.  They had all been assured their powers would work.  The suits had been designed with heroes in mind and allowed powers to function normally.  It seemed so high-tech, but the government were clearly prepared for many eventualities.  Nebula wasn’t sure whether to be comforted or worried about that.  He decided not to think about it.  There were other things that needed more urgent consideration.

The engines came on with a low rumble that shook the small craft in an impressive way.  Those on board could literally feel the immense energy that was about to be unleashed.  Grinning, X-Ray Man glanced at his companions. “We are on the road to history guys.  Death or glory await us.”
Caught up in the moment, White Lightning nodded: “I don’t know how this is going to turn out, but I promise you this.  You can rely on lightning to strike when needed!”
“Do you guys want a soundtrack to go with your dramatic flair?” Ultra-Doll laughed and her humour was infectious. The moment was electric, bonding the team even as the rockets below them flared into life and propelled the craft away from the ground at incredible speeds.

“Now this,” Pendragon said, “Is weird.”  They had been briefed on zero gravity but floating in the air above his seat the reality of it struck home.  Pendragon couldn’t resist turning in a slow loop.  It felt totally different to his usual super-flight.  Then he tried to exercise his power and found he could fly normally too.  “That’s a relief,” he said.
“No games, please,” Solarwind called back, “Suits on and get ready.”
Pendragon gestured at the leader in a way that nobody would describe as family-friendly.  Solarwind was busy ordering people about and didn’t notice.  Not that Pendragon cared if he had.  The guy was a prize jerk.  Then he noticed the metal woman, Iron Maiden, looking his way.  She flashed him a smile.  Pendragon waved.  Unsure if the glance was just friendly… or something more.

White Lightning had managed to get his suit on and it felt comfortable.  He clapped his hands above his head, causing electricity to arc between them.  Excellent!  That proved his powers worked okay, as they were supposed to.  Got-Gal approached him.  Her suit seemed to almost swallow her up, but her enthusiastic smile beamed out of the visor.  “Yay!” She said, simply.  White Lightning nodded and smiled back.  There was just something likeable about her.  He could see why the public had taken her so much to heart.

“Everybody ready?” Solarwind asked, surveying the team.  They all appeared to be suited up and ready to roll.  He despaired of them, though.  If this was really the best the world could come up with they were in a sorry state.  He eyed them each in turn.  Pendragon had managed to stitch a Union Jack onto his spacesuit.  Solarwind had seen the disrespect the Brit showed him.  The guy would need putting in his place!  UltraDoll, Iron Maiden and Got-Gal stood together, the women probably whispering about him even now.  Solarwind didn’t care.  He had very little time for females, anyway, other than the occasional difficult date.  White Lightning and Nebula would probably make reasonable cannon-fodder but he couldn’t see them achieving much else.  Of them all, only X-Ray Man seemed competent.  But Solarwind expected his reputation was mostly bravado.  “Let’s move out,” Solarwind told them.  He didn’t expect any of them had a clue how much contempt he had for them.  If anybody was going to save the world, he expected it would have to be him.

The eight heroes emerged from the airlock into the void.  Pressing buttons on their palms and angling their arms allowed them to propel themselves through space.  The controls were simple enough and it wasn’t long before the group were moving in a broken line, flying into the darkness.  Each suit was equipped with a radio system and so the team were in constant communication with one another.
“When the aliens attacked The Malleable Man’s world, the resident superteam tried much the same approach as this,” Solarwind announced.  “They were all murdered.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, commander,” Iron Maiden said stiffly.
“You don’t get invited to parties much, I bet?” White Lightning asked him.
“An understanding of the stakes is valuable,” Solarwind told them, defensively.
“I’m glad you pointed them out then,” Came Pendragon’s ironic reply.  “Cos’ otherwise I’d never have guessed this was a serious and dangerous mission.”
“What was your first clue?” UltraDoll asked, “The fact that we are floating in space, or the enormous alien spacecraft we’re going to intercept?”
Solarwind said nothing, but internally he was cursing them all.  Amateurs!  They’d probably all be killed up here, and deservedly so!

The Earth below them gave a beautiful counterpoint to the blackness in every other direction.  Flying along the circumference of orbit it was about ten minutes before everything changed.  Until then, their journey was peaceful and serene.  But then the spacecraft came into view, emerging before them on its orbital path.
“They said it was big, but I never thought…” Nebula breathed.
It was immense.  Perhaps a mile in length this looked more like an asteroid than a spacecraft.  Or it would have done if it hadn’t been constructed from black metal.  There was an air of menace about the craft that went beyond its sheer size and ominous colour.  “It looks evil,” Got-Gal said.  It seemed like a silly, throwaway comment.  But nobody laughed.  She was right, it did look evil.

The heroes approached the enormous alien mass, hoping to see something irregular which might indicate an entrance of some kind.  But there was no need.  In the distance a side-section of the craft slid away to reveal a pale yellow glow from within.  Out of that weird nimbus of light figures emerged.  Flying into space they seemed to be humanoid robots.  But the distance proved to create a visual trick.  As they got closer and closer the actual size of the mechanoids became apparent.
“They’re as big as houses,” X-Ray Man pointed out.  “That’s not good.”
“How many of them are there?” White Lightning asked, unable to believe his eyes.
“Maybe fifty,” Nebula said flatly.
“Fifty giant robots?” Pendragon said.  “No problem.  The Dragon of Britain is here.”

UltraDoll switched the frequency of her suit’s radio to ‘transmit’.  “What are you doing?” Solarwind asked her.
“Might as well try and communicate before we fight,” she said.
Solarwind shrugged, “Whatever.”
UltraDoll tried: “Hi!  We’re the spearhead team from Earth.  Feel free to surrender.”
White Lightning and Nebula were both looking at her, so X-Ray Man felt the need to explain.  “Diplomacy isn’t really her strong point.”

The robots didn’t seem interested in any communication anyway.  Nearer now, the huge objects they held in their hands seemed to be guns or weapons of some kind.  The ends were glowing a threatening orange colour.
“Yes!” Iron Maiden grinned ferociously at the approaching robots.  “At last!  I have so wanted to meet something like you.  Something I don’t have to hold back against…” At that moment the heroes kicked their thrusters to full and surged towards the oncoming robots.  In a matter of moment the two sides would come into range to do battle.  “Curse you Red Baron,” Said Got-Gal. And that was the last chance for banter before the fighting began.

Crowd Control Team:

Runway looked askance at her team.  They were strange.  Really strange.  Without wanting to put too fine a point on it; Fenrir was a furry wolf, Mooncat was a furry sphinx, Lionheart was (well, to be honest, she had no idea what Lionheart was) and Beast Nelson was just furry for the sake of being furry.  Sure, Currumble was a huge guy made of metal.  Not furry, granted, but still really weird.  She was unsure why she’d been placed with the freak show, but she didn’t really mind.  They seemed solid enough heroes and at the bare minimum it was going to help her stand out.  And she rather enjoyed that!  I can see a “vogue moment” or two in my near future, she thought, striking a pleasing pose in anticipation.

Fenrir had no idea why he’d been picked to lead this team, but he was damn sure he wasn’t going to let anybody down.  They had arrived at their destination and were doing their best to ignore the burning buildings and deal with the matter to which they had been tasked.  Namely, the flat black spacecraft which had landed on top of Liberty Fountain and now filled most of Helix Square.  “Now that,” Mooncat said dryly, “Is something you don’t see every day.”
“Here’s the plan,” Fenrir said to the others.  “Form a perimeter around the craft.  If the aliens emerge, try to detain them.  If they want to fight, engage them.  Work together, protect one another.”
“What levels of force?” Carrumble asked.
“I’m going to leave that to your discretion,” Fenrir said, “And maybe issue more instructions as we see what unfolds.  I’m not into violence where it’s not necessary, but hell… nobody invades my planet!”
“They did land on Liberty Fountain,” Beast Nelson pointed out.  “That’s a great reason to kick their asses all on its own.”

“You got my back buddy?” Lionheart growled.
Beast Nelson glanced over, red eyes twinkling.  “Yep. Absolutely.  But I’m not well known for my span of attention.” With that, the dark-furred hero grew to huge size and hefted a car.
“Hey!” Runway said.  “Let’s not antagonise the immense alien lander.”
“Why?” Beast Nelson asked, bemused.  “I think that’s exactly what we’re here to do.  That ship is clearly made of metal.  Let’s scrunch it!”
“He has a point,” Carrumble nodded, sagely.
“Meow,” Mooncat added, inscrutably.  And that was pretty much all the team needed.

Lionheart ripped a streetlight up out of the ground and raised it above his head with ease.  He began to stalk towards the craft with obvious intent.  Dragging a car behind him Beast Nelson fell in line with his companion.  Mooncat and Fenrir stalked forwards too, animalistic and savage, the pair appeared a frightening combination.  Not wanting to be left out, Carrumble grabbed up two motorbikes that lay scattered where terrified riders had let them fall and hefted the vehicles in either hand.  “Do you prefer being bashed into jelly or jam?” he asked nobody in particular.
Runway laughed: “What you boys lack in finesse you make up for in directness.”
“Who are you calling a boy?” Mooncat muttered.
“Figure of speech,” Runway clarified with a sardonic grin.

The air was filled with a low hum as the top of the craft twisted in a sudden movement, clockwise.  Pale yellow light flared from within, through an opening that had been revealed.  “Here we go,” Fenrir told the others.  “Be ready for anything.”
“Always am,” Beast Nelson confirmed, confidently.
Seconds later a tentacular horror burst from the roof of the alien ship and into the square.  The huge quivering thing was nearly as large as the craft from which it emerged, a writhing mass of green mucous body and dozens of thick powerful tendrils which snaked and flashed through the air.  It was an impossible, horrific, terrible thing.  A monster that had no business crawling through the streets of Helix City.  No business crawling anywhere on Earth.  And it was so utterly wrong.

“Aarrgggh!” Beast Nelson screamed.  He wasn’t given to screaming like a little girl.  Generally he was pretty sturdy, pretty brave.  So the sound which emerged from him was as surprising as it was shameful.  He clamped his lips closed and covered his mouth with his hand.  Even as he did so he noticed that the other heroes were screaming too.  Something about the shape, the very form of this monster had elicited a primal response from them.  An uncontrollable disquiet over this most hideous of creations.

Their shock did not last for long.  Carrumble was the first to react, swinging two motorcycles fiercely down on the monster’s wet, slithering body.  He used the bikes like clubs, pounding away on the body of the beast.  Lionheart swung the streetlamp wide and hard, literally slicing one of the tentacles free of the body.  It landed nearby, jerking spasmodically in its death throes.  Mooncat and Fenrir fell upon the creature with wild abandon, tearing and slicing with claws and fangs in a way they could never do against a human opponent.  Beast Nelson, having recovered somewhat, said: “Always ready for anything… except that!”  Before swinging the small car through the air and onto quivering green mass before him.  It struck with a satisfying squelch of pulped matter.

Runway didn’t have the sheer mass of her companions, but she was a very skilled combatent.  She let her allies pound on the alien, distracting it while she looked for a weak spot, some place she could deliver a definitive strike.  Near the apex of the monsters awful body she could see a green discolouration.  At first she was unsure what it was… but then it blinked.  It was an eye!  A horrible, disgusting one, of course, but an eye nonetheless.  “Crap,” Runway muttered.  “Why does this job fall to me?”

“Smash it to a pulp,” Beast Nelson roared.  It sounded manly.  He hoped it went some way to alleviating the earlier scream… Grabbing at another car he went to use it as a weapon.  But before he could he felt a tentacle wrap around his waist and squeeze.  Flexing his muscles he tried to break free, but the monster was much stronger than him.  It simply tightened its grip.  Lights flashed in front of Beast Nelson’s eyes.  He vision dimmed.  If it weren’t for his tough skin, his rib cage would almost certainly have given way by now.  But tough skin wasn’t helping him breathe through constricted lungs.  “A little help?” He wheezed, frantically.

Mooncat was doing horrific damage to the creature.  Latched onto the fat end of a tentacle near where it joined the body she was savaging it mercilessly.  Her bloodlust was so intense that she wasn’t letting her keen animal senses work as effectively as normal.  Nearby, Fenrir was alerted by his sixth sense and glanced over in time to see a tentacle snaking around behind her.  There was no time to warn her!  Instead, he dived over and intercepted the incoming attack.  The thick cord smashed into his body and sent him tumbling through the air to land heavily on the ground nearby.  He felt something give in his arm and a flash of pain up near his shoulder.  Dislocated?  Broken?  He didn’t know.  But he was in trouble now as three tentacles closed in on him.  “I’m coming,” Mooncat cried, “Hold on!”

Being the largest and the strongest, Lionheart and Carrumble were finding the alien was concentrating most of its tentacular attacks on them.  Side-by-side now the heroes found themselves under increasingly intense onslaught as, in turns, the tentacles tried to grab and squeeze them, or simply strike them bodily to do as much damage as possible.  Both heroes had taken several hits, but they were still standing and delivering huge blows of their own in reply to the monstrous surge.
“I ain’t holding back no more,” Lionheart roared.  “Full rage!”
“You’ve been holding back?” Carrumble asked, with a grin.
“Yeah,” Lionheart managed to find some humour, despite their serious situation, “I ‘been mostly usin’ my weak arm.
“Hey,” Carrumble laughed, “Me too!  How about we try a double-team?”
“Sounds good to me mate!” Lionheart agreed.
Roaring and raging with fury the titanic pair grabbed the same tentacle simultaneously and pulled.  It came off whole with a sickly wet sucking sound and green ooze poured from the wound.
“That’s gotta hurt,” Lionheart said.  The monster seemed to agree because it turned on the pair even more powerfully than before, pounding and hammering on the heroes.

Runway took a deep breath and then started to run.  She could see things were getting serious.  Her allies were in trouble all around her.  Even the really big guys were struggling under the weight of the giant monster’s attacks.  Although they were all giving as good as they got, it was hard to say which way the fight would go.  Perhaps they would defeat the alien, or perhaps it would survive, slithering and crawling over the fallen hero’s bodies.  Runway shook her head, resolutely.  “I don’t think so!” she declared.

Running flat out, Runway leapt up onto a writhing tentacle.  Before the creature could snatch her out of the air she was past, leaping athletically to the next tentacle.  Her martial arts training meant she was graceful and had excellent balance.  She was going to need it!  She jumped and hopped from place to place, moving up the body of the monster with each leap or jump.  Twice, tentacles tried to knock her from her perch.  The first time she dropped low and let the attack sweep harmlessly over her head.  The second time she somersaulted over the attack and still managed to land with perfect footing.  “Let me show you next year’s fashions!” She laughed.  Insanely, she was enjoying herself.  She may not have the raw power of the others, but this she was good at.  As she made a final leap she found herself atop the creatures quivering, slippery back.  There, blinking straight up into the air, was the monster’s single eery eye.  Smiling, Runway produced a piece of jagged metal she had collected from the ground before she began her wild ascent.  “I think this may smart,” She muttered to the creature as she went to plunge the makeshift weapon into the ocular opening.  She hadn’t seen the tentacle approaching from behind…

Espionage Team:

“Let me get this straight,” Black Mist said, “You’re going to teleport us on board an alien spacecraft?  From Earth?”
“That’s right,” Said the white-coated lab tech with a nervous smile.
“Since when does Earth have that sort of technology?” The Mirage asked.
“There are all sorts of government projects…” The techie began, but then said no more.  “Look, this is ‘official secret’ stuff, you know?  I can’t talk about it, but it does work.”
“Here’s my problem,” Black Mist said.  “I know a thing or two about teleporting.  It’s difficult enough to teleport somewhere you know.  Teleporting somewhere we’ve never been, never seen, have no idea what it looks like?  That sounds dangerous to me.”
“If you have a problem with danger,” Jay said, “This isn’t the mission for you.  We are planning to teleport onto an alien spacecraft that previously destroyed another Earth.”
“It’s not a matter of having a problem with danger,” The Mirage said reasonably.  “We simply want to be aware of what the risks are.  I prefer to have information than to not have it, generally.”
“Okay then,” said the Lab Tech.  “Here’s the skinny.  Our tests, using monkeys, have mostly worked.  We’re fairly confident you’ll be fine.”
“Mostly worked?” Will O’Wisp asked in his thick Irish brogue.
“Fairly confident?” Countdown added, unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice.
“You’re heroes aren’t you?” The man pointed out.  “What did you want, an easy ride?”

The six heroes stood in the middle of a white glass sphere. Overhead a series of crackling electrical components passed mysterious energy bursts to one another in a most disconcerting way.  “I feel like an extra on Star Trek,” Will O’Wisp drawled.
“On what?” Jay asked.
“Star Trek.  You know… William Shatner.  Dr. Spock.  Star Trek!” Black Mist told him.
“William Shatner the singer?” Jay seemed confused.
“Your world was a bit odd, wasn’t it?” Will O’Wisp pointed out.
“That’s okay,” Black Mist pointed out.  “None of us have red costumes.”
Above their heads the energy was beginning to build up.
“You guys ready?” Called the techie.  “This might feel a bit strange.”
“We’re fine,” Jay called back impatiently.  “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“You okay, miss?” Countdown asked Luna Huntress.  She flashed him a shy but pretty smile.  “I’m fine!”
“Hey…” Will O’ Wisp began.  “I just thought.  How do we get back…?”
And then they were gone…

Black Mist lay on his back staring at the ceiling, having just been violently sick a couple of dozen times.  His stomach was still cramping.  Stars swam in front of his eyes.  His mouth tasted of old boots and vomit.  “You okay?” Luna Huntress asked him.  He looked up.  “No.  I’m not at all okay.  I feel terrible.”
Luna Huntress only smiled, but she gently placed her hands on his face.  Warmth flowed from her mind, through the fragile connection of their bodies and into Black Mist.  He felt his stomach settle, his thoughts solidify and his will return.
“Wow,” he said.  “That was quite something!”.
“I said the same,” Will O’ Wisp said from nearby.  He was sitting with his back against a cold metal wall.  “She should bottle that and sell it.  I’ve got some family members would pay a fortune for that after a night on the town.”
“Where are we?” Black Mist asked.
“Near as I can tell,” Will O’Wisp said, “We’re on the alien ship.”
“Oh. Okay.  Well that’s a first,” Black Mist said.
“Not for me,” Will O’Wisp muttered, grimly.

Black Mist looked around.  They were in a small alcove off a long dark corridor.  The only light came from flickering yellow panels which were interspersed some distance apart. The walls were cold grey metal.  It was featureless and plain.  “The others?” Black Mist asked.
Will O’Wisp shook his head:  “Don’t know.  They aren’t with us.  Something went wrong.  But Luna here says they are okay.  She can ‘sense’ them, or something.”
“Really?” Black Mist asked her.
“Sure,” Luna Huntress smiled shyly.  “They’re on board, somewhere.  Not close, but not too far away either.”
“That’s pretty vague,” Will O’Wisp opined.
“Sorry,” Luna Huntress smiled.  “Best I can do.”

“Are you feeling any better?” Countdown asked.
The Mirage nodded weakly.  “A little.” His stomach had been churning so badly that he had turned intangible, which seemed to have settled him down a little.
“How come you don’t feel sick?” He asked.
Countdown smiled: “I did.  But I manipulated my chronal field back to a period where I did not.”
“You did what?” The Mirage asked.
“I turned back time to when I wasn’t feeling sick,” Countdown explained.
“That seems a somewhat unlikely use for a power,” The Mirage complained.
“It worked,” Countdown said.  “So I’m happy.  Any idea where the others might be?”
The Mirage thought about that.  “I’d guess that the targeting of a long-distance teleport could easily be interrupted by energy fields.  I imagine they are somewhere nearby.  Or maybe out in space.  Which wouldn’t be good.”
Countdown nodded: “Let’s hope it’s the former.”
As if in unspoken agreement the two heroes climbed to their feet and started off along one of the dark corridors that led away from the small alcove in which they had appeared.

Will O’Wisp took the lead, allowing his body to change like a chameleon, matching the dark regular texture of the corridor walls.  He was all but invisible in the gloom ahead of his allies.  “Don’t go too far away,” said Black Mist.  “I don’t want to lose you too.”
“I can tell where he is,” Luna Huntress confirmed.  “He’s got a funny mind.  It’s easy to see for me.”
“Funny weird, or funny ha-ha?” Black Mist asked.
“A bit of both, I reckon,” Will O’Wisp called back with good humour.
Luna nodded: “Yes.  A bit of both.”

“Okay, so now what do we do?” Black Mist asked.  The three heroes had come to the end of the corridor, which seemed to be a huge steel door, sealed on all edges with vacuum rubber.  “That’s either an airlock out into space, or a secure door into a valuable and important area,” Will O’Wisp said.  “If it’s a secure door, we probably want to go through and check it out.  If its an airlock…”
“We probably don’t,” Black Mist agreed.  “I could become intangible and slip through, but if it’s a vacuum out there that might not be much fun.  I’ve never been intangible in a vacuum.  I don’t know what would happen.”
Luna Huntress coughed.  She was painfully shy with people she didn’t know well, but she always tried to overcome it.
“Did you want to say something, love?” Will O’Wisp asked with a grin.
“If its an airlock, it wouldn’t just open into the ship, would it?” She said in a small voice.  “That would create an incident.”
Black Mist nodded: “True.  If it was an airlock it’d lead through to a small area with another door like this.  One would have to close for the other to open.  Good thinking!” Luna Huntress smiled.
“Go on then,” Will O’Wisp said.  “You slip through, then open the door from the other side for us.”
“Sounds dangerous,” Black Mist grinned.  “Ah.. .what the hell…”

Countdown and The Mirage stood in a large chamber.  The metal-walled room was adorned with glass tubes which ran from floor to ceiling.  The pair were struck by the strangeness of what they were looking at.  In each of the tubes there was a humanoid body.  Pale-skinned, utterly hairless, powerfully-muscular, but otherwise very human-looking.  “What is this?” Countdown muttered.
“Some kind of suspended animation, I would guess,” The Mirage explained.  “Allowing them to travel for long distances without aging.”
Countdown nodded.  “They’re pretty buff, but other than that they don’t look so scary.”
“Maybe they aren’t the aliens,” The Mirage said.
“What else could they be?” Countdown asked.
“Captives?” The Mirage said.  Then, somewhat clinicially: “Dinner?”
“What are you doing here?” Came a cold voice.
The two heroes turned, startled, to the source of the words.  A huge man had arrived through a concealed corridor on the other side of the chamber.  Clad entirely in primary colours, blue and red, he was striking against the bland backdrop of the spaceship walls.  Everything about the way the man moved, the way he stood, the sound of his voice, spoke of power.  “You have made a mistake entering this craft,” The man growled.  His voice dripped menace and barely-contained rage in equal measures.  “But it will be my pleasure to teach you the error of your ways.  By tearing you limb-from-limb.”