Superfreaks: Extreme #1

[Martin Phipps]

I sent this through the e-mail gateway too so I apologize if it
appears twice. --Martin

                   Extreme: A Superfreaks Series

                                 #1

                          PROLOGUE: ORIGIN

  Many years ago on the Planet Neon

  "Ladies and Gentlemen... the honourable Myk-El!"
  Myk-El walked out onto the stage to a round of applause.  He stood
at the podium and waited for tech support to activate the overhead
projector so he could begin his speech.  What appeared behind him was
a picture of planet Neon.
  "Thank you for that wonderful welcome.  Ladies and gentlemen, what
you see behind us is a picture of our planet taken from space.  Every
single Neonian relies on this planet.  It is our home.  And yet our
own actions threaten its very existance."
  There was a gasp from the audience.
  "Every day, we Neonians produce gases that heat our atmosphere.
Eventually the planet's atmosphere will grow so hot that nothing will
be able to suvive.
  "Now I know what you are thinking.  We're Neonians!  We can survive
anything!  But can even Neonians survive the destruction of our entire
planet?"
  Myk-El expected the audience members to take his words to heart and
heed his warning.  Instead, he was laughed at.
  "You're crazy, Myk-El!  The planet is not in danger!  So what if it
gets a bit hot?"
  "The planet is in danger!" My-El insisted.  "The planet is getting
hotter every year!  That's a fact!  And soon it will get so hot that
it will explode!"
  That was it.  The crowd turned on him.  The booing got so loud that
Myk-El decided not to continue with his speech.

  A month passed.

  "Vammo!  Vammo!  You must come with me!  We must escape Neon in this
ship I built!  It will take us to another world!"
  Vammo-El shivered and coughed.  "I can't," she said.  "I'm too
weak.  You go.  And take our son with you."
  "No," Myk-El said.  "I can't leave you behind."
  "Then save our son."
  Myk-El looked at his newborn child.  "If only they had listened to
me.  This would not even be necessary."  Myk-El wrapped his son in a
blanket and placed him inside the space ship.
  "Will he be alright?" his wife asked.
  "Yes," he said.  "I've programmed a course that will take the ship
to a world where people will look at our son and think he is one of
their own."  He sighed.  "The only problem is that our son will be
much stronger than any of them.  I only hope is will be able to fit
in."
  The ship took off leaving a doomed Neon behind it.

  A few years passed.  Try to ignore the fact that the closest star
other than our sun is merely several light years away and that the
trip should have taken centuries if not millenia.  Anyway, the ship
crash landed on Earth.  Actually, "crash landed" is a bit too generous
a description: "plummeted" and "exploded" would constitute more
accurate terminology.  But the small child, being Neonian, survived.
Meanwhile, the crash was seen for miles away.  Fortunately the
"landing" occured in a Kansas cornfield and not in a major city where
hundreds of people would have been killed by the impact.
  "Mark!  Did you see that?" Joan Clark asked her husband.
  "I sure did!" Mark said.  "It looked like a huge explosion!  Maybe
the Ruskies have dropped the bomb!"
  "Let's drive towards it!" Joan told her husband.
  What they found was a young boy.  They decided to raise the boy as
their own and name him Kenneth.
  Kenneth grew up to become Extreme.

                         PART I: EXTREME JUNIOR

  Extreme walked into Waterlord's office at Extreme Force
Headquarters.  Waterlord asked him to sit down.
  "Long time no see," he told his friend.
  "Yeah," Extreme said.  "Sorry about that.  When you travel at speeds
close to light speed you lose track of how much time passes back on
Earth."
  Waterlord nodded.  "Don't worry about it.  Earth was still here when
you got back.  This time."
  "Right."
  "While you were gone, Doctor Reed came up with a tracking device
that can be inserted under your skin."
  "A tracking decice?"
  "Yeah.  Because the government spent a lot of money on trying to
track you down.  You didn't tell us you were off planet."
  "Yeah.  Again, I'm sorry about that."
  "And I said don't worry about it.  Really."
  "But you want me to have this tracking device inserted under my
skin?"
  Waterlord nodded.  "We've actually been discussing the idea for a
while.  I mean, there was that one time when you were exposed to red
neonite."
  Extreme sighed.  "That was just one time!  It's not like you go to
Hollywood parties and snort neonite up my nose!"
  "What you may or may not do on your weekends is none of our
business," Waterlord told him.  "We just want to be able to track you
if there's an emergency and you're not answering your phone."
  Extreme nodded.  "Alright.  I'll go see Richard about the implant.
He might have trouble getting the implant under my skin though."
  Waterlord nodded.  "Don't worry.  We got that part figured out."
  "Alright."  Extreme got up to leave.
  "Wait," Waterlord told him.  "I heard that Amazing Woman is
pregnant."
  "Yeah."
  "Congratulations."
  "Thanks."
  "You know," Waterlord said, "when the baby is born we could put a
tracking device in him or her too.  You know, in case the baby is born
with powers.  You wouldn't want it flying off on you."
  "Yeah," Extreme said.  "That might be a good idea."

  Months later, little Tyk-El was born.  A few months after that,
Amazing Woman was back in action with the Extreme Force Six.  While
they were on a mission together, Tyk-El was left with the babysister,
Dr. Susan Reed.  Extreme and Amazing Woman returned to find Susan in a
state of panic.
  "Extreme!  Amazing Woman!  Thank goodness you're back!"
  "What's wrong?" Extreme asked.  "Is Tyk-El okay?"
  "He's gone!"
  "Gone?"
  "I'm so sorry!"
  Extreme sighed.  "What happened?"
  "We ran out of milk so I gave the baby some ovaltine."
  "Ovaltine?" Amazing Woman asked.  "Oh no!"
  "Was that wrong?"
  "What happened then?" Extreme asked.
  "He seemed alright at first," Susan said.  "He was very happy.  Then
he just flew off.  I didn't even know he could fly already."
  Extreme sighed.  "It was the caffeine.  I always avoid caffeine
because it over stimulates me."
  "Yeah, one cup of coffee and you are literally bouncing off the
ceiling."
  Extreme chuckled.  "Yeah.  And then the building falls down."  He
became serious again.  "I'm going to go after him."
  "I was just going to go find my husband," Susan said.  "The baby's
got a tracking device under his skin and I thought we might need to
track him."
  "That's a good idea," Amazing Woman said.  "He could be miles away
by now."
  "If he's even still in the country!" Extreme said.
  "Keep your cell phone with you," Susan suggested.  "We'll let you
know where he went."
  "Okay," Extreme said.  "Thanks."

  Extreme flew off but saw no sign of his son.  He flew around for a
few minutes and then his cell phone rang.
  "Hello?"
  >>Extreme?  It's Waterlord.<<
  "Okay."
  >>Dr. Reed tells me that your son is in China.<<
  "China?  He flew to China?"
  >>You didn't tell us that your son was flying already.<<
  "Look, this is nobody's fault, okay.  We all knew that this was
coming."
  >>Alright.  You're going to have to go to China.<<
  "China's a big country.  Can you be more specific?"
  >>Not the way he's moving around.  We're going to call on ahead and
arrange for you to do a news conference in Beijing so you can let them
know what happened.  Then the Chinese can assist us.  They can help us
look for him.<<
  "News conference?  Do you expect me to speak to them in Chinese?"
  Waterlord sighed.  >>You said on your resume that you could speak
Chinese.<<
  "Well, sure, but it's not a superpower.  I only speak Chinese as
well as anybody else who had studied it."
  >>Well you're going to have to do this because the Chinese aren't
going to like you flying around their country.  They need to
understand that you're a father looking for his son.  And they need to
hear it from you.<<
  "Okay, okay.  I'll be in Beijing in just a few minutes."

  Extreme flew to Tiananmen square in Beijing where a group of
reporters and a small crowd of on lookers were already waiting for
him.  He stood on the podium and spoke into the microphone.
  "Hello... um... Ni hao... um... wo de erzi... ta... um... Is it okay
if I say this in English?"
  Extreme looked out into the audience and saw the confused looks on
everybody's faces.
  "Fine.  My son... he flew away."  Extreme pantomimed a bird flying
away.  "Wo de erzi fei zou le.  And now I'm looking for him."  Extreme
pantomimed looking around.  "Wo zhao wo de erzi.  That's it.  Any
questions?"
  A reporter raised his hand.
  "Yes?"
 
 
  "您说您的儿子飞行，但是我们认为您不可能飞行，直到您是少年。"
  "Okay, no, I'm sorry.  I don't understand.  Wo tingbudong."
  The reporter sighed.  "You say your son flew away but we thought you
could not fly until you were a teenager."
  "Actually, Neonians usually learn to fly around the same time that
human babies learn to crawl."
  "But we saw on the TV show Spriteville."
  Extreme sighed.  "Look, Spriteville was just a TV show.  It's not
how I really grew up."
  "So you could fly as a child?"
  "Yep."
  "And you and criminal mastermind Edward Goodhead did not grow up as
best friends only to turn on each other as adults?"
  Extreme shook his head.  "No.  Anyway, if anybody here in China
spots my son flying around then I would appreciate--"
  Just then Extreme's cell phone rang.  He answered it.
  "Hello?"
  >>Extreme.  Waterlord here.  We've located your son.  He's in
Taipei, Taiwan.<<
  "Taiwan?  That's a whole other country altogether!"
  "No, it's not!" several indignant people shouted from the crowd.
"It's in integral part of China!"
  "Do you mind?" Extreme said.  "I'm having a conversation here!"
Extreme stepped off the podium and away from the mircophone.  "Where
exactly in Taiwan?"
  <<We're not sure but he's finally stopped moving so that means
something caught his attention.<<
  Extreme nodded.  "Alright.  I'll go to Taipei and I'll try to figure
out what that might be."

  Extreme flew to Taipei and used his super hearing.  He heard music
coming from one of the city parks.  He reasoned that his son would
have heard the music too and be attracted to it.  He flew down and saw
his son flying around the stage where local pop star Myndi Huang* was
performing.
  "Oh!  Hao ke ai!" Myndi said when she saw the flying baby.
  Extreme flew down to the stage and took his son in his arms.
  "Excuse me.  I'm sorry about this.  Really.  He just got away from
me."
  "您的╴牒⑹钦嬲╴囟喝讼╴╴鄣!"
  "Huh?  I'm sorry.  I don't understand.  Wo tingbudong.  Um... bye."
Extreme flew off.
  "Bye bye!" Myndi said as he flew off.
  Extreme took Myk-El back to Extreme Force Headquarters.  After
drinking a bottle of regular milk, the baby soon went to sleep.

  (*Not a real name but a satire.)

                          PART II: MYNDI HUANG

  Myndi Huang finished her concert.  She went to speak to her manager
and producer.
  "I don't know if I can do this anymore," she said in Chinese.  "I'm
twenty-six years old now and you still have me dressed and dancing
like a schoolgirl and singing about how much I love my boyfriend.  I'm
not the same person I was six years ago.  I've grown up.  I want that
reflected in my music and performances."
  Her manager sighed.  "But Myndi," he said, also speaking in Chinese,
"you have to understand that this is what your fans want.  The fans
fell in love with cute Myndi Huang.  You can't change now."
  "Yeah," her producer said, also in Chinese, "and even if you started
doing more mature songs and tried to change your image, people are
still going to want to hear you singing your big hits when you appear
at a concert.  It's what they're paying for."
  "Well maybe I don't want to do the old songs anymore!  Maybe I want
to move on!  Grow up!"
  Her producer sighed and shook his head.
  "It's not just about the songs.  It's about what people want.  Young
girls like you because they want to be pretty like you.  Parents like
you because you're wholesome and innocent.  And men?  Trust me there
are a lot of men out there who like thsoe schoolgirl outfits."
  "Ew."
  "The point is that if you're not going to give people what they want
then somebody else will."
  "Fine," Myndi said.  "Find somebody else.  But you won't be able to
replace me that easily!  You'll never find anyone exactly like me!
People are still going to want me!"
  Her producer laughed.  "You don't think I couldn't find anyone
exactly like you?  You must be joking!  There are dozens of copies of
you out there!"
  "Wait," her manager said, "do you mean her clones?"
  "Exactly!  I can get one of her clones to replace her!  Ha!"
  "You can't do that!  You can't legally use a clone to replace
somebody without their permission!"
  "Who says I can't?"
  "The law!"
  "What?  American law?  This is Taiwan!"
  "She's right," her manager said.  "Cloning technology is subject to
American law because that's where the vast majority of clones are
still produced.  As far as I know, when Myndi had her cells cultured
they were sent to a lab in the United States to be processed.  And
when the completed clones were sold they were sold under contracts
subject to American legal restrictions."
  "Damn."
  "But there's a way this could work out for everybody."
  "How's that?"
  "If Myndi and just one of the person's who purchased one of her
clones would agree then we could have one of her clones replace her
and everybody could get a cut.  All we'd have to do is draw up a
contract that everybody would agree to."
  "Hmm."
  "What do you say?"
  "I don't know.  Myndi, are you sure you don't want to continue doing
the old songs?"
  "Absolutely."
  "And if we had one of your clones do it and continued to pay you?"
  Myndi shrugged her shoulders.  "Whatever.  Having my clone perform
my songs is no different than seeing them being shown over and over
again on MTV."
  "Alright," her producer said, "let's contact some of the people who
bought Myndi Huang clones and see if any of them are interested."

  A few weeks later, the trio was auditioning their one and only
candidate, a Myndi Huang clone owned by Marvin Filmore of Toronto,
Canada.
  "I'm really proud of my little Myndi," Marvin said.  "I taught her
to sing and dance herself."
  "Alright," Myndi's manager said.  "Let's see what she can do."
  The Myndi Huang clone came out and did her thing.

  "If you sneeze when you think about me
  "Know that I'm also thinking of you
  "If you're awaoken in the night by cell phone
  "You can bet it's cause I'm calling you
  "Sometimes you might wonder if my love for you is true
  "You wonder if you and I
  "Are really meant to be
  "In your heart you wonder if I'm the one
  "Love for you well then don't worry any more
  "Oh baby talk to me more often
  "Think of me more often
  "Make sure that you spend more time with me than you have
  "Oh please no more small talk
  "Tell me what you're really thinking
  "Cause baby I do really love you!  Love you!"

  "Alright!  Enough!" Myndi said in English.  "What the hell was
that?"
  "Oh, sorry," Marvin said.  "I took the liberty of having your
signature song translated into English.  You see, I don't understand
Chinese very well and I wanted to know what she was saying so..."
  "I don't mean that!" Myndi complained.  "I'm talking about all the
writhing on the floor!  What's with all that?"
  "Ah, well, I did try to get her to learn the way you danced.
Really.  But it just wasn't natural for her.  I mean, she was
basically programmed to be a living breathing sex toy.  So I just had
her do what came natural to her."
  Myndi shook her head.  "This just won't do!"  She turned to her
manager and producer.  "It's just unacceptable!  Tell him!"
  Her producer shrugged his shoulders.  "I actually kind of liked it,"
he said in Chinese.
  Her manager agreed.  "It worked for me too," he said in Chinese.
  Myndi switched to Chinese.  "Are you joking?  That was disgusting!"
  "Actually, it's not much different than what a lot of singers are
doing today.  Just look at Beyonce."
  "Well, I'm not allowing this!  I'm not going to have my clone parade
around like a sex object."
  "But we had a deal!" her manager insisted.
  "Excuse me," Marvin interrupted.  "I'm sorry but I don't understand
Chinese very well and I'd like to know what's being said."
  "Be quiet!" Myndi snapped at him and then switched back to Chinese.
"I'm not agreeing to any contract under these terms."
  "You still have your existing contract then," her manager said.
  "What do you mean?"
  "You wanted a more modern image and Marvin's clone of you just
showed us how a sexier Myndi Huang could work.  Just resign your
contract and we'll work together to make you a more mature, sexier
artist that we could all be happy with."
  "I don't know," Myndi said.
  "You could be the next Coco Lee."
  "Coco Lee doesn't writhe around like that."
  "Perhaps she should," her producer suggested.
  Myndi sighed.  "Hao ba," she said.
  "Hao ba?" Marvin said.  "That means 'okay', right?  So is it good
news?"
  Myndi's manager switched to English so Marvin could understand him.
"Yes and no.  Myndi is going to continue performing for us.  We won't
need her clone after all."
  "Oh," Marvin said.  "Okay.  But what about my airfare?  Are you
still going to pay for my airfare?"
  "Just pay the man," Myndi said impatiently in Chinese.  "He's really
starting to creep me out."

                           EPILOGUE: AL GORE

  "Ladies and Gentlemen... Mister Al Gore!"
  Al Gore walked out onto the stage to a round of applause.  He stood
at the podium and waited for tech support to activate the overhead
projector so he could begin his speech.  What appeared behind him was
a picture of Extreme.
  "Before I begin my usual talk on global warming I just want to bring
to your attention some startling new data that scientists have
recently presented me with.  It seems that they've identified a new
major contributor to global warming: apparently, every time Extreme
farts he produces a huge amount of greenhouse gases.  I want to take
this opportunity to urge Extreme as well as any other Neonian who may
be making his home here on Earth to please watch what they eat, go
easy on the beans and if possible please wait until you're in deep
space before you let one rip."

                                 THE END

Martin