SW10: Summer of Discontent #3a: The Agents

Sun Sep 25 16:17:59 PDT 2011

The Summer of Discontent

Part 3a:  The Agents

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What Has Gone Before:  There's a Plan to defeat the next great winter by 
moving the Earth back to its old orbit. 
(http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/discontent1.txt )  Some of The 
Plan's agents are captive in South Vietnam. 
(http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/discontent2.txt )  Others have 
been lost on another Earth 
(http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/discontent3.txt ), or in the 
timestream (http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/1971.txt ).

---

WORLD JOURNAL MONTHLY
June 6, 2011

THE AGENTS!
Who Can Come Back to Save the Earth?

Correspondent:  Noelle LaRue

---

Next to a sign saying "Ordered Realities Badge Station - Schenectady", 
the Mighty Tim looked up from the nets he'd been bound in.  He and the 
Powernaut had been plucked from the sky by some kind of magic.  The 
Powernaut had been pummeled into submission by a Thor and a Subhuman - 
the same two opponents as the last time. 
(http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/discontent3.txt ) And facing 
Mighty Tim was the third:  Lady Sherlock.  She said...

"We know you've been in Florida.  The Old Republicans were probably the 
wrong people to take refuge with.  They're like a continuous 
presidential primary.  Whoever you made friends with there, they had 
enemies.  And we knew you'd be coming to see us today.  This is the day 
your Earth has to change its orbit or give up, right?"

Mighty Tim responded.  "You've been keeping track, then.  Are you still?"

"Yep."

"Is the blockade still on?"

"Yep."

"Is there anything we can say or do to change that?"

"Nope."

"Fine.  We tried.  Whatever happens to my Earth, we'll be there to see 
it.  This Embassy is over."

Lightning erupted from the Mighty Tim's backpack!  Lady Sherlock fell 
back stunned.  Mighty Tim said, "Powernaut!"

"At last!"  The Powernaut knocked his own opponents aside, and ran to 
his ally.  He'd been playing dead!  But...  "I still can't fly!"

"Don't worry.  I got this one."  In a burst of flame *and* lightning, 
the Mighty Tim and the Powernaut disappeared from Schenectady!

They reappeared on the Florida coastline - on an island, with a nuclear 
power plant.  The plant was still functioning!

The Powernaut said, "Can we go home now?"

"If the idea still works.  And it already got us out of Schenectady. 
This time, we'll borrow the power to get home."

The Mighty Tim connected a cable to his backpack.  The backpack started 
to hum - and spark.

"Powernaut!  It's up to you!"  Mighty Tim threw him the backpack.

"Don't worry!  I can take it!"

The sparking increased.  The Powernaut glowed.  By the time he was 
glowing white, Mighty Tim said, "Now!"  He jumped at the Powernaut. 
They teleported.

---

It was Monday in the marina of Everett in Washington state.  Summer was 
late this year, even for a cold year.  And weekend tourists had gone, 
which made the marina even slower than usual.  Everett was known for 
industry, not tourism.  But still some guests arrived in a van with the 
local casino's logo on it.  But it had really come from Paine Field 
airport at the Boeing plant.

The visitors were shown to a conference room.  Vice-President Joe 
Corrigan was waiting for them.  He'd walked in from a rented yacht when 
no one was looking.  He jumped up and said, "Wyatt!  That really you, 
not that Chancellor asshole?"

"I know the one...  Yeah, this is really me."  Wyatt Ferguson looked tired.

"Bro!  Welcome back!  And the rest of you, get some coffee.  We start 
the meeting in five minutes."

...

Seven minutes later, Corrigan said, "Skip the news briefing.  Can we do 
The Plan today?"

Ingrid Bodil, National Security Advisor, said "No."

"What's missing?"

"The Chancellor's blockade on Earth is still up.  And we have not found 
The Trillions command ship."

"What *can* we do?"

"Wyatt Ferguson still has mystic power from his own activities in recent 
months.  Today he can contribute that."

Wyatt said, "Yeah... Let's do it, Pam.  I see you have the right hat."

Pam Brown, the Bride of the Ultimate Darkness, stood up.  She was 
wearing a black beret.  She said, "Yeah.  Let's just do it."

Then the Vice-President's phone rang.  He said, "Gotta take this one... 
  Yeah?  They're back?  At the mansion?  Did they win? ... Yeah, I 
*know* they got back.  Did they do the mission? ... Okay.  Got other 
stuff now.  Bye."  He wasn't happy.

As everyone looked, Joe Corrigan said, "That was about Mighty Tim.  He's 
back from the Chancellor.  But the blockade's still on.  We got to get 
The Trillions first.  Pam, can you do that after this mystic power stuff?"

"Don't know.  But first things first."  Pam placed her hands upon Wyatt. 
  Then her voice and her face changed.  "I Say The Sacrifice Is Met. 
Let The Power Be Opened."

Then she changed back.  "... Wow.  It worked."

Corrigan said, "Okay.  You still got the Black Hat power?"

"No, that's gone.  The Method Man said it would.  It's pretty amazing he 
even *gave* me the power...  But the Ultimate Darkness is wide open now."

"So can you break through the Chancellor's blockade on Earth?"

Pam concentrated... "Probably not.  That's within the Darkness. 
Nothing's changed inside it.  The only thing we just changed is, 
Darkness can swallow the Earth."

"Could it swallow The Trillions?"

"It probably could!  But the Ultimate Darkness leads to everywhere else. 
  Putting Trillions in it wouldn't make *anywhere* safe from them."

"Oh, dammit.  Can you bring the Darkness down on *any* of their ships 
and find stuff out?"

"We already tried that.  They have defenses now."

"Dammit!  Well, we got stuff going on.  We might get in a Trillions 
ship.  And the Commander-in-Chief has authorized, The Plan is going into 
overtime.  The way the world is going, any fix is better than no fix."

---

SEE OUR NEXT STORIES!

THE MYTH!  The Summer of Discontent, Continued! 
http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/discontent4.txt

THE STRIKE!  The Summer of Discontent, CONCLUDED! 
http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/discontent5.txt

---

Author's Notes:

Shit.

I was tempted to keep Mighty Tim and the Powernaut in custody until the 
climax of this storyline, because it would have been easier that way. 
But that would have disrespected the experience and abilities of those 
characters, and thereby their original author, which is me.  I have 
therefore maintained my self-respect.  Besides, Mighty Tim has earned 
his place at the big ending.  So you'll therefore have to indulge me and 
allow me an extra story to contain the adventure of how he got back.

This story belongs between previously-published stories "The Deal" and 
"The Myth".  It brings "The Deal" and "1971" back to the master story.

Relevant stories, other than this storyline:

*  The Method Man. 
http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2008/reversal.htm#methodman

*  The Black Hat Power. 
http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2009/teknootelo.htm#teknootelo

*  The Trillions.  http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2009/trillions.htm

... That's it, as far as I can recall.  And I may have mentioned those 
links already.  I really *am* putting stuff together.  Or so I hope...

I've been re-reading various seventy-five-issue storylines from out of 
Vertigo Comics recently.  Sandman, The Books of Magic, and Lucifer all 
went exactly that long.  Lucifer did best, in my opinion.  The Books of 
Magic got a lot of complaints because the author knew stuff the readers 
didn't.  This gives me an idea of plot cohesion to aspire to, hopefully 
above The Books of Magic.

Final episode next week, almost for certain!  I got to admit, I know 
what happens in it.  It just needs authorial review at this point.

Crusher Joe Corrigan is a character created by Joe Fucile.  All other 
characters in this fiction are copyright 2011, Eiler Technical 
Enterprises.  All this year's stories are online at 
http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/.

(signed) Scott Eiler, 25 September 2011.

-- 
(signed) Scott Eiler  8{D> -------- http://www.eilertech.com/ ---------

Turns out I'm an anally-fixated oedipal paranoid with 
south-of-the-border schizophrenic delusions...  But never mind, I've 
found me the ideal job.  I'm going to run for President!

- Major Honey, scripted by Grant Morrison, Doom Patrol #46, August 1991.