WCD #42 Co-starring Aurora

[Lawrence Brown]

Foxy picked up the phone handset next to her chair. The pilot was calling to
update her. "Foxy? Durham here. Just wanted to let you know that we have
reached cruising altitude and the weather forecast ahead is all clear.  We
will make excellent time back to SFO."

 

"Thank you Anthony." Foxy replied to the pilot. "I'll let Spectrum know."
She hung up the handset. 

 

WEST COAST DEFENDERS #42 "Luft"

Co-starring Aurora

 

Foxy relaxed in the executive lounge chair of the Citation-XI-A's
custom-appointed cabin. Stretching seductively, she winked at Spectrum, and
then went back to scribbling on a legal pad and thumbing through the brochure
on the plane. While most private jets maintain subsonic performance, this
aircraft company out of Detroit had made several structural and performance
modifications that would allow the plane to exceed the normal envelope.
Lawrence had tasked her with learning about the plane, and coming up with
some options that would allow the team to get the most out of one if they
chose to buy one.  Most of the options were window dressing since the real
meat of the upgrades was included with every plane.  Most of her checklist
was a check off of the features, with a comment, "What is this?" scribbled
next to it.  She opted for a rear pressurized drop portal, if someone needed
to exit the plane at high altitudes, but then selected a small cozy, sleeping
room.  Enhanced communications were accessible from a forward station just
off the pilots cockpit, and she made a note to see what kind of seating
options were available, since TDSM might want to be there for extended
periods.  "Spectrum, pilot says we're making good time. Hey, this guy here
that is running the upgrade facility looks more like a mechanic than an
executive.  You know anyone named Jake?"

 

Spectrum looked up distractedly for a moment. "Not that I can think of...
hang on Foxy I am on the phone with someone, just make sure the plane has a
good sized refrigerator and some room to either carry some cargo or a full
medical stretcher.  If this plane is sitting around, it would be nice to lend
it out for an emergency air ambulance.  And don't forget to get the quotation
on flight instruction schools for us."

 

"US?"  

 

"Hey with everything going on, we both should learn how to fly one of these.
It'd be a fun class to take together..."

 

"We need to work on your definition of fun..."  She pulled on a tight-fitting
t-shirt with the letters MHC emblazoned on the front.

 

Spectrum grinned at her then waved her off and turned his attention back to
the console.

"Sorry doc.  Foxy wanted something.  I have another conference call coming up
in a couple minutes but I wanted to get a hold of you as soon as I could.
Can you ask Summer who or what 'Kopykat' means?"

 

The video screen displayed Dr. Odd Science, and his expression was puzzled.
"Yes, I will relay your request to her.  Now back to the main questions.  How
long has your suit displayed these ...'odd' symptoms?"

 

"I don't know exactly, but I noticed that at the hotel the suit somehow
created a power adaptor cord to link the briefcase to the wall power.  There
was also a network cable plugged in, now that I think about it."

 

"Fascinating. I must admit, that after the numerous circumstances that the
original batch of nanotechnology has been exposed to, from the hyperspacial
explosion, to the gestaltic mergers with Summer, I don't know exactly what
you are dealing with.  I did not design any of this into the nanotech repair
systems I introduced into your suit. All those nanites 'know' about is how to
repair your systems.  The behavior you describe suggests they are now
operating outside those original parameters."

 

"Remember when Summer merged with my suit to look at it from the inside?  I
mean, inside the systems, not inside where I am...and then yeah, there are
the psychic linkages that were formed when Sigma came online, and then there
are the upgrades/repairs during the Robomacs....my computer's voice menus
sound like her; could she have 'infected' my suit's systems?"

 

"It's possible. Considering the circumstances, it's very possible.  But how
that would affect your suit I can not say.  I would like to run a full
diagnostic on your suit at the earliest possible convenience."

 

"Summer and the nanotech are now merged, right?"

 

"It's probably more appropriate to say that she is more than the sum of the
parts.  What she can do is more than the nanotech could ever do on its own.
With her exposure to the hyperspacial energy..."

 

Spectrum rubbed his chin.  "So is the suit going to go Frankenstein on me?
Is it going to eat me or something?"

 

"Hardly.  But since you are, or at least were, a human nexus of energies, the
summer-nanites might have been attracted to you and piggybacked onto your
suit.  The original programming of the repair nanites mixed with Summer's
feelings towards you might have 'colored' their programming and so they work
to maintain your suit at its optimum efficiency, and faced with the
possibility of powering down, they fashioned a logical extension of the
current parameters.  I don't think this would ever mean the suit would ever
become like Summer's body, nor do I think it would make you at risk of
becoming a techno-organic creature like she is now."

 

"So, what I hear you saying is that all this will probably mean is that the
suit will be more efficient at repairing itself and keeping itself at max
readiness."

 

"... I don't know.  I still think you need to bring it in to be checked out.
Congratulations on your knighthood, and I understand--your engagement?"

 

Spectrum laughed. "Yeah, gonna make an honest woman out of her.  Looks like
I've come into a sizable fortune too.  If only I could get my powers back.
Just tell me if you need some funding and I'll be happy to cut you a check, I
owe you guys several times over. Please ask Summer to give me a call."

 

"I'm sure the team feels indebted to you and yours too.  Thank you for your
generous offer, I shall consider it, however at this time the numerous
patents and such that I have should provide for my present needs.  May I ask
you one more question?"

 

"Shoot."

 

"What made you want to power-down?"

 

There was a long silence, then an icon chimed on the display and Spectrum
stammered, "Thanks again for everything you have done. I have to get on
another call, but you need to alert team M.E.C.H.A. about the Nintan threat.
I've emailed your team the particulars as I know them.  As soon as I can get
a space worthy ship we are heading out, but the heroes need to be updated if
things go sideways.  I'm sure Foxy will be mailing wedding invitations to
everyone soon. Bye!"

 

Spectrum shook his head, then turned to his fiancé, "hey furry-buns, its
time!"  He watched her slip on a headset at another station, and her smiling
face appeared in a small window on his screen.

 

A couple key presses later and windows for Nikon Ninja, Trapdoor Spider Man,
British Airwave, and his own face tiled the edges of the screen.  "Okay
folks, what can you tell me about Aurora?"

 

"Its southeast of Denver, the city has generally nice people, they have a
great public library system..." Parker Peterson quipped.

 

"Doah...." British Airwave deadpanned.

 

"They are quite a formidable force," TDSM began. "...with extensive resources
in equipment and manpower..."

 

"BEANSTALK!"  Foxy interjected. 

 

"Yes," British Airwave continued, "and they just saved the world from an
extra-dimensional invasion."

 

"So, fending off invasions is something they have done already..." Spectrum
responded, "good, hopefully then we can spend less time convincing them of
the threat and focus more on the threat itself."

 

"If you are ready now, I shall connect us." Randall offered.

 

After a few moments, another window popped up to reveal a pleasant young
woman's face. "Aurora priority communications," she said. "What group do you
represent and what's the nature of your emergency?"

 

"Hello, this is Spectrum of the West Coast Defenders.  My teammate British
Airwave contacted you earlier and we needed to speak with someone in your
organization about assisting us in an emergency."

 

"Of course," she replied, pressing several buttons. "One moment... and..."
Her window slid to join the others which were tiling the edge of the screen.
A new window opened, to reveal another face. "Arthur Doyle. It's good finally
to be able to speak to you in, well, almost person. What seems to be the
problem?"

 

"Hello Mr. Doyle, Spectrum here.  My team has recently encountered a group of
aliens that were going to try to blow up the London subway system and in the
process blame Muslim terrorists.  Their equipment was state of the art and
also included advanced alien technology.  I think their purpose was to sow
chaos around the world in order to distract earth's heroes from an impending
invasion."

 

"Do you have any of them in custody?"

 

"No, they accidentally blew themselves up with their own bomb."

 

"I helped!" Foxy interjected.

 

Spectrum nodded, "When we were in combat with them, they were able to drag
their dead and wounded with them."

 

Doyle frowned.

 

"We have some of their weapons..." Foxy added.

 

"Just machine pistols and automatic weapons.  The alien blasters must have
had some sort of timed destruct built in."  Spectrum slowed.

 

"What did they look like?" Doyle asked, as he reached into the Beanstalk's
computer networks. With luck, either he or some client group would have these
aliens on file.

 

"Giant insects we think.  It's hard to say..."

 

"They were disguised as Arabs...with Dick Van Dyke masks."

 

"Except for the two that looked like Guinness Beer creators..."

 

"Brilliant," muttered Doyle dryly, receiving very few matches on any of these
criteria. "Go on..."

 

"Wait!" TDSM added, "I wassss able to hack into the London sssecurity camera
sssystem and pull up thisss clip." Another window opened and a grainy black
and while video clip looped, showing Spectrum and Foxy talking to the back of
a large truck.

 

"The aliens were in there?"

 

"Yes, I mean no, not at that time, we were talking to their bomb." Foxy
replied.

 

"A talking bomb...." Doyle muttered, quickly suppressing the link to the
Internet Movie Database that his systems wanted to create.

 

"Yes, and that was the bomb that blew up in that area later... and destroyed
all the aliens." British Airwave explained.

 

"My press contacts at the Sun over there said that the police were able to
gather some blood samples from the explosion." Nikon Ninja added.

 

"The tabloid newspaper..." Doyle asked.

"Yes.   However I just got an email saying that the samples are missing."

 

"Are you the hero that goes around dressed like a giant bunny?"

 

"No!  I ride a giant bunny, except when I am in 'battlerabbit mode'."

 

Spectrum sighed.  "This is not going well." He glanced at all the windows as
his team tried to explain the threat, all talking at once, and then at Viva
who was looking at the other windows trying to stifle a grin, and Doyle doing
his best to be patient.

 

Foxy interrupted, looking from her window in the corner to the center of the
screen. "Um. Why is Ann B. Davis there in the middle smiling at us?"

 

A door behind Doyle burst open, disgorging a team of technicians wearing
hazmat suits. An attractive redhead surged forward, sweeping the room in all
directions until she oriented on Doyle's screen.

 

"Th' residual TVD energy's comin' from here!" she yelled out. "Hae all
decontamination ready..."

 

Doyle whirled around, presenting his back to the screen. "Colleen... wait,
no! No, bad! Decontamination protocols do NOT include flamethrow--"

 

"DECONTAMINATE!"

 

There was a whoosh of orange that washed over the screen. Doyle and Viva's
windows both blinked out, to be replaced by the words 'Technical Difficulties
-- Please Stand By'. Under them, an animated cartoon figure of Colleen
appeared, and looped, smiling sheepishly and shrugging.

 

 "Oy vey." British Airwave sighed.

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.eyrie.org/pipermail/superguy/attachments/20060822/304e36e2/attachment-0001.htm