Hi! I don’t usually put notes before my stories, but on this occasion I thought a few words would be useful. This story contains no sex, but there are intimations for the future. The new person in Laura's life is based on a character I saw recently in a movie, so if you think it's a certain person (Aki Ross - Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within), you'd be right in thinking she was my role model. That said the character may not be exactly the same, though there will be similarities. If anyone wishes to make comments and criticism, or even offer ideas, feel free. I write these stories for my own pleasure, but I post them for yours.
Steve (AKA Talia)
The Present
I love lying on the beach, relaxing in the sun and soaking up some rays. Many people do not realise that New York has a beachfront, though the ever-present smog does mean that you have to pick your days. That said, when the weather is right, the beaches rival those in California. Coney Island has nice beaches and that’s where I prefer to go. I love the feel of the sun on my body, the way I look with a decent tan.
There are other reasons, besides topping up my tan, I like the beach, and I like looking the lifeguards over, the female ones anyway. I get a lot of admiring looks myself, a lot of offers too, though unfortunately very few from the people I’d like to get to know. Unfortunately, most of the offers I get are from the wrong sex.
I am very aware that I fill out a bikini very nicely, especially as I wear bikini’s that will make the most of my figure, assets and looks. Being blonde, tall and extremely curvaceous, I usually look good in pale colours, white, yellow or silver, very occasionally gold, it’s hard to find a bikini in gold that doesn’t look cheap to tacky. Having large breasts, a trim waist and long legs, I look pretty fantastic in anything. I’m a very beautiful woman, I know it and I make the most of it. My besetting sin is vanity, if you hadn’t guessed.
I wear mirror shades when at the beach. Sometimes, ogling female flesh can land you in hot water, if you’re very lucky, if not they might be offended and cause a scene. So I take care to make sure they don’t know I’m looking, unless they seem to want me to. I’m well known enough, out of costume, that I really don’t need that kind of publicity. Besides, looking is free and someone might look good, but you never can tell about the personality, until you can get to know the person behind the mask.
I admit that I am a sun worshipper, though when you wear a costume like mine, split to the below navel, with a skirt so short it only just covers your panties, a decent tan is essential. Certain areas have to be topped up in private, though, I may be vain, but I’m not an exhibitionist. The big problem for me is that, since gaining my powers, my skin absorbs the rays very slowly, which means I tan very slowly. Still it lasts longer too, so there is a trade off.
I also come to the beach to relax from the pressures of my life as a superheroine. Ms Victory is one of the best known and best loved heroines in America, she has the respect and trust of all of the major law-enforcement agencies. All of that means I have to attend ceremonies, parties and dinners, all in the cause of charity or public relations. The small amount of time I get to myself is spent in reflection or trying to find some way to relax, to forget all of the pain my life seems to attract.
Then there is my life as Laura Wayne, billionairess, hotel owner and society pin up. Fitting her schedule into my life as a superheroine is almost impossible, it leaves me almost no time for myself. Laura also has to be very careful to preserve the image that she is not the woman who inherited the hotel chain from her father, just after the war. She would be over eighty, whereas I look to be twenty-one, and have since the night I became Miss Victory. Laura has had to resort to falsifying her death twice since then, leaving her fortune to an unknown daughter. I hate the deceit, but what else can I do, if I don’t want word of my immortality to get out.
The biggest drawback of immortality is the loneliness, the isolation. Friendship is the best you dare offer anyone, any kind of deeper relationship ultimately leads to pain, the kind of pain that destroys you. I lost a lover recently, I almost drank myself into oblivion. Sometimes, the temptation is very strong, especially when her memory intrudes. Perhaps it would be best if Laura were to die, leaving just Ms Victory, icon of freedom and justice. Then all I’d have to do would be fight villains. Though I know that that route would lead to me losing touch with my humanity, something that would totally destroy me.
At times when despair is strong, I fall back on my faith, my belief in God. I am not one of those people who believes blindly, who believe all things happen for a reason. You cannot see the things I have seen, do the things I have to do and still believe blindly. I am a practising, devout Catholic, but I don’t let my faith blind me to the reality around me. That would be as big a sin as denying God’s existence. God is my lifeline, my anchor for when the cruelty and horror of the world get too much. He is there for me when the despair threatens to overwhelm me. He is my friend, my guide and, ultimately, the last judge of whether my actions in this life are just.
The last few months have been especially hard for me, but I’m finally starting to get used to life without Julia. Most people seem to think that I spend my days patrolling for crime, stopping injustice and generally doing superheroine stuff. None of them seem to realise that, like everyone else, I need to take time out from putting myself on the line, take some time to reflect on what has been happening in my life and how it affects my job. They forget that I’m still human, despite my powers and lifestyle, that I need some time to myself. Time to come to terms with loss, to realise that I may have to live my life alone and apart from people. Time to come to terms with the idea that I can’t save everyone, or be everywhere at once, that I am not God.
I wish I could spend all day fighting crime, helping people, but there is so much crime in New York alone that I’d need to be everywhere simultaneously. I’m not the only paranormal in New York, but I am the most visible, the most well known, especially since my life came under the television spotlight. Of course, I’ve been around longer than any other hero, fighting for justice since 1942. Very few people seem to realise that for the last sixty years I have been fighting for their freedom. Robyn Marshall has been spotlighting my life and recently she has been asking if the heroine who fought for her country during the war, is the same heroine who fights crime today? I’m not sure if I want her to succeed in revealing my secret or not.
Immortality has its price, but it also means you get to watch the world change around you. Some of the changes are better than others, some are more personal than others. New heroes have arisen, along with villains more and more powerful. Crime seems to grow, as the forces that enforce the law seem to shrink. I’ve watched as the world has become a darker place and there are times I wonder if it is all worth it, if I shouldn’t just let it destroy itself.
No matter how much I do, it seems that I need to find ways to do more, spend more time fighting the darkness. People don’t want their heroes to be normal, like themselves, they want their heroes to be like any other emergency service, on call twenty-four hours a day, whenever and wherever they need them. People just don’t want to think that superheroes are like them and need to take time off occasionally to wind down, to put things in perspective.
Take today for example. A few days ago I had a rough battle with some bank robbers that hired some super-powered muscle to protect them, he was tough, but not that tough. It was the tear gas the police fired into the bank that really messed me up. Gasses have a heightened effect on me, they hit me harder and last longer. In this case, the gas blinded me, left me choking and gasping. It made taking out the bruiser that much harder. I won, but it was too damned close and the bank robbers nearly got away from me. So here I am, relaxing, soaking up a few rays and wondering if I shouldn’t find a way to work closer with the police, avoid any more mistakes like that. Or at least I am until someone stands in my sun.
I open my eyes when they don’t move away, to be surprised by the silhouette of a pair of long, incredibly svelte legs. My eyes follow the legs upwards, taking in the swell of hips, a flat stomach and trim waist, a pair of full breasts and long dark hair that falls past the woman’s shoulders. I can’t make out her face, with the sun behind her, though the woman makes an incredibly erotic silhouette.
"Can I help you?" I ask.
"Are you Laura Wayne?" she says, her voice rich and oddly nervous. It sends shivers up and down my spine, a tingling that I’ve felt before, though only once or twice, though not this strong. The last time I reacted to someone like this, was the day of Wendy’s funeral. If her voice can do that to me, I wonder what she’ll do to me when I get to know her.
"That depends on why you’re looking for her," I reply, warily.
"A friend suggested I look her up if I needed help," she says, "the picture he gave me is very old, but you look like her, or rather her grand-daughter."
"Does this friend have a name?" I ask, sitting up, trying to get a look at her face.
"Robert Mountain-Elk," the young woman says.
The name evokes memories of long ago, a young man I met in the forties who turned out to be far more than he appeared to be.
"So, you know Robert Mountain-Elk?" I say.
"I knew him, he died four days go, his death was not natural." Her voice catches when she says this and I see her shiver a little.
"I’m sorry, he was a good friend and a good man." I look up at the young woman, then invite her to sit down, my towel is large enough. I bought it to share with Julia, so it’s big enough for two to lounge on. Julia loved the sun too.
The woman moves out of the sun, at last, and I watch as she sits, studying the face I see clearly for the first time. She is very attractive, with her oval face, emerald-green eyes, a long, thin nose and a full-lipped mouth. She has a strong chin, a few freckles scattered across her cheeks and over her nose. Her features also hint at Asian blood in her family. Her features are framed by dark-brown hair, straight and stylishly cut. She looks to be in her early to mid-twenties. There is character in her face, as well as an innocence that is appealing and very attractive. There is also an odd reticence, a look that tells me she has reservations about this meeting, that it wasn’t her idea and that she’d rather be somewhere else.
Her bikini is extremely daring, two pieces of purple fabric stretched over her breasts, another over her crotch and ass, with strings holding them in place. She doesn’t seem self-conscious, just nervous, or perhaps scared would be a better description. She has to be aware that I’m looking, she is incredibly beautiful. Just looking at her does things to me that no one else has ever done, not even Julia. I’m very attracted to her, or rather turned on by her would be a better description, which is a bad sign, a very bad sign, as it usually means trouble for me.
As her eyes meet mine, despite the mirror-shades, I shiver. Her lovely, emerald eyes are full of fear, not of me, but of something to do with me. I’m glad she can’t see the desire that must be written in my eyes, it’s almost like an animal lust. I’ve felt like this before, but never with this kind of intensity, this woman affects me on levels no one has ever touched before, she makes all my relationships until now seem like shallow, flirtations. I remember the last time someone affected me like this, it was the day I first met Robert Mountain-Elk, so many years ago…
March 1943
"I’m telling you Laura, you’ll make a great impression out on that cat walk," Nicola said, adjusting the dress I was wearing. "Also, don’t forget this is for the War Effort, to sell War Bonds."
"Damn it, Nikki, you know I hate this stuff," I said, wriggling a little. "I prefer to be out, doing something about the people trying to ruin our countries war effort, not strutting up and down some catwalk."
"Liar, you love being stared at," Nicola said, smoothing the soft material over my hips. "You love showing off. Why else do you wear that costume I designed for you?"
"For effect," I said, ignoring her grin. "You said it yourself, if they’re staring at my breasts, they won’t see my fists."
"You love to know someone is looking," she said, grinning widely. "You have a magnificent body, perfect looks, you’re one of the most beautiful women in the world and you know it." Nicola adjusted my hair, which was styled artfully in a pile on top of my head, along with some incredible jewellery. "I know you’re a vain person, Laura Wayne, and that isn’t meant as a criticism, it’s an honest assessment. You know you’re beautiful, you like the idea that people are looking at you and you love the attention, so stop complaining and enjoy yourself."
"If it’s such fun, why don’t you do it?" I said, trying to hold still.
"Because I just design these things, I pay others to wear them, unless I can get them to do it for free."
"You know me too well," I said, smiling. "I still don’t know how you managed talk me into this."
"It might have something to do with the fact your father offered to let us use his hotel for the show," Nicola said simply, "then suggested you’d make an excellent model."
"Yes, I really must thank daddy for that," I said, sarcastically. "You do know that I’m going to have men chasing me for months after this."
"And you’ll love every minute of it, though most men under the age of forty have been drafted into the armed forces, so it won’t be that bad."
"No, it just means that they’ll all be older and certain that I can’t resist their charms," I retorted. "Do you really hate me that much?"
"Laura, stop complaining," Nicola said, "every model gets nervous before a show. Relax, enjoy the moment and remember that all the money is going to a worthy cause."
"I know," I said, looking in the mirror at the incredibly lovely woman staring back. "But I’d still rather be fighting Nazi saboteurs or supervillains."
"Go on, you’re on," Nicola said, shooing me with her hands.
I walked out onto the catwalk, passing the model that had preceded me, and into the lights. There was a gasp, and I felt the eyes of everyone on me. I walked up the catwalk, slowly, remembering what the other models had told me and showed me. I had never been so nervous, or terrified, though I was excited too. At the end I turned, slowly, twirling to show off the gown’s elegant lines, the shimmering material caught the light and I basked in the adulation of the crowd. The applause that followed me off the catwalk was heady and I began to understand why some of the girls fought so hard for places in shows like these.
I stepped off the catwalk and Nicola immediately started pulling pins from my hair, whilst another woman started carefully removing the gown, ready for the next dress.
"Enjoy yourself?" Nicola asked, quickly teasing my hair into another simple style.
"It was … different," I admitted.
"Ah vanity, thy name is Laura." Nicola giggled at my expression, then helped pull the next gown over my hips.
"This was your idea," I countered and she winked, giggled and put a last few touches to my new look.
Then I was out again, walking slowly and repeating my earlier moves. The effect was the same and I had three more costume changes to do. The model following me winked and I grinned back. Her name was Alice, she was rather earthy in personality, but she had the looks of an angel. She was one of the professional models who’d helped me get the walk and stance right. She had a good nature and was one of the people it was fun to be around. She’d actually volunteered to do war-work, at the shipyard, to replace the workers called into the armed forces. This was a one off for her.
The rest of the show went smoothly and the party afterwards was great fun, especially as I took great pains to make it plain I wasn’t available, despite the offers I got. The journalists took a lot of pictures, as well as asking me a lot of questions about my personal life. They got very few answers, especially about my love life.
Nicola had her share of questions, especially about her own status. There were people asking her to design clothes for them, others asking her to arrange for them to meet some of her models, myself included, and one or two who wanted to date her. What no one else in that room, with the exception of my mother and father, knew was that Nicola and I were lovers, had been for some time, so everyone was out of luck, except Nicola.
"So, you’re a woman of many talents, Miss Wayne," someone said.
I turned and my heart skipped a beat. This man was incredible, so perfect that I wondered if someone had found a way to adapt my serum to men. The problem with that surmise was that only two people knew the exact formula that had given me my powers, and one of them was dead, I know, I killed him. The other was me. So that meant his looks were almost certainly totally natural.
His face was narrow, a little thin, with a strong chin and full of character. His dark eyes seemed to draw attention, they seemed to dominate his face. His black hair was worn long by the standards of the day, and he wore two Eagle feathers woven into a short braid. His features were purely American Indian, Navajo I was to learn later. He was powerfully built, looked to be in his mid twenties and I admit that I felt a rush of pure lust at the sight of him.
"Do I know you?" I asked.
"Robert Mountain-Elk," he said, extending a hand. "I’m a reporter for the New Mexico Herald, I was invited to attend the party, or rather my editor decided I would accept the paper’s invitation."
"Do you mind if I ask why you aren’t in the armed forces?" I was curious, especially as I reacting to this man so strongly.
"I haven’t been called up yet," he said, "though I expect to be notified soon, I have volunteered."
I looked at him, wondering if I’d get to see him again, and realising that what I was thinking was totally inappropriate. With so many men being drafted into the armed forces, it was very obvious that some would not be coming back and, where Robert Mountain-Elk was concerned, I found that idea extremely distressing. As I looked into his eyes I wondered why I hadn’t met him before my transformation into Ms Victory, when I could have really lost my heart to him. Since that night, sexual encounters with men have terrified me, even those that were the result of my mind being controlled by others. Also, if I were able to have children, this was the man I wanted to father them.
"I’m sorry, Mr Mountain-Elk, my mind seems to be elsewhere." I tried not to blush at the images running through my head.
"That’s all right, I get that a lot, as you must do," he smiled, "and call me Robert, Mr Mountain-Elk is rather a mouthful."
"I’m not sure that would be appropriate," I said.
"It would be, if I could call you Laura?"
"All right," I smiled, feeling light-headed and rather girlish. He was so totally gorgeous and, despite my leanings, I fancied him rotten.
"Is Laura looking after you, Robert," Nicola said, an odd smile on her face. It took me a moment to realise she was jealous. "Be careful love, you’re almost drooling," she whispered.
I looked into Nicola’s eyes and smiled. "Sorry, he just so…"
"I know," Nicola said, licking her lips, predatorily, and not at me.
I returned my gaze to Robert and saw him watching us, speculatively.
"I take it you’re looking for an interview," I said, "though you really ought to be talking to Nicola, she masterminded this little show."
"I know," he said, smiling, "I did the interview a little while ago, I just happened to see you and, well, I just knew I had to meet you."
I blushed, I don’t usually, but this man made me feel things inside that I had no right feeling. I was seriously considering things I’d only ever considered doing with Nicola before now.
"I don’t know," I said, "I’m nothing special."
"Well there are quite a few men in this room who’d disagree," he said, "and I freely admit to being one of them."
I was about to reply, when I noticed a man in military uniform by the entrance. I recognised him instantly, he was my liaison with Military Intelligence, Captain Ethan Rodgers, and if he was here, there was trouble.
"Excuse me," I said, smiling, "I’ve just seen someone I really need to speak to." I gave Nicola a knowing nod and she looked over to the doorway, seeing my visitor. Her eyes went wide with fear, but her answering nod told me she understood.
Robert looked a little put out, but accepted my departure with good grace, possibly better grace than Nicola. For all we loved each other, she hated my job, not because of what I did, but because she was there when I got seriously hurt. She worried about me, worried I might not be back, but accepted that this is what I had to do, I had no choice. It’s part of the reason I loved her so much and would do almost anything to please her. Except give up being Miss Victory!
I made my way across the room, trying not to hurry, despite the urgency I saw in the man’s face.
"Paragon," I said and he sighed in relief at my appearance.
"Team Axis has been spotted near the fuel storage area," he said, "General Sanderson asked me to make you aware of it."
"Why do they always have to do these things when I’m trying to relax?" I said, mostly to myself.
Team Axis, a group of American villains who had adopted the Nazi cause for their own and used their abilities to cause damage to America and our war effort. We knew about them from some of their more daring exploits in other states and I’d fought them a few times, stalling their aims. Each time they got away, but one of these days I was going to put them down for good.
They weren’t especially powerful, but there were six of them and their powers, when used together, were quite formidable. The real threat they posed was to the war effort. They didn’t succeed in all they did, but they were keeping me and several other heroes tied up trying to hunt them down. When they did succeed it put back America’s efforts to supply our soldiers, so even a small victory was good for them.
I hated having to ditch the party. I’d promised Nicola I’d do this, after having to let her down more than once because of some threat. Now I was going to do it again. I caught her look from across the room and smiled an apology. She smiled, though her eyes showed me that she was worried. I turned to leave and wondered just what I could do to make it up to her. She deserved better, a lot better, but I couldn’t turn my back on this. As I left the party, I wondered if Robert might actually be better for her than I was, she was definitely interested…
The Present
"So, do you have a name, or is it a secret?" I asked, trying to control my hormones."
"Alexandra Ross," she says, looking around herself nervously. "I’m sorry to have to do this so … so secretly, but there are things you have to know. Robert told me you would be the best person to tell, though I doubt you’ll thank me for bringing this to you."
"So, Alexandra, why not start at the beginning, or rather let’s start with Robert Mountain-Elk."
"Robert was a friend of my foster parents," she says, "he used to tell me stories when I was a child, taught me a great many things, about life and about the world beyond."
"You were his apprentice?" I say, surprised.
"Not in the way you mean," she says, "he wouldn’t have been allowed to teach me the Medicine of his tribe. He taught me enough to know that there is more to the world than meets the eye, and put me in touch with myself."
"And how does this affect me?" I ask, getting a bad feeling about this.
"I’m a scientist, a Physicist, primarily, with a grounding in biochemistry and allied sciences, working on Project Paragon!" she says, her voice purposely low.
I sit up, looking around to make sure no one had overheard our conversation or was taking more than normal interest in us. I’ve heard rumours of Project Paragon, but since leaving Military Intelligence I’ve heard very little, most of my old contacts are dead or retired. I do know it is a hyper-secret research project, looking into the paranormal gene and ways of replicating it. The actual research is classified, though if I really wanted the information I could get it.
"I think that we should discuss this elsewhere," I said, "this is not meant for a public forum."
"I know, but I had to be sure we couldn’t be bugged or overheard," she said, scanning the beach. "If my superiors knew where I was, I’d be dead in an instant. Robert told me you could help me, protect me and that you’d be able to help me decide what to do. He told me you have great power and that during his younger days you worked together to fight many evils. He told me your true identity, Miss Victory!"
"Ms," I say, still scanning the crowd, "I move with the times, it helps foster the belief I’m not the original, it would cause too many problems if people realised I was immortal." I’m surprised that Robert told her my secret, though if he did, it indicates he thought she was trustworthy and adds to her credibility.
"I wish there was another way to do this," she says, looking around too, "but I’ve been inside Paragon since I was hired, five years ago, I know no one out here, nothing about the world really."
"If Robert trusted you with my identity, then he obviously thought highly of you," I say, looking into her eyes, "which means you’re worthy of my help and my trust."
Alexandra smiles, a radiant smile that lights up the area around her in ways I really don’t want to think about. She has an intense personal magnetism about her that makes her incredibly attractive and desirable, especially to me. My preference for women as friends, as lovers, makes me very susceptible to Alexandra’s charms. She is the first woman I’ve reacted to in a long time and I’ve never felt anything this strong for someone, especially as all I know about her is her name, that she’s a friend of Robert Mountain-Elk and that she’s obviously on the run from a Government Research Facility.
She is incredibly beautiful, her bikini barely covers her incredible body, which is very distracting and untanned. My reaction to her is out of all proportion, though I have no intention of scaring her, especially as she seems wary of me already. I would guess she knows my sexual leanings and is wondering if a lesbian is the best person to help her. Of course if I do help her, she’ll be grateful…
I drag my mind out of the gutter and focus on more important things.
"Robert was a good friend to me, I’ll miss him and his wisdom." I say, feeling a tear trickle down my cheek. "I wish I’d known, I would have liked to have been at his funeral."
"There was no funeral," Alexandra says, pain crossing her face. "His body will never be found and, officially, the tribal elders have not confirmed his death."
"Then how do you know he is dead," I ask.
"I was there when he died," she says, "he told me where to find you and to tell you what I knew. Unfortunately I was followed, or they guessed where I’d be, because he took the bullet meant for me. I’ve been running ever since then, you’re my last hope. Please, I need help, because I’m the only one that knows what they are doing at Paragon. They’ve done things that no one should have to witness or undergo, but worst of all they’ve freed Team Axis!"
I feel the world around me grow darker. Team Axis were imprisoned in a place it should have been impossible for them to escape from, a rift in time with no exits. If they’ve freed them they’ve rediscovered technology that no one should have. If Team Axis is free the entire world is in terrible danger…
1943
The fuel storage depot was outside of the city, just in case. It was known that German U-boats operated off the coast of America, the number of ships sunk when nearing the coast confirmed this. The problem with that was any one of them could surface and shell the depot, if they wanted to, so it was located a safe distance from the city. It was also heavily armed, though that wouldn’t deter Team Axis.
I flew across the East River, looking for any sign that Team Axis. They were a credible threat and worth taking seriously, they’d given me a hard time the few times I’d met them. I’d won the last two encounters with them, but only just, I’d lost three other fights.
Their leader was a young woman who called herself Men-Tara. She seemed to have some telepathic ability along with related mental powers. She was an excellent tactician, which was illustrated by the fact that they were still running around loose. Men-Tara wore a variation on the standard Nazi Paranormal costume, black, one-piece, though hers was made of supple leather. She had long, black hair, with a gorgeous figure that definitely turned me on, though she’s too in love with power to be my type. She also had a love affair going with her whip and the pain it could cause.
Her lieutenant was a bruiser named Killdozer, a powerful man who had once been a professional boxer, until a freak accident boosted his strength, endurance and resilience. He was extremely upset when he was barred from competition, due to his powers, though he jumped at the chance to hurt people, when Men-Tara offered it to him. What made him truly dangerous is the fact that he was quite intelligent and head over heels in love with Men-Tara. Though she hadn’t noticed and probably wouldn’t have been interested, though with her it’s hard to tell.
Stuka was their aerial expert, he doves from above, his scream paralysing his victims. He also had some kind of shield that protected him from damage when he hit things. Stuka was a little gung-ho, far too sure of himself and his powers, not to mention a real rebel. He sometimes ignored Men-Tara’s orders and struck out on his own, which often landed him in trouble. His teammates usually ended up rescuing him, after he’d got himself into trouble. That said he was very agile, yet he hadn’t my speed and he couldn’t out-turn me, but he had proven he could be very dangerous when he worked in conjunction with the others.
Spotlight was a man who utilised the power of light. He absorbed light from one source, amplified it and redirected it to spectacular effect. Spotlight’s dazzling light shows and beams of coherent light could hurt, if they hit you. He could also dazzle, distract and disorient an opponent. The first time I fought against these guys, I was blinded for the most part of the fight, due to Spotlight. Spotlight used to be a lighting engineer, until someone decided he would make an excellent guinea pig for an experiment. The result was a bitter, twisted man striking out at the society that allowed it to happen.
Firestar was an anomaly, she looked human, from a distance, but close up she looked far too exotic. Something about her made you believe she truly was an alien from another world. Her abilities included flight, fiery energy blasts and some other effects that baffled me. She claimed to be from another world, though that was clearly preposterous. Her looks were exotic, her gold-coloured skin, silver eyes and fiery-copper hair all lent credence to her claim, despite the impossibility of such a thing. Her figure was as lush as her colouring was exotic, it made her incredibly desirable, though her cold, imperious manner detracted from her beauty. I hadn’t socialised with her, or any of them, but I could tell that she was incapable of any kind of real emotion. She was a cold fish and cared for no one, except herself and her power. Why she had teamed up with the rest I didn’t know, but there had to be a reason and that reason would explain a lot about her motivations.
The sixth member of the team was a young man who called himself Vertigo and he was the one that gave me the most trouble. When he locked his gaze with someone, the centre of balance went out of control. Flyers found it difficult to control their trajectory, walking was impossible and nausea made any actions extremely difficult. He worried me, because he came across as mentally unstable, highly volatile and he seemed to have some special fate in mind for me. The fact that he had the worst traits of a rat crossed with a rabid animal didn’t make him any better. His power was potentially devastating and was one I couldn’t defend against, effectively.
I knew quite a bit about this team. When you’ve spent a week as their prisoner, you tend to develop some idea as to the background of your captors. The only real thing that held the group together was its ideology. They were all firm followers of Adolf Hitler, even going so far as to go to Germany to swear allegiance to him, publicly. Since then they seemed intent on wrecking the American war effort in any way they could. Since our first meeting, they’d focussed a lot of their efforts on making me look bad into the bargain. Still, when you’re a symbol of freedom and American idealism, you’re a target for all kinds of people.
I’m not the only one hunting them, but they seem to think that if they can destroy me as a symbol of Freedom, they’ll win. My problem is they could be right, I’d become such a well-known heroine, the American public had adopted me as their champion. It meant that I could no longer do the covert work I used to do, I was too easily recognised. I also had to attend various rally’s, parties and make personal appearances to bolster morale. All of which ate into my free time, time I could have spent with Nicola. It also meant I tended to make a very visible target, as my appearances were well promoted.
What made matters worse was that the persona I’d developed for Laura Wayne also meant attending galas and parties, flirting with men and making sure no one realised the patriotic heroine Miss Victory and the air-headed socialite Laura Wayne were one and the same. This could be a real pain when they were invited to the same parties. My secret identity was all that kept those I loved safe, so I protected it fastidiously.
As I patrolled the area I began to wonder if they were going to show.
"Of course we are," Men-Tara said inside my head. "Though I think that you are going to be very upset with us."
"Where are you?" I said, knowing she would hear me, though not expecting her to answer.
"Somewhere you aren’t," she said, "I have to say that you’re incredibly easy to trick, Paragon!" Her mental laugh filled my mind as I reversed my course, realising what she’d done.
One of Men-Tara’s abilities is that of creating illusions in the mind of others, usually from her victim’s own memories. That soldier had been her, she’d used an illusion to cover herself and draw me off, whilst they hit the rally. They’d tricked me and now others would pay for it.
As I flew back to the city, carefully keeping my speed down to below that of sound, I cursed myself. Men-Tara had had more than enough time to pull my secrets from my head when I was their prisoner. I knew she had to know who I was and the code words I used to identify myself, yet I ignored the possibility and now it looked like others were going to pay the price for that oversight.
A scream filled my head, a familiar scream that scrambled my nerves. I turned, just in time for Stuka to pile into me, knocking the wind from my lungs and sending me crashing into the sidewalk. I cursed myself for a fool as I stood. They were toying with me, keeping me out of the way whilst they robbed the party, but I knew that if I ignored Stuka, others would join in.
Stuka’s strike had hurt, a lot and I was angry at myself for letting myself be tricked and at Men-Tara for setting me up. Stuka’s follow up attack, from behind piled me into a building, and left me smarting as he ran rings around me. I flew upwards, looking out for Stuka, only for Firestar to appear, her fiery blasts making me gasp for breath. I tried to dodge the blasts, right into Spotlight’s attack. Brilliant light blinded me and I tried to get away, but they had out manoeuvred me, out-thought me and I was paying the price. Stuka screamed down on me again, knocking me out of the sky. I was in trouble, and there were only three of them!
"Nahoka!" a voice said and I could see again. Spotlight and Firestar were looking at a man standing on a nearby building. An American Indian dressed in traditional Indian garb, with a feathered head-dress that hung to his knees. I recognised his face, if not his clothing, those buckskin pants were far too tight, and the beaded and quilled breastplate was unusual. Though what all of that was doing on Robert Mountain-Elk, I didn’t know, yet.
I quickly took in the scene and dived at Spotlight, he was the most dangerous. A punch took him out, which left me ready to face off against the two flyers. I turned to see Firestar blasting at Robert, who was fending off her blasts with some kind of power. The blasts flowed around some kind of shield, not touching him, but it was close. Robert was holding some kind of miniature shield in front off him, but it was smoking, like it was burning. I spotted Stuka lining up for a dive on Robert and hit overdrive, shattering windows as I went supersonic.
The blow sent him flying out across the East River, he was conscious, but stunned and no longer in control of his flight. That left Firestar, who I turned to face, just as Robert’s shield went down. I was there in a moment, using my body to protect him as he fumbled in a leather pouch at his side.
"Give it up, Firestar, you’re alone now, if I’ve figured this out correctly. My guess is your playmates are busy robbing a War Bond Rally."
"You are correct," she said, coldly, "though the information will do you little good, Earthling."
The fire shifted from a blast into a fiery claw that grabbed me and squeezed. Incredible pain filled me and she smiled as I tried to break free. I may be invulnerable, but I feel pain and the fire from Firestar’s claws was very intense. My nerves screamed in agony, but I fought the urge to cry out or give in to the pain.
"Miss Victory, the most powerful symbol of your people," she said. "On my world you would be a slave, a thrall, not even worth the effort of stepping on."
Something flew past me, hitting Firestar. Vines wrapped around her, breaking her concentration, which meant I was free, but the pause was brief as white-hot fire burned away the vines.
"Did you truly believe such a feeble attack could hold one who has flown amongst the brightest stars?" Her voice was arrogant, uncaring and I shivered as she looked through us, not even caring that we seemed to be winning the battle.
She readied another attack and I knew I dared not move with Robert behind me. Then she stopped, looked at me with contempt and flew off without another word.
I watched, unable to give chase, but wishing I could.
"Are you all right?" I asked, turning to Robert.
"A little singed, but fine," he said, "you go, there are others who need you."
I shot off, but knew that Robert and I would be talking later…
The party was a shambles, several men were lying on the ground, beaten senseless, women were crying and there was an air of despair in the room that had once been full of hope. I looked around, trying to take in the depth of my failure. I’d been outmanoeuvred, ambushed and very nearly defeated, now this!
I looked for Nicola and my heart froze, she wasn’t here!
"Where’s Miss Collins?" I asked one of the guests, an army colonel from the looks of him.
"I don’t know," he said. "It was chaos, they came in here, took all of the money we’d raised, every item of value anyone had on them and then started searching people. Some people helped them, a woman told them to and they did, others tried to resist, protect their families and one of the men just hit them. Worst of all was the third one, his eyes…"
"I know," I said, looking around and wondering how I could have been tricked so easily.
"It isn’t difficult when your enemies know all of your secrets!" Men-Tara’s voice echoed through my skull and I wanted to cry out in despair. Along with the words came an image, of Nicola, tied in a cage, helpless and a prisoner.
"What do you want?" I asked, snarling. The colonel thought I was talking to him, until he saw the look in my eyes.
"Nothing, my dear Laura, absolutely nothing," Men-Tara said, a tone of triumph in her mental voice. "As long as you continue to do nothing, your lover will be safe. Interfere in our plans in any way and she will suffer, though I assure you she won’t die, though she may wish she had."
Men-Tara’s voice echoed through my head as visions of Nicola’s fate if I interfered flashed into my head…
The Present
My blood runs cold at Alexandra’s words, the idea of Team Axis free is more than enough scare me. Alexandra stares at me. She’s concerned by my reaction to her news, though truth to be told it’s what that news means that scares me most. Team Axis were very dangerous during the war, they were an effective team and worked together. In the modern world they could do untold damage, if they linked up with the remaining Nazi forces. Even worse they could find a way back to the forties with modern technology, altering the past as we know it, helping the Nazis win the war!
"Are you all right?" Alexandra asks, her voice showing concern.
"I was remembering," I say, "remembering the first time I met Robert and a few of the things we did together. Remembering a threat I hoped was gone forever, but could now do more damage than anyone could imagine. I wish Robert were here, to give me some insight."
"Did you love him?" she asks.
"Yes, I did," I say, "but not the way you think. He was married, happily, and I had a partner I was devoted to."
I stand up and take a look around the beach, the happy people and the lovers, all enjoying the sun. It’s odd, it seems all the more precious now, especially as I know it could all be gone forever if I don’t act. I’d hoped for a relaxing day under the sun, with no problems and no need to don my costume. You’d think by now I’d know better.
"I think that we ought to get going," I say, picking up my bag, "we have a great deal to do, if we’re going to stop Team Axis."
Alexandra’s nod is wary, but there is agreement in her eyes. I gather my things, packing it into the bag and pulling out a wrap-around skirt. Alexandra draws a t-shirt and a pair of worn jeans from her bag, which I hadn’t noticed before now, though I was rather distracted. I watch her pulling them on and add a pair of sturdy boots, glad the shades hid the animal desire I felt.
"You travel light," I say.
"I don’t have much choice," Alexandra says, "my account has been frozen and any attempt to use my credit cards will flag my location. It’s only a matter of time before they find me again, I’m just hoping that I can find a way to get them off my trail or settle this for good, before they kill me."
"They’ll have to go through me first," I say, "and that isn’t an easy task."
"Thank you," she says, "I had no right to ask for anything, but I had no where else to go."
I take a last look around the beach, hoping it will still be here when I come back, if I come back.
"Come on, my car’s over here," I say, leading her towards the car park.
"Car?" she says, a little startled.
"Car," I say. "This is my day off, though I’m sure, like everyone else, you think that superheroines shouldn’t have days off."
"No, it’s just that I never expected…" She looks nonplussed, she knows she’s put her foot in it, but doesn’t know why.
"Alexandra," I say, keeping my tone friendly, "I don’t advertise who I am or compromise my secret identity needlessly. If I did, those I care for, my friends and those I work with would be in danger. Also, I like driving, some of the time, it helps me relax."
She follows me without saying anything, the look on her face confused and a little embarrassed. It’s obvious she’s never given a thought to why I hide behind my secret identity. Laura Wayne and Ms Victory are separate people in the eyes of the public. Though, truth be known, Laura has become little more than a mask for my true identity.
Laura is the façade that I hide behind when I need to take time away from saving the world, or rushing out to some emergency. I know Laura has become a figurehead, become less than real and I know why. Eighty years of pretence, eighty years of making Laura Wayne into something she never would have wanted to be has made her less real in my mind. The glitsy, air-headed socialite, eager for attention, attending the parties and laughing at inane jokes from would-be suitors, that was never me, or her for that matter. These days Laura Wayne is a virtual recluse, but still not the woman I wanted her to be. She wanted to be a scientist, using her knowledge to help mankind, but fate had other plans for her and now Laura Wayne has become a shield for my true personality, Ms Victory!
I think about this as I climb into the open-topped Ferrari. Laura’s car, I realise, not mine. In many ways she has become a caricature, a person who is no longer a person. Her name might be on my birth certificate, but I stopped being Laura many years ago. The thought is sobering and I wonder what she might have done, had she had the chance to live. Sometimes I wonder if it’s time to consider what I can do to give Laura the kind of life she wanted, perhaps Ms Victory has outlived her usefulness and it’s time for her to retire.
I pull out of the car park carefully, checking that Alexandra is belted in properly, then head for Manhattan Island. I’d hoped to have the whole day to myself, but I should have known it was too good to be true. I don’t blame Alexandra for disturbing my down time, she wasn’t to know and she needs my help. Though that doesn’t stop me wondering what fates are conspiring to stop me relaxing even a little.
The drive takes some time, during which we don’t talk much, we’re both lost in our thoughts, mine are focussed on Laura.
It’s been years since I’ve thought about her as anything other than another costume I put on to hide my real work. She began as a scientist, an intelligent woman who, against her parents’ wishes, succeeded in her chosen career. She was happy, working in a field that she enjoyed, with people she liked. The war changed that. It stole her innocence, her career and effectively killed her when it gave birth to the heroine known as Miss Victory. Laura could have become famous as a biochemist, found a husband and had a family, but Miss Victory ended all of those dreams, leaving her barren and immortal, to live a life of adventure and loneliness.
I don’t regret my life, but sometimes I wonder, what would have happened? Laura deserved to have a chance to live, to exist beyond the mask that is her life. The question is, can I give Laura that and still be true to myself?
I turn my attention to Alexandra. Her lack of clothing and the nervousness that has plagued her is partly due to the fact she knows she’s being hunted. Yet there is more, I can’t help feeling that she is in more trouble, beyond the obvious, and isn’t sure how to deal with it. As we drive I get the impression that someone else is threatening her. After all, she’s like one of the runaways on the streets, no money, no clothes and very little to sell, except herself.
"Where are you staying," I ask Alexandra as I slow in the city traffic, getting a horrible feeling.
"A small place on the West-side, it’s not elegant, but it’s cheap." Alexandra looks away from me, there’s something in her eyes that tells me there is more to it than she’s saying.
I hit the speed-dial on the car-phone and listen as it rings.
"The Regency, can I help you?" I smile, recognising the voice.
"Carl, it’s Laura," I say.
"What can I do for you, Miss Wayne?" Carl says.
"Is suite 1570 still empty?"
"I believe so Miss Wayne, I’ll just check." There is a moment of silence and I hear the faint tap of a computer keyboard. Carl Mason is an excellent manager and organiser, which is essential to a luxury hotel like the Regency. "Yes, Miss Wayne, it is unoccupied."
"Good," I says, "have it aired and prepared would you, and reserve it in the name of Alexandra Ross. The bill is to come to me, personally."
"Yes, Miss Wayne, I’ll see to it now," he says, this isn’t the first time I’ve had people stay on short notice, or on my tab.
"Thank you Carl," I say, disconnecting.
I glance over at Alexandra. She is looking confused and stunned. "I can’t possibly afford that."
"You aren’t paying, I am and I can afford it, it’s my hotel after all." I turn off 3rd Avenue, heading West. "Now, where’s this place you’re staying? We’ll collect your stuff, get you settled in and then we’ll talk. And if you tell me you can’t allow me to do it, I’ll point out that Robert asked me to look after you, so I have to do it. It’s a point of personal honour."
"I don’t know what to say," she says, sensing that there’s going to be no arguing with me.
"Then don’t say anything, just accept my offer and relax a little." I watch her in the mirror for a moment, her eyes keep flicking to me nervously. I sigh and wonder how I’m going to put her at her ease, when she seems to think I’m going to drag her into bed and ravish her? Robert, you really know how to complicate my life, you bastard!
Her ‘hotel’ is exactly what I feared it would be, a dingy, run-down place, just like the manager. His eyes follow us hungrily as we walk through the lobby. I can almost see his thoughts and long to slap him down, though at the moment I have other problems.
The room is surprisingly clean, though I have a strong suspicion that is down to Alexandra rather than the manager’s efforts. The bed looks strong, the furniture functional and well used, and the carpet is threadbare.
Alexandra walks over to the window, staring out at the city.
"So, let me guess," I say, "you got to New York, probably using the last of your available money to rent this room. You’ve spent what, a week looking for me?" She nods without turning to look at me.
"So," I continue, sitting on her bed, "just what has the manager asked you to do, to pay for next week’s rent."
"Last week’s," she says, "it took me a week to work up the courage to approach you."
"Why?" I ask, but she avoids my question and continues to stare out of the window.
"He wants me to sleep with him," Alexandra says, "one night for each day I want to stay, either with him or whoever he sends up to me."
I expected this, but I’m not expecting the fury that rushes through me as Alexandra confirms my suspicions.
"Pack your things, Alexandra, I’m getting you out of this place!" My voice is cold, I can hear the anger in it and it surprises me. She’s surprised by my tone too, staring at me for a moment, before doing what I said, though I see the fear in her eyes, fear of what I might ask of her in return for my generosity.
"Is that how you think I work?" I say, feeling oddly upset. "That I find helpless young women, lure them back to my place and ravish them?"
She says nothing, but I can tell from the way she looks away, the way her skin darkens, that she does think exactly that.
"I’ll tell you something, Alexandra Ross," I say, grabbing her shoulders. "I find you incredibly attractive, you’re probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and I’ve not felt like this about any women, ever! But … I would never force myself on someone, no matter how strongly I was attracted to them. I’ve been raped, more than once, but the first time was the worst. I was twenty-seven, a virgin, dreaming of a husband, children and a career in science. The Nazis put an end to all of that!"
"What … what happened?" Alexandra says, her eyes wide, with surprise, confusion, curiosity and fear.
"I was working on a secret research project, with several others, when, one night, we were interrupted by a group of Nazi spies." I tremble as the memories of that night come back to me, every detail crystal clear, including the pain. This is the biggest problem with having perfect recall, you remember everything, every sensation, every touch and every moment of horror and shame. "They … they tortured my friend, not realising at the time that I was one of the scientists. They thought I was the lover of the man in charge of the project, there for a night of fun. They forced me to drink a vial of the experimental serum we were working on, when Alfred wouldn’t talk. When all of that failed to make him talk, one of them raped me, hurting me terribly and … and destroying any chance I had for children." I feel a tear slide down my cheek and, oddly, I don’t mind Alexandra seeing this. "Alfred and I both knew that the serum would kill me in days, accelerating the ageing process exponentially until the body failed. The moment they forced the serum down my throat, I was a dead woman."
"They intended for me to die in a fire, but they actually created Miss Victory. Some mixture of the formula and sexual chemicals released during the rape combined to do what we had been searching for, for so long. It was weeks before I could even look in a mirror and even longer before I could accept the love of my first partner. Since that night, the idea of sexual intercourse with a man has terrified me beyond reason."
"Bastards!" There are tears in Alexandra’s eyes, along with a fiery anger that makes her even more beautiful. I wipe her tears away with my fingers, holding myself back from doing anything else. There is anger and sorrow in her eyes, as well as a strength that shows she isn’t some shrinking violet. I can accept her pity, because it is meant kindly and actually forges some kind of bond between us. She has strong emotions, strong responses to things, but she lacks experience.
"Since that day, I’ve had several men force themselves on me, some even forced me to like it, but inside I’ve always known it was rape and always been terrified of it. I’d never inflict that on another, even someone I find incredibly desirable. The trauma would destroy any trust and friendship we might have. So, you can take it that I won’t lay a hand on you. I … I like you too much to risk scaring you off."
Her smile is tentative, but I can see that she believes me, though the fear of me is still there. It will still be a while before she will starts really trusting me, but it’s a start and that’s the best I can hope for really. I’ve done all I can to put her at ease, the rest she will have to work through herself. Hopefully she will know how hard my admission was and give me credit for it, it’s all I can hope for at the moment. In many ways this is the oddest start to any friendship I’ve had, mostly I’ve instinctively known if someone will like me or not, as have they, this time I’ll have to work for it. I may even have to date her!
I watch as she packs her few meagre possessions in a small bag. Personal items, a few toiletries and a single change of clothes. She didn’t bring much with her, she wasn’t joking about that and I have a strong suspicion she wouldn’t thank me for offering to help her.
"Ready?" I ask as she straightens and looks around the room one last time.
"Almost," she says and goes to the wardrobe, sliding it from the wall and pulling out a bag, similar to an army kit bag, but more compact.
I want to ask what’s in it, but if she’s hidden it, it must be either personal, or something that should be discussed in a safer place.
I lead her out of the room and down the stairs, anticipating what’s to come.
"Hey," the manager calls as he sees us, realising what’s happening. "She ain’t goin’ nowhere, without paying her rent."
"How much?" I say.
"Two hundred," he says, "a night." He’s thinking that there’s no way I can pay, that he can force Alexandra to stay, but I smile, a venomous smile that I reserve for pond-life like him.
"Not for the room," I say, "for the entire building!"
He stares at me, but I haven’t finished yet. "Though I don’t know, two hundred, seems a bit inflated, don’t you think?" I turn to Alexandra and wink.
"But...!" He blusters and tries to recover.
"Still, two hundred," I say, thoughtfully, "I suppose I could have it demolished, it would be an improvement to the neighbourhood."
I can see Alexandra stifling laughter, the first I’ve seen on her face, whilst the manager slowly tries to realise where he lost control of this situation.
"I’ll tell you what," I say, leaning across the counter, "I won’t tell the police about the way you sexually harass your guests, if you forget she was here. I pull out my chequebook, scribbling as I talk. "Now, this cheque is dated for one month’s time, if anyone comes looking for my friend in that time, I’ll know who told them and stop payment on it. Understand?"
He nods as I pass him the cheque, then his eyes widen as he sees the amount.
I replace the chequebook and walk away, Alexandra in tow. I turn and stare at the man behind the counter, making sure he fully understands, then walk out.
"Why give him money?" she asks, as we climb into my car.
"I didn’t, I gave him a cheque," I say, "I said if someone came after you, I’d stop payment on it, I never said I wouldn’t if he said nothing. I’ll just tell the bank to cancel the cheque the day before payment is due, and they won’t pay on it before then. As it’s made out to cash, he can’t do a thing with it for a month, and no reputable company will cash it before the date."
"What if he uses a less than reputable one?" Alexandra is obviously worried I might lose the money.
"Then he’ll be in a world of trouble when they discover the cheque is no good." I smile at her. "I don’t like people like him and I love giving them what they deserve."
Alexandra smiles something I hope she does more often, because she has a pretty smile.
Then the world explodes around us as the front of the car vanishes in a cloud of plasma. We’re thrown from the car, I roll to my feet, looking around for Alexandra and realising that she may be in far more trouble than I expected. Five heavily armoured figures stride from the smoke, tall, grey giant of carbonised-steel looking like they stepped out of a science fiction movie. I recognise the armour, I was involved in the design aspects of it, and helped field-test it. Government soldiers, obviously, though the black skull on the shoulder flashes isn’t familiar, though it is worrying.
"Dr Ross, you’re coming with us," one says to Alexandra.
"Like hell she is," I snarl, standing up…
1943
I paced my apartment like a caged tiger, waiting for some inspiration or information to arrive. The idea of Nicola in the hands of those animals made me angry and very afraid for her safety, but I knew that if I tried to interfere they would kill her.
Team Axis is going to do something, that much was obvious. They’ve been considered a low-grade threat by Military Intelligence, but they were proving to be far more dangerous than anyone ever thought they could be. Men-Tara’s mental powers were proving that no secrets were safe, she could tap into anyone’s mind, pull out their most hidden secrets and use them against her target. She was the most dangerous enemy I’d ever faced, but I was just beginning to realise that.
The biggest problem was no one had any idea what her kind of powers could do. Mental powers were almost unknown during the war, Men-Tara was the only villain with them and there were no heroes who possessed anything similar. There was no protection against her powers, no way to stop her seeing your thoughts, or digging as deeply as she wanted. Add to that she was ruthless, fanatically loyal to Hitler and the Reich and you had one very dangerous woman. The fact she had a team to back her up made her threat that much more deadly. I’d considered them not much of a threat, now Nicola would pay for my shortsightedness and complacency.
"Laura, you really will have to stop pacing," Robert said from a chair near the window, "you’re wearing a trench in the carpet."
I looked down, then looked up foolishly as I realised he was trying to get me to open up, relax a little.
"I can’t, not whilst Nikki’s in the hands of those animals," I said.
"I understand," Robert said, "but wearing a hole in the carpet isn’t going to get her back."
I sighed, sat down, then stood up and went to the window. "She was never supposed to get involved in this part of my life, she was supposed to be safe."
"You’re very lucky, if you can separate parts of your life like that," he said, "my roles as tribal shaman and husband very often overlap."
"That’s the problem," I said, staring at the city, "my life as Miss Victory often interferes with my life as Laura Wayne. I agreed to go to this show, model her clothes, to show I was committed to her, and now this. It isn’t fair to her, the life I lead as a heroine, but I can’t not do what I do."
"If you turned your back on your responsibilities, I doubt she’d care for you the way she does." Robert comes to stand behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "She knows the risks and accepts them, despite her fears."
"You know her very well, for someone who only met her a few hours ago," I said, turning to face him.
"I read her spirit, as I read yours," he replied. "As a shaman, my animal guide often whispers things to me, to help me know who is trustworthy and who is not. In your case she told me you were someone worthy of trust and someone who needed help. You’re spirit is terribly scarred, by many things, though mostly your own criticisms of yourself."
"I try so hard to do the right thing," I said, "only to discover that I always fail."
"Not always," Robert said, "you’ve done a lot of good, there are a lot of people who would be dead if not for you."
"Hear, hear," General Sanderson says as he steps into the apartment. "You’re too hard on yourself Laura, far too hard." The General looks well, if you ignore the missing arm. "If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead and so would the President, so stop blaming yourself, none of us realised just how dangerous this group could be, but that won’t happen again. As of now everyone is being informed not only of their abilities, but that they are to be apprehended at any cost, dead or alive."
"Is there any news, General?" I said, hoping and praying.
"Nothing that gives us any idea of what they’re planning," the general said, with a sigh. "This robbery doesn’t make any sense, their usual tactics are to disrupt our war effort, attack factories, training camps, destroy materials. This new departure for them worries me."
"Me too," I said, thinking hard.
"I wonder," Robert said, "was Nicola the only person missing from the party?"
"I’m not sure, now you mention it," the general said, walking over to the phone. He spoke into it for a few minutes, then turned back to us as he hung up.
"There was someone else taken," he said, "a Doctor Simeon Davies."
"Didn’t he work at some research plant," I said, "I remember talking to him, but he wouldn’t tell me what he was working on, just that it could change the course of the war."
"Military Intelligence has him listed as a private researcher, his project isn’t government sponsored," General Sanderson said. "We don’t know what he was working on, but we know where."
"I’m going out there," I said.
"I’m going with you," Robert said, "you might need my help."
"Mr Mountain-Elk, this isn’t going to be a mission for civilians," General Sanderson said. "From Laura’s report, you have signed up for the armed forces, but you also have some unique abilities, would you consider joining Military Intelligence?"
"I will consider it, General, but at the moment I feel I’d be better placed to help my country with the army."
"I understand," the General said. "Laura, be careful, this has a bad feel about it and we can’t afford to lose you."
"I will, general," I said, "but this time, one way or the other of us is going down for good…!"
The Present
I stare at the five armoured figures, towering over Alexandra, and myself. Seven feet tall, powerful claws, with phased plasma rifles built into the arms and tactical computers tied into the systems. Totally sealed, with an independent air supply, the armoured suits were originally designed for use in the event of a nuclear war and for use in space exploration. The specially powered skeleton gives the wearer incredible strength, the armour protects the wearer from damage and the sensor package allows the tracking of targets without actual sight. They look like huge, humanoid bugs, but I know from experience that, though the armoured suits are tough, they have their weak points too.
"Stand aside, miss," the leader says, "we are here to retrieve Doctor Ross, not engage in pointless confrontation with members of the public."
"You trashed my car," I say. "Do you know how rare that particular model is? There’s a two-year waiting list for replacements, not that anyone can replace that particular car. It was the first of its kind produced, a special model, built specifically for me by the owner of the company. It was worth nearly as much as the suit you’re wearing, and now my insurance premiums are going to go through the roof." I am angry, not just because of the car, but because of the callous disregard for innocent lives that these people have shown.
"I’m sorry, miss, you will be recompensed for the damage, but this is a government operation, please stand aside."
"Stuff it!" I say, picking him up and throwing him into his companions. "Run," I say to Alexandra, as they try to sort themselves out. I pass her a key to my apartment. "Go to my place and stay there, tell Carl to take you up, personally."
"Laura, those are Alpha Class Armoured Combat Units, you’re not seriously going to fight them?" There is concern in her eyes, which pleases me.
"I helped design and test these suits, I know some of the weaknesses, which their boss just found out, now go!"
I watch her leave, then turn back to the men as they climb to their feet, warily. I love the way the overlapping electro-magnetic fields plays havoc with their individual mobility.
"Now, gentlemen, we can do this the hard way?" I say, watching them carefully as they spread out around me. "Well actually there’s only the hard way, but I wanted you to think you had a choice."
I pick up the remains of my car, noticing that my bag and Alexandra’s are on the pavement, nearby. I toss the wreck at two of the armoured figures, diving low and adding my flight momentum as I cannon into the leader again, knocking him down, again. I grab the claws, pull them together and twist, entwining the fingers into a spaghetti like mass and, not incidentally, locking the barrels of the blasters together.
I turn to two and three, who are converging on me.
"In case you’re wondering," I say, "I know quite a bit about those armoured combat suits." I watch as they track on me, locking their blasters. "For example," I fly between them, slowly, waiting for them to fire, then reverse quickly and watch as the plasma beams impact on each other. "Did you know there is a point-two-two second delay on the laser tracking system that allowed me to do that."
Two and three are down, the plasma overload frying their systems. I look across at four and five, who have disentangled themselves from the wreck of the car. Five tries to get a lock on me, which is what I was hoping he’d do. I dodge, wheel and flip in the air, waiting and watching as he tries to get a clear shot. Then it happens, the switch over to the targeting computer, which improves his odds of hitting me, but gives me an edge I can use. I fly over his head, watching the arms follow me, then dive down, rolling between his legs and hear the arms lock in position as the joint is over-stressed, the blasters pointing at the power pack built into the back of the armour.
"I knew there was no way they were going to get rid of that design flaw, without sacrificing some versatility, and several million dollars."
The plasma shot hits me in the back and I fly into a lamppost. It hurts, but they had to get some hits in, there was no way of avoiding it. I’ve been lucky to get this far without being hit.
"That hurt," I say, standing up.
"What the hell are you?" number four says, his voice cracking as I approach him.
"I’m the heroine here," I say, grabbing him and pulling him close. "You can call me Ms Victory. Now, why are you after Doctor Ross? Just what are you doing at Project Paragon?"
"I … I can’t tell you," he says, nervously.
"Then perhaps I should stop talking to a helmet," I say, grabbing the lip of the helmet and pulling.
"Noooo…!" he screams as the metal tears and I’m thrown back by the blast of his exploding armour. Around me several other explosions echo around the street and I realise that someone didn’t want these men, or there armour, captured. I’ve heard rumours of this kind of failsafe, but to know for sure someone has had it installed into a unit's armour…
"Damn!" I say, looking around at the damage and watch as people begin to emerge from shop doorways. I was hoping to get a little more information, but it looks like I’m going to have to do this the hard way. I feel sick about the way these men died, they were obeying orders and I’ve got a good idea whose orders, which means they’re going to pay for this.
I pick up my bag and Alexandra’s, cursing my luck. My car’s gone, my day ruined and I’ve risked exposing my secret identity. It’s just not my day. I fly up into the air, then head for home. With luck I can get there before Alexandra, grab a shower and change, assuming nothing else goes wrong…
1943
Millennium Enterprises was a small research plant outside of Jersey City. It wasn’t an impressive place, a couple of buildings that look like offices and a security fence. I thought back my last visit to a research plant, I had no intention of repeating my mistakes. Being captured by a madman with a method of destroying cities and any target he chose is not a part of this plan. Beside, I had Robert to back me up, which felt good.
Perhaps the most frightening part of this entire mission was that Nicola’s life was on the line. If it were mine, I wouldn’t be so scared, I’m getting used to it, but I never, in my worst nightmares, considered Nicola getting in the line of fire. This is all my fault and I will get her out of this, one way or another, no matter what the cost.
"It doesn’t look like much," Robert said.
"Don’t let looks fool you," I said, looking around as I dropped to the ground, letting go of Robert.
"I have to say that flying with you is a lot more comfortable than the plane I took to get to New York. The upholstery is much softer."
I blushed, I couldn’t stop myself. Robert was so good-looking, that I always felt odd around him, even after I got to know him and his family.
Two guards approached us as we stood there, guns out.
"This is private property," one of them said.
"Government business," I said, pulling my ID from one of the hidden pockets in my cape. I smiled when they saw the Omega-Red clearance on the card. It was the highest security clearance available, only the President, Vice-President and Heads of the Intelligence services had, normally. "I need to talk with Doctor Davies, urgently."
"Yes, ma’am," the guard said, "please follow me."
"Where do I get one of those?" Robert asked.
"You don’t," I said, "unless you intend to save the life of the President from a rampaging super-powered, homicidal maniac who is threatening the capitol."
"Ah!" he said, smiling. "I guess they don’t give grunts like me that kind of clearance."
"Like I said, there are ways, they just don’t crop up too often."
I followed the guards into one of the buildings and along a short corridor to a lab.
"Doctor Forbes, there’s a government agent here to see Doctor Davies." The guard says to a woman with unruly brown hair.
"It’s no good him coming here," the woman snapped, not looking up, "he’d do a lot better trying to find him!"
"I’m sorry Doctor Forbes," I say, causing her to look away from the panel she was studying, "but this is concerning the Doctor’s disappearance. I need some information."
"Miss Victory, of course," she said, waving the guards away. "Please forgive my rudeness, I was trying to make sure the field hadn’t destabilised."
"Can I take it this has something to do with Doctor Davies work?" I said, as Robert looked around.
"Yes," she replied, putting a clipboard down and coming across to shake my hand. She looked to be around forty, with severe features and an intelligent face. Her hair looked like a bird’s nest in need of repair and there was a definite air of worry about her. >From the circles around her eyes I’d guess she hadn’t slept in a while. Her clothes were plain and functional, also showing signs of several days constant wear. She looked like a scientist, like I wanted to look, but that part of my life was gone, forever.
"I know this is presumptuous, but I need to know what he was working on," I said. "He’s been captured by a group of Nazi sympathisers who obviously think his work might be useful to them."
Doctor Forbes pale face went white and she glanced back at the console. She was obviously trying to make up her mind about what to tell me, though it didn’t take a genius to work out that whatever it was she was protecting, was highly unstable and very dangerous.
"Doctor, please," I said, "there is a lot more at stake than you know. This group took a young woman hostage too, to keep me from interfering, though the greatest danger is that one of them has the power to pull a person’s secret from their head. If she could learn what he knows, it could affect the war effort and possibly the very outcome of the war itself. I need to know!"
"Doctor Davies was working on harnessing a temporal rift," Doctor Forbes said, her look horrified as I explained the danger. "We’ve got a small rift open already, but the field is incredibly unstable and could collapse if it isn’t constantly monitored. Such a collapse could have catastrophic effect on the area around it, throwing people into different time zones or dragging things from other periods."
"Time travel," Robert said, his voice full of awe and horror. "If the Nazi’s got hold of that they’d be invincible."
"Yes," Dr Forbes said, "I know, which makes the rift even more dangerous, especially because only Doctor Davies can shut it down. He has the codes in his head, along with all of the plans for the generator."
The building shook as something hit it, the power flared and went out and Dr Forbes ran to the console, looking at the readings.
"Oh my god, no!" she whispered, sending a chill up my spine.
A roar filled the air; the roof vanished in a flare of flame, revealing Firestar, a wild look of joy on her face. Another blast shook the building and a loud roar filled the air. I flew up, intending to take on Firestar, but I emerged into a chaotic world of impossible danger. The complex was overgrown with trees and plants, whilst the people ran, chased by tall lizards not seen since the earliest ages of Earth’s history. Several large dinosaurs hunted down the plant workers, whilst Firestar flew into the air and away from the carnage she’d caused. Another roar from behind me made me turn, to face the largest animal I had ever seen, it’s vicious teeth descending towards me…
The Present
By the time Alexandra arrives, I have showered, changed and begun a meal. She looks worried at first, then relieved when she sees I’m unhurt. She looks a little the worse for wear, she had to trek quite a distance and I only realised after she left that she hadn’t the money for a cab. At least she got here, which is good. A part of me wondered if another team of agents might have caught her. There is also the possibility that the assassins on her trail might have spotted her, though I have yet to decide if it’s her they’re after or her contacts.
Another reason I’m pleased to see her is because she interests and intrigues me. I should have let those government agents take her in, but they didn’t ask and they trashed my car, which made me mad. I also didn’t want to lose her after just finding her, not with the way I’m reacting to her. The sight of her is a great relief, the realisation that she is unhurt is a weight off my mind and that part of me that is lonely is glad to see her.
"You really did know how to handle those armoured soldiers," she says, looking around my apartment. "I’m glad you weren’t hurt, though I don’t suppose that’ll be the last time something like that shows up on my trail. Perhaps I’d be better off turning myself in, I’d hate to think you got hurt because of me."
"We’ll talk about that later," I say, "along with other things, though I thought you might like to clean up first."
"I’m sorry about all of this," she says, "but someone has to stop what’s happening, has to … to stop them committing any more atrocities."
"Get cleaned up, then we’ll talk," I say. "You’ll find some clean clothes in my wardrobe, they should do until we can organise something for you."
"I really don’t know what to say," she says, her eyes showing that her exhaustion is finally catching up with her. "I’ve been running for so long, it seems like years, though it’s only been a few weeks. I was beginning to think I’d never find a place to stop."
‘I wish I could say you could stop running,’ I think to myself, ‘but the truth is this may only be the beginning.’
I watch as she heads for the bathroom, already she seems far more confident, a little more sure of herself and a little more relaxed. I wish she didn’t do things to me that make being objective really difficult. I go and check on the food, distasteful subjects sound much better over a good meal. Tonight she’s going to experience my homemade Zucchini and if that doesn’t convince her I’m her friend, there’s a baked Alaska to follow. I’m not the world’s best cook, but in eighty years I’ve picked up a thing or two. I pride myself on being able to whip up some good food and being good company.
I hear the shower and hear her sigh as the water pounds her body, in my mind I wonder what it would be like to help wash her back, amongst other places. Then I drag my mind out of the gutter once more and pick up the phone.
I dial a special number, one that I swore I’d never use again, but here I am.
"General Allan’s office?" the perky young secretary says.
"Paragon," I reply and grin at the surprised gasp from the other end.
"I’ll connect you right away." The perkiness is gone, replaced with a serious, business-like tone. There is a click and then a man’s voice.
"General Allen, is this Paragon?"
"That’s right," I say, "I need some information, quickly."
"This is highly irregular," the general says, "you’re no longer a part of Military Intelligence and, therefore, no longer entitled to ask for anything."
"It concerns Project Paragon and Doctor Alexandra Ross," I say.
"I see, so it was you protecting her?" the general says, "I take it you realise that that task force was dispatched to bring her in for her own safety."
"That task force had armour equipped with a ‘Dead-Man’s Switch’, killing them all if one suit was breached. That entire set-up was a black-op. I want to know why?" I wait as he digests my words, I can tell he’s nervous and that worries me, General Sanderson would never have been that nervous, or that callous. "What is Project Paragon, or would you rather I told you?"
"It’s classified," the general says.
"Not me it’s not," I say, losing my temper, "remember I have an active Omega-Red clearance, which can only be revoked by the President or an act of Congress. My clearance level is as high as yours, if not higher." I let him sweat. I already know what Project paragon is, there’s only one thing it can be. "You’re trying to replicate my formula, aren’t you, you’re trying to recreate the situations that created me?"
"In part," the general says, realising that lying would do him no good. "We’re also experimenting with other methods of activating the paranormal gene."
"I see," I say, "well General, I’m about to get chapter and verse, so expect me to visit! If half of what I hear is true, I’ll close the place down, permanently!"
I slam the phone down, seething at the arrogance and gall of the man! He didn’t even try to deny anything!
"That may not have been a wise move," Alexandra stands in the doorway, her hair damp, with no make-up, looking drop-dead gorgeous. She’s chosen a grey t-shirt and a pair of grey jeans, which hang a little loosely on her, but to me she looks perfect.
"I needed to know if my guess was right, though I’ve got a bad feeling that what I’ve surmised is only the tip of the iceberg." I sigh, wondering why my life always gets so complicated. "I have a bad feeling that what you’re going to tell me isn’t going to make things any better, so, before we do anything else, let’s have dinner. I’d rather have a full stomach before you give the list of horrors."
"Dinner?" she says, a little surprised.
"Absolutely," I say, taking her by the arm and steering her into the dining area. "I’ve had a lot of time to perfect my skills and I really enjoy cooking. Usually it’s just for myself, so it’s nice to have some else to cook for and, from the looks of you, I’d say you’ve skipped a few too many meals, so you should be really hungry."
"Starved," she agrees, smiling and making all my efforts worth while.
"Well, I hope you like it," I say and go to fetch the food.
An hour later she is sitting there, eyes closed and a satisfied look on her face toying with her wineglass.
"That was fantastic, you’re incredible," she says.
"Just one of the benefits of an infinite lifespan," I say, with a wave. "I had the time so I learned to cook."
"It must be amazing, having seen the things you’ve seen, done the things you’ve done?" She eyes me coyly, as if she’s fishing for something.
"Yes, I suppose so," I say, "though there’s a lot of things that I regret too. There are the people I’ve lost over the years, the friends who have grown old, passed away, whilst I stay eternally young. I miss them, miss having the chance to tell them what happened. I miss my parents, Nicola, Wendy, Julia, Robert, all the people I knew and had to leave behind."
"Surely you make new friends as you go along?" she says, not realising the pain she causes.
"Very few," I say, "who would your trust with a secret like this? How could you tell if the person you’re with can handle the idea that they will grow older, die, whilst you live forever. Also, why would you willingly go into any friendship, or relationship, if you knew at the end, they would leave you alone? It’s a very lonely existence."
"I never thought about it that way," she says. She’s silent for a long time, whilst I reflect on my past and she is lost in her own thoughts.
"I think it’s time you told me just what brought you here?" I say and she sighs.
"I really don’t know where to start," she says, "there’s so much and a lot of it predates my time there."
"Start with you, how were you recruited and why?"
"I’m a physicist with a double doctorate in electronics," Alexandra says, sipping from her wineglass. "I specialised in micro-circuitry and miniaturisation. I was approached, by letter, after completing my second doctorate, asking if I might be interested in joining a Government funded research department. I jumped at the chance, obviously, and I was invited to attend an interview for a position with a government funded research agency, apparently my grades had interested them and my graduation at the top of my class made me perfect for their needs."
"You went?" I say.
She nods. "I was given an address, a time and I was met by three men and a woman who asked me a series of questions. They seemed to like my answers, because they offered me a post as research assistant, starting immediately. I had to sign a document that stated I would never reveal what I was going to see, or the work I would be engaged in, but the salary was far more than I expected to get. There were other security arrangements, like I could not tell anyone of my appointment, though I was to tell them I had been accepted for a post at another research company. I would be contacted when I was to join the project, given instructions and told where to go."
"Are you by any chance an orphan?" I asked, getting an odd feeling inside.
"Yes, my parents died in a car crash years ago," she says, "I never knew them, I was raised by foster parents."
"I see, so what happened when you got to the project?"
"To begin with I was given simple tasks, what you’d expect of the new girl, and I was only twenty." She leans back in her chair, obviously unaware of how the position emphasises her breasts, despite the loose t-shirt. "It was basic stuff, testing blood samples, running experiments on serums with lab animals, nothing earth-shattering. Then I was assigned to work with one of the senior researchers, working gene sampling, which was fascinating, but again nothing really ground-breaking. I did wonder why they were giving me this kind of work, given my specialisation, but I did have a good grounding in the kind of work, so it wasn’t a problem."
"A standard introduction to the facility and procedures," I say, "I remember, though my apprenticeship was quite short, as there were only four of us in the lab I worked in." I think back, about the way Alfred had brought me along in the lab, teaching me how he liked things done and taking a special interest in my welfare. Happier times, though what followed was nothing like I expected it to be.
"I wish I could say that my memories were as pleasant," Alexandra says, "but those first few weeks were simply tests of my aptitude. I was moved to another section after a couple of months, this section running tests on volunteer Paranormals. We ran a full medical, blood tests and then started looking at the cellular structure and DNA. We were looking for what caused these particular people to exhibit super powers, whilst other people were totally normal. It was more of the basic research, but a little more interesting, even though the results were inconclusive."
Alexandra’s face darkens, as darker memories arise. "It was shortly after that, that I was first sent to Level Eight," she says, "and I discovered some of what was really happening. For three years I’d done very basic work and none of it prepared me for what I discovered or what was expected of me."
"Let’s go into the lounge," I suggest, "it looks like this could go on for a while and I think we’ll be more comfortable there."
Alexandra nods, leading the way, though she doesn’t sit down, she looks out over the city as I fix myself a large whisky. "Would you like a drink?"
"I don’t drink, except for a little wine," she says, without turning from the window, "I never acquired the taste for alcohol and, to be honest, I don’t like what it does to me. I can stand wine, in small quantities, but I prefer coffee or tea, if that’s not a problem?"
I look down at my drink, remembering the months I spent staring at the bottom of a bottle, after Julia died. I put the glass down and go into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.
"So, you were going to tell me about Level Eight," I say, returning with the coffee.
"I’m trying to put my thoughts in order," she says, "the entire experience was too much for me. I think the thing that sticks in my mind most is the smell, the stench of fear and death. I was told to report to a Doctor Hartman, he gave me the creeps, looking at me as if I was another experiment, not a new assistant. It was his eyes, they made me want to run away, hide. I never felt comfortable in his presence, though when he asked me to help him with a special project, I felt even more afraid. I know all of this sounds a little melodramatic, but it was how I felt."
Alexandra turns, sees the coffee and comes to sit next to me, despite all the chairs and the second couch. "Laura, I was terrified every day I was there, terrified I’d wake up as one of the experiments! What they were doing to people…"
"Tell me, slowly, in your own time." I can tell this is hard for her, hard because she’s trying to put into words horrors that can’t really be explained.
"I’m not usually like this," she says, "I pride myself on my ability to handle myself, my independence and strength of character. I had to elude several traps and armed patrols to escape from that place, live the life of a fugitive, unable to trust anyone, yet the thought of what is happening there makes me want to curl up and hide forever."
"I know," I say, "I’ve seen hell from the inside, I still have nightmares about some of the things that were done to me."
He questioning look encourages me to tell her, so I try to think of the best way to do so. It will help her understand that I know some of what she’s feeling.
"During the war I was captured, by the Nazis. I was taken to Germany, tortured for days and they nearly broke me, did break me, and I’m still terrified that they might recapture me, do it all over again. They turned me into one of them, for a while, using kindness and love to turn me against my own people, after they’d taken me to the very edge of insanity. After the torture, the consideration and kindness got past my guard, made me trust them. I agreed to work for them, so that I wouldn’t have to go back to their torture chamber. Eventually, I remembered who I was, conquered my fear, but it still has power over me at times and then there are the dreams, the terrible nightmares. You can’t look into the face of Hell and come away totally sane."
Somehow my story seem to give her strength and purpose, she seems calmer. There is something else in her eyes too, respect, admiration and the first glimmerings of trust. She’s the first person I’ve told about this since Nicola, Julia never did hear the story and Wendy didn’t really want to know, my life scared her too much. Alexandra is different, very different and I pray to God that nothing happens to her before I can find out.
"My first introduction to the real work of Project Paragon was when I was forced to watch as a woman was raped, after being force fed a serum." Her eyes are full of tears, the horror almost overwhelms her as she slowly tells me what she knows. "The serum killed her a few days later, I was the one who nursed her and she told me she had been a virgin at the time of the rape. I watched as she went from a young, vibrant woman, to a terrified, shrunken old woman in a few days. I felt sick, but I was told that it was necessary. I think that was when they started watching me. I didn’t understand what they were trying to achieve then, I do now, though it doesn’t help."
I feel cold inside, wishing I’d been wrong, but here was the proof and I knew inside that they wouldn’t stop until they perfected the serum, and the method of activating it.
"What else?" I say, not wanting to hear, but sensing that there is more.
"They were using various items allegedly belonging to heroes of the past to see if they would work for others. Some of the results were terrible, especially when they tried to bond a suit of armour to a man. I still hear his screams, though when they cut him out of it, whilst he was still alive…" She stops, trying to stop herself shaking, she’s terrified and she’s seen too much horror.
My arm slides around her, drawing her close, it seems to help.
"They’re doing far worse to others, grafting strange biological constructs onto them, treating them with radiation or drugs. They’re desperate to create paranormals, though they won’t say why!"
"It’s a military operation," I say, "they want weapons, living weapons they can control, totally."
"How do you know?" Alexandra says, pulling back, suddenly wary.
"In the fifties I was involved in several operations against suspected Soviet spy cells, I was still an agent of Military Intelligence then. I knew that the government was changing, that there were darker elements coming into power, but I worked for the people, not the government. I discovered a black ops group, very secret, who had the job of nullifying or capturing paranormals in Soviet countries. In those days they were the enemy and I was the symbol of American freedom. I fought several of the Soviet paranormals, some of them were vicious and totally immoral, so when they disappeared I didn’t look too hard. Now, it looks like I may have looked away once too often, though that was why I left Military Intelligence anyway. I didn’t like what I was becoming."
"You think this was part of Paragon?" Alexandra asks.
"What do you think?" I say, sipping my cold coffee. "If they think they’ve recreated my formula, they must have been at it for years, decades, there are no copies or samples of the formula, except in my blood, and one other person. Only one other man knows the formula, and he wouldn’t give it to the government of an enemy country. No, they’ve been working on a way to replicate my powers since the forties."
"What are we going to do?" she says, "I’m tired of running, tired of looking over my shoulder and tired of being alone."
"You’re not alone now," I say, "and we’re going to shut that operation down, if we have to tear it apart physically."
"Thank you, Laura," she says, "I’ve been alone and scared for so long…"
"I know," I say, absently stroking her hair.
We sit like that for some time, until she realises she’s almost lying in my arms, then she sits up, looking slightly embarrassed. I watch her, she’s nervous again, thinking I’m trying to take advantage of her vulnerability.
"What was in that bag you brought with you?" I ask, hoping to diffuse the tension.
"It doesn’t matter, it was destroyed, in your car."
"No, it was thrown clear," I say, "I had it put in your room, and no, I didn’t look through your things."
The look in her eyes is suddenly brighter, hope seems to blossom in them and I get the feeling rescuing it was a very good move. At least it’s taken her mind off what was happening between us.
"Then maybe we can get them shut down?" she says, her voice animated and lively. "I was there for five years, most of the last two years I restricted to Level Eight. When I realised what was going on, I started recording stuff, making notes and gathering evidence. I also used my knowledge of physics to design a few items for my personal use, items that I used to escape. All of my notes, all of my records are in the memory of the computer, built into the circuitry of my lab clothes. I also downloaded a copy of the entire database, though much of it is encrypted. We could use it to get the place shutdown, for good!"
I grin at Alexandra, then look at the time.
"Look, why don’t we pick this up in the morning, I’m tired and you’re exhausted."
"You’re right, I’ve not slept much for weeks and I feel as if I’ve been beaten up." She stands up, looking around her. "Thank you Laura," she says, "thank you for listening and believing me."
"Get some sleep, Alexandra," I say, "I’ll see you at breakfast, about nine, here?"
She smiles and nods, then heads for the elevator. As the doors close I wonder why I have the horrible suspicion that it’s not going to be as simple as she thinks…
1943
I dodged the teeth of the Tyrannosaurus, barely, only to come face to beak with a Pteranodon. The plant was in total chaos as creatures from the birth of creation suddenly came into contact with modern weapons. Gunfire, screams and bestial roars filled the air, it was impossible to tell where the greatest danger was.
I slugged the flyer, watching it fall, then turn to the T-Rex. It was huge, but a punch laid it out, which left all the lesser carnivores. Somehow Robert had created a fence between most of the people and the dinosaurs, but there were enough in danger to keep me busy. By the time I’d rescued everyone I could, there was a group of soldiers helping kill the dinosaurs. I did wonder if keeping them alive would be a good idea, living examples of what they were like, but it was only a passing thought, I had far more serious problems.
"Doctor Forbes," I said as I landed in the remains of the lab, "I’m going to need to know all you do about the temporal rift and what is needed to create one. If this technology is in the hands of Team Axis, then the entire country is at risk, if not the world."
Two hours later I knew more about Temporal Physics than I really wanted to. Time travel has been a topic of speculation for centuries, there are novels dealing with the idea, along with several treatise on the dangers off such travel. What occurred at the Millennium plant was a minor danger, though there was bound to be some effect, unless those dinosaurs were supposed to disappear. It was confusing stuff, cause and effect, except that effect can sometimes precede cause where time travel is concerned.
The temporal rift that Doctor Davies had developed was a doorway to other times, but it required incredible amounts of power to keep it stable. Passing through the rift was problematical, as no one had gone through one, yet. Theoretically, if someone passed through a rift, they could interact with the time period beyond and possibly return with something, or make changes in the period to affect a known future. The idea of that kind of power in the hands of the Nazis, or anyone for that matter, was terrifying.
"We have to find them, before they can build another of these rifts," I said to Robert.
"There might be a way," Robert said, "though I cannot guarantee its success."
"At present I’ll take any chance you can give me," I said, "what do you have in mind."
"You and Nicola are in love, yes?"
"Yes," I said, not happy about admitting this to someone I’d known such a short time, I was very aware that he was a reporter.
"I can possibly use that emotional tie to make you into a compass, leading to her," he said. "I’ve never tried doing this with people before, I usually use the ritual to locate lost items of value, mostly to my own people."
"I see," I said, not really comfortable with the idea, but what choice did I have.
"It won’t hurt and will not affect your abilities, though you might feel some discomfort, if she is in pain."
"If she’s in pain, then someone will get hurt, badly!" I looked at Robert and I could tell that he understood, so I nodded.
He chanted some words in Navajo, sprinkled herbs over me and suddenly I could feel a tugging.
"Let’s go," I said.
"It worked then," he said, smiling as I lifted him into my arms.
"Yes," I said, taking off and turning east. "I can feel where she is, though I think they’re moving."
We flew east, slowly refining the fix, it was difficult to home in on them at times, but the insistent tugging kept me going. As we flew, I asked Robert about himself and his obvious abilities.
"My father taught me about the tribal Medicine, as I will teach Cheyenne, when she’s old enough."
"Cheyenne?"
"My daughter," he said, "she will be born in a few months, though already I know her power will be very great."
"So you’re a medicine man then?" I said.
"I prefer the term Medicine Chief, but yes." He smiled. "The power of the spirits around us very great, though they only help us if we need that help. The charm I cast on you has linked your spirit with Nicola’s, through your feelings for each other. If she didn’t want you to find her, you wouldn’t be able to sense her."
"So it’s magic?" I said.
"It is one way of describing it," Robert said, "though the Tribal Elders would have a fit if they heard you call it that. It is the power of our belief in our way of life and the land that gave us birth. We may have allowed your people to take our ways from us, but we still remember and honour the spirits of our ancestors, their ways and the spirits of the Earth."
"Just like I believe in God, worshipping him in my own way?" I said.
"Close enough," Robert agreed. "The power of the spirit is as strong as the person’s belief in that power. You have withstood a great many trials and horrors, but your spirit is stronger because of your belief in its power."
It made a lot of sense, though I wasn’t about to give up my beliefs. I was happy with my church and my God, though there were times I wondered why He allowed people to do the things they did?
"What are you going to do when we find them," Robert asked and I smiled, coldly.
"Rescue Nicola, then make them very, very sorry for upsetting me!"
Robert didn’t say anything, he knew I meant every word and nothing he could say would change my mind. We flew in silence after that, both lost in our thoughts. I was thinking of Nicola, of what they might be doing to her, or worse what they might be making her do…
The Present
Alexandra is spot on time the following day, though not dressed as I expect. A grey jacket with armoured protection at various strategic points, matching trousers and boots. There are several items strapped to her belt, including what looks like a headset radio and optical scanner, a small weapon of strange design, several cylindrical items that glow a bright green, similar to the colour of her eyes, and enough pouches to conceal equipment I can’t even guess at. A thin metal band encircles one cuff, with a few buttons on it, like a small control unit.
"Interesting outfit," I say.
"It has advantages," she says, "and is excellent for lab work, especially if you want to record things with no one watching." She presses one of the buttons on the bracelet, clenches her fist and a holographic display appears on her inner arm, a keyboard and palm-sized display screen. "It is also shielded from electromagnetic radiation, most forms of energy and armoured to protect me from damage."
"Foresight?" I say, waving her to a seat as I pile food on a plate.
"A little," she says, "it’s an improvement on their standard design, for working with paranormals who might not be willing."
"Well, I hope you have a good appetite, I seem to have cooked for the entire building." I smile, and indicate the full plates.
"You are amazing, you cook, you fight crime and injustice, yet you seem so human?" Alexandra says, then flushes as she realises what she’s said.
"I am human, almost," I say, waving off the comment. "My transformation did things to my DNA, altered certain strands and enhanced certain abilities. As far as I can tell, if I could have children, the mutations would breed true, though that’s only theoretical."
"I guess that explains why Doctor Hartman would love to get a sample of your DNA," Alexandra says, between mouthfuls of food.
"Oh, he would, would he?" I say. "Well it’s a damned good job he hasn’t, all you’ve told me about him makes me sure I wouldn’t like my kind of power in his hands."
"He did mention the possibility of capturing another woman with your kind of powers," she says, "though he said there were political problems. She was some kind of hunter for an intelligence organisation."
"Mosaad," I say, "she hunts Nazi war criminals, bringing them to justice. We were imprisoned together during the war, she suffered the same things I did, only she was alone, with no friends or allies and the monster that seduced her, made her into a weapon. He tried the same with me, using her to get past my defences. It worked, for a time, but eventually we both won our freedom, though her path was harder than mine."
"She sounds like a very brave woman," Alexandra says.
"She is," I say, "a lot braver than I am. She wrote me last month to let me know that she’s met a guy, they’re a hot item apparently."
"Can she…?"
"Have children?" I finish for her. "Yes, she can, though whether or not she wants them is another matter." This is a rather sore subject for me, so I change it, for something a little more constructive. "Tell me about the complex, weaknesses, ways in and out, security and what you know of the layout."
"Well, it’s located in Arizona," though I only discovered that after I escaped, when they took me there, they told me I didn’t need to know where it was. There are several buildings on the surface, labs and support personnel, but the real work is done in the sub-levels."
I nod, watching as she sketches a map and a piece of paper that appears from one of her pouches.
"The first sub-level is purely security," she says, "I saw very little of it, except for the area they used to create my pass. The passes require fingerprints, DNA profiles, voice recognition chips, retinal scans and full contour body scans. It’s almost impossible to fool the system."
"But you did it," I say.
"I side-stepped it," she says, "I used an old access duct to get into the Waste Reclamation Centre, from there I used a maintenance shaft to get to Level Two. I placed a virus in the computer to scramble the security systems, though all of that was barely enough, and they were onto me almost before I got to the surface."
"I take it that the surface compound has the usual motion sensors, vibration detectors and ground and air radar?" I say and she nods.
"Tied into the Security Centre. They also have several defensive systems, including automated gun emplacements and SAM rockets. There are internal security systems scaled for a mass breakout, or individual escapes."
"But it’s not perfect," I say, already considering several option for getting in, including using brute force. "Okay, I’ve warned them I’m coming, which means I have to assume they know my weaknesses, which means I have to plan for them using gas."
"All levels can be flooded with knockout gas, from the security centre or from security stations on each level," Alexandra confirms. "There are also security cameras and monitors on all levels. There was also a rumour of a Final Sanction Device, if the project was compromised."
"I guess they don’t like visitors," I say, "not that that is going to stop me."
"You’ll need someone who knows that place, to show you what to look for," she says.
"I can manage," I say, "you need to stay safe."
"How safe will I be, if you are captured, or killed?" She looks me in the eyes and I nod, I’ve seen the look before, when I’ve been adamant about something. I could change her mind, eventually, but it’s not worth the effort and her expertise will help.
"Are you ready," I ask, "I was planning to get there a little after ten."
"As ready as I’ll ever be, considering I’d hoped never to have to go back to that place."
"Don’t worry, this time you’re going in to help close it down, for good!" I smile, hoping my confidence is justified.
Two hours later we’re looking down on the complex. It doesn’t look like a government research laboratory, but appearances can be deceiving. They know we’re there, I couldn’t hide from the radar, what they don’t know is what I am, or my intentions.
"Sure you want to go in?" I ask Alexandra.
"Yes, I have to see this through, see it finished, or I’ll never be free of the fear."
I can understand her feelings, I’ve been there myself. I wish there was another way, but if I went to the authorities, they’d have to launch an investigation, which would find nothing, the labs and all their specimens would be gone, to another site. I’d never find them again and it would give the powers-that-be all the evidence they need to pull my clearance. I’ve got a horrible feeling about this one.
I drop towards the ground, suddenly, holding onto Alexandra tightly. Her closeness is torture, but this is business, afterwards I’ll take my chances.
Three SAMs erupt from hidden launchers, which I dodge easily, though when they turn towards me I realise that this could be a little more difficult than I thought.
"Let go," Alexandra says, "you’re more manoeuvrable without me in your arms, and faster than those rockets. I’ll be fine."
I look down at the ground, it’s a long drop and I point this out to her.
"I’ll be fine," she says, unlimbering her rifle, "now do it, before we’re both killed."
I let go, her certainty of her abilities convincing me. She drops, firing her rifle at the ground and a field of energy forms beneath her, cushioning her fall. I turn to face the trio of rockets, watching as they home in on my body heat. I could let them hit me, but I don’t like the chance they may have been toyed with, so instead I head for the launcher. At the very last instant I flip in mid air, kick away from the launcher like a swimmer and fly upwards. Three explosions reward my effort and I drop to where Alexandra is working on the door.
"They’ve changed the access codes and revoked my pass," she says, "not that I didn’t expect it." She looks into the display of her holographic computer and then hits several buttons on the keypad, followed by the insertion of her pass card. The door hisses open and we enter the facility.
"From here it gets dangerous," she says, "I think you ought to put on the gas mask."
She puts on her own mask and the headset from her belt. A beam of light shoots from the miniature torch on one side, the eyepiece drops in front of her eye.
"Could they let us in so far then try an ambush?" I ask, moving to the front, I’m invulnerable, Alexandra isn’t.
"Possibly, though I think they’ll try gas first, then possibly a frontal assault, whilst they set up something nastier." Alexandra frowns at her computer for a moment, then looks at me. "There’s a strange energy reading down on Level Eight, a wave form that I don’t recognise."
I take a look and my blood runs cold. "It’s a temporal rift," I say. "Those idiots have no idea what they’re doing, they could do irreparable damage to the time-stream. We have to stop them, now!"
All ideas of a cautious invasion leave my mind. I know where the elevator is and I know I can get down there fast. I shoot ahead, praying that they haven’t done anything yet, that they’ve only just got it stabilised, if not. Everything I’m doing is a waste of time!
I smash though the elevator doors, down the shaft and through the roof of the elevator. The doors are closed, but that doesn’t stop me, I simply rip them apart, then fly down the corridor. A security guard appears before me, but he falls before me as I pass. I have to take down three other guards before reaching the lab I’m after, behind me I can hear Alexandra trying to keep up, this wasn’t the plan, but the temporal rift changed everything.
I smash through the doors, taking in the scene in a glance. Team Axis are here, all of them, along with Doctor Davies, the creator of the rift technology. There are several guards and three other scientists, wearing outfits similar to Alexandra’s, only without her refinements.
"Miss Victory," Men-Tara says, "I’m so glad you arrived before we left, I wanted to make sure you knew exactly how you would die."
"The only way you’re going through that rift is in pieces," I say, feeling well outnumbered.
Men-Tara has to be my first target, she knows it and so do I, if she gets her mental claws into my head, I’ll be putty in her hands. Spotlight and Vertigo will have to be the secondary targets, followed by Firestar, Killdozer and Stuka are less effective in this confined space. The guards are a problem; their electro-stunners could stun me, which would be bad news. Somehow I have to deactivate the rift before they can use it, if they get back to World War Two with modern technology, they could change everything.
"Laura! I’m at the doorway," Alexandra’s voice in my earpiece reminds me I’m not alone in this one and she can tip the balance here.
"Can you take out Men-Tara, the one in leather?" I whisper.
"Do you want her alive or dead?" Alexandra asks, her voice hard and emotionless.
"I’d love to say dead, but she has a lot of crimes to answer for," I reply, "after that pick a target and take them down as fast as you can, anyway you can."
"Say when," she says.
"Now!" I shout, rolling forward, grabbing one of the doors I smashed earlier and hurling it at Firestar.
My move surprises them all, they were expecting my move to be on Men-Tara. The door hits Firestar, knocking her back into a wall and she falls, unconscious. At the same instant Alexandra rolls into the room, firing at Men-Tara. Energy screams through the air, striking the leather-clad woman. She falls, her body looking like a puppet that has had its strings clipped. Two down, four to go!
Something tells me to close my eyes, just a Spotlight tries to blind me, a scream from Alexandra’s rifle and the light goes out. I open my eyes as Vertigo locks on to Alexandra and she stumbles, her balance gone, her stomach nauseous. I see Killdozer charge, closing in for the kill and dive down to her side. Killdozer’s blow catches me in the midriff, though it would have done much more to Alexandra. I fly backwards, my arms somehow tangling with Alexandra and dragging her with me.
"Nooo!" I heard someone scream as my world became enveloped in bright light…
1943
Team Axis had taken over a power station near San Francisco. Robert and I had scouted the area, finding no one on watch, which was very unlike Men-Tara, she was usually far more cautious. There were several unconscious workers scattered around the place, but no sign of Team Axis, which made me very nervous. We headed for the main control room, if they were going to set up a temporal rift, they’d have to do it there.
I listened hard at the doorway, trying to figure out what was happening in there.
"You’re mad," Nicola was saying, "you can’t possibly believe it’s possible to travel in time."
"Not only do I believe it’s possible," Men-Tara said, "we intend to do just that. By the year two-thousand, there should be some major advances, enough to ensure the Reich’s victory over the pitiful Allied forces."
"It’s ready," another voice said, Dr Davies probably. "Though you realise that you will need to find someone who is capable of establishing another rift in the target year to come back."
"That’s why you are coming with us, Doctor," Men-Tara said, "that way you can bring us back, in the right place and the right time."
"But if I do that, who will stabilise this rift, shut it down properly?" Dr Davies said.
"Who cares," Killdozer replied, "you’ll do as you’re told, or I’ll have to hurt the woman."
"What about her?" Dr Davies said, "if she stays here and the rift destabilises…"
"We’ll take her with us, she’ll be a handy bargaining piece with that bitch, Victory," Men-Tara said.
I’d heard enough, it was time to put an end to this. The door broke nicely at my punch and I strode in, confident I could handle this situation.
"I think it’s time to end this," I said. "Release your prisoners, surrender and I won’t have to hurt you."
I was posturing, I knew it, but it kept their attention on me and not Robert. He was preparing something to protect Nicola and Dr Davies, so I had to keep them busy.
"You were warned," Men-Tara said, "now your lover suffers!" She nodded to Killdozer, who raised his fist to hit Nicola.
Killdozer struck, even as I tried to intercept the blow, and flew back from Nicola like a missile, hitting the wall and lying there stunned. Around Nicola was a barrier, barely visible, but there. I smiled and looked at Men-Tara.
"Game over," I said.
"Not yet," Men-Tara said, her eyes glowing as her power reached for me.
There was a flare of bright light and everyone looked at the rift, everyone except Firestar. She lashed out at me with a beam of light, a beam so powerful that it punched through my skin, through my heart and I stared down at the ragged hole in my chest as I fell. I looked back up at the rift as two figures tumbled through it, one dressed in grey, the other wearing a familiar silver and gold costume. I was amazed, surprised, then felt darkness calling to me. My last thought was for Nicola, I’d failed her, failed to rescue her. I looked at her, saw her staring at me, tears in her eyes, as I fell…
The Present?
There is a moment of intense nausea, then more light and I’m falling, with Alexandra and someone is screaming. I look around, confused and stunned by what I see.
Men-Tara and the rest of Team Axis are all staring at Alexandra and myself, as if they can’t believe their eyes, which is about the same way I feel. Robert Mountain-Oak stands in the doorway, young again, as young as when we’d first met. He is preparing some kind of spell. Dr Davies is desperately trying to stabilise the rift, and failing from the look on his face. Nicola is staring at a body on the floor, a body that looks remarkably like me, and screaming out a denial. The body is not breathing, there is a ragged hole in its chest and a look of tortured anguish on its face.
I look at Men-Tara, and assess the situation.
"Alexandra, take out Firestar if you can, I’ll handle Men-Tara, then pick a target."
"Right," she says, swallowing hard. "Are we where I think we are?"
"Later, once we’ve taken care of this situation," I say, then fly at Men-Tara even as she realises what is going on. I hit her hard, winding her, a chop on the neck puts her down.
I see Vertigo trying to get an angle on Alexandra, pick up Men-Tara’s whip and lash out at the villain. That breaks his concentration and I look around for the next biggest danger. Robert unleashes his spell on Spotlight, shrouding the man in darkness, nullifying his powers. Alexandra is attempting to knock Firestar from the air with concussion blasts from her rifle. Killdozer looks around, charges me, I fly upwards and out of his path, though, at the last minute, I realise that he was trying to get me away from Men-Tara, not hit me.
"Stuka, Firestar, evacuation plan Delta!" he yells.
I turn as Firestar throws up a fiery barrier between us and them, Stuka gathers up Spotlight and Vertigo as Killdozer carries off Men-Tara. I try to get to them, but the fire is too intense, and there are other worries, besides stopping them escaping. Firestar picks up Killdozer, blasting a hole in the roof and Team Axis departs, leaving us to take care of the aftermath.
"I can’t stabilise it, it’s going to collapse!" Davies yells.
"Let me help," Alexandra says, looking over the controls and activating her computer.
"The field was destabilised by your arrival," Davies says, "the power surge has damaged the regulator circuits. This was a jerry-rigged set-up to begin with, the power surge has done too much damage."
"Alexandra, we need that rift to get home," I say.
She looks at me, a wry smile on her face and I realise that that may not be possible. It is very obvious that the rift is running away and if they don’t stabilise it, it could have terrible repercussions, especially as we know where the other end is.
I look across at Nicola, she’s kneeling by the body. I walk over and look down, seeing myself lying there, dead. This is impossible, I can’t be dead, I’m still alive!
"Laura?"
I look up at Robert. He is looking at the body and at me.
"Hello Robert, it’s been a long time," I say. "You look well."
"So do you, for a dead woman," he says.
"I don’t know how this is possible, I didn’t die here and Team Axis were thrown into the rift, they didn’t escape like that. This can’t be happening!" A flare from the rift heralds its collapse, the hole in time simply folds in on itself, with a pop. I half expected there to be chaos, like before, but instead there is an eerie silence.
"Oh hell, how do we get back now?" I say.
"We don’t," Alexandra says, walking across to me, "we can’t go back, our future no longer exists."
"What?" I say. "That can’t be true!"
"I’m afraid it can," Dr Davies says, "especially as you’re responsible for the changes to the timeline."
"Laura, we shouldn’t be here," Alexandra says, "our arrival distracted your younger self, resulting in her death. If you went forward again, you’d cease to exist, you’d never come out the other side and neither would I. We are trapped here, we can never go back, there’s nothing to go back to!"
I look down at Nicola, she is lost in her grief, kneeling at the side of her lover.
"Nikki?" I say, kneeling beside her.
"Who are you?" she says, staring at me, seeing me, yet unable to believe I am who I appear to be.
I pull off my mask, seeing the confusion in her eyes, though revealing my face actually makes it worse.
"What are you, a copy, some kind of look-a-like?" The hurt, the pain in her eyes is too much for me, I turn away.
"No, I’m Laura Wayne, though not the Laura you know, I wish I was." I rest a hand on her shoulder, but she shrinks away. "I’m from the future, what Laura will … would have become if she’d…"
"Well she didn’t," Nicola says, "she’s dead and you’re still alive. So what now, do you take her place, live her life?" Her voice is so bitter, so full of pain and I know there is nothing I can say to help her. I wish there was.
"I don’t know," I say, "I wish I did."
"Laura," Alexandra says, from the door, "there are soldiers coming, a lot of them."
"That is going to make things very difficult," I say, looking around. "Dr, is there no way to change things back the way they were?" I look at Dr Davies.
"Not at present, the future you came from is lost," he says, "it might be possible to find a way to access it, if it wasn’t obliterated, totally, but it will takes years and years of research. I’m afraid that that research may not be possible, after the events of the last few days, it is far too dangerous to open another rift. If something were to pass through who knew things about the future and used that knowledge, there is no telling what chaos could ensue. As it is, the presence of you and your friend could be catastrophic. The paradox theory is incredibly complicated. You should not be standing there, you did not survive to come back in time, which means your younger self wouldn’t have died, so you did survive. See what I mean? Also it isn’t known if time is one stream, or many, created by the decisions we make, as some speculate."
I look at him, beginning to see where he is leading.
"I’m afraid there is nothing I can do for you and your friend, except pray that my invention has damned us all."
"Laura," Robert says, "you know the future, you could do a lot to shorten the war, save lives."
"We know our past," Alexandra says, "a past without Team Axis and with Miss Victory. Anything that happens now is going to be totally new, we know what should happen, but not what will. We can try and guess what will happen, but it will be a guess. Anything we tell you or others would change the outcome of future events and make any further knowledge useless."
"You do not dare use your knowledge to affect the outcome of the war," Dr Davis says, "if you do you could change the very outcome. It is obvious Germany did not succeed in their aims to conquer the world, if you try and affect what should happen, the Germans will change their plans and that could mean they win, or worse, destroy us as we destroy them. It is too dangerous and too terrible to contemplate what might happen."
"Besides, if you try and act on what you ‘know’ will happen, you may further damage the timeline. Temporal physics is a very tricky subject, effect no longer follows cause and knowledge of the future can actually be more dangerous to the user. You know what you did after this point, you are aware of what your future should be, but as you said, the future should not include the threat of Team Axis. It does now, which means already there is a difference from that future and you cannot truly predict what will happen, even though you know what did. For example, the last time you were here, you did not have to explain the dead body of yourself, did you?"
"So you’re saying we shouldn’t share our knowledge," I say.
"Absolutely not," Dr Davies says, "the more you, or others, use your knowledge, the more things will change. The future is fluid and what you do will affect it. Had you gone back through the rift, you would have been gone, Miss Victory would be dead and her impact on the world would not have happened. I wish I’d never discovered this terrible thing!"
I look down at Nicola, part of me echoing his sentiment. His words make a horrible sense, but there is another worry. "Am I doomed to relive this event, when the time comes?"
"How?" Alexandra says, "it required Team Axis to go through the rift, taking Dr Davies with them. That hasn’t happened, and we can make sure Project Paragon never exists."
I look at Alexandra, then back at Nicola. Nicola is terribly hurt, yet my thoughts are for Alexandra, I can’t help myself. Another change, I loved Nicola until the day she died, now she’s seen me die and it’s bound to affect her. I know it affects me. I still care for her, but not as I did, she died and I got over it, moved on. Doing it again would be too much, I couldn’t bear it a second time, even if I could give her what she needed.
"What’s the situation Miss Victory?"
I look up as General Sanderson and the marines have arrived.
"That is rather complicated General," I say, realising that explaining this is going to take some time.
General Sanderson looks around, taking in the mess, Alexandra and finally my body. His eyes seem to widen and I see a tear in his eyes, as he goes over to Nicola.
I seem to be in the way here, so I go outside, watching as the soldiers secure the station. Alexandra joins me after a few minutes.
"I thought you ought to have this back," she says, handing me my mask.
I put it on, watching the activity around me and trying to come to terms with all of this.
"I’ve lived this, Alexandra, lived through the horror of the war, I’m not sure I can do it again, knowing what I know and not being able to say or do anything." I look at her, shaking inside as I try hard to get my head around the situation. "I died in there, just as Nicola feared I would, and yet here I am, alive, despite the fact I shouldn’t be because I died in the forties. Just thinking about it gives me a headache, and what about Nicola, her world must be crumbling around her."
"If you’d died here, and not been here yourself, you would have ceased to exist," Alexandra says, "as it is we have an opportunity to build a better future. I’m not glad to be here, like this, but it’s better than being dead."
"I know, but there are other problems, personal one’s." I look around the compound, the soldiers are forming a cordon, taking control of the situation.
"Nicola?" she says.
"I loved her, we were together until the day she died, in nineteen-eighty-four," I look back at the control room, as two orderlies carry out the body. "For forty years we were partners, lovers and friends, now we weren’t and I don’t feel as badly as I should. I feel sadness for her, but I don’t feel the passion anymore, I’ve lived without her for too long."
"I can’t give you answers on your personal life," Alexandra says, "I’ve never had chance for one. All of this scares me, I have no idea how to live in this era, what to do and whether or not I’m going to affect the future by simply being here."
"You must be terrified," I say, looking into her eyes, "I’m worried, and I have the memories of living in this time before."
Alexandra nods, looking around the site and noticing the soldiers watching us, warily.
"Laura, I … I’m glad you’re here, because I need a friend," she says, slowly, as if measuring each word before she says it. "I‘ll get used to it, but I think if I were here alone, with no one to help me, I’d really lose it. I’m used to being in control, being able to make my own choices and do what I think is right. Now I’ll have to do what’s right without using foreknowledge to influence my decisions."
"Crap!" I say, surprising her. "Davies is right, we can’t share our knowledge, but we can use what we know to make some changes, starting with Project Paragon."
"I’m not so sure…" she says.
"I am," I retort. "We are here, for a reason, God wouldn’t have wanted us here otherwise. We know what Paragon will do, we have a chance to stop it before it does irreparable harm and I intend to. I’ll need your help, not just for the evidence, but because you’re all that’s left of my old life. I don’t know if I can carry on being Miss Victory, relive some of what I went through, but I said I’d help you and I will."
Alexandra is silent for a long time, watching me and the activity around us.
"Laura, there’s something I think you ought to know," she says and I look at her. "It wasn’t just what they were doing at Paragon that drove me to escape. There was another reason I wanted to see the place shut down or destroyed, but I wasn’t sure how you’d take it. You’d better see this."
She activates the computer screen and I watch as activates a file.
"Project report, Paragon 263. The subject appears to have achieved full growth, with no side effects from the infusions of Paragon serum during foetal development. She seems to be remarkably sturdy, intelligent and has a quick grasp of what we are teaching her. Of course it’s too early to tell if there will be a full adaptation to the serum, or if the current manifestations are all that the subject will achieve."
"Her current status indicates a high intelligence, her mind is flexible enough that we have managed to input the history we want her to believe is her true past. Whilst she seems to accept her position, she exhibits great curiosity over all aspects of our work here, along with rather radical ideas in her projects. She sometimes seems to find some experiments distasteful, which may require a little adjustment in the later models, but it seems controllable at present. We’ve observed that the cellular deterioration of her body has ceased, or rather has been exceeded by the regeneration rate of her immune system. This could be a result of the rapid growth we induced, or of the serum, this is yet to be determined."
"There are other effects, mostly in the area of manual co-ordination and agility, though none of the enhanced strength, invulnerability or other inexplicable powers exhibited by the two surviving recipients of the original formula. The lack of research material from the original project is frustrating, though the samples recovered from the Atlantic have proven useful in replicating the formula. Research continues and I feel confident we will soon discover the key to mass production of super-powered individuals to protect our country."
"The subject has been named Alexandra Ross, giving her an identity was important to her mental growth and stability. Ensuring she doesn’t become aware of her origins is a major problem, but as these files are locked behind the best defences we can create, we are confident she will remain unaware of her experimental nature. If she continues to grow intellectually, we expect great things of her."
"Doctor Russell Hartman, director Project Paragon."
I stare at the blank screen for a long time, then at Alexandra.
"When did you discover this?" I ask.
"A couple of weeks before I escaped," she says, "it was one of the reasons I knew I had to get away. It was only a matter of time before they tried further experiments on me."
"So you used me," I say. "Used me to get revenge on your creators, just like you tried to use Robert?"
"No," she says, stunned by the tone in my voice, "I needed help, the kind of help that would let me get the place shut down, so that no other experiments like that would take place. When I escaped, I ran to Robert, he was part of my memory, for some reason, and he gave me sanctuary in his home. He knew I was in trouble, I didn’t think they’d be after me so soon, or that they’d risk a raid on someone’s home."
I turn way from her, I want to believe her, want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but in my mind I see Nicola weeping over my body. I remember my reactions to her at the beach and wonder if that was really me or was it some power that she was using to influence me.
"Miss Victory?" a Captain says, "General Sanderson is asking for you."
I nod and walk back into the control room, ignoring Alexandra as she reaches out to me. I need to think before I say any more to her. She told me a pack of lies to get me to help her. She didn’t trust me with the truth, until now, when it no longer matters.
"Ah, Miss … uh … Victory," General Sanderson says, "this is a very unusual situation. I understand the young woman who died here and you are the same person, only you’re older?"
"Yes, sir," I say. "I don’t understand it any more than you do, but apparently, despite that fact I’m almost sixty years older than the woman who died, I’m still here, though the future I come from no longer exists, so I can’t go back."
"You’re truly Laura Wayne?" he says, looking hard at me. I pull off my mask again, since we’re alone, except for the General’s adjutant who already knows my secret.
"General, I wish I wasn’t here, that she wasn’t dead, but I am and she is. I can’t go home, I’m not sure I can stay here, either. I have nowhere else to go, no home and memories of a life that no longer exists. I’m scared, worried and hurting. To be honest with you General, I don’t think there is any way this could get worse. How’s Nicola?"
"The medic has sedated her, she’s in shock, I’m not sure how she is beyond that," General Sanderson looks hard at me. "It’s truly incredible, you’re no older, no different, except in the eyes, the pain in them."
"I’ve watched everyone I know die, some naturally, others violently before their times. Now it looks like I’ll have to do it all over again." I look around and spot Dr Davies dismantling his temporal rift device. "I’d give anything to be home again!"
"There is a great deal to think about, too much for immediate decisions," General Sanderson says. "Take a few days, it seems like you and the young woman who arrived with you have a lot to talk about. Come and see me Saturday, at my office, both of you, we’ll talk then."
As he turns away, I say, "General? It’s good to see you again."
His smile is a little forced, I’d forgotten how close we were, how close he was to the woman who died.
"Well, Laura, you keep on surprising me," Robert says.
"Hello Robert," I say, looking into his eyes and seeing, not grief, but acceptance.
"I would imagine that you have some very hard choices to make, choices that aren’t just going to affect you." His tone is sympathetic, but I can see that there are reasons for this chat.
"I remember what happened on this day and everyday after it, yet none of that will happen now," I say. "I can’t go to Nicola, even if she’d have me, I can’t watch her die again. There are so many people I could save, if I used my knowledge of what’s going to happen, but if I do, something worse could happen. I’m trapped, I can’t live my life, yet I can’t go back. There are horrors I could prevent, but if I do, will I make the world better or worse? I can tell you the outcome of every battle between here and the end of the war, I know what is happening in Germany and Japan at this very moment, and … and I’m helpless to stop a single thing."
"I don’t envy you your destiny, though I will help if I can," he says. "The spirits are in turmoil over these events, they are telling me that the destiny of several people has changed, that it looks like my place has also changed."
"You’re not going up to the front lines then?" I say.
"No, it looks like I’m needed here more," he says. "Partly to help you and partly to ensure the threats to our country do not break our spirit. So much has changed!"
"I know, you were, or perhaps that should be are one of my closest friends. This is so confusing."
"No more so for the young woman who arrived with you," Robert says. "She’s trying to make a choice, but her spirit is troubled, as if she can’t live with something."
"She lied to me, Robert," I say, "she used me to achieve her ends, used my attraction to her to manipulate me."
"Really?" Robert says. "Tell me, what would you have done in her place?"
"She got you killed!" I say, before I realise what I’m doing.
"Yes, she told me, along with a great deal more. Did you know, despite her looks, she’s less than two years old? She knows nothing of the world, even less about this one. I think she needs someone to help her, someone who is prepared to listen to her reasons and then judge her actions. She could have kept her origins a secret and you would never have known."
"I’m not sure I can trust her," I say. "I want to, but I can’t give my trust to someone who lies to me."
"I trust her," Robert says, smiling.
"You don’t play fair," I say, smiling back. "Okay, I’ll listen, but I’m not going to promise anything else."
Robert smiles. "Did I ask you to do any more?"
"Do one thing for me?" I ask. "See if there’s anything you can do for Nikki, I feel responsible for her, for what happened and I need to know she’s going to be okay."
Robert nods and walks across to the sleeping woman, the woman who meant so much to me once and has now lost something she never really had a chance to experience. I’m beginning to think I’m jinxed.
Outside, Alexandra is lost in thought, sitting on a rock and staring at the scenery. Her face is sad, yet as I watch I feel some of the attraction I felt at the beach. I’ll bet she doesn’t even realise just how attractive she is. I want to hate her, or at least distance myself from her, but the vulnerability in her face is too painful.
"I think you’d better tell me what happened, all of it," I say, sitting next to her.
"I didn’t want to lie to you," she says, "I knew your reputation, but I also knew you were linked to the government, so I wanted to be careful, until I knew I could trust you."
She looks at me, but I wait, wanting her to explain before I say any more. She deserves that chance to explain, though I still feel betrayed, or rather a little annoyed at myself for not seeing through her story.
"What I told you was true, if you remember that they implanted memories and a personality into my head. I believed it, wanted to believe that what I discovered was a horrible lie, but in the end the evidence was too strong. When I learned what I was, what they’d done, I knew someone had to stop them. When I escaped I ran to Robert, looking for someone to talk to, someone who could help me get the message out, but I wasn’t ready for the world."
"I managed to avoid real trouble," she says, "but they were after me almost as soon as I got out. When I ran to Robert, I knew he would remember me, he’d never met me, but he hid me anyway. He helped me recover and told me about you. He used his magic to hide me, though in the end someone spotted me and reported me to the authorities. Robert died protecting me, saving my life and I never felt worse, than when I had to leave him there and run."
Her voice is shaking, not in fear, but emotion, yet I wait for her to work it through herself.
"I knew some information about you, there were files at the project, but I wasn’t sure if you would help me or turn me in." She glances at me, out of the side of her eye, testing my reaction. I want to encourage her, but it would weaken my position and she needs to do this, for herself as well as me.
"I knew they’d set my identity up to withstand any examination, so I decided to tell you that, until I knew if I could trust you, I just wasn’t prepared for your reaction to me. It scared me."
"You mean the fact I was attracted to you instantly and more strongly than anyone I’ve ever met," I say.
She nods, shyly. "I could feel the almost animal hunger," she says, "it scared me that someone could feel like that about someone they’d only just met, especially someone with your powers. I’ve never had any kind of relationship, even my implanted history reinforces my lack of boyfriends, girlfriends, any kind of sexual experience. I didn’t know how to respond, or if I should, or if I wanted to. I just wanted to get the truth out and put an end to the experiments."
She looks at me. "I’m sorry, but I didn’t know what else to do."
"All right," I say. "I’m sorry if I overreacted. If you like, we can go back to square one, start over again, a fresh start?"
"I’d like that," she said. "Though I’m not really sure who I am, or what I want or even where I’m going."
I laugh, then shake my head. "That makes two of us," I say, "everything I’ve ever done or rather will do is going to be different. It’s fine to say don’t use what you know of the future, but you tell me how you don’t do that when you’re in a pitched battle and running on instinct."
Alexandra looks over as Robert walks out of the control room. "Robert was cute when he was young," she says, licking her lips.
"Down girl, he’s a married man, with a daughter on the way, besides I saw him first, sixty years first." I smile at her reaction, and my own, he’s still a real hunk, even to a confirmed lesbian.
"The good ones are always taken," she says, pouting.
"I’m not," I say, hopefully.
"Are you … asking me out, on a date?" she says.
"If you’d like to?" I say, feeling as nervous as a schoolgirl.
"Okay, but I hope you realise I’m a penniless orphan with very little to her name."
"You may be penniless and an orphan," I say, "but I think you have a lot to offer, to this world and me."
"What are you going to do, Laura? You had a life here, a life with someone else." The playfulness is gone and I see her watching as General Sanderson leads Nicola to an ambulance.
"I really wish I had an answer to that question," I say. "Part of me is saying I should try and live the way I did, keep up the pretence, Then I think about you, you couldn’t be a part of that."
"Trying to recapture your past would be a mistake," Robert says, sitting next to us. "What is past should stay in the past, despite your current situation. Do you think it would help Nicola seeing you everyday, yet knowing the woman she loved was dead and you were someone who had her face, her memories, yet couldn’t return the feelings she had. Once the grief has passed, she will have the memories of her time with her Laura, you would taint those memories."
"I know, but I feel as if I’m betraying her," I say. "I had other lovers, immortality gets very lonely, and I loved them as much as I did Nicola. It’s odd to think that I could change their lives, change so many things. I know when my parent will die, and how. I could save them, like I wanted to at the time, but should I?"
"That is a decision for you," Robert says, "as the future no longer exists, you will have to decide what is for the best."
"You’re a lot of help," I say, smiling a little, it seems odd having both Alexandra and Robert beside me.
"I guess we’ll have to do what we always have, take it one day at a time and hope for the best." Alexandra sighs, "I’m going to miss all those wonderful silicon chips and cutting edge electronics components."
"I’m going to miss Mac-burgers," I say, sighing.
She nods, looking into the distance. "Why do I feel scared, Laura?"
"Because you’re an intelligent woman, I’m terrified."
Her hand finds mine and, oddly, it helps. We sit there, waiting as the clean-up goes on around us, not talking, but we have a lot to talk about.
"How about I cook you dinner tonight?" I ask Alexandra.
"Could it stretch to three?" Robert asks, grinning.
The look in Alexandra’s eyes tells me she’d prefer the chaperone.
"Sure, Robert," I say, "you’d be very welcome."
"Err … how are we getting back to New York?" he asks.
I grin. "The same way I got us here, though you may find I’m a little faster than I used to be."
His grin makes me swipe at him and Alexandra smiles. There are a lot of hardships ahead, but tonight we’re three friends who need each other…