A Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons story
PART FOUR -
CONFRONTATIONS
CHAPTER 1
When Scarlet opened his eyes, the
room was fully lit; he wasn’t on the floor, but was lying on a soft surface; the
bed, from the feel of it. He looked around, in some confusion, asking himself
how he had ended up there.
“You all right, Scarlet?”
Scarlet looked to his right and saw
two men standing next to the bed, watching over him and waiting for him to wake
up. The face of one of them made
him jump in surprise, and he swiftly sat up, on the defensive.
“Hey, calm down!” Captain Blue, in
full uniform, took a step forward and gestured reassuringly to his friend, while
Captain Black took an instinctive step back, to stay in the background.
Scarlet blew a deep sigh. “Sorry
about that…” He pointed at Black. “But seeing your sombre companion right next
to you gave me quite a scare…”
Black scowled.
“Well, I’m glad to see you too, Scarlet,” he replied darkly.
“It was purely instinctive, Black. I didn’t really mean to react that way.” Scarlet smirked and jerked his thumb in
Blue’s direction. “Besides,
his
face was the last I saw
before I was shot.”
“And I’m happy to see that reviving
after being dead doesn’t affect your sense of humour…” Black answered with a
raised brow. “Such as it is.”
“So it was my double who shot you,
then,” Blue said musingly.
“Of course,” Scarlet groused.
“Who else do you think could have done it?” He ran his fingers through his short
hair to tidy it, and noticed the darkness outside, through the window, with
white snow falling against the black background. He looked at his watch and
frowned. “I’ve been out four hours? How long have
you been here?”
“About an hour,” Blue answered.
“Cloudbase has been trying to contact you, without success, so we came here
directly, thinking you might have hit trouble. We found you, lying on the floor.
Apparently, you had been shot through the heart. But you were already showing
signs of revival.”
“We put you on the bed, so you
would be more comfortable,” Black continued.
“Most considerate of you,” Scarlet
said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “I don’t expect you found anyone
else in the house, did you?”
“No-one,” Blue conceded in a bitter
tone. “You were all alone.”
“He took her away, then,” Scarlet
murmured.
“They were both here then? Scarlet,
we found signs of a struggle. Has he done something to Karen?
She probably didn’t go with him willingly, you know her.”
Scarlet quickly considered what he
could say to his concerned friend; he decided against telling him about what he
had seen when he had entered the room, shortly before being shot: how he had
found Symphony, gagged and bound to the bed, and that, to all appearances, she
looked like she had either been molested or was about to be. Telling this to
Blue could very well send him in a fit of total rage; and although this Blue
obviously wasn’t sick like the man he had known for the last few days, Scarlet
imagined that news like this wouldn’t do him any good. Under the circumstances,
Blue needed to keep his cool if he was to help find his beloved Karen.
“She was fine when I found her,
Adam,” Scarlet said softly, as he rose to his feet and put a reassuring hand on
the shoulder of his friend. He took notice of the peculiar way Black was looking
at him, from behind Blue’s back, but ignored him. “I’m sure he won’t hurt her…”
“You’re sure?” Blue asked, trying
to sound convinced.
“Paul, that guy kidnapped her…”
“I know. We’ll find them.”
“He’s completely obsessed with her. If he feels that he could not live without
her, who knows what he might do to keep her from leaving him? You know how it
is…” He tilted his head to one side. “He
shot
you. He could –”
“Well, for starters, your double isn’t in love with
me,”
Scarlet remarked. “As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even consider me to be his
friend, like you do. If anything, I am in this world the very representation of
the man he hates the most in his world.”
He looked over to Black for some support, and the latter gave a slight nod at
his words.
“But I thought
he knew
you were not that man,” Blue
insisted.
“His perception of reality has been
distorted, Captain,” Black reminded him. “Remember what the Dream Spinner can do
to a man’s mind…”
“Don’t remind me,” Blue sighed. “I
saw what it could do, yes. And I was even threatened to be subjected to it
myself.”
“The Dream Spinner?” Scarlet
repeated, with a frown, addressing Black. “That’s what you meant earlier when you
mentioned ‘certain events’ that worsened your Blue’s condition?” Black nodded in answer. “Well, now I can
understand better why he turned out so badly.
But what are you two doing here, anyway? Weren’t you supposed to be
confined to Cloudbase… ‘to avoid confusion’, as the colonel said?”
“Things have changed since… you
died,” Black explained. “When you fail to answer our calls, your colonel agreed
to send us over –
not alone, mind you. Captains Ochre, Magenta and Grey are also here.”
“Where are they, at the moment?”
“Searching the vicinity with
Spectrum teams,” Black answered as Blue moved away from them to look through the
window. “They’re looking for clues to the whereabouts of Captain Blue – my
Captain Blue, that is – and your Symphony. So far, nothing has been found. The
Angels are also over-flying the area, along with a Spectrum helijet.”
“So the colonel decided to get the
big guns out, then?” Scarlet asked.
“We told you there’s been changes,”
Blue said. He turned around to face
his friends. “The Mysterons have
issued a threat.”
Scarlet’s brow rose in perplexity as he watched his solemn friend, who looked
down at the floor, seemingly unwilling to meet his eyes. “They did? Well, they
certainly chose their moment.
Coming from them, that doesn’t really surprise me, but what does surprise me is
why the colonel sent
everyone
here, instead of
having them attending to this new threat –”
“Because it looks like
this
situation and the Mysterons’
threat are one and the same,” Blue said brusquely, raising his eyes to his
friend. “They said they would cut off the wings of a high-flying member of
Spectrum.”
Scarlet blanched. “An Angel?” he
murmured.
Blue grunted. “Possibly,” he
muttered sombrely. “The colonel doesn’t think this is a coincidence… He thinks
the Mysterons might be taking advantage of the situation to carry out their
plan. If it’s the case, then Karen
could very well be their target.”
“And you think that your double –”
“Blue
wouldn’t
hurt anybody,”
Black abruptly interrupted Scarlet. “Least of all, a person he loves dearly.”
“Perhaps not
willingly,”
Blue replied sharply, walking back towards the two men and standing tall in
front of Black to glare straight into his face. “Have you considered that your
‘friend’ might have become a Mysteron himself at some point since his arrival in
this world?”
“Not before leaving Cloudbase,” Scarlet said thoughtfully. “And he didn’t
act
like a Mysteron agent when I met him here and he shot me. He was too…
passionate. What he was saying didn’t ring true for a Mysteron agent. And my
sixth sense didn’t give me any indication that he might be one.”
“Well, we all know, even at the
best of times, your sixth sense is less than reliable,” Blue retorted
impatiently.
“Easy, Adam…”
“I’m sorry, Paul, but I am
deadly
worried for Karen. That madman could do anything
to her, and I’m here, sitting
on my hands, doing nothing, and feeling useless!” Sighing with irritation, he
turned his back on them, and returned to the window. He leaned against the frame, and
returned to his contemplation of the night sky, apparently brooding.
Scarlet sighed deeply, shaking his
head; like his friend, he felt like he had to do something.
He reached for his cap, which had been put on the table by the side of the bed,
and put it on. He lowered his microphone.
“Captain Scarlet to Captain Ochre…”
“S.I.G., Scarlet,”
the voice of Ochre responded.
“It’s good to hear your voice. We heard you’d been hurt. How are you now?”
“Never mind that. Have you found
any clues yet on our quarries’ whereabouts?”
“Actually yes, I was just about to
report to Cloudbase. Grey and I discovered the car rented by Blue and Symphony
when they landed at the airport yesterday.”
“The car?”
Scarlet repeated, causing
Blue to turn around to look intently at him. “Where is it?”
“It has been abandoned in a ditch by the road, on the other side of
the mountain. We’re not sure if it
had been left there on purpose, to hide it, or if it ran into the ditch by
accident. There’s no trace of
either Blue or Symphony.”
“No footprints?”
“There’s a fresh coat of snow on
the ground, Scarlet. Any footprints have been covered by it. We’re searching the area, but it’s quite
possible that Blue took another car, after he got rid of that one, to get away
with Symphony. There’s blockades on all the roads… We’re intercepting any car
going by.”
Scarlet
sighed. “S.I.G., Captain. Continue the searches and keep us posted as soon as
you have something new.” His mic returned to his visor and he looked up to see
both Black and Blue looking at him expectantly. He reported to them what Ochre
had told him, and then turned to a pensive Blue. “We won’t rest until we find a
trace of them, Adam. Of that, you can be certain.”
Black shook his head. “Problem is,
in the last four hours, Blue could have got a good distance from here.”
“Not with a captive Symphony in
tow. She would not make it easy on him.” Scarlet was watching for a single sign
of reaction on Blue’s face. The only indication he received that his friend was
listening was a deep scowl. “He could not take her through Sardy Field Airport’s
gates, or take the bus with her. Let’s consider that he might have stolen a new
car after abandoning his… With the Spectrum blockades all over the area, he
wouldn’t get very far either.”
“Then they should
still
be around.
Why can’t we find them?”
“It’s a large area, Captain Black…
They might not be on the roads at all.
They could be hiding somewhere.”
“Where did Ochre find the car,
exactly?” Blue suddenly asked.
“On the other side of the
mountain,” Scarlet explained.
“Not that far from Snow Capped
Summits?”
“I wouldn’t know exactly.”
“Scarlet – the Snow Capped Summits
Resort has a direct access to the top of the mountain, by going through a tunnel
at the bottom – exactly on the other side of the mountain, from here.
It’s hidden away by a large concealed door – which looks exactly like it’s part
of the mountainside, when it’s closed. The door was designed that way, so the
scenery would not be defaced by what would look suspiciously like a huge garage
door. I’m pretty sure that the other Blue is hiding there with Symphony.”
“How do you know about this secret
access?” Scarlet asked with a frown. “And how would the other Blue know about it
too?”
“The Snow Capped Summits Resort is owned by my family, Scarlet,” Blue explained.
“It was bought by my grandfather, at the same time they built this cabin. That
‘secret access’, as you called it, was built at the same time. It’s used only by
family members, friends and special guests. It leads to the golden V.I.P.
section of the resort. If his
family owns this cabin in his world, they would
also
own the resort.”
“And he would have used the
concealed access to evade pursuit,” Black said thoughtfully. “He would be hiding nearby, waiting for
us to move away in our search. That would be like him.”
“He’s there, with Symphony,” Blue
insisted. “I’m pretty sure of it.”
He moved towards the door, but Scarlet suddenly snatched him by the arm.
“And where do you think you’re
going?”
“To go to Symphony’s rescue…
Who knows what that madman is doing to her right now.
I don’t want to run the risk of him killing her!”
“Think, Adam!” Scarlet replied sternly, keeping hold of his friend’s arm as the
latter made a further move towards the door. “You’re not even sure they’re in
there to begin with. And if they
are, and you go rushing in,
you
will put her in danger.”
“But –”
“Don’t you see, it’s Culver all over again?” Scarlet said sharply. “That’s how it all began in his world. How he became
the way he is. He felt so guilty over his
Symphony’s death that he became unstable, and he
never truly got over it.”
“Of course, the Network did provide
a little help,” Black continued. “Using his mental state against him to make it worse.” He
shook his head thoughtfully. “However,
considering he is not Scarlet –”
“Or Black,” Scarlet interrupted
gruffly, glaring at the man from the other dimension. While it had been the
Mysteronised Scarlet who had shot Symphony in his world, it was Black who had
threatened her in this one. Black conceded the comment with a nod.
“Considering that he loves her,” he
corrected himself, pursuing his line of thought, “I am sure he wouldn’t hurt
Symphony in anyway.”
“And what if he is a Mysteron?”
Blue replied icily.
“Adam,” Scarlet said softly. “If he
was a Mysteron, and Symphony was his target… then we would already have found
her.”
Black agreed. “The Mysterons would
certainly make sure we knew they had carried out their plans.”
An angered Blue roughly disengaged
his arm from Scarlet’s grip, and glared ominously at Black. This certainly
wasn’t what he needed to hear.
“You certainly are the coldest
human being I have ever met, Black.” He turned to Scarlet. “As for you, if it was Rhapsody in this
madman’s clutches instead of Symphony…
You probably would be reacting quite differently.”
Scarlet nodded. “And then, you’d
probably be the one to hold me back,” he commented quietly.
There was a short silence from Blue
as he pondered this, looking levelly at his friend; he had to admit he had a
point. His anger cooled down instantly, and he slowly nodded. “You’re right,
damn it.” He sighed, in an attempt to calm himself. “So what do you suggest we
do?”
“First of all, we make sure that
the resort is where your double has taken Symphony,” Scarlet answered.
“To that end, we will need you to take us to that entrance you told us about. I suppose there’s also another way in?”
“Yeah. The regular entrance is not
that far from here. There would be nobody there at the moment.
The season will not start for a good week or two, and renovation work has been
done during the off-season period.”
“An Angel can go in
reconnaissance,” Black suggested.
“Too loud,” Scarlet replied. “The
Spectrum helicopter has a spy drone that might be launched from a safe distance.
It can fly as low as we need and the infra-red camera should help us see if
there’s any sign of life in the resort.
Then, if we discover that the other Blue and Symphony are there, we will have to
move in quietly.”
“Are you planning on using tear
gas?” Black asked.
“If we have no other choice.
Symphony will be clever enough to know what to do if we use that option.
However, I’m not sure that Blue’s double will not do the same…
And that might make him panic, too.”
“The ideal choice would be for us
to be able to negotiate with him,” Black remarked. “Adam might be confused at the moment,
but maybe we could reach him.”
“You think
you
could?” Scarlet asked him.
“I’m his partner.
I might be able to.”
“Before you volunteer, Captain Black, you might also consider that your
‘partner’, when he shot me, was so confused that he imagined me to be the same
Scarlet as the one who shot his girlfriend in your world… He accused me of being
a fifth columnist working for the Mysterons. If he gets even the slightest
notion that you’re not on the level, or suspects that you might be the Captain
Black from
this
world, he might shoot you dead. And you did tell me you weren’t retrometabolic,
so…”
“I have an idea,” Blue murmured.
He had been pensive ever since they had started making plans.
He looked straight at Scarlet. “You
might not like it, though.”
Scarlet scowled. When Blue had an
idea that started with ‘you might not like it’, it never boded well.
However, the idea was often a good one, so it was always worth listening to what
it was all about.
Scarlet braced himself “I’m
listening,” he told his friend.
“And I hope this idea of your is as good as you seem to think.”
CHAPTER 2
Using Spectrum-issued binoculars
that he had taken from the patrol car when he had fled the cabin a few hours
ago, Adam Svenson checked the immediate area. The V.I.P. chalet of the Snow Capped Summits Resort was built
nearly at the very top of the mountain, and standing here in the large, dark
lounge, looking through the large bay, he had a good vantage point and a
strategic view; the huge window gave an incredible panoramic view of the snowy
hills beyond.
He could see anything or anyone approach for a
good distance, and consequently, would have plenty of time to decide what to do
and put his new plans into motion.
He had seen a Spectrum helicopter
and Spectrum Angels flying around, but they couldn’t possibility know exactly
where he was hiding.
The resort was completely empty and unlit, and he had left no trace that
might indicate that he had come here.
The tunnel inside the mountain was unknown to anyone who was not related
to the Svenson family, and its entrance was totally invisible from the road.
He didn’t even expect that this world’s Captain Blue had mentioned it to his
friend Scarlet – as obviously, Symphony Angel herself didn’t know about it.
And if there had been someone to whom Blue would have talked about it, it
would certainly be her.
Expectantly, he watched as the Spectrum helicopter that had been flying a little
too close to his hiding place lit the side of the mountain, obviously searching
for traces of its quarry – him, of course, and the woman he had taken with him. He saw it as it flew away, not even
approaching the chalet, and veered in the opposite direction. Then Captain Blue lowered his
binoculars, and heaved a deep sigh.
Safe,
he thought.
For the moment, he was safe.
Or rather, they were safe, the both
of them.
But he realised they wouldn’t be
for long if they were to stay put. They would have to go soon, and far away, the second he was
sure that Spectrum had moved along to pursue its search further away. He had one
major problem, though: Symphony
would not follow willingly, wherever he wanted to go. She would fight him all the way, just like she did up until
now.
I have to make her understand,
he told himself.
To convince her that there is no other way for us
if we want to stay together.
She has to trust me. And to
follow me.
With one last glance through the
large window, and reassured that he couldn’t see the Spectrum helicopter
anymore, he left his watching place; his steps echoed through the empty lounge
as he went to the maintenance door and opened it wide. The staircase was lit by security lights
set on the concrete wall, and he descended the stairs grimly, until he reached
the last level and opened another door, leading into the semi-dark basement,
which was barely lit by a few lights, quite similar to those found on the
staircase.
In silence, Blue made his way
across the concrete floor, between the heaters and pipes, until he reached his
destination. Symphony was in exactly the same place he had left her – not that
he had expected her to go away. She was gagged, and was seated on a thick
blanket he had laid on the floor, her head resting against her hands, which were
handcuffed to a system of heating pipes running along the wall next to her. Her
eyes were closed, and she seemed to have dozed. Blue noticed that the other blanket he
had covered her with had slipped from her shoulders to fall onto the floor in a
heap all around her. He crouched in
front of her, reaching for the blanket, which he started wrapping around her
shoulders.
At his touch, she seemed to wake
up, and instantly, she drew away from him, leaning further against the wall
behind and under a horizontal set of pipes. She rolled fearful eyes at him and he
sought to reassure her, showing his open hands.
“Easy, Karen… I won’t hurt you.” He
moved his hands closer, and gently removed her gag. “Here, let me –”
She launched a kick in his direction, but he easily deflected it with his hand
and backed away one step. “Don’t
touch me, you…”
“Okay, okay… I won’t touch you. He let his hands fall freely across his knees, and he watched
her at a distance; in the semi-darkness of the room, he could still see her
angry eyes glaring warningly at him. He shook his head dejectedly. “Why won’t you believe me when I say I
don’t want to hurt you, Karen?”
“Why?” she scoffed loudly.
“You have the gall to ask me why?
You kidnapped me, tied me up and gagged me!
How do you suppose I should react to that?!”
“I didn’t have any choice, you know
that.”
“You
might feel that you didn’t
have any choice – I don’t! You’re nothing but a murderer! You killed one of my friends!”
“Come on,” he replied, a little
more unsympathetically. “You know as well as I do that it would not be a
permanent condition for Scarlet. I only needed to take him out of the equation
temporarily. Knowing him, he’s
probably already up and about… without a single scratch on him.”
“That’s not the point!” she lashed. “You
shot him!”
“To protect you, don’t you
understand?”
“Protect me from what?
He
wasn’t threatening me. You were! He would have protected me from you!”
Blue sighed. “I keep telling you,
you have nothing to fear from me. Come on, Karen…” He made an attempt to approach her
again, but she backed away further – if it was possible – and drew her legs
against her in a protective way. He
kept his distance.
“You will have a hard time
convincing me of that,
buster,” she replied, glaring murderously at him. “After what you tried to do to
me in the cabin, how am I to know that you won’t try again?”
He looked at her, intensely; then,
he sighed, and sat back directly on the floor, not caring that it was cold. His
expression was a miserable one. “I won’t,” he said dully. “I promise you. It was
a bad thing to do, I know that, and such a terrible mistake. I should never have
done that. I don’t know what came over me, Karen…”
He shook his head again, trying to avoid her still furious stare. “I’m sorry…
truly I am. It will never happen again.”
She kept silent for a moment, not
taking her eyes off him.
“How can I believe you?” she murmured, unconvinced.
“I only can give you my word,” Blue murmured.
“It won’t happen – ever again. I
swear to you. You should know I
always
keep my word.”
“Do you?” Symphony asked. “You’re
obviously unstable, and there’s no telling what an unstable man will do.
Let alone keep his word.”
The glacial tone of her voice made
him visibly shiver.
He looked away, avoiding her accusing eyes. She tried to regain some of
her calm; which wasn’t an easy thing to do, considering she was the captive of a
man who looked exactly like her lover, who seemed to have an unhealthy fixation
on her... and who had tried to rape her not that many hours ago.
“Who are you?” she asked with a
frown.
He looked back at her. If she was
willing to talk to him, he was certainly more than happy to answer. “You know
who I am. I’m Adam Svenson. Your husband.”
She shook her head. “You are
not my
husband, and you certainly are not the Adam Svenson I know.” When he didn’t
answer, she narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re the Adam Svenson from that
parallel world Scarlet visited last year, aren’t you?”
Blue kept silent at first, looking
straight at her with an ardent stare. He tilted his head to one side. “You were
able to figure that out, then.”
“After what Scarlet said in the
cabin earlier, it was quite obvious. And there was that accident at the Research
Centre a few days ago. That’s when you came to our world, apparently. That explains everything about your
recent behaviour.” She marked a
pause. “Paul told us all about his adventure in your world, how it was there. Of
the people he met. Of you, whom he described as a ‘fairly nice guy’, quite like
our Adam, but that you had a mean streak in you since…” She stopped, and checked
him closely, before adding, carefully: “… Since your Symphony died.”
Blue was as rigid as a statue, at
first not reacting to her words. Slowly, he got to his feet, his eyes still on her, before he
started to turn away. He seemed to
prepare to leave.
“At the Culver Atomic Centre,”
Symphony quickly added. She saw him stop, but he kept his back to her. “I know
she died there, Adam,” she continued. “And I know that you said you wanted to
protect me. But I don’t want or
need your ‘protection’ – I am not her. I am not your Symphony.”
“For me, you are.” His voice was so
low that Symphony wasn’t sure she had heard him properly.
He turned back to face her. “You are… my Karen returned back to life,” he
murmured. “My second chance for happiness, and for
a life with the woman I love. My…
redemption.”
“Your redemption?” she repeated
doubtfully.
“It’s my fault my Symphony died.”
For a moment, she was stunned into
silence. Then, she found her voice again: “Scarlet told me what happened at the
Culver Atomic Centre in your world. I know you are feeling responsible, but you
only wanted to save her. You didn’t pull the trigger.”
“It felt like I did,” Blue replied,
his voice dropping down an octave. He returned to crouch in front of
Symphony. “Since then, I’ve felt so empty – I’ve been trying desperately to find
a meaning to my life, to atone for what I did. Fighting the Mysterons as hard as
I could seemed like a good way to do that – and at the same time, I could exact
retribution, making them pay for what they did to the woman I loved.” He sighed.
“It never seemed like it was enough.”
“You not only punished them – you
punished yourself,” Symphony realised. She shook her head sadly.
“That’s not a healthy way to live your life…”
“I realise that…
but maybe I won’t have to do it as hard as I used to now.
I’ll have you back. I can start
again. Get back the life that I lost.”
She looked squarely at him. “You can never go back, Adam,” she said in a
steadfast voice. “Can’t you see? I
am not
your Symphony.”
“Oh yes, you are,” he replied obstinately. “You’re
exactly
the same woman I loved. You have the same stubborn streak, the
same courage…” He reached to stroke her cheek, very tenderly. “The same beauty,
outside and inside, that made me fall in love with you all over again…”
With a jerk of her head, she pulled
away from his touch; she didn’t like the way this conversation was going. “It
will never work,” she said, averting her eyes. “I’m not yours to own…
My heart belongs to Adam.”
“But
I
am Adam,” he repeated, with
an uneasy, yet genuine, smile.
“Not
my
Adam,” Symphony replied dryly.
“We are married,” Blue insisted.
She raised her head to glare at him, accusingly. “We are not married. You tricked me. You used my Adam’s identity to coax me into marriage… Do you really believe I would have
chosen you
over him, if I had known who
you really were?” She shook her head. “All I feel for you presently is pity, for
what happened to you in the past, but that doesn’t excuse any of what you did
recently.”
He stared at her, his face not
displaying any emotion. “I don’t
need your pity, Karen – what I want is your love.”
“Fat chance of getting it…” she
mumbled. “I don’t even know what you did to the real Adam.”
“The Real Adam…” Blue snorted at
her choice of words. “‘Real’ is such a relative view, Karen. In my world, I am
the real Adam. I’m as real there, as yours is here. If we trade places, does that make us
unreal, wherever we might be? There’s no difference between us… We’re the same person.”
“You are
not
like Adam,” she insisted.
“You are… not acting like him at all. You’re conniving, in a way that Adam could
never be. You are living the life of another – you stole that other man’s life
to make it your own.
You’re lying constantly…”
“So that’s how you see me, is it?
Have you ever wondered what kind of life
your Adam
was living before joining Spectrum? What he had to
do to survive in the kind of job he was doing? It was not always peachy; believe me, I
know. Lies and deception and cunning… it was part of everyday life. That and
much more, actually. If he did what I had to do in order to survive, to get the
job done, then he isn’t as innocent as you seem to believe. It’s probable that
neither of us would have been chosen to join Spectrum if that was the case.”
“Adam would never have done
anything dishonest,” Symphony argued.
“No… I won’t dispute his honesty.
Like me, he probably stayed within the limits of legality.
He just needed to be harsher, colder,
to get the job done.”
“I’m sure,” Symphony replied icily.
“But you are presently talking about yourself – and it’s another kind of honesty
that I’m talking about. The kind you’re obviously lacking if you were able to
deceive like you did the woman you pretend to love.”
He lowered his eyes.
“Some situations require a little cheating,” he conceded.
“I’m sorry.”
“A little cheating?!
That’s what you call what you did?!”
“If it reassures you, I didn’t do
any harm to your lover,” Blue said.
“Paul already told me he’s alive –
what have you done to him?”
“I told you – I traded places with
him. I came over here… and I sent him to my own world. As far as I know, he is
quite safe.” Blue tilted his head to the side, pensively. “What I wonder is how
Scarlet would know he’s alive… I don’t see any way for him to come back.”
“So you did intend to take his
place indefinitely!”
“Of course… This life with you should be mine,
Karen. I do intend to live it
fully, and to be very happy with you.”
“You’re insane – or rather
confused. How can you really think that your plan now has any chance of success?
I know the truth… Scarlet knows the
truth… and if he does, you can bet
that the rest of Spectrum does too.
They’ll stop at nothing to find us and to free me. And if Adam is not back from your world…
they’ll find a way to get him back.”
“Maybe they’ll be able to,” Blue
said, rising to his feet again. “But by then, it would be too late, Karen.”
Symphony’s heart started pounding
wildly. “And what is that supposed to mean?” she asked, looking up at him
fearfully.
“I told you: you don’t need to fear
me. I would never ever hurt you. I don’t need to hurt you to convince you. Eventually, you’ll
come to the realisation that I’m the only man who can make you happy. I can be quite persuasive. And I’m very
patient.”
“If the kind of persuasion you’re
thinking is the same you attempted in the cabin –”
“I gave you my word already:
that won’t happen again. I don’t need to use force to make you love me. There
are other ways.” Blue reached for her and gently stroked her cheek again. In
disgust, she turned away, but this time around, that didn’t deter him, and his
fingers slowly traced the contour of her face. “I can cajole you… convince you
with tender words and gestures… You’ll mellow to me, Karen, and then you’ll
realise I love you – and that you love me.
And you’ll give yourself freely to me.”
“You are really insane,” Symphony
said harshly. “Hell will freeze over before this crazy plan of yours works.
You’ll have to lobotomise me first!”
“I told you,” he replied calmly,
“I’m a very patient man. I will wait as long as necessary. I have found you now,
Karen. I do not intend letting you go, or of letting anything, or anyone, get
between the two of us. We belong to each other – forever.”
Right at this moment, a voice
suddenly rang out through the dark room, coming from behind Blue, which made him
shiver almost despite himself, and sent a flare of hope into Symphony’s heart:
“Aren’t you forgetting someone in
this plan of yours?”
“I’m not overly keen on Blue’s
plan.”
Captain Black had to fight not to
roll his eyes, when he heard the complaint from his partner of the moment.
“It is a good plan, and probably
the only one that might work with the minimum of fighting – which is what we
need at the moment, if we want to avoid anyone getting hurt.
And that means Symphony Angel as well as my partner, Captain Scarlet.”
“It is still damned risky,” Scarlet
said between his teeth.
Both men were climbing the side of
the mountain, using a path that Blue had showed them, when he had dropped them
half the way up to the ski station, a few minutes ago. Luckily, the path had
been cleared of snow recently – in preparation for the resort re-opening in a
few days – and both of them were competent climbers, and they both were wearing
hiking rocket-boots. The rockets were not powerful enough to push them up like
an hover pack would, but still, they were enough to ease their ascent. They
expected to arrive at their destination shortly.
“How much time do you think Blue
will need to get there himself?” Black asked his companion.
Scarlet checked his watch.
“I reckon he’s already arrived,” he answered.
“Going through that tunnel of his has got to be easier than climbing this
mountain. We will surprise your partner from two
sides.
Black concurred.
“Blue should wait until we get there,” he commented.
“He wouldn’t risk starting the operation without us.”
Scarlet nodded; if nothing else,
even considering that the situation concerned him very closely, Blue was still
the professional and would carry out his part of the mission perfectly.
Providing that everything else went without a hitch.
And it was that possibility that
was nagging at Scarlet at the moment. He was almost sure that something would go
wrong; at the moment, the operation was proceeding far too smoothly for his
taste. Was it Black’s presence by his side that rendered him so nervous?
Or the fact that the Mysterons, up until now, had stayed very quiet? They were
probably biding their time… waiting
for the right moment to strike.
As for Black, he didn’t fully trust
him, despite Blue’s assurance that he was on the level; for Scarlet, this man
was too emotionally detached – he
would even say far too cold – to be someone he would be completely at ease with.
And Black had noticed that.
That was another thing Scarlet
didn’t like about Black: he was a little too perceptive. And in that respect, he
resembled the Captain Black Scarlet knew, before he had been taken over by the
Mysterons.
“You don’t like me, do you,
Scarlet?” Black said, glancing over his shoulder. “Being partnered with me
during this mission doesn’t please you that much.”
Scarlet raised a brow. “I damned
well prefer it to the idea of seeing you partnered with one of my friends,” he
replied. “This way, at least, I can keep my eye on you.”
Black shrugged. “I’m kind of used
of being under surveillance. It’s not that big a change for me.
Blue – my partner – didn’t trust me either, in the beginning.”
“Geez, I wonder why… What happened,
you grew on him with time?”
“You could say it was something
like that… We learned to respect each other.”
They had just climbed over the last
ridge, and from that new position, they could now see the chalet at the top of
the mountain. Knowing that no-one there could see them, they both stopped,
leaning against the side of the cliff, to regain their breath for a moment,
before they attacked what they had left to climb. Black turned to face Scarlet.
“I like to think that we became
friends, my partner and I,” he continued. “The way you and your Captain Blue
became friends.”
“I didn’t stay under Mysteron
control for years,” Scarlet replied dryly.
“No… six hours, I was told?” As
Scarlet confirmed the information with a nod, Black continued: “Tell me, what is
the difference between six hours and two years, when an ethereal enemy has taken
control of your every action? It seems to me that makes both of us
victims…”
“In two years, you did far more
damage that I did in six hours,” Scarlet replied.
“More than likely, yes,” Black admitted. “Actually, you were stopped before you
could seriously hurt someone. The World President escaped with his life, and you
regained your freedom. So the only thing that got harmed was
your
reputation and
your
honour. I lost that too, and
much, much more. I know how it was, Scarlet, you had to regain the trust of
everyone around you, proving yourself with everything you did, all of your
actions being watched carefully. Perhaps even asking yourself if you were truly free from the
Mysterons, and wondering if they were waiting around a corner to take you back
again.”
“Oh, the thought did come to my
mind,” Scarlet conceded. “But I discovered early enough that I was utterly free
from their control – so much so that they consider me a considerable thorn in
their side, that they often attempt to eliminate. And they did try, on a few
occasions, to regain control of me. Without any success, thank God. I would
rather definitely die than become one of their mindless puppets again.”
“That does sound familiar,
Captain,” Black answered. “Our situations are quite similar. Except, in my case,
I don’t have retrometabolism.”
“And you think it’s such a good
thing for me to have it?” Scarlet said in a low voice.
Black shrugged again. “Still
protects you from being killed from time to time. As for me…” He turned his back
on Scarlet, preparing to climb again. “All they left me with was the
responsibility and the guilt of all those deaths that I caused over those two
years… and the nightmares each one of them are causing me, each and every night
that I can sleep.”
Scarlet was about to reply, but
stopped himself, recognising the barely-hidden grief he could hear in Black’s
voice. He lowered his head, ashamed. “Look, Black, I…”
A cracking sound coming from
overhead interrupted him, and he saw small pebbles rolling down the cliff and
falling nearly at his feet; he raised his head to look towards the top of the
mountain, directly over them, beyond the path they were about to climb.
He thought he saw movement, but he wasn’t sure.
Was it a dark human silhouette or…
The noise intensified, and he
suddenly saw what it was. Huge snow-covered boulders of rocks were detaching
themselves from the side of the mountain and were coming straight at them.
“Look out!” he yelled. “Avalanche!”
Alerted, Black raised his head and
instantly recognised the danger; he cursed under his breath.
Without consulting one another, the
two men made exactly the same movement, in a desperate attempt to get themselves
out of harm’s way.
They jumped down the ridge, and
squeezed underneath it, as close to the rocky wall as they could.
I knew it!
Scarlet thought with
irritation.
It was going all too well!
He roughly pushed Black against the
wall and covered his body with his own, in an attempt to protect him.
He closed his eyes and braced himself as a huge amount of rocks, soil and snow
started raining on them…
A few metres up, just at the top of
the cliff, the Mysteron Captain Black was looking down with cold eyes at the
results of the avalanche he had caused; he couldn’t see the two men he knew were
hiding under the ridge, but he just knew that they had barely any chance of
avoiding all those rocks which were falling on them. They would be crushed, and they would
die – and that would allow the Mysterons to move on and carry out their plan.
Black raised his head and looked
into empty space, his face set like stone, not showing any emotion, any guilt,
for his present actions or for the task that was awaiting him.
“This is Captain Black, relaying instructions from the Mysterons,”
he intoned in his
monotone voice.
“The target is inside the V.I.P. chalet of the
Snow Capped Summits Ski Resort.
I will make sure no-one will escape, until you arrive. You know what you have to do…”
He didn’t wait for the answer, but
at the very limit of his hearing he could perceive a muffled sound, carried by
the wind, which seemed to come from the horizon.
… The sound of an airplane’s
engine.
Black slowly turned around and
walked in the direction of the chalet.
The Mysterons’ orders had to be
carried out.
CHAPTER 3
“Adam!” Symphony didn’t doubt that the newcomer,
this
Captain Blue, who emerged from the shadows to stand in full view in the
middle of the vast room, was indeed her
Adam – her fiancé, whom the other Captain Blue had
stated he had trapped in his own parallel world. She was ecstatic to see him,
but at the same time, a little concerned about what might now happen. The other
Blue didn’t seem very happy about this new development, if she was to judge by
the way he was now glaring at this unwanted caller. There was a visible vein
throbbing on his temple; his jaws were clenched tight, and his right hand was
stroking the handle of his gun, which he had stuck under his belt.
Slowly, he rose to his feet.
“So… you have come back,” he said
glacially, turning fully to face his rival for the affection of the woman he
claimed to love. “How did you manage that?”
“They found a way to send me back
home,” Blue said quietly. He had noticed the other man’s gun, but he chose not
to appear too impressed by it. “They used a very special key – a little gizmo,
that was left behind at the Research Centre when you crossed the portal between
the worlds. You probably remember
it…”
“The receiver?” The double nodded
slowly. “I didn’t leave it behind. I thought it had been destroyed after my
arrival here…” He gave it some
quick thought. “The portal wasn’t quite closed when the ceiling collapsed –
maybe the receiver – somehow – was thrown back to the other world, when I lost
hold of it. That must be the
answer.”
“Whatever might have happened –
your colleagues found it. And we
made very good use of it.” Blue tilted his head to one side. “They want you
back, Adam. They know you are sick, and they’re ready to help you.”
“Do they?” his double said with a
frown. “How did you manage to convince them of your story, I wonder? Colonel
White isn’t the most receptive of men when it comes to cockeyed stories…”
“And you carefully prepared the
ground so he – and anyone with him – wouldn’t believe me, didn’t you? Well,
obviously, they’re a lot smarter than you give them credit for. And so are the
people in this world. They saw through your act.
At least, they realised that the Captain Blue they knew wasn’t exactly acting
like he should.”
“I might have been a little
careless, yes,” the Captain Blue from the other world admitted.
He shook his head. “I am not going back.”
“Come on, we cannot both exist in
this world.”
“Ain’t that a fact?” the double
said between clenched teeth. His hand caressed the butt of his gun again. “That
could be easily corrected.”
“You’re not a killer, Adam. Even if
you are obviously very confused. Killing me would be like killing yourself, and
would only serve to send you deeper into whatever mental illness you are
suffering right now.”
“Will you quit telling me I’m mentally unstable? You are making it
very
easy for me to decide to kill you.”
“You will not do it. Because if you do, you’ll have to do it while Karen’s
watching. You want to win her love…
Do you
really
think she’ll love you after you’ve killed me?”
“I’m ready to take that chance.
I’ll know how to make her forget you – and love only me.” The double drew his
gun, slowly, and pointed it to towards Blue. “You should have stayed in the
other world – and settled in as me. You know, I never really planned to kill
you, but now…
You leave me very little choice.”
“You kill him, and I guarantee you,
I’ll make your life a living hell, until I can avenge his death!”
Symphony lashed from behind him.
The double hesitated, but did not
lower the gun. Blue feigned not to see the threat.
“My life is not over there, Adam,”
he continued. “My life is here, in this world.”
“No. This will be mine now. I’m not leaving Karen ever again!”
“This isn’t your true life here!
Your life belongs in your own world. You would abandon your friends, who are
waiting for you there? All those who care for you?”
“They don’t give a damn about me.”
“You’re wrong. They’re not giving
up on you. They know there’s something terribly wrong with you and they want to
help you.
They’re prepared to do anything it takes for you to recover – and live a
normal life again.”
“A normal life?”
The double chuckled. “What is a normal life for the likes of
us, can you tell me, Captain Blue? We’re constantly living on the edge, fighting
the Mysterons – and when it’s not them, it’s earthly terrorists. We could die
any day, lose those we love any day.
Well, I’m tired of it. I’ve had enough. I can’t fight anymore. All I want
is to be with the woman I love, for the rest of my natural life. I found that
woman again. I’ve been given a new
chance – and I’m not about to let it go.”
He pulled back the hammer of his gun, and Blue grew rigid. “And certainly not for you…”
“And what about me, Adam?”
The new, soft, female voice,
echoing from the shadows, made the double freeze on the spot.
He looked beyond Blue, eyes narrowing, trying to see past the darkness. He heard
footsteps, and the silhouette of a woman emerged, who came into full view when
she reached Blue’s side.
The double shivered when he saw the woman’s face, and the sad expression on it.
“Dianne…” he murmured. “What are
you doing here?”
“I said you had forgotten someone
in your plans, Adam,” Blue told him calmly. “I wasn’t only talking about myself…
There’s someone else involved in all this.”
“Put the gun down, Adam,” Dianne
said, her voice still soft and gentle. As he didn’t obey, or make a single
gesture, she started walking in his direction, moving to put herself in the line
of fire, literally offering herself as a shield for Blue. The latter visibly
tensed; he wasn’t that sure that it was a very safe thing for her to do. His
double’s confusion was growing more and more intense; there was no telling what
he could decide to do.
“Easy, Rhapsody,” he whispered.
Whether she heard him or not, he
wasn’t sure, but she was definitely not stopping her approach.
Not daring to move, he watched,
apprehensively, as the young red-haired woman closed in on the man holding the
gun.
“Are you planning to shoot me too,
Adam?” Dianne asked quietly, her eyes not leaving those of the other Blue. “Is
that how you want to get rid of your problems?”
He blinked in surprise; frowning,
he shook his head energetically. The thought seemed to revolt him. “No… How can
you think…?
You know I would never hurt you, Dianne… I… I care for you.”
“Care for me? You used to say you
loved me.
Did you lie to me then?”
“I never lied to you, I –” He
sighed deeply, unsure of what he had to say. “I did
love you.
But that was before… before…”
He glanced over his shoulder, in Symphony’s direction. The latter was keeping very still,
watching the scene in silence, concerned about what would happen next.
“Before you discovered that you might have a chance to be with Symphony again,
is that it?” Dianne had stopped in front of him. They were so close now that
they could even touch each other. She didn’t dare do that. Not just yet. “She doesn’t want
you, Adam,” she continued softly, and she could see her words were causing him a
lot of pain. “Don’t you see that? She’s not the Karen you lost. Her love will
only be for one man, and, unfortunately for you, that man
isn’t you.”
Calmly, she covered with her own,
his hand that was still holding the gun aimed in Blue’s general direction. At
first, she met a resistance, when she tried to push it down towards the ground,
but it was only momentary. Slowly, obeying her imperative, he
lowered the gun.
“She loves her
Adam,” she continued. “And if
you hurt him, you will hurt her too. And she will hate you until Kingdom Come…”
“But I do love her…” he whispered.
“She’s so much like my Karen… I never meant to hurt her…”
“And you think that treating her
the way you did – the way you are now – is not hurting her?” Dianne shook her
head. “You used to have better judgment than that, Adam. You should realise that
what you’re doing right now is killing her.”
She took another step towards him.
“As it is killing me too, to see you do all those awful things…”
“Dianne… you’ll be better off without me.
I made you suffer too much, I realise that…”
“And you didn’t make her suffer?”
He followed Dianne’s eyes to Symphony again, but as if he couldn’t bear the
accusation in the captive Angel’s eyes, he returned his attention to the English
woman. “She doesn’t
love you, but I
am not giving up on you, no
matter how much you protest. I know you’re hurting right now. I love you, and I
will help you with all my heart, for you to return to me.” She reached out,
touching his chest, where she could feel his heart beating fast.
She felt him shiver under her touch.
“Adam, I know how much you loved Karen.
But to love… it’s also to let go.”
“But you said you
would not let go of me.”
“Because there is still hope for
us. But for you and Karen…” Dianne shook her head again, and sighed.
“You are hanging on to the impossible, love.
Let go. Of both
of them.”
He looked at her, straight in the
calm of her blue eyes. Then he lowered his own eyes, looking her very slowly up
and down.
His eyes narrowed again, as he
scrutinized her face again.
Behind the young woman, Blue became nervous.
He didn’t like it; his plan, that Scarlet had
agreed to follow, if only reluctantly, didn’t seem to be working. There were too many things going wrong.
First neither Scarlet nor Black had arrived at the scheduled time, and they were
getting later and later with each passing minute. Then, he felt he had to intervene, when
he had heard his double talking to his fiancée and approaching her a little too
closely, and he had feared what he might do the very next moment.
And now this…
The whole operation was going sour;
if Rhapsody was getting through to his double, only seconds ago, it looked like
he was still hesitating.
Damn it,
Scarlet – where are you? You should have arrived a long time ago!
We need you here!
“You are not Dianne,” the double whispered
suddenly. He watched to see reaction from her face. There was none; her eyes
didn’t even flicker. He nodded in
realisation. “Not my Dianne, I
mean. You’re the Rhapsody Angel from this world…”
Uh-oh…
Blue thought.
Here it goes…
He made a step forward, but his
double turned his attention to him, suddenly, and the gun was raised and aimed
at him again. Blue stopped in his tracks, keeping himself from groaning.
“Stay where you are, you!”
His gun trained on Blue, the double looked down at Rhapsody again.
There wasn’t any resentment in his eyes, only curiosity… and perhaps, admiration.
“You’re very courageous, to have
done what you did,” he said quietly.
She stared straight back at him,
unblinking. “I had to try,” she answered quietly. “If only to help my friends.
And I am quite willing to help you too.”
He stared at her, thoughtfully. “If
you would do this for your friends… risking your life to try to convince a
madman… how much more could you do for the man you love?”
She didn’t answer, nor did she need
to; her composure was enough of an answer for him. “How very similar you are to
my own Dianne,” he reflected quietly.
“We’re the same, are we not?”
Rhapsody said, her calm not leaving her. “What I told you… if she had had the
opportunity to be here in my place… she would have told you the same.”
He nodded, very slowly; the tension
suddenly left him, and he lowered his gun. “All right, Svenson, go to your
fiancée,” he called to Blue. “I believe she can’t wait to be with you.”
Upon hearing these unexpected
words, Blue’s first reaction was to freeze on the spot, unsure if it wasn’t some
kind of a ruse. But as he stared at
the other Blue with a doubtful frown, he could see it wasn’t a trick at all and,
relieved at how well things were turning out, he strode towards Symphony. When
he passed by his double, the latter tossed him a small key, taken from his
pocket. On reaching his fiancée, Blue first hugged her comfortingly and then
proceeded to free her from the handcuffs keeping her down.
The double was watching them
uneasily, sadness obvious on his features. He couldn’t help thinking that he was
losing all over again the woman he loved – or at least, thought
he loved. This Symphony would never
love him the way his Symphony had loved him; he realised that now, and he was
willing to accept it. But
realisation and acceptance weren’t making it any less painful for him.
How different was my own behaviour from Scarlet’s, when he kidnapped my Karen,
three years ago?
he pondered. The gesture was equally repulsive,
and when he thought of what he had done to her in this adventure, what he nearly
did in the name of his so-called love, he realised that he had made her suffer
more than she deserved – and that it could have been far worse, if he had been
allowed to go further with his plan.
At least, she will
continue to live – and to give her love to someone who really deserves it.
As for himself… he wondered if he was even worthy of
such a love…
He put his gun back into his belt
and turned around to look at Rhapsody. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?” she asked with a frown.
“For showing me the truth – to help
me realise how wrong… and mad… I’ve been.” He smiled uneasily.
“For reminding me that I have someone somewhere,
someone real, who does love me, and that I shouldn’t hold a torch for a
memory… or a ghost.”
“You were not completely
responsible,” Rhapsody replied, reaching to stroke his arm comfortingly. “I’ve
been told what the Network did to you, with the Dream Spinner. I know how much
it can screw up even the strongest mind…”
“I’m not entirely recovered,” he
murmured. “I will need help, I know that now.” His eyes flashed. “Do you think… my Dianne will still want to help me?”
“If she’s just a little bit like
me…” Rhapsody smiled again,
reassuringly. “… I’m sure she
will.”
“Oh, she is like you,” he smirked.
“Quite a lot, like you. That’s why I felt so awkward, whenever I was with you. I couldn’t help feeling guilty about
what I was doing to her. I felt
like… I was cheating on her, or something.
And seeing you vividly reminded me of that.”
A sound
coming from behind Rhapsody attracted their attention, and they all turned in
that direction; a man emerged from the shadows, his footsteps echoing dully
through the room; as he approached, his face remained in the semi-darkness.
The double frowned, as he recognised the features and silhouette.
“Conrad?” he called with
perplexity.
Captain Blue, still crouched near
Symphony, busying himself in freeing her, raised his head and looked in the
direction of the newcomer. “About time you showed up, Black! What have you and Scarlet been up to?”
“Conrad, is that really you then?”
Blue’s double repeated, leaving Rhapsody’s side to walk in the direction of the
advancing man.
“So you came to this world to take me back, then?”
There was no response, and the man
was still walking – and suddenly, Captain Blue, from his position, got a better
view of the man’s sickeningly pale face, and saw the gun in his hand, aimed at
his double. “Look out, it’s not…”
There was two consecutive
detonations, and Blue’s double stumbled back, hit at almost point-blank range.
He fell to the floor, grunting in pain.
The Angels gasped, and Rhapsody
stepped back away from the Mysteronised Captain Black, trying to merge into the
shadows, as if fearing she would be next. But Black barely looked at her; he had
stopped not that far from his fallen victim, and was now giving all of his
attention to Captain Blue, who was staying next to Symphony.
“Don’t touch that gun.”
His grave, slow voice had all the accents of the Mysterons and no matter how
many times they all heard that voice, it was always unsettling to hear it
emerging from the lips of a human being.
Blue, who was surreptitiously trying to reach for the gun stashed in the back of
his belt, stopped in his movement, when he saw Black turning his weapon on him.
So that’s what happened to Scarlet and the other Black, he
mused. The Mysteron agent probably
had something to do with their absence.
“What are you doing here?” Blue
asked harshly, glaring murderously at Black; the latter kept silent, as he
looked at each of them with what seemed like total contempt in his very cold
eyes. He glanced at the wounded man at his feet, moaning in pain, holding his
now bleeding belly, barely able to move. Rhapsody, surmounting her fear of Black, was approaching
slowly, and crouched by his side, gathering his shivering body into her arms.
Seeing her there, so close to the Mysteron agent, sent his mind into a state
similar to panic. He looked up at
her with a pleading look.
“G-get back… S-stay away… S-stay away from him,
Dianne… That monster… He’ll kill you…
Get back…”
“I am not leaving you,” she
murmured to him.
Black barely gave her a glance.
“Have you ever heard the expression
‘killing two birds with one stone’?” he asked, his voice devoid of all emotions
as he spoke. “Four of you will die tonight, in one single blow.”
“You came to do the Mysterons’
work, then,” Blue replied between his teeth, holding his fiancée against him,
protectively.
“I am not the one who will kill
you,” Black intoned. He started to
back away, slowly. “The Mysterons will. None of you will ever leave this place…”
A hand emerged from the shadow
behind him, and seized his own, pushing the gun down; a face, the same as his,
and wearing almost the same implacable expression, doubled with barely contained
anger, appeared as the newcomer came into full view to face him. “Neither will you,” the human
Captain Black spat between his teeth. And his free hand, closed in a fist,
rammed into his Mysteronised double’s face, in a powerful punch, making him
stagger back a few feet.
“I’ve always wanted to do this,”
Black said with no concealed satisfaction. He had snatched his double’s gun from
his hand, and he threw it away from him in disgust.
“So have I,” another voice replied
coolly. Captain Scarlet appeared in turn behind the Mysteron agent, Black’s
punch having knocked him directly into Scarlet’s path. He struck him in turn,
straight into the face too, and again, the Mysteron reeled under the punch, and
fell to the floor, apparently stunned.
“About time you showed up!” Blue
called from his position. He noticed the sad way both Scarlet and Black looked,
their uniforms covered with dirt, and torn in places, Black’s face displaying a
deep, ugly cut across his cheek, while Scarlet retained scratches from still
healing superficial injuries. They seemed to have experienced a difficult time,
quite recently.
“Adam…” The human Black was leaning
over his fallen partner and friend, quickly assessing his wounds. Despite
Rhapsody’s obvious attempt to keep him down, Blue’s double was pushing himself
onto his knees, grimacing at the pain in his belly; blood was dripping from
between his fingers, to the floor.
There was still a determined
expression on his face. “He’s getting away!” he shouted, declining his partner’s
help with a shove of his blood-covered hand, before pointing with it.
Surprisingly enough, the
Mysteronised Black was already back on his feet, and was now staggering away
from his opponents, trying to escape. He was obviously far stronger and
resilient than they thought. He
pulled open the door to the staircase and started to climb the stairs to the
floor above.
“Come on!” Scarlet called to his
partner of the moment. “Now’s the time to take him out once and for all!”
The human Black hesitated, looking
down at his partner.
“I’ll be all right!” Blue’s double said harshly. “Go get him!”
“It’ll be my pleasure,” the human
Black said between his teeth. He left his friend, and with Scarlet, went after
his own, evil double – his nightmare incarnated.
The Mysterons’ agent hadn’t gone
far; they caught up with him as he reached the next floor and entered the dark
and empty lounge. He faced them,
backing away as they advanced on him, very slowly, and soon found himself with
his back against the large bay window of the chalet.
“You cannot hope to escape,”
Scarlet told their enemy. “Surrender. We might be able to help
you, the way this other Black was helped.”
“Just… do resist a little bit,” the
human Black required, very quietly. “Don’t make it too
easy on yourself…”
An annoyed Scarlet fought the urge
to tell him to stop taunting their prey. He saw a flicker passing through the
eyes of the Mysterons’ main agent on Earth. Scarlet couldn’t decide what it
meant exactly; it wasn’t a challenge, or loathing, or even hate… It was something else.
It looked like an expression of
regret.
“It’s you, who cannot hope to
escape,” Black replied, his face suddenly returning to his usual glacial
expression. “All of you, you are doomed.” Before the two officers’ startled eyes, his
appearance started to blur. “The Mysterons’ orders will be carried out…” And his
human form faded, out of existence, his voice trailing out after him.
Neither
Scarlet nor Black had time to really react faced with this unusual and certainly
astonishing way of escape; just in front of the window where Black had stood a
fraction of a second earlier, beyond the thick glass, they could see a plane
coming…
Straight at them.
Scarlet cursed under his breath.
“Let’s get out of here!” he roared.
He and Black were down the stairs
faster than they could ever imagine, and pushed open the door to get back into
the basement.
“Everybody, OUT!” Scarlet shouted. “We have to leave right
away! A plane is going to crash into this place!”
Blue went pale. “Oh my God…”
He got up quickly, pulling Symphony a little roughly to her feet.
Scarlet and Black ran towards
Rhapsody, who was still attending to the wounded double of Blue.
There was a loud, thundering sound
coming from upstairs. The place shook and cracked, like it had been uprooted
from its foundations, throwing off their feet all the occupants of the room.
Everything around them started to fall apart; the roof came down on them, in a
rain of huge chunks of concrete debris, torn and twisted steel studs, wood,
splinters, dust and fire; loud rumbling and cracking sounds were heard from
everywhere, mixed with explosions, which sent wreckage in all directions. The
floor fissured into large gaps that threatened to engulf them; Scarlet, about
the only one who had been able to stay on his feet, slid into the one that
opened underneath him.
The wounded double of Captain Blue,
rising to his knees, watched in shock as all hell broke loose around him, trying
to see how his companions were faring. So far, it had been a miracle that no-one
seemed to have suffered from the falling debris coming from upstairs. Black was
bending over the hole on the side of which Scarlet was holding for dear life,
and on the other side of the room, Captain Blue was cradling Symphony Angel in
his arms, protecting her as best he could Part of the roof under over them was
shaking unsteadily, and was threatening to fall down on them…
And so was the wall against which
Rhapsody Angel was leaning.
None of them seemed to have noticed
the danger they were in – but Blue’s double did, and in that moment he found
himself torn, between what he should do exactly and what he wanted to do.
It lasted a second, and he took a
fateful decision.
“Blue!” he shouted. “The roof!”
The warning arrived just in time,
and Blue, holding Symphony, dashed to safety, out of the way of the falling
roof… while his double, in a effort borne out of desperation, still holding his
aching, bleeding belly, leaped to Rhapsody’s side.
The wall
came tumbling down on them, just as Black succeeded in getting Scarlet out of
his hole.
“NO!” he roared
over the thunderous sound as he saw his fiancée disappear under the debris and
dust.
He brushed Black’s helping hands
aside and went rushing to the scene.
The rumble was dying away, but
there was lots of dust and smoke filling the room now, and all of them were
fighting to breathe properly and to see. Black followed Scarlet, stumbling onto
the debris, until they reached the place where both his partner and Rhapsody
Angel had disappeared, and from the other end of the room, Captain Blue and
Symphony Angel were coming too; miraculously, the four of them had escaped with
their lives – but they were deadly afraid of what had happened to their two
missing companions.
And none of them were as worried as
Captain Scarlet himself.
Breathing hard in the dusty air
that clogged their nostrils, coughing, their eyes burning and watering, they
started digging quickly, pushing the fallen wall’s debris aside, deeply aware
that they might not find anyone alive underneath it, but hoping that they would
have somehow survived. The ceiling over their heads could fall at any moment,
and the floor could crumble under their weight, but they pushed these
considerations aside, as they worked feverishly, every second counting.
It didn’t take long, before they
finally reached someone; the back of the other world’s Captain Blue appeared
through the debris and they dug around, to extricate him; they pulled him up
from his precarious situation, and he gave a loud moan. He was bloody all over,
his body injured by the falling debris, but he was alive, if semi-conscious.
From the place where he had been
found, Rhapsody Angel coughed. They could see her dirtied face now and she was
blinking up at them in confusion. There was a thin trickle of blood on the
side of her head, but she otherwise looked fine.
“Dianne, are you okay?” Scarlet
asked with concern.
“A bit battered and bruised,” she
answered, coughing again.
“But otherwise… fine.”
Relieved, Scarlet pulled her out
from under the debris, with the help of Blue. She didn’t seem to have broken
anything, as she had said.
With a look of concern, she nodded in the direction of the apparently shattered
body laid next to her, across Black’s and Symphony’s laps. “He took the brunt of
it,” she explained. “Protecting me with his body…”
She reached for him, putting a
delicate hand onto his chest.
He stirred under her touch and his eyes fluttered, before opening
completely. He looked at her, confusion and pain clearly obvious in his blue
eyes.
“Dianne…” he whispered. His left hand moved and,
trembling, reached for her. She
grabbed it between hers. “I made you suffer… I’m sorry… will you… forgive me?” His eyes fluttered again. “I’ve always… loved you…” With a groan, he lost consciousness. They could hear his laborious breathing.
“He’s concussed,” Scarlet declared.
“And seriously wounded. We need to
get him to a doctor quickly.”
Blue exchanged a glance with his
partner, and then with his fiancée, knelt by his side. He could see in her delicate features,
that her heart was aching for this wounded copy of himself; the man who had
deceived her, kidnapped her, and because of whom she had nearly been killed by
the Mysterons. This was a measure of her compassion, and he loved her for it,
but he couldn’t help feeling the tiniest bit of bitterness, and that his double,
because of his actions, had deserved some of what had happened to him. Never mind that he was sick.
However, he didn’t wish for him to
die.
He slowly got to his feet. “I’m
calling for the helicopter,” he said with a sigh. “And we’d better get the hell
out of here, before another accident happens to us too.”
Gravely, they agreed to his
suggestion, and slowly, gently, Scarlet and Black started carrying the wounded
man out of that hellhole, closely followed by the others.
CHAPTER 4
“I thank you for your input in this
last mission, Captain Black. The help you provided was appreciated.”
Three days later, on Cloudbase,
Colonel White arranged a meeting with Captain Black in the Conference Room.
Slightly injured during the adventures in Aspen, Black had his left arm in a
sling, and although he looked refreshed and was wearing a clean uniform, he
still looked like he had not slept for a long time. Colonel White knew the exact reason why;
ever since his wounded partner had been freed and taken to Cloudbase, Black had
stayed by his side, until he was deemed out of danger. Of course, the injured
man could have been taken to the Aspen Valley Hospital, at least until he had
been stabilised enough to be transported without endangering his life further,
but his too great resemblance to the son of the owner of one of the Aspen’s
popular resorts – and a familiar figure in the area – might have caused a
security risk in revealing Captain Blue’s civilian identity. And since Cloudbase
had moved to take station over the area, it was deemed preferable to get Blue’s
double directly to base, instead of to one of the four military bases around the
area.
Now with his partner and friend on
his way to recovery, Black was a little more relaxed, but still in need of
sleep. Nevertheless, he had agreed to meet Colonel White – provided, he joked,
that he would be allowed to bring a huge mug of coffee along, which he was
presently sipping contently.
“Don’t mention it, Colonel,” he
said, in answer to White’s welcoming line. “It’s always my pleasure to thwart
the Mysterons’ plans whenever I’m able to. Whether in my world, or in this one,
it makes no difference to me.”
“Doctor Fawn tells me your…
partner’s condition is improving?”
Black nodded. “He was in a pretty
bad shape, when we dug him out from under that debris, and he was already
severely wounded, with the two slugs that Captain Black put in him…”
White shook his head. “If he
survived that, and being crushed under a wall, then he must be nearly
indestructible!”
“Well, he is not, not like your Captain
Scarlet, that is,” Black said with a slight smile. “I owe your man my life,
Colonel. If he had not pushed me
against that wall to protect me with his own body… I might not be here to talk with you.”
“You can always count on Captain
Scarlet to unselfishly risk his own life, if it means saving another,” White
said. “In that respect, your Captain Blue did exactly the same, thus saving the
life of Rhapsody Angel in the process. Only, as you pointed out yourself, he
is not indestructible.”
“But very tough.” Black shook his
head. “He will make a full recovery,” he added softly.
“You are not talking about his
physical injuries.”
“No…” Black sighed. “If I know him,
like I think I do, he’s on the right path to return to his old self. I saw it,
in the chalet, at the top of the mountain. He was already starting to see some
sense – to realise that his insane plans with Symphony had no hope of
succeeding.”
“He wasn’t responsible, Captain,”
White declared quietly. “I, more than anyone else, know what the Dream Spinner
can do to a man’s mind. I’ve been at the receiving end of it myself. You should
have seen me, about a year and a half ago. For the duration of that blasted
contraption’s treatment, I wasn’t making much more sense than he did.
Fortunately, it only lasted a few days.”
“You?” Black raised a perplexed
brow. “Now that’s something I wasn’t aware of. Your Captain Blue didn’t mention
it.”
“And I thank Captain Blue for
keeping the story quiet. It’s not something we want to become common knowledge,
in any case. And even if you are from a parallel world, and it would be unlikely
that this secret would be known around here because of you, I would be grateful
if you do not…” White left the rest
of his request hanging, and stared meaningfully at Black.
The latter nodded. “Understood,
Colonel. You can count on my complete discretion.” He looked thoughtfully at the
older man. “You do seem to have recovered without any lasting effects…”
“I like to think that I did. So you
see, I do think there is hope for your partner.”
“I do think the same, yes. Once
he’s back in our world, he’ll get all the help he needs. He certainly deserves it, with all he
has done in his fight against the Mysterons. And there is someone there… waiting
for him… who will be very happy to see him again.”
“His fiancée? Your world’s Rhapsody
Angel?”
“Ah, she’s not Rhapsody Angel
anymore... But that’s the help I was thinking about, yes.”
White smiled thinly. “That’s the
best help he could wish for.” He made a short, thoughtful pause, before
addressing Black again. “Captain, although I can see you’re obviously happy to
know that your friend will probably eventually recover from his ordeal, even
knowing how reserved a man you can be…”
“I can’t fool you, can I, Colonel?”
Black asked with a sad smile.
“Well, I’ve known this world’s
Conrad Turner for years, so I’m pretty much able to read you.” White narrowed his eyes. “He was a close
friend, and contributed to the creation of Spectrum.”
“The same as me, in my world.
On both accounts.”
“Seeing you amongst us… brings back
memories.”
“Not too painful, I trust?”
White pondered that. “Well, some of
them, better than others,” he admitted good-naturedly enough. “I couldn’t help
noticing, when you first arrived on Cloudbase, that you are not wearing the
white belt of second-in-command. What happened? Did you get demoted?”
“After all I had done under the
Mysterons’ control, did you expect anything else?” Black sighed. “Of course, it
was taken into consideration that I wasn’t really responsible for those acts,
but that doesn’t make the fact that I actually did them any easier to accept.
I was put on probation – which is quite understandable, if you ask me. And even if they had not removed my
privileges, I would have relinquished them willingly. Returning to complete,
active duty, as a ground agent, was quite satisfying. I thought I would be able
to prove myself then.”
“And your Colonel White partnered
you with Captain Blue.” White shook
his head. “Must not have been the
easiest of tasks for you.”
Black chuckled. “No… not at first,
it wasn’t.” He became serious again. “But our relationship evolved – eventually.
We gained each other’s trust.”
“So tell me then – what is bothering you, Captain? Because I know there’s something on your
mind now. What is it?”
“Yes,” Black murmured. “Yes, there is
something on my mind. Ever since I met Captain Black, just after he shot Adam.”
He stopped himself, realising what wording he had chosen, and then sighed. “Odd,
isn’t it… to actually see that man,
and to refer to him as ‘Captain Black’.
That’s what I was, just over a year ago… I don’t actually have any memory
of that period, just feelings…”
He shivered. “Well, feelings
are quite enough, I can tell you.”
“I understand,” White said with a
nod. “But you were ultimately able to break free from Mysteron control.”
“Purely by accident,” Black
reminded him. “As I’m sure Captain Scarlet told you.”
“Nevertheless, I see it as an
indication that there might still be hope for our Captain Black…
if we’re ever able to get our hands on him, that is.”
“And if he doesn’t get himself
killed before that.”
Again, White gave a nod, but this
time, it was a pensive one. “Yes, there is the possibility of that, of course.
He’s quite ruthless, when it comes to carrying out his orders from the
Mysterons. We… discovered that he
was actually at the small private runway, in Los Angeles, from where that small
private plane took off, a few hours before it collided with the ski resort. The
original plane was found, crashed in the Rockies. There was only one person
onboard – the pilot. An L.A. businessman on his way to meet his wife for a
week-end in Aspen.”
“So Black might have done something
to that plane so it would crash, and the Mysterons could take it over,” Black
realised, musingly. “Poor guy…
Another innocent victim of the Mysterons… And another life to put on Captain
Black’s ever-growing list.”
“So you see, under the
circumstances, I certainly won’t ask my officers to risk their lives, or the
lives of others, just for the sake of capturing him alive, if they can’t avoid
stopping him by any other means than killing him.” White looked straight at Black.
“I hope you understand…”
“Of course I do,” Black said
quietly enough. “I know how dangerous he is. He shot Blue in the gut, in cold
blood, and tried to bury Scarlet and me in that avalanche. It was only by a miracle that we were
able to get out from under there and rush to the chalet after that.” He scratched his head. “I will admit it, Colonel, despite the
fact that this man is supposed to be me in your world, when I saw my partner at his feet, I
could only think of killing him.”
“I think I can understand how
you’re feeling, yes. We’ll take care of the problem he represents eventually,
Captain. I give you my word on that.”
“Oh, I know you will do your best,
Colonel. One way or the other.
Unfortunately, I won’t be here to see the conclusion.”
“When you do think you’ll be
leaving, then?”
“As soon as Captain Blue is fit to
make the jump through the portal leading to my world… In a few days, I believe.”
Black stared into his nearly empty mug. “In the meantime, our scientists – and
yours – are perfecting the travelling process. They managed to modify the
receiver so they would have two-way communication. They should know when we’ll
be ready to make the jump. And they will open the portal, and we’ll be on our
way. I won’t lie to you – I can’t
wait to get back home. The further away I am from your Captain Black…”
“The better you will feel, I know.”
White stood up, and Black did the same, understanding that the official meeting
was coming to an end. The Spectrum commander held out his hand to him. “In any
case, Conrad… it’s been an honour to meet you. I would say, ‘good to see you again… my
friend’.”
Black grasped his hand and shook it
vigorously, offering a genuine smile to the other man.
When one copy of Captain Blue woke
up slowly in sickbay, after days of comatose sleep, he felt disoriented, and
looked around in confusion, wondering how he had ended up there. At first, he
wasn’t sure, but he did recognise the familiar settings; too often, he had
awakened in a similar bed, with similar instruments and tubes connected to him,
hearing these same sounds he was presently hearing, and smelling these same
odours he had grown to detest.
Except, this time, he realised,
this wasn’t exactly the same place.
At the end of the bed, stood a tall
blond man, watching him with attention, waiting patiently. The wounded man
raised his head slightly to look at him, a frown displayed on his pale brow.
The man standing there was wearing
the same face as himself.
Exhausted by the simple effort he
had made, he let his head fall onto the pillow, and groaned.
“Are you okay?” his twin asked
quietly, his features unflustered.
“Yeah,” was the weak answer. “I
think I will be…” He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “Actually… I don’t feel much of
anything. A little woozy perhaps…”
“That would be the painkillers.
You’ve been shot. You’re suffering multiple fractures. Do you remember what happened?”
“I remember…”
“You won’t be walking for quite a
few weeks, I heard.” Captain Blue left his position at the end of the bed, and
came closer. He stopped next to the man, and looked down at him. “I won’t say
you don’t deserve this…”
“Yeah.
Divine justice, you think?” his twin said with a renewed frown.
“You could say that, yes,” Blue
said, a little harsher than he really intended to. “You trapped me in your
world…”
“I know…”
“Your people thought I was you… and
that I was completely insane.”
“I know…”
“How could you do that to your own
fiancée? She didn’t deserve to be
treated the way you did!”
The double lowered his eyes in
shame, trying to avoid those of Blue.
“As if deceiving everyone in your
world wasn’t enough, you also did it in mine,” Blue continued. “You passed
yourself off as me, did all kinds of mischief as me, and that I will be
hearing about for months to come… You beat Ochre up… And ultimately, you
kidnapped my fiancée and conned her into marrying you.”
“Captain…”
“And killed my best friend,” Blue
finished, eyes blazing. “Okay…
so Scarlet got better. But
it’s a lucky thing for you that he actually could.” He leaned over the
man, and stared at him, accusingly. “Is there anything else you did that
I should know about?”
His double swallowed hard.
He could see the anger in Blue’s eyes, and wondered exactly how much he knew of
what had happened in the cabin. “I know I… hurt Karen..
I didn’t mean it to… but I hurt her anyway.”
Blue’s eyes burned hotter. “What
happened?” he asked tersely.
“I… didn’t go as far as you think. She… wouldn’t let me.” He looked away
guiltily, not willing to look Blue in the eyes.
“I… I’m sorry. Truly, I am…”
“You are sorry.” Blue heaved a deep
sigh, and straightened up. “I thank you for your honesty. Karen wouldn’t tell me anything.” He
nodded. “Yes, I know… you’re not
responsible for what you did. After your experience with the Dream Spinner, it
messed up your mind, and you were confused… And at the end, you did actually
come to realise the craziness of what you were doing… and came through for us.”
He shook his head. “If not for you, Rhapsody Angel would not be alive today.
You risked your life to save her, got injured in the process, and for that, I am
grateful to you… But I will find it very difficult to
actually forgive you for all you did.”
“I know, and I will live with the
guilt for the rest of my life.” Blue’s double looked up, hopefully. “I will do
my best to make amends…”
“I’m sure you will,” Blue said
glacially. “But you will find it very difficult to send me money to repair the
damage done to Snow Capped Summits…”
“Oh.” The expression on the
double’s face was one of unease. “Is there a lot?”
Blue rolled his eyes. “The chalet
is completely destroyed, and the entire season is in jeopardy. My father will learn sooner or later
that it was all due to a Spectrum operation, and I’m sure I’ll be hearing from
him very soon…”
“Sorry…” his double repeated, but
Blue could see that he was having a hard time to conceal the amusement he
obviously felt at the news. Blue, on the other hand, was anything but
amused.
“Don’t play smart, Captain, you’re
not entirely off the hook.”
“I know I’m responsible,” Blue’s
double said, trying to regain his seriousness. “Truly, I am sorry…” He frowned
with curiosity.
“What was it… that the Mysterons wanted to do anyway? Was it… their plan to destroy the
resort?”
Blue scoffed. “Hardly!
You think that a ski station would interest them, even if it’s owned by
the family of one of Spectrum’s senior staff?
No… their latest thread was to ‘cut off the wings of a high-flying member
of Spectrum’… We thought they could
mean an Angel.”
“So… they were taking advantage of
the situation… like they often do… to make a move against Karen?” The double
closed his eyes in horrified realisation and sighed. “My God…
because of me, she nearly got killed…”
“It could be they were also
after you,” Blue said firmly, causing his double to look up at him in
perplexity. “In a way, you’re also a high-flying member of Spectrum… and in your world, even more than I am
myself, according to your Captain Black. So it is possible that the Mysterons
were going after the two of you – striking a blow in their war – in both worlds
at once.”
“That would be like them…” the
double murmured. “Still, if I had
not kidnapped her… she might not have been targeted.”
“You won’t see me arguing with
that.”
“I put everyone’s life at risk.
Karen’s, yours… Black’s and Scarlet’s… and Dianne’s…”
“We were very lucky that the chalet
was so solidly built,” Blue remarked. “Obviously, it was much sturdier than the Mysterons imagined,
when they planned to throw that civilian plane against it. Or maybe they were
thinking of sending it against the cabin, and your kidnapping of Karen – to take
her to the chalet – made them change their plans? Neither of you would have
survived that.” He paused, leaving
the wounded man to ponder this.
“Tell me something,” Blue continued, “in the chalet, when everything was falling
apart… I could see you were torn between coming to Karen’s rescue and saving
Dianne. What made you choose to go
to Dianne, ultimately?”
“Karen… was already protected by
you,” his double said in a low tone. “She didn’t need my help.
But Dianne…” He frowned. “Dianne was in danger… She needed me. I couldn’t… simply turn my back on her.”
Blue stood there, looking
thoughtfully at the man on the bed; finally, he slowly nodded, and turned
around. “That’s good enough for me…”
He started to make his way towards the door.
“Wait!” The call made Blue stop, just at the end
of the bed, and he turned to face his twin, who was looking desperately in his
direction. “Do you think… do you think she will ever forgive me?” he said in a
murmur. “Dianne… My Dianne, that
is? Will she… will she take me back?”
Blue gave it some thought. “That
depends,” he said. “Provided you can get a quick annulment for that fake
marriage of yours… she might be
willing to consider it.”
The other Blue frowned deeply. “You
can’t get an annulment for a fake…” He stopped himself and opened his eyes wide,
suddenly registering the complete wording Blue had used. “You know it was fake?”
Blue went to the door. “Of course I
know. I’ve known ever since I saw the signature on the ‘wedding certificate’.
Ben Cunnings has never been a minister of the church – only a bad actor, always
willing to help a University friend in need – provided the said friend would
give him enough money for his services…” He pushed the opening button and the door slid open in front
of him. “It was a little matter for him to use his father’s little church –
who’s the real minister in the family
– to conduct a fake ceremony.”
“Does Karen know?”
“No. No, she doesn’t know yet.” Blue turned around and smirked at his
double. “She’ll be coming around
shortly, to see how you are. I’ll leave to you the opportunity to explain this
last deception to her. Pray that
she’s in a good mood, brother… Or
that there is someone with her when she comes, who will be willing to hold her
back when you tell her.”
With that, very satisfied with
himself, he left the room, leaving his double to contemplate with distress the
task that would be awaiting him shortly.
Two weeks later, the other Captain
Blue’s condition was deemed satisfactory enough for him to make the bumpy trip
back to his own world with Captain Black. In the meantime, Spectrum scientists
from both worlds had been in contact with each other to find a way to ‘ease’ the
opening of the portal, so it would not end up almost destroying the rooms in
which it would open on both sides.
The relative success of this
operation could not really be verified; it would have meant using up too much of
the remaining energy of the red stones, when there was barely enough to open the
portal once, for the trip back. Everyone was, however, confident that it would
work reasonably, and so, considering that it was now ‘safe’ to proceed, Colonel
White authorised an SPJ to take the two visitors from the parallel world back to
the Spectrum Research Centre in Valley Forge.
They were escorted by Captain
Scarlet and Captain Blue, and Colonel White consented to Symphony and Rhapsody
Angels accompanying them as well.
It was noticeable, however, that Captain Blue was keeping very close to
his fiancée – as if suspecting that, at the last minute, his double would make
an ultimate desperate attempt to get away with her. He need not have worried,
though, as his twin would have found it very hard to even try to escape with the
young woman: his right leg was broken, as well as his left arm, and, still very
weak, he needed a wheelchair to move around. And anyway, it wasn’t the double’s
intention to even attempt such a crazy stunt: although he looked a little
sombre, he seemed to have finally accepted that he would never be able to return
to whatever he had had with his own Symphony, and had made peace with the woman
he had treated so badly.
As it turned out, Symphony Angel,
although upset to hear, a few days ago, from the embarrassed – and worried –
double of Captain Blue that he had, once again, deceived her with a lie, was so
very happy to learn they had never been married in the first place, that she
automatically forgave him for this last trick – and even kissed him as a way of
thanking him. It was a gentle kiss, on the cheek, like a sister would give a
brother – or a stepbrother, she had joked – but it had brought red to the man’s
face. Probably, reflected Rhapsody, who had been present at the scene, the other
Adam would cherish this last expression of affection from his lost love – at
least, what he considered his lost love – for the rest of his living days.
“I’m pretty sure Colonel White will
want my commission for what I did,” the double observed as Scarlet pushed his
chair out of the lift and into the corridor leading to the room where the
Spectrum scientists were waiting for them. “He won’t look the other way after a
stunt like this.”
“Do you think?” Rhapsody asked,
with a twitch of her brow.
“Nah,” Captain Blue commented, his
voice dripping heavy with irony. “He would never do that… Not to his future son-in-law…”
“That’s if Dianne still wants me,”
his double replied gloomily. “She might not want to give me the time of day
anymore... And I wouldn’t blame
her.”
“Well, you’ll learn soon enough.” Captain
Scarlet pushed the chair through the open door, and everyone followed behind.
Doctors Giadello, Kurnitz and Lavender were all waiting for them, and welcomed
them warmly. Scarlet experienced a strange sense of déjà-vu, as he
remembered a similar assembly, a year back, when he and Ochre had been sent back
to their own home world. This time around, it was another Captain Blue and
another Captain Black who would do the reverse trip.
“Everything is ready for the
experiment,” Lavender declared, and Scarlet had to fight himself not to frown at
the scientist’s everlasting use of the word. Everything seemed to be an
‘experiment’ for him, even on the more human level. It was never very reassuring
to hear him talk this way.
“Just time to ‘warm up the
machine’, so to speak,” Giadello continued. “The ride will be far smoother than
it has been up until now. Oh, of course, the opening of the portal will still
create a sonic boom, but the dispersal of energy will not be as great…”
“The fact that the stones used to
open the portal are on both ends this time makes it much easier for us to
control the flow of energy,” Kurnitz continued. “We will then able to re-direct
that energy right into the Console, which has been further modified for the
occasion, following the instructions given by our… er… alter egos from the
parallel world. They’ve provided us with valuable information that we will be
studying for months!”
“If not years,” Lavender declared.
“This is all so fascinating…
We might be on the verge of mastering inter-dimensional travel...”
“Mastering is a big word, my dear
colleague,” Giadello argued. “We’re merely able to interact with that
world, because of the accident of last year, and the energy signature that
seems to have been left between our two worlds since then. But to successfully
master inter-dimensional travel, we will have to learn how to choose our
destination carefully – and to actually be able to go where we want. As it is
right now, it would be quite like a parachute jump with no control over where
you would land. And that could be very risky.”
“It might be a moot point, anyway,”
Kurnitz added in turn, “since we would need the proper energy to make that jump
in the first place. And we might not have any, once the red stones we presently
have are drained completely.”
“We could always find another
compatible source…” Lavender
started.
Nobody else but themselves really
listened to the rest of the three scientists’ explanation – and further argument
they might have on the subject. So it was with some perplexity that the Spectrum
officers watched them debating, not comprehending half of what was actually
being said. What they really wished to know, however, was if the trip back to
the other world would be safe, and since nobody was apparently willing to give
them this bit of information, Captain Scarlet volunteered himself to ask it
directly. He imagined, by the way
Giadello glared at him, that the man had not appreciated being interrupted in a
very exciting conversation.
“Oh yes, it will be quite safe,” he
said, somewhat dismissively.
“Like crossing the street, actually.”
“Albeit, a very windy street,”
Kurnitz replied.
“Now, now, Doctor…”
And with that, the argument started
again. Shrugging, Scarlet returned
to his colleagues, a smile on his face.
“That’s good enough for me,” he
said quite simply.
“I’m not sure,” Black said with a
concerned frown. “How ‘windy’ are
they thinking this could be, exactly? Are we talking ‘hurricane’ windy or ‘cool early Spring
breeze’ windy?”
“I do remember how you and Ochre
landed rather roughly when you returned to our world, Scarlet,” Blue commented
in turn. “It was as if Oz’s tornado had dropped you in the middle of the room…”
“You were not ‘dropped’ too roughly
when you and Black arrived here,” Scarlet reasoned. “So I’m supposing that the ‘experiment’–
to use Doctor Lavender’s favourite word – should be about the same.”
“It wasn’t all peachy,” Black
replied. “And one of us wasn’t
injured then…”
“I don’t mind,” the double of
Captain Blue replied at this moment.
As everybody turned in his
direction, he locked the wheels of his chair, and pushed himself into a standing
position. Rhapsody, by his side, handed him the crutches she had been carrying
since they had left the SPJ; he thanked her gracefully, and propped them under
his arms to support himself. The crutches might have been an inch or two too
short, so he stooped a little, while making an effort to stand as tall as he
could. He smirked.
“I’m ready to go home,” he said.
“And ready to face whatever might
be awaiting you there?” Blue asked him.
His twin nodded thoughtfully.
“Yeah, it’s about time I did that too. I’ve been avoiding reality for too long.
Plus… I’m prepared to face the consequences of my act. Although…”
He faced Symphony, who was standing right next to her fiancé – who, he
noticed, was holding her round the waist, in a seemingly protective way.
“Whatever judgment awaits me in my world, I’m pretty sure it won’t be enough for
me to make amends for all the wrong I did here… especially towards you, Karen.”
“I think you have been sufficiently
punished,” she replied charitably. “I do understand that you were sick… Well,
not yourself, anyway…”
He nodded, lowering his eyes. “Yes…
maybe I was sick, and I may have a long way still to go… But I promise, I will make every effort
to recover… this time.”
She reached to him, and he leaned
down, so she would be able to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “You already made a
good start on it,” she said as she stood back, “when you saved Rhapsody’s life.”
Blue’s double grinned. “Probably
the only thing I did right in this world.” He looked directly at the
red-head, standing next to Symphony. “Dianne… thank you again, so very much.
You helped me put things back into perspective in my life. Without you… I don’t
know how things would have turned out.
For me and everyone.”
He leaned to kiss her, and she
smiled. “I am not the one you should thank,” she said. “I did the talking. But the idea
actually belonged to your twin.”
“So I heard,” he said turning to
Blue. “Adam…” He presented his
hand, that Blue squeezed.
“Don’t thank me, and don’t start
apologising again,” he said, adding with a smile, “and most importantly – do not
even think of kissing me.”
His double chuckled. “I would hug
you, if I wasn’t afraid I’d actually fall down,” he replied.
“And I would also say to you – ‘hope to see you again soon’, but I do believe
you would prefer not to see me ever again.”
“Now what makes you think a thing
like that?” Blue asked, although he inwardly admitted what his double had said
was very close to the truth.
The latter’s smile widened. “I
don’t know… a feeling, perhaps? If I was in your place, that’s what
I would think…” He glanced in Symphony’s direction. “Do take care of your girl for me.”
“I will, don’t worry.”
“And you, of yours,” Blue’s double
added, turning to Scarlet. “Whatever the world she lives in, she’s special.”
Scarlet clasped hands with him. “I
happen to think the same,” he said. “And Adam… no hard feelings.”
“Thank you… I needed to hear that.”
“Gentlemen,” the voice of Doctor
Lavender then said. “We are about ready to proceed.”
The two visitors exchanged glances,
and then, Blue’s twin stood as tall as he could and cleared his throat.
“Come on, Captain Black… we’ve
wasted enough time as it is. Let’s
go home.” And with that, he turned around on his crutches, and directed his
steps towards the waiting scientists who, in the meantime, had stopped arguing
and were busying themselves around the controls of the Kurnitz Console. Captain
Black stood with the others, as they thoughtfully watch him go.
“You reckon he’ll be all right?”
Scarlet asked once he was sure his partner’s double was out of earshot.
“I think he will be,” Black
confirmed. “If there is one thing I’ve learned about him, it’s that he’s
resilient.”
“And stubborn,” Symphony piped up,
glancing at her fiancé. She knew,
all too well, that it was at least one trait of character he shared with his
double.
“That too,” Black agreed with a
faint smile, turning to face them all. “If we do meet again, I hope it will be
under better circumstances.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Blue commented. “In our line of work?”
“And with the Mysterons to boot?”
Scarlet added.
“Yes, it seems pretty unlikely,
doesn’t it?”
A sonic boom was heard from the
Kurnitz console and that attracted their attention; they looked up, and saw a
blinding light appear, seemingly out of nowhere, almost directly in front of
Captain Blue’s double. It enlarged in a matter of seconds and took on a circular
form, with the light far brighter on the external edge and gradually
disappearing as it was swirling towards the inner, like a tornado of pure bright
light, laid on its side.
“It works!” Giadello exclaimed
excitedly. “We are controlling the
flux of energy! But it’ll only be a
short time before the vortex closes. You must go in!”
Captain Blue’s double was facing
the large opening, standing on his crutches, his clothes and hair flapping in
the hot wind of energy swirling all around him. He was looking deep into the
portal, trying to see beyond the winds of light, seemingly hesitant at first.
He turned around once.
“Come on, Conrad, what are you waiting for?
Are you planning to stay here for the rest of your life?”
That caused Black to raise a
questioning brow and he turned one last time towards the Spectrum officers from
this world, so similar to him, and yet so different. Like the reserved man he
was, he simple nodded at them, and he purposefully turned
his back on them and hurried towards his waiting colleague.
He was the first to cross the
threshold of the portal, closely followed by his friend.
Slowly, the others approached and
watched expectantly, as both men slowly went deeper into the tunnel, which seemed to expand well
beyond the confines of the room.
Captain Black disappeared from
view, as if he had been engulfed by the light.
As Captain Blue was about to
disappear in turn, a silhouette appeared at the end of the tunnel. Rhapsody
gasped.
“Look…”
At first, the silhouette was barely
recognisable, but soon, its contours became clearer, and the Spectrum officers,
standing at a safe distance from the vortex, as if afraid they would be
swallowed by the whirlwind emerging from it, saw that it was a woman.
A red-haired woman, dressed in
civvies, who after a few steps, stood still and waited.
A little hesitantly, the other
Captain Blue approached, and stopped in front of her; the Spectrum officers were
too far away, and the winds were too loud, so they couldn’t hear what words the
two exchanged – if indeed they talked at all. Blue stood expectantly, almost
awkwardly, as if apprehending what would be the young woman’s reaction upon
seeing him again.
He didn’t have to wait very long.
The last scene the officers saw
before the light slowly closed on the two estranged lovers was that of Lady
Dianne Simms suddenly jumping into the arms of Captain Blue, without taking any
care of his crutches and making him stumble almost to the point of falling. They
exchanged a long languorous kiss.
And then the light closed on them,
and the portal started to fade.
“Aw….” Rhapsody sighed, leaning her
head against her fiancé’s chest. “Wasn’t that sweet?”
“Sickeningly,” Scarlet responded
imperturbably. Which won him a vigorous, but still loving, pounding on the
chest.
“Yeah,” Captain Blue agreed with a
brief nod. “But I hope they’ll be happy together.” He sighed. “What d’you say about us
returning to our non-confusing, comforting, day-to-day, normal life?”
“Whatever normal really means for
us,” Symphony said.
“Well, at least it’s real,” Blue
commented.
“I’ll buy that,” Scarlet replied.
“Let’s get out of here.”
The four of them turned around, as
one, and started walking towards the exit, Scarlet and Blue exchanging places
with each other after a few steps, as they suddenly came to the realisation they
were not holding their respective girlfriends.
The four of them chuckled and giggled at the
confusion, and left the room, as the last of the vortex disappeared into
nothingness.
It didn’t matter – not really.
It was but an experiment of a sort for them.
With their vast powers, they as yet still needed to fully control the multiverse
inter-dimensional flux of energy – to use it to for their own purpose, and to
eventually create further havoc for this race they had sworn to destroy.
The Earthmen made perfect guinea
pigs, even though they were not aware of this. Their tentative progress in a field they
did not completely understood was very informative for the Mysterons, who fully
intended to use this to their own advantage eventually. The Mysterons would help them, of course
– they would provide the tools the Earthmen needed – the tools that would
eventually be used to destroy them. Like the Martian red stones, of which the
Earthmen were just starting to discover the full power…
Did they actually think the receiver, created by Doctor Kurnitz, and that the
Mysterons ‘improved’ on a molecular level, really returned to its own world
accidentally, after Blue crossed the inter-dimensional portal?
The Earthmen were naïve enough to
believe so…
This object, recreated by the
Mysterons, would answer their command.
Moving it through the still-open vortex had been but the first small step
in a larger scheme…
These two worlds, out of the
countless others that existed in the multiverse, so similar, and yet so
different – they would eventually give the Mysterons the key they were looking
for, to master the inter-dimension – like they had mastered the reversal of
matter… And that would be the Earthmen’s downfall. Of course, they could not be allowed to keep the secret of
that power – that would be something that the Mysterons, and the Mysterons
alone, should be allowed to control.
Then these two worlds would be destroyed, to insure that would be the case…
The Mysteronised Captain Scarlet
nodded his silent approval.
All in all, the experiment had been a success. Captain Blue had been
compromised; he would not be able to pursue his work within Spectrum for the
foreseeable future… He didn’t dare think that he would never be back; Blue had
that nauseating habit of always bouncing back, eventually, but at least there
would be some respite. He was the Mysterons’ most relentless opponent in this
world, even counting Captain Black.
In that other world, there was
Captain Scarlet… And that one was
even more dangerous.
Eventually, the Mysteron Scarlet
thought, the two of them will have to meet again. And when that happened, only one of them
would survive. Even if he had to find his own way to that other world…
Not now… but soon… So very soon…
Time was on the Mysterons’ side.
And the Mysterons could not not
win.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
“Parallax Blues” is the sequel to “Parallax View”, a story that I wrote in 2003, as a part of the Multiverse and Halloween Challenges. This story was supposed to be about the same length but, as often it happened when you start writing something, it took a life of its own, and became longer of about the double. This author does hope, however, that it was still entertaining enough for you to enjoy to read – as much as I enjoyed writing it. I wanted for a long time to bring back the character of ‘Bearded Blue’ and to explore him a little more in a story of his own. While they’re many actors in “Parallax Blues”, it is mainly about this Captain Blue from a parallel world – ‘Real’ Blue – and as his twin said, ‘Real is such a relative view’ – comes as a close second, and I also HAD to mention the Captain Black from that other world – whom I had freed from the control of the Mysterons at the end of “Parallax View”.
To my knowledge, the existence of ‘Parallel Worlds’ is an old concept, developed
in many science-fiction stories over the past years, either books, comics, or
movies. Marvel Comics Group
and DC Comics used the concept often, and in their comic books I found my
first interest in this fascinating subject. Gerry
Anderson himself
dwelled into it with his
movie ‘Journey to the Far Side
of the Sun’, also known as ‘Doppleganger’ – where an astronaut visits
another Earth, similar but also so different in details of our own.
As a tribute to this movie, I named the ‘Parallel Worlds theory’, the ‘Anderson
Theory’ – a term that was used in “Parallax View” already – and might be used
again, if there is a last sequel to that story.
Many of the
characters from “Parallax View” made a return, including Captain Indigo, with
the identity of Andrew Lawrence, that I borrowed from the 1993 Thunderbirds,
where he had been given a character’s background .
He was not officially named in the TV series, but I thought it would be a nice
touch to use the name ‘Andrew’ for this story.
Doctor Lavender, Cloudbase’s
head of R and D, and the ‘red stones’, that I created for “Parallax View”, also
made a return. The ‘Dream Spinner’,
that I mention in this story, made its first appearance in my story “Spectrum is White”. Other of my stories are referred to,
such as “The Twilight of the Gods”,
“Christmas with Adam’s Family”, and “A
Symphony in Blue”.
The Spectrum
Research Centre in Valley Forge was the creation of Mary J. Rudy for her story “Mixed
Doubles”. Mary also is the
originator of the idea of Captain Brown flying between the Control Tower’s
pylons – an event that was mentioned a few times already before I used it again
in this story. Lieutenant Obsidian, chief of security at the
Centre, is my own creation.
Thanks to
helpful beta-reader Hazel Köhler, for having checked, commented,
corrected, advised many versions of this story, working harder than myself I
believe, for me to meet the approaching deadline. And also to Mary J. Rudy
and Marion Woods, for their help, encouragements and comments.
Any mistake that you will find in this story are my own.
Many thanks
to Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, for the creation of the ‘Captain Scarlet’
series, its characters and its background.
And finally,
I want to thank you, readers, for reading this story.
Happy Halloween to all.
Any
comments? Send an E-MAIL to the SPECTRUM HEADQUARTERS website