This was originally a story called “The Indestructible Captain Black” and spurred on by the images edited by Martin Bond that he did for me showing Black as our hero and Scarlet, sorry folks, as our villain. I just thought the idea was neat but sadly it’s one built upon visuals. To this note, I will take some licences with the original episode.
With my grateful thanks to Chris and Hazel for beta reading this story.
“The finger is on the trigger, about to unleash a force with terrible powers beyond the comprehension of man. This force we shall know as the Mysterons. This man will be our hero, for fate will make him indestructible. His name: Captain Black.
Our trigger: a vehicle from Earth carrying three men, one of whom, will bring about the war…”
{Multiverse}
A Spectrum Saloon Car, heading south towards New York City
Somewhere in New York State
He knew Scarlet had been the wrong choice for the Martian mission. That he was not ready for it at any rate and that was why he had not returned from the mission. Well, he had, Black reasoned, he had just not returned from Glenn Field once the Zero-X eventually came home.
Alien complex discovered, believed hostile and destroyed.
That was all Scarlet had signalled after the Martian Exploration Vehicle (MEV) made a quick getaway to Kahra Base and thence to Earth.
Black’s eyes narrowed, he shifted gears and reflected on his last hour on Cloudbase before flying down to collect the SSC and his fellow captain. He had been summoned to the command deck by Colonel White, the supreme commander of Spectrum and an old friend of Black’s since before the formation of the top secret organisation, back in the days when White was still Admiral Charles Gray and he, Black, was Conrad Turner, formerly of the World Space Patrol amongst others.
There had been no preamble from White. “Zero-X returned to Earth three hours ago under complete communications blackout. According to both the crew and Glenn Field’s commander, Scarlet left the Zero-X without waiting for anyone and was last seen driving in his personal car from the airfield. He has totally vanished.”
“It doesn’t add up,” Black said, musing on this news. “From what I’ve read, the Zero-X discovered an alien complex and believed it to have hostile intentions. Scarlet took the decision to fire…”
“Yes, yes.” White was faintly irritable. He was facing the unexpected loss of one of his best men and he did not know why. Unknowns were something the head of Spectrum found both fascinating and irritating in equal measure. “What was not relayed in the communiqué you saw, Captain, was the message from the complex to Captain Scarlet and his MEV crew.”
White looked past Black. “Lieutenant Green, play the tape, please.”
The Trinidadian communications officer nodded, and spoke in his smooth voice: “Yes, Colonel. Rolling the tape.”
White swivelled his desk to face the large communication screen behind him. Black stayed where he was. The image started grainy then solidified into sharp focus. He recognised the barren reddish-grey landscape of the Martian surface. The camera lurched, pitching up and down as the forward fitted device conformed to the movement of the MEV. “Fast forward, Lieutenant,” White held a hand up as the image accelerated. He dropped his hand. “Play.”
The camera now showed a ledge, beyond which lay a glittering city. For that was what it was –several buildings of various shapes and sizes that positively glowed against the Martian sky. An Australian accent, deep and baritone, sounded from the screen:
“Captain, would you look at that!”
“I am, Lieutenant Dean,” Captain Scarlet’s clipped British accent sounded impressed. “This must be the source of the signals picked up on Earth via Kahra Base.”
“What do we do?” asked another voice, this one American.
“Monitor it. Lieutenant, take us closer to the edge of this ledge. We’ll suit up…”
“Something’s moving!” the lieutenant’s voice sounded alarmed. The camera zoomed in on one of the structures that was conical in shape, and which was swivelling towards the MEV.
“Calm down,” Scarlet said, then: “Wait.”
Atop the structure something began to appear, sliding from within the building and extending. It looked like a hairdryer, that was the only thing that Black could think of as the device swung around towards the direction of the MEV and the three men from Earth inside. He felt his stomach twist as he knew was what to come.
“It’s obviously hostile!” Lieutenant Dean snapped.
Scarlet’s voice was hesitant if somewhat authoritative and final: “All right, Lieutenant, let them have it!”
Missiles, put onto the MEV largely for rock blasting, pummelled into the alien complex relentlessly for upwards of fifteen seconds. As the dust settled, it was clear that the city was destroyed.
“We should suit up now and have a look,” the third voice – the navigating lieutenant – suggested.
“Quite right, let’s go,” Scarlet answered.
“Captain, there’s something happening, something’s moving down there,” the lieutenant interjected. The camera once again zoomed in to show beyond the wreckage, on a mountain peak overlooking the carnage, a column of shining grey metal emerge and emit a beam of light upon the crater. Black watched, stunned, as gradually, the alien complex began to reappear and solidify, as if it had never been destroyed. As the light that had shone upon the crater faded, the video crackled to the sound of an unearthly voice, a dead sounding voice, from the reaches of Hell itself.
“Earthmen, this is the voice of the Mysterons. We know you can hear us, Earthmen, hear our voice for we will not now be silenced. We were a peaceful race until your unprovoked act of aggression and now we shall retaliate. We will wage a war against your planet the likes of which it has never known. To help us in our fight, we shall turn one of you to our side. Our first act of vengeance will be to kill your World President Younger. Do you hear us Earthmen? We shall be avenged!”
The screen went blank. White returned to face Black who had sat down. He had a hand to his face as he contemplated the images. “As you see, Conrad, we have stumbled into a war that was brought about by an innocent mistake. I believe, based on what happened once Zero-X returned to Earth, that Scarlet is now an agent for these Mysterons.”
Black nodded, the use of his first name was a rare display of emotion by White. The two had become good friends after meeting years ago; together they had helped spur Spectrum on into the organisation it had become. Black stood; he sensed what was to come: “When do I leave?”
“Immediately. Rendezvous with Captain Indigo in Westchester New York and proceed to New York. There, you will escort President Younger to the Maximum Security Building where you will keep him until the threat is over.”
“SIG,” Black said heading for the exit. As he passed Green, the younger man wished him luck.
“I don’t need luck, Lieutenant, I have skill,” Black smiled and disappeared from the Control Room.
***
The SSC was nearing New York. Beside Black, Captain Indigo sighed as he glanced out of the window: “I wish we could see these Mysterons. We have no idea what we’re up against.” The agent – real name Andrew Laurence – was American, from Arkansas originally, though his accent was actually West Coast, from his childhood in Seattle. Dark-haired, he was Spectrum’s foremost expert in ballistics. Like all the colour-coded captains – who formed the top level of Spectrum’s many agents – Indigo had been chosen for his knowledge and skills.
“Me too.” Black slowed as they approached a winding road that would eventually reach a bridge that crossed the Hudson. “I also wish we could find Scarlet.”
“How could he disappear so quickly from Glenn Field?”
“Great skill.”
The SSC raced onto the bridge, which span was devoid of all traffic. Black reasoned they would be in New York itself in half an hour.
“Clearly we’re dealing with forces beyond our comprehension,” Black said, briefly checking out the window at the neat modern span of the bridge. Flicking his eyes ahead, he added: “Including Scarlet, I’d wager.”
Inexplicably, the front tyres of the car exploded; sharply deflating, they squealed in protest. The Spectrum Saloon Car was hurled across the three lanes and off the span into the river where it sank rapidly. It did not take long for the SSC to be lost from sight nor indeed the bodies of the two Spectrum men to break free from the wreckage and wash ashore a mile down the river. Both Indigo and Black were sprawled close to the water’s edge; somehow their bodies had made it just onto the shoreline. That was until hands reached to drag first Indigo’s body into the bushes nearby and then Black’s body.
Both men were clearly dead, their limbs splayed against the marshy shoreline.
Black’s body joined Indigo’s under hedges at the feet of two men who were revealed to be exact doubles of Captain Black and Captain Indigo. They were joined by a third man who had apparently materialised from nowhere. His features were deathly pale, the face lined and weathered, sunken into itself as if the man was dead despite being clearly alive. He also wore a Spectrum uniform with red cap, tunic and boots.
“I am Captain Scarlet, relaying instructions from the Mysterons on Mars.” The once clipped tones had been replaced by a deep, slightly rumble of a voice as if from the depths of Hell itself. “World President Younger must be killed. You both know what must be done.”
“We shall be avenged,” the two men soullessly echoed.
New York City
World President James Younger rubbed his unshaven chin wishing he had had time to get ready before the Spectrum Maximum Security Vehicle (MSV) had arrived. He looked out of the small window at the side of the vehicle and remarked: “I must congratulate Spectrum on its precautions, Captain. Clearing the streets of Manhattan during the day is no easy task.”
Beside him, separated by a third seat, Captain Indigo managed a slight smile. “Spectrum has many talents, Mr President. I can only apologise not giving you time to get ready.”
“Oh, I was ready,” murmured Younger. “You and Captain Black were lucky to escape that crash.”
“Like I said, we have many talents,” Indigo said. His microphone cap dropped down, his shoulder epaulets flashing white. “Yes, Colonel?”
“Captain Indigo, I am just checking on your progress after your crash. Captain Black has returned to Cloudbase to brief me.”
“SIG, sir. We are nearing the Spectrum Maximum Security Building.”
“Good. You are aware, of course, of the arrangements. Remain at the MSB until further notice. Cloudbase out.”
At the Maximum Security Building in downtown New York, the MSV entered via an access ramp into a basement level. Above, three Angel Interceptors from Cloudbase completed their pass of the area, made one more sweep and headed back to the airborne carrier. A Spectrum helicopter that had been helping to provide cover for the MSV landed atop the building.
Indigo led the way from the MSV to a lift across the car park. Two Spectrum security officers flanked them having come up from the lift just before the MSV’s arrival. The lift was big enough just to hold the four of them. Younger cleared his throat: “This is quite the intimate setting, Captain.”
Indigo smiled. “Apologies, sir. It is an express elevator, sir.”
Indeed it was, taking them to the very lowest reach of the MSB within a few seconds. Gratefully, Younger stepped out ahead of the Spectrum men. The two guards stayed by the lift whereas Indigo followed Younger onto a moving walkway.
“This is just a precaution, sir,” Indigo told Younger. The walkway passed into an open room where there were several Spectrum personnel dotted about situated at a gun position, a monitor and elsewhere respectively. It was as Indigo passed the monitor that the walkway abruptly stopped, accompanied by a honking alarm sound. The gun swept towards him. Indigo held his hands out wide: “One moment, give me a second.”
He fished into his tunic pocket producing a cigarette case that he tossed at the monitor where it spilled its contents. “Fine brand as well, guys.”
“I don’t smoke,” was the tight-lipped retort from the Spectrum security guard at the gun. Sweat beaded his brow. “Go on in, Captain Indigo.”
The office beyond the walkway was sealed off by a thick partition that closed behind Indigo and Younger. Indigo sat down before the desk whilst Younger undid the top two buttons of his shirt. “It’s quite hot in here, is this place ventilated?”
“I hope so,” Indigo murmured then went rigid. Younger frowned as he went to his desk.
“If we’re to spend a long time here, we can play cards. I warn you, I’m a mean card dealer,” Younger chuckled, beginning to rummage through the drawers of his desk. He noticed Indigo had not replied. Looking up he saw the captain’s rigid posture. “I said, I’m a mean card dealer, Captain Indigo.”
Indigo’s face did not change. Smoke began to wisp from inside his tunic collar. Younger stared, astonished, at the smoke coming from inside the collar. Younger reached instinctively for a red button just below the desk edge. As he did so the expression on Indigo’s face changed to one of outright outrage just before he exploded. At the same time Younger vanished backwards through a wall that came down with impenetrable steel at the moment the explosion rushed outwards in all directions.
Above them, the Maximum Security Building came crashing down with thunderous force.
Cloudbase
“It would seem that Indigo was an impostor carrying a bomb on his person. Incredible.” White replayed the footage to a still stunned World President Younger. Behind stood Black who had been silent all the while. White himself was quietly staggered by what had transpired in the space of the past day. First, two of his best officers involved in a car crash that would have killed anyone else and secondly, one of these best officers turned into a walking bomb. “We have no idea where the bomb was on his person though, Mr President. You feel no side effects from your crash, Captain?”
White had not turned, Black appeared to be startled into responding as if from a deep trance. “No, sir. I’m fine.”
“Indigo seemed fine to you after the crash?” Now White rotated his desk to face both the World President and Black.
“He was fine.”
White frowned. He had of course had a report from Doctor Fawn who had examined Black upon the captain’s speedy return from New York after the crash. There is no discernible physical trauma from the crash that I can make out. Captain Black is perfectly fine, Fawn’s report read in part.
White crossed his hands together on the desk. “Mr President, Spectrum will not fail again. You will be taken to another secure location until we can defeat the Mysterons’ plot.”
Younger cleared his throat. “That’s kind, Colonel, I have the utmost faith in Spectrum. However, isn’t Cloudbase a safer location?”
“We don’t know how the Mysterons will strike next, and strike they will. I believe that a secure location on terra firma is integral to keeping you safe.”
Black woodenly moved to one side of Younger. “Sir, Colonel White is right. On the ground is easier. Up here there is every chance that the Mysterons could strike, unfortunately succeed and in one fell stroke, destroy Spectrum.”
Aside from Black, there were other senior officers here – Grey, Ochre, Magenta and Fawn, not least of all the junior officers that helped to make up Spectrum’s core command. For all of them to be killed would render Spectrum immobile if not useless as a credible force against the new enemy.
Black escorted Younger to a waiting Spectrum Passenger Jet (SPJ) that he would fly. All Spectrum officers had pilot licences, some having flown often in their previous lives before Spectrum in their respective fields. Younger, as with Indigo, tried to joke with Black. “You guys sure know how to treat VIPs, Captain. First a MSV and now a SPJ.”
“Strap in, sir,” Black said tonelessly as they reached the cockpit. He put on shaded spectacles, his cap microphone fell before his chin. “SPJ Zero-One to control, permission to take-off.”
“Permission granted, SPJ Zero-One. Spectrum Is Green,” said Lieutenant Green high above them in the Control Room. “Proceed to Spectrum safe house, speed expedite.”
“SIG,” Black said. In the time that they had boarded the SPJ, it had been lifted up to the main flight deck of Cloudbase just ahead of the three static Angel interceptors. He pushed the throttle, driving the SPJ down the runway before pulling on the yoke as the deck ran out. Younger nervously cleared his throat. “Do you always leave it so late, Captain?”
“Not always.” Black turned his head to Younger, his expression blank. “I like to live on the edge.”
Back on Cloudbase, Colonel White was standing by the observation port having just watched the SPJ take-off. Something was bothering him that he could not quite finger. Black and Indigo’s crash had been examined in the short time since it happened. Spectrum New York – its hands full with the aftermath of the MSB explosion – had tersely reported that the SSC had been pulled from the river this morning with damage so great that it was hard to see how Black and Indigo could have survived. Indigo had inexplicably become a walking bomb. His very being a bomb. Black had subtly changed. The man born as Conrad Turner had become a close friend of White and so the Spectrum commander knew him better than most. Something was decidedly off with Black.
“Lieutenant, make contact with Captain Brown. Immediately!”
“Aye, aye sir,” said Green, so surprised by White’s abrupt turn from the port and snap of tone that he unconsciously broke into naval tradition. His chair moved down towards the communications panel. “Captain Brown, this is Cloudbase, please respond, this is urgent.”
***
At that precise moment, the Australian-born Captain Brown was on the riverbank down from the bridge that still bore the scars of Black’s SSC crashing through its supports. As his shoulder tabs flashed green, his mike dropped into place.
“Yes, Lieutenant Green?”
“Please hold for the colonel, Captain Brown.”
White’s serious tone of voice told Brown immediately this was no social call. “Captain, I have an assignment for you. I am not entirely convinced that Captain Black is as he appears. I want you to get ready to confront him and secure the safety of the World President.”
Brown glanced aside at the white-jacketed Spectrum Forensics Team from New York who were busy combing the area as instructed by Colonel White after Black left for Cloudbase and Indigo for New York City. “I don’t understand, sir.”
“I’ve become convinced that Captain Black is under the control of these Mysterons. That somehow, Captain Indigo might have been an agent of theirs.” Brown detected a hint of frustration in his chief’s voice. “It’s all been happening quickly, Captain. Without Scarlet at hand and Captain Blue on furlough, I am turning to you.”
Brown was tempted to make a typical Australian joke at this point. He knew that his commander would not take it in the way it was intended. Flippancy is warranted at the right time, Captain, Colonel White had told him not long after joining Spectrum.
“I think I understand you, sir. Where do I go?”
“At present Captain Black is flying to a safe house in the United Kingdom. Lieutenant…?”
“His SPJ is continuing on course,” Green said.
“Launch Angels to intercept, to monitor and maintain escort. Captain, make for London as soon as you can.”
“Captain!” One of the forensics men was skidding up the bank towards Brown, his white trousers dirty with mud. He reminded Brown of Patrick Donaghue – Captain Magenta – in terms of his looks and even his voice. “We found bodies!”
“What?” Brown snapped. “What bodies?”
The other stopped before Brown, arms working like windmill panels. “Captain Indigo and Captain Black.”
“Colonel, did you ---?”
“I did. Carry on, Brown, I’m listening.”
Brown went down the bank of the river after the forensics man. Behind a clump of bushes stood the other forensics officers. They all looked quite ashen as if they had been given a fright. Brown walked round to where they were. There, laid beside each other, undoubtedly dead and undoubtedly wearing Spectrum uniforms were Black and Indigo. “Colonel, I’m looking at the bodies of Black and Indigo. They’re dead.”
There was a pause. Birds sang overhead as they swooped in search of food. Brown was about to prompt White when the commander’s voice sounded. It was terse, brooking no room for argument.
“Captain, we must assume that not only the Indigo that blew up in New York is actually a Mysteron agent, but Black is one as well. Clearly their powers are greater than we realised, as Scarlet saw on Mars. Start on your way to London, Captain. Be prepared for any changes.”
“SIG, sir.” Brown’s mike swung back up. He started to walk away, instructing the forensics personnel to get the bodies sent to Cloudbase immediately, so that Doctor Fawn could inspect them properly. He was sure he stung their professional pride in saying that but Fawn was the best there was. It took a short time for him to reach his SSC and even shorter to be speeding on his way to New York.
On Cloudbase White swung his desk to face down the Control Room: “Lieutenant, Spectrum Is Red. That SPJ must be returned to Cloudbase. Instruct the Angels accordingly.”
“Angels One, Two and Three, this is a priority – immediate launch. Once airborne, you are to intercept the SPJ flown by Captain Black and force his return to Cloudbase immediately. Spectrum Is Red, repeat SIR.”
“Angel One launching.” Destiny Angel’s melodic French accent hid the anxiety she felt deep down at having to hunt down Spectrum’s leading agent.
Angels Two and Three –Rhapsody and Harmony Angels respectively – launched seconds after Angel One clawed into the azure blue sky. All three banked and descended fast to make up time on the SPJ that by now was closing in on the UK.
Captain Black’s SPJ – approaching the south coast of England
Captain Black, this is Captain Scarlet relaying instructions on behalf of the Mysterons. The Earthmen have launched their Angel jets in pursuit of you and the World President. Do what must be done to accomplish our goal.
By your command, Black said albeit mentally. It did not occur to him to question how he heard Scarlet to begin with.
Black began to descend; as he did so, his onboard radar began to beep. He took a quick look at the console between himself and Younger. Three white dots were closing in rapidly. Even as he acknowledged this, he heard Destiny’s voice over the speakers:
“Captain Black, this is Destiny Angel, please turn around and accompany us back to Cloudbase. Acknowledge.”
Younger looked at Black, his eyes narrowed, reflecting the fear he felt. His first thought was ‘not again’ and yet he knew that something was not right. Black’s utter silence since they left Cloudbase… His robotic nature of flying the passenger jet… Black was meant to be one of the best. Were all Spectrum agents traitors?
“Captain, you must respond!”
“Quiet, Earthman,” responded Black, his voice just above a monotone. He pushed forward on the yoke; gradually a whining sound built up around the cockpit as the SPJ’s angle of descent sharpened. Banking to port, he noted the English countryside below growing in size as well as detail. Hedgerows, roads, buildings…
This was once your home, a voice said in his head. Captain Black, you are still there…
I obey the Mysterons!
Younger tried to slap at Black’s hands on the yoke; for a moment Black’s grip
was
loosened, the SPJ splayed across the sky in jerky movements, surprising Destiny
who had closed the gap for another pass. Black punched Younger in the face; it
was a loose hit that lacked full force but did enough to stun Younger, causing
him to slump in his seat.
Black checked the positioning on his display and throttled right back. The Angel jets screamed past and quickly vanished. Black pulled on the eject lever on both chairs in two speedy actions. Within seconds, both men were propelled into the sky upon their SPJ pilot chairs. Black tugged on the left cord of his chute to try and manoeuvre close to Younger. As they descended, he noted that the Angels were coming back. Once they were on the ground, he could effect their escape and hopefully fulfil the Mysterons’ plans.
The Angels made long, loose circuits of the two men all the way down to the ground. Black wasted no time in breaking free of the seatbelts and going to do the same to Younger who was coming round after the earlier punch. Black threw his Spectrum cap to one side – not that it would make a difference whether he had it or not.
Captain Black, the Spectrum forces are massing against you…
I know, I’m taking the Earthman to a place where we can succeed.
Scarlet’s voice sounded after a brief pause.
Do what must be done.
Black began to walk, pushing Younger ahead of him. Snatches of his life came to him without him seeking them. He heard the voices of his past life and dismissed them. Up ahead of them was a petrol station. A sign before it declared that Godalming was some ten miles away and London beyond it. As they closed in on the young man working behind the counter of the station, Black prodded Younger in the small of the back with his gun. “One word, Earthman, and you die now.”
The young man looked up from his magazine. The counter top was quite slim, the shack he sat in just as small as if everything had been devoted to the requirements of the petrol station and its equipment rather than the actual customer facing required.
“Hey, can I help you, sir?”
Black stepped to one side of Younger, reaching inside his breast pocket. “SPV Six-One-Zero, please.”
“Identification, sir.”
Black tossed his black coloured wallet onto the counter top. The attendant lifted it, giving it a once over. “Captain Black. Spectrum. Senior officer…”. He handed it back whilst with his left hand he reached under the counter. “Thank you, sir.”
Behind Black, the garage’s three pumps lifted into the air with a whir of mechanisms that shortly revealed a Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle. Blue, it had a sleek profile complete with a short fin atop it. Black began to walk with Younger when the attendant said: “It must be hard driving backwards.”
“You get used to it.”
Inside the SPV, Black took a moment. The driver of a SPV did indeed face backwards, relying on a TV monitor to drive which he did using a control column not unlike periscope handles. He had to hurry; if he drove into London, he could use places there to his advantage. Or he could head somewhere else. A SPV would give him speed as well as armour and weapons.
“Hold tight, Earthman,” he told Younger whilst accelerating onto the main road.
***
A hypersonic jet from the World Army Air Force helped get Captain Brown to the United Kingdom in a rather quick time. All the way, he was updated on Black’s progress and so, by his own landing in the UK, Brown faced the reality that he was behind his old colleague by some time. The Angels had kept pace with Black.
“Captain Black is currently still driving aimlessly. Every time we get close to figuring his route, he turns back,” Destiny told Brown via radio.
Brown was requisitioning his own SPV as he heard this. “Okay Destiny, try to coerce him towards me. I’m currently at London Airport.” The man checking his pass made a comment that Brown did not hear, though he thanked him for his help. Climbing into the SPV, Brown made a quick check of his machine and drove off from London Airport, out past the miniature Fireflash model that sat atop the roundabout out past the Air Terrainean Terminal. Once clear of the airport, he made better time. Surely, even a compromised Black would have made a decision now instead of running around in endless circles. The Angels could always return to Cloudbase or a Spectrum field in the UK to refuel.
“We have destroyed a small bridge, Captain Brown. Captain Black is now heading northwest on a minor road towards Slough.”
Adjacent to Brown’s driving monitor, another screen lit up with a map of this part of London. A blue dot denoted Black’s SPV and a red one Brown’s. They were still some time apart from one another. Brown nodded to himself. “Try to divert him towards me, Destiny. It’s our only hope.”
“SIG, Captain Brown.”
Brown debated on what to do when he caught up with Black. Destroying the SPV was out of the question, with the World President inside. He had to get Black into the open and force him to an endgame. He realised he might have to kill his fellow captain.
Apparently, Indigo was an impostor and blew up. But was he? Would killing Black be…different? Is he an alien reproduction or still the man who helped recruit everyone, including me?
Black’s SPV changed course, he was now heading directly east for Brown. They would meet somewhere near the Greater London Hydroelectric Plant (South).
“Atta girl, Destiny,” smiled Brown. His mike cap fell to his lips. “Colonel White, I am about to engage Captain Black. I will try to get him into the open and secure President Younger.”
“Acknowledged, Captain. Good luck.”
The line went dead. Brown could only imagine the thoughts in White’s mind now. If Brown failed this might prove to be Spectrum’s end.
Brown gritted his teeth and drove on.
Captain Black’s SPV, South London
The Greater London area had two of these hydroelectric plants that managed the power for the entire city and did so in affordable ways for its citizens. A city of over ten million people now, London needed all the help it could get.
Black had an inkling of who was in the SPV that appeared on his monitor driving right towards him. It would either be Blue or Brown. Both men were dedicated officers, as indeed all Spectrum’s officers were. They both had that special kind of dedication that stood out in Black’s pre-Mysteronised mind.
He glanced at Younger who had been rigid with fear since they had seen the small road bridge destroyed by the Angels, forcing their relocation down towards Croydon. The repeated use of the word ‘Earthman’ had seemingly convinced the president that his life definitely was imperilled and that fighting back was not quite in his best interests. The other SPV had briefly flickered life into the hope he would be rescued. Briefly, as he quickly realised that it was not as straightforward as that.
“Captain Black, this is Captain Brown. Pull over to the side of the road. Release the World President immediately.”
Black ignored the message and tried to turn, yet the road did not allow a smooth manoeuvre. Instead, he cut across the highway crashing into the gates of the hydroelectric plant, and a road that ran between the six dome-shaped structures that made up the machinery of the hydroelectric plant itself. It was a largely self-mechanised plant, so there were no signs of people about. All the same, Black knew that Brown, just as he raced in after him, would send a message via Cloudbase to get the area emptied of any personnel inside.
Black narrowed his eyes, searching all the while for somewhere to get out and face Brown as he knew he must now.
Captain Brown: real name Steve Blackburn, born Walla Walla in Australia, September 7, 2033. World Aeronautical test pilot before joining Spectrum. Married. Joined Spectrum. Joined Spectrum…recruited by Captain Black.
Captain Black.
“Captain Black!” Younger’s voice sounded. The Mysteron agent mentally cursed as his monitor showed the side of a sixteen-wheel lorry appear across his path. He went to swerve, the SPV swung into a tight left turn before crashing against the lorry. It toppled the lorry’s trailer whilst remaining upright itself. Black opened his door grabbing Younger by the arm as he did so. Brown’s SPV had stopped just by the last row of buildings. Where they were now, the two captains were at the northern edge of the plant which had a high wall similar to a dam’s front. Black pushed Younger ahead of him, moving fast.
Brown slid out of the SPV, still in his chair. He debated for a moment; running after Black was an idea and yet it did not click. Indeed, Black and Younger were already in a service lift that was ascending the wall. Brown’s cap mike fell into place:
“Cloudbase, Captain Black is taking the president up onto the protection wall of the hydroelectric plant. I’m going after him.”
“The World President must be saved, Brown. Black…you do what you have to with him.”
“SIG, Colonel.”
Brown unbuckled his seat harness; swiftly, he pulled out a jetpack from a compartment inside the SPV. The helmet he used though was blue –so clearly this would have been a vehicle requisitioned by his American colleague, Captain Blue. Ruefully smiling, Brown put on the jet pack and began to ascend alongside the wall of the plant. All Spectrum officers were trained to the nth degree in everything. They were meant to be the best of the best and so, amongst many things, they were trained in the use of these jetpacks. Even so, Brown found it a little tricky to begin with. He weaved up the side of the wall following the traitor Black. The man who had done the majority of the training, the recruiting for Spectrum. The man who had grown tired with Brown’s Australian humour during that training and once remarked that Brown would be better suited to stand up comedy than a captain if he kept his wisecracks up.
After what seemed an age, Brown reached the lip of the wall. Atop the wall, along its entire length – and indeed its circumference, for ultimately it ran the entire perimeter of the plant was a broad walkway – about ten feet wide. Every so often were small structures like bus shelters, to provide cover for personnel during adverse conditions when attempting maintenance or such forth. Black had taken cover in one of these structures, not far from the lift. Younger was behind him, visibly afraid and cowering like a frightened animal. Black emerged from the shelter, gun drawn with its black stripe running down the top.
“Surrender! Drop your weapon, it’s not too late!” Brown shouted as he hovered near the wall.
“Prepare to die, Earthman!” Black did not shout, however his voice appeared to come from all around Brown. Two shots rang out, missing Brown. He fired back whilst diving towards the wall and hovered. Sweat dribbled down his forehead, down his neck and down his back. Your move, Captain Brown, a voice said in his head. He thought about Scarlet –his best friend apparently lost now. Captain Indigo, a friend also, a good officer gone and now the man above him.
The World President came first. Brown propelled himself upwards, his right hand continued to point the gun. As he flew past the lip of the wall, he fired at Black. His shots missed, pinging off the concrete and causing Black to duck into cover. Just as Brown turned around to have another go, Black broke cover and shot just as rapidly. Two bullets hit the jetpack just by Brown’s head, fracturing the controls and causing glycol to start gushing into the air. Brown felt panic for a brief moment, until he wrestled the jetpack back over the wall and came down clumsily on the walkway. As he wrestled with his malfunctioning jetpack, Brown could see Black walking into vision. The pack was incredibly hot upon Brown’s back; it spluttered and hissed threateningly whilst he broke the lock on his harness. Sitting up at the waist, Brown pushed the pack away where it abruptly took off over the lip of the wall and exploded with a quick flash and bang that showered the walkway with shrapnel.
“Now you will pay for your incompetence,” Black said as he levelled up his gun from where he stood a foot away.
Brown lifted his gun in a flash; he emptied his shells into Captain Black. Black’s face instantly became a rictus of pain. The force of the shots sent him backwards to the wall where he hit with enough force to go flying over the back and out of sight. Brown stood, he ran over to the wall’s edge and peered down what was in effect the back of the plant. It took him a moment to pick up the black-clad figure lying prone at the foot of the wall, almost lost to the shadows.
“Cloudbase, Captain Black has been defeated. I have secured the World President. I require a helicopter to pick us up and to take Black’s body away.”
White’s voice sounded heavy as Brown walked over to where Younger still cowered. “Understood, Captain Brown. You did well. A helicopter is being dispatched from Spectrum London. A SPJ will be flown down to London to take you back, with Black’s body.”
Younger started when Brown touched his arm. “Sir, it’s okay, you’re safe now.”
“Am I? How do I not know you’re not a traitor too? Like Black and Indigo?”
“Sir, I’m the real deal,” Brown said.
Younger hesitantly stood, and followed Brown to the service lift.
“What about Black?”
“He’s quite dead, sir.” Brown faced the president wearily. “Again.”
Cloudbase
Doctor Fawn pinched the bridge of his nose. God, he was tired. All day he had been consumed by examining the bodies of Captains Indigo and Black. To all intents and purposes, they were the real men that had died in the car crash. Then he had been forensically working through what had survived of Indigo’s double. It was a grisly business, helped by Fawn’s nightshift counterpart Doctor Beige.
Then, just as they were finishing their work, Black’s double from London landed on Cloudbase.
The fall had left surprisingly few visible marks on the double’s body. Outwardly at least, except for the bullet holes that even then were quite small and neat. Inwardly, he was a mess: serious fractures, contusions, internal bleeding and the rest led Fawn to feel a little for the man who had kidnapped President Younger. Fawn had extra pressure, knowing that White wanted a report soon and that all of Cloudbase wanted to know the what, why and how of their senior captain turning rogue.
Fawn sat at a desk away from Black’s body. The computer on his desk was running diagnostics, processing Fawn’s work on the gradual road to White’s desk as a cohesive report. As Fawn yawned, he heard his computer beep. A separate monitor had come to life showing body readings. Fawn frowned. He ran his eyes over the monitor and realised that the readings were coming from the table that Black lay on. It was a regular examination bed, hooked up to the computer to relay information as it was now. The trouble was, it was for live patients.
“What the Hell?” Fawn whispered. The readout showed that Black was coming back from the dead. His internal organs were healing rapidly, blood was pumping round the veins, the wounds were disappearing as if they had never happened. Fawn all but shouted as he pushed away from his desk and half-ran to the examination table. Just as he did so, Black’s ashen face stirred, his dark eyes flashed open and he gasped. Had he not been a doctor, Fawn might have called to God about what was happening.
“Doctor?” Black gasped. “What’s happened?”
“Oh, my God!” Fawn dashed to his desk slapping a button. “Colonel White, this is Doctor Fawn. You must come to sickbay immediately!”
“What in blazes, Doctor? It is three in the morning…”
“Sir, I’m sorry but you really must come down now! Captain Black is alive!”
There was the sound of a rustling, then White’s voice again, a touch louder: “What? How can you be sure? He was dead when he came in, Doctor Fawn.”
Fawn a little exasperatingly said: “Sir, he’s alive, you must believe me. It sounds weird I know, sir. He just awakened and looks fine. Not a scratch!”
“Call security, Doctor, I’m on my way down."
The security guard arrived; on Fawn’s instructions, he stood by the other side of the bed, his eyes fixed on the confused Black, with his hand on the butt of his gun.
“Doctor, what’s going on?” Black asked him.
“I have no idea,” drawled Fawn. What a bloody mess! he thought. He came to his senses when White arrived and took up position just past the guard who in turn consciously made an effort to keep himself between the commander and Black. The colonel appeared dishevelled.
“Captain, unless I’m mistaken, you died. Twice.”
“Charles, I mean Colonel White, I’m…well, I’m here.” Black ran a hand through his hair, sheepishly. He felt the stubble on his chin and stared at the floor. “The last thing I remember is the car crash.”
White walked closer. “Conrad, this is incredible. It’s also damned irregular. You died in that car crash and were resurrected as a Mysteron agent. You…” he hesitated keeping himself in check. There was no point in telling Black everything until he knew what was really happening, and Black was definitely processed as a human agent again. For all White knew, the Mysterons still controlled his best agent.
He turned to Fawn. “Doctor, how did this happen?”
“I don’t know, Colonel.” Fawn rubbed his eyes. Damn, he was so tired. “It’s something I’ve never seen before. What confuses me is that we have two bodies in the morgue – those of Captains Indigo and Black. Neither has, er, come round, sir. Captain Black here is a perfect copy of, er, himself.”
White walked around the guard to Fawn’s side, remaining away from the bed all the while. The guard kept his hand on his gun. “Steady, Doctor, I’m sure you’re doing and have done your best today. You’ll get some rest soon but we must find out what is going on. Conduct your tests to find out just what is going on!”
Fawn nodded at White. “Yes, sir.”
White gave Black a glance then walked out. The guard remained.
***
It took a few days for the overworked, tired Doctor Fawn to make his findings conclusive. With the help of his nightshift counterpart, Doctor Beige, and his entire nursing staff, he was able to work relentlessly towards a report on just what had happened in London and New York.
Fawn recorded an audio transcript of the report to go with the written version and sent both to Colonel White. The latter decided to read the report in his personal quarters. Ordinarily, he would sit at his desk in the Control Room but opted not to this time. He needed to process this alone.
The report went into great detail as to how both Black and Indigo were first killed and then resurrected (“…by powers that we have no comprehension of, and possibly from Mars itself, these men were resurrected as carbon copies of the original. Right down to the last fabric of DNA, these men were copied.”). Why the bodies were kept in spite of the replicas was a mystery (“I can find no reason, as yet, why the Mysterons would keep the original bodies around if they have the replicas. It is possible that at some time, the original bodies would have been done away with in some shape or form.”). Fawn wrote at length about the suicide bomb that Indigo had become, stating more or less that the body itself had somehow become a bomb and that the action was either initiated by the Indigo double himself or even the Mysterons, from Mars.
Finally was the revelation that made White’s eyebrows lift sharply.
In conclusion: it would appear that his fall from the hydroelectric plant broke the Mysteron influence on Captain Black. A combination of the shock of impact and the trauma therein, whatever the case, Captain Black was freed of the Mysterons. When I examined the remains of the Indigo double, I found what I assumed to be alien influence. Without another Mysteron double to examine closely, I cannot say for sure, but there was some sort of influence on the remains of Captain Indigo. A foreign DNA, if you will, as if a fingerprint of the Mysterons. There was none of this on Captain Black. Indeed, to my findings, I can categorically state that not only is he free of the Mysterons and the man we knew before all this, he is also indestructible.
White re-read the last line. As if Fawn had expected him to be shocked he had continued:
Yes, Colonel White: I said indestructible. No matter what happens to this man, he will not die. We found this out almost by accident. Testing his DNA for Mysteron control, we found that our probing resulted in the DNA coming together and repairing itself. In doing a reflex test, by hitting Captain Black on the knee with one of my instruments, I found that the bruise –however minor – disappeared after a few minutes. The trauma suffered by Captain Black in falling has entirely disappeared. Thus, I conclude, Captain Black is indestructible.
White locked the report away and proceeded down to sickbay. Just off the main sickbay was the isolation ward. Two guards stood before a door. White briefly spoke to Fawn to make sure of the findings and then went to the ward’s door.
“Step aside, gentlemen, please.”
They cautiously parted like the Red Sea. White grasped the handle of the door, leaning into it as he pushed. Black was sat against the wall of the ward’s bed which was closer to the floor than regular sick-beds. The isolation ward sometimes, as now, doubled as solitary confinement for prisoners.
Black saw White enter but did not stand. “You’ve come to give the condemned prisoner his last meal?”
“Not quite,” White closed the door. “You are a remarkable man.”
“Oh, how so?”
“Not many people can be killed, resurrected, killed again and become indestructible.”
Black eyed White as if he had grown a third eye. “Are you being serious? What are you talking about, indestructible?”
White summarised Fawn’s report to an increasingly incredulous Black. Clad in his black sickbay clothes, Black rose from the bed and walked past White to the door then back to the bed, shaking his head as he listened.
When White was done, Black spoke. “Even if all of that is true, that Fawn’s right, where does that leave me in the organisation? Would you trust me?”
White studied his friend before him. “Look at me, Conrad.” The dark eyes lifted to White. There was no sign of hatred in those eyes; there was the compassion he knew Conrad Turner had. “There will be a period where you won’t be trusted or you’ll be viewed with suspicion. Until then, I ask you to be patient. We’re facing a new foe and I’ll need you there, leading the fight.”
“How can I be a good agent for Spectrum if I’m distrusted?”
“We both know that will come in time, sooner or later, we’ll see. The Mysterons are a foe we don’t understand yet and I need all my agents to face that threat.” White turned to go, he opened the door to see Fawn standing there. “Doctor, you may release Captain Black from isolation. On my personal authorisation.”
“Yes, sir.”
White glanced back at Black. “You live to die another day, Captain Black.”
“Yes, sir,” Black nodded. “I’ll do my best to help.”
“I know that you will,” White walked past Fawn who beckoned for Black to leave.
“How do you feel, Captain?”
“I have no idea. I really wish I knew what was going on,” Black said to himself.
“You and me both,” Fawn sighed.
**
“Members of Spectrum, this is Colonel White speaking to you from the Control Room here at Cloudbase. The events within the past week have shaken not just Spectrum, but the world itself. We face a new enemy, one that can reconstruct people and objects with a power no one has ever seen before. The Mysterons, it seems, seek to wage a war of nerves against us and the people of Earth at large. I believe we will triumph. The road will be long, and it will be hard but we will win.
“Members of Spectrum, Captain Black has become indestructible through the events at the Greater London Hydroelectric Plant. He is one of us, he is still the man we all know and admire. He will be at the forefront of our fight against the Mysterons.
“Angel One is to launch immediately on patrol, Captain Blue is organising a refresher training session at the firing range and Doctor Fawn will be conducting medicals this week to make sure we are all quite fit for the war ahead. Colonel White, out.”
STARRING…CAPTAIN BLACK
With CAPTAIN BROWN….
…COLONEL WHITE…DESTINY ANGEL…RHAPSODY, MELODY, SYMPHONY and HARMONY ANGELS…
Captain Black is indestructible, remember this, do not attempt to imitate him.
OTHER STORIES BY MATT CROWTHER
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