Captain Scarlet disregarded the
speed limit as he drove the Spectrum Saloon Car flat out along what seemed an endless
motorway — towards a meeting with destiny.
The
monotony was broken by the epaulettes on his uniform flashing and his cap mike
swinging down in front of his mouth.
‘Any
new developments?’ questioned Colonel White, seated at his control desk far above
in Cloudbase, his voice losing little of its authority over Scarlet’s cap
radio.
‘No,
sir,’ responded Scarlet. ‘We are proceeding as planned to rendezvous with the
World President and escort him to Spectrum Maximum Security Building.’
‘Captain
Brown?’ called White.
The
cap mike of Scarlet’s companion swung down. ‘Yes, sir?’
‘I’m
putting you in charge of this operation.’
‘Yes,
sir!’ said Brown, a look of pleasure on his face.
‘Captain
Scarlet,’ added Colonel White, ‘after the rendezvous has been effected return
here to Cloudbase.’
‘S.1.G.’
Scarlet
turned to Brown as soon as their commander-in-chief had signed off.
‘Well, you first big
assignment. I wish you luck.’
Thanks,’
said Brown. ‘Do you think the President’s life really is in danger?’
‘Well,
judging by what happened on the Martian expedition I’d say the Mysterons have
the capability of carrying out their threat,’ answered Scarlet thoughtfully.
‘If
only we were fighting something we understood,’ said Brown. ‘Something
tangible, something in three dimensions...
Suddenly
the Saloon Car’s nearside front tyre punctured in a violent release of air and
Scarlet lost control. The car swerved and crashed through the barrier
surmounting the top of the motorway embankment and plunged to the ground fifty
feet below.
It
burst into flame.
Scarlet
and Brown had been thrown from the car on impact and now lay unmoving in pools
of their own blood. Brown was already dead, his eyes open and unseeing, but Scarlet
clung tenaciously to life as the flames closed in on him and engulfed his
mortally injured body. He knew he was going to die, and yet would not give into
the inevitable.
Scarlet
was determined to survive — to crawl away from the flames. The pain became
unbearable, and then he felt a wave of euphoria flood over him.
He
could see a bright light before him and darkness all around. For a moment he
wondered where he was —what had happened?
Then
it struck him — was this death? He couldn’t help laughing to himself.
This
must be death... Or the last few
seconds of his life spent in the refuge of madness to escape the pain.
He
had always thought that when you died that was it.
Live
life to the full because you only get one shot at it. Well, maybe he’d been
wrong after all... Scarlet seemed to drift towards the light — for a second it
seemed like two brilliant green circles and then it became one blinding white
light again.
He
realised he was uninjured. The horrible burns and torn flesh had miraculously
healed.
Scarlet
passed through the light and found himself in a white room. He saw Captain
Brown standing nearby with a strange blank look on his face - but with not a
rip or tear in his uniform from the car accident.
The
room was silent - as silent as the grave.
Scarlet
could not accept this. Soon he must feel the pain of the flames and this dream
would end for good.
‘I
won’t stay here!’ he shouted, trying to force himself back to reality. ‘1 want
to live. I won’t let it end like this!’
Anger
welled up inside him.
If
he was dead he would prove that he still had some… independence - some guts. Scarlet walked towards Captain Brown
and tried to grip his colleague’s shoulders, but his hands passed right through
him.
Then
Captain Black appeared and began to walk towards him.
The
two men stood facing one another.
‘Where
am I?’ asked Scarlet.
‘You
are dead,’ answered Black solemnly.
The
words struck Scarlet like a physical blow.
‘No
- I won’t accept it!’ roared Scarlet, raising his fists towards Black.
Captain
Black suddenly hit Scarlet with a blow to the chest - and it hurt him.
Scarlet
tried to defend himself but Black was unstoppable and had soon pummelled him to
the ground.
Scarlet
rose to his feet again, angrier than he had been in a long time.
‘You
are dead,’ repeated Black, easily
avoiding Scarlet’s punches. ‘But I think you are still strong enough for me to
resurrect you’.
To
Scarlet these words were like thunder in his mind and he fell almost senseless
to the ground again.
The
white room disappeared — and so did Captain Brown. Scarlet and Black were alone
now in a colourless void.
‘I
don’t understand any of this,’ gasped Scarlet. ‘I must be going insane.’
‘Your
physical body is dead,’ explained Black, ‘but your mind — or your soul; call it
what you will —was captured by the Mysterons and transferred here when they
engineered your fatal car crash.’
‘Where
is here?’
‘We
are in - cyberhell.’
‘Cyberhell? ‘
Exclaimed Scarlet.
‘Our
minds have been somehow trapped within the Mysterons’ computers on Mars. You have
got to stay angry, Paul — otherwise you begin to lose your sense of identity,
like Brown.
When
it first happened to me l could feel my mind just slipping away until I focused
on fighting the Mysterons and regaining control of my body. They are using it
as a conduit for their powers on Earth - I’ve become a murderous puppet in
their hands and I’ll stay that way unless Spectrum can find some way to defeat
them.’
‘How
do you know all this?’ queried Scarlet sceptically.
‘One
thing the Mysterons overlooked is that because my body is still alive I’m aware
of every instruction they give it — of every move they make on Earth. I’ve also
gained enough knowledge to send you back.’
‘God
knows I want to live and fight these murderous Martian bastards,’ cried
Scarlet, ‘but I was badly injured and burnt in the car crash—’
‘The
Mysterons have created an indestructible duplicate of you to help carry out
their threat to kill President Younger,’ explained Captain Black. ‘When the
time is right I’m going to transmit your mind into that body. You will become
Spectrum’s greatest weapon in fighting the Mysterons - and you must
defeat them otherwise they will eventually destroy all life on Earth.
Stay
angry, Paul. Stay very angry’.
Scarlet
concentrated on hating the Mysterons. They had to be stopped - they had to be
destroyed...
It
could have been days or it could have been only minutes before Black spoke
again - time was meaningless in this featureless cyberspace.
‘They
Mysterons have failed in their threat to kill the World President and they have
abandoned the duplicate of you as I hoped they would. Get ready to be returned
to the real world,’ said Black soberly. ‘You may not remember any of this when
you leave here’.
‘What
about you?’ asked Scarlet.
‘I
must stay — I’ve got nowhere to go with my body under Mysteron control.
Look
upon it as penance — I started this damn war of nerves.
Goodbye,
Captain Scarlet. And good luck.’
Scarlet
did not know what to say as Black mentally operated the Mysteron beam that
would carry his consciousness through hyperspace back to Earth with pin-point
accuracy.
Would
the Mysterons detect Black’s actions in time to stop him? Maybe they knew what
he was doing all along and this was part of some insane cosmic game to test
Mankind. Maybe none of this was happening — and yet it seemed so real.
So
real. So real...
A
wave of euphoria flooded over Scarlet.
He
could see a bright light before him and darkness all around.
Scarlet
seemed to drift towards the light - for a second it seemed like two brilliant
green circles and then it became one blinding white light again.
Suddenly
he was falling from a great height - and there were bullet wounds in his chest.
He
screwed up his face in agony as he saw the ground getting nearer and nearer...
Then
blackout.
When
Scarlet awoke hours later in the Medical Centre on Cloudbase all he could remember after the car crash were the flames
engulfing his body — and then darkness...
Scarlet
was alive again and miraculously in a body that had somehow been created by the
Mysterons in his own image — a body with amazing regenerative powers now under his control.
Scarlet
had a second chance at life and he was determined to make a difference this
time — he would become a key player in this insane interplanetary war.
He
cursed Black for his role in starting these events.
Second Chance originally appeared in the Captain Scarlet storyzine
‘Shock Wave’, issue 3 published by Fanderson back in the summer of 1996 (and which was the
last issue).
Any comments? Send an E-MAIL to the SPECTRUM
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THIS TEXT AND OTHERS BY KEITH ANSELL CAN BE FOUND ON THE UNITY CITY WEBSITE