West Pacific Supers: Rising Tide (32 page)

7:01 p.m.,
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

Avalon One

Pacific
Ocean

“Yes,
Ian, of course. We’ll begin immediately,” said Dr. Brandeis into the satellite
phone. Apparently, West Pacific Supers were after Ian and he had called to
order the immediate initiation of the Plan.

“Tell him to lay low
and try to get to Mexico,” called Erica who was sitting in a nearby chair
cleaning her two pistols.

“Ah, Ian, Erica says
lay low and try to get to Mexico,” said Dr. Brandeis. “No, don’t worry, we’re
all set to make the attempt, you just focus on yourself…well, we have a lot of
work to do so it might take a couple hours…yes, I’ll email you any videos
afterwards…yes, we’ll do that…alright, Ian, I have to go now…no, we’re going to
do it…okay, bye, Ian.”

“Ian does have a
tendency to ramble,” said Erica with a bored yawn as Dr. Brandeis hung up the
phone.

“Yeah…Jorge and Kill
O’Watts
are probably in custody or dead; it was Blue
Star and Cosmic Kid,” said Dr. Brandeis. He should have guessed it would be
Cosmic Kid, who was apparently out to ruin his life. Pam wasn’t talking to him
anymore. In fact, she had filed for divorce after she saw his picture in the
West Pacific Times
with
Candy, Patrick, and Emily on the cruise ship. She hadn’t believed his
protestations that Candy was really Cosmic Kid’s older sister. In a moment of
true spite she had even peeled the bumper sticker off her car – the one he had
given her back when he was in graduate school that read
Love a Geologist and Feel the Earth
Shake
. Needless to say, the cruise hadn’t been a very relaxing
vacation. Now here he was at the moment of truth.

Avalon One
, actually Platform
DS-04X, was a massive semi-submersible deep sea platform that had been used by
Dynamic Solutions for oil exploration, research related to aquatic engineering
projects, and also as a test bed for new technologies. It had four towers, one
at each corner of the square facility, which extended under water into two
hulls which could be raised or lowered by ballast. Between the towers were four
stories worth of research and operational facilities. The last three years of
his life had all been focused on the Avalon Project. This had become his home
away from home.

“Trouble?” asked
Gregory, entering the room, which was attached to the bridge.

“Yes, Ian is on the
run and West Pacific Supers probably know about the Plan,” said Dr. Brandeis
glumly. “Ian wants us to initiate the project.”

“We’re not ready. We
need more time!” said Gregory.

“No more time,” said
Dr. Brandeis.

“So are we going to
try?” asked Gregory.

“That’s the
question,” said Erica.

“I guess we could
try to escape or surrender,” suggested Dr. Brandeis.

“We might be able to
get away,” said Gregory. “Order everyone to defend the platform and we all slip
away; the odds aren’t good but it’s better odds than the Project actually
working.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”
Dr. Brandeis was suddenly tired. He just wanted it all over one way or the
other.

“Noah, I’m letting
you make the call, because with Ian out of the way this is now your plan,” said
Erica. “Personally, I think we should try it.”

“Erica, the odds
aren’t good,” said Dr. Brandeis.

“So what?” laughed
Erica. “No matter what, we’re going to prison, but this is your chance to make
geological history. I personally would love to tangle with West Pacific Supers
and whoever else comes to get us. Let’s end this job with a bang.”

“You have a death
wish,” said Gregory.

“Maybe, but aren’t
we all curious if this hair-brained plan financed by Ian’s billions is actually
going to work?” asked Erica.

“It won’t,” said
Gregory flatly. “We need at least another three months.”

“It might work,”
argued Dr. Brandeis. Part of him wanted to agree with Gregory and run, but
another part of him, the part that was getting louder, thought that this had to
end with a bang. After all, Erica was right: this would probably be his only
chance to try out the Plan, prove all those skeptics over the years wrong, even
Pam - to make geological history.

“We don’t have
enough charges on the seabed, we only have 12 minutes of power for the QHRA,
and the odds of any success are less than one percent,” said Gregory.

“Yeah, but there are
some odds for success, right?” asked Erica. “Boys, either we shit or get off
the can, and if we’re going down then we might as well go out on a high note.”

Dr. Brandeis was
quiet as he thought. No matter what, in a few hours it would be over. He was
going to prison. Either he went to prison a winner or a loser. With that
thought the decision was easy. “We’re going to do it,” he announced excitedly.
“We commence Project Avalon in two hours!”

“Good decision,
Noah, I’ll get the troops in order to deal with West Pacific Supers and buy us
more time,” said Erica. “I’ll leave the technical mumbo jumbo to you two.”

With that, Erica got
up and left the room with a slight spring in her step. It suddenly occurred to
Dr. Brandeis that Erica would probably have killed him and Gregory if they had
decided to flee. Erica did have a death wish and she would let nothing stand
between her and her date with destiny. “Alright, Gregory, we have probably less
than 90 minutes to get ready for a real sloppy attempt. I need you on the
airship making sure the QHRA will be ready.”

“Okay,” said Gregory
reluctantly. “This is not going to end well.”

“Agreed,” said Dr.
Brandeis. “But at least it’s going to end.”

7:34 p.m.,
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

Operations,
WPS Headquarters

West
Pacific, CA

“Camille,
you’re acting team leader,” said Dr. Sterling as Camille entered Ops. “Take the
team out to the platform and secure the area before the Coast Guard arrives.
Don’t hold back; collateral damage is fine.”

“Annie, I don’t
think this is a good idea,” said Camille nervously. She was touched by Dr.
Sterling’s support, but her track record as a team leader was disastrous. After
the Infinity Team dropped her, she started her own charter team. She led her
team to financial ruin and botched heroics.

“Blue Star is
heading for the hospital, Seawolf is on Injured Reserve, and that means you’re
in charge.”

“What about Cosmic
Kid or Starfish?” Camille honestly thought Cosmic Kid could do it, but the
moment she said Starfish she regretted it. She would rather have Seawolf in
command than Starfish.

“Cosmic Kid is too
inexperienced and Starfish is too sloppy,” said Dr. Sterling. “Camille, you’re
in charge and I have complete confidence in you.”

“Thanks, Annie,
but…I’m not a good leader.”

“This isn’t open for
debate! You are acting team leader and you will be in charge.”

“Fine, but if
everyone dies it’s your fault,” Camille snapped. She was the ‘go to’ super, not
the one who decided who was the ‘go to’ super. Even after all these months she
really didn’t know her teammates that well, which could end up costing people
their lives.

“Is the pity party
over?” asked Dr. Sterling.

“Yeah, so who do we
have for the mission?”

“You, Starfish,
White Knight, Cosmic Kid, and Keystone.”

“Keystone? He’s back
on the team?” asked Camille who was just getting more nervous; she had never
even met Keystone. She didn’t know how he would respond to her being in
command, but she suspected it wouldn’t be good.

“Yes, he’s
incredibly dense and strong - if he falls in the water he’s probably dead. So
make sure he stays dry.”

“Great, White Knight
probably sinks like a rock too,” muttered Camille.

“Yes, he does,
though he’s outfitted with a jet pack this evening for limited bursts. You’ll
need to keep him dry as well,” said Dr. Sterling. Camille felt nauseous as she
imagined both Keystone and White Knight sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

“So how is Keystone
in the field?” asked Camille.

“He’s an arrogant
and offensive bastard, possibly worse than Starfish. However, like Starfish,
he’s a superior brawler and one of the best in the Conference. The two of them
will make your life difficult, but they’ll follow orders if you command
decisively.”

“Annie, I don’t know
about this.”

“Camille, the
decision is made,” said Dr. Sterling with annoyance.

“I know, but…never
mind, I’ll do it.” Camille decided she just needed to suck it up.

“White Knight is
very solid, but if you need help look to Cosmic Kid,” said Dr. Sterling. “He’s
the quickest on his feet in a crisis. Starfish is brilliant, but sloppy and
overconfident.”

“Okay, I understand,
so what’s the plan?” asked Camille who hoped Dr. Sterling had a plan.

“The team takes a
helicopter out to the
Avalon
One
while you fly escort. You’ll approach from the west, which
means you’ll take a wide circle around the platform, hopefully this with some
stealth will allow you to close and disembark. Then you secure the platform.
The Coast Guard will be sending support and I’ve also contacted the Air Force
and they’re putting forces on standby, including two F-22s in case we need to
take something out.”

Camille felt like
throwing up, but just nodded. “Okay, well…I’ll go round up the team and head to
the helicopter.”

“Good luck,” said
Dr. Sterling as she turned back to the bank of computer screens she was
monitoring.

Camille left Ops and
headed for the observation deck on the roof where the team would be gathering
for deployment. She focused on her breathing and tried a walking relaxation
technique that had been part of the training regime at the Infinity Team to
calm supers as they approached a crisis. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working; then
again, it had never worked for her before so no real surprise it wasn’t working
now.

She entered the
observation deck and saw her team, minus Cosmic Kid who was still en route, and
some staff. It was the first time she had seen Keystone, who looked like a man
with crumpled red bricks for skin. Add in the blue and white swirls of his
costume and he looked like an abstract American flag.

“Well, the Prodigal
Daughter has arrived,” said Starfish as she walked up. “Dr. Sterling has
informed us that you will be our team leader for the day, which I must say
fills me with confidence.”

“Thanks,” said
Camille. She figured he was being sarcastic, but she wasn’t sure. She hated
being in command.

“So what’s the
plan?” asked White Knight.

“When Cosmic Kid
arrives we board up and head for the platform, which we will secure for the
Coast Guard.”

“What’s the
in-flight movie going to be?” asked Keystone. “I have some great videos on my
laptop, real educational stuff.”

“Ah…no movies,” said
Camille.

“Damn, well then
you’ll just have to sit where I can see you and I’ll use my imagination,” said
Keystone.

“I don’t think
that’s appropriate,” said White Knight.

“I agree - she could
just take off her costume and I could save my imagination for other things like
fighting the bad guys.”

Camille narrowed her
eyes and walked right up to Keystone. “Listen dumbass, one more crack like that
and I’m going to give you a fucking demerit.”

“A demerit? How many
do I need before I get a detention?” laughed Keystone.

“That’s demerit #1.”
Camille grabbed Keystone and hurled him through the windows out onto the roof
and tarmac. She walked to the broken window frame, crunching on the broken
glass, and yelled out at Keystone. “Your second demerit will get you dumped
into the Pacific Ocean with a minivan wrapped around your marbled ass for a
life preserver. Do I make myself clear?”

Keystone got off the
ground and laughed. “Absolutely, I like you, Camille, you can manhandle me
anytime.
Pearcy
, did you get all that on film?”

A thin 20-something
with a camcorder nodded and angled the camera to get both Camille and Keystone
in the frame. Camille walked up to
Pearcy
. “Who the
hell are you?”

“I’m…I’m
Pearcy
, I’m here to record Keystone’s performance during
the mission,” said the man with fear in his voice.

“To hell you are,”
said Camille.

“Hey, it’s my deal
to come back to the team and Gabrielle signed off on it,” said Keystone,
walking back through the broken window.

“Somehow I doubt
that,” said White Knight.

“I can be quite
persuasive, but either I get my cameraman or I’m out of here,” said Keystone.

Camille was quiet as
she considered the ultimatum. She’d rather not deal with him and an extra
civilian would certainly get in the way, but on the other hand, she’d be crazy
to bench one of their heaviest hitters just for being a jerk and she could see
Gabrielle having approved this. A lot of teams had their own camera crews; it
helped give the team better control of its media image. Still maybe there was
another tack.

“
Pearcy
,
you’ve signed waivers right?” asked Camille.

“Uh, yeah, I did,”
said
Pearcy
.

“
Matteo
has covered all that,” said Keystone. “He’s completely vetted.”

“Good, good, so how much
are you getting paid,
Pearcy
?” asked Camille with a
sweet smile. “Because you’re probably going to die or end up a mangled mess and
I sure as hell don’t intend on saving you.”

“Uh, I’m getting $50
an hour,” said
Pearcy
.

“So a couple hundred
bucks is the price of your life, sad, but it’s your life,” said Camille. “Have
one of the Ops staff suit you up with a Kevlar vest and a life jacket. We’re
going to be hundreds of miles out to sea and surrounded by gunmen and
supervillains. Good luck surviving.”

“Uh, maybe, I
shouldn’t get in the way, I mean you all have a lot going on,” said
Pearcy
, moving to collect his bags.

“Probably a
reasonable idea,” said Camille.

“Hey, no way! I need
you,
Pearcy
,” said Keystone, running after
Pearcy
as he left the Observation Deck.

“I bet all of
Pearcy’s
girlfriends say that,” said Starfish as Keystone
left.

“Starfish, I can
give you a demerit as well,” said Camille, who nearly laughed at Starfish’s
quip, but figured as team leader she had to be more stoic.

“Sorry I’m late,” said
Cosmic Kid coming into the observation deck. “I just saw Keystone chasing some
superazzi. Is he back on the team?”

“Yes. How’s Blue
Star?” asked White Knight before Camille could ask the same question.

“He took a beating,
but he was in stable condition by the time we got to the hospital. The
paramedics knew their business as did the doctors. He’s going to pull through
and he heals quick, but he’ll be on Injured Reserve for probably a month.”

Camille realized
that meant she was going to be stuck as team leader for a month - assuming she
survived this mission and didn’t totally screw it up.

“What about Ian
Roache
?” she asked.

“On the run, but
every law enforcement agency in the nation is now looking for him,” said Cosmic
Kid. “We did take down two mutants, a psychic and an electricity manipulator.”

“This mission is
going to be difficult,” said White Knight more to himself than anyone else.

“Which is why we
need to stay focused and eliminate distractions,” said Camille.

“Don’t worry
everyone,
Pearcy
has agreed to come along,” said
Keystone leading a jubilant
Pearcy
back into the
room.

“
Pearcy
,
do you have a death wish?” asked Camille.

“For $12,000 I do,”
said
Pearcy
smiling.

“What I make in 12
hours,” muttered Cosmic Kid shaking his head. “Who’s this
Pearcy
guy?”

“He’s providing the
in-flight entertainment,” said Starfish. “First lesson for the new leader -
everyone has their price. One’s life is only worth one’s self-respect.”

“Very profound,
Starfish, write a self-help book, but right now let’s load up and move out,”
said Camille. She looked at
Pearcy
and wondered if
she gave Jules $12,000 would he be happier. Like Starfish said, everyone had a
price. For fools, the price could be paid in money; for everyone else it was a
lot more complicated.

The team
was using Pacific One, a VH-99 Templar IV, a design that had been commissioned
two decades ago for the Paragons. It cost a few billion to develop the
helicopter, but it proved a popular design for corporations and superhero
teams. It had a maximum speed of 192 mph, could withstand low-caliber weapons,
and had a sophisticated avionics suite. It was also pretty comfortable, but it
was not intended for assaults against heavily defended off-shore facilities. It
was a very expensive piece of equipment and it was Camille’s job to get it
safely to the
dropsite
. She looked back at the rest
of the team and realized that it was also her job to get them all safely back
from this mission. It was almost too much responsibility; she freaked out when
Meghan got a fever.

White Knight was
unreadable, as usual, but it was clear he was preoccupied. If he fell into the
ocean, he would probably sink to his death. Dr. Sterling had provided an
emergency flotation device that might help, but water was the big weakness of
most power armor. No doubt behind the helmet, White Knight was scared. Keystone
was in a similar bind with his incredibly dense body, but he was too busy
hamming it up for
Pearcy
and his video camera.
Pearcy
had begun the flight excited but as they got closer
to the target, it looked like the $12,000 was sounding less and less appealing.

Starfish looked
bored, but he was their only true water super on this mission. With his
abilities and incredible regeneration powers he was probably the only member of
the team guaranteed to survive. Finally, there was Cosmic Kid who was just
coming out of the bathroom. He was loaded up with gear, but he wasn’t overly
dependent on it like some supers she’d met who doubted their own abilities and
used hardware as a crutch. Cosmic Kid knew his powers backwards and forwards.
This was a good team, one of the best she’d been on during her career.