Ultimate S.H.A.D.E. #5: School's Out pt.1

[jackalope]

Ultimate S.H.A.D.E. #5
School's Out pt.1

Lyta steps out into the surprisingly quiet noise of huge twin rotor blades gaining speed. The concrete is wet under her shoes. The sight of the huge black helicopter, blinking blue and green spotlights shining out, landing in the middle of the street outside her dorm building, in the middle of the night, drives home the strangeness of the few hours preceding. Father Time walks past her, towards the chopper, holding his turban on tight with one hand, fighting against the strong winds creating by the spinning blades. He turns and signals her to follow. She pulls her jacket tightly around her and pushes forwards, her long platinum hair whipping up behind her.

She steps up onto a bar under the side door and feels her shoe slip under her. She falls back until a huge blue hand grabs her flailing arm. It gently pulls her into the dark interior. Inside, her eyes start to adjust. Her eyes widen as she starts to make out the shape of the huge blue-hued man in front of her. Behind her Father Time steps into the helicopter.

“Sorry, I should have warned you they were slippery,” he says as he pulls out a pipe, “I see you've met Frankenstein. Yes 'he lives' and all of that.” Lyta consciously makes the effort to shut her mouth. The giant stands, regarding her with a solemn expression, as if judging her character and unable to decipher her. Father Time pats her shoulder. “Everyone this is Lyta, she will be joining us for our next mission.”

She feels the floor beneath her move and she dives towards the nearest seat. Sitting, a similarly blue-hued hand, although much smaller and feminine, appears in front of her. She looks up to see a quite beautiful woman, with a shock of black hair standing on her head, offering her hand to shake. Lyta slowly grasps her hand. The lady smiles. “I'm the Bride.” Lyta nodded, as if this made sense. Her eyes float around at the others, the Indian man Father Time, a copper coloured Robot, the large stitch-scarred Frankenstein, a middle aged white man with a long face and glasses, and the enigmatic 'Bride' beside her. She shuts her mouth again.

Frankenstein shuts the door to the side of the helicopter, as they gain speed. Father Time sits and pulls a belt across his lap. Robotman turns to him. “Are you sure she isn't too young?”

Father Time, packing tobacco into his pipe, shakes his head. “Nonsense. She has more potential than anyone.” He leans forward, speaking louder so everyone can hear him. “Beside me here, this is Robert, codename Robotman, beside him is Kirk, codename Manbat, and of course there is Frankenstein and the Bride.” Lyta nods and Time continues, “Now Lyta is a very special person, who will become a very important member of the team. Her codename will be Medusa.”

“Really?” the Bride asked smiling.

Robotman leans forward. His eyes adjust, whining quietly as they scan her. “..No. Myrra was her...” He looks at Time, who nods.

“Grandmother.”

Robotman leans back, his metal head making a clank sound on the wall behind him.

Father Time continues. “Now what we are heading to, what are the details?”

Bride presses a button behind her. A table folds out of the floor between them. A holographic map appears on it, showing a map of America, which zooms into Utah, and then zooms in again. “Fountains End, population just under a thousand. Yesterday afternoon reports came in that something was wrong at the local elementary.” Bride moves her hand and the hologram switches to a 3 dimensional image of the elementary. “S.H.A.D.E. was quick to respond and we think we've got the situation contained, there is little evidence that whatever has happened has affected anyone except the students at the school.”

Father Time nods. “So what are we thinking?” He looks at Bride, then at Robotman.

Bride purses her lips. “I think I'm going to go with ancient curse.”

Robotman shakes his head. “No way, it’s hardly ever an ancient curse. I'm going with mind controlling alien.”

“...hardly ever? How often does this sort of thing happen?” Lyta finally spoke, overcome by strangeness of the situation.

“Way more often than you think,” Father Time says casually, “I'm going to side with Bride on this one, ancient curse, probably some reawakened necromancer or something. Kirk?”

Kirk looks at them all, with concerned eyebrows. “Uh...” He scratches his chin. “...Super Intelligent Conscious virus?”

“Nice,” Father Time says as he rubs his hands together. “Usual bet? Frankenstein, are you in?” Frankenstein's face is neutral, but from his body language he is obviously not impressed. “Ok fine, and if it's something different Lyta wins, seeing she's the newest member.” Lyta smiles nervously.



Fountains End, Utah

As the helicopter sets down, Laura De Mille, dressed in her usual black suit, walks towards the side door as it opens. Frankenstein jumps down and strides into the grass field. Father Time steps down and looks to De Mille. “Is it ready?” She nods and holds up a black metal suitcase. The others follow out behind him, the last being Lyta, who Robotman silently helps down. Lyta can't help but feel like the metallic man is hoping she will recognise him.

Frankenstein breathes in the fresh pre-dawn air. In the darkness he can just make out the black jacketed S.H.A.D.E. agents standing around the field surrounding the school buildings. The school seems serene at this distance. He feels Bride walking up behind him.

Her voice is clear and focused, “What are you feeling?”

“Nothing.” He continues facing the elementary.

“And her?” The Bride looks back at Lyta, who Robert is protectively standing beside.

His breath is visible as it rushes out from his nose. “Young. Innocent. Hurting.” He glances briefly at Bride. “There is something inside her, something powerful. Not evil but...” He turns around and starts back to the others. “We should formulate our plan.”

The Bride follows.

Robotman points the lights out on the helicopter to Lyta. “They flash like that in order to confuse any people who see it at night. Along with the reduced noise, people generally can’t tell it's a helicopter that is hovering overhead.”

Lyta crinkles her nose in thought. “You mean, UFOs? You're the reason people see UFOs?”

Father Time appears beside her. “Who says we didn't get the idea from UFOs?” He smiles and lifts a black metal case, opening it. He removes a small metal cylinder and hands it to Lyta. “That is a needleless syringe containing a synthesized drug similar to that your grandmother used to use. It is safe, and should wear off in an hour from when first injected.”

Lyta almost drops the container. Her heart is beating fast and her hands are shaking. She feels an anxiety in her stomach welling up inside her, and she feels like she's about to break down crying. Then a warm hand is touching hers. She looks up at the Bride.

“It's ok.” The Bride's eyes are wide with concern. Lyta glances at the others around, all of which appear similarly empathetic, even the Robot.

Father Time speaks quietly. “Lyta, you can do this. You must do this, tonight.” The Bride looks at him, obviously annoyed. He continues, “I know you are afraid, of yourself, what you have inside you, but if you do not learn to use and accept what is inside you, that fear will become overwhelming. You have been through a lot tonight, more than anyone should, but I believe in you.”

The anxiety inside her had fallen away. She lifts an eyebrow, “...I believe in you?” She breaks into a grin. “Really?”

Father Time laughs and the others join. “Alright. I thought that was one of my better speeches.” He hands Langstrom a canister also. “That’s your magic-juice. Now we have less than two hours to dawn, I want this wrapped up, the parents may accept a bird-flu quarantine for one night but tomorrow, they and the media will be out in force. Discover the cause, and make sure no one gets infected. These are children so no unnecessary deaths please.” He places the case down and hands one last thing to Lyta. “You'll need these.”

Lyta unfolds the sunglasses and puts them on. With the night vision, everyone is outlined in red. Father Time taps the side of his head with the tip of his umbrella. “Remember they're for your team's safety as much as your own.” She nods.

Langstrom walks out into the field, removing his shirt and glasses and placing them neatly at his feet. Lyta watches as he injects his arm and drops the canister. His arms curl up and he falls to the ground screaming. He convulses, his limbs stretch out, further than seems natural and a pale skin stretches out across his extended digits. Muscles flex across his hair covered arms, as he rolls onto his knees and cries out, through huge pointed teeth, into the night sky. The huge man-bat leaps into the sky, flapping his wings as he sails out around them.

Lyta looks down at her canister. She walks out a few steps and stops. Taking in one long breath, she pushes the pointed end into her wrist. She closes her eyes and presses the button. There is a short burst of air and she opens her eyes. She drops the tube onto the grass and looks at her hands. A familiar feeling builds in her stomach. Her skin starts to become scaly and the tips of her fingers extend into claws. She hears hissing around her head. “Mr Time?”

Father Time walks over to her. She stands with her arms out by her sides, not wanting to touch the serpents that seemed to be circling her head. He softly lifts her chin, turning it gently side to side. A snake gently rubs its head against his hand. “Beautiful, who said the gorgons were hideous? No one ever got a good look at them anyway.” He smiles reassuringly and drops his hand. “Lyta you're fine. Don't worry; the stone vision is only activated through the eyes, so just keep the glasses on.”

Manbat lands beside her. She nervously looks up at the monstrous face of the bat beast, which looks back at her. “I'm jealous, your transformation looked easy,” he says looking away.

“Agents of S.H.A.D.E.” calls Frankenstein, “we should move.”



Manbat scouts out overhead. Bride sticks with Frankenstein, and Robotman leads Lyta. They circle around the school, Frankenstein and Bride heading for the main classroom block, whilst Robotman and Medusa head for the gymnasium. All is quiet.

Frankenstein draws his sword and kicks open the door. The Bride enters, looking down the corridor and then nodding for Frankenstein to enter. He marches past her, his enormous black boots squeaking on the lino floor. He looks down. Red blood is dragged down the corridor, turning into a classroom. He follows it, Bride following behind him, guarding their retreat. Frankenstein leans into the classroom. Desks in lines are spread across the room. The blood mark trails around the teacher's desk ending in a pool. He walks in and looks down at the mangled corpse of an adult lying, covered in bite marks. Bride quietly walks over.

“Teacher, do you think?”

Frankenstein lifts his sword and slashes it down through the neck of the body.

There is a crashing sound behind them, from the lockers that cover the corridor walls.



Manbat flaps his wings, stretching out his limbs and allowing the cool night winds flow around him. He closes his eyes and opens his mouth. Short bursts of sound from his mouth echo back, forming a picture of the area below in his mind’s eye. The school isn't huge, only four buildings and a gym, which must double as their hall. Some movement behind the largest building attracts his attention. Pulling himself upwards, he spun and dove down towards a small area covered in bushes and small trees, which backs onto the building.

A few feet from the ground he folds in his wings, dropping silently. He leans into the wind and sniffs. Cologne, deodorant, urine. He twitches his eyes at the foliage. A rustle, a twig snaps, hard breathing. He steps forward. There is a whimper.

The sound of screaming echoes out around him as a white-shirted man bursts from the bushes and runs, full speed, from Manbat. Manbat's face contorts into something that resembles uneasiness.

“Wait!” he shouts, simultaneously realising his menacing voice is probably not helping what he intends. He launches himself into the air, beating his wings until he drops down in front of the running, screaming man. The man's scream becomes even shriller as he skids over, and scrambles back on to his feet. “Stop!” Manbat jumps on the man, using his feet to keep him pinned.

“Stay away!” The man pulls a chain from around his neck, almost choking himself in the process. His fingers lift a small cross that he waves at Kirk. “I...I command you.”

Manbat raises an eyebrow, “I'm Atheist...so. Though don't get me wrong, I think people should believe what they want.”

The man's eyes start to quiver with fear, and there is a distinct smell of fresh urine once more. “Oh god... I don' wanna die...”

Manbat steps off the man. “Look, I just want to know what happened. I'm here to help.”

The man sits up, still shaking with fear. His voice is breaking, “There was a man... he said that...” He looks left, to the school, his attention gone. Manbat turns. A small child is staggering towards them. The man starts to crawl away from it, whilst Manbat stands trying to examine it.

The child looks at them in the dark shadow of night. “Give it BACK!”



Frankenstein strides towards the sound of the banging from the locker. A frustrated sounding murmur echoes out, followed by shuffling. Frankenstein grips the top of the metal locker door, his fingers warping the metal, and pulls the door off. At the base of the locker a stuck-looking, somewhat obese, kid looks up.

“Are you infected child?” The gravel voice reverberates through the child. The boy sits, wide-eyed, and shakes his head.

“Goddammit Frankie,” Bride says pushing by him. She grabs the chubby hands of the kid and pulls him out. The boy stands between them, regarding one and then the other. Bride gives the kid a once over, lifting his arms and checking his neck. “Are you ok?” The child nods.

A silhouette blurs past the end of the corridor.

“Did you see that?” Bride looks to Frankenstein, who nods. “What now?”

Three children appear at the end of the corridor.

“We must do what have set out to achieve.” Frankenstein picks up the boy under one arm, facing backwards, and strides towards the children. Five more children join the three, all of whom are breathing heavily. Bride looks at her gun with hesitation. The children yell, screaming with pain and frustration, and sprint full speed at Frankenstein and Bride. One leaps but is smacked into the wall by the side of his blade. Another starts to bite his leg through his trouser legs. One jumps onto his arm, desperately gnawing at his skin.

The Bride tries to pull a girl off Frankenstein's leg but another leaps at her, knocking her over. She pushes her arms out to keep the gnashing teeth away from her neck. Pulling her legs in, she kicks the zombie kid into the roof, and rolls onto her feet. A zombie kid lunges for her side, biting down hard on her stomach. She winces and pulls the kids hair away from her, but he is struggling to hard that the hair tears from his head. She kicks the zombie boy away, then falls forward as another scrambling child leaps on her back.

Frankenstein slams one charging zombie with his free arm, then lifts the fat kid with his other arm high, out of the reach of his rage filled classmates. The huge sword plunges at the child held high, going over his the back of his neck and stabbing through the top of his t-shirt, leaving him hanging on the wall. Frankenstein pulls the zombie from his leg and swings him at another, leaving them both unconscious on the ground. As one crawls up his chest another latches onto his leg. He throws his arm against the wall three times before the child drops off. He rips the kid off his chest and lobs him down the hallway. He turns to Bride who is hammering one of the zombie's heads into the ground. The zombie's already glazed eyes shut and she releases the girls head.

Behind the crouched Bride a child leaps. Frankenstein grabs the child's throat mid-jump. He lifts the struggling zombie closer to his face. Its small arms reach out at him, scratching at his face. The Bride stands and brushes herself off. “That was surprisingly hard, for kids they sure fight rough.” He lifts her shirt and looks at the bite mark oozing her green blood. “That's going to need stitches... What about zombie kid- you getting a read?”

Frankenstein narrows his eyes. “This is not a child. It seems only a shell. I do not feel anything inside this creature.” He looks over the struggling boys face. Its dull eyes frantically flick over him, its blood covered skin looking tired and even wrinkled.

The boy’s voice gasps out. “Need... warm... want...want...feel....” His hands scrape at Frankenstein's cheeks. Frankenstein squeezes his grip until the child falls limp. He drops the body to the floor.

He turns his head to the Bride. “We must find from where this originates.”

“The gym.” The voice startles them, and they turn to the fat kid hanging from the sword. He smiles with a strange naivety. “There was a man who was going to do a talk for us today. A scientist. I got pushed into my locker by Johnny on the way there, but it coulda been that.”

Bride looks back at Frankenstein. “The gym...”



Robotman twists the handle of the door and pushes it open. His eyes magnify the interior of the gym, through night vision filters he makes out the shape of four figures standing still within the darkness. It's impossible to tell if they're infected or just hiding, but his money's on the former. He looks to Medusa.

“You should stay here.”

“Wait what?” Lyta whispers at him. “I think I'm supposed to go with you.”

Robotman shakes his head. “Please just stay here.” He moves into the building, shutting the door quietly behind him. He quickly scans the room. The four figures are small, child-sized, and are only giving off reduced heat signatures, making it difficult to pick up if there any others. Keeping his steps as silent as possible he moves further into the room. Behind the motionless figures half a dozen rows of bench seats are aligned, as if for an assembly. The closest child is a boy, standing with his head slightly lowered and his arms down by his side. His breathing is shallow. Robotman takes another step. Either they cannot see him, or they are ignoring him. The boy’s eyes are open and shine in his night vision. Looking closer, they look tired, sunken, crusted blood covers his lips, and scratches cover his cheeks. Readings flash in his mind. He looks along the walls, rescanning them. Lined under each of the benches, the bodies of lightly breathing children line the floor along the wall. The number flashes internally 47. Forty-seven child zombies.

He hears a click behind him.

“This is ridiculous! Who knows what’s out there?” Lyta shouts at him with a loud whisper. Robotman looks back down at the zombie boy in front of him. The boy’s eyes flick up and past him, looking directly at Medusa. A faint groan leaves his mouth.