Fiction Challenge #6:
Visitations
by Direwolf

The passage of years had done nothing to improve the Pinewood Heights Facility for the Mentally Disturbed. The once red bricks had taken on a dull reddish brown hue that brought to mind old dried blood and large splotches of black mold spread out from the decaying morter. The grounds were rank with weeds and the only animals Eve sensesed were a few transitory scavengers like possums that skirted the edge of the property. Even the birds avoided the tiled rooftop.

Eve studied the old four story building as the Freedom Flyer maneuvered for a landing on the cracked pavement that was once the sanitarium's front drive way.

"Right, people, let's see if there is any more then a wild goose chase!" Minute Man exclaimed as he threw a set of switches to shut of the crafts massive vectored thrust engines.

"Sensors indicate an absence of water fowl in the immediate vicinity," Microwave intoned. "Probability of encountering non domesticated geese calculated at less then zero point two percent."

"You know, Microwave, you have all the sense of humor of a sidewinder missile," Dwight Arrow, now know to the world as the silver clad speedster Bullet quiped. "If you insist on flying, boss man, the least you can do is pop open the canopy and a let a feller get some breathing room."

"The last time you took the flyer, Bullet, you decided to see if you could manage a barrel role," Minute Man responded, methodically completing the engine shut down procedure before opening the clear canopy. "And the patrons of a certain roof top restaurant you decided to buzz filled a complaint. If there is one thing we don't need right now, it's more civil actions brought against us."

Eve was no longer listing to the conversation. When the armored glass canopy slid open, she drew in a deep breath of the air and let it wash over her sense. The feeling of a wrongness persisted. It wasn't anything as dramatic as when she sensed Deja Vu's cloned legions but it was there, like an under current of chemical rot to the clean smells of growing plants. Her nerves on edge, Eve climbed out of the flyer and reached back for her rough wooden bow. It felt comforting to have it in her hands.

The thick carpet of weeds bent under foot as she moved towards the abandoned building She could feel the way the plants crushed as she walked on them, their sap staining her skin but that didn't feel wrong. It was part of the natural order, the surge and flow of life that was part of the planet. Life and death were interlinked, no more to be avoided then the change of seasons or the beat of the tide. Every person and every living thing was part of the grand gyre. But some things sought to over turn that pattern. Eve understood that she was part of nature's protection. Since the coming of Energy X to this world, the balance was more precarious then ever. The balance points were shifting. Nature had responded by creating it's own champion. That was part of who she was. She knew there was more that she did not understand but that didn't worry her. She was who she was and that was all that mattered to her. The tiger never questioned its place in the jungle and Antelope knew all it needed to find food and water and be part of the heard. Eve was true to her nature, even if she couldn't define just what that nature was.

And her nature told her that she needed to be part of Freedom Force and what they stood for, at least for now.

"All right team, let's do this right," Minute Man said. "Bullet, I'd like you to take a quick circuit around the building to look for any signs of use..."

"On it boss man!" Bullet answered then was gone before Minute Man could finish talking.

"Sooner or latter, he's going to run into trouble he just can't handle!" Minute Man predicted. "We need to work as a team. Microwave, can you detect any sort of energy coming from the building and Eve, do you sense anything?"

Eve shook her head. "There is a subtle wrongness, but that's all. It could be a lingering feeling of imprisonment from those who were held her."

Microwave's silvered visor swung through an arc. "Sensors indicate no active energy sources within two kilometers though such soruces could be shielded."

"Well, if his work shop was obvious, we would have found it long ago. Let's get a closer look." Eagle headed staff in hand, Minute Man led the way towards the abandoned sanitarium.

They were looking for TechMaster. Ever since he had slipped out of the Freedom Fortress during the confusion of the thankfully prevented Domain invasion of Patriot City, Minute Man had made tracking the duplicitous alien a priority. They knew that TechMaster sold his creations to the underworld, offering them all manner of high technology weapons, armor and devices. So far, they had been unable to analyze any of the pieces that fell into their hands. Opening the devices invariable led to an internal explosion that destroyed the workings and the casings were shielded from x-rays and other sensors. TechMaster seemed quite intent on making sure his secrets remained secure.

There was a rush of wind and a streak of silver as Bullet zoomed into view around the corner of the building and stopped beside Minute Man.

"Looks like there's been some traffic through here, boss man. There are fresh truck tire tracks out back by what must have been the kitchen entrance."

Eve noticed that even while standing, Bullet was constantly shifting his weight from side to side as if incapable of standing still.

"Well, it seems our friends in the police department are correct, something is going on here," Minute Man pronounced. "Even if it' not TechMaster, it may well be some other illegal activity. Let's go people and stay sharp."

"Which part of my form should I hone to an edge comply with that instruction?" Microwave asked.

Eve allowed herself a slight smile. She wondered if the robot didn't in fact possess a very clever, dry sense of humor.

They made there way to the massive front doors of the decaying building. Minute Man tugged at the handles. They swung open with scream of long ignored metal and emitted a wash of musty air. The sense of wrongness Eve had felt since the moment she saw this place grew noticeable stronger. Something was here. No, not here, under here.

"Down," she said, "we need to go down."

"Eve what do you mean?" Minute Man asked.

Eve shook her head. "I'm not sure, but we must seek lower."

"Place like this is bound to have a basement," Bullet offered. "Bet a dollar to a donut they'll be a way down through the kitchen."

Unasked, Microwave began to glow, shedding enough light to chase back the shadows of the dusty entryway.

The institutional green linoleum tile was pealing up from the floor like dead leaves. Little drifts of shredded paper by the walls marked rats' nests. The wallpaper was pulling away from the drywall in long discolored strips as well. Rust eaten institutional light fixtures dangled from the ceiling. There was a strong smell of mildew and decaying plaster in the air.

Minute Man led the way back through the disused building. They found the huge kitchen, the stainless steel counters thick with dust. Bullet pointed towards the back door.

"No dust on the floor, folks," he said. "Someone has been using this."

The trail of clear floor lead back to a door that opened into a stairway that led down. By Microwave's light, they descended into the sub grade pantry. Metal shelves lined the concrete floored room and ten-foot wide freezer door was directly across from the stairway. There was no dust on the floor to show where the trail led. They all began examining the room.

Bullet rapped on the walls, the staccato impacts sounding like a jack hammer in the enclosed room. Minute Man was examining the shelves for some hidden trigger. Microwave stood as still as a statue while he used his sensors. Eve tried the freezer door. It swung open reveling a wide steel staircase.

"Sensors now detect a powerful energy signal," Microwave announced. "Though the door unit designated Eve has uncovered."

Bullet was about to surge forward when Minute Man caught his shoulders. "This one we do together, my friend."

Minute Man and Bullet lead with Eve and Microwave right behind. At the first touch of Minute Man's boot on the step, lights flickered to life below them and Eve heard the faint whisper of air moving as well. It seemed they were the only ones here.

The metal stairs lead down into a hidden sub basement with polished floors and banks of inexplicable equipment. It made Eve think of the pictures she had seen of Mister Mechanical's hidden factory though on a smaller scale. This seemed more of a workshop.

A door on the side of the workshop led them into a large storage room with a upper landing around the lower floor. There were a dozen packing crates the size of coffins. And a seven-foot tall cylinder of some sort of clear material that looked as if it was filled with a thick, swirling purple fog on the landing by the far wall.

As they started across the storeroom floor, the cases exploded as the contents fought their way free. Twelve humanoid shapes with pasty white skin emerged from the crates. Each one was nearly seven feet tall. They wore simple gray overalls and thick work boots and their faces seemed half formed, a pair of nearly human eyes and nothing else. Eve realized at once these things were the source of the wrongness she had felt. They were TechMaster's androids and they moved to the attack

The first android bore down on Minute Man, smashing him with its ham-sized fists. The rain of blows caught the Sixty Second Sentinel by surprise, knocking him into a wall where another pair of the simulacrums ganged up on him. Two more reached Microwave and while the powerful futuristic robot tried to target them, began raining blows on Microwave as well. Bullet was too quick to be taken unawares and evaded the blows but more and more of the white skinned hulks closed in on him as well. The storeroom lacked enough room for him to run indefinitely.

Eve drew and arrow from the quiver strapped to her thigh, notched the shaft and drew the bowstring back to touch her cheek. "Gaia guide my hand!"

The arrow flew straight into the back of one of androids as it pulled back it's fast for another crushing punch on Minute Man.

Thick green goo splattered from the arrow as it stuck. The things coverall smoked as the acid ate through and into the white body beneath. The android reacted as if it were alive, ignoring Minute Man to clutch the arrow searing it's back. It was the respite Minute Man needed. He sidestepped his other assailant and cocked back his arm.

"For Freedom!"

The androids were built to be very resistant to impacts. But even their construction had limits. Propelled by the massive power of Minute Man's arm, the titanium staff smashed into the huge android. It flew back, folded in half like a broken doll and leaking oily black smoke. Minute Man didn't stop to make sure his foe was down. He whiled into action, scattering the androids that were trying to catch Bullet.

Meanwhile, Eve had been far from idle. Another acid arrow disabled one of the white skinned androids pounding on Microwave. In the moment of respite, the futuristic Android teleported away across the storeroom floor. Confused, the massive android kept swinging at the empty space until a third acid arrow brought it down.

From across the room, Microwave quickly cloned himself, producing a duplicate. Together, the two Microwaves launched a swarm of Rad Bolts across the crowded floor. The sizzling beams of energy cored through the white skinned androids, disrupting their circuits and playing havoc with their structures. Energy spent in the quick paced attack, the two Microwaves fused and slumped against the wall to recover.

"Look like I'm batting clean up!" Bullet shouted. He raced in a tight circle around the last three androids, gaining momentum. He spun his arm, transferring the energy into a whirlwind that lofted the three androids from the floor and slammed them into the ceiling. They tumbled to the sides.

There was a loud crash from atop the landing. Minute Man jumped to the walk way as Eve bounded up the stairs. Bullet simply raced up the wall.

From atop the walkway, it was clear what had happened. One of the falling androids had smashed into the odd cylinder, smashing it open. As the purple vapor dissipated, a figure stumbled from the haze. It was humanoid, apparently male with bright aquamarine skin. He wore a close fitting black costume complete with hood and what looked like black shells over his eyes. Confused, the figure reeled.

"Looks like a bandit," Bullet cried, moving forward in a blur of speed.

The figure raised a hand and Bullet stopped cold. Before anyone else could react, the glossy black eyes locked on both Minute Man and Eve. They froze in their tracks. Eave felt as if the air had suddenly congealed around her. She could tell Minute Man was fighting the same thing.

"Who are you?" Minute Man gasped.

The black clad figure looked at him and for the first time, an emotion cross his face. Eve sensed his sudden confusion.

"I....don't know?"

As if triggered by the sound of the mysterious man's voice, a translucent globe suddenly flickered into life in the storeroom. The aquamarine skinned man seemed as surprised as they were, but watched the globe. The display spun in the air, as a half dozen points of light appeared. Then the globe vanished.

"I understand!" the stranger said in triumph. He rose into the air and the ceiling pealed back with a scream of metal and the grinding of stone. Sunlight flooded the room as the figure shot out of sight. Whatever was holding the three heroes in place suddenly collapsed.

"What the heck was that? Some sort of upgraded android?" Bullet asked as he shook him self out of the paralysis.

"No, he was alive and very confused." Eve answered.

"What I want to know is how he was able to hold all three of us frozen," Minute Man said as he stepped over to the rail, looking at where the phantom blue globe had hung suspended.

Microwave's voice rose from below. "This unit detected powerful fluctuations in the localized gravity field which suggests some sort of direct gravitational manipulation."

"That makes sense...." Minute Man's voice trailed of as he looked into space.

"Minute Man, what's wrong?" Eve asked.

"The globe that appeared, with the series of lights. I could see it too clearly, but I saw the first light that flashed on. It was in Iceland. That has to be where I blue skinned friend is headed." He leapt over the railing to the floor below. "Come on team, we have a mystery to catch!"