Beyond the Veil - part 2
A tale of a possible future of Freedom Force by Silver Age Fogey

Chapter 4 - "The Brave Music of A Distant Drum..."

"The construction and maintenance drones are gone," Mentor noted after a cursory examination of the base. "This is why the Freedom Fortress has fallen into disrepair. No doubt, there has been no one to tend to the nuclear engine that runs the base." He was walking back toward the landing platform. "But fortunately, I have come prepared. This time, my craft was not assaulted on my ingress, and so I have a full supply load."

He looked into the cabin area as he passed by. "Rest well, my friend," he said to a large tube. "Your time approaches, sooner than either of us dreamed."

A mental voice whispered back; Home.... Are we back...?

"Indeed we are, old friend. I shall be back for you later."

He went to one of the storage arrays on the spacecraft, and he unsealed it. Inside, what looked like two dozen off-white cubes rested. "These drones are even more efficient than those I used to construct Freedom Fortress originally. I need merely program them as I did the originals and they will once again restore to greatness this citadel."

Mentor picked up a flat pad with a keyboard on its front, and began typing programmed commands. As he proceeded, the first cube suddenly levitated and a trio of metallic limbs unfolded out from it. Within minutes, twelve of the cubes hovered in formation in front of the alien.

"This will serve to rebuild the destroyed sections. With the materials available, as when it was created, we will rebuild Freedom Fortress. Go, you mechanical servitors, and restore the glory of this edifice!"

As if in answer, the limbed cubes swooped through the air in all directions, and into the darkness. Mentor turned back to the computer pad. "Now, to reestablish a power source. A moment to program..."

A moment was more than Mentor had. Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble and shake. "An earthquake? Impossible! Patriot City rests on bedrock!"

And a few feet in front of the craft, dirt began flying and spitting as if it were an earthen geyser. Mentor drew his cloak across his face in protection, as a pit began to crater open before him.

When he dropped the cape, he saw a horrid foe from early in Freedom Force's existence. Two huge black ants, smelling hideously of formic acid, crawled slowly out of the warren and began to circle around Mentor and his ship.

Following those first two was an even larger specimen. Fully six feet long, the brown and red insect rose out of the hole slowly and implacably, as a gigantic predator might.

"Suns of Shakar! The ant warriors of Shadow besiege us yet again? I shall not see it done!" With that, the Telekinetic Titan began to focus his mental energies, summoning for the raw, psychokinetic force to blast the ants. A glowing emerald aura began to surround Mentor.

"NO!" came a shout, and Mentor was suddenly tackled from behind, his mental force dissipating upon impact. Mentor twisted as he fell and flipped his attacker over backwards.

"You will find Mentor no easy prey- Liberty Lad?" The alien was stunned to see Nick Craft picking himself up and dusting off his coat.

"I thought I made it clear that you weren't wanted here, Mentor!" the bitter man snarled.

"You made your own feelings clear; those of Sea Urchin seem to be a mystery to you. She has requested that I stay."

The erstwhile Liberty Lad stared coldly at Mentor for a long minute, as the giant insects circled around them. "Nick, this is not the time for discussion, not when we are under attack! Surely even you can see that!"

"I see more than YOU do, alien. We're not under attack. These ants are friends. Friends..." he finished bitterly.

"Ah, I understand now," Mentor answered. "Then I assume that the Ant is still a member of Freedom Force?"

"THERE IS NO FREEDOM FORCE!" Nick roared. "They're all DEAD! Or worse! Can't you get that through your head?!?"

"Tell me how, Nick. Explain this to me. Surely you owe me at least that much."

"I owe you... I owe you..." he said softly. "Y'know, you're probably right, Mentor. I DO owe you at least a little back of what you've given us. Fine. So come and see what your Energy X did. Come here," he directed.

Mentor approached him slowly and cautiously - but the still energized Nick was faster far than Mentor, and he quickly swung him around and grabbed him from behind. "Here, Mentor. You want to see your old friends?"

Nick forced the alien to his knees, right in front of the biggest red and brown insect. "Say hello to the Ant, Mentor!" he bellowed.

Chapter 5 - "One Moment in Annihilation's Waste..."

Back in the main room, Sea Urchin was out of her tank again, and Mentor sat at the meeting table, across from Nick, and still unable to believe what he'd seen in the dimness of Freedom Fortress. "Nick... Merry... I do not know how this could have happened..."

Sea Urchin quietly answered, "The same thing that happened to a lot of us, Mentor. Energy X plus Energy Y equals disaster.

"After the Florida disaster, when Cuba was destroyed, the Russians took it as an attack. They started a war."

Mentor said, "That is exactly what MinuteMan feared would one day happen..."

"It's nothing like what he thought it would be," Nick said. "NATO forces reacted immediately, and it was the start of World War III. The Three Day Death. You see, Mentor, when we were faced with an attack and the possibility of a nuclear strike, the U.S. government decided that America needed more super powered defenders. So they started experimenting right away, with your Energy X."

"Much as the Dominion would have-"

"Shut up," Nick interrupted. "The government experimented in San Francisco, and do you know what they found out? That irradiating Energy X is a bad idea. A really bad idea."

Mentor answered, "Yes, Merry told me. It creates Energy Y."

"Did she tell you that it goes volatile? Did she tell you that it was explosive? Deadly explosive? All it took was a little something to trigger it..."

Merry continued, "And then, from what we can construct, the great quake hit. It was almost funny in its timing. No sooner did our scientists create the fuse and the fire..."

"Than Mother Nature got them together," Nick finished. "The great quake of '69. I suppose the explosion was visible from orbit. The flash was seen across the country and across the Pacific. And then came the energy flare."

"It was as if Energy X had been dumped across the face of the world, Mentor," Merry said softly. "It circled the globe. I don't know that anyone anywhere was left untouched, even if not transformed."

Nick rested his hand gently on the gigantic red and brown insect. "John, here, was the first of us affected, as far as we could tell. We were scanning and monitoring broadcasts, trying to figure out what to do, and he fell into a coma. The diagnostic table didn't show anything wrong or different with him, so we put him into his room. The next morning... he had become this.

"That coincided with the assault on West Germany," Nick continued. "I'm sure it doesn't matter to you, alien, but the Russians had always planned to drive to the Rhine, and keep what they claimed. They had just started their invasion... when the Energy X hit both them and the allies. EVERYONE got inundated in it."

"Super abilities began to appear almost at once, all over the world," Merry said. "People were flying, lifting cars, firing energy beams from their eyes, casting magic spells... and changing.

"The German front became one of carnage. Imagine the effect of bullets and tank shells... and then, imagine the effect of that much power embodied in NATO and Warsaw Pact soldiers who were already enraged at the other side. Heat bursts. Freeze rays. Poison gas. Super strength... oh, we saw the extents of that energy. Killing with everything they could get their hands on. Tanks. Trees. Boulders. Men who were made of rock and women who were living lightning bolts. And this was all over the world."

Nick said, "We couldn't do anything but watch. They attacked us right here. Patriot City jail...that only stood for seconds. The escaped cons launched an assault on Freedom Fortress, and the automatic defenses went to work. We were sealed in. Couldn't get the computer to let us out, and meanwhile they were slamming us with everything they had."

"But I see the building is yet standing. Surely no one was killed in that assault?" Mentor asked.

"No," Nick answered. "No, we all survived that. But... then... then it got worse."

Chapter 6 - "A Door to Which There Was No Key..."

Suddenly, the lights came on full intensity, and the computer banks all hummed as they powered up. Both Merry and Nick jumped up and stared around. "Nick! What happened? Did we lose the power feed to the city?"

"Do not worry, friends," Mentor answered. "I have tended to this. I have had the drones install another generator. Although I do not know why there was insufficient power previously, be assured that there will be no lack now."

Merry looked around. "More power... Nick, do you suppose-"

"Easy, Merry. Don't get your hopes up. Remember, he caused this in the first place."

"Stop it!" she yelled back. "Just stop it! I know you've had it hard, Nick, but you can't blame Mentor for this! He didn't do it! We did this to ourselves!"

The one time Liberty Lad looked at both other heroes, and eventually continued his tale. "We lost Law and Order next. Somehow, the energy discharge affected the nature of their relationship. Come along Mentor. You too, Merry, if you want."

She started hacking again, and said, "No... I can't... go now..."

"All right, get back into the tank. Maybe if we really can maintain full power, we can get the pool clean again, and that would give you some more room," Nick said thoughtfully. She smiled brightly at that thought.

Both men watched as Merry airswum her way back into the tank of water. "Nick, what has happened to Sea Urch- to Merry?"

"She didn't get it so bad. The energy surge increased her powers and her strength, but it also made her more reliant on water. She can only stay out of water about an hour at a time now before she starts dehydrating. If she stayed out long enough, she would suffocate in the air - not enough liquid to keep her respiration going. C'mon, this way." Nick led the way to the living quarters.

As they went down the corridors, they passed a pair of the small robots that Mentor had brought, and Nick stopped a moment to watch them cleaning and repairing the walls. "Mentor, you actually think they'll be able to restore everything?"

"These are advanced models of the types that build the Freedom Fortress initially, Nick. I am confident that in a matter of a day or two, the Fortress will be as good as new."

"Hmm. Do you think they could work on something besides this building?"

"I am certain that, when programmed correctly, they could do almost any engineering task. Why do you ask?"

"Maybe they can help with... anyway, let's keep going. Although there's no rush - heaven knows Law and Order have all the time in the world now."

As they proceeded, Mentor asked, "I thought you said that they had died?"

"No, just that we lost them. What happened was worse than death, by far. I still remember..."

(Nick's tale): Law figured that, even though she couldn't get out, maybe Order was strong enough to break through. At that time, he was the strongest member of Freedom Force, so she went to the roof top entrance - we figured that was the safest egress.

Diablo and I went with her, just to make sure that she stayed okay, and that no one else broke in while we were trying to break out. We got to the top floor, and it looked clear.

I don't know how exactly they used to pull their shift, but Order told me once that a portal opened, and they both transited through at the same time - a bit like a revolving door. Well, I guess that the nature of that door changed.

Law lifted her sword to start the transformation - but it wasn't a sword. By the time she fully elevated it, it was Order's hammer, in her hands. Next thing we knew, that light that accompanied the transformation appeared - but instead of the usual gold, it was dark red and dirty lookin'.

Order started to appear... and stopped, halfway through. It was his torso and arms, and her legs. The energy field collapsed around them, and they screamed... oh, lord, I can still hear that scream. It was as if something had ripped out their souls.

Diablo and I, we tried to do something, anything. But they were sealed in by the force of that transformation portal. We couldn't reach 'em. And then... they started changing again. One of her legs became one of HIS legs. His arm started shrinking and the hammer and sword kept shifting back and forth between forms... and so did they.

"That's how they still are today." The men stopped outside the rooms that had belonged to the Justice Duo. "I warn you, it's not a pretty sight, Mentor."

"I cannot turn away. And perhaps there is yet something I may do for them. Let us proceed, Nick."

The younger man opened the door, and they went in.

The form was still encased and immobile, with arms raised and legs spread. A dull red aura surrounded it, and body parts were still being exchanged. As they watched, Law's silently screaming face was replaced by an agonized Order, his features locked in pain and horror. The arms extended and shrunk, and it almost looked like a hideous cartoon as the shape kept shifting in size and mass.

"So what can you do for them, Mentor? Do you know some way to stop them from transforming? It's been happening for almost thirty years now."

The Telepathic Titan stared at the horrid ongoing transformation for long minutes. Finally, he turned to Nick and softly said, "I will tend to this. Please leave the room."

"Okay. I'll meet you back in the meeting room, by Merry's tank." The younger man limped out of the room as Mentor closed the door softly behind him.

As Nick Craft came back into the now fully lit main room, Merry was already out of her tank and running a computer simulation. "Nick, if we can redirect enough power..."

"I still don't think it's enough, Merry." He came up next to her and put a hand on her scaled shoulder. "There's not anything we can do, even with an extra generator, unless it's something Mentor can help us with."

"Why are you so angry at him, Nick?" she asked.

"Why? How can you ask that, Merry? If not for him-"

She interrupted him harshly. "I know, I've heard it. 'If not for Mentor, we would never have had Energy X and everyone wouldn't have mutated.' And if not for Mentor, his people would have conquered the Earth by now! Or we would've been destroyed by the TimeMaster! Nick, you fool, don't you understand that he saved the Earth?"

He put his head into his hands and sighed, "Yeah, he saved it - but for what?"

"It is done." The two whirled to see Mentor standing, staggered, next to the computer. "I have done what I could for Law and Order."

The former Liberty Lad rose to his feet. "It's not possible... they were trapped in transformation for three decades! Even if you could stop it and bring them back, the pain... the agony... it would have been terrible! They would be insane!"

Mentor slowly made his way to a chair and collapsed into it. "I know, young Nick. I know. Therefore, I did the only thing possible. They are no longer in pain."

"You mean you-" Nick never finished his sentence. And the meeting room was silent for a long time.

To be continued...