New Justice Union#6 - Frenzy in the Sky
Vagabond and Cadabra coughed as their lungs were stung by the slicing effects of the mustard gas. They rushed back to business class as their first attempt to reach the cockpit failed.
"We gotta get in there!" Cadabra exclaimed, but soon another impedement had halted their progress when the course of the plane changed, leaving many passengers leaning to their right. The two heroes grabbed on to some seats before they met with a fall to the right seated windows of the plane, and hung on until the sharp maneuver was over.
They both could see that they were getting lower to the ground. "This ain't gonna be pretty..." Vagabond mentioned. "See if you can git somethin' useful outta yer magical hat..." he urged.
Taking the hat from off her head, Julia placed it before her and tapped her wand upon it three times, echoing, "Abra Cadabra!" As smoke poofed into the air, she pulled out two filtering masks ready to go and be put to use. "Boy, you can pull anythin' outta that hat... cantcha?" Vagabond said in awe. Cadabra looked back, while assembling her mask upon her head. "Sometimes..." she answered.
"They won't last for long... so let's hurry up and do this..." she said. They hurriedly rushed through the abandoned economy class, or so they thought was abandoned. Upon the ground was a bleeding passenger, who had a badge held in his left hand. "I'll take him to the back..." Vagabond said. "You git that door open..." And Thomas quickly rushed the passenger away.
Julia turned to the cockpit door, and attempted to turn the large knob. It refused to open, and Julia was forced back from it. She then drew her wand and tapped it upon the barricaded door. "Alakazam!" She cried, and with those words said, the door flew off its hinges and went soaring backward, almost striking the returning Vagabond.
Three dark-skinned men looked backward in shock, while one continued to focus on flight. They had small knives in hand, almost like letter openers, and charged upon the heroine. Vagabond with quick thinking, grabbed hold of his rope, and lassoed one of the fiends before he could harm Julia, and with one great effort, pulled the man back. He then reached his fist backward, and punched the face with much force on contact, leaving him in a dented state. "That'll teach ya ta mess with us."
Julia then called out her own magical words, "Arbadac Arba!" and a slight ray of magic burned itself upon the hands of the two other assailants, who clutched their wrists, and dropped their weapons. Vagabond quickly rushed forward to give a quick beating to the two hijackers, respectively in the face and the abdomen, until they too were on the ground unconscious.
He then barged into the cockpit, releasing the last hijacker from the pilot's seat, and threw him outside to let the mustard gas work. With a swish of the wand and few words, Julia finished him off with some bricks to the head. The gas masks ran out and disappeared, and she rushed into the pit as well.
"Now all's we need to do is land this thing..." he said. They were in American territory now, and all they had to do was find a safe place to park. "Any bright ideas out of that hat o' yours?" He wondered, grabbing the pilot's seat. "Let's just hope your early lessons come in handy this time round..." Cadabra hoped.
"Looks like we'll be needin' a boost," Warhead said, as his turbine engines began to roast, attempting to keep speed with the elusive Invader. "Alright, looks like I got 'im..." But to his surprise, as the trajectory screen was locked, the Invader easily maneuvered behind Warhead's Eagle, and took a different course, aiming for his comrade. "Eagle-1! Watch it!" Warhead cried...
But it was far too late, the coordinates had been locked, missile fired, and Warhead watched as his comrade's aircraft had been torn to pieces by a massive blast. "That's it... you blasted machine!" He cried in anger, shifting the steering his plane on course to back the destructive plane.
He desperately tried to follow the Invader's path, finding it more difficult to make a lock. But as he was engrossed in the view of the computer screen before him, he looked through the cockpit window as soon as the screen went empty. The Invader was nowhere to be seen. "Where are you?!" He yelled!
He then looked up from his clear, cockpit windshield to see that the Invader was right above him, ready to drop an explosive. "No!" Warhead cried, trying to steer away. But the sly aircraft stayed with him, in perfect eerie symmetry, and let fly a bomb down onto his aircraft.
With quick reflex, Warhead ejected his seat, but still was caught in a fiery explosion, and tried to shield himself with his radioactive armor. After the blast cleared, Warhead stood in the air searching for the corrupt craft. He knew this time he had to fly solo.
As he spotted the Invader, his arms began to light up with yellow, radioactive power, and he soon let out a waving blast that barely missed the contraption. He repeated the attacks accordingly as the aircraft swerved around him, but he was unable to penetrate. He would need more time to charge a more powerful blow, but the Invader would just easily maneuver away.
Soon the jet made its attack as multiple missiles and bullets shot against the atomic hero. Dodging the bullets, Warhead was quick to make work of the missiles and shatter them with powerful blasts.
As the plane began to flee, he charged himself with his own atomic power, and soon catapulted himself like a bullet toward the plane, ripping through it's metallic armor, and crushing it's inside with his unbridled energy. The yellow aura surrounding him died down, as he escaped and watched the destructive plane itself destruct. He breathed heavily in triumph, and began to fall to the ground with energy lost.
But a heroine was called in just in time to the scene after finishing work. It was Cywind, who had come upon her gliding whirlwinds and caught the distressed Warhead and brought him back to base.
Warhead slowly lifted his eyelids to view his rescuer. With whispering words he spoke, "Why didn't Goldman send anyone sooner?" Cywind looked upon him and replied, "Sorry, we were all busy at the moment. Lots of corruption in the world you know..."
Warhead chuckled behind his mangled energy core. "Heh, well I guess that goes for machines as well..."
Soon they were back upon the ground at the Air Force Base where an ambulance was ready to take Warhead in, and a proud Captain Probst ready to congratulate him for a job well done. Cywind put him upon the stretcher. "As much as I'd like to stay... I gotta go help out some more in the air..." she said. And with that, a tornado whisked her away.
"I...I can't keep this hunk o' junk still!" Vagabond cried, as his plane began a nose dive in toward the earth. Cadabra stood watching in anxiety through the windshield at the closing ground upon them. Screams of fright were heard in the back as the acceleration bolstered into an uproar.
Vagabond tugged on the throttles as best as he could, using all his might. "They must be jammed 'er somethin..." He said.
But as he diligently tried to stop the plane from falling, a surprise abruptly hit them. The plane had begun to stabilize once more. Vagabond slowly unclamped his tightly shut eyes, and looked around. "Are we still alive...?" He wondered. Then, seeing the same blue sky he once did, he celebrated. "Yeehaw! I did it! I got the plane to work agin!" He cried.
But beneath the craft was Cywind, who struggled with her winds alone to keep the aircraft up. She groaned as the weight of the plane began to descend upon her power, and she too soon found herself increasing in speed in falling to the ground.
But more helped arrived as heroes joined with heroes, and Stargirl was transported there to use her awesome strength to hold up the plane, as well as Electrolight, who had come back from a mission with the Squadron. She used her electrically-induced power rings to form a gian helping hand. More aid arrived too, in the mechanical robot, the A-BOT, piloted by the mechanic, Aaron Free himself.
They gently set the plane upon a nearby runway, and let the relieved passengers pile off the plane, great in number. Ambulances rushed to the scene to take the sick and the wounded, and Vagabond and Cadabra were the last to arrive out.
Electrolight floated their way to greet them. "Have a good ride?" she teased. Vagabond slid down the inflatable slide from the high door of the plane. "Remind me never to fly in airplanes again..." he said.
Electrolight smiled and replied, "Wait... don't you remember? You've got flight training at 5pm this afternoon..."
Vagabond looked at her with an aggravated face, and threw his hat angrily upon the ground. "Daggumit! I ain't goin' in anymo' planes for as long as the sun sets everyday..."
"What happened to... 'I'd be as willing as any other experienced pilot to fly one of those jets...'" Julia asked, mimicking a western tone.
But they all dismissed it, and returned to their headquarters to take a well-earned rest for the day.
"You did a darn well good job out there, Harris, and I'm proud of ya," Glenn said to Warhead, patting his resting shoulder. He then handed him a contract. "What's this?" He asked, slowly picking it up. Glenn smiled, with cigarette placed between his lips. "Why that's an admission for your re-entry back into the Air Force. Welcome back, son," he congratulated.
"B...but I'm in the Justice Union now..." He said. Glenn folded his arms and took a breath of his cigarette. "Well, now you gotta choice to make. Your duty... or yer dream?" Warhead began to contemplate this difficult decision which was set upon him at that very moment.
Suddenly, Cywind appeared to have been transported to that very plain. "I've come to take Warhead back, Union orders. We have the technology to restore him back to health."
"Well so do we..." A voice popped from out of sight. This voice had belonged to mayor Angela Bolsteen, with her brown, pudgy countenance, and dark eyes. "Bolcorp also has the developed technogology to reharness the powers of Warhead's suit..."
"But surely..." "Wait," Warhead interrupted Cywind. "I've made my decision," he said. Cywind raised her brows in question. Finally, Warhead made his announcement. "I, Harris Saunter, am rejoining the United States Air Force... from here on out..."
Cywind's eyes widened in shock at the sudden remark. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she beckoned once more. Warhead slowly nodded. "Yes, it's been my passion for almost all my life. I realize now what I had been missing out on for all these years... to relive those glory days in the sky..." he said.
Cywind understood, and nodded her head. "If this is what you want, then I'll inform the Union of your absence..." and she flew off, administering a transfer back to the space headquarters.
"Very good... very good then..." Bolsteen darkly smirked, narrowing her eyes, and lowering her head. "Things are finally looking up for us normal people..."
Meanwhile, back at the Union headquarters, a knock is heard behind the door to the computer room, as Goldman avidly works upon the keyboard looking through profiles. "It's open," he said.
Yet still, the door remained unopened. The knock was heard again, and then a voice spoke. "Sorry, I'm new here... I don't know exactly how to open this door..."
Goldman replied, without turning his head. "It's the red switch on the right..." he directed. After the sound of many blipping buttons, the door slid vertically open, and footsteps turned inward.
Goldman turned around to view a young man in a long, gray trenchcoat, black hair, as well as a faceless mask and a journalist hat. "Hi, I'm new here... I'm the Face. I just need to know where my new room will be..." Goldman heard.
"Oh yeah, I've heard of you. Ultraman recommended you. Your office is in room 41G." He informed. But he did not hear the door open nor departing feet. "Uh... would you mind telling me where that would be?" Goldman heard.
"Psychocess," He said with a normal voice. And quickly, Laura Rapnaski entered the room with her teleportation force, and already knew the situation. "Come young faceless lad, and follow the path... to your new abode." And Goldman was finally able to view his computer in peace.
But what he saw on the screen, monitoring actions of fellow Union members, was far from good. "No, Hunteress... not again..." he whispered in frustration. It was the Hunteress, in trouble again. |
