#5 - "Out of the Frying Pan..."
The mutants known as Spectrum and Icicle found themselves in a very dangerous and deadly situation. Standing before the beleaguered pair were no less than six of Genocide's mutant-hunting, thirty foot tall robots. They each stared back menacingly. Then they fired.
Spectrum was actually speechless as he grabbed the surprised Icicle and rocketed into the air. At that very moment another explosion rocked the Genocide complex. Parts of the floor fell away, taking two of the Minutemen with them. Huge hunks of concrete and rock fell from the ceiling in a deadly shower. An impromptu screening effect was created as the debris absorbed parts of the Minutemen's fire. Combined with Spectrum's superior speed, none of the threatening attacks connected with the fleeing mutants.
"I think we need to get out of here!", Icicle shouted over the explosive blasts.
"That is the plan!", Spectrum shouted back. He raced back into the room they had just exited from and through one of the holes in the ceiling. Icicle created an ice wall in front of them, which worked like a deflector. The boulders and concrete slabs that fell were pushed aside just enough to create a safe path, as the two raced upwards a few levels. The wall was continually chipped and smashed by the falling objects, but Icicle kept creating more to keep it basically intact.
Spectrum stopped for a moment amid a level that looked more like personal quarters and other mundane living areas. "Things seem to be looking up. This might lead to a way out", he said.
Suddenly, a blast of bluish, crackling energy shot up through the hole they had just traveled through, blasting further through the ceiling and into the rock beyond.
"What I wouldn't give for an exit sign," Spectrum mused. He set Icicle down, as the constant running battle with the Minutemen had tired him a bit. Icicle covered the opening in the floor with a coating of ice, but a moment later, another blast of energy, this one reddish orange, shattered the ice, pelting them with the shards.
"Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good idea," Icicle said. A moment later, a large robotic head loomed in the opening. Icicle screamed and slid away on an ice slide. This level was too low for the Minutemen to follow physically, but they could still make their presence felt. A beam of energy shot from its eyes, shattering Icicle's slide. She crashed hard to the floor.
Meanwhile, Spectrum toppled a full-length bookcase into the face of the robot. It didn't really hurt it, but managed to obscure the view it had of the fleeing pair. He helped Icicle to her feet and flew out the door, down the hall. Icicle followed on an ice slide. Behind them, another explosion reverberated through the complex.
"Boy, the maid's really gonna be teed off when she sees this mess!", Spectrum quipped.
"Remind me to laugh later, when I'm not running for my life," Icicle called back to him.
"I gotta be me, Icy!" Spectrum raced through the halls, while Icicle managed to barely keep up. They turned a few corners and suddenly found themselves faced with...
"A dead end!", Icicle shouted in dismay.
"Please don't use the word 'dead', at least in this place, okay?" As the two started to backtrack a bit, the floor suddenly ruptured beneath them as a massive metallic fist crashed into their midst. Icicle screamed again.
"Grabby suckers, aren't they," Spectrum said, as he deftly avoided the groping hand. Icicle covered the hand in a block of ice, which contained it for a moment. As she slid past it, the Minuteman's other hand smashed through the floor, sending Icicle sprawling again. Spectrum caught her in mid-air and raced for a new hallway. They reached an elevator area and halted for a moment. Most of the doors had been blown off and the cars all seemed to be missing.
"Do we keep going up or down?", Icicle asked, breathing heavily.
"Up, I think. The living areas seem to be all up here, which probably leads to an exit," Spectrum rationalized.
"How can you be so calm at a time like this?", Icicle asked, looking questioningly at the garishly garbed mutant.
"Icy, I'm too scared to be frightened right now." She gave him an odd look as she tried to figure out what he just said. Then the lights went out. A moment later, the place was bathed in the eerie, reddish lights of battery backups. "I get the feeling I'm on the set of a Hollywood disaster movie, combined with a horror movie," Spectrum mused.
"Well, I'm very frightened. I just want to get away from this all!" Icicle was starting to break down from the constant mental and physical anguish. She slumped against a nearby wall and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders started to shake with her silent sobs.
Spectrum put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with tearful eyes. "I don't want to die in this place."
"Hey, come on now. Don't talk like that!", Spectrum said, trying to ease her fears. "You have every right to be scared, but we're not finished yet." She jumped, unconsciously, though, when a series of three explosions erupted in one of the elevator shafts near where they were standing. Icicle leapt into Spectrum's arms, as parts of the ceiling fell around them.
Spectrum looked into the elevator shaft and another explosive blast filled it with fiery death. "Can't go that way," he said absent-mindedly. Looking around, he grabbed the near hysterical young mutant and took off down another hallway. Pieces of the ceiling continued to fall around them.
Up ahead, Spectrum saw that the hallway ended, but he thought he could see daylight shining through. The explosions were getting closer and more frequent. As the two flew towards the apparent egress, Spectrum stopped in mid-flight as an eruption occurred directly in his path.
"Halt!", the Minuteman who had just ripped through the floor said simply.
"Yeah, right," Spectrum said, disagreeing with the mutant-hunting robot.
"Capture of Target: Spectrum and Target: Icicle is imminent. Surrender or suffer the consequences." The Minuteman raised its massive fist, crashing through more of the floor of this level.
"When I say duck, duck," Spectrum said to Icicle. He then looked straight at the robot. "So tell me, do you dream of electric sheep?" Ignorant of Spectrum's attempt at humor, the robot fired.
"Duck!" The two mutants flattened out on what remained of the floor, as the energy discharge shot over their prone bodies. Smashing into the wall, the blast collapsed it. Spectrum and Icicle rolled hastily away as the avalanche smashed into the Minutemen. With the wall removed, the ceiling collapsed as well, crashing into the slow-moving robot.
Spectrum rolled over and looked at the damage. To his amazement, he saw blue sky filtering in through the reddish haze. Dust was settling from the cave-in. The Minuteman was nowhere to be seen.
"I love it when a plan comes together," Spectrum mused. "Thanks for the assist, tin-britches." Icicle couldn't clamber over the rubble and into the open air fast enough. Spectrum exited as well, and came up next to her, surveying the area. The two appeared to be on the side of a snow-capped mountain.
"I don't believe we actually made it," Icicle said, absently.
"Would I lie to you?", Spectrum joked. "Regardless, we should get moving before the whole mountain collapses." That seemed to get Icicle moving again and break her out of her momentary stupor. Forming an ice channel, as she went, Icicle slid down the side of the mountain at breakneck speed. Spectrum flew along ahead, but was unable to match the incredible speed with which she slid down the mountain face. The two mutants descended nearly 3000 feet in altitude and covered over two miles in distance. Finally, Icicle plowed to a spectacular stop throwing snow almost 30 feet in the air.
Spectrum flew up as she regained her feet, half-covered in snow. "If we hadn't been running for our lives for so long, that might've been fun," Icicle said, as she swept the snow from her shoulders with her hand.
"We could always go back to the top and try it again," Spectrum responded.
"I'll pass," she said, continuing to clean herself off.
Just then, a huge explosion ripped part of the mountainside apart. The two stood nearly dumbfounded as they watched the spectacular eruption. It was nearly a minute after the conflagration subsided before either said anything.
"I hope the others made it out," Spectrum said quietly.
"What do we do now?", Icicle asked.
"If we stay here long enough, someone's bound to show up," Spectrum reasoned. "I wonder where we are anyway."
"Beats me. We're definitely nowhere near Chicago. The mountains are just way too high," Icicle said, looking around at her surroundings. "I'm not so sure staying around is such a good idea. What if the authorities are the someone who comes by?"
"Is that a problem?", Spectrum asked, oblivious of her background.
She hung her head for a moment, embarrassed at explaining her situation. "I am wanted by the law. If PRIMUS shows up, they'll definitely try to capture me. I'm too tired to fight again. Besides, they'd probably be looking for you too, wouldn't they?"
"You may have a point there," Spectrum said, not completely sure to what she was referring. "Why don't you stay here and rest? I'll do a quick scouting of the surrounding area. That way there won't be any surprises. Maybe we can find some signs of civilization or something." Icicle stepped into a grove of trees for cover, while Spectrum rose into the air.
Flying above the deciduous trees that cover the landscape, Spectrum scanned the area. He continued to gain altitude, until he could see more than the ample mountainous terrain. Off in one direction, he could see a sizable city. Lights were beginning to come on as night was nearing.
As Spectrum descended back to the ground, he could see a form wandering through the snow, a short distance away.
"Someone's wandering around in the snow, Icy. I'm gonna go see who it is. Maybe it's one of 'us'," Spectrum called to his companion.
Getting closer to the form, the light-wielding mutant recognized it as one of his erstwhile comrades from the Genocide experiment. Spectrum shouted a greeting, which got Black Mamba's attention. He waved back at the mutant as he flew in. Spectrum landed near the serpentine super.
"Greetings, Spectrum. I was beginning to think that I was the only one who made it out of the base," Black Mamba hissed.
"Icicle made it out with me. What happened to Mind Slayer?", Spectrum asked.
"We were separated at the last moment, as we attempted to escape," Black Mamba explained. "I believe she is out here somewhere, but have been unable to locate her."
"I can cover a lot more ground in the air, than you can. Why don't you hook up with Icy over there, while I check around a little?" Spectrum pointed over to where Icicle was waiting.
"Your hypothesis sounds valid." Black Mamba moved off sluggishly, as Spectrum took to the air once more.
He scanned the area for nearly 30 minutes, unsuccessfully. Then just as he was about to give up the search, Spectrum saw a dark silhouette against the snow. Flying in closer, he recognized Mind Slayer. She was moving slowly, hugging her sides, and shivering uncontrollably. Mind Slayer's costume was not normally suited for this type of weather, and it was torn up even more during the battles with the Genocide.
Spectrum flew in and hovered in front of the half-naked mentalist.
"Far be it from me to criticize another's fashion choices, but don't you think you're dressed a bit impracticably?", Spectrum joked.
"The thought had... crossed my mind," she answered through chattering teeth, oblivious to the pun she had just made.
"Why, Mind Slayer, I didn't know you were a jokester too. Didja hear the one about Santa Claus, the rabbi and the smart blonde?"
"I really couldn't care less right now," Mind Slayer answered, clenching her teeth. "Are you going to fly around and make jokes, or help me from freezing to death?"
"Sorry," Spectrum responded and landed next to her. "I just get carried away sometimes. By the by, I've located some of the others. Icicle made it out with me and I found Black Mamba just recently."
"I had noticed his mental trace, but haven't been strong enough to reach out to him." Spectrum lifted Mind Slayer into the air and flew back to his other comrades.
When the two returned back to Black Mamba and Icicle, Spectrum could see that Shadow Queen had arrived as well. "Hi, Sugar!", she called to the colorful mutant.
"Shadow! You're all right!" Spectrum was quite ecstatic to see that Shadow Queen had survived the combat with the Minutemen as well as the base's recent explosion. He deposited the shivering Mind Slayer on the ground and rushed over to Shadow Queen.
"Mind if I take her place for a bit, Bright Eyes?", Shadow Queen asked. "I'm freezing." Shadow and Spectrum embraced.
"Actually, we'll all be freezing as soon as the sun goes down," Spectrum observed. "Except for Icy over there."
"I happen to feel quite toasty right here."
"Staying here is not a good idea for many reasons," Black Mamba added. "The authorities will be all over this place soon enough."
"And none of us want to be around when that happens," Icicle said. Spectrum still wasn't sure just what she was talking about. In actuality, they were all wanted by the law for various reasons.
"I'm in agreement, people," Spectrum stated. "How about we go find out what city that is over there?"
"I think that traveling in a big group might only draw attention to us," Black Mamba reasoned. "Mind Slayer and I will go our own way from here."
"Fine by us, right, Sugar?", Shadow Queen stated.
"I guess it makes sense," Spectrum said, hesitantly. "What about you, Icy?"
"I have no where else to go right now." Shadow Queen frowned at the prospect of further company. "If you don't mind having me along." Shadow Queen was about to say something when Spectrum cut her off.
"Sure thing. We might as well stick together." Icicle smiled shyly. Then she waved to the departing Black Mamba and Mind Slayer.
"Good luck!", Spectrum called to them. "So, now what?"
"Leave that to me, Sugar."
Some time later that evening, Spectrum and Icicle are crouched in the shadows in the city Spectrum spotted earlier. It turned out to be Denver, meaning the trio was in Colorado. They waited shivering some distance from an ATM machine. After a few nervous moments the third member of their trio appeared, stepping right out of the shadows on the wall.
"Voilá!" Shadow Queen presented the huge wads of cash she held for the other two to see.
"Wow," was all that Icicle could say. She stared at the money, never having seen so many bills at one time.
"Those are hundreds," Spectrum said. "Where'd you get those from?"
"Think nothing of it, Bright Eyes," Shadow Queen stated. "I decided that the bank's vault looked so much more inviting than just a little ol' cash machine. If we're going to be heading back to LA, we need to do it in style."
"What about the alarms?", Spectrum asked, not quite believing what Shadow Queen had just done. "How'd you get past those?"
"Oh, that." Shadow Queen thought for a moment. "I just tripped them. It would have taken too long otherwise. The police are probably on their way now."
"Oh great!", Spectrum said, throwing his hands in the air. "Well, as one shepherd said to the other shepherd, let's get the flock outta here." The other two were in complete agreement and they quickly deserted the area, as police sirens could be heard in the distance.
Some distance away, the trio stopped on a rooftop to consider their next actions. Spectrum kept a watchful eye on the activity in the streets below. Several police cars sped past, but none seemed to return. He wondered how many super heroes called Denver their home. Spectrum was not happy about the prospect of having to fight any. However, they appeared to have made a clean getaway.
"So, how much did you end up with anyway?", Icicle asked timidly, but obviously enthralled by the huge haul.
Shadow Queen looked quite pleased with herself. "We have more than enough. I'm guessing about $25,000, give or take."
"So, what's the next part of your plan? We can't just jump on a plane dressed like this," Spectrum said, indicating their costumes. Not only were they extremely conspicuous, they were also quite dirty and tattered in places from their long ordeal at the hands of Genocide.
"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Icicle offered. Her stomach had been giving her constant reminders of that fact since they reached the city.
"It should be past closing time at most stores. We just need to find a place that looks nice and get our clothes there," Shadow Queen rationalized. "The food should be even easier. Once we have suitable attire, we can pretty much eat anywhere we want." Shadow Queen flashed a handful of bills again. "Filet mignon, lobster, champagne, whatever we want."
"I'm still not too comfortable with this whole stealing thing," Spectrum stated uneasily. Icicle and Shadow Queen looked at each other for a moment and then back at the rainbow-hued super.
"You?", Shadow Queen laughed. "I would think stealing would be the least of your worries."
"Yeah, I guess," Spectrum said, hesitantly with a small laugh. "My mind's still a little fuzzy." He was beginning to get the feeling that he was a criminal of some sort, and from the sounds of it, perhaps a not so nice one at that. What had he done that would make him wanted by the law, and apparently known so well because of it? The guy with the tail mentioned something about Terror, Inc. Spectrum wasn't even sure just what a Terror, Inc. even was. He certainly didn't seem to think that he was the criminal type. In fact the whole thing seemed wrong to him. He would go along with it for now, at least, until he found out more information.
The next morning, Spectrum a.k.a. James Sculley, was reminiscing about the recent events in his life, while showering. After obtaining suitable clothing and a quick meal, the trio had procured lodging at a swank hotel. Shadow Queen had insisted on top of the line suites. Icicle got her own room, while Shadow Queen and Spectrum shared another at her suggestion.
"This is crazy!", James muttered to himself. The shower felt very good. Not as good as the night he and Shadow Queen had spent together, but pleasant nonetheless. "I still can't believe I'm some sort of criminal." Stealing the money from the bank had him uneasy all evening. It was still bugging him this morning. The two girls seemed to be taking it all in stride. "I don't remember doing anything criminal. Of course, I don't remember much at all. All I have is their word to go on. But how could so many people believe that if it wasn't true?"
His memory was frustratingly choppy. They had found out that it was now November 12th, 1985. The biggest hole in his memory, well over a year in length, covered the time directly before waking up on Whitney Parks' couch. Of course that was part of the strange Genocide experiment. It may not have even been real. Or maybe what was going on now was the illusion. Jim was beginning to wonder about his own sanity. Apparently his so-called criminal activities took place during this missing year. "Maybe I have an evil split personality," Jim mused. He had no other idea what to make of the situation.
The girls were another dilemma. "Icicle doesn't really seem like the criminal type either," Jim thought. He found himself wanting to help her out in some way. "She even seemed embarrassed by the fact when we spoke earlier. Wonder what led her to a life of crime." Icicle seemed like a tragic figure to him.
Shadow Queen was an entirely different situation. "She doesn't seem evil either, just extremely self-centered. Still, it's not every day that you have a gorgeous woman throw herself at you." Jim found himself virtually captivated by the sultry Shadow Queen. "Might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Who knows what tomorrow will bring." His offhanded comment would prove more prophetic than he could have imagined at the moment.
Later that afternoon, the trio are seated in first class of the TWA flight into LAX. Shadow Queen was on her third glass of champagne.
"Stewardess? Do you have any more of those divine chocolates?"
"Just a moment," the female flight attendant answered tersely.
"So, have you ever been to Los Angeles before?", Jim asked Icicle. She was going by the name Jennifer Snow, while Shadow Queen used the unlikely alias of Sally Sable.
"No, I haven't, actually. I've always wanted to go to California though," 'Jennifer' stated. "I'm really looking forward to this. Maybe things are beginning to look up."
"No problem," 'Sally' answered. "California is a big place. You won't have to cramp our style." While Shadow Queen got along quite well with most men, she could be quite catty around other women. They usually had a negative reaction to her, even before she opened her mouth.
"Oh, boy... I don't want to get caught up in this," Jim thought to himself. He tried to change the subject. "I wonder what the in flight movie is?", he finally said. Icicle frowned and stared out the window. She only wanted to fit in somewhere, but Shadow Queen was making that extremely difficult. Maybe it wouldn't be so easy to turn over a new leaf after all, she thought dejectedly.
Just then, there was a terrible jolt to the plane. The weather had been bad and they were climbing to try and get over the storms. Unfortunately, lightning had hit the airplane and it was quickly nosing downwards.
Flight attendants scurried about trying to get everyone ready for the upcoming emergency landing, while the captain barked orders over the intercom for the passengers to follow. Another strike connected with the unfortunate craft and the lights went out completely. Everywhere, people were screaming and shouting. A baby's wailing voice was drowned out by the rest of the frantic passengers. Shrouded completely in darkness, there was a tremendous impact...
The blanket of darkness began to lift from the eyes of James Sculley. Vaguely he became aware of the sensations his body was feeling. He was laying flat on his back, probably on a mattress, his head on a soft pillow. He groaned and began to stir. "Well, this is just lovely," he thought to himself. "The plane crashed and I'm probably in a hospital..."
A female voice spoke nearby. "I see that you're finally waking up. How are you feeling?"
"I've been better, nurse." Jim slowly opened his eyes and blinked, adjusting to the light. "How are my friends?"
"I'm not sure what friends you are talking about, James," the woman explained. "Are you sure you're all right?"
Jim focused in on the woman and his eyes grew wide. He was surprised to find that it was not a nurse as he had been expecting. Instead it was Whitney Parks gazing back at him.
Frantically Jim looked around and found that he was right back where this all started, in the apartment of Whitney Parks!
