Issue #78 – Delved Too Deep (Une Mascarade Brisée Part 1)

The Descendants Vol 7: The New World

• Issue #73 – Give Thanks
• Issue #74 – Bit Part Bad Guys
• Issue #75 – Kaiju for Christmas
• Issue #76 – Silicon Soul, Adamantine Will
• Issue #77 – Date Night
• Issue #78 – Delved Too Deep (Une Mascarade Brisée Part 1)
• Issue #79 – Tome of Secrets (Une Mascarade Brisée Part 2)
• Descendants Special #7 – The Curtain Rises
• Issue #80 – Bitter Work
• Issue #81 – Kin, Speed and Ducks
• Issue #82 – What To Do With Your Downtime
• Issue #83 – Avalon Rises
• Issue #84 – Darkness Falling
• Descendants Annual #7 – First Frost

Delved Too Deep (Part 6)

Tens of thousands of eyes were fixed on the unprecedented weather anomaly off the coast of Georgia. While look-down satellite imaging was out of service for reasons unknown, radar showed it was an unusually small, intense hurricane with sustained winds at the eye wall far in excess of the most powerful gust in recorded history.

It followed no known upper atmospheric currents, it produced no feeder bands, and it hardly seemed to have any effect beyond its own atmospheric footprint.

Nothing like it had been seen before and even with all the disruptions to the internet, word spread quickly and as the ‘Megastorm’ bore down on Meridian Beach, Georgia, everyone even remotely interested in the science of weather found themselves obsessively watching its progress and praying for those in its path.

Brave and foolish souls made their way to the coast with whatever camera they had to watch the apocalyptic storm approach the shore. A fleet’s worth of amateur drones were launched and flown out over the ocean to get a closer look. Professionals poured over whatever satellite information that they could get their hands on.

Every one watching remembered exactly where they were at three fifty-seven that day when the universe rewarded their quest for answers about the universe with a whole new line of questions.

***

“I told you we need to get down to the shelter.” An old man, dragging ninety more than he was pushing it, leaned on the open frame of the door leading out onto a spacious deck that overlooked a perilous drop down to a stretch of rocky beach.

The target of his glare was a woman about his age, who was sitting by the railing, looking out over the ocean where ominous storm clouds were mounting. He didn’t doubt for a moment that she was making use of the advanced optics features of her replacement eyes to watch the storm up close.

In reply, she grabbed onto the rail and gripped it firmly. “And I told you, I wanted to see the storm come in. Somethin’ weird about this one. It doesn’t look right.”

“Of course it doesn’t look right.” the man said, stepping out on the deck. “It’s the big one. They said they stopped that global warming in the 20’s, but they didn’t. Now this place is gonna get smashed flat. Now if you don’t wanna get smashed flat, come on and let’s get down to the shelter.” When he gestured, his right arm, about three years out of warranty, made a loud, whirring noise. He stopped to scowl at it. If the town was still there after the storm, he’s set up an appointment to get fitted with a replacement.

The old lady scoffed. “They say that every time there’s a big storm and you always believe ’em. We’re still here aren’t we?”

“Actually, it’s a really big one this time.” Both elders flinched as Vamanos appeared in the doorway the man had just stepped away from.

“Who the hell are you?” The old lady asked.

“And where’d you come from?” Added the old man.

Vamanos started to speak, then jumped back. “Ah!”

The woman narrowed her eyes, as she was the one being screamed at. “What?”

This drew a laugh from the old man. “Your eyes.” He shook his head and raised a hand to calm the strangely garbed young woman down. “Don’t worry, kiddo, she just never puts the covers on those things like she’s supposed to.”

Grunting indignantly, the woman made a point of widening her eyes to show off the silver, circuit-laced spheres with forward facing sensor nodes mounted in her head. “If I’m gonna pay to be a cyborg, I’m gonna show it off. Only thing I’m sorry for is they don’t light up like the spine.”

She turned around and pressed the housecoat she was wearing tight against her back so that a faint line of LEDs could be seen running up the center of her back.

“Why would…” Vamanos started, then shook her head. “Never mind. The point is, your nurse called the national guard and said you were refusing to evacuate, so now I’m here to convince you to evacuate. Well, actually my orders are to evacuate you anyway whether you like it or not, but then everyone was arguing, so I’m not sure about that anymore… just please come with me.”

When she only got incredulous stares, she added. “I’m a superhero by the way. Maybe you’ve heard of me? Vamanos?”

“Let’s go?” The man asked, scratching his head, which still managed to have a thick coif upon it, though it had turned gray unlike the woman’s whose hair was red, whether by nature or by bottle.

“Oh good, I thought this was going to be hard. Of course let’s go. Now, I can carry you—”

“No,” interrupted the old man. “You name. You named yourself ‘let’s go’?”

Vamanos blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

The old lady rolled her eyes, which looked just wrong with the cybernetics. “In Spanish, dearie. In Spanish, ‘Vamanos’ means ‘let’s go’. Did you not know that?”

After giving her a doe-eyed stare for a moment, Vamanos slapped herself lightly on the forehead. “Seriously? I heard it on TV and thought it sounded good. Wow, it turned out to be really appropriate too.” She shook her head when she remembered her mission. “Wait, the point is, you guys need to be the ones going. Away from here. Because bad stuff is going to happen.”

The man chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about us, kiddo. Once I get Miss Stubborn over there to come inside, we’re headed down to the shelter. I got it all set up: we’re gonna eat nachos and game until this all blows over.”

“All set up.” The woman piped up. “You better not have touched my dice, I just rolled all the ones out.”

Vamanos grinned. “Oh cool, you guys role play too. Some of my friends do that.”

“Probably twenty-fifth edition.” the old lady complained, “With their stupid haggling rules and the random debris tables removed.

“…Right.” Vamanos said. “Um, the thing is, with these winds, your shelter’ll probably explode or something unless it’s carved out of rock. You really ought to come with me.”

The old man rubbed his chin. “Well maybe.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” The old woman said, folding her arms and turning back toward to coast. “I told you… Oh. Oh my. Something’s happening out there.”

***

It was as if a switch had been thrown. The terrible winds at the core of the storm ceased as if they never existed in the first place. Tons of water whipped into froth and rain and cloud by it hung suspended for a moment in time before falling in a torrent and subliming into mist.

As the natural order reasserted itself and the normal afternoon breeze off the coast gently took hold, the veil of fog and rain was peeled back like a great curtain. And at the center of that natural stage, hovering a big as life and as obvious as the sun above, was a dragon the size of a football field.

***

Back on the astral plane, Kareem found himself staring into an eye larger than his torso.

Something probed at him. It wasn’t quite telepathy in the same way a skeleton key wasn’t quite the correct key for a given lock. All the same, it did the job and Kareem could sense as the dragon’s mind carefully delved into his own and sifted through memories and thoughts to find a certain learned skill and fully analyze it.

It was only after the task was done that the dragon acknowledged he was even there. The words entered his mind; only two words, used with the uncertainty of someone trying out new safety gear might.

Show. Me.

After some hesitancy, it added.

Show me the one who took my child and did her harm.

Kareem obliged, using the same pathways the dragon was using to communicate with him to share his memories. He showed her the news reports Laurel had shown them about the ‘creature’ in Montana. He replayed his own experiences waking up from stasis after years only to be trapped in his own body. Through the theater of his mind, he related the tale of the Academy, of the experimental facility at Quinn Bluffs, of the tortured experiments like the inugami.

Alongside them, he showed her the Descendants struggle to protect as many as possible from Tome’s machinations and those like them.

Finally, he showed her the footage he’d seen and Chaos telling the tale—of Tome’s agents Beowulf and Maleficent.

The local astral plane trembled under the emotions rolling off the dragon. Her rage became a tangible presence that seeped into the space around her in a choking cloud.

My child was harmed to make abominations! She cries out from the pain for these Mankinds to have power! I will go to her and then I will punished the one who did this!

The winds started to swirl again.

Kareem pressed back against the dragon’s mind. Wait!

Why should I? She cries. She needs me.

Sending soothing emotion into their connection, Kareem did his best to speak quickly. Because between you and your child, there are hundreds of people and other creatures who had nothing to do with what happened to your child. Your wind will kill them and if it does not kill them, it will surely destroy their homes and livelihood. Many who survive will only die later; of exposure or starvation. Is that what you wish to do?

The dragon considered it. Really considered it, he could tell. Her child meant more to her than the lives of any tiny things on the alien world she invaded.

He tried to conjure up images that might sway her: parents and children he’s seen in the park, his own time with his own mother and father, times he spent with his friends.

This got no reaction. He supposed that dragons had no need for parks or understanding of board games. Thinking fast, he switched tactics.

We can help you. We know this world and we have knowledge of our mutual enemy. If you communicate with us peacefully, we can work together against this threat—end it once and for all for both our worlds.

For a moment, the only proof that she acknowledge him was a thinning of the rage aura, Then her voice entered his mind again.

Agreed. What you have shown me and what I have seen with my own eyes is proof that this evil must be eradicated. I will parley with you… Descendants. In trust, I will give you my nae: Rhamahedrion Armigal, She Who Rests Great Timbers Upon Her Sleeping Brow.

The formality of the introduction struck Kareem with an odd calming sensation. This was a civilized being who was beyond wild and dangerous instinct; someone who could be reasoned with and with whom a real alliance could be struck.

In the same trust, I am Kareem ibn Raimi Al-Utt, called Ephemeral when I am doing the work of protecting the innocent and exacting justice. I believe there is much that we can discuss.

***

“The signal modulates every time we jam it—sometimes within nanoseconds.” Reported a technician from her console inside a specially outfitted transport ship, currently parked outside of the Tome base Deep Ten. “It’s as if it’s actively anticipating our efforts to jam it and reacts accordingly.”

“Of course it is.” Simon Talbot said with a scowl. He was listening to her report from the ‘factory floor’ of Deep Ten, nicknamed the menagerie because it was where all the captured Faerie creatures were housed and processed. He was personally overseeing the evacuation of the most valuable specimens and the destruction of any and all links left at the facility that might lead the government or Descendants to other Tome facilities.

That was one thing they had going for them: the dragon plus the crushing pressure of a mile of ocean water had done a damn good job of that with Deep Twenty-Three, give or take whatever survivors the navy picked up.

“Maybe we should just kill it.” suggested a grim-faced Ronald Powell, standing beside him.

“Oh yes.” Talbot said, pretending to consider the idea. “I’m sure mama out there will just give up and leave us alone if we murder her child on top of the kidnapping and experimentation. Even if it doesn’t find us, we’re likely to die when it rampages across the country.”

His casual expression shifted with viper-swiftness to an acidic glare. “Think before you make suggestions, Powell. The important thing now is surviving Flint’s boondoggle long enough to capitalize on it..”

A stasis cell containing something that looked like a shrub with thin, wispy tentacles was pushed past. Talbot paused to consider the creature before speaking into the wireless headset attached to his ear. “Stop trying to jam it. Shut down operations and be prepared to move as soon as I’m topside.”

“Yes sir.”

As Talbot started to step away, Powell caught his arm. “Wait a minute. What about the dragon?”

Talbot rolled his eyes and shrugged. “If you think you can do it in time, unhook it from all the sensor and medical equipment and leave it outside. Actually, best to unhook it anyway. If we’re lucky, its healing factor will wipe away any evidence of harm.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“Ha.” Talbot reached into his jacket and removed a long, black case. “Well I’m getting out of here and hopefully pinning everything on Flint. It’s about time the Descendants and ROCIC were on to him anyway. But first, I’m going to go down to X-ray level and gin up a surprise for both the heroes and the dragon—buy us some time.”

He shook off Powell’s grip and walked away, setting his headset to dial the facility switchboard. “Yes, have Dr. Farber wake Project Fenrir and link them in to the Generator. Once you do that, I need you to patch me through to an agent and get them on a plane immediately…”

To Be Continued… In Descendants #79