Captain Proton, Shocker and Imago all watched the TV screen in Wave Rider’s basement, horrified at the carnage they were witnessing. Fortunately for all, the audio was muted. Wave liked having the TV on a particular channel, which had video ticker tape screen crawls of news updates while he himself listened to a music player with a chip he programmed.
“Imago, do you think you can bring Breaker and Gray Man here through the mirror?” Captain Proton asked.
“Reasonably sure. I have been working out a lot. I’m almost certain I can get Gray Man here. Breaker, maybe,” Imago said. The group had discovered that Imago CAN take more than herself through the mirror, it was a matter of developing her strength. If she could lift another person or object, she can mirrorport it. The early attempt to bring Shocker through the mirror failed because Imago was not strong enough at the time to lift her. Now, she could.
“Go get them and bring them here. I’ll call in to Base and see what they want us to do,” Proton ordered before switching from external speaker to communications. Imago quickly entered the mirror, her ‘tail light’ swiftly disappearing.
Proton, meanwhile, called in to Base. “Captain Proton to Doc Sparkle, do you read?” he asked.
His call was swiftly answered, but not by whom he was expecting. “Doctor Sparkle is unavailable, Captain. I’m Spike, her unseen administrative assistant. Looking for orders?”
“Yes, Spike. I remember talking to you every so often. What do you want the Electric Company to do? We’re gathering at The Cathouse,” Proton reported.
“Okay, let’s see…” Spike said distractedly, as if he was looking something up. “Okay, once you get the team together, we want you to get to the Commonwealth Channel (the river that separated the island Wave lived on from the island Equestrian City is on), find a boat and sail north along the channel, checking bridges, pipelines and such for explosives or any destructive influence. You have the sensors in your helmet to do that, and if you can’t disarm them, report them to me,” he concluded with firmness in his voice.
“Captain Proton and the Electric Company copies orders, Spike. Let me get organized, and we can start.”
“Operations Base ten-four, Captain!”
When Wave looked around, he saw Imago carrying Breaker on her back, in uniform, through the mirror. As soon as Breaker got off, she went back through the mirror. “It’s bad out there,” Breaker said. “I could hear rioting not far from my apartment.”
“What were you doing before all this brewed up?” Shocker asked.
“Watching Total Wasteland. I missed it last night,” Breaker explained. “Blaise and I were up at the forge for a couple of hours, drilling.”
“That’s about the only thing that will make you miss Total Wasteland. Did you tape my appearance on ‘Bucking View’?” Proton asked.
Breaker nodded. “Of course. Both on computer and DVR.”
Proton grinned, although no one could see it. “Knew you were smart, Breaker,” he said as Imago came through the mirror, Grey Man held in a fireman’s carry.
Once everyone was ready, Proton explained to everyone the orders he was given. “Now, how can we follow those orders?” he asked his crew.
“Know a marina I do on riverfront that does boat rent. Go there, get one, cruise upriver,” Grey Man droned.
“Is that not like stealing?” Imago asked.
“It’s like the police commandeering a car to continue a chase. We need something to check out the bridges with, and this is the fastest way,” Proton explained. “Grey Man, please pull up the coordinates of this marina and I’ll fly there. I will bring the boat over to Gramercy Park, we board, and we start our search.”
As Grey Man called up a map of the place, Proton synched his internal computer to his work laptop and printed out a warrant to commandeer one boat, according to appropriate regulations. Once all was ready, Proton headed outside and took off. At full charge, Proton’s armor would allow him to fly for five minutes out of every hour. If the flight time is used up, he will have to wait to fly again. Fortunately, the marina in question was about two and a half minutes flight time away.
While flying, Proton could see fires breaking out all over the main part of Equestrian City, and a few starting on Central Island, where he lived, the place where all the refugees from the Canterlot Disaster were placed a decade ago. “This is so not good…” he said to himself as he started his descent.
Getting a boat was easier than Proton had expected. No one was present at the marina rental office, so he slipped the warrant through the office’s mail slot and went boat hunting. He found a good one easily enough, so he got in, started it, cast off and headed for Gramercy Park.
Shocker led the rest of the team to the park, taking due care to remain unnoticed. While there were signs of rioting nearby, the group managed to avoid them. “Proton to the group, am at the park dock. Shocker, ETA?” Proton called.
“Two minutes, Captain. Entering park now.” Shocker said as they bypassed the park gate easily and went in. It wasn’t much longer than the stated two minutes before they got to the pier and climbed aboard.
“Shocker, take the helm. Head north along the channel. I am to inspect bridge crossing undersides for any ‘foreign materials’ that are there, if any,” Proton said. “The rest of you, keep a look out for trouble. Grey Man forward, the others port and starboard.”
“Ja, kapitain,” Grey Man replied, making his way to the bows of the sporting boat. Shocker took the helm, and started heading north at three-quarter power, to hurry to the first bridge.
For a half-hour, the group inspected bridges and crossings, finding nothing suspicious. Then they approached the Great North Bridge, which led the E-1 motorway into the northern part of Equestrian City, the looming, menacing bulk of Purgatory Rock tower off to their left. (The tower is a spire of volcanic rock almost a thousand feet tall and a good three hundred feet in diameter. Highest point in Equestrian City.) Proton looked up. Seeing motion up there that should not have been there, he called for a stop while he looked, zooming in with his sensors. “Motion up there. Four people going along the maintenance walkway. At least two with large packs,” he told the rest.
“Take me with you up there to stun them for examination,” Grey Man said in his monotone.
“We have not practiced that maneuver yet, but I can’t see anything better. I just hope I won’t lose grip on you going up,” Proton replied. “The rest of you, keep watch down here, and if anyone approaches, challenge them and call me. If needed, zap them.”
“Will do, Captain,” Shocker replied as Proton went behind Gray Man and got a grip on his wrists.
“Wrap your ankles around mine and hold on for all you are worth,” Proton said. Grey Man tensed some, Proton extended his flight pods and lit them off. He needed more thrust than usual to lift off, getting complaints from Shocker and Breaker, who caught the fringes of the takeoff thrust.
The flare from Proton’s jets did not go unnoticed by the foursome under the bridge. Flashes of light showed they were firing some sort of weapon on them. Grey Man did not hesitate. Raising his crossbow, he fired three shots, watching them climb up. One hit the bridge, two hit people, who dropped to the walkway.
“Nice shooting,” Proton told his passenger.
“Danke,” was the response.
“Bitte,” Proton answered as he got even with the walkway behind the people, since they were much closer to the south end than the northern, cutting off retreat.
Grey Man flopped onto the walkway, quickly raising himself to his feet and putting up his shield as Proton flew off the walkway, going to the other side of the quartet. “Now, are you going to tell us what you are doing up here at this time?” Proton asked in an oh-so-polite voice to the one in the front. They were all women, he could tell, but they were all masked.
“Killing meddlers,” was the leading lady’s only words before firing her pistol at Proton several times. The armor took the impacts well, and Wave’s raising of his own force field made sure he took no injury. The armor did take some markings from the bullets, though.
“Oh, now look what you did! You got my uniform dirty!” Proton said in an annoyed voice. He looked behind the lead lady as he raised his left arm and hand. “Time to dish out some punishment!”
Unseen by the leading lady, Grey Man had taken down the other woman with a stun shot from his crossbow and was looking at the Captain. Having caught the muzzle flashes from earlier, he calmly fired a stun bolt into the leading lady’s back as the Captain lit up his electroshock device. The lady dropped like a sack of potatoes, her pistol coming free from her grasp and falling into the river. “Nice shot, Grey. Teamwork helps,” the Captain said to his teammate.
“Ja,” was the reply.
Together, they searched the packs the ladies were carrying. Inside each was twenty pounds of some claylike substance, along with a couple of small boxes with wires. Proton called Spike with what he had found, to which Spike promptly answered, “That’s Composition Five military grade explosive, Captain. Make sure there are no detonators attached to the explosive, then toss it into the channel. Bring the detonators, they are more easily traced. You have three minutes of flight time left. If you can get the ladies onto the south bank, we can arrange for pickup.”
Proton thought for a moment, looking at his display. “I can bring down two, no problem. The third may be dicey. We’ll do what we can. Proton out,” he said before relaying his orders to Shocker in the boat.
“We’ll find a place to tie up on the south bank. We can keep them under cover until help arrives,” Shocker said as she went to one quarter throttle before steering the boat to the south bank.
“Good. Grey, pick up the smallest of them and bring her to the south bank ladder. I will work with the others.”
“Ja.”
Proton picked up the largest of the ladies in his arms before activating the flight pod. Moving as fast as he could, he got her to the south bank near to where the boat was approaching. Wasting no time, he put her down and headed back up. After completing the second trip, he found that he had one minute two seconds of flight time left in his pack. Grey was carrying the smallest down the ladderway without trouble, so he went up for the last of them, gathering their loose packs and anything dropped on the walkway before heading back down. His jets sputtered out just after reaching the ground. “Well, that was close,” he said as his jets retracted into the pack.
“Close, but it worked. Now, to check these ladies over thoroughly,” Proton ordered as Grey neared with his burden. “Breaker, take the helm. Imago, Shocker, help in the search, please.”
A search of their possessions revealed not much to go on. No identification, just pocket money and bus tickets, along with all the gear needed to plant the explosives in place, and one smartphone with the diagrams showing just where to plant the bombs for maximum effect. “I wonder how and from whom they got this information,” Imago wondered.
“Let me look,” Breaker said from the boat. “I think I can track down the sender.”
Breaker took the phone and started flipping through screens. After a few minutes, he told the others, “From what I can find, only from someone named Babs. If I had my laptop, I could find out more. I can give you the phone number.”
Spike broke in over the general frequency. “Give me the number, and I can track it down.” Breaker did so, then Spike told the others, “Head towards Purgatory. We’ll need you to get to the top of the mountain and disable the transmitters on top of it. Mayhem’s transmitting a signal over TV and radio that is causing all the chaos in town!”
Spike followed his orders up with “I’m just relaying from Doctor Sparkle. Now, get going, B-team!”
“Should we just leave them here?” Proton asked.
“Yes. Take only the phone and one detonator. Proton, you carry the phone in your shielded compartment, Shocker, you take the detonator in your screened pouch,” Spike ordered before signing off the general frequency.
“You heard the orders, fellows and gals. Breaker, set course for Purgatory, half speed,” Proton ordered. “I’ll figure out getting on top later.”
“You don’t need to, Captain,” Shocker said. “There’s a transformer bank on the north shore that powers the transmitters. I’ve been there once, to survey some new construction they did. Take out the transformers, and no transmitters.”
Proton looked at his sister, his faceplate hiding his impressed expression. “I like that idea. Okay, everyone catch your breath before we get there. We may have to go through some people to get the job done,” he said, sitting down on a bench seat.
It wasn’t long before the boat circled around to the north side of the island, the transformer field brightly lit. “Over that way, Breaker!” Proton shouted, pointing to the lit pier.
“I see it, Captain. Just chill out, okay? Blowing that is going to give me one hell of a headache,” Breaker said in a distracted tone as he moved the boat alongside the pier. “Imago, take over here and hold the boat in place.”
Imago nodded as Proton led the others down the pier, to come into contact with a locked gate. “Is there a locksmith in the house?” Proton snorted.
“Ja.” Grey Man said, raising his crossbow. Shocker and Breaker moved aside, giving Grey Man a clear shot. One squeeze, and the bolt severed the chain holding the lock in place.
“Nice shot, Grey,” Proton said as he strode up to the gate, taking the chain in both hands before using the strength-amplification circuitry to twist the broken link apart and unwinding the chain to open the gate.
“Practice, Captain. Do that a lot I do,” Grey droned. “Practice both on chain and rope.”
“Well, you do good,” Proton replied as he opened the gate. “Breaker, Shocker, go in and cut the power! Let’s cause a little mayhem here!”
“Watch what you’re saying, Captain…” Shocker snapped. “We’re trying to STOP Mayhem, not cause it!”
“Of course! Mayhem to stop mayhem… fitting, yes?” Proton said with a small laugh as Shocker and Breaker moved off, one to find the distribution bus, the other to one of the big transformers.
It was only a few minutes later that the two returned on the run. “Captain, let’s get clear! Once I start, we want to be far away from here!” Breaker said as he ran, Shocker not far behind.
“Okay! Everyone to the boat! Imago, get ready, because here we come!” Proton shouted as he turned to head for the boat. Grey was already in motion. A minute later, all were aboard and Imago goosed the throttle. “Breaker, fire at your discretion!”
“Everyone, look AWAY from the island!” Breaker shouted before counting. “Three… two… one… NOW!”
The skies lit up as Breaker stopped the power flow in one of the transformers, the flash, followed by a shower of sparks, was bright enough to be seen at a highway junction town fifteen miles away. Proton’s visor darkened even though he was looking away. “Wow… that was something! Breaker, how are you now?” Proton asked.
“Miserable,” Breaker muttered. “I have one hell of a headache. It will pass.”
“Not soon enough, I’m sure,” Imago said from the control chair. She reached behind her back, driving one-handed while she pulled out a first aid kit she had attached to the small of her back with some velcro. “I got something for you here.”
Shocker moved up to relieve Imago at the helm, so she could handle the kit. Imago got it open and pulled out two foil-coated packs, one white, the other orange. “White first. Chewables. No water needed,” she said, giving them to Breaker.
“Thanks, Imago. I know you care,” Breaker said before taking the white tablets. Before he could take the other ones, the skies lit up again, this time a bright white color that started at the top of Purgatory Island and worked its way down all sides of the stone edifice.
“Uh, oh…” Proton breathed before calling in to base to report what he was seeing.
“Go around to the Purgatory dock and make sure no one breaks out! Things are getting busy!” Spike shouted in Proton’s ear before the transmission was shut off with an audible click.
“Will do, Spike. Shocker, head for Purgatory. Let’s hope there isn’t a mass breakout.”
“How can we stop a breakout?” Shocker asked as she steered the boat around the still-flickering tower of rock.
“Stop any boats from leaving until they are fully vetted as being run by staff, not prisoners,” Proton replied.
“Maybe start fire at gate?” Grey Man asked.
“All depends on how it’s set up, Grey. I’ve never been there.”
“Be there soon we will. Find out then. Think while doing, like in firefight,” Grey said, spotting the large pier and receiving complex of Purgatory prison ahead of them.