Cosmics: Cliffhanger

Finally, Marty had found him.

After all the searching, it was Unicorn - Dr Dynamo's teammate from the Cosmic Knights - who had provided the answer. Marty had checked the Orlando hospital written on the card Unicorn had passed to him and discovered someone on the patient list with the same name as Dr Dynamo's secret identity. It had been a long shot - surely there were dozens of men called Robert Hammond in the state of Florida alone - but, nevertheless, he'd whizzed northwards to check it out.

He hadn't been expecting to meet an old guy in his 80s.

"Hullo Marty. You found me at last, eh?" the frail old man wheezed, as he lay almost hidden within crisp white sheets on the hospital bed. Wires and tubes were festooned about the man, whilst some sort of monitor beeped occasionally next to the bed.

"Doc? Isthatyou?Itcantbeyou!" Kid Kinetic babbled, excitement and suspicion colouring his lightning quick words. He glared at the man in the bed who, to Marty, looked like he was close to the end of his life.

"Kid, kid. Slow down. *cough* I can't tell what you're saying", the old man stuttered, shuffling a little in an attempt to sit up.

Marty squeezed his eyes shut and, with effort, tried to calm down.

"Sorry. It's just I can't believe it's you Doc. Was this what Entropy did to ya? Turned you into an old man?!" This time Marty spoke at a more normal pace, though his words were still a little rushed.

Finally managing to sit up a little, the old man replied with a sad sort of smile.

"Yeah, it's me - in the flesh. Well, what's left of it. And Entropy was sort of responsible for my predicament but not in the way you think". Dr Dynamo stopped for a moment to catch his breath before continuing. "It's a long story".

Kid Kinetic stood there, tapping his foot, waiting for Dr Dynamo  - also known as Bob Hammond to those few who knew his secret identity - to continue. The old man rolled his eyes and took a rattling deep breath.

"Ok, ok. Just give me a moment, it's been a long time", he replied, closing his eyes.

For a moment, Marty thought his old mentor had fallen asleep. However, a second or two later the man in the bed opened his eyes, nodded, coughed weakly and continued. He spoke slowly, his rasping voice strained and peppered with coughs.

"When the villain you know as Entropy and I fought towards the end of last year, the clash somehow ripped a hole in space-time creating a temporal bridge between now and then..."

Dr Dynamo glanced up at Marty and saw the look of confusion on the teen's face. He sighed.

"During the fight, Entropy's chaotic power threw us both back in time. Back to November 1961. I appeared there first, closely followed by Entropy. Our arrival did something though. *cough* Caused some sort of energy fluctuation that rippled outwards".

Dr Dynamo's cough got the better of him at that moment and he paused to let his wheezing, rasping chest settle before continuing.

"Anyway, when we reappeared in '61, we were both disorientated and not sure where or when we were. All we knew was that we were fighting, trying to stop one another. So we continued to fight. *cough* Eventually I halted his attack, although it took a lot of my power. *cough* But just as I hit Entropy with a electro-bolt that should have rendered him unconscious, Entropy disappeared. Though that wouldn't be the last I saw of him".

Again, the old man's cough resurfaced. He struggled to reach for a glass of water on the bedside table, until Marty zipped around the other side of the bed and handed it to him. Dr Dynamo took a sip from the glass before carrying on.

"*cough* Thanks kid. Now, where was I? Oh yeah. Entropy had disappeared again, leaving me there in Miami at the start of the '60s. I soon learned what had happened to me and where, or more importantly when, I was. I also discovered something that really shook me up. *cough* Before my arrival there had never been any other person with cosmic powers. I was the first".

"What do you mean, you were the first?" Kid Kinetic interrupted. "Cosmics have been around for ages!"

"Nah, kid. Read your history books", Dr Dynamo admonished. "Cosmics didn't start appearing until the end of 1961. It was my arrival that started it off, you see? The influx of tachyon particles caused a chrono-atomic reaction that, in turn, released a wave of exotic cosmic rays. *cough* These rays mutated the DNA in some people causing the birth of the Cosmic Age. Entropy and I caused all the cosmic powers".

"You sure, doc? Really?! Wow, that'ssoawesome". Kid Kinetic zipped around the bed, his arms waving in the air as he went. Dr Dynamo simply took another sip of water and sighed.

"Yeah, well. Whatever it was, there was nothing I could do about it. I was stuck in the '60s with no way back. *cough* So I had to live my life as best I could. First, I helped the fledgling cosmics come to terms with their new, and sometimes bizarre, abilities. Then later, I helped set up the first iteration of the Cosmic Knights. All the while I had to get a job, find somewhere to live, and try to adjust to being fifty years in the past".

"So that's it? That's why you're so old?" Marty stopped zooming around and actually stood still for a moment, a look of astonishment on his face.

"It is, kid, yeah", Dr Dynamo rasped. "But there's more and this is important, Marty. Y'see, like I said earlier, that wasn't the last we saw of Entropy. Around 12 years later in 1973, he reappeared in Miami. *cough* He was bigger this time, about twice the size of a regular person, and his chaos energy had mutated him. He went rampaging through downtown Miami causing lots of weird things to happen and, unfortunately killed a couple of people - including the Arachnid's girlfriend. Eventually we stopped him but he went and disappeared on us again *cough*".

He took another glug of water to help his cough and then put the glass back down on the nearby table, his boney hands shaking as he did. When he spoke again, Marty noticed that his mentor seemed somewhat more agitated; worry and concern was etched across his grey, wrinkled face.

"He reappeared in 1986 and, again, his arrival caused a crisis", Dr Dynamo continued. "This time he'd grown even taller; he was now around 50 feet in height, perhaps more. And, he was meaner and more powerful. Like before, a bunch of us tried to stop him but all that happened was that he vanished again. Though not before we'd all caused a lot of damage and quite a few deaths".

Dr Dynamo paused thinking for a moment back to those darker days.

"That event led the way for the Cosmic Powers Registration Act. The government had seen how much damage cosmics could do and so wanted to curtail, or at least control, our actions. Although in hindsight it seemed somewhat harsh, I could understand why they did it. They feared us and what we could do. That's when I retired for good *cough, cough*".

The old man shook his head and slumped a little in his bed. He turned his steel blue eyes away from the past and stared towards Kid Kinetic.

"You know of the last time he reappeared", Dr Dynamo finally stated, somewhat enigmatically.

"What do you mean? A couple of years ago when he broke out of the Cube!?" Marty asked, puzzled, trying to look away from the other man's cold gaze.

"No, kid. I mean back in 1999. Of course, then everyone called him Monstro..." Dr Dynamo explained, his voice trailing off into another fit of coughing.

"What the...?!?" Marty exclaimed. He'd heard of Monstro - everyone had heard of Monstro. He'd been the biggest threat cosmics had ever faced. And here was his mentor saying Entropy and Monstro were one and the same. "Monstro was Entropy!? Entropy is Monstro? How the...? Are you serious?"

"Deadly serious, kid" Dr Dynamo replied, his voice low. "The latest time Entropy reappeared, he was so powerful and so crazy that he caused the wholesale destruction of Miami. *cough* Millenia was built in it's place with help from the cosmics, like the Professor. But that won't help next time. Each time Entropy reappears, he gets exponentially larger and more powerful. Next time... *cough* well, he'll cause the destruction of most of America, I'm sure of it. Tens of millions will die!"

Dr Dynamo lifted his frail hand and suddenly gripped Kid Kinetic's arm. Although the retired cosmic hero was old and weak, Marty could feel the tingle of electricity from the fingers that dug into his arm. Dr Dynamo glared at his sidekick, his eyes wide and his voice shaking with fear.

"I've been doing the calculations, kid, analysing when he arrived the last three times. If I'm right, I reckon we've only got a couple of months. Kid, you've got to warn the Knights. Tell them to build up their strength and prepare".

"Tell them... Entropy, Monstro, whatever you want to call him... is returning and he's going to destroy us all!"

Cosmics: Monstro's Rampage

"Hi. This is Lena Lewis of WSVN news reporting live on the outskirts of Miami. Reports are coming in regarding the apparent wholesale destruction of downtown Miami by what some are calling Monstro - a giant humanoid cosmic-powered monster taller than any skyscraper here in southern Florida. Authorities say this Monstro started its attack earlier this morning, around 11am EST, and has continued to rampage through the city since then. Nothing seems..."

(A large explosion in the near distance causes the camera to shudder)

"...Woah! That... that was close... Anyway, yes, nothing seems to be able to stop it. Cosmic heroes in the region have raced to Miami to try and protect the city and drive back the monster, but their efforts appear to be in vain. We've reports of hundreds of deaths, including America's own champion of justice, the Cosmonaut, and a handful of other heroes".

"We did manage to get a few words from the Professor earlier after she had assisted the authorities in the city's evacuation..."

(Scene cuts to a grainy image of the Professor on her hover platform constructing some sort of large, high-tech device. Tears are streaming down her face)

"It... it killed him. He... he was the most powerful of us all but somehow it contorted the space-time matrix, warping the interstitial space within his molecular construction. And it froze Rocket Man. Froze him solid! Whilst Oak spontaneously combusted and Captain Miraculous transformed into a young boy. The chaos energy the creature is emitting is too great for even me to measure and it keeps shifting, changing. I... I don't know what it is. Merlini called it Monstro - some sea monster from a movie - and I guess the name is as good as any for this... murderer.

Now please, keep back. I need to build a chaotic conversion matrix, though whether Dr Dynamo can produce enough electrical energy to power it in order to contain this Monstro, I don't know. It's just so... powerful. And... and Viktor's dead. I... Please stay BACK!!"

(The image breaks up and returns back to Lena Lewis, looking worried, as more explosions echo nearby)

"This is one of America's greatest disasters since the dawn of the Cosmic Age back in the sixties. Most of this southern city has been destroyed and no one knows whether the cosmics can stop the creature from causing further damage. Radio signals cannot be transmitted out and reporters are not being allowed inside the city limits. Even the air space has been closed after a jet plane was apparently transformed into snow".

"So, in the meantime, our prayers go out to those still trapped in the city whilst we cross our fingers and hope that our cosmic heroes prevail against this Monstro".

Cosmics: Destruction...

~ 7:00am, Tuesday 20th July 1999 ~

Jack Harper woke and turned off the alarm. A new day had dawned in Miami. Jack sighed wearily. For the past few years he had always looked forward to sleep. It was a welcome release from the pressures of the day. A pity, then, that sleep seemed to last but a moment. It felt like only a couple of minutes ago that he'd put his head down on the pillow at the end of the first day of a working week.

And now it was Tuesday morning.

Megan, his wife, stirred as Jack got up and made his way to the bathroom. He always got to use the bathroom first due to the fact that Megan left the house later than he did. She'd given up her job as a nurse a couple of years ago and now worked in the local store part time. She'd said working in the hospital had reminded her of the past and Jack had agreed that she should change jobs. Eighteen months later he'd done the same thing.

Jack joined his wife for breakfast after showering. It was a simple and quiet affair. They said little to each other beyond enquiring as to whether each other had slept okay and what the day's weather would be. Eventually, after getting himself ready for work, Jack picked up his briefcase, kissed his wife goodbye and drove away in his reliable Honda.

It appeared to be a normal, ordinary day in the life of Jack Harper, ex-ER doctor and one of the many current employees of GenTech Industries.

~ 8:55am, Tuesday 20th July 1999 ~

Entering the small Miami office of GenTech, Jack flashed his badge at the security guard and smiled at the receptionist. The receptionist, Clare something, smiled back and said hello. Although he was a doctor and a scientist, Jack didn't look like your typical science-geek type. He was tall, broad, plainly handsome and built like a linebacker. People tended to notice him, women especially. Jack tended to ignore them back.

Entering the elevator, Jack made his way to the labs, via his shared office. He'd been employed as a research assistant at GenTech for only six months now, primarily working for the Department of Advanced Neo-Genetic Experimental Research. As Jack entered the "DANGER" lab, as some amusingly called it, a voice shouted out a greeting.

"Hey, Smilin' Jack. How're things?" called a small, grey-haired man dressed in a bright white lab coat.

It was Bob Morgan. Doctor Bob as people called him and the man who had christened the department the "DANGER" lab. He was also Jack's boss.

"Not bad, Bob. How about you?" answered Jack, without the glimmer of a smile on his face.

"Ready for another stimulating day in the Danger lab!" Bob replied, a broad grin on his face.

Jack nodded, grunted and put on his somewhat more drab lab coat over his sports shirt and trousers. The lab coat was a little small for his frame but Jack felt reassuringly comfortable in it. Indeed, thought Jack, it was another day in the lab. However, it was far from as stimulating as his days in the hospital's emergency room. And for that, Jack was grateful.

~ 11:20am, Tuesday 20th July 1999 ~

Jack's current work was in the area of Engineered Negligible Senescence and (ultimately) involved trying to replicate the regenerative properties of certain amphibians in humans. A number of years ago, research had indicated that some mice had this ability and Jack now had the task of tying down what that process was and what genes were responsible for this capacity. He had it down to six specific genes and now had to see if these could be stimulated in the human genome to enhance the innate regenerative ability of people.

Jack was busy studying the possible use of hepatocyte nuclei when, suddenly, the fire alarm went off. He hadn't heard that a drill was scheduled which meant the alarm was probably genuine - albeit due to a minor fire in one of the other labs, no doubt. A second later, a young research assistant rushed into the lab.

"Hey, have you lot heard? They're getting everyone to evacuate the city", gasped the co-worker, a little out of breath.

"What?" said Doctor Bob incredulously. "Who're 'they'?".

Jack looked from his boss to the other man, a deep frown on his face. He hastily continued to put away his work. The research assistant shrugged and began to turn around, heading back the way he had come.

"Not sure", answered the man over his shoulder. He then added, "Someone said the FBI and Homeland Security had announced it. The military are getting involved. Everyone's heading out". He retreated out of the door and off to tell others his news.

One of his fellow workers had been tapping away on a terminal and he pointed to the screen.

"He's right", he exclaimed in excitement. "The internet's full of the news. The national guard has been deployed to get Miami clear. There's some sort of huge monster heading this way. Cosmonaut and the Professor are heading out to meet it".

Jack grumbled, the low, deep noise rumbling from well inside his broad chest. All he wanted, he thought, was a quiet life. Was that so difficult? What on earth was going on out there? Would the cosmics stop this creature? He had to get to Megan and make sure she was safe.

All of a sudden, the building shook, causing a few bottles to crash to the floor. His fellow researchers were already heading to the door, whilst Jack tried to clear away the dangerous biochemicals.

"C'mon Jack", Bob called from the doorway.

"Just a second!", Jack replied, although by then Bob had already rushed out of the room and was now half way down the corridor. Deciding to leave everything as it was, Jack took a stumbling step towards the open doorway.

It was then that the second, much larger quake hit the building...