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Power Shot · #2 [ ] 11-09-2007, 12:21 AM

Part Two

Tobias silently swore at the redundancy of airplane flights. Despite the fact that he himself was responsible for his lack of entertainment, he still wished something would happen to relieve him from the distractions that surrounded him. He could listen to music, but that seemed like a bad decision. He had declined the stewardess’ offer to provide him with headphones for that very reason. I don’t get why people are so insistent about listening to such loud, annoying songs. They sound so lazy, everyone is either screaming or rap-speaking. Tobias just stared blankly into the seat in front of him, because in addition to this boredom, the entirety of coach seemed determined to prevent him from enjoying even a fraction of the silence he had enjoyed in the terminal. There was snoring, talking and, of course, about seven people who were unaware of the fact that he could hear their music from ten feet away.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the air was stale and disgusting. The air circulation was malfunctioning or something, because Tobias didn’t like the scent. It’s too warm and dry for my taste. At least it was cool, even if it wasn’t quite breezy.

Since they had taken off, the stewardess had been coming down the aisle every half an hour to offer drinks to everyone and pick up their trash. Tobias noticed her making her fourth trip down the plane as she left first class. She seems a little tired. Indeed, her blond hair was unkempt and her green eyes were a bit dull, but she still gave everyone a smile. Tobias noticed that, as she entered coach by way of the curtain that divided both sections, she hid away bottles of champagne in her trolley. Well, if I can’t afford first class, I guess I don’t get good hooch as punishment.

Tobias looked up when she reached his aisle. “Would you care for something to drink?” she asked.

In response, Tobias glanced at the two people sitting next to him: a married couple who were deeply involved with the nap they were taking. He tried to shrug, but the husband was draped on his right shoulder. “I’m going to guess a ‘no’ for them,” he offered sheepishly.

She giggled. “And what about you, sir?”

“Please, ma’am, don’t call me sir. I work for a living.” She laughed again. She’s nice… Eh, I suppose one drink wouldn’t kill me. “While I don’t drink alcohol, could I please have some Dr. Pepper?” In response she nodded, and her hand ducked into the trolley to grab a can for him. Tobias took it from her, along with a plastic glass to drink it in. Tobias glanced at the can in astonishment. It’s so tiny! It was so little he could barely hold it in his gigantic hands. The plastic cup was a joke, and he had to keep it in his thumb and pinky to not crush it. “You wouldn’t, by any chance, have anything slightly bigger? I don’t want to make a mess by breaking the can and spilling everything.”

“Unfortunately, no,” she answered, and shook her head apologetically. “We just have those tiny little things for everyone. Between you and me, I kind of wish we did have the regular cans. That way I wouldn’t have to go down this way every half-hour. It’s so dull. Plus, it might lessen my workload if we gave everyone larger servings. I wouldn‘t have to go down the aisle so many times.”

Tobias chuckled, and opened the tab of his soda can. “Now, while I agree that the cans could be bigger, especially for us giant folk,” the big man began, and took a slight sip of his drink, “I wouldn’t get your hopes up on decreased trips down the aisle. It’d probably just make everyone more eager to guzzle down caffeine.” Tobias then lifted the can to his lips and drained the soda in seconds. He then sighed, and looked at the small can. “Why do cup sizes always come in small, medium, and large? Why isn’t there a behemoth option for people like me?” He crushed the can with a few fingers and handed it back to the stewardess. “Here. That’ll at least save you an extra trip to my seat.”

The stewardess took the can from him, and he noticed a faint red graze her cheeks when his fingers briefly brushed against hers. “Now, while I appreciate the gesture, I wouldn’t get your hopes up on that,” she replied in turn, echoing what he had just said. Tobias smiled politely, and watched her as she moved passed him to continue her monotonous duties.

Approximately twenty minutes later, the snoring coming from the couple next to Tobias began to approach a loudness that the giant had previously used only to describe the deafening volume at rock-and-roll concerts. Their breathing has absolutely no soothing tone to it. There was also no polite way to resolve the noise, as Tobias understood that most people did not enjoy being rudely awoken by strangers. They sound terrible. Their snores combined gave off the impression that cattle were being slaughtered next to him, and a slight scent coming from them didn’t help the metaphor.

“Tobias?” Thankfully, a distraction to this horrible sound occurred in the form of Thomas, who had been standing behind him for a little while, his Game Boy in hand. The giant, only too happy to divert his attention from the noise his neighbors were generating, shifted in his seat to see what Thomas wanted.

“Yes, Thomas?” the giant asked. “What’s up?”

The boy held up his little game console. “I’m trying to beat this level for Kerry,” he explained, “but a monster in it keeps eating me up. Can you help me out?”

Tobias tried once again to shrug his shoulders, but failed. “To be honest, Thomas, I don’t really know how to play any video games,” he admitted. “I probably won’t be able to help you very much.”

“Please, Tobias. It‘ll only take two minutes…”

The giant sighed. “Well, I can try,” he answered. The little boy smiled as Tobias reached up to take the machine from him. Once again, the giant found himself inhibited by his size, for the little game console was in no way designed for people his size. “Uh…how do I play this? What buttons do I press?” The machine was designed like a clamshell: the playing screen on the tops and the controls on the bottom.

“You use the D-pad to move,” Thomas said, and pointed at a grey colored, lower case T on the left side of the console’s lower half. “Then there’s the A button, which makes you use a big bomb and stuff like that. And the B button next to it does a cool sword thingy.” Tobias positioned his thumbs were he had been told to, and waited for further instructions.

“O-okay,” he answered. “How do I make it start?” Thomas indicated a small grey circle at the bottom of the console which had the word “Start” printed below it. “Oh. Well, that seems obvious.” He pressed the button, and the action on the screen started up. Okay. You are much smarter than a video game. Now, what am I playing as? Tobias pressed the D-pad, and a small avatar on the screen started to move. Easy enough. It was some sort of guy, it looked kind of like an elf in green, and the avatar moved slowly. This game is in no way designed for people like me. He had to lightly tap on the controls to move the avatar, mostly because if he pushed it any harder the machine would probably break. Tobias also had to keep the screen relatively close to his face because the pixilated graphics were rough, though advanced for a handheld. The terrain around the avatar was some kind of earthy shape, so Tobias moved forward to find the monster that Thomas wanted help with.

“There it is!” Thomas exclaimed as Tobias entered a slight tunnel in the terrain design. “It’ll be at the end of this, so be ready.”

“Sure.” Tobias did as he was told and, as Thomas promised, a giant monster began to appear on the top of the screen. There it is…hey, is that a dragon? Tobias paused the screen and looked to the child. “What exactly am I supposed to do here?” he asked. Thomas shrugged.

“Tobias, if I knew that I wouldn’t be asking for help.”

“Touché, Thomas,” the other admitted, and resumed the game with a tap of the Start button. An action sequence began, in which the safe way behind Tobias‘ avatar was sealed off, leaving him trapped inside the cavern-like landscape with the beast. “That can’t be good.”

“That’s supposed to happen.”

“Oh.” Actually, it looks more like a lizard. Doesn’t have the wings of a dragon. The moment the action sequence ended, the giant lizard started to bounce around the screen, and Tobias was forced to dodge with his exceedingly slow avatar. After a few dozen bounces, the lizard stayed grounded, and turned towards the avatar to inhale air and, because of the suction force, the avatar itself. That doesn’t look good. The lizard began to spew fire at the avatar, the maneuvering around which proved to be an immensely difficult challenge. Then the boss began to settle down, which allowed Tobias to think tactics.

“Now what do I do?” he asked.

“I don’t know. This isn’t where I died, but I couldn’t figure out exactly what to do. The cycle keeps repeating, and I can’t figure out the boss’ weak spot, so I die each time.”

“I see…” The cycle repeated itself, and Tobias fiddled around with the controls to try and figure out the point of attack. He moved around to see if there was any sort of hidden trap and pressed the B button to use the sword, but it didn’t even dent the giant hide of the lizard. “Hey, Thomas, what did you say the A button did again?”

“That’s the one that lets you throw the big bombs,” the child answered. “Why?”

The monster started to inhale again. “Call it inspiration,” he chuckled. When the cycle repeated itself, Tobias readied one of the bombs, pressing the B button to make one appear in the avatar’s hands. He pressed it again while the creature inhaled, which it sucked up. Got you. A few seconds later, the monster exploded from within, and fell right on its back. “There,” he said, satisfied at his handiwork. “What should I do now?”

“Get close to the monster and hit him with the sword thingy!” the boy ordered. Tobias obeyed the child’s instructions and mashed the A button once he was within range of the giant beast, which was several times his avatar’s size. With each thrust of his sword, the beast made some sort of roar and flashed a red color when it took damage. Thomas, now very exited, extended his hand. “Now give it here!”

Tobias paused the action quickly. “It’s all yours, kid,” the giant said, and handed the console right back to him. “Come on back if there’s anything I can do to help you again.”

Thomas nodded his head. “Sure thing, Tobias!” he replied, before he rushed straight back to his seat to show his cousin his newfound mastery over the previously unbeatable boss. Tobias chuckled.

“Kids…” he murmured, and shook his head. He once again attempted to recline his chair. With Thomas gone, he was returned to the horrors of the snoring taking place beside him. Will this never end? Both the husband and wife were unstoppable, at least in volume, and the noise was beginning to vibrate through Tobias’ body. Okay, this needs to stop somehow. He surveyed them quickly. Both were rather large, even by the giant’s standards. The wife was draped against her husband’s side, and the folds of the gentleman’s left side was slumped on Tobias’ shoulder and right arm.

Let’s see… I could just shrug this guy off, but that might not be a good idea. Judging from the flab on the man, the husband probably outweighed him by about seventy pounds. And that’s not easy to do. I am a giant after all. But he really didn’t want to just throw him off, because that would result in both the couple’s heads conking together like coconuts. “But how do I wake them up…?” he pondered aloud, his voice masked by the noise. Hey, maybe Thomas and Kerry could come over here and…no, that wouldn’t work. If the couple had survived the exclamations of the little boy earlier, very little was going to wake them in the noise department.

“Would you care for something to drink?”

And then, his savior emerged. Tobias looked thankfully at the stewardess as she approached his seat, and mouth a “Thank you” to the lady. Okay, I have a plan. His strategy formulated, Tobias waited until she stopped the trolley, and grinned. Time to relieve myself of some serious volume. As carefully as he could, he tapped the gentleman with his mobile left arm. The man, completely engrossed with his nap, did not move, but Tobias’ efforts were not in vain. A light fart escaped in answer, and Tobias received the pleasure of a disgusting smell in addition to the vile noise next to him.

“I’ll try again,” he explained meekly to the stewardess, who was doing whatever she could to hold in a very obvious laugh.

Tobias aimed his finger properly the second time, and jabbed violently in between the man’s shoulder and neck. The husband woke with an angry yelp, and Tobias watched him swerve around like a dog searching for the origin of his wound. “Who disrupted my sleep?” he growled lowly to himself.

“I apologize for the inconvenience,” Tobias answered, “but the young lady here was wondering if you wanted anything to drink.” He then nudged his head in the direction of the stewardess, who nodded along playfully.

The husband’s face changed from what appeared to be mild fury to a sudden thirsty look. “Yeah… Maybe. Hang on,” he slurred, still half-conscious. “Let me ask my wife…” He poked his spouse in her head, but found that it didn’t wake her. “Come on, honey, wake up.” He then pushed her off him, and she landed face first on the window.

“What?” she snapped at him, and Tobias thought for a moment the husband might die then and there.

“You want something to drink?” he asked casually, and Tobias thought him very brave for his daring.

“No!” she hissed, then resumed her nap.

The husband looked back to them and shrugged. “I guess not,” he muttered.

The stewardess smiled sweetly. “That’s okay,” she replied, then turned to Tobias. “And for you sir?”

Tobias smirked. “Thank you, but no,” he answered. “I’m still perfectly happy with what you gave me earlier.” He and the stewardess shared a knowing smile, and she left to continue down the aisle. Meanwhile, the husband and wife and settled down to resume their nap, only they were lying on one another, and on their sides, so the only sound Tobias could hear was gentle breathing coming from both of them. The man, however, was not quite out of it yet, so Tobias tapped him on the shoulder before he lapsed into total unconsciousness.

“Yeah?” he asked.

“Would you mind keeping it down just a little?” Tobias requested, and flashed him a gentle smile. “Your snoring is beginning to bother me a little bit.”

The man nodded. “Sure thing,” he answered. “Sorry about any snoring. My wife’s got killer sinus problems. She’s been quite here, but she snores like a wildebeest when we’re at home.”

Tobias was slightly taken aback, and almost asked Really? aloud, but stopped himself just before he did, thinking it’d be rude. The husband, because he felt their conversation was over, draped himself over his wife again and fell right back to sleep. “Ah…” Tobias whispered, and closed his eyes. “That’s much better.” Though the silence that Tobias had so enjoyed at the airport terminal did not completely return, it was at least partially restored. My personal bubble isn’t being invaded anymore.

“Tobias?”

And then, as if to prove that perfect timing was nothing more than a lie, Thomas’ voice came up from behind him, probably with another game-related inquiry. The giant’s brows contracted briefly into his sunglasses. Help the kid. You said he could come back, so don’t get angry at him for following instructions. He relaxed, and turned back to look at the boy. He glanced at the console and grinned. “ Do you need some more help beating that game, Thomas?” he asked, then held out his hand to take the Game Boy.

“Yeah…” he admitted. “I thought that guy earlier was the big boss, but this one’s even harder!”

“Well, I’ll see what I can-”

BOOM.

For Tobias, time seemed to slow down. Beneath his feet, he watched as the whole plane began to rumble, and a great scraping noise invaded his ears. Sensing danger, Tobias immediately grabbed Thomas to protect him, as the boy wasn’t buckled down to anything. “Thomas, get down!” he roared. The Game Boy was forgotten as Thomas was lifted into Tobias’ lap, and the giant threw himself on the boy, protectively sandwiching him. What is going on?

Around Tobias, pandemonium began to break loose. People began screaming hysterically, the volume of which was beyond the levels of loudness that Tobias deemed tolerable. He heard a violent stamping of feet, but could see little to nothing because his face was pressed against his knees. The only thing he could see were various pairs of shoes stampeding from their owners’ chairs. The floor, because of the terrible turbulence, began to shift from a stable surface to an inclined slope which, when combined with so many panicking people, caused a downslide of bodies straight into first class. What kind of turbulence is this? It’s nothing like the normal bouncing thing that happens. This is like an explosion! Then he got more trouble, because the couple next to him suddenly thought that following everyone else’s example was a great way to make things easy for Tobias.

He groaned as they found out that he was unwilling to allow them to trample Thomas, and decided to climb over him in their haste to join everyone else. Nuts…they do weigh more than I do! It was hard, but Tobias managed to somehow keep them from crushing Thomas, who grunted under the small amount of pressure that unfortunately escaped from Tobias’ back. “Thomas,” the giant muttered, once they had removed themselves from his person, “how are you holding up?”

“Okay,” was the reply. “What’s going on?”

“Let’s find out.” Tobias lifted his head just in time to get batted by one of the yellow breathing apparatuses as it deployed from the plane’s emergency response system. Most of coach was empty, save of course for a couple of people who had been knocked out when the turbulence had hit. “This is some pretty bad turbulence but…” Tobias looked outside the window, “there aren’t any clouds here. I thought turbulence needed clouds.” However, once he got really close, he noticed that black smoke was coming from the right engine, along with a very noticeable fire. “That’s not good.”

“What is it?” Thomas asked, and rubbed his head. Somehow, he had taken a hit to the noggin, possibly when the couple had climbed over them.

“Engine’s blown.” The floor started to slant further. “We need to be careful about this, okay Thomas? You need to work with me, understand?” The kid nodded, and Tobias smiled. “Okay, first things first. We’ve got to find Kerry. Is she still in her seat?”

“Y-yeah… That’s where she was when I left her last.”

“Good.” Tobias undid his buckle and took Thomas’ hand. “Keep a tight grip on me, because no part of this is going to end well.” Thomas did as he was told, and both of them started for the aisle. The surface was still slanted but, because Tobias was properly oriented on the floor, both of them managed to properly walk on it. “Oh, that’s not good,” he muttered, as he noticed what had become of Kerry’s seat.

“Kerry!” Thomas screamed, and started running up the slanting floor. Tobias tightened his grip, and Thomas stopped.

“What did I just ask you to do, Thomas?” the giant reminded him. “Now, let’s see what we can do.” Kerry’s seat was still intact, but the others surrounding it weren’t. In their haste, the owners of the seats in front of and behind Kerry’s had broken them, welding them into a mass that trapped Kerry inside without any way to get out. Inside the seats, Thomas and Tobias could hear someone wailing in fear.

“Kerry!”

Tobias lowered his head and looked around. Apart from everyone that had been knocked out, the only people left in coach were himself, Kerry, and Thomas. I think it’s safe to help her. “Thomas,” he said, looking at the boy, “I want you to get into the first working seat you find, and buckle up right away. I’ll take care of this.” He approached the welding.

Thomas, far too terrified to do anything else, obeyed the giant’s request without reservation, and stuffed himself right back into Tobias’ seat. When the giant heard the belt buckle clip the child safely into place, he analyzed the best course of action. Five seats in all, counting Kerry’s. Two in front of her, and two behind. I just need to pry them off. “Okay, Thomas, Kerry, new rule. What happens here doesn’t leave here.”

“Why, Tobias?” Thomas asked.

“Because most people can’t do this.” And, with that, Tobias grabbed the first chair in front of Kerry and yanked it clean off the remainder of the chair with a loud clank. Tobias grunted, and tossed the chair away like a scrap of paper before he went to work on the second one. It took a little longer, because it was awkwardly twisted around Kerry’s seat, but Tobias managed to bend it back into its original shape and tear it away.

“Kerry.” The little girl was frightened beyond belief, and Tobias couldn’t really blame her. “Kerry!” She opened her eyes and quieted down as Tobias made certain that she was all right. “Kerry, listen to me,” he whispered in a calm, soothing tone, “the other two seats have jammed your seatbelt, which is going to be a little problem if I’m going to get you out. So I’m going to tear them off like I did these. Understand?”

The girl nodded. “Duck and cover, Kerry,” Tobias advised, so the girl balled up as best she could under the conditions. Tobias headed behind her and grabbed each seat with one hand. “Here we go!” He grunted and, like a strongman, pulled both seats back. He even made it look easy, because of his strength. Kerry giggled once she was free, and Tobias made certain that her safety belt was still intact.

“Okay, Thomas, get back in your seat and duck and cover just like Kerry. Everything’s going to be fine.” Thomas rushed over the moment he was allowed, and Tobias moved away to allow the cousins to verify one another’s safety. “Thomas, in the chair,” the giant reminded the kid, who had not done so.

“Sure, Tobias,” he replied, and leaped up next to Kerry.

“Good.”

“Now what are we going to do?” With the rush of saving Kerry gone, Thomas returned to panic. The giant practically saw the boy’s heart rate accelerate, and watched the transition from adrenaline-fueled to saddening fear. “Tobias,” he began, and the slightest of tears began to emerge on his face. “What are we going to do?”

Got to do something. Tobias lowered his face to his chest, and considered his position. I have to do something. Thomas began to wail, and Kerry joined him as their fear began to approach the breaking point. I need to do something. And then, Tobias thought of the gift that Erin had given him, the one lying in wait in his baggage. Is that what you want me to do, Erin? Is that why you gave me that thing?

I want to do something.

“Thomas, Kerry, stop crying.”

The children blinked, and looked up at the giant in surprise, astonished that he could be so calm amidst such chaos. Overhead, the dim voice of the captain could be heard crackling on the loudspeaker. “Mayday, Mayday! This is Flight 243 from O’Neil Airport requesting emergency assistance! We have one engine blown on the right side of the aircraft, and because of the explosion our landing gear won’t work! We can’t stabilize! Send any and all help available!” This announcement did not help matters, and both kids were still wailing.

“Kids, stop crying!” The giant clenched his brow and gritted his teeth. So, this’ll be the plan, right Erin? This was the big picture you mentioned. “We’re going to be fine, guys. I don’t want you to worry about a thing.” Erin, you could have at least asked me when you gave me that thing. You know I would have done it. His hands clenched into fists. I really don’t have much of a say in this.

“But, Tobias, how are we going to get out of this?”

“Thomas, look at me.”

What happened next, Thomas would forever remember. Thomas’ fear was lost to him as he watched the transformation that began in Tobias’ face. The kind, gentle giant that had spoken to him in the terminal started to disappear, and what replaced it was far more terrifying than any plane crash. It wasn’t a scary face, but it made his spine tingle all the same. The smile that made Tobias seem so friendly vanished, and his lips became a hardened line. It looked like Tobias had taken off a mask. His eyebrows contracted too, almost as if the unseen eyes beneath his glasses had become vacant and blind. Thomas whimpered as Tobias’ jaw became more pronounced through bulging muscles that started to become more noticeable. Thomas hadn’t noticed it earlier, but in addition to being extremely tall, Tobias had the muscle to back it up, something that had been hidden underneath his baggy clothing.

“I know you are scared.” Thomas heard the giant’s voice change. “But there are people out there who can save you. There is always someone who can save you.” With each passing word, Tobias’ voice altered from a kind and pleasant tone to a harsh and tough monotone. “That person needs to be you, Thomas. If you aren’t willing to save yourself, then you can never expect someone to help you.”

Thomas hiccupped, then brushed away his tears. “O-okay, Tobias.” Then he looked away from the giant to Kerry. “What should I do?”

Tobias then chuckled, and made Thomas hold his little cousin’s hand. “You need to do what you promised your mother you would.” His glasses stared at both of them. “Protect her, protect each other, and you will be protected in return.”

Thomas nodded. Then, to everyone’s surprise, Kerry looked up and whispered, “You promise?” The little girl clutched her cousin tightly.

Tobias nodded, then he stood up to his full height. “I guarantee it, Kerry.” His head clear, Tobias turned away from the children to the overhead compartment above his seat. The children’s fear is gone, replaced by hope. Tobias opened the latch, and withdrew the duffel bag containing Erin’s gift.

“What are you going to do, Tobias?” asked Thomas from his seat.

Tobias had to shuffle through the bag because, when he unzipped it, he remembered that he had placed the gift at the very bottom. His other clothing was hiding what he was searching for. So he threw the shirts and pants out of the way, digging until he found it. He passed by his toiletries and his possessions. The plane lurched as it began to tip downwards even further. There isn’t much time left!

Then he found it.

It was a small, black box resting at the very bottom, with the words To Tobias written on a tag. Tobias hesitated for a moment, before snatching up the box and tucking it under his coat. There isn’t much time left. Tobias knew that they were descending at an even faster speed, he only had a short time before the plane crashed into the airport.

“What are you going to do?”

Tobias had forgotten that Thomas had addressed him not once, but twice. The giant turned to the small child and said calmly, “I will keep my promise to your mother. I will protect you and Kerry.” He nodded his head once, then proceeded up the slanted walkway to the bathroom. If I’m going to wear this, I can’t let anyone see me in it.

Now, though, it was safe, because most of coach had been emptied by the explosion. Because people were so insane and panicky, they had abandoned their seats and their senses the moment after the explosion occurred, all under the impression that by not following the exact instructions of the earlier safety demonstration they would be perfectly fine. And, because the plane had become slanted, they rolled like dominos into first class.

Once he reached the bathroom, he looked around to make certain that no one was watching him, then grabbed the handle of the door. Though he tried to open it, it was jammed in place. Okay, we do this the hard way. Tobias drew back his free hand and smashed the door down with a single punch. It crumpled easily, and the giant forced his way through the remnants. Got to change. The bathroom was dank and smelly, but Tobias ignored the stench. He threw the box onto the toilet bowl and slammed the broken door shut behind him.

The giant immediately threw off his jacket and his shirt before stuffing them behind the toilet. “Let’s do this,” he muttered, tossing off his sunglasses. In the mirror, he saw himself tear apart the box, grasping at the black cloth within. A rough shirt, colored black and sleeveless, he forced on his chest. It was tight, and displayed his muscles rather prominently. Next, he reached for a mask that Erin had made for him, a faceless cowl that would hide his true identity. It will make me look like a devil. He pulled it over his face, and it covered everything, from his mouth and his next to his ears. Everything save his hair. Then, the final piece of the uniform came out of the box.

The eye stared back at Tobias, the symbol that Erin had made for him. It was black, with a green center and outlines. She had fashioned it as a belt buckle, so that was where Tobias clipped it to. The eye stared from his waist, and Tobias saw his reflection in the mirror, right before he left the bathroom. He looked monstrous, like a demon of darkness. Okay, Erin. I’m using your gift. With his gloves, which stretched now to the center of his forearms, he brushed his auburn locks out of his line of vision, and smashed through the door.

The door broke apart easily now that he had released his strength, and he stepped through into pandemonium. Beeps issued from the emergency system of the plane, and he noticed out of the corner of his mask that a trolley was rolling down the aisle into first class. But his world was quiet, and when he stepped forward, his boots left dents in the fragile floor. I will have to engage the landing gear from the outside. But he was in a pressurized cabin, and breaking that would result in everyone being sucked out.

He had almost reached the emergency exit, but heard a scream from behind him. He turned his cowl, and saw the stewardess from before trapped beneath some debris. But she wasn’t screaming in pain, but in fear. He saw it in her eyes. Tobias approached her, but she shrank away as well as she could.

“What are you doing?” she shrieked. “Stop this!”

Tobias disregarded her comment, interested only in doing his duty. She was crushed underneath a second trolley and what appeared to be a cupboard. Tobias lowered himself to her level, and took hold of both sides of the heavy trolley. With a grunt, he pushed it off her in moments, and broke apart the cupboard with a swipe of his fist. The stewardess, confused, needed to be hoisted up by the giant before she understood she was being rescued.

“Get to the front of coach,” he ordered her. “Then, buckle up, because this is going to be a bumpy ride. Understand?” She had just enough sense to nod her head, so Tobias returned to his original task of getting out of the plane. Now it is time to see the full extent of how far my abilities will go.

Erin had called it a ‘gift’, what he could do. But, as he had only been in control of it for a short amount of time, Tobias did not know exactly how far he could take it. Like most things, it took focus, so Tobias calmed his mind in order to call upon the gift. Go to work. Tobias watched as the change began along his skin, which started to bubble on his command. The color tone changed, altering from a light tan to iron grey, beginning at his shoulders. The grey spread, causing his arms to take on a whole new appearance. It trailed down in small rivers, covering his body in the ooze. In only moments, the transformation was complete, and Tobias looked to be made entirely of metal. Good. Now for the hard part. Tobias rotated his neck, cracking the bones within, and popped the bones in his knuckles. Each time, it sounded like steel snapping.

“E-excuse me.”

The stewardess. “What?” Tobias spat at her, deliberately trying to frighten her. Does she not understand that I am trying to help her? Why would she try to bother me?

The stewardess blinked in fear at the dark man, but still mustered up the courage to speak. “W-what are you going to do?” she asked. Tobias was getting tired of that question, especially since it was the third time he had been asked it within the span of only a few minutes.

“I’m going to save you,” was his simply response. Then, not wanting to give the stewardess a chance to respond, Tobias smashed both his fists into the emergency exit door. “Get out of my way.” With that, the metal-like ooze began to spread like an infection from his arms, pumping into the structure of the door. I need to shield everyone for when the airlock is breeched. Without enough metal, everyone will be sucked out, but with this, the cabin should remain pressurized long enough for me to land this heap of junk! Tobias added mass and density to the door, hardening it. The ooze spread out, covering the entire door quickly. The stewardess, who Tobias knew had not moved, continued to watch in utter fascination as it began to work.

With the door completely coated, Tobias began the next stage of his plan. Envelop me. The metal struck out at its master, merging itself past Tobias and forming a tiny bubble for Tobias to work in. The bubble had neither light nor air, but the giant didn’t miss either very much. The metal left the door and passed over Tobias’ body, creating a shield behind him. Relocate to my shoulders. The origin points of the metal began to slink up from Tobias’ forearms to his upper arms. “And…now!” With his arms free, and a secure connection to the shield, Tobias released the emergency lever on the door.

The door blew open in half an instant. The inflatable yellow slide used for emergency landings blew open below, but Tobias remained grounded in the small portion of the floor he stood upon. “Let it begin.” Because his arms were still coated with the metal sludge, Tobias had no difficulty fashioning claws to move around on the airplane’s hull. Metal dripped in rivers to his fingers, hardening once enough density was attained. When Tobias was reasonably certain that his claws had enough strength to keep a grip on the airplane, he began to climb, grappled to the side of the craft.

It was easily in the negative degrees Fahrenheit, but Tobias did not feel the chilling cold that would have frozen an ordinary man. Instead, he felt nothing as he climbed towards the center of the plane. Nothing. Briefly, he checked to make certain that his tendril was reasonably connected to the shield, and added length to it when he needed to. He continued to climb, and his fingers dug into the hull with loud screeches every time, until he reached the top, and planted both his feet on it.

From his mask, he could see that he had arrived just in time. The ground was getting closer, and he could make out individual plots of land beneath him. Out in the distance, he saw the fast-approaching dot that was Zepther’s airport. The plane was not stabilized, and the axis of symmetry was off. I have to equalize both sides before the landing gear will even work.

Tobias crouched on the plane and dug into the hull with his claws. The ooze transformed from the hardened nails into the harmless sludge and seeped around the surface of the airplane, aiming directly for the wings of the airplane. He would forcibly alter the edges of both wings to get an even surface. Then, once the plane was stable and stopped its rapidly descending course, he would open the landing gear with the metal and land the plane as best he could at Zepther.

As the metal began to worm its way into the wiring and construct of the craft, though, something caught Tobias’ attention. Or, to be more specific, somethings. He turned his head to see something heading towards the plane from the west. So that’s why the plane didn’t blow up outright. Tobias had thought it suspicious that anyone would blow up a portion of an airplane rather than destroy it completely. They want something. Or someone. Then it clicked. They’re after the mayor. The plane would have been demolished, but the mayor would have been counted among the deceased while they kidnapped her. “Well, that will not be happening,” he muttered.

The terrorists’ aircraft was painted black, and was designed very much like a fighter jet, though it was much smaller than the ones Tobias had seen. It had a three man cockpit, and Tobias noticed that everyone in the cockpit was sporting rather flamboyant costumes. Two men, one woman. He also saw the emblem on the side of the aircraft as it drew closer: a yellow upside down triangle with a line through the top.

“Bring it on.”

Word Count- 6547
Total Word Count- 10,379