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Power Shot · #3 [ ] 11-11-2007, 05:10 PM

Part Three

The air surrounding him was cold, something Tobias knew was not good for his metal. I have to be careful. If the metal gets too cold I will be in trouble. The wind roared in his ears, but that was expected. I am thousands of feet up in the air after all. The one good thing about the wind was that it kept his hair out of his line of vision, and that was barely helpful. I still can’t see exactly what it is my metal is doing. From his position by the top wing, he could only see a very broad view of how his metal was altering the wings. From the tear he had created in the hull, his metal had spread to slink into the main systems of the aircraft. I probably do not have enough metal to force the mechanisms to operate but, if I concentrate hard enough, I can definitely repair the circuits the pilots need to engage the landing equipment and stabilize the plane.

Concentration, hard enough to maintain in his current situation, was something that he had very little of. As he worked, he could see the secondary aircraft he had spotted veering towards the plane. I do not recognize that symbol. The emblem painted on the side of the jet didn’t denote relation to any search and rescue team that Tobias had ever seen. But why a golden triangle? “Does not matter,” he muttered, and prepared for the inevitable. If they attempt to board, I will have to deal with them. The jet, as he predicted, began to draw nearer, and Tobias got a better view into the cockpit of the aircraft.

Tobias saw immediately that the three people inside looked ridiculous. And I thought Erin’s gift made me look terrifying. They make me look impeccable. All three wore the emblem advertised on their jet proudly on their chests, but that was where the similarities between the costumes ended. The one woman, for instance, had on an outfit of bright yellow, with raven-black hair. Another, who sat behind the woman, was encased in some sort of black armor, with yellow eyes. And the last one, who sat in front, wore all blue, save in his gloves and collar, which were bright white. If I am close enough to see them, they are close enough to see me. Tobias watched the woman pilot the jet closer to the airplane and engage the autopilot. That is not a good sign. As if to confirm Tobias’ mental statement, the cockpit opened up literally side-by-side with Tobias’ position.

Tobias had just managed to enter the circuits designed to alter the flaps and spoilers on the wings when the terrorist craft’s crew burst out of their seats by ejecting. Here they come. Be ready. The attack was well orchestrated, for they did not come immediately after him like a herd of charging buffoons, but rather leapt to previously-arranged assigned positions. The one in the black armor jumped to a position no less than ten feet from where Tobias was crouched, and dug into the plane’s hull with his hand to ground himself, while the blue one grabbed hold of a wingtip spoiler as he landed on the plane. As for the woman, Tobias watched her simply fly alongside the plane, possibly to assist the other two if they fell. Not one of them spoke, and Tobias sensed that all six eyes were trained on him. How dare they? They are judging me like a piece of meat. Because they didn’t seem to be bothering him, Tobias resumed his work to reconnect the circuits in the craft’s system. Because there wasn’t enough strength to fuse the wires, Tobias added additional density so the task would be completed quicker. Relocate points of exit to upper arms. A fight was coming and, even though Tobias couldn’t feel it in the air, he could certainly sense the hostilities of the terrorists against him. I’ll need full use of my arms. Once the metal was connected by tendrils to his biceps, Tobias righted his stance to face the terrorists properly.

About a minute after the terrorists landed, they began to talk. The woman, clearly the leader for the mission, began issuing orders towards the others. “Bluestreak!” she shouted, and Tobias found it interesting that she could raise her voice above the screeching winds surrounding them. “Get inside the plane and get the mayor!” The one dressed in blue on the wing nodded his head fiercely, and started to crawl towards the windows. “Titanus!” This time, the armored man in front of Tobias snapped up. “Deal with the guy! I’ll cover you if you fall!” Tobias barely noticed their orders, far too busy networking the circuits together. After a little while, the pilots inside must have gotten the idea that they could fly again, because the plane started to level out. Now I just have to make sure my connection isn’t disrupted. Without the metal, the pilots won’t be able to fly again. But his work wasn’t quite done, because the landing gear didn’t work either, which would require even more metal to fix.

I still have time for that. Already his metal was worming its way through the electrical systems to mend the damage done to the wheels. I need to take care of these terrorists though. The woman had stopped floating above the plane, and was now flying right beside her partner on the wing, Bluestreak. Or whatever his brilliantly original name is. He needed to keep them from getting inside and breaking the airlock he was working so hard to keep in place. Meanwhile, his distraction Titanus getting very eager to follow his instructions.

“Okay, Truth!” he shouted back, in a very distinctive accent.

A southerner all the way in Michigan? They are not local. He began by grounding his feet into the hull of the plane, leaving footprints in the steel, and putting up his dukes. The armor he was wearing completely hid the user, but Tobias could discern Titanus’ talents from a mere glance. Boxer type. He also has the muscle distribution of someone who wrestles American style. His upper body is more developed than his lower half.

“So,” Titanus muttered, as he began to approach the stationary giant, “what’re you supposed tah be? Ya look like a bad Halloween costume.”

I hate banter. Why does everyone assume that, just because you are wearing a uniform, that suddenly makes it all right to make terrible jokes? Tobias did not dignify Titanus with a response verbally, and instead shifted his feet into a more comfortable position. He had to be ready for the lummox, even if he did have a slight advantage over the other black-clad warrior. I am the only completely grounded individual on this plane. You cannot knock someone over the edge when you are connected to the fighting platform.

“Not much of a talker, are ya?” his opponent asked, this time in a more menacing tone. He took a step forward, as if to assert his dominance. “You afraid of me?”

“No,” Tobias answered in a low growl, just audible enough for Titanus to hear him. If it will help speed this along… “I just find your costumes far too repugnant to even find words for. I have been too busy suppressing my gag reflex to communicate with you.” Could we please skip the talking and get to the part when I beat you up? “Furthermore, I dislike those who speak rather than act. It will lead you nowhere.”

Tobias could not determine Titanus’ emotions underneath his armor, but he imagined them to be something very akin to rage, because the suit began to shake and Titanus’ fists began to clench. “I seem to have made you angry,” the giant taunted, as he wanted to get the nuisance out of his sight to deal with the more pressing issue of landing the plane. “My apologies. I did not think you intelligent enough to understand me. You have proved me wrong.” Tobias hissed out the last few words. There. If that does not make him angry enough to attack me, nothing will.

Tobias’ words visibly stung Titanus, for with each syllable the giant noticed the armored gentleman lower his head more and more, and the muscles beneath the black suit pop additional muscle. Finally, Titanus’ face flashed, and the man rushed Tobias in a complete disregard for his own safety. “Ah’ll show you!” he screamed at the giant, and threw a heavy punch right into Tobias’ face.

Fortunately for Tobias, this was very easy to read. His engorged muscles make it so simple to see what he will do. Indeed, because Titanus was so angry, he failed to properly shield his movements from his opponent, and paid the price. Tobias, despite being connected thrice to the aircraft, dodged him with a brief sidestep to the right at the last moment. Titanus’ arm went wild, and stuck violently at the air where Tobias had been standing only an instant previous.

“Too slow, little boy,” Tobias whispered, just as Titanus’ left ear passed his face. With his limbs free, the giant extended his leg just enough to trip Titanus. Now, momentum will take its course. Because Titanus weighed so much, and it showed in his footsteps, the young man found himself completely unable to balance his body in time to prevent a fall. Tobias then lowered his left elbow onto Titanus’ exposed neck. Titanus, armor and all, smashed hard into the plane’s exoskeleton.

Now to give that girl something to do. Tobias did not grab Titanus, for he was too heavy for even the giant to lift, but he kicked Titanus to the gut before the armored man could recover. The wind firmly knocked out of him, Titanus began to slip over the edge of the flat top of the plane. I guess the suit, even if it is difficult to damage, does little to prevent recoil damage. “Hey, girl!” he shouted to the woman Titanus had referred to as Truth.

Truth and Bluestreak had been busy attempting to gain access inside the cabin. So far, their bid to kidnap the mayor had been unsuccessful, but Tobias did not want to leave them alone long enough to find any entry point. Truth turned and gasped, just as Titanus tumbled off the side, clutching his stomach. “Better rescue him! It’s a long way down!”

“Dennis!” she cried, and swan-dived down to recover his body. Bluestreak watched this transpire, then heightened his gaze to Tobias, who was glaring at him in the same style of a man in utter disgust.

“What are you looking at?” Bluestreak yelled at Tobias.

I find that rather ironic, considering my mask’s design. The faceless mask continued to glare at Bluestreak as he neared the windows of the airplane, and Tobias started to walk across the plane towards the wing. Once I get rid of him, I should be able to deal with the landing gear without anymore trouble. Titanus was heavy, and it would take Truth some time to handle him.

“You,” he growled. Tobias didn’t want to go down onto the wing because it would cause additional weight problems. The plane is going to destabilize if I do not remove him from the wing. Instead of attacking Bluestreak head on, Tobias lifted his arm to generate a new tendril from his metal. I will nick him on a pressure point. The pain should force him to fall, and that will cause more problems for Truth. Maybe enough to give me the amount of time I need to start the landing gear. Once the tendril had enough density, Tobias lowered his arm like a rifle. He needed to take careful aim so as not to damage any of the plane’s equipment. Fire.

The tendril exploded from his arm like a bullet, aimed directly at the meeting point of Bluestreak’s shoulder and neck. But the shot, while it traveled with the speed of a bullet, was too slow for Bluestreak. A hitherto-unseen skill emerged, in which Bluestreak shifted his whole body quickly enough to evade Tobias’ strike. The giant’s vision barely caught Bluestreak’s movements. It looked exactly like a blue…streak.

“Nice try, dummy,” Bluestreak retorted, grinning with all of his pearly whites. “How about you try hitting me at a speed a turtle might have trouble with? Be a whole lot faster than that attack!” Tobias did not answer.

Arrogant punk. Tobias attacked again and again with the tendril, but failed to land a successful hit. Again and again he missed, and was taunted by Bluestreak for his sloth attack speed. How about you be quiet now? Beneath Bluestreak, Tobias began to add density to one of the little wires that was connecting the pilots to the wing flaps, giving it enough length to move on its own away from the circuit system. He didn’t want Bluestreak to see it though, so he made sure to keep the man’s attention focused solely on dodging the visible tendril above him.

“That all you got, Metalhead?” Bluestreak inquired, then laughed at the clever nickname. “Come on, give me a challenge here!”

“How is this?” Tobias asked, then jabbed the arrogant youth right in the small of his back. Bluestreak’s eyes weren’t visible, but the pain he experienced was established through the shout of surprise that escaped his lips. “Good night.” Tobias smashed Bluestreak right in the jaw with the visible tendril, which caused unconsciousness in most humans but only extreme pain in the boy’s case. Bluestreak lost his grip on the plane and fell, just as Titanus had done before him. That will keep them busy. Having temporarily disposed of his opponents, Tobias retracted the tendril he had used to attack Bluestreak into his arm and the second one into the plane, where it fused and added density to the other wires.

Below him, Tobias could see the nearing ground very clearly. They couldn’t have been more than a few miles away from the airport. I need to get the landing gear operational now. He reverted his attention to manipulating his organic metal, which by now had wrapped itself all around the wheels in preparation to reconfigure the wires. This will be more difficult than the wings. When the engine had exploded, it had caused little damage to the wings and their mechanics other than disrupt controls, but fragments of the engine had smashed up a vast amount of circuits below the plane, several of which were needed to make the wheels work.

Okay. Take it slowly. Carefully add plenty of mass and density where needed, and reconnect the wires so the pilots can activate the landing gear. Little by little, he pulled the wires back together, using the conductive metal to transfer electricity between broken pieces where needed. He himself wasn’t electrocuted, thanks to the fact that he only used his metal as the medium, and it moved quickly from one wire to the next. It is done. I hope the pilots realize that. Which they did, apparently, because soon after the landing gear began to open, and everything was ready for landing.

Thud.

Something connected with Tobias’ face or, to be more specific, his right cheek. The giant turned around, and saw that he was completely surrounded by three very unhappy spandex wearers. Truth was hovering above him, eyes ablaze in fury, which was understandable considering the work she must have had to do to get both Titanus and Bluestreak back to the plane. Titanus was holding his gut with one hand, with the other braced into a fist. Bluestreak looked the least pleasant, as a large bruise had already begun to develop around his mouth, turning it from chocolate colored to an unhealthy purple.

“Round two?” Tobias asked, almost casually. They nodded eagerly, and Tobias readied himself. With all the circuits in place, I can devote myself to thoroughly beating the pulp out of them until they leave the plane alone. “Okay then.” And when I foil your kidnapping attempt, the police can arrest you when we arrive at the airport. Every single one of the kidnappers assumed some type of defense stance.

“Careful guys,” Truth warned from above. “He’s dangerous.”

“Ya don’t need to tell us dat,” Titanus grumbled. Bluestreak nodded in agreement.

Bluestreak was the first to attack, simply because he was the fastest. Now that the plane was at a lower altitude, they didn’t need to keep such a tight grip on the aircraft, as it was traveling at a much slower speed. Tobias did not see it, but he guessed that from the blue afterimage that the speedster left behind that Bluestreak ran up behind him to attack. Typical. Tobias’ arms ceased to move as Bluestreak wrapped himself around the giant to hinder his movements.

“Now!” Truth commanded, and Titanus shot forward, this time certain that his attack would connect. Tobias knew what to do though, and quickly generated additional metal to protect his chest, the point of attack that Titanus’ muscles revealed that he would aim for. From his chest, metal hardened quickly, because it did not have to travel a great distance. It amassed quickly, and hardened just as Titanus struck.

Smash.

Tobias didn’t move one inch. His feet still grounded into the plane, he couldn’t even if he had wanted to. But the metal upon his chest, while it was not visible to anyone, was what had created the echoing crack. Tobias watched, as if in slow motion, while Titanus’ fist connected with his chest. But the moment it did, however, physics came into play. With every action comes an equal and opposite reaction. And, because Titanus had not put enough action into his punch to produce the intended reaction, Tobias’ metal caused the armor that Titanus, or Dennis, as Tobias had heard Truth call him, wore to crack at the knuckles. And now, the recoil. Titanus was thrown back by the force of his own punch, and landed flat on his behind in front of the metal giant.

“What the…” Tobias interrupted Bluestreak’s reiteration of what had just happened by deciding to remove the speedster from his person. Tobias drew his head forward and, moving the metal from his chest to the back of his head, smacked Bluestreak in the forehead with a resounding metal ping. The head butt caused Bluestreak to lose interest in holding Tobias down, and he crumbled without resistance to the ground, from whence he did not move. Truth did not move, but Tobias saw her eyes bulge in shock.

“I guess that leaves you and me, Truth,” the giant murmured without emotion. “Your backup didn’t do much to accomplish your goals, so I suggest you leave right now.” He glanced down at the two unconscious terrorists with indifference. “I will even let you take them with you. Just get back in the jet and leave.”

The lady, however, had a lot more spunk than Tobias originally had given her credit for, because she stood her ground in defiance of the giant’s order. Well, standing her ground might be an overstatement, considering she isn’t doing it physically. Truth hovered about a dozen feet out of Tobias’ reach.

“We Starbolts don’t back down quite so easily, tough guy,” she retorted defiantly.

These guys are called the Starbolts? Really? “Truth, that is a ridiculous name for an organization,” he answered harshly. She has a hard time concealing her emotions. I need to provoke her to attack me like I did the others. “Originality in naming was clearly not in your organization’s founding bylaws.” Have to build up the metal so I can reach her. The additional metal, currently located at the back of his head, began to slink down his body, over his glove and into his right hand. It took the appearance of a giant silver growth on his palm. “But Truth, if you are trying to save face for your little club by challenging me, than I am afraid it will not work.” And now, the final touch. “I am much more powerful than anything you could do to me. Look what I did to your friends.”

Truth huffed with indifference, though Tobias could tell from the shaking in her arms that his words had struck a cord with the Starbolt. “We’ll just see about that, Metalhead!” she shouted at him. But she held herself in check, and kept her distance to judge him. Tobias stared at her through his cowl, and tried to figure out what her motive was this time.

Then, he sensed something strange occurring inside his body. Something is trying to poke around inside my brain. Indeed, though Tobias could not feel the actual prodding, Truth was nonetheless attempting to dig through his cerebellum. Good luck with that. Tobias had nothing to fear, so he continued to collect metal into his hand for his attack. “That isn’t going to do you any good, Truth,” he murmured aloud. “You will not find anything.” Why is she wasting her time trying to read my mind? Has she not figured out that my skin is not the only thing about me cast from metal? Eventually, once Truth figured out that whatever she was looking for wasn’t going to be found, she retracted the mind search, and Tobias saw a change of expression in her face. She changed from confident and stubborn to terrified. He saw it in her eyes, she looked like someone in utter horror at what she had discovered.

“What…what are you?” she spat at him, and Tobias noticed a heightening of her voice’s pitch. “Why can’t I sense anything from you?”

In response, Tobias snarled at her. “What are you babbling about, little girl?” Okay, I have enough metal. Now compress into a little ball. The growth mutated and shifted, and transformed into what looked like a very deflated ball in his palm. Tobias kept working with it, and it eventually began to shape into a perfect sphere, no larger than a marble. Then he added to it, making certain that it gained no mass but increased immensely in density. When it is hard enough, prepare to launch. It was nearly ready too, because Truth had wasted a good thirty seconds trying to scan his mind, which it seemed she was still trying to comprehend what she had discovered. Just a little more time.

“Why isn’t there any emotion?” Truth shouted, nay, demanded, of Tobias. The giant was silent, and watched as bright yellow bolts began to materialize in the lady’s hands. “What is wrong with you?” She was getting angrier, probably from the strange malfunction of her powers but also from the defeat of her fellow terrorists.

And it is finished. Tobias unveiled his palm, which he had been hiding from the terrorist, and displayed the single marble in his hand, connected to him through lithe strands of iron branching from his arm over his glove. Truth issued a violent exclamation, and hurled her bolts down upon Tobias. Now to deflect those attacks.

The metal branched out of its ball form to create a circular shield, converting density into mass. It actually looked more like a mirror, which was what Tobias had in mind when he had mentally crafted it. It was still forming as the bolts struck it, and they actually forced Tobias to take a step back from the impact shock, but they were too weak to even dent the solid steel. These attacks were either formed improperly, or they just did not have the kinetic force to break my metal. Tobias forced the kinetic spheres back, and they launched right back at where Truth happened to be hovering, forcing her to dodge or be hit by her own attack.

“Take a wild guess, Truth, as to why you cannot sense any of my emotions,” Tobias stated, then began to alter the metal yet again. The shield contracted rapidly back into its marble shape. Strike her bluntly. I want her alive for the police. The marble exploded into a giant bolt of Tobias’ own design. Instead of expanding it, Tobias kept it in its exact spherical shape, but shot a single tendril from it. The intense density of the ball was enough to force the tendril upwards at tremendous speeds and, because Tobias had excellent vision, the tendril bashed Truth in a pressure point in the direct center of her forehead. It did not draw blood, but it would certainly leave a very noticeable bruise. The shock of the attack caused Truth to lapse out of consciousness, which was a slight problem. She cannot fly if she is not awake to move her body. Tobias immediately wrapped the tendril around her waist to prevent her from falling off the battlefield, and drew her back to the airplane. Even if she is a terrorist, I will not kill her.

Truth’s body was laid delicately next to Bluestreak’s, and Tobias had the good sense to bind both of them with metal to prevent either of them from getting up again. Now that I have dealt with the terrorists, perhaps I can check the plane’s status. He looked down, and saw that the ground was very, very close to the plane’s altitude. So far, the pilots had been able to fly the plane to the best of their ability, thanks to his repairs, so the giant was confident that they would land safely. The Starbolts craft, however, was a different issue. It was following the plane’s trajectory, and had engaged its landing gear, even without a human crew to give it orders. That is very advanced AI. It would pose no problems, as its orders were most likely to follow, not attack.

Judging from the speed of the plane, how far away the airport was, and how low they were, Tobias estimated that they would arrive in Zepther in about two minutes, give or take fifty seconds. The airport, which looked very similar to O’Neil Airport, was getting closer. That poses a bit of a problem. I need to get back to the plane and avoid detection, but I also have to keep the Starbolts safe enough until they can be turned over to the authorities. Tobias saw the runway drawing near. He was running out of time.

First, I will save the Starbolts. Because he already had Bluestreak and Truth wrapped up in his metal tendril, he found it relatively easy to use to bring both Starbolts to him. He grabbed both and threw them over his shoulder like carryon luggage, because the impact from the plane’s landing would probably severely injure them. However, he did not extend the same courtesy to Titanus, whose armor, even if it wasn’t strong enough to handle Tobias, was probably reasonably able to withstand the landing. I should tie him down though, so he does not roll off. Tobias spat the metal tendril right at Titanus, and wrapped him up like a cocoon to prevent his escape. Titanus groaned in protest, but his armor might have been malfunctioning, because he didn’t try to resist it physically. His preparations complete, Tobias watched as the airplane started downwards to the runway, bracing himself for the landing.

Tobias did not feel the wheels slam against the concrete earth beneath them, but he certainly knew that a vibration was ripping through his entire body. His teeth chattering underneath his cowl, he watched the plane lift again briefly, then hit the ground with even more force. Ride it out. Increasing his grip on Bluestreak and Truth, Tobias maintained his bearing thanks to his metal anchors that he had placed into the airplane. The plane showed down quickly, probably because the pilots had little ability in terms of moving the plane, and were just grateful to get it back onto the ground. When Tobias was certain that they had stopped moving, he checked the Starbolts jet, which had also properly landed. Time to leave. I have to change into my civilian gear.

Tobias dropped Bluestreak and Truth unceremoniously to the plane’s surface, and both groaned as their faces met steel. He then removed the metal holding down Titanus, and threw him together with the other Starbolts. I hope they wind up in a cell together. It would be a shame to split them up. “The police will be here momentarily to take you all away,” he growled to Titanus, who was too injured to respond, though Tobias thought he heard some sort of wheeze from him. Still, I wonder what they wanted with the mayor. She is only the mayor of Zepther, it is not like she is from New York. I would understand if they tried to kidnap the mayor of New York City. He looked down at Truth, the majority of who’s body was being crushed by the weight from Titanus’ armor. What is so important about Zepther? First Erin asks me to come here, and now these Starbolts terrorists hijack the plane I am on no less.

“I guess it doesn’t matter right now,” he muttered, as the metal throughout the plane began to return to him. He had to hurry, because he could hear sirens approaching the plane of the authorities, people he wished to avoid. Just a little more and I am done. When the last sliver of metal returned to him, Tobias left immediately. He had kept just a slight amount on his hands, so it was easy to fashion claws to climb back down with. He dug into the hull of the plane in the exact places he had carved into before, not wanting to damage the plane further than it already was. He reached the blown emergency door quickly, and jumped through. He had retracted the metal already, so there was nothing to stop him from leaping in the plane and completely suppressing his metal into his body. The visible skin on his arms changed, just as they had before, but reversed. The grey transformed back into the regular shade of pink that was Tobias’ ordinary skin tone.

Mission complete.

Through his mask, Tobias did a quick inspection of his surroundings. The stewardess was gone, the giant didn’t know where, but not a living soul looked upon him as he stood there. It is safe to change from my uniform. Tobias dashed into the bathroom where he had stashed his civilian garb, and began the hasty but necessary process of discarding Erin’s clothing and donning his regular gear. I should probably hide this uniform in a better place than the box though… Even if the Starbolts are taken away, the police will be looking for the person who stopped them. Those kids looked weak too, they will break and provide a description of what I was wearing. Plus, he added to himself, the stewardess had seen him leave the plane.

Tobias first removed the mask. As his face was exposed to air again, he breathed the stale oxygen, for it was better than the disgusting scent of overused air that he had been breathing inside his mask. I can fashion this into something less conspicuous. He folded the single piece mask upon itself over and over again, until it looked nothing like a mask and had the exact appearance of a black bandana. Satisfied, Tobias stuffed it into his pocket. Then his shirt came off. I will just turn it inside-out so no one can see the tough textiles that it is made of. When he did this, the shirt looked exactly like an undershirt, right now to the looseness that he had normally seen with most white undershirts he had worn. Problem solved.

Now all he had to do was retrieve the regular clothes he had hidden behind the toilet. When he did, he discovered to his pleasure that none of them had gotten damp or tarnished since he had left them. He tossed on his shirt and his jacket, and reapplied his sunglasses. There. Transformation complete.

Or, so he thought. As he took the box up, he remembered that he was still wearing Erin’s eye on his belt. Quickly, he unclipped the belt buckle and threw it into the box. Okay, now the transformation’s complete. “Time to hide,” he murmured, and slowly walked down the aisle to return to his seat. As he passed, he noticed that Kerry and Thomas were still alive, even if they were knocked out. Well, we made it kids. You’re safe. With that, he returned the box to his bag, and stashed it away carefully. He then sat down, and waited for the authorities.

Word Count- 5453 Total Word Count- 15,832