_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ | | |_ _| | ____| | ____| |_ _| | _ | | ____| | |_| | _| |_ |____ | | _| _| |_ | | | __|_ |_| |_| |_____| |_____| |_| |_____| |_|\_\ |_____| by Dominic Rackstraw One warm summer day, a young man was walking down the street, when he spotted a toddler dashing into the road. Suddenly, the young man was enveloped in a green light and flew to save the young child from an approaching car. The child was deposited next to his parents, and the young man flew away. He landed in a nearby alleyway, and the light vanished. "What is going on?" he thought to himself. That evening, the events were on the local news broadcast. "...and no-one knows where he came from, or what his name is" the newscaster finished. In an office somewhere, a figure was watching the broadcast from the shadows. "At last, he is revealed to us" he thought out loud. A few days later, the young man was reading the local paper. "Even made the local rag" he thought to himself. Then his hands glowed with the same green light of a few days ago. "Before I do anything, I need to sort this out" he muttered. He reached out for his jacket, and a bolt of the "light" shot out of his hand and destroyed it. The young man swore to himself. The next day, the young man was walking down the street when a black limo with dark windows pulled up beside him. One of the doors opened, and a tough-looking guy got out. "We've been looking for you, Bio Weapon One. Get in" he said. "What's the deal with this 'Bio Weapon One' stuff?" the young man asked. "Get in" the tough guy repeated. The young man nodded, and said "Ah, one of the all-muscles-but-no-brains brigade." The tough guy pulled out a revolver. Green energy/light surrounded the young man's hands. "Back off," the young man said, "I ain't got any control over this." The tough guy was surprised at this comment, but pointed the gun at the young man. Suddenly, a bolt of the 'light' shot out of one of the young man's hands and shattered the gun. Taking advantage of the tough guy's distraction, the young man escaped. The tough guy swore, and muttered "The boss ain't gonna like this." In the office, the tough guy stood nervously in the light, while the boss sat in the shadows. "Well?" the boss demanded. "Where is he?" "He... er, he escaped" the tough guy said. "Shot my gun to pieces. My favourite one, too." "Ah, diddums" the boss said sarcastically. "I-I can get him back" the tough guy said, eager to get back on his boss's good side. "Leave me" the boss said. "But..." the tough guy protested. "I said LEAVE!!" the boss snarled. After the tough guy left, the boss reached out from the shadows for his drink. The left side of his face was terribly scarred, and green energy/light flashed over it intermittently. At a bank, a bolt of green energy burst through the doors, and struck the door to the safe, destroying it utterly. Several tough-looking guys ran in, brandishing guns. Two of them held the staff and customers at bay, while the others grabbed as much money as they could carry. After the robbers had left, one of the customers said "That green stuff was like what covered the guy that saved that kid a while back." "Hey, you're right" said another customer. On the news that night, the same newscaster mentioned the robbery. "Witnesses report seeing a green light that destroyed the safe door. This light is believed to be same as that covered a young man that save a small child several days ago" she said. The young man in question was watching the broadcast. "I know I didn't do it, so who did?" he asked. The boss was also watching the broadcast in his office, and said "And now we wait." The newscaster was leaving the studios, when a voice from the shadows said "I need to speak to you." "I'm warning you," said the newscaster, "I've got a gun." "Knock it off," the young man said, "I'm not gonna hurt you. Anyway, I would have done it already if I wanted to." "You robbed a bank, and you're not going to hurt me?" she asked incredulously. "I'm telling you, it wasn't me" the young man insisted. "The other day, someone got out of a limo. Called me 'Bio Weapon One'. Maybe there are more than one 'Bio Weapons'." "Makes sense, I guess" the newscaster said. "I got the car's number" the young man said. "I could trace it" the newscaster said. The young man wrote on a piece of paper, and handed it to the young woman. "Why are you doing this for me?" the young man asked. Smiling, she replied "It makes a good story." "By the way, my name is Sonia." The next day, Sonia left the studios as usual. A rustle came from the nearby bushes. "Bio Weapon One?" she called out. The young man stepped out from the bushes, and approached Sonia. "We need to come up with something else" he said. Sonia nodded, and said "I know. What's your name?" The young man said "I don't know. I can't remember any personal stuff." Sonia said "Oh. Well, I'll call you Joe for now. The limo is registered to a company called Genetech." "Got an address?" 'Joe' asked. Sonia nodded, and said "I'll drive you there myself." Joe and Sonia crept up to the side entrance to Genetech's main building. In the main office, the boss was watching on a monitor. "Get him" he said, without looking up. "And the girl?" asked one of the three tough guys standing nearby. "Keep her alive for now" came the reply. Minutes later, Joe and Sonia entered an office marked 'Files'. Joe looked in one filing cabinet, while Sonia checked another. Moments later, Sonia pulled out a folder labelled 'Bio Weapon One'. Sonia handed it to Joe, who opened it. "The only thing under 'Name' is the letter 'D'" said Joe. "Apparently, I was meant to be a living weapon, but I 'misfired'." "I don't like it" Sonia muttered. Puzzled, Joe asked "What do you mean?" Sonia replied "No cameras. No alarms. The door was unlocked. Think about it." They both turned to leave, but the way was barred by the three tough guys from the office. "Silent alarms, and hidden cameras" one of them said. In the office, Joe faced the boss alone. "Where's Sonia?" he demanded. "Safe" the boss replied. "For now." The boss stepped into the light. Joe gasped when he saw the boss's face. "What's the matter?" Genetech's boss asked. "Not got a word for your old man?" "You ain't my dad" Joe said weakly. "That is where you are wrong, my boy" the boss said, placing a scarred hand on Joe's shoulder. "Back off!" Joe cried, and a bolt of energy shot out from Joe's left hand and sent the boss flying through the window. Running down the corridor, Joe stopped suddenly. He turned his head sharply to his left, and saw light coming from the bottom of a closed door. Opening the door, Joe addressed the tough guys. "Your boss just had a flying lesson" he said. "Wanna join him?" The tough guys looked at each other, and pushed their way past Joe, and escaped. Sonia asked "How did you find me?" As they left, Joe said "I just... knew where you were", a puzzled tone to his voice. Once outside the grounds, they faced the building, just as an explosion tore it apart. "At least we've seen the last of Genetech's boss" Sonia said. Joe said "He claimed to be my father." Sonia said "God, I'm sorry." Joe shrugged his shoulders. "He might be lying" he said. As the destruction of Genetech's building was broadcast, the body of its boss was wheeled into the mortuary. When the worker had left, green energy played over the boss's face. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up straight. On a cold winter's evening, a family was putting the final touches to their Christmas tree. Just as the father lifted his little girl to put the star on the top of the tree, a bolt of green 'light' shot through the open window and struck the tree, reducing it to dust. The little girl promptly burst into tears. On the news that evening, Sonia reported the event. "This is not the only event" she said. "Reports are coming in from all over the area. Trees destroyed, vaporised presents, everything that symbolises Christmas is being destroyed. Police say that they have no leads to act on." As she left the studio, Sonia was met by Joe. "I saw the broadcast" he said, "was that all?" Sonia shook her head, smiling. "You're good" she said. "How do you do that?" Joe simply shrugged his shoulders in response. Sonia said "The police reckon that it's the same guy that robbed the bank a while ago." "So, the mystery guy returns" Joe said. "C'mon" he said to Sonia. "Let's get a coffee." At the police station, the desk sergeant was speaking to a member of the public. "I assure you, everything that can be done is being done" he said. "Yeah, right" said the member of the public, before leaving the station. One of the officers just going off duty approached the sergeant. "Sir, I've been thinking" the officer said. "Remember the report of that kid being saved from an approaching car?" The sergeant turned sharply and looked at the officer. "You think it's the same guy?" he asked. The officer replied "I can't be certain, but it's possible." The sergeant thanked the officer, and said "I'll tell the guy in charge of that case. Knowing him, he probably overlooked that possibility." He wrote on a notepad, and said to the officer "I get off in an hour. I'll buy you a drink for that." Smiling, the officer said "I'll hold you to that" and then left. In a nearby family home, children were crying over the remains of their Christmas tree. A figure made its way away from the nearby window. As the figure passed under a street lamp, it could be seen that the stranger looked like Joe, but had grey hair. Meanwhile, Joe and Sonia were drinking coffee at a fast food joint. Joe suddenly looked up. "What is it?" Sonia asked, concerned. "I'm not sure" came the puzzled response. "I think that your Christmas hater is nearby." "How can you be certain?" Sonia asked. "That's the weird part," Joe said, "his thoughts were almost an exact copy of mine." Just then, Sonia's pager went off. She excused herself, and went the the payphone in the corner of the room. She returned moments later, and said to Joe "You were right. That was my boss. He wants me to cover the story. Wanna tag along?" Joe nodded in reply. As Sonia interviewed the father, Joe examined the spot where the tree once stood. "Is she your girlfriend?" one of the children asked, indicating Sonia with a jerk of her thumb. Joe looked up, and smiled briefly. "I wish" he said, shaking his head. A thought struck Joe. "I have something to take care of" he said to Sonia. "Will you wait here for me?" Puzzled, Sonia replied "Sure." Several minutes later, the doorbell rang. The child that spoke to Joe earlier opened the door to Joe, who was hold a new tree. "Mom!" the child called out. The mother rushed to the front door, and Joe held the tree out as best as he could. "Bless you" she said, and then called for her husband. "No sweat" Joe said, as the husband took the tree from him. As they left, Sonia said to Joe "That was a sweet thing you did back there." Joe suddenly straightened up, as the stranger watched from the shadows. "Is he here?" Sonia said, looking around. "Yeah" Joe replied. "See if you can find out anything" Sonia prompted. Joe nodded, and closed his eyes in concentration. He doubled up in pain, as did the stranger. The stranger was already on his feet when Sonia spotted him. She gasped, just as he ran off. "Did you see his face?" Joe asked. Sonia nodded, and said "Yes. Joe, he looked exactly like you!" Joe looked at Sonia. ""What?!" he exclaimed. Sonia replied "Yes, apart from the grey hair, that it." The stranger checked into a run-down boarding house. The man at the desk seemed not to care about the lack of personal information. Once in his small and poorly decorated room, the stranger took off his coat, and sat on the bed. "Who is he?" he thought to himself. Meanwhile, Joe was thinking the same thing. The following evening, Sonia was met outside the studios by Joe. Once alone, he said to her "I think I can find the guy." Sonia said "I'm coming too. For the story, you understand. I have a tape recorder in my bag." "Good" said Joe. "Let's go." That night, another family were setting up their tree. The stranger raised his arm, but before he could fire a bolt of energy, his hand was struck by another bolt. He turned to see Joe standing there. "You!" the stranger snarled. Joe nodded, and said "You've been reading too many kiddie's books, pal. Robbing banks not good enough for you?" The stranger nodded, and said "So, you know. Yes, I robbed that bank, days after you saved that kid. I would have left it to its fate." "Who are you?" Joe asked. "Bio Weapon Two" came the reply. Joe smiled, shook his head and said "The new and improved model." Sonia was watching from the nearby bushes, and was recording the conversation. Puzzled, Bio Weapon Two asked "New?" "Looked in the mirror recently?" Joe asked in reply. Bio Weapon Two looked in the wing mirror of a nearby car. "No" he said, "how can this be?" "My guess is, you're a clone. Either that, or the guy that made me this way recruited another victim" Joe replied. Bio Weapon Two said "He's still alive." Joe was obviously surprised at this, as Bio Weapon Two continued. "I'm going after him." "I'm coming too" Joe responded. Joe called out You go home Sonia. I'll call you later if I survive." A tearful Sonia switched off the tape recorder, and whispered "Good luck, Misfire" as the two guys left. Joe and Bio Weapon Two arrived at a tall, dark office building. The only light was the one on the top floor. "By the time we get there, he'll know what's going on" Joe said. Bio Weapon Two nodded in agreement. "I... think that he's waiting for us. There won't be anyone else in our way." "Agreed" said Bio Weapon Two. "By the way, what do you call yourself?" "Joe" came the reply. "Although, I suspect that you mean my nom de guerre, which is Misfire." They reached the top floor in next to no time. "It seems that I was right" Joe said. The two of them entered the room with the only light on. The high-backed chair was facing the window. "Ah, the prodigal son returns" said a familiar voice. "Both of him." The chair turned to reveal the boss of Genetech. Surprised, Joe said "You went out the window." "I'm a survivor" came the reply. "Destroy him" he ordered Bio Weapon Two. "Sorry" he said to Joe, before he knocking Joe off his feet with an energy bolt. "Get on with it" the boss said impatiently. Joe looked up at Bio Weapon Two and said "See? He's trying to use you like a weapon, like he did with me." "Finish him!" demanded the boss. Bio Weapon Two looked at the boss, at Joe, and back at the boss. He grabbed the boss by the shoulders, and began to fire energy into his body. The two of them struggled towards the window. "Goodbye Misfire, my friend" said Bio Weapon Two, before leaping through the window with Genetech's boss, firing energy as he went. Misfire reached the bottom to find Sonia watching the body of Genetech's boss going to dust. Joe knelt at Bio Weapon Two's side. "Was he my dad?" he asked. "Yes" came the reply. Bio Weapon Two said "Misfire, the technology used to creat you still exists! He was going to restart Genetech." Joe/Misfire said "I'll destroy it." "Good" said Bio Weapon Two, before going to dust himself. "Come on," said Sonia, "let's go to the bar, and get in some good Christmas cheer." Joe turned to look at the two piles of dust being blown away in the wind. "Merry Christmas" he said sadly, before turning to follow Sonia to the bar.