🚀 go-pugleaf

                                 <*>

                       The Series With No Name
                                 #13

                             Sweet Dreams

                              Starring:
                            Barry Van Rice

                                 Van

                                 <*>

Continuity Note: This takes place... um...  It takes place.  Isn't
that good enough for you people?!  But nooooooo, you want to know
*WHEN*!  Vultures!  Don't you know that worrying about when it takes
place just detracts from the episode itself?  Don't you *understand*?
Of course not.  <sigh>  Well, fine.  You want, you got.  This takes
place from 10:23 AM on July 10, 1996 to 1:59 AM July 11 of the same
year.  Is that good enough?  IS IT?!?

     [We at Explorien Enterprises would like to apologize for the fact
our Continuity Note Narrator is an idiot.  We have traced the problem
to a tainted case of Dew, and fresh caffeine is being injected into
him.  We expect him to make a full recovery, as opposed to the Author,
who keeps insisting that I am having an affair with his Muse.  And
they said being a Narrator would be fun.]

                                 <*>

     The metal pod gleamed in the laboratory light, looking like
someone had come through and polished it just for moments like this.
Barry studied one side, staring at one of the tubes linking the pod
to some device or other.  He had no idea how it worked, and didn't
really care either way.  Barry had grown used to using tools he didn't
understand long ago.
     Still, it was interesting.  That wire there, for instance.  It
trailed down the foot of the pod, running into some plug into the
wall.  Data connection, or power?  Maybe he should call in Doctor
Farmer and ask.  No, wait... definitely data.  Probably.
     Barry let up a tired chuckle and stopped avoiding this.  He
slowly stepped towards the pod, then paused and drew his shoulders up.
He was an old man who'd seen much worse than this.  No fear.  Barry
strode for the pod again, this time projecting his usual confidence as
he looked down through the glass and at Grant's face.
     The features were a bit less distinct, and in the back of his
head, Barry wondered if they'd been like this last time.  They must
have been, since Grant was stuck in suspended animation.  Besides,
Barry had been... overwhelmed the first time he'd seen what his orders
led Grant into.
     "But it wasn't my fault," Barry whispered.  "He chose to follow
me, they all did."
     <But he didn't choose this,> a tiny voice added.  <I didn't give
him the luxury of the choice.>
     What would he think, if Barry let him out?  Would Grant forgive
him for yet another misjudgment, or leave, or try for some sort of
revenge?  The worst part was how close they were to a cure.  Doctor
Farmer couldn't undo his alterations to Grant, but they could go the
route with Michael and Anthony.  There were plenty of Grant's
pre-boosted cell samples sitting around, and the cloning machines
worked perfectly for shapeshifters.  It would take a little longer
than the week and a half aging for Michael and Anthony, according to
Farmer.  Two months, maybe.  But they could have a new body for Grant,
as normal as before.
     There was only one catch.  They had no idea how to move Grant's
memories and consciousness from one body to the other.  The only
telepath the Cadre had access to was Olivia, and she admitted that the
task was beyond her.  So close, and things fell apart.
     "Some problems can't be fixed."  Anthony said.
     Barry nodded, managing to hide his surprise.  He'd entirely
missed the sound of the door opening for Anthony.  "He.. is my only
friend here."
     "He didn't sound it."  Anthony's voice was completely
emotionless.  Which, Barry admitted, was more positive than his normal
cold anger.
     "The time you met, Grant was trying to save me from myself."
     Anthony snorted.  "Nice to see you know you're not Saint
Christopher."
     "Cute."  Barry gave Anthony a long look, then sighed.  "What do
you want me to say?  What do you want me to *do*?"
     "Free me from the mindblocks and let me choke the life out of you.
Or I could shoot you."  Anthony gave a smile full of cold amusement.
"I'm flexible, y'see."
     Barry ignored that, speaking quietly.  "I should give up and just
let them be destroyed when the darkness comes?  I've burned my
bridges, Anthony.  I can't ask their help like I could have before I
started this.  And I won't leave them to die, either.  What else is
there?"
     "Why are you asking me?"  Anthony turned his back on Barry and
walked to the door before stopping again.  "I'm just a slave, after
all.  No point in listening to *me*."
     "I.. please.  I need your help."
     "Like you said -- you've burned your bridges, Mr. Van Rice.
There's no way in Hell(tm) I'll give you any help unless you force
me."  Anthony looked back over his shoulder.  "Go on, say it.  Order
me to give you advice and let the mindblocks force me to answer."
     Barry paused for a long moment before speaking quietly.  "No.
You're dismissed from your duties. I.. had better start trying to fix
what little I can.  I will give you no more orders.  Go to your room
and rest, Anthony."
     He couldn't understand why Anthony was laughing as the android
left.

                                 <*>

     "Sir."
     Barry took a deep breath, then nodded to Olivia Knox.  She
relaxed slightly from her attentive stance.  "Will you stop acting
like that?"
     "I'm just showing you the proper respect, sir!"  Olivia showed a
slight smirk, not noticing Barry's jaw clenching at the joke.
     "Just... give the report," he sighed.
     Olivia blinked, losing her chipper attitude.  "Um.. yes, Mr. Van
Rice.  I'm sorry if I.. right.  Shutting up."
     <This is what I have to work with,> Barry thought.  <Is it any
wonder things have gotten so far off?>
     "The report?" he prompted.
     "Doctor Farmer says that subject Kaleidoscope is complete."
Olivia smiled at Barry eagerly.  "I'm ready to begin indoctrinating
her immediately.  Is there anything specific you'd like implanted?"
     <Absolutely no wonder at all.>
     "I think you should hold off on anything, Miss Knox."
     Olivia managed to convey the impression of a child whose favorite
stuffed duckie had just been taken away.  "Mr. Van Rice?  Is..
something wrong?"
     <I'm trying to fix the world with a telepath who enjoys rewriting
people's minds, a doctor who likes doing the same to their bodies, a
slave, and a boat-load of mercenaries, Olivia. But no, nothing's
wrong.>  Barry sighed.
     "Sir?  If there's anything I can do..."
     "No, Miss Knox.  I.."
     <What to say that she'd understand?>
     Barry nodded slightly to himself.  "I think that she should be
saved for later.  We don't need to know how to best use her yet, so
there is no point in you wasting your work.  We might want to use her
as another Trojan Horse later."
     Olivia smiled again, looking incredibly cheerful.  "Of course,
Mr. Van Rice.  I'm sorry I didn't think of that myself."
     "That.. is all right, Miss Knox.  You are dismissed early today."
     "All right."  Olivia grinned cutely.  "Permission to leave the
base and go to town tonight?"
     "Yes, yes..."  Barry waved her out.  "Enjoy yourself."
     "Thank you, sir!  I'll devote a drink to thanking you."  Olivia
smiled and headed out of the office.
     <And I'll try not to think about how you're enjoying yourself.>

                                 <*>

     And so another day was over.  Barry sighed to himself and kicked
off his shoes, too tired to fully undress.  He hesitantly picked up
his crystal, shaped like the top slice of a sphere, and stared at it.
Barry wearily plopped down on the side of his bed and stared at the
crystal as he thought.
     "So, what do you have for me tonight?"
     Barry closed his eyes and began to absorb energy from the
crystal, supporting his own old and weak power.  He visualized a
curtain and then slowly imagined it moving aside, letting him see...

Jon ignored the confusion, and just the beginnings of worry, in the
other's words.  He was seeing Takeover with some strange sense, as a
beautiful matrix of energy and thought.  But there was a distortion in
the pattern.

He was falling, falling through everything and nothing and he had to
find it it was his only hope and he was seeing what was and what would
be and might be and is and it all changed unsteadily and he could
barely focus because it wouldn't stay steady but it didn't matter
because it was almost there and there was a classroom and he was there
and so was he...

He could feel... something burning through him.  It felt like every
ounce of skin on his body was on fire, and he had no idea why.  He
opened his mouth, but he couldn't speak as the pain blew beyond
anything he'd known.  Galen had noticed his expression already and was
tapping Amy's arm to get her attention.  And mom was asking something
that he couldn't hear through the pain and the screaming voices in his
head and he couldn't hold it in any longer...

     Barry fell back on the bed, asleep as the exhaustion of the day
overtook him.  The visions gave way to dreams, still influenced from
the energies of the crystal.  It stayed in his hand, continuing to
feed him the energy from his last request as its glow slowly
brightened.

                                 <*>

And the dreams began...

Barry stood before the screen, watching the red splotch continue down
the base map as more and more was compromised by the attackers.  It
was almost over...

A blue and grey hardsuit stood before the building, and a swarm of
flying metal spheres formed before it.  There was a moment of
stillness as the spheres and the man prepared for whatever was about
to happen, and Barry could feel a thrumming through his heart...

     >The crystal glowed even more brightly.<

"You need to let go, brother.  You've spent most of a year chasing
after me, wasting your life in some insane pursuit."

"Nice to see you once again.  You have something for me, I think.  And
I will have it, Barry..."

"I'm sure this will give you everything you deserve, friend."

"We will go fartogetherIbelieveIhaveadealforyouprepareforteleportevac
I'vedonesomuchburnedsomanyifwemustwemust"

     >The crystal became a small sun, and cracks formed in the
formerly perfect structure.<

The dream shifted and the voices went quiet.  Barry was in a wide
meadow, with the only sound the wind and crickets.  Clouds randomly
danced in front of the sun, keeping the day cool.  And for the first
time in a long while, Barry almost felt peace.

\\We know who you are//

He whirled around to see a legion of people before him.  Jon stood in
the front, with Michael and the other Sentries just behind.  Dr.
Farmer stood nearby with a slight sneer, and Grant stood nearby with
sadness on his face.  Behind them were others.  Anthony, Derbilt
Morrison, Team Degenerate, Mr. Gogh, Olivia, nameless soldiers...
Everyone who had either put their trust in Barry or been manipulated
by him.  Or just the second, to be truthful.

\\Take it//

Barry looked down at his feet.  Some sort of gleaming, ultratech gun
lay there.  He knew, as you sometimes do in dreams, that the gun would
randomly either kill or give immense power to its victims.  All he had
to do was pull the trigger.

\\What will you do//

Barry leaned down slowly and lifted the gun.  It felt so heavy in his
hands -- a burden beyond all others.  Barry looked at it for a moment,
then silently pointed it at Jon and pulled the trigger.  For a short
moment, nothing happened.  Then, Jon simply faded from sight, gone
forever.  Barry stared quietly at where Jon had been.

\\There are others left//

"Yes..."  Barry nodded slowly and moved the gun to the side, aiming at
Grant.  Again the trigger was pulled, and again... a slow death into
nothing.

\\What now//

"I..."

\\Stop and find another way, or continue on and hope your methods
finally do what you wish of them//

Barry looked down at the gun, then nodded slightly and fired at Ben,
then Steven and Christie, and Robyn, and Derbilt, Anthony, Kim,
Jamie...  His sight blurred as he shot one after the other, not even
looking at the results before moving on to the next.  Finally Barry
lowered the gun and looked at the unmoving crowd.  The people nodded
slightly, then all but Michael melted into the darkness.  Michael
himself watched Barry quietly, waiting for the next move.

\\What now//

"Michael.. I didn't want this!  It wasn't supposed to be like this!"
Behind Michael, the clouds went dark and shadows began to gather.

\\What now//

The shadows slowly formed into a figure from Barry's visions.  Try as
he might, Barry could not see the figure's features as it began to
advance towards he and Michael.  And Michael was the only one who
remained who could stop it...

"I'm sorry."

The gun flared yet again, and for a long moment nothing happened.
Finally Michael gave a sad smile, and went to join his friends.

\\You have failed//

"No..."  Barry stared at the gun.  It wasn't supposed to work like
this.  It should've.. it should've made them stronger.  Able to
destroy the darkness.  But it only killed, no matter what he did with
it.  And it was all he had left.  Slowly he lifted the gun one final
time, and fired at the dark figure.

\\Thank you for the gift of power//

The sky went pitch black, and the grass under Barry's feet withered
and died.  The dark figure swelled to three times his previous size,
and grinned down at Barry.

\\There *was* another you could have used against me//

"Who?"

\\If you cannot see it...  Goodbye, foolish seer//

The dream shattered into light and sound and chaos...

     >And the crystal shattered.<

                                 <*>

     The crystal lay in pieces on the bed, not that it was visible.
The entire bed was enveloped in a cocoon of polychromatic light and
energy that flowed out of the broken crystal.  The pieces slowly began
to heal their own damaged structures and cut off the energy that was
escaping from them, much to the relief of the man inside the cocoon.
     For several years now, Barry Van Rice had used the crystal to
boost his own weak abilities.  It provided the energy, and he was the
vessel that channeled that power into his visions.  It had enough
energy to last him for many times his natural lifespan, and he would
devour it hungrily, time and time again.  But now, he had drained too
much of the energy too quickly, and the crystal's structure had been
damaged in an attempt to give Barry all the energy he was trying to
pull in.
     After a few minutes the shards healed themselves, more or less.
The crystal had no intelligence, and so was unable to pull itself back
together.  But the fragments remaining were at least no longer
dangerously leaking their lifeblood into the room.  The energy
remaining around the bed was slowly pulled back into the pieces, and
Barry sat up slowly.  He couldn't focus...
     Memories and dreams and visions ran through his head, and danced
away when he tried to focus on only one.  He couldn't think straight.
All of his plans and excuses were scattered to the mental winds,
leaving only his emotions and instincts screaming at him.
     Vanguard was dead because of his fumbling attempts to improve the
lives of the Sentries.  But that wasn't the worst.  Vanguard's death
was at least partially the fault of Brian.  Barry had set up the
situation, but he didn't mean...
     "I never do," Barry whispered.  Things had gotten out of control.
Years of controlling himself, and this is what happens.  He'd juggled
too many balls, and they all came crashing down.  He could.. Barry
could forgive himself that, possibly.  But forgive what he'd done to
Grant?
     Grant was the one person who knew exactly what they were doing,
morally.  Barry, Mr. Morrison, Derbilt -- they all swept things under
the rug and pretended they had no qualms about what they did.  But
Grant knew what he was doing.  He admitted it was wrong, but insisted
on doing it to repay his debt and in hopes that he could make things
work out.  And Grant tried to get the others, Barry especially, to see
what he'd seen.  He tried to make them understand what they were
doing, so they could try and find a better way.
     And in return, Barry took away his humanity.
     "Gods..."  Barry's voice was the merest hint of a whisper, as the
power overload from the crystal blew away his rationalizations and let
him see truly.  He'd almost destroyed it all.  He used everyone as
pawns and playthings in hopes of making everything into some perfect
world of happiness, where the mistakes of his past would be swept
away.

\\There *was* another you could have used against me//

     Barry nodded quietly to himself, then arose from bed.  He
wouldn't get any more sleep now, and there were plans to make.  Final
plans.


WHAT PLANS ARE THESE?

IS HE GOING TO BE PLAYING DIPLOMACY AT THE THIRD ANNUAL VILLAINOUS
PLANNERS' CONVENTION?

OR IS HE JUST GOING TO BE GUEST SPEAKER AT THE "HOW TO GET AWAY WITH
HAVING A TERRIBLE LAUGH" PANEL?

WHO KNOWS?

AND HE'S ON FIRST, SO HOW DO WE ASK HIM?

You'll find out... well, darn near none of these, only on...
SUPERGUY!!!