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                              RADIAN & SHADEBEAM
                                  Episode 47
                           (Brutal Light, part five)
                                   "Capture"
                                      by
                                 Gary W. Olson

                                    -<=*=>-

     "What's the time, HAL?" Chalandra asked.
     <<One hour before sunset,>> HAL reported.  <<The others are waiting in
the hangar for you to accompany them.>>
     "Tell them I'll be there in a few moments," Chalandra said, as she
pulled her black leather jacket on.  "How is Akane?"
     <<She is well,>> HAL answered.  <<Dave has made some attempts to engage
her in conversation, but she has not responded.  Her trust of him seems to
have been injured by her encounter with Dave in his previous life on Planet
California.  She has kept her thoughts on that matter guarded.>>
     "Understandable," Chalandra replied, as she regarded the blood in her
glass.  "How does Rad seem?"
     <<Dave seems upset by her reaction to him,>> HAL said.  <<He evidently
did not expect to be greeted in such a manner.>>  HAL paused, a note of
uncharacteristic hesitation entering his mellow, modulated voice.  <<Chalandra,
I have been asked by Yury to determine where Dave flew from, when he flew in
to rescue Akane.  She believes that by determining such information, a
hypothesis can be formed as to where Dave was hiding, and may perhaps still be
hiding.>>
     "What would such an analysis reveal?" Chalandra asked.
     <<That he came from an area that includes the city of Los Requemados,>>
HAL answered.  <<More cannot be determined at this point, though it is evident
that Dave was less careful about disguising his entry vector than his exit
path.>>
     "Tell her the information," Chalandra instructed.  She sighed, and slammed
the glass down onto the table, cracking it.  Blood seeped over her hand, but
Chalandra ignored the sensation.
     <<Chalandra,>> HAL said.  <<What am I to do?>>
     She looked at his voicepanel, and frowned.
     "It's not easy, is it?" she asked.
     <<The conflicts of interest that I am facing have grown to the point where
I must betray either Akane or CalForce,>> HAL said.  <<I do not desire to do
either, yet I see no way to resolve the impasse that does not require such an
action.>>
     "That's because there is no way, HAL," Chalandra said.  "Akane's hometown
is in her personnel files, and if you fail to correlate that data, it will be
noticed.  That is Rad's hometown as well, and it will be an obvious place to
start.  Upon arriving, we will question whomever we find -- it's highly unlikely
that someone with a tan like Rad's can go unnoticed.  We should catch them
unawares."
     <<Indeed,>> HAL answered.  <<Unless I inform her that you are coming.>>
     "HAL," Chalandra said.  "There's more at stake here than just Radian.
Rad's life is in jeopardy, and we have to get to him before Ian does.  Warning
her may scare them right into his hands."
     <<Then I should not warn her,>> HAL said.
     "That is a decision you will have to make for yourself," Chalandra said.
"And you must not make your course of action known to me."  She released the
glass, and wiped the blood away from her hand with a tissue.  "In the meantime,
I have a decision to make, myself."
     <<What kind of decision?>> HAL asked.
     Chalandra didn't answer.  Instead, she pulled on her gloves, patted the
beretta that was holstered under her jacket, and walked out the door of her
suite.

                                    -<=*=>-

     Akane looked at Rad.  He hadn't moved from the chair in about an hour, and
seemed unnaturally still.  She wanted nothing more than to slip away and fly
off to rescue Shadebeam, but she was chained here, much like Shadebeam was
chained to the quest to locate Dar.
     Shadebeam had relayed the entire account of what had happened after her
abduction, and they had agreed that they needed to thwart Ian and Chelsa's
aims.  Well, Akane had agreed.  Shadebeam had to be persuaded, rather heavily.
She got the feeling Shadebeam had agreed simply to get her to shut up.
     None of the conversation had been seen by Rad, of course, or by the other
occupant of the house they were hiding in, Tommy Anderson.  The fact that his
parents were really, truly dead had finally sank into adolescent Tommy's dim
brain, and he had set aside his Nintendo for a good cry.  That accomplished,
his next hours, up to the present, were devoted to attempting to unscramble
the Playboy channel, without much luck.
     Akane looked at Rad again, and felt the pang inside her.  She had hurt
him deeply, when she had told him she couldn't trust him.  When she cried, he
held her, and it felt like it always did.
     But even there, in the midst of the pain and his comforting touch, she
could see the eyes of The Rad, and taste his cruel breath on her lips, and
she remembered his words.
     'I've already killed you.'
     He was trapped in the circle, just like she was.  Trapped in a noose that
was growing slowly tighter, a noose that spanned time and space, in ways neither
could hope to understand.
     <<Akane,>> HAL interrupted.  <<I have something to tell you.>>
     *They're coming, aren't they?* Akane asked.
     There was a pause.
     <<Yes,>> HAL said.  <<The Star Yacht will be in your vicinity within ten
minutes.>>
     *Thank you, HAL,* Akane told the AI.  *I didn't know if you would warn
me or not.  It must have been a difficult decision to make.*
     <<It was,>> HAL answered.  <<I trust you are aware of the additional
dimensions of the situation.>>
     -Boy, are we ever,- Kyoko chimed in.
     *I am,* Akane said, ignoring the comment.  *I must stay with my brother,
in case Ian comes back.  If CalForce intervenes, it may give Ian the opening
he needs.*
     <<What are your plans?>> HAL asked.
     *I can't tell you, HAL,* Akane responded.  *You must assist CalForce in
attempting to capture me.  I won't allow you to be dragged down with me.*
     She screened out any further replies from HAL, and turned to look at Rad,
who was looking at her with some curiosity.
     "What?" Akane asked.
     "Like, I thought you were, like, mumbling something," Rad said.
     "Oh," she said, sitting up casually.  She blinked, and looked at the
tv screen, which Tommy was still working on.  "Hey, is that Key and Yury?
I was wondering when they'd rerun that pictorial."
     Both Rad and Tommy lunged to look at the picture tube, and both were
confused to find the same interference that Tommy had been working on for the
last few hours.  Rad looked up to see Radian dashing out the back door and
taking to the skies.  He cursed a few extremely Californian curses and took
off after her, not bothering to open the door as he blasted through it.
     Tommy watched, and shrugged, turning back to his electronics work.
     Ten minutes later, he sat back, sure it was going to work this time.  He
pressed the on button on the cable box, and was both surprised and delighted
when the interference disappeared.  He was less delighted to see that he had
just unscrambled the Seniors Nude Shuffleboard Channel.
     He was about to go back to playing his video games when Ian materialized
in the living room, looking down on him with great disdain.
     "I know they were here," he said, without preamble.  "I can smell them."
     "Out the back," Tommy said.  "Could you move?  You're blocking my view."
     Ian looked back at the television set, and with a gesture and a few
words, caused it to fall apart.  He looked at Tommy's Nintendo, and did the
same to it, before teleporting away.
     Tommy looked at the remains of his beloved Nintendo, and sank to the floor,
sobbing uncontrollably.

                                    -<=*=>-

     Michael Petron watched the oddest flying craft he'd ever seen descend to
land in the parking lot across from the Flying Kamikaze Amazon Club from Hell.
It looked rather a lot like a giant Sit'n'Spin, with a Giant Robot powering
it.  Michael decided there had to be more to it than that, as he walked towards
the craft, which had already lowered its landing ramp.
     "Hi, Michael?" the colorfully-clad man standing at the base of the ramp
said.  "I'm Confusion, of CalForce."
     "Glad to meet you," Michael said.  "I wasn't really expecting that you'd
come all the way out here to talk to me..."
     "We didn't," Confusion told him.  "But you were on our way, so we decided
to pick you up, so you could tell us more about it while we're on our way to
our destination."
     "Which is?" Michael asked.
     "New England," Confusion added.  "Come on, we've got no time to lose."
     Michael blinked.
     "Never mind," Confusion said.  "We've done that joke already, anyway."
     Another hero, one Michael didn't recognize, descended from the ramp,
looking rather annoyed behind her Glittering Barbie mask, which she had cut
mostly away, save for the part that went over the eyes.
     "Look, bub, we don't got all day," she said.
     "Shade, get back..." Confusion started.
     "It's Princess Charm, dipshit," the woman answered him.  "You came up with
the name, the least you could do is remember it."
     "Look, I can't leave my job," Michael said.  "Maybe we could talk when
you get back from doing whatever it is you're...you're..."
     "We're what?" Confusion asked.
     Michael ignored him, and started walking up the ramp.  The reasons why
were immediately evident.
     "Hi!" MeltDown said.  "I'm so glad you decided to come along.  Why don't
you sit down here, next to me..."
     "Jeez," Shadebeam said.  "Why didn't you send her down here in the first
place?"
     "I like to think I'm in control of things," Confusion said, sardoncially.
     "Ah, denial," Shadebeam said, nodding.  She looked out at the open
landscape beyond the bar.  "Why are you trusting me like this?"
     "You're not the one who betrayed us," Manny told her.  "All you did was
help someone you regarded as family.  And while I can't condone that, I can
understand it.  Besides, it's Radian that everyone is hot after."
     "Not good enough," Shadebeam told him.
     "Well, then, how about this?" Confusion asked.  "You gave your word."
     Shadebeam blinked, which was difficult to do in her mask.
     "Why is that a good reason?" she asked.
     "Before Akane betrayed us, she was someone I felt I could trust,"
Confusion told her.  "And if there's anything of her from the time before
she...became what she is now...in you, then you'll be worth the gamble I'm
taking."
     He smiled and headed up the ramp.  Shadebeam watched him, then looked
back at the bar, and the open night sky behind it.
     "Bastard," she muttered, as she turned and followed him up the ramp.

                                    -<=*=>-

     At Los Angeles International Airport, a plane landed on a reserved runway.
It was a busy time of the evening, as a number of planes were waiting for
clearance to begin their descents.  But the controller had been given no
choice in the matter - the plane had top clearance.
     A yellow taxi met the plane as it came to a stop.  Three passengers
descended from the plane, and entered the taxi, all without speaking once
to the driver.
     The taxi drove away, in the direction of the city.

                                    -<=*=>-

     Her plan seemed to be working, she decided.  He was following her as best
he could, with the twists and unexpected turns she was taking compensating
for his greater speed.  He wasn't using his psychokinetic bolts to stop her,
which was good.  He wasn't tiring, either, which was bad.
     They were getting closer to the north end of the city, though.  Past that
was a long stretch of rocky desert, in which they would easily be able to find
shelter.  All she had to do was coax him far enough so that he would not see
CalForce searching the city.  The sun had just slipped below the horizon...
     A blaze of flame shot directly in front of her, causing her to pull up
hard.  Rad shot beneath her, running into and through a convenience store, and
Radian turned to face her attackers.
     "Hold it right there," HotFlash commanded.  "This time, you're not getting
away."
     "That's what you said last time," Radian told her.  "Didn't work out that
way, did it?"
     "Only because darling helped you escape," Glum told her.  Radian's eyes
riveted to Glum, startled by her presence.  She had been there, when CalForce
had her cornered earlier, but Radian had been too busy to really register her
presence.
     It was going to happen.  Just as she had seen, in her vision of the
TransDemesne.
     "Like, whoah," Rad said, as he flew back.  "I must, like, be rusty at
this, like, y'know?  Keep, like, forgetting to, like, brake..."
     "Darling!" Glum exclaimed.
     "Glum!" Rad exclaimed.  "I...um...what are you, like, doing, like, here?"
     "I followed you," Glum explained.  "I was worried."
     Radian saw the Star Yacht approaching, moving into position for a landing.
She started edging away, but HotFlash saw her, and fired a warning blast of
flame that kept her frozen in her tracks.  Mighty Guy swooped in as well,
landing behind Radian with only minor damage to the surrounding homes and
businesses.
     "My, my, isn't this touching," a mocking, beautiful voice rang.  "Hello,
mother.  Hello, father."
     "Like, Ian?" Rad asked.
     "Yes, father," Ian said, materializing in a blaze of ghostly pale light.
"I'm glad you still recognize me."
     "Well, I'm, like, glad you could, like, drop in," Rad started.  "But,
like, I'm kind of, like, busy right now, y'know?"
     "I know," Ian said.  "But I have business with you, that will require
all your remaining attent--yow!"  A blast of focused light hit him in the
side of the head, and Rad took the opportunity to scramble a bit farther
away.  Ian turned to regard Radian, the one who had fired the blast.
     "I remember the last time we fought, atop the C Building, aunt," Ian
said, not unkindly.  "You were a Goddess, then, and I believed I was an
important being in the structure of the Magestrix.  Now, you no longer have
the power you once did, and I am more powerful than before."
     "So what's your point?" a tough, female voice asked.  Radian turned her
head to regard the Star Yacht, which had landed not far away.  Willwarp was
standing on one side of the ramp, the colors on his skin and in his hair
moving at a crawling pace.  Kaoru Moroboshi stood on the other side of the
ramp, looking back at her.  But Akane's attention was focused on the
leather-jacketed woman standing between them, the owner of the voice.
     "Chalandra," Akane whispered.
     God, she didn't look a day older than the day she had turned...
     There was fighting.  Radian turned her attention back to Ian in time
to see Mighty Guy bounce off of the shield Ian had raised.  HotFlash and
Glum were attacking Ian as well, but couldn't penetrate the shield either.
     *There is a way through the shield,* China told her.  *Your vision
can guide you.*
     It was true.  She didn't have the magic powers any more, but she still
had the vision, and she saw the subtle chink in the shield, and moved towards
it, as casually as she could.
     "Come, father," Ian said.  "There is much we must discuss."
     "Like, I don't think so, dude," Rad said, as he blasted at Ian with
psychokinetic bolts.  The bolts were slowing Ian somewhat, but he was reaching
for Rad, reaching for his hand...
     A radiation blast struck him, and Ian cried out in pain.  He saw Radian
slipping slowly through his shield, and cursed, knowing he had cut corners on
the spellcasting.  But he had expended a lot of energy in tracking Rad down,
and he couldn't allow himself to be defeated here.
     The members of CalForce jumped back as the shield burst into flame.
Radian cried out and fell, even as the flame dissapated, along with the shield.
Their shock gave Ian the second of opportunity he needed.  His lips barked out
a teleportation spell as his hand grasped Rad's and pulled him forward.
     In a flash of light, they were gone.
     "Noooooooo!!!" Glum cried, blasting away at the spot where Ian had stood.
"Come back!!"
     Akane watched from where she had slumped, suddenly feeling very, very
tired.  She tried forcing herself to her feet, and partially succeeded.
Perhaps they would be too stunned to follow her...
     There was a hand grasping the collar of her shirt, lifting her up.  The
owner of the hand pressed her, none too gently, into the brick wall of the
building behind her.
     She found herself looking into Chalandra's eyes.
     Memories, held back...
     "Akane Moroboshi," Chalandra said, in a voice that was all business, "you
are under arrest."
     She could burn Chalandra with her radiation.  Surely she knew that.
     Surely.
     "Okay," Radian said.  "You win."

HAS CALFORCE WON?
WHAT WILL IAN DO WITH RAD?
HOW LONG WILL SHADEBEAM STAND TO BE CALLED 'PRINCESS CHARM'?
HAS CHALANDRA MADE HER DECISION?
WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?

Some of this, plus lots of completely different stuff, coming up when the
storyline continues in CalForce #116, only on SUPERGUY!, where our heroes are
baked, not fried.