"Yeah, we're gonna get them to chase us," Ethan agreed. "If you see a fish, throw something at it and get its attention. Soon as we have a following, I'll haul it to the beach."
~~~
Jack dropped Dean and Ty off by the docks and hurriedly left to join the effort.
Dean wasted no time running towards a particular shed, Ty following dutifully behind. Dean quickly unlocked the large shed doors, swung them as open as they could go and stepped inside, the oversized vehicle standing in the middle of the cavernous shed.
"All aboard!" Dean exclaimed as he rushed to the driver's seat. Within a few minutes, he started up the engine up and manoeuvred the brightly painted Duck out the shed, away from the docks and towards the epicentre of the pandemonium.
Ty positioned himself towards the back of the vehicle. "What am I gonna do to get the flying fish chasing us?" he asked, desperately.
Dean shrugged, unconcerned. "Just call them names. That should work fine enough."
As the Duck rolled down the abandoned streets of Crashton, Ty kept on the lookout for any sea creatures rampaging along. He spotted a herd of hammerhead sharks actively destroying every car parked alongside the road.
"HEY!" Ty yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to enhance his volume. The sharks with their trademark rectangular snouts snapped around, their attention averted to the teenager. "Yeah, you. I heard some squids talking earlier and you know what they said? They said you guys still sleep with a nightlight on!"
"Dude, that's low," Dean said.
Ty turned his palms skyward. "I don't know what to do!" he hysterically said.
However ridiculous his attempt, it seemed to succeed as the hammerheads abandoned their rampage and chased after the zooming amphibious vehicle.
Dean quickly changed his tune as he realized Ty's unconventional methods proved effective.
"Keep it up!" he called over his shoulder. "It's working!"
~~~
"Where have you been?" Rust asked Caleb as he came speedily bouncing towards the older hero and Jack, brown eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"Making friends!" Caleb called over his shoulder, not daring to slow down. "Too many friends!"
Jack looked around to see a large assortment of sea creatures - jellyfish, squids, sharks, stingrays, eels, dolphins, even a whale - fiercely pursuing the rightfully hysterical Caleb.
"Jump out the way!" Jack yelled as he sped along the road, easily overtaking the assorted company of marine life Caleb somehow managed to amass.
Caleb obeyed the terse command and abruptly leapt off to the side, heading for the beach.
Jack swooped in and took over the chase, finishing the task by steering the army of sea creatures towards the ocean.
Caleb collapsed on the sand like a rag doll. "I should get extra credit for that," he mumbled.
Panting heavily as the past few days of fast-paced action caught up to him, Jack watched as the creatures' aggression evaporated as soon as their watery home came into view. With a gratitude he hoped was more than imagined, the creatures swam the last stretch and serenely sank into the inky, moonlit water.
Audrey teleported another batch of vine-entangled and glowing-bubble-encased marine life to the seafront. The vines fell off the creatures and the hardlight containments evaporated. Bella and Lacey tiredly followed behind on foot.
The old jeep, driven by Ethan, came skidding to a halt in the nearby beach carpark. A school of large mackerels followed close behind. The fish slowed as their home came into view. Calmly, they abandoned their chase and returned to their natural habitat.
Professor Darkins arrived next. Jack couldn't help but notice he rode on the back of a dolphin.
"Close your mouth, boys," he said as he rode past a slack-jawed Jack and a wide-eyed Rust. "You'll catch flies."
"What are you doing?" Jack asked.
"Riding a dolphin," Professor Darkins answered, simply.
"Yeah, I can see that. But how?"
"It's a little trick I learnt back in 1987. Those dolphins were a lot scarier, though."
"How could they be any scarier?" Rust questioned.
"Well, they had lasers for a start..."
The Duck came zooming along the road then. It didn't slow down as it reached the beach, instead, it drove on straight into the water. Dean and Ty managed to get almost as many sea creatures following them as Caleb did. Again, as soon as the sea creatures saw their home, they calmed down and graciously left. Dean and Ty stayed in the Duck, watching the once-in-a-lifetime scene.
The rest of the hastily slapped-together team stood together by the water's edge.
In a vaguely serendipitous moment, everyone gazed out at the glassy water until the ripples created by the returned creatures of the deep faded away.
That... made it all worthwhile.
28
The serene silence lasted for a good, long while as everyone tried to catch their breath after the whole ordeal. Eventually, however, the questions on everyone's mind had to be asked.
"So..." Bella said. "What do we do now?"
"The sun rises in a few hours," Ethan commented, looking out towards the horizon where the faintest glow of the approaching sun could be distinguished beyond the calm waters. "I guess we better make our way home so no one figures out what we did here."
"Do we clean up the town?" Caleb asked, uncertainly.
With a cringe, everyone slowly turned around to see the disastrous state their beach-town was in. If one didn't know better, they might presume a Category 4 storm had rolled through the coastal Crashton. Glass from shop windows carpeted the boardwalk; splintered wooden furniture littered the beach, carpark and road; even parked cars hadn't been spared the wrath of the mindless sea creatures as they decorated the streets with their twisted forms and missing windows.
"We did all the hard work, I'm sure someone else can come gussy up the place," Ty said with a tired, careless wave of his hand as he and Dean met up on the sand with the others.
"Did Mom teach you nothing?" Caleb reminded his brother. "'If you make a mess, you have the responsibility to clean it,' she always said."
"Technically, the sharks and squids did it," Ty countered.
"What did you normally do, Rust?" Jack asked his mentor.
Rust shrugged. "We always tried to clean the place up a bit. It helped cover our tracks better. Normally the Director of Hero Affairs for the district would send out a clean-up crew and have the whole place in spick-span shape before morning came."
"Yes, but that guy has a lot on his plate," a new, deep voice stated. Suddenly alert, everyone whipped around to see a man with dark skin and a tall, strong frame walk up and sit down on the sand beside them, seemingly unaware of the clean suit he was wearing. "He happens to be the Director of Hero Education and Training for the whole world, too, you know."
"Danger?" Audrey said, bewildered. "What are you doing here?"
Urban shrugged his broad shoulders. "I've been tossing with the idea of coming over here and helping out in person ever since Rust here called me," he answered, nodding his head in the direction of Rust. "Turns out I made the decision a little late: soon as I get here, what do I see? You guys have handled it all like a bunch of veteran superheroes."
"We could have done better," Jack said, modestly though it sounded more ashamed.
"Yeah. I mean, as far superheroes go, we really stink," Caleb added, hanging his head. "We made a huge mess, took forever to herd those sea creatures back home, and did I mention the mess?"
"There were news crews and cameras all over the show," Bella pointed out. "We're probably gonna have our faces plastered all over the headlines as soon as morning comes."
"Actually, that's not as big a worry as you'd think it is," Urban Danger assured the downhearted teenagers. He reached into his jacket pocket and produced a small business card. He offered it to Jack who accepted it and looked over the details, his friends crowding around to read it, too.
"'Badger?'" Jack read,
confused. "What's a Badger?"
"He's a freelance reporter, photographer, blogger and media consultant," Urban Danger explained. "We believe he has mild manipulation powers: somehow, he can make the stupidest of things go viral and make sure the biggest stories never see the light of day. Why else do you think the world is, for the most part, completely oblivious about superheroes, aliens and mad scientists?"
"I thought comic books were our cover," Dean spoke up. "You know: make people think it's nothing but a fairytale and then they won't ever suspect it's real."
"That works, too," Rust said. "But sometimes you need someone to make sure the big stories don't get attention."
"That's what Badger does," Urban concluded. He tapped the card in Jack's hands with a finger. "Make this man your friend, and you will never have a problem with the media."
Silently, the teenagers seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and the tension in their young shoulders eased.
Urban leaned back and looked over the motley crew the teens assembled to help save the day. He recognized Dr Noah Harmica.
"I suppose there's a good explanation for what really happened here tonight," Urban said, speaking in the general direction of the Harmicas. He easily caught their attention.
"An unfortunate misunderstanding," Noah Harmica said. He glanced to the young man at his side whom Urban assumed was his son. "And a few well-intentioned mistakes."
Urban nodded, satisfied with that answer. "I guess not every story has to have a villain, does it?" he mused aloud.
"Well, I don't know about that," Rust interjected. "District 61 nearly had an army of uncontrollable sea-life. You can't tell me they're not the bad guys here."
"It's... complicated," Urban conceded. "Truth is, District 61 is as shady as a tropical rainforest. But for all the nonsense they cause, they add important strokes to the bigger picture. They manage to keep alien tech away from the majority of questionable individuals, they support the Superhero Community, and they help keep heroes like you doing what you do best: saving the day while keeping your secrets safe. Partnering with District 61 is a... necessary evil."
"They're responsible for all this," Audrey pointed out, sweeping an arm behind her, motioning towards the destruction no one had to see again to remember. "How do we make sure they don't get what they want from this?"
"I can put a few words in, pull some strings, maybe even contact the Global Director of Hero Affairs and make sure he has his people clean this up, not District 61," Urban said. "I just hope he'll take my call..." he grumbled.
"Sir?" Jonas spoke up. "I'd just like to apologize for the havoc I caused. There are probably a million ways I could have handled that better, and I -"
"Don't sweat it, son," Urban quickly abated the young man's concerns. "The past is the past, now we move on. Yes, you've made a mess and I can't say I look forward to the headache this is all going to cause... but that's this life for you."
"We're going to do our best to fix this," Noah Harmica said, speaking for both himself and his son.
Urban tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, as if he were considering something. "You know, I think there could be a place for you. We'll always need bright young minds such as yours."
"Thank you, Sir," Jonas said, gratefully.
"Well," Urban said as he got to his feet. He brushed his hands together to shake the sand off his palms. "I better start making some phone-calls. Good job everyone, you can now all go home and hibernate. I'll make sure there's not an alien invasion until you've at least had ten hours of sleep and five cups of coffee."
"My Mom won't let me drink coffee," Bella said.
"I'm so sorry," Urban said with almost genuine sincerity. He turned to leave the beach.
Rust quickly got to his feet and caught up with Urban. The two walked a little further until they were out of earshot. "Hey, Danger?" Rust began with little hesitation. "I have to ask a favour from you. It's about Audrey."
Urban nodded, understandingly. He looked back over towards the shore where the young woman in question conversed idly with Professor Darkins and Jonas Harmica.
"The kid needs another break," Rust continued. "She has nothing to do and nowhere to go now."
"You know, a lot of teachers quit after that whole debacle with Wepaynar. It be a shame for Crashton Hero High to begin a new school-year short-staffed..."
"And Jones is more than qualified," Rust added as if he needed to vouch any more for her.
"She was always top of her class. Maybe it's about time she had a class of her own..."
Epilogue
After Urban Danger assured the teenagers that the mess in Crashton would be taken care of within a few hours and Badger had been contacted, everyone went their separate ways. Professor Darkins declared he would like to catch up with Dr Harmica and his son, maybe swap some notes (to which all who knew of Professor Darkins' eccentric ways immediately protested - the last thing they needed was him getting "interested" in technology capable of altering sea creatures.)
Audrey offered to teleport both Dean and Lacey to their respective homes. They gladly accepted the offer, grateful to return instantly to their homes. When Audrey returned, she offered to drive the Harmicas home.
"I'll be going too, then," Urban Danger said, heading towards a simple, nondescript black car parked in the deserted beach parking lot. He abruptly stopped and turned around, casting an approving glance over the young Gamma Accidents. "You know, I have some big plans for you five. I don't think you've realized it, but this cements what I always believed."
"Yeah? What's that?" Jack asked.
"That absolutely anyone can be a hero - doesn't matter how others see them. Keep up the good work. And Rust? I'm trusting you to continue training them."
The Global Director smiled and nodded one last time, as if confirming something to himself before he turned around again. "You still have a lot to give to this world, Rust," he said, and with those parting words, he left.
"So, that's it, then," Caleb said as the five of them and Rust stood in the empty carpark.
"Yeah," Rust said, simply. If he struggled to accept Urban's last remark, he did his best not to show it. "There's a lecture I was all ready to give you kids but... you know what? Forget it. You did a good job tonight."
"Sure is a crazy fantastic summer to tell our grandkids about," Ethan commented as he, his brothers, Bella, Jack and Rust made their way through the littered carpark towards the jeep and the old white van. "Bet they won't believe us."
"I don't even believe us," Ty countered.
"Well, was this 'eventful' enough for you, Mission Control?" Bella teased Jack, her denim blue eyes sparkling with humour.
He responded with a light chuckle. "One day, I'll learn to watch my mouth. But, yeah, it sure did make for one of those memories we'll talk about for years."
"You know, summer's not over yet," Ethan piped up. He glanced once more at the once again peaceful ocean. "We should catch a movie or something."
"No, nuh-uh," Bella quickly and vehemently rejected the suggestion. "I hate watching movies at the cinema with you guys."
"Why?" the triplets and Jack asked in unison, each feigning innocence.
"You always use the explosions as 'flatulence cover'," she answered, indignantly.
"Uh, so do you," Ty pointed out.
"Excuse me," she said with mock offense. "But I've mastered silence. I don't concentrate it all in just one part of the movie like some people."
"And here I thought you were maturing," Rust mumbled, shaking his head with mild disapproval.
"Whoa, I have a ton of missed calls," Caleb said, checking his phone he had wisely switched to silent earlier that evening.
"Me, too," Ethan said, checking his own phone. "They're all from Mom and Dad."
"I hope they didn't see the garage," Ty groaned.
Caleb's phone rang, this time loud enough for all to hear. He answered it, promptly. Immediately, a hysterical female voice began rapidly talking at a volume t
hat enabled everyone in the parking lot to hear her, despite the fact the phone was not on speaker.
The triplet's cringed. "They saw the garage," they said in unison.
"We're grounded," Ty said. "Doesn't matter that we saved the day, we're totally grounded."
"Bella, do you think your folks will adopt us?" Caleb asked with a desperately pleading tone. "They won't even notice we're there, we promise."
"Nope, you guys are on your own with this one," Bella replied with a cruel grin.
"It wasn't even our fault!" Ethan cried.
"No. You ate my cereal, you have to take the fall for the trashed garage."
"And here I thought we were as thick as thieves," Ty said, pretending to sound hurt.
The teenagers swapped farewells with their mentor and they went their separate ways.
Despite their state of complete and utter exhaustion, all five teenagers in the jeep continued their bantering and laughing.
Jack dropped the triplets off at their home and they did get an earful from their parents but Bella and Jack quickly helped ease the situation by explaining what happened.
Jack returned home to a rather worried mother and little sister, and Bella's little sisters welcomed her at the door (she made sure to thank them for their help in keeping everything on the down-low. She owed them, she knew, but it didn't matter.)
And as each of the Gamma Accidents closed their eyes and sleep graciously crashed over them like the waves they knew so well, faraway thoughts like dreams danced around in their tired, young minds.
Maybe not every story had a villain, like Urban Danger said. Maybe not everyone was as they appeared, as was the case with Jonas Harmica and District 61. Maybe not all beasts were monsters, as they saw with the creatures who did what they did against their will.
And maybe tomorrow was going to be a better day...
The End.
Acknowledgements
Two years after we first met the lovable Gamma Accidents and embarked on their journey through the halls of Hero High, we're finally here, at the end of their second adventure.
Life is changing big-time for them. New doors have opened and new horizons await us. I'm looking forward to bringing the rest of their wild journey to life. Hopefully, you are, too. After all, they still have a long way to go...
Gamma Accidents #2: Creatures from the Deep Page 13