Where do I start? I guess this isn’t as easy as it looks, trying to patch together memories and emotions into something coherent enough to read.
The Battle of Palo Verde.
On that day I was up at Area 51. It was the preferred training area for us q-morphs. It was big, well guarded, and in the middle of nowhere. High-tension power lines run through the base so I am well powered. I was on the dry lake bed doing some accuracy training. They had run power to part of it, and I was tapping the power and practicing firing at small targets about twenty yards away. Each target was about a foot in diameter and had a colored light in the middle of it. When it turned red I would zap it with a small lightning bolt and it would turn green. They were measuring my reaction time and accuracy, trying to make me better.
Jack Johnson was the scientist on site and there was a lieutenant, whose name I can’t remember, running the show. It was actually kind of fun, and useful. I was slowly getting faster and better with my lightning.
~~~
“Wait,” Licia said as she stopped pacing and looked at me, her face serious. “Did you want me to talk about my feelings and emotions like you do? How my every thought was of us being apart, how I couldn’t live without you, how…” her little tirade ended in laughter. Like I said, she’s not the most romantic person in the world.
I kept my cool and said, “That would be nice. Maybe you can give us a little more context. After all, this is a love story I am writing.”
She nodded her head, restarted her pacing, and continued her story.
~~~
I guess if I am being honest, you were on my mind. A lot, actually. I mean, I am not the most romantic person and don’t consider myself to be driven by that kind of passion. But… I mean… Well, that speech you gave at Luke had an impact. I had never been involved with a man that talked like that about me. That felt that intensely about me.
God this is hard. Do I really have to do this?
Okay. You asked for it.
What I was feeling was confused. I cared for you and I thought that I could love you, but in truth I was not in love with you yet. I was on the edge of that cliff looking over, yes, but I had not “fallen.” And that damn romantically practical speech was on my mind. I knew we had to be a team. I understood that the way we worked together, the way our q-morph forms interacted, was decidedly intimate. But I wasn’t ready for more. Being Lightningirl was really plenty for me to cope with at that point. I didn’t want to add a romantic relationship on top of it.
And I had some of the same worries as you did since the accident. Namely, would I ever find a lover that could handle the transformed me? One that could handle who I had become. What if passion got too passionate and I hurt my lover? You had the same problem. And I had to admit I was curious what a physical relationship would be like between us. What was clear is that both of us could handle the other’s power and that if it got physical, it would be… well, you know how that turned out.
So there’s some emotional stuff for you… Anyway, where was I?
It was early afternoon when Jack came running over, a serious look on his face. Jack is Jennifer Johnson’s husband, and they are two of the scientists that worked with you and me a lot back then. He said, “You are needed at Palo Verde. Now. Protocol X has been invoked.”
I remember when Colonel Williams briefed us on Protocol X—dumb name, by the way. It was this serious presentation complete with PowerPoint slides. Protocol Alpha: life as normal, at ease soldier. Protocol Gama: be on alert (our usual status, I don’t actually recall them ever invoking Alpha while the war was going on. Protocol Zebra: engage the enemy, protect the innocent. And Protocol X: execute your orders ASAP without regard to collateral damage.
It reminded me of the defcon levels from the Cold War. I understand the need for short-handing this kind of thing, but it seemed a little coarse for my taste.
“What’s happening?” I asked him. Jack’s a good man and he looked scared. It’s not a look I had ever seen on his handsome face. Protocol X is kind of the “blame the messenger” protocol. If the person delivering the message is close to you, they might be harmed by the quickness of your action. I’ve always thought that was crap. I was backing away from him as we spoke. I didn’t need a lot of distance to avoid electrocuting him when I went elemental, but I needed some.
“Palo Verde is under attack. A missile is headed for it and Neutrinoman has gone after it. They want you on site just in case.” Jack was smart enough to be backing up too.
“Well, that is urgent,” I said. I ran a few more steps away from him and then went fully elemental, my electric form jumping onto the power line that snaked from the high-tension power lines to the dry lake bed.
I guess you want me to talk about the experience of being fully elemental?
Well, it’s primal. The state reminds me a bit of rock climbing, like at the end of a long ascent when my body is tired enough that my brain shuts up. It is just the rock and me. No past, no future, just one hold at a time, up the cliff, slow and steady. Being elemental is like that. My normal mind isn’t there. There is intent (traveling to Palo Verde in this case) and little else.
I know the power grids well. Early on after the accident I studied them. I know where all the high-tension power lines are. I know it deep enough that when I am elemental, when my waking mind is mostly shut down, I still know where I am going.
It is, though, very important to hold my destination firmly in mind before going fully elemental. If you don’t, you will end up at the oddest places.
So a few seconds later I was standing, in my humanoid q-morph form, in the midst of the nest of transformers and towers behind Palo Verde.
Jennifer Johnson was just outside the transformers waiting with a robe. She looked a bit pale, and given her African-American heritage, that is saying something.
“You okay, Jen?” I asked.
She nodded as I let go of my q-morph form and returned to biological, putting on the robe she provided. “Just… I was with Nik when the call came in.” She pointed to the headset she was wearing. “Protocol X and I was right next to him.”
I smiled, relieved that she was okay, that you hadn’t done anything silly, and that I had gotten far enough away from her husband before I transformed.
She filled me in as we walked to the control room. But it was all “hurry up and wait.” You had intercepted the missile and when I got to the control room everyone was huddled around the monitors watching you. I hadn’t known they had such good cameras at Palo Verde, but they did. At first you were a far off speck and then it was quite up close and personal.
There was a collective gasp when the missile fired its energy weapon at you. We could see the effect it had on your leg. Then there was collective giggle when you first used your—what do you call it?—your butt-thruster. For my own part, I was a bit angry. I know now that you were improvising in the moment, but it made me wonder if you had been putting me on when you made me climb on your back after we got called to take care of Toxicwasteman.
The missile, as we now know, had a dual purpose. They hoped it would work, that it would destroy Palo Verde and you, but failing that they wanted it to distract us. And watching you deal with a missile with an unknown payload was certainly a distraction.
We watched as you carried it into orbit. They had some satellites up there, even then, that could keep an eye on you. They then tapped into a NASA feed that was tracking the missile moving away from Earth and your return.
We were riveted.
Which is why we didn’t notice the trucks approaching the front gate until they started firing on the guardhouse. A panicked call came in over the radio. I didn’t hear the first part of it, until one of the security team turned up the volume. “…weapons. We need backup! This doesn’t look—” there was the sound of automatic weapons fire and the voice stopped. I recognized the voice. His name was Ben and I remember his smile the most—he always had one for me when I drove in.
&
nbsp; I ran as fast as I could. I heard some feet behind me, the four soldiers that were in the control room, but I paid them no heed. As soon as I got out of the control room, I transformed into Lightningirl. I hadn’t realized it until that day, but I can run a lot faster in my q-morph form. I was like some damn Olympic sprinter as I made my way to the guard station.
As I ran I heard the sound of automatic weapons and an explosion. I drove myself to run faster. I kept thinking of Ben. When I arrived, the scene was chaos.
Interlude 3
Ben
Summer 2025, Casita de Soledad, Central Arizona
Licia’s pacing ended as she faced away from me, looking west out the living room window.
“Honey?” I asked.
“Ben,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“It’s not like we were really friends,” Licia said. “It’s just that… I knew him. He was a nice man with three kids and a wife of twenty years. He was about forty with brown hair and blue eyes. He liked to garden, was into growing heirloom tomatoes. He gifted me with a few of them once. He was a nice man and…”
I sighed and felt bad I was putting her through this. We, for some years, had been living a life where we both ignored the past. We did this by living our simple little existence at Casita de Soledad (lonely little house). The government contributed by happily hiding us away out here, but wanting to keep us around “just in case.” And for the large part, the world did too. The world wanted to move on, move past those tumultuous years. And here I was dredging it all up. Writing it all down. I felt bad about it, but like many, many things in my life since I became Neutrinoman, I may have felt bad about it, but I knew it was the right thing.
I put my laptop down, got up, and pulled her into a hug. “He was the first,” she said as she silently cried. “He was the first person I knew to die in this war.”
“But not the last,” I offered.
“No, not the last,” she agreed.
Chapter 23
Going Elemental
Late Winter 2005, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Arizona
Nik’s Note: More from Licia.
This was before Palo Verde was completely taken over by the military. The troops stationed there were minimal. When I arrived, the scene was already chaos. An overturned jeep burning; three bodies on the ground, one of them Ben’s; the gatehouse on fire; the four vehicles with the aliens in the back; and three soldiers trying to hold the aliens off.
Something struck me as odd about the scene. Well, several things, actually. Why hadn’t the dump truck crashed through the gate? It could have easily. What did they want? What were they even doing here? The front gate didn’t matter, if they were trying to do real mischief they would have crashed through the gate and run a car bomb, or something, into the reactor. Before Palo Verde was reinforced, this wouldn’t have been that hard to do.
All of that went through my mind, bothered me, but I didn’t have much time to think about it. Ben was there lying in the middle of it all, still and unmoving. He must have come out of the guardhouse to confront the aliens.
I leapt into the fray shooting lightning bolts at the blond-headed aliens. They stopped firing at the soldiers and fired at me. I never liked that sensation—bullets passing through my lightning form—but it wasn’t harmful, not in the least.
The aliens, they looked almost normal. They were dressed in jeans and flannel shirts. But, oddly, they also had on huge rubber gloves and these big black boots.
I extended my left hand back towards Palo Verde and started tapping into its power, a large bolt of lightning arching from the closest power line to my hand.
I had to again wonder what this was all about. Judging from past behavior, the aliens were smart. Shooting at me wasn’t smart, especially when I was so well powered. If this was truly an attack, not advancing past the gate was plain stupid.
I took a few of them down with my lightning, or at least I thought I had. They disappeared from view into the back of the dump truck or pickup trucks.
I held my position, trying to defend the soldiers, prevent more casualties. I regret that. I should have taken the battle to them. I should have been more aggressive. But after seeing Ben, it was all I could do.
This lasted for a while. Them shooting. Me firing lightning bolts. I was, frankly, getting bored with it and was about to move in when you showed up.
Your entrance was… it was… well, let’s just say it was dramatic and hilarious at the same time. At first I couldn’t see much, just a yellow fireball heading towards us. If not for that distinctive color I might have thought it was an alien weapon of some sort. And then I got to see your butt-thruster live and in person. I almost laughed. Sorry, hon, but really, shouldn’t I have laughed?
You slammed down and the dust from your impact stopped the battle. When the dust cleared you had your little conversation with Kothlan, the alien leader, and they fired their hidden weapon at you.
It all made sense then. This seemingly inept plan of attack of theirs was not about attacking Palo Verde, it was about killing you.
You went down as that huge purple ball of energy slammed into you. First you went to your knees and then to the ground, a devilish grin of victory on Kothlan’s face.
They all pointed their guns at you. They were going to execute you.
I shouted, “No!” and… well, it is a little fuzzy here, even for me. I went elemental. There was no time. I couldn’t let them kill you. I had to save you.
The aliens had prepared for me. The back of the dump truck and the pickup trucks were lined with rubber. They had thick soled shoes and rubber gloves on. They were expecting lightning and they had done their best to insulate against it.
But they were not prepared for the elemental me.
As you went down, as I shouted “no,” I reached back and tapped even more power from Palo Verde, a lightning bolt the size of a tree trunk arcing from the nearest high-tension power lines to my left hand. My need for speed was so intense, my need to save you so all-encompassing, that I became that Palo Verde fed lightning bolt. We were one.
We call this going “elemental” for a reason. Well, more for the lack of “reason.” My consciousness faded into this primal need. To save you. Until that moment I hadn’t known what I could truly do.
I became lightning and the lightning that I was stabbed out, striking each of the rifle-wielding aliens. They were insulated, yes, but not enough, and they had no protection from the plasma.
One hundred million volts, thirty thousand degrees Kelvin, much hotter than the surface of the sun. They didn’t have a chance. This wasn’t the delicate tendrils of electricity that I had been firing at them. This was everything Palo Verde and I had striking them. One by one they went down until only Kothlan was left and I found myself back in my Lightningirl form standing over you right in front of him.
He had drawn a handgun and was pointing it at you.
“Put the gun down,” I said.
He looked at me, his icy blue eyes boring into me. “We will not fail,” he said.
I couldn’t stop the bullet so I stopped him the only way I could. I hit him with the full force available to me and he went flying back and crashed into the front of the dump truck. His body fell and landed on the ground, unmoving.
Interlude 4
Signs of Being Human
Summer 2025, Casita de Soledad, Central Arizona
I looked at Licia and smiled, but she didn’t notice. Those early days were hard. Each death that we witnessed was hard. The ones that we caused all the more so.
“I was thinking,” I began, “we should get a papaya tree into the greenhouse. You know, a dwarf variety like the banana tree. I know you could make it grow.” Her eyes met mine as she blinked back the memories and took a slow deep breath.
She nodded. “That’s a good idea. I love papayas.” She slowly rose, rubbing her palms on her shorts. “I’ll go see if there is a good spot.”
I let her go. We didn’t discuss that battle again. I know telling her part of the story was hard on her, but it was an important turning point in what would come. Those early encounters with the aliens changed us, made us confront the reality of this war, forced us to grow in our powers and to grow up.
This life we’ve led has been amazing. An unparalleled adventure, but also filled with unparalleled difficulties. With great power comes a great burden: the weight of responsibility. During those years I often found myself feeling jealous of Toxicwasteman. He didn’t seem to be burdened by his power or feel guilt over his actions. He waged his own war with the aliens laughing all the way.
But then again, he was psychotic. So the burden and guilt Licia and I felt were difficult but signs that we were human.
Chapter 24
Get Me Out of Here
Late Winter 2005, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, Arizona
Nik’s Note: Licia is done and we’re back to me telling the story.
Searing pain was my beacon back to consciousness. It felt like an elephant was standing on my chest, one with spiked heels on, one that liked to tap dance.
I could hear the roaring crackle of electricity and smell the sharp tang of ozone. My body relaxed around it before I really knew what was going on and the pain subsided to a bearable level.
“What?” I mumbled as my eyes fluttered open.
I took a deep breath. “Wake up,” I heard a feminine voice say. The voice was frayed at the edges, urgent.
That urgency brought me back faster, I focused and I could see Lightningirl standing over me. I was lying in the dirt. I could also smell burned metal, charred flesh, and urine. I shook my head trying to clear it and looked around.
I was on the dirt where I had fallen in front of the dump truck. Kothlan’s body was there limp and lifeless, the source of the charred flesh and urine smell. I turned away and saw Lightningirl. She was standing over me, her eyes too wide.
Neutrinoman & Lightningirl: A Love Story, Season 1 (Episodes 1 - 3) Page 28