by Jaspre Bark
Violent coughs wracked the Consoler's body. He was bleeding profusely from his twin wounds and blood frothed up in his mouth, spilling over his chin. Middenface pulled out a handkerchief and bent to wipe it away, showing uncharacteristic gentleness. Kit was not bearing his pain anywhere near as stoically. He moaned and cursed everyone in the room.
"Wait!" cried Moosehead, kneeling beside the Consoler. "What about me? Can't you do anything about me? I can't spend the rest of my life looking like this!"
"An' whit'd so bad aboot that?" demanded Middenface, bristling.
"No offence intended," said Moosehead. "Consoler, I know you don't have much strength left, but if there's any way you can undo what Kit has done to me..."
"I understand," said the Consoler. "And though I haven't used my powers in quite this way before, I can try."
He summoned the last of his strength and placed his hands on Moosehead's face. Nothing happened at first and Johnny wondered if the Consoler was too weak after all. Then Moosehead's skin began to ripple. The ripples became larger and then his whole physique began to distort. This obviously caused Moosehead some discomfort but he didn't complain. Slowly, Middenface's rugged exterior disappeared as Moosehead's body started to rebuild itself. His features blurred and shifted their shape, and finally he looked like...
He looked like Kit, again.
"I'm sorry," said the Consoler. "You've spent too long in this form. I can't find any trace of your original DNA. It seems there is still much of my brother's handiwork I cannot undo, and I will take that regret with me... to the... next... world..."
With that, the Consoler slumped against Johnny and his eyes closed. Kit let out one last defiant scream of pain and rage at what he obviously perceived to be the injustice of it all, and the two brothers died together.
"Ye know," said Middenface, "fer someone who talked so much, he wisnae such a bad feller."
"There are few brave enough to give their lives so that a whole planet can prosper," said Johnny. Moosehead just nodded sadly.
The three of them bowed their heads and stood in silence.
"There has been mistrust and there has been recrimination," said the figure of Moosehead in the hologram. He was standing on a podium in the plaza in front of the palace. Beside him, President Leadbetter floated in a portable nutrient tank, his words relayed by his new mouthpiece to an audience of thousands. "But now is the time for reconciliation. We need to put our fears and our hatred behind us. To forgive, in order that we ourselves can be forgiven."
The speech had been recorded three hours earlier and now it was being broadcast all over the planet. Johnny and Middenface had the honour of watching the holo-cast from the president's sanctum, alongside Moosehead, the president himself, and General Rising.
"We have learned that bigotry and intolerance are not the sole auspice of any one race, creed or kind of human being," the holographic Moosehead continued. "They are mistakes to which we are all prone. History is rife with examples of oppressed peoples who became oppressors themselves when they finally achieved power. It is a pattern to which we, too, have fallen prey. A pattern we must break. We have lived through some dark times, but they are over now and the people responsible are no longer in a position to harm us."
"Miltonia has never had a better chance to live up to its promise as a world in which mutants can live free from prejudice - including our own. I come before you today to ask for your help in building that world, to ask you to dream that dream along with me."
Float-a-cams swooped over the audience as they went wild. Johnny detected more than just approval on the faces of the cheering mutants; there was also relief. The fear had gone: fear of getting a knock on the door in the middle of the night, fear of the constant threat of a terrorist attack. Maybe they did have a chance of a better life, he thought.
"Well, it's too early to tell how that went over with the voters," said Rising, reading from a column of statistics that had just popped up alongside the holo-cast, "but you just had the highest ratings of any presidential speech, so the early indications are good."
The eyes in the presidential vat rotated a fraction of a degree towards the general, who beamed proudly and said: "Why, thank you, Mr President." He was revelling in the status that his new psychic link with the president gave him. A far cry from his reaction, Johnny recalled, when they had first pushed a straw into his wired-up mouth and forced him to drink a small portion of the Ooze.
To Rising's credit, he had acted in an honourable fashion once he knew the truth. He had immediately ordered that no retributive action be taken against the Salvationists, and he'd dealt fairly with all sides during the negotiated disarmament of the rebel troops and the return of the palace to the government.
One of the terms of the treaty had been that several seats in the president's new cabinet should be given to Salvationist leaders. Elephant Head had landed Kit's old job as minister for immigration - apparently, ministers with animal heads were very popular with the public - while Moosehead was delighted to be offered one of the most important of government roles, and to settle permanently on Miltonia as he had long dreamed of doing.
Johnny was still a little concerned about Rising's newfound influence. He could see the sense, though, of having two political opponents in communion with the president. After the ease with which Kit had duped the whole of Miltonia, it was good that Moosehead and Rising would act as checks against each other. He remembered the hatred with which Rising had spoken about norms, however, and wondered how much of it was ingrained and how much was an understandable reaction to the lies he had been told. Certainly, his attitude had changed enormously; he even appeared to hold Johnny and Middenface in some esteem since their defeat of Kit.
"The president has just asked General Rising about the progress of the investigation into the school bombing," said Moosehead for the benefit of Johnny and Middenface.
"Ah yes," said Rising. "I still have a few loose ends to tie up, but thankfully the corruption appears to have been confined to a small cell of fanatical operatives in the presidential guard. They believed themselves to be acting under your orders, Mr President, when in fact those orders came from Identi Kit. How they could have thought you would sanction the bombing of your own people, though, is beyond me."
"Fear is a great political motivator," said Moosehead. Johnny was fascinated by the way his voice changed when he spoke on the president's behalf. His pitch became lower and his speech patterns were completely different. "It can be stronger than hope, determination, or even morals. The threat that Kit created through manipulation and exaggeration scared people into accepting his policies without question."
"Och, come oan," said Middenface. "Ye cannae mean tae tell me yer own soldiers did all that just tae get a bunch of policies passed."
"They thought they were saving Miltonia from itself. A few innocent lives were a sacrifice they were willing to make. If you think about it, your own actions weren't entirely dissimilar. To stop Kit and capture him, you were prepared to kill fellow mutants and even former comrades."
"But ye cannae compare oor actions tae theirs. We did ye a favour gettin' rid o' the scunner."
"And Miltonia is grateful for that service," said the president. "In a way, that was the flaw in Kit's strategy. By stigmatising a whole section of the populace, he empowered its militant tendencies."
Johnny completed the thought. "Kit gave us the army we needed to defeat him. His own twisted tactics proved to be his undoing."
"I don't suppose we'll ever know how many of the atrocities we've seen in recent weeks were committed by one side and how many by the other," sighed Rising.
"The important thing is that it's over," said the president. Moosehead turned to Johnny and Middenface. "I'm only sorry that you won't consider a role in the rebuilding of Miltonia. There are still powerful factions within our society that oppose our new integrationist policies. I could use your help in dealing with them."
"Aye well, thanks and aw,"
said Middenface hurriedly, "but there's far tae much talkin' and no' enough daein' in politics fer my likin'. In fact, ye'd have got along well with the Consoler on that score."
"I'm sorry I never got a chance to meet him," said the president. "It's a shame that circumstances pitted us against each another. I am considering a proposal to erect a monument in his honour."
"I'm sure he would have appreciated that," said Johnny. "Now, I hope you won't think us rude, but we've got a shuttle to catch and we still need to retrieve Kit's body."
"Of course. Moosehead here will escort you to the mausoleum."
Realising that the president had just mentioned him, Moosehead looked surprised, as though he had just come out of a trance. "Oh, yes of course," he said, his voice becoming his own again. "We'll take the lift down."
Moosehead swiped his key card and the concrete door creaked open.
"I still get the creeps coming down here," he said. "So much for the glamorous life of a politician, eh?"
"Ye dinnae have tae tell me," said Middenface, his breath condensing in the cold air. "Now I know how ye felt seein' yerself laid oot like this."
Kit's body lay in a coffin-shaped anti-gravity container. It had not reverted back to its original form like Middenface had hoped.
"It's gonnae be mighty strange goin' back tae the Doghouse wi' ma own dead body in tow," the bounty hunter muttered.
"Sort of gives you premonitions, doesn't it?" said Moosehead. "Makes you realise how close to death we all are at any time, especially in our line of work. At least you didn't have to bury your body and say goodbye to it forever."
"Look on the bright side," said Johnny. "Now you get to help undo everything in Kit's body that he did in yours. That's some kind of payback, I guess."
Moosehead smiled bravely but Johnny knew his words were not that helpful. For the rest of his life, when he looked in the mirror, he would see the face of the man who had taken everything from him.
They closed the lid on Kit's casket and guided it out of the morgue towards the service lift. As they walked, Moosehead handed Johnny a holo-disc. "This contains all the relevant documentation plus the core DNA signature scan you'll need to prove this is Kit's body. The Miltonian government also contacted the Search/Destroy Agency to confirm your part in Kit's capture and update them about the extent of his criminal career here on Miltonia. We've sponsored another one hundred thousand credits to be added to your bounty."
"Crivvens," whistled Middenface. "That's over two hundred an' fifty thousan' each, split three ways."
"Three ways?" said Moosehead, looking baffled.
"You didn't think we'd cut you out of your share, did you?" grinned Johnny. "You were looking for a nice score to retire on, and it looks like you've found it."
"Fellers, I don't know what to say," said Moosehead. "I'm speechless!"
"Aye," said Middenface. "That's why ah prefer yer company tae that of the president. There's still one question ah gottae ask before we leave."
"What's that?" asked Moosehead.
"What did the auld Ooze taste like?"
Moosehead smiled and thought for a moment. "I don't remember exactly. I do remember I gagged and nearly threw up, just like Rising did."
"Aye, that's right," recalled Middenface happily. "We had tae mak' him drink the Ooze twice."
"I do remember what it felt like when he trickled into my brain. One drop of consciousness at a time, until he was right there sharing my mind with me. I'm still getting used to him being there all the time, to hearing everything he thinks. It's kind of comforting in a way. He knows exactly what Kit put me through. He went through something similar, only his prison was his nutrient tank. Kit stole his life and his dreams from him too. I think we can support each other through the days ahead."
Upstairs, a hover limousine waited for them at the palace's side entrance. "I thought you'd want to avoid any excess publicity this time around," said Moosehead. "Before you leave, I just want to thank you again for everything you've done... Not just for Miltonia, but for me as well. For believing a story most people would have dismissed as impossible."
"Nothing was impossible where Kit was concerned," said Johnny.
"I could tell something wisnae right frae the word go," said Middenface with a wink. "I've got a nose fer these things."
"So, back tae normality, then," said Middenface as the limousine headed off to the spaceport. "Would ye ever want tae settle on a planet like Miltonia, Johnny? Maybe try for a normal life?"
"I gave up any chance of that the minute I put on this S/D badge," said Johnny. "Moosehead was one of the lucky ones; he found a way out. The rest of us have got only one end to look forward to."
"Aye," said Middenface, lounging back in his seat and putting his feet up. "But ah'm gonnae drink a lot o' whiskey and hand out a lot o' laldy before then."
"Middenface," said Johnny, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "The minute we get to a bar, I'll drink to that!"
About the Authors
Jaspre Bark writes fiction and comics for adults and children. Prior to this he toured extensively and made numerous radio and TV appearances as a stand-up poet. He has also worked as a national film and music journalist, and written scripts for short films, radio and stage plays. He has written for the BBC, The Theatre Royal Stratford East, The Short Film Bureau, Empire, Mixmag, SFX, The Independent and countless others. He has published two books of poetry and was awarded a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival in 1999.
Steve Lyons has written over a dozen novels, several full-cast audio dramas and many short stories, featuring characters such as Doctor Who, the X-Men, Spider-Man and Sapphire & Steel. He has co-written a number of books about television shows, including Cunning: The Blackadder Programme Guide and the bestselling Red Dwarf Programme Guide. He lives in Salford, near Manchester.