POTU Spotlight #5: Delta Ray Dawn Written by WarlorTVor, Edited by MorfexLogo created by Lord Thanos Published by the Cosmic Powers Fan Fiction Group in THE COSMIC POWERS UNLIMITED FANZINE ISSUE #33 Characters are the properties of Marvel Comics Click here for black&white text version (good for printing!) |
Protectors of the Universe
Spotlight #5 featuring...
DELTA RAY DAWN
(Note: This story takes place during the Sirus X Affair as chronicled within the pages of the Protectors of the Universe #1 - 10. Past POTU Spotlights do not have an impact on this story. For other stories taking place in this continuity, see the POTU Archive Page.)
For
more on the characters in this story, see our new
Official
Handbook to Protectors Universe
“Love: A grave mental illness.” - Plato
Deltaredon
fought away tears that threatened to streak down her cheeks. Her hand reached
toward “Scuttlebutt”’s’ helm console. She took note that her hand was
trembling out of control. She pulled her hand away, abruptly, and cradled it in
the warm embrace of the other.
The main
lighting system within the immense vessel’s bridge had not yet been activated,
and mimicked her darkened mood. It supplied an atmosphere suitable for one to
brood and sulk, as she was doing at the moment. She felt no compulsion to
activate the lights, nor did she feel it a necessary recourse, so she allowed
them to be as they were when she had arrived.
She remained
there in the darkness, the eerie emerald green light that was being emitted from
the various displays before her giving the complexion of death upon her visage.
The sting of welling tears, screaming to be shed, once more made their
collective presence known.
She scolded
herself for showing such emotional weakness. After all she owed nothing to Beta
Ray Bill, the last living male Korbinite! He meant nothing to her, except as a
means to an end. He was simply the means to repopulate and reproduce their now
dead race, no more, no less! And she bore his children in her womb. There was no
passion involved, no love; simply reproduction. Procreation of their race was
the urge that drove her now, since she had been whisked away from Mistress
Death’s chilling embrace.
Then why did
she not recall ever dying? A distracting idea, forcibly swept aside to return to
her thought process. Her line of reasoning resumed its course prior to the
forgotten tangent. Reproduction was all that mattered to her! Both in her career
choice, and now in her life choice.
Or... was
that simply what she kept telling herself, over and over again, a sort of
self-fulfilling prophecy, in the hope that she might ultimately come to believe
the lie?
She lowered
her head, helpless to ascertain her true emotions, her true innermost musings.
If what was
said was true -- that the most powerful individual was the one who had power
over herself -- then she must be the most powerless of all the creatures to
adorn the proud name of Korbinite. That was how she currently viewed herself.
Weak. Confused. And lost in a sea of raging emotions that she could not share
with anyone.
She cursed
herself under her breath, pulling herself together. The tears slowly faded, and
she no longer felt their sting. She knew these feelings would remain a part of
her forevermore, engraved into her very essence, however the course of action
that she now embarked upon was right, and necessary for all those concerned.
Deltaredon
reached once more toward the helm’s controls. This time her hand was not
trembling at all. It was steady under her renewed will power. She gave a crisp
nod of her head and with a deep breath of recycled air and the closing of her
eyes, the Korbinite activated the ship’s engines.
The shuttle
gently started to pulsate with life anew and she was satisfied to hear the roar
of the engines chiming in her ears, much like a sweet melody being played
softly.
Once this
was done, she made up her mind on a course. After all, the course did not truly
matter. All that mattered was the result: the distance between the two of them.
“Scuttlebutt”,”
she said suddenly. Her voice, somewhat shaken, surprised even her.
“Yes?”
the feminine voice of “Scuttlebutt” was forthcoming, not allowing a pause
between the inquiry itself and the response it provoked. “How may I be of
service to you, Delta Ray Dawn?”
She gave off
a bittersweet smile when she heard the computer’s interactive voice adapt her
name into the closest English equivalent. “Activate a personal log entry, to
be filed and saved within Beta Ray Bill’s personal computer matrix within his
alternate quarters on the “Star Master” portion of the “Township”.”
She owed him
that much, at least. After all, he did brave Death’s Realm so that she, and
more importantly their race, might live.
There was
silence for a moment, and the slight hum of computer circuitry obeying its
recently received orders. Finally the female voice once again was heard through
the vessel’s intercom system confirming to her that the process had been
carried out and that she could begin the recording.
She
instinctively took a deep breath and forced her voice to remain calm, as she
started her last address to Beta Ray Bill.
“Betarebil,”
she started slowly, collecting her thoughts to appropriately phrase what it was
that she felt inside, “by the time you hear the sound of my voice, I shall be
some distance from both Sirus X and the 'Township'. And you will have also
taken note of the various energy trails, leading away from 'Township', all
with the exact energy signature that was produced by Scuttlebutt’s
engines. These... phantom energy trails are all falsified, forged so to dissuade
you from tracing me.
“Please, I
implore you, Betarebil, Noble Spirit that you are, do not follow me...
“I do this
for your own well being,” her voice became thick and hoarse, as if suddenly
filled with doubt. She forced herself to complete her words. “Call me a liar
if you must, but I do know that my intentions are pure, right and just in this
matter.
“I feel I
owe you an explanation of my logic. Since my arrival here, once more among the
mortal realm, I have noticed something in your eyes, Betarebil. Hesitation, if I
were to attempt to describe it, in your actions. You instinctively know
something is the right thing to do when the situation arises, yet lately you
have become hesitant, reluctant, and doubtful to act. I feel that it is my
presence that has done this. You no longer act on what is the right recourse.
Now you take into consideration my well being above all others’. You ask
yourself: Will my actions adversely effect her or the chance of the repopulating
of our race? And by answering these questions... by merely asking these
questions... you lose precious time. Time that demands action not contemplative
thought. And in that span... in the span of even the smallest of all fractions
of a nanosecond that action was demanded of you, and your thoughts drifted
toward myself and our soon to be born young... a brave soul may be forever
lost... And I, for one, cannot live under that specter of damnation...
“My
presence here... and the presence of our future brood… must not be allowed to
hinder your performance as the proud Protector of the Universe that you are.”
She took a
deep, rattling breath, and for some reason she found it difficult to draw in
air.
“I know
this pains you deeply... for you are a kind and gentle creature by nature... and
I am saddened that I am the instrument of this pain.”
She mouthed
the words “I love you”. Yet she could not bring herself to voice them.
For did she
love him?
She had
feelings for him, yes. However, love? What were these feelings? A simple
maternal instinct of some sort? Perhaps. A compulsory need to make certain that
the one who had risked so much for her very existence was not hurt by her next
actions? More than likely. But love... true love...
Love? Did
she love the one who was Betarebil?
She did not
hold the answer to that question, nor would she voice such a phrase aloud unless
she was certain of the answer.
She felt her
neck tighten up slightly, and fought back the pain, once more scolding herself
for such emotional lack of control that she was displaying even in her solitude.
Her eyes took on a glazed over shine of tears, it was an expression of
heartache... She composed herself once more.
“Farewell,
Betareb… Beta Ray Bill.” And again, silently, “I love you.”
Time passed
by, and she waited until those final words -- not the ones she had spoken, but
the three she had mouthed silently -- echoed in the halls that made up her
psyche, before she closed out the auto-recording and sent it toward Beta Ray
Bill’s personal information matrix. Once she saw to it that the task was done,
and that the “Township” would inform the bearer of Stormbringer of the
message’s existence, she looked over final preparations for launch.
When all was
in order a few moments later, she detached “Scuttlebutt” from the
“Township” superstructure. She made certain that the falsified energy trails
were in place, and that more would fire after her departure. She stared once
more at the shimmering crystal orb of emerald that was Sirus X. The “Township” was coming up in the observation port,
slowly moving in orbit around the world that was once again in the clutches of
Universal Church of Truth.
She turned
from the sight, and once more made sure the correct course was laid in. With the
activation of a few commands she initiated the ship’s powerful engines.
The roar
increased, and moments prior to the ship lurching forward into the sea of
eternal stars, she looked once more at Sirus X with longing, as if she could see
Bill from across the void of space.
The vessel
engaged the main drive and Delta Ray Dawn embraced the stars, the entire time
saying to herself: No regrets, no regrets, no regrets...
In the
astral distance, a shadowy figure savored Dawn’s anguish, and knew that his
subtle manipulations of her psyche were bearing putrid fruition. His
offspring’s distraction planet-side gave him all the more satisfaction. Soon,
she would be his, and Mistress Death’s secrets would be peeled away one by
one. And the mock-Thor could do nothing to stop him!
The End.
Thanks for reading! Also read Protectors of the Universe #10! Be sure to also check out our Cosmic Union Continuity Reference Page and Protectors of the Universe Reference Page for other stories in this continuity. And don't forget to send some comments below!
E-mail feedback/submissions to cpufeedback@yahoo.com