The More Things Change...


Chapter 5 - Will Work For Shelter
    written by Adam (Norrin2112@aol.com) Funk
  
edited by E.A. (emorris738@aol.com) Morrissey


Beta Ray Bill and Quasar were awaiting their arrival when they got back.

"Bad news Surfer." Quasar stated. "We’ve been all over this shield, nothing has changed."

"Unless you count those." Bill said. All around the shield were satellites, each sending out the same signal on all wave-lengths. The signal said the same thing over and over in Doom’s voice, visitors were not welcome, stay away.

"Yello? Can youse hear me? Strange your friggin Voo-Doo ain’t workin’! Alicia? Can you hear me? My freakin head is probably in a toilet somewhere on Shi’Ar or somethin’. Why I let that blasted witch doctor in my head…"

"Ben!! Ben I hear you!!" Alicia said starting to smile. Ben’s head appeared in front of them, upside down. That big lug could always make her smile no matter what was going on around them.

"Oh. There ya’ll are. We got us a regular tough guy convention goin’ on out here. Howdy boys, how’s tricks? Alicia, I know how excited you get when you don’t get your bashful Benji fix, so I wanted to make sure you were ok and tell ya the whole gang here was fine."

"Oh Ben, I was so afraid I would never hear your voice again. I just don’t think…" Alicia trailed off, sadness creeping into her voice.

"Don’t ya even start thinkin’ that way!! There’s so many big brains stuffed in this place there’s hardly room for a sap like me to read my comics. They’ll figure out a way to remove that big marble. Don’t ya sweat none."

"I’m just glad you’re ok Ben. You take care of yourself now. Don’t eat too many snack cakes just because I’m not watching you. You know how those keep you up all night and give you nightmares."

"Aww don’t worry. I promise not to touch one ‘til ya get back. Take care Alicia. And you Surfer. I’m holdin’ you responsible for her."

"Fear not Benjamin. Alicia could be in no better hands save perhaps your own."

"I’m countin’ on that boogie boarder. The rest ‘o youse have fun. Keep the joint safe ‘til we get out to save the galaxy again."

 

With that Ben disappeared and Strange took his place. His demeanor was nowhere near as lighthearted as Ben’s was.

"Well Norrin, any change?"

"I am sorry Stephen. I spoke with Eternity himself. Trust me when I say this may very well be the key to Earth’s salvation." The Surfer proceeded to tell Strange everything Eternity had told them. Strange was silent until the Surfer had finished. He appeared deep in thought for quite a few minutes.

"I will relay what you have said to the others. If I may burden you with a favor Surfer. Would it be possible for you to set up shop close by? I am sure we would all feel a little better knowing there was someone close by on the outside keeping watch."

"I had already considered that Stephen. I do have plans to have a constant sentry in the system. Although it may seem…unconventional without knowing the whole story. I will explain it all in due time. Fare well my friend. We will speak soon."

"God speed Surfer. I trust your judgment on any matter, do what you must. Take care all."

Strange disappeared leaving the five gathered around Earth feeling lonely and helpless. Surfer and Alicia embraced for some time, trying in vain to comfort each other. The mood and silence was broken by Quasar.

"The Kree are getting near Surfer. I assume your plan included them. Perhaps we should get started on what you had in mind?"

"Agreed Quasar. I need you to go to the Asteroid belt past Mars and bring back about two-hundred billion tons of rock. Bill you could probably assist him. Meet us on the opposite side of the Sun."

 

Quasar and Beta Ray Bill nodded and were off. Surfer, Alicia, and Firelord proceeded to the far side of the Sun. There was still quite a bit of debris left over from Paradise, the planet the Goddess created during the Infinity Crusade. They gathered the remains into a roughly spherical shape, awaiting the others. Quasar and Bill finally Quantum Jumped back to where the Surfer was waiting.

Quasar formed a huge bubble, roughly the size of Earth, and held the rock and such together. Firelord concentrated on the center of the material and was able to bring a tremendous fire to bear. Quasar started squeezing the sphere while Firelord fanned the flames within the core. Finally Quasar released his bubble from around the sphere. What was left was a planetoid about two-thirds the size of Earth. The Surfer started it upon a revolution so that it would have about one-point-three Earth G’s. That was normal gravity on Hala. Bill flew down close to the planet and created a storm unrivaled in the known universe. Within five hours half the planet was covered by water. The entire time Bill was controlling and encouraging the storm. Once done he collapsed in exhaustion and passed out.

The whole time Bill was doing his thing, the Surfer and Alicia were meditating on his board. It was as if they were two bodies of one mind. What the Surfer was about to do was no small feat. He had tried it once before, with disastrous results. This time however there were no living things on the planet to worry about. He also had much more time to prepare and was in a much sounder state of mind. He also had Alicia with him to help him control the unimaginable energies he was about to unleash.

Quasar and Firelord took Bill and retreated back a few million miles. With what the Surfer was about to try it would not be safe for even these powerful beings to be too close. The Surfer and Alicia concentrated and a glow appeared around the planet. Within seconds single cell organisms became fish. The fish grew legs and feet and wondered onto land. A myriad of different land animals evolved from them. Grass turned to bushes and then to trees. Whole ecosystems grew within minutes. Four and a half minutes after the Surfer and Alicia started the planet evolved eight billion years. What was once debris and rock became a living, thriving planet.

On board the Deliverance Kar-Lor and his crew were flabbergasted! Such feats were unheard of save for gods. They were indeed lucky to have found these five super beings. Every future generation of Kree owed their thanks to the Silver Surfer and his comrades. Truly these beings were more gods than men!!

The Surfer and Alicia collapsed on his board and fell into a deep sleep. A thin smile on each of their faces showed their satisfaction in how this endeavor turned out. Firelord and Quasar, still holding a unconscious Beta Ray Bill, flew back to pick up the Surfer and Alicia. Quasar placed the three unconscious heroes in a bubble and descended upon the new planet.

The planet had three main land masses. There were also small groups of islands dotting the water here and there. The oceans were fresh water, not salt, but still held a plethora of distinct species of fish and waterborne mammals. The continent the Kree named Haven was mostly jungles and mountains on the southern half and plains and large lakes on the northern. It was mostly centered between the two hemispheres, with equal lengths above and below the equator. The second, Heaven, was mostly in the northern hemisphere. It went from the pole to just below the equator. The north was mostly frozen tundra while the southern region was desert with long, wide rivers winding through it. Forests and grassy plains lined each river and the coastline. Haven and Heaven were on different sides of the planet, almost perfectly centered on each side. The third continent, Hearten, was much closer to Heaven, but fell mostly below the equator. There was a small, circular mountain range in the very center. It had a desert to the east, a tropical rain forest to the north, long, flat plains to the west, and a frozen wasteland to the south. Rivers and lakes dotted the entire island. The Kree named the planet Hala-Tor, after their mythological "Garden of Eden".

The Surfer woke on the western beach of Hearten. Alicia was still sleeping next to him but the others were nowhere to be seen. He stood up and brushed the sand off his body. Out to sea, about twenty miles off the coast there was a hurricane in full force moving northward. Miles and miles of white sandy beaches spread out along the coast in either direction. He looked to the east and gasped at the many miles of flat lands meeting the mountains. It was all so beautiful and pristine it brought a tear to his eye.

The Surfer heard Alicia start to awaken and went over picked her up and gave her a hug and a kiss.

"Good morning beautiful. I trust you had a good nap." The Surfer said with a smile.

"Oh Norrin" Alicia said as she touched his face. "I can feel the purity of this place. The sounds of the waves and sea gulls. The smell and taste of the air. Everything tells me what a wonder this place is. Most especially the tone in your voice."

"It’s true my love. In all my time I have never seen such a place."

The Surfer felt the energies at work before he looked up. To the east at about three-o-clock he could make out three distinctive signatures. Quasar’s Quantum Power, Beta Ray Bill’s Odinpower, and Firelord’s Power Cosmic. He could make out the task they set before them and smiled. What a wonderful idea. He called his board, told Alicia to hold on, and went to see how they were faring.

Alicia laughed out loud when they were close enough to hear the three talking. The way they were bickering it reminded her of those old Three Stooges shows she watched as a child. "Larry, Curly, and Moe" frowned when they saw the Surfer and Alicia pull up next to them. Alicia, sitting on the front of the board with legs dangling and laughing hysterically and the Surfer standing behind her with a huge grin seemed to really tick them off.

"What the hell’s so funny?" Firelord asked, anger searing his words.

"I do not see any humor in this…" Bill started but was cut off.

"Hey Moe!!" Alicia said in trademark fashion right before she fell over in laughter. This brought a thin smile from Quasar but only puzzled looks from Firelord and Bill.

"It’s from an old Earth TV show." Quasar explained. "Three grown men would bicker and slap each other and just act like total buffoons. It was actually quite humorous. I believe she is referring to us as the Three Stooges. Really Alicia, I thought better of you." He said in mock disgust. But she could not answer.

"I see you are attempting to create two moons." Surfer said to change the subject. "That is a wonderful idea."

"Well it was night when we landed and Quasar and I felt something was missing." Firelord said.

"Exactly". Said Quasar. "When we looked out at the stars it just didn’t feel right. And the Kree feel the same way. They love the idea."

"Where are they?" Surfer asked.

"On the other side of the planet. They are setting up camp on Haven for now and will spread out soon." Bill stated.

The Surfer then organized the three others and they were able to make short work of the moons. Each one was about half the size of Earth’s, though the second one was slightly larger than the first. They were placed at twelve-o-clock and three-o-clock on the horizon. This way there would still be nights when there would be no moons in the sky.



Continued in Chapter 6: Resting In Peace


 

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