Thread: The Villain's Final Victory (Noon_Shadow and LadyTania)

3 Months Ago Glenn Mattingly checked the vacuum seal on his helmet, then double-checked his oxygen levels. There was a slight thrill of mixed fear, excitement, and anxiety in his stomach as he activated the radio in his space-suit. Driscoll, I'm green, preparing for EVA. The bulky mass of the space suit would have been awkward in Earth's gravity, but in the free-fall of space, the biggest concern was the clumsy handling of the bulky gloves over his fingers. He'd trained for months to get his hands used to the delicate movements he'd need to perform while wearing a suit-the sole thing that would protect him from the vacuum of space. Glenn's spacesuit was heavier than most as he was one of the tallest members of the space program, standing 6'3 on the Earth's surface. Roger, you're good to go, Glenn, came the voice of Sheryl Driscoll, the shuttle's pilot, over his suit's intercom. Glenn then gripped the airlock handle, cycling it open with his right hand before entering the airlock. The door was sealed behind before he stepped up to the exit hatch. He paused for a moment, venting the air out into space before he finally cycled open the hatch. Outside, there was literally nothing-the vacuum of space, bleak and lifeless, empty and deadly. Glenn couldn't help but smile as he attached the tether to his suit and then stepped out into the void. He then turned, grabbing the frame of the hatch as he began his spacewalk. 25 meters to the shuttle's dorsal side was the famous Hubble telescope his mission. He gently tapped the thrusters on his suit to increase his relative velocity and began slowly closing in on the satellite. The silvery sheen of it was catching a bit of the sun's rays and reflecting them, shining extra brightly without an atmosphere to disperse them. He monitored his range as he closed in, and then at 5 meters, reversed thrust to slow himself down-he didn't want the force of his own impact to affect the telescope's orbit. He came to a near hover just adjacent to it before reaching out. He let his fingers catch a docking ring underneath the telescope, holding on and anchoring himself there. He was careful to avoid touching the solar panels that powered the telescope, as even a small scratch there could prove disastrous. Houston, I am now docked with the telescope, preparing to being procedure. We read you, Mattingly. Proceed, came the calm, steady voice from mission control over his suits intercomm. There was something soothing about the sound of another voice out here, with only the sound of his own breathing filling his ears and the blue orb of the earth spinning 500 kilometers beneath his feet. The procedure was a calibration of sorts. Glenn had been involved in the mission from its planning stages, and the goal was to attempt to attempt to learn more about energy atrophy. What was needed was an adjustment to the telescope's ability to detect and process energy readings in the upper EM spectrum from distant galaxies. All the computer models in the world wouldn't provide enough information without accurate data, which was why he was here. As he looked over the panels of the telescope, he could feel the perspiration forming in his short, black hair. Just as he was in position to start his work, Glenn felt a strange pull. It was as if there was a bit of gravity, pulling from behind him and trying to dislodge him from the the telescope. His fingers tightened their grip as he checked his tether, but he still had plenty of slack between him and the shuttle. Uhm....I've got a problem here... There was a moment of static on the other end before a voice responded, Go ahead, Mattingly, what's the.... the transmission dissolved into static. Glenn felt his heart surging in panic as he lost his grip on the telescope and then suddenly he was free floating. Panicked, his hand reached to check his tether, but that's when he felt a weird, almost electric surge through his body, as if he'd been struck by lightning. He let out a scream, but he began to hear something, voices, almost whispering in his mind, and he had the sensation of being....folded....as if reality was bending in over itself. His eyes rolled back into his head as he had the weird sensation of somehow existing in two places at the same time. His eyes saw something...a vast, blue field of energy, something he couldn't understand. Wormhole ....he thought. This....this is a wormhole.... Then suddenly his tether went taut and Glenn felt his mind clearing as he was suddenly yanked backwards. As he exited the wormhole, the blue surging energy seemed to overwhelm his body, surging into him, and he screamed before passing out. Present Glenn studied his reflection in the mirror. 33 years old, clean-shaven, short black hair around his face. No sign of physical trauma whatsoever. In fact, he'd never shown any physical symptoms that anything had ever happened to him on his ill-fated spacewalk. What he had seen, what he had heard, these were secrets he kept to himself now. Glenn smiled at his reflection in the mirror, as he thought, also what I can now do . He then stepped outside, seeing the small crowd gathered beneath him as the podium stood in front of him, with the governor standing there waiting to greet him. Inwardly, he seethed with impatience. His celebrity nearly obliged him to engage in things, just as sponsoring the funding that added the hospitals new trauma ward. Hospital and political donors expected a few remarks out of him, but it was all becoming such a chore. His eyes scanned the crowd. Such small, empty lives these people had...he was growing tired of his charade. Still, it was suitable enough for now. He thought of the mask he'd left at him home-dark chrome to obscure his face, giving him the anonymity he needed. It was time for his plans to start moving forward. But for now, the formalities. He put on a big artificial smile after shaking the governor's hand, and then stepped up to the microphone. I'd like to thank you all for coming....