"I had to create a new Surge. The old one had nearly killed me. But fortunately, he was left trapped in another world. And now...I have a Super-Surge."

SURGE 99

by Craig DeBoard

Prologue

The night was warm and still in Longbeach, California.  A speedboat sat at the end of a pier in the water quietly idling with a Chinese man sitting at the stern of the boat as three other Chinese men began loading crates into the boat.

"Hurry!" the man in the boat ordered in Mandarin, looking around to make sure no police were approaching.

Police were approaching.

Three squad cars skidded to a halt in the parking lot, lights flashing and sirens blaring as more pulled into the parking lot behind them.

"Cops!" the man in the boat now yelled in English.

Officers rushed to the pier drawing their service weapons. The Chinese men all pulled out semi-automatic weapons and opened fire on the police.

"We need back-up! I repeat we need--!" an officer yelled in his radio as he ducked behind a large shipping crate avoiding the gunfire. Back-up had arrived.

Everyone stopped shooting and stared in stunned awe as the large, nearly eight-feet-tall silver robotic Surge landed on the pier between the men and the police. A mechanical whir could be heard as the robot turned its head toward the Chinese men.

"Fuck you robot-man!" one of the Chinese men yelled. The three of them opened fire at the technologically advanced cyborg as the speedboat pulled away in a hurry from the pier. Hundreds of bullets bounced off of the robot, each one as ineffective as the one before it. The last bullet bounced harmlessly off and to the pier below. The three Chinese men stared in shock. The police all waited in silence, not sure what they should do. The cyborg looked at the men and its glowing white light eyes turned red.

One of the men turned to dive into the water as was blown in half by red laser rays that shot from the cyborg's eyes. The other two men screamed. Another red laser show and one of their heads blew off. The third one turned and dove into the ocean in fear. 

The cyborg's metallic feet lit up with a smell of nitro as it flew after the man. The cyborg reached down and grabbed the Chinese man by his hair and flew up into the night sky with him. The man screamed for his life in Mandarin as the robot flew through the air with him after the speedboat. The man driving the speedboat turned and looked up behind him. He saw the cyborg flying with his cohort in tow.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" he yelled as he gave the boat more gas.

The cyborg locked in on the man driving the boat with its advanced targeting system. He threw the Chinese man he held captive at the man driving the boat. The man's body slammed into the middle of the boat causing a human-sized hole in the middle of the small craft. The man captaining the boat lurched forward flying over the stern and was run over by the boat.

The robot silently hovered in the air as it waited for the men to surface from the ocean water. Neither did. It turned its head with a quiet mechanical whirring noise and flew back toward the city.

Surge #99

by Craig DeBoard

copyright 2023 Craig DeBoard Blackstar Productions LLC. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

"There are 99 issues for why I'm shutting this down!" Stone yelled as he stormed down the hall ahead of the shorter and balding Professor Smith. The engineering scientist quickly hurried after the taller man wearing a suit as they turned a corner and automatic double doors opened for them.

"Sir! I assure you, these bugs are being worked out. We only need a few more weeks of testing to--well sir, I mean, at least it isn't 100."

Stone turned on Smith, "Those men, who your death machine slaughtered down at the docks last night, was issue 100!" he yelled in anger.

"At least no officers were hurt," Smith said trying to sound helpful.

"Four men were murdered without due process! You have no idea how much of a mess your machine has made!" Stone yelled at the skinny scientist.

The two walked into a large warehouse where a small private jet was being prepped by the flight crew and mechanics for take-off.

"If you can just give me another few weeks, I can stabilize the cognitive choice files to be less reactionary. Please, if you just--"

"You had your chance and blew it," Stone said walking toward the craft as pilots and a flight attendant climbed into the small jet, "I will have people come by tomorrow. This facility is being shut down. All equipment, notes, and especially that walking tin can from hell will be relocated to Area 13 immediately. Don't bother coming into the office tomorrow, Smith. Your severance package will be deposited to your account by the end of tomorrow."

"But sir, if you would just listen I would be able--"

"Able to what, Smith? Explain? You had your chance. The Super-Surge project is officially TERMINATED! We aren't building killer robo-cops here!" Stone said climbing onto the jet and pulling the door closed behind him. The scientist watched with disappointment as the jet slowly taxied out to the runway and took off.

****

A few hours later, turning right at the light, Professor Smith left the busy Los Angeles freeway in his mundane sedan and headed down the mundane street toward his mundane neighborhood. He was unemployed, had no girlfriend or wife to speak of, had no friends in general, and wasn't sure what his next step should be. He pulled into the driveway of the small one-story house and shut the car off. The scientist allowed his head to gently thud onto the steering wheel and began to cry. Nothing had gone as planned.

"None of this is going according to the plan," Smith complained to Jones. The two scientists sat in the lab with soldering guns, each diligently crafting the necessary computer components for the Super-Surge cyborg.

"As long as we get paid, I'm happy," Jones said.

Smith silenced himself and went back to his work, thinking of the debt he owed.

The professor sat in the car crying. His severance package he would receive tomorrow would be just enough to cover his mortgage for the next six months. After that he wasn't sure what he would do. He would be both broke and alone.

The tap tap tap on the car window startled him. He glanced up and saw the end of the technologically advanced weapon aimed directly at him by the soldier.

"Oh shit," he said. The soldier pulled the trigger and the biomagnet rifle yanked Smith about and around in the car, slamming him into the doors, the ceiling, the dash, and the steering wheel. Everywhere in the car the soldier aimed with the weapon, Smith's body was thrown about in the same direction. The soldier let go of the trigger and the weapon hummed to a soft silence. Another soldier stepped forward, opening the car door and pulled the unconscious Smith out.

The first soldier spoke into his radio, "Target apprehended."

****

"Are you awake yet? Good," a heavy-set man wearing a suit said. 

The light crept in through Smith's vision and he squinted at it in annoyance. The bruised and banged-up Smith held his head in his hands in pain. "What happened?" he said glancing around the empty parking lot at the train station.

"Carlsbad," the rotund man wearing glasses said. Two soldiers stood with him as well as a shorter man who held a notepad. He seemed to take notes of everything the heavier man said.

"Why are we in Carlsbad? Who are you?" Smith asked as he sat on the ground leaning against the back bumper of a strange car.

"You were recently fired from the Super-Surge project funded by the government. My employer believes he has a use for you and your knack for all things technology, Mr. Smith. There is a pre-paid debit card and further instructions in this envelope. The card is already activated and the pin is 8795. There is $5,000 in the account," the fat man said. Without another word, he and the soldiers climbed into the car and started it. Smith looked at the envelope in his lap and the car pulled away.

Smith sat in the empty parking lot staring at the envelope in confusion.

****

The 747 airliner touched down in Washington D.C. at 4:30 AM.

Smith rode in the back of the taxi cab in silence reading the instructions he had been given two nights before:

Mr. Smith,

The debit card is for travel and expense purposes. Meet us in D.C. at Vixens on Friday, 9 PM, eastern time. Do not take a layover at O'Hare. Take one in Nashville instead.

-Y

The taxi cab pulled in front of the hotel and Smith made his way to check-in and then his room. Tossing his bag on the hotel bed. He walked to the bathroom and turned on the light. 

"Ah!" Smith screamed.

No one was there as he stood on one foot with his fist raised and balled up, wobbling and trying to keep his balance. The short, skinny, and balding scientist had never been in a fight, but he had seen enough movies to know that now had been the perfect moment to come across a dangerous and mysterious government agent or arms dealer or some other risky individual. He let out a deep breath and glanced in the mirror at himself. Smith put his foot down, flipped the bathroom light off and went to bed.

"Damn. I wet the bed," Smith frowned at the pee-stain in the middle of the mattress. The aging sixty-five year old scientist stripped down naked to get in the shower. He turned and looked at the mirror on the wall. His body was covered in bruises, and the black eye would take a week to heal. The biomagnet rifle the soldier had used against him was his own invention and what had landed him the postion for the Super-Surge project. He gave out a depressed sigh and walked to the bathroom and turned on the light.

"Ah!" Smith screamed.

"Ah!" the much younger Chinese woman screamed. She grabbed a towel and quickly snapped it into the face of Smith.

"Bah! Yoob brud muh noze!" Smith said falling back out of the bathroom door, holding his bloody nose. The bathroom door slammed shut. Smith sat on the floor holding his sore face for a moment wondering what had just happened.

"Wuh jus huppun?!" he yelled.

The bathroom door opened again and the Chinese woman rushed out wearing a pair of jeans and a sports bra.

"I apologize, Mr. Smith! I thought you were a robber!" she said in concerned tones trying to help him catch the blood pouring from his nose. She turned and grabbed a towel from the bathroom and rushed back to him.

"Nuh! Nob agaib!" he yelled holding his hands up in fear of the towel. She kneeled down and held it to his face. He snatched the towel away and held it to his face and ran to the other side of the hotel room, "who buh fub are yoob?"

"I am Chen. I am your escort for the day until you meet Mr. Yu," she said concerned for the old man.

"Wuh wer yoob nakub ib dere?" he asked holding his aching face.

"I was going to shower before we started our day, Mr. Smith. You were sleeping and I did not want to wake you after such a long flight," she explained as she walked up and helped guide him to the bed.

"Yoob brode muh fabe!" he yelled at her in shock and anger pulling the bloody towel away from his face, pointing at it. His nose was the size of a baseball.

"I am sorry. I will make a call and have--"

"Nuh! Yoob dub enub albweby. Wes jus geb subink tu eap," he said and stomped to the bathroom slamming the door shut.

****

Smith batted away an annoying fly from the top of his balding and brusied head. He didn't like eating outside. Bugs bothered him. He had a large mouthful of the hamburger he had ordered, and his nose looked like ball of reddish pain. Chen sat across from him and finished her last bite of salad. 

"I am sorry for what has happened to you Mr. Smith. I contacted Mr. Yu while you were in the shower and he sends his apologies as well. As an act of humility and sorrow, Mr. Yu has rescheduled your appointment for tomorrow. He instructed me to let you know to take today off and relax and enjoy the historical culture in the city," Chen said.

Smith gave her a foul look, "Woob ap muh fabe," he said with a glare, and mustard on the side of his mouth. 

She gave a look of concern and gave her attention to her cell phone, "We can visit any tourist activity within the city you wish Mr. Smith. I will also see to it that Bill stops at a store to purchase you an ice-pack and medicine for your headache whenever you are ready."

Smith looked past her at the stretch limosuine parked in front of the fast-food restaurant where Bill the driver waited. The large black man stood outside of the car in a chaufur's uniform smoking a marijuana joint. He nodded at Smith.

"Wuh ab uh herub?" Smith asked, sipping his drink.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that," she said and reached into her purse. She pulled out a small slip of paper and a pen and handed it to him. Smith seethed with anger and silently snatched the pen and paper away from her and scribbled with anger on the paper. He then handed it back.

" 'Why am I here?' " she read. She stuffed the paper and pen back in her purse along with her cell phone, "Mr. Yu has a very active interest in your Super-Surge cybernetic soldier model and the patent to its technology.

"Suh uhm subbosed tu stut wukib wib duh Chibese nuw?"

Chen tilted her head and gave Smith a look of pity then reached into her purse and pulled the pen and paper back out again and handed it to him. He shook with anger and snatched the pen and paper away from her and scribbled again. He handed the pen and paper back.

" 'So I'm supposed to start working with the Chinese now?' " she read out loud and looked back at Smith again, "No Mr. Smith, you misunderstand. Mr. Yu does not work for the Chinese government. He works for a different one."

Smith had a mouthful of french fries, beef, and cheese, and grunted in a incensed rage. The fly landed on his head again he slapped at his bruised head, shouting in pain. Chen winced. He snatched the paper again and scibble with a furosity that Chen wasn't sure she had ever witnessed before. He slammed the piece of paper and pen back down on the table in front of her again. 

" 'Which one?' " she read. Chen took a look around at the people and cars hustling and bustling through the nation's capital. She held out her hand, palm facing up, and the fly landed on her fingertip. She then gave Smith a smile. "Mr. Yu works for this government, Mr. Smith.

****

"Hu dib yoo du thab wib duh fie?" Smith said holding the ice-pack on his head as the two rode through Washington D.C. in the back of the limo. 

"I am attuned to all living creatures. I have the ability to influence the will of animals, birds, reptiles, and insect species. They do as I command," Chen said smiling at Smith. He raised an eyebrow of distrust toward her.

"Ah, you believe I control them with my mind? No. I communicate with them, telepathically. I haven't met one yet who isn't a friend and not willing to help," she said.

"Yoob beeb aby abibbub?" he asked.

"Yes, any animal. Or insect," she said.

"Yoob dibib hab tu duh thab wib duh fie!" he said with annoyance.

"I did not make him land on you. I made him stop. I asked him what he wanted and he said he was hungry and wanted some of your meal. I told him him to come to me and he did and I told him the dumpster was behind the building," she said.

"Ub," Smith said, finally understanding.

The limo pulled into the hotel parking lot and the driver pulled to a stop. Smith and Chen took the elevator to the room and stepped inside. The two walked in the room and Smith ducked in the bathroom with a hurry and pulled down his pants. He yanked the wet adult diaper off and cursed the airport security for not allowing him to wear his catheter. He pulled off his clothes to get in the shower.

Chen sat in a chair in the room flipping through the channels. Chicago was all over the news. The strange flash of white light, the earthquake, and now there were stories of zombies being seen and attacking people in the city. Most of northern Indiana had become a nightmare. The CDC had said that the plague had started in the town called Grimm, Indiana, but before they could stop it from spreading it had hit Chicago. Everywhere within 200 miles of the city was declared a disaster zone. Aftershocks were felt throughout the region for two days. The undead apocalypse had been felt throughout the region for two weeks. 

Chen flipped the channel and saw more news of the zombie plague, "This so bad," she whispered.

"Ah! Tib ib so bab!" Smith yelped out in pain as the hot shower pounded against the bruises all of his body. He tried turning away from the watery blast of pain slamming into him on to turn back around right into it.

"What?" Chen shouted to the bathroom as she flipped through the channels.

Smith finished up his wet and soapy journey through hell and winced as he touched bruise after bruise on his body with his arch-enemy, the towel. The magnet-rifle and the bruises it caused would haunt him for a long time. Being ever so gentle he tried his best to be as soft as he could with his tender arms and legs. Finally satisfied he had his aching body dry enough, he stood straight up and moaned in pain from the soreness. 

"Bah!" he howled in pain and stumbled into the door as he brought the towel up to dry off his face. He had forgotten about his nose.

"Are you okay in there?" Chen shouted to the bathroom.

"Ah jub fibe!" Smith yelled, more angry than he had ever been in his life.

"Sheesh. What a grouch," Chen said to herself, shrugging and flipping through the channels. 

Chapter 2

"You're not a woman!"

Smith and Chen entered the second floor room in the dirty part of the nation's capital, overrun by gangs, the homeless, and the disparraged. The capital building. A young brunette woman closed the door behind them. In the room stood the Speaker of the House of the United States, Terry Crews. Next to him stood two secret service agents, and the most beautiful blonde woman Smith had ever laid eyes on, complete with angelic wings.

"Mibuh Speebuh," Smith smiled as he gladly shook Terry Crews' hand. 

"It's good to meet you, Mr. Smith. Are you okay? You look like you've been through a lot." the former host of America's Got Talent said.

"Au'll heelb," Smith smiled.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. You've been brought here to be given back your job."

"Ah hab?" Smith said confused.

"I apologize for, well, for whatever it is you've been through," Terry Crews said, staring at Smith's swollen red nose in concern, "we couldn't take any chances of anyone knowing you were still working for us. For your own safety."

"Waib uh mibbub. Muh owb sabeby?! Arb yoob oub ub you mine?!" Smith shouted at Crews in anger.

The blonde woman's eyes flashed to a glowing red and she stepped in between Smith and Terry Crews. Smith took a step back startled.

"Ib thab?"

"Yes, Mr. Smith. That is the newest version of the Super-Surge project. Her name is Amazing Grace. She is technologically perfect." Speaker of the House Representative Terry Crews said.

"Woab," Smith said, surprised.

"Which indeed," Chen said as she stood behind Smith. Smith glanced back at Chen and was even more startled. In her place stood the Chinese mafia overlord, Chen Tai.

"You non uh wooban!" Smith said in shock.

"What did he say?" Terry Crews said, confused.

"He said I'm not a woman," Chen said, his face in his palm, shaking his head in disbelief.

Chapter 3

"The Man and The Machine"

"It's called an image inducer. It's allows the user to make themselves like anyone they wish," Terry Crews said.

"Arb yoob abuallyb Tebby Croob?" Smith asked.

"Yes, I am. Chen however must keep his identity secret."

"Ah dob uberstanb?" Smith said, finding a seat I. The room and sitting down completely confused. Chen Tai was a known criminal overload. And now he was able to make himself appear to be a woman. Smith's head ached.

"Surge has been missing since the white flash and earthquake in Chicago that happened twenty years from now and yesterday at the same time. The original Super-Surge has somehow been hacked. Possibly by the Russians. We aren't sure who really. Amazing Grace here and you and Chen are going to have to take him down.

"Wub ab uh stubbobed tuh doob?" Smith asked.

"I'm confused," one secret service guard said to he other.

"Me too," the other secret service guard.

Terry Crews poured fish food into the goldfish bowl that held Surge's former sidekick, Goldie Surge the goldfish.

"We need you to help reform the original Super Justice Revengers."

TO BE CONTINUED in SURGE 100