Harmony
The Supers travel to world of light and sound unlike anything they expected.
Here is a refresher on our cast of super characters, last seen in Celebration!
Conduit - established hero, energy absorption and reflection
Blink - trainee, teleporter
Awareness - trainee, telepath - able to sense and send images and feelings
Reset - trainee, able to send himself back in time and change his actions, healing ability
The call for the new Portal came as the team was visiting Reset in the care facility. He was still in a coma after the events of last week, and the team was feeling somber. Conduit still couldn’t shake the guilt he felt for letting one of his trainees get injured, despite knowing Reset had chosen that outcome as the best possible. Some of that guilt lingered from knowing he had also indirectly caused Reset’s first coma. A mistake in judgement, that Conduit would never remember, had ended up killing Reset hundreds, if not thousands of times. It was a heavy weight to bear. Volunteering to mentor and train the older man had been an attempt at penance, so this new injury felt like a setback.
He appreciated that Awareness stayed close by, but never offered platitudes or excuses. She told him that she still could only sense a swirling darkness from Conduit, but she would let them know as soon as there was a change.
The somber mood wasn’t helped by the ponderous music emerging from the nearby Portal. The music was pleasant, orchestral, but slow. The incident commander indicated that this had been a change in tempo from earlier. Initial reports described the music as “discordant” but that hadn’t lasted long. The next stage the responders likened to an orchestra warming up before their performance. Since then, a series of different “pieces”, for lack of a better word, thrilled and astounded the onlookers.
Nothing recognizable, but definitely purposeful, coordinated.
The visuals were the truly phenomenal part of this portal. This was not an iteration of normal, by any sense. The animated world was… weird… but it still had buildings, vehicles… anthropomorphic animals…
This Portal opened on a kaleidoscopic vista of colors and geometric shapes. There was no visible horizon, the view curved up and away instead. Like being at the bottom of a gigantic bowl. The geometric shapes and colors undulated with the music.
The inhabitants of this world, if you could call them that, sprung from the ground, three-dimensional representations of the flat geometric shapes they had been. Colorful spheres, cylinders, and polyhedrons rolled or slithered along the ground.
The longer the team stared, the more wonderous it appeared. Conduit noticed Awareness’ head lift suddenly, she caught his eye and chucked her chin at a nearby scientist with a bemused grin on his face.
Conduit took the hint and approached the man, “Have you got a theory?”
“No… well… not about the world,” the man began, “but with this slower tempo, I think I might be right.”
“Right about what?”
“Sorry, earlier conversation.” He replied, eyes focused on the other side of the portal. “The shapes seem to be different… instruments?”
“Go on…”
“Well, not instruments… more like… sections?”
“Sections of?”
The man returned his full attention to Conduit, “I apologize. Orchestral sections, percussion, woodwinds and brass1, and strings. Their shapes seem to affect their tones, and they seem to be able to change to suit the music.”
All three supers, and many of the containment team looked at the scientist.
“Look, look - see that… I’m going to say… dodecahedron?” he indicated, “Listen as it moves - each time a face hits the ground… a little drum beat.”
They all paused and focused, and he was right, they could hear a staccato rhythm as it moved forward.
“Over there,” Blink called excitedly, “Those cubes! They are setting the beat!”
Conduit could see he was right, the cubes moved as one, each face landing with a resonant boom that seemed to be guiding the mellow tune.
The scientist spoke up again, “I think the spheres are the string section, and the cylinders are the woodwinds or brass, depending on their size or color!”
The crowd murmured as they watched in agreement.
“So…” Conduit began, looking to the incident commander.
“So,” the commander replied, “we still need to do recon and get samples. We won’t figure out these Portals unless we test them all. Is your team up for it?”
The last sentence was not said as an accusation, but Conduit still felt the sting. He was down an important team member, but he knew the work needed to be done.
“We’re up for it, give us the word.”
Blink had volunteered for sample duty, he couldn’t turn back the clock, like Reset, but he could escape almost anything with his teleportation. Conduit still insisted on breaching first, on his own.
He stepped through the portal and was almost deafened as the various shapes near him scattered in a dozen directions. The wave of sound crashed outwards as further shapes were disturbed. The music that returned was soft… apprehensive. Many of the shapes had shrunk or compressed as they scattered.
Conduit stepped forward. Greeted by the sound of a plucked guitar string from his feet. The shapes moved farther away. He took one more step. Another plucked guitar string, a different note. His two feet were on different colors.
The symphonic crowd fanned out away from him, the soft music now starting to sound discordant to his ears.
Since they were keeping their distance, Conduit decided to continue following procedure. He waved Blink forward… the wave sounding like another plucked string.
Blink cautiously stepped through, more plucked strings. The shapes rippled. He looked to Conduit. Conduit merely shrugged, glad that this motion didn’t cause a sound.
Blink teleported. Only two or three meters.
STRUM!!
He popped back to Conduit’s side out of reflex.
STRUM!!
In the resultant cacophony, Conduit didn’t notice Awareness sliding up to his side. She caught their eyes, and made a barely perceptible “calm” motion with her hands.
“Can you tell what’s going on?” Conduit asked in a whisper, relying on their earpieces to relay the message.
“They aren’t hostile,” came her immediate response, “they’re fascinated! Let’s take three steps forward.”
Conduit nodded, and the trio stepped forward. The shapes stilled, the only sounds the odd plucking of guitar strings. As it happened, all three ended on a shade of blue. All three “plucked” the same note.
Blink’s eyes brightened. “Wait! Can I try something?” Looking to Conduit and Awareness for confirmation.
Another shrug. Conduit really had no other ideas.
Blink studied the steps they had already taken, the colors nearby, then like a schoolgirl playing in the yard - he bunny hopped. Three times. Each foot on a slightly different hue of the same colors.
Blue, green, yellow.
Conduit’s jaw dropped. Blink’s infectious smile was greeted with an enthusiastic nod.
Blue, green, pink, yellooow.
Blue, green, yellow, green, blueeeeee. 2
The whole team laughed in delight. The shapes regarding them shifted as well, causing some disharmony, but they slowed and parted.
A giant cube emerged from the center of the crowd. Moving forward, sounding like a taiko drum. The percussion was felt as well as heard by the trio. None so much as flinched, as waves of joy seemed to radiate from the giant.
“They want to study us,” Awareness said simply. Then she regarded Conduit slyly, “Say… do you dance?”
The shapes continued to be astounded by Blink’s ability. His initial fear that the strumming sound would prove to be too much were allayed by their eagerness to see him demonstrate. And through experimentation, he found he could augment the strum with rapid arm movements as he reappeared. The shapes flickered in excitement each time he learned a new chord.
For Conduit and Awareness, their days were consumed with dance practice. Awareness had a very specific idea in mind, and she indicated the shapes were on board. They were absolutely fascinated by arms, legs, feet and hands! The cylinders used a style of serpentine undulation to create their breathy notes. Emulating the humans, they learned to lift an end of their bodies and snap them in the air, creating distinct notes.
An even more amazing breakthrough was a sphere that learned to extrude spikes. Like a gelatinous puffer fish in its full glory. As it rolled it created a pizzicato that delighted the rest.
They tried to work the science, but the “soil” was both their instrument and spawned their forms. It didn’t seem ethical to try and sample what could become an intelligent creature. Conduit was upset that Reset wasn’t around to enjoy the fun, but he welcomed the distraction. They still visited every day, but there was no change. The days passed with practice and watching the scientist interact with the shapes. Apparently the mathematics were fascinating, albeit way over Conduit’s head.
“I feel silly.” Conduit remarked with one last tug at his campero, “this jacket feels half finished.”
Blink admired his own form in the mirror, adjusting his sash, “But… you look… marvelous!”
Awareness stepped in to the hastily set up changing area on the Earth side of the Portal. “You both look fantastic.”
She smiled as she felt the men’s reaction to her look. Foregoing her usual hoodie and tactical pants, she had really leaned in to the flamenco style. The dress was black and body hugging, the ruffles at the wrists and the skirt a vibrant red - with the traditional polka dots. She practically floated as she walked.
“Thank you both.” She said, to their great relief. Conduit knew he didn’t have the words.
“Let’s do this.”
The trio moved to the center of a huge space the shapes had created for their performance. Trying their best not to sound like a guitar dropped down a flight of stairs - that would not be the best start. The shapes stilled as much as possible. The large cube poised at the edge, waiting.
Blink moved to the side and raised one arm, the second at his waist, back arched dramatically. Awareness pulled Conduit close and whispered, “You can do this.”
Conduit knew there was no point in hiding how flustered he was. Training had been… training. Like a choreographed jiu-jitsu match in his mind. A metronome keeping time. But this was… something else. Awareness smiled, then looked to the scientists with their readied cameras. They nodded.
In a move Conduit had never seen before, the cube seemed to inhale, colors sparkling across its surfaces. As it exhaled, it was like a rainbow exploded across the floor, rushing at the supers in a pattern Awareness had designed with the scientists.
And they danced.
Blink strutting around the pair, with dramatic teleportation creating the strums when his footwork wasn’t enough. Conduit and Awareness gliding and twirling across the colors, their feet blurs, the music swelling…
The applause was blinding, the shapes modulating their brightness in appreciation. The three were exhausted and elated at the same time. The human crew stood in awe.
Conduit gulped out a quick, “Thank you” to Awareness. Which she rewarded with a flourish of her ruffled skirt.
“Let’s get back in to our uniforms,” she answered, “the shapes have a surprise of their own.”
Conduit and the team stepped back in to the colorful world one last time. A single yellow sphere had moved through the crowd to greet them. Conduit was about to say something when Awareness put a hand on his arm.
The crowd, humans and shapes, stilled. The spherical blob of jelly compressed in on it self, color darkening. Then in a show of will and a literal “pop” - little arms, legs, and a little round head appeared!
The hush lasted a beat longer. Then the little jelly body started to dance! The trio of supers had no defense.
The week six Portal Entry for Indie Ink Fund’s Portal prompts!
Did I have fun writing this? Yes!
Did I use up all my Leonardo tokens? Maybe.
Are all supers world class tap and ballroom dancers? Of course.
Have I been looking for an excuse to embed “Asturias” as played by John C. Williams? — Every. Damn. Day. (I hope the embed worked.)
Hope you enjoyed!
Dave
I know, I know… two different sections, but c’mon…
“Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple… I think… not an actual musician
Who knew!
This story had me mystified and fascinated.
And when the little jelly blob sprung arms and legs… it’s just too cute!
Who but Dave Boyko could have thought of this?