Onward, Captain Midnight! (A follow-up to The Sacrificed)

The nefarious Captain Midnight shifted uncomfortably in the powder blue swivel chair, the aged leather of the yellow holster containing his death ray squeaked loudly as it pressed into its metal frame. The set he was on was staged like one of those hokey game shows you’d expect to find in the 1970’s instead of one of Turner Galactic Network’s prime time slots, but here it was in all of its glory. How he was going to fair in this trial was beyond him, but he had little choice but to try, his freedom depended on it. 

There was a series of bright round bulbs somehow coming off as both antique as well as futuristic that lined the edge of the stage, their warm, yellow filaments contrasting with the plush blue carpeting that covered the floor. His chair was positioned all by its lonesome in front of a massive screen that loomed overhead, the corners of which were lined with the same yellow bulbs.

To the far right of the stage there was a sizable translucent podium with a rather large spindly microphone affixed to its top corner. Adorning the podium, the screen, and the middle of the carpet was the well-known ‘Second Chances’ logo, a golden oval that corralled the white, slanted, stylized letters rotated gently clockwise on the paper-thin screens. 

Captain Midnight looked over at the bronzed face of the host, who wore a smile as loud as the rest of his pastel ensemble. That smile just didn’t seem right though, a regular person should not be allowed to smile so widely. The teeth were far too white, too square, too perfect to be natural. The purple clad “Captain of the Dusk” may have been a villain, but that damned Phil Regal had a presence that was downright unsettling, even to him, the mastermind of multiple attacks on various planets and other solar bodies. 

Midnight shifted his eyes forwards, catching sight of all of the dullards and buffoons who were packed into the 15 rows of burgundy theater-style chairs that made up the far wall of the studio. They were all looking back at him with the vacant stares in their eyes leading back to their empty heads.

Oh, how he loathed them for their simplicity. The fact that they were just sat there with their family watching him being paraded around before he was slaughtered like a sacrificial lamb was disgusting.

 Interspliced in the sea of idiocy, along the concrete stairs that ran from the bottommost floor of the studio to the rafters were several Intergalactic TGN TeleSig Cameras that were mounted onto sleek black revolving pedestals, all of which had their respective camera operators cradled inside as if they were in old anti-aircraft turrets.

He could see the blinky light on the front of the camera suddenly stay solid red, signaling that the broadcast had begun.

The studio audience suddenly erupted with applause and various whooping and cheering as Phil Regal waved his arms about like he was the President of New Earth or something, his haunting smile on full display. In his seemingly frozen hands were a stack of baby blue cue cards, also emblazoned with the show’s logo.

“Good evening everyone! I’m Phil Regal and to those just tuning in, welcome back to TGN’s latest hit series...” 

Phil held his bronze hands aloft as if he were some sort of conductor guiding his symphony.  

“Second Chances!” The crowd exclaimed in disconcerting unison.

 “With us on this fine lunar evening is someone who needs very little introduction, he is the terror that lurks in the night, the bane of New Earth and the surrounding colonies. I present to you for your viewing pleasure, the Captain of the Dusk: Captain Midnight!” 

Waves of boos and jeers filled the studio, bringing a smug grin to the devious face of Captain Midnight as an odd nu-ska tune began playing in the background. Reveling in the cacophonous hecklings of the crowd, he stood up from his seat, causing his great black cape to unfurl behind him. He waved a gloved hand tauntingly at the crowd, sending them into a frenzy. He may have been forced to be here, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy himself.

“Thank you for being here, Captain.” 

“Oh, the pleasure is mine, Phil,” Midnight replied, his low voice echoing into the microphone pinned to the corner of his mask. 

“Having just been released from the maximum-security prison, the ‘Deep-Six’, located in the infamous and oh, so scenic Arcadian Nebula, I am certain that you are more than familiar with our program. After all, Turner Galactic actually sponsors that particular prison, if I’m not mistaken.” 

Midnight carefully gathered his cape behind him as he lowered himself back down into the chair, causing the foam cushion to release another small squeak beneath his large frame. 

“You are correct, sir. The Network is piped in to each prisoner’s eyelids via TeleBeam. We couldn’t avoid it even if we tried.” 

“And how did that make you feel, Captain?” 

Midnight’s coal black eye twitched, but only for a moment. 

“Enlightened, of course,” he lied.

“Very good! We’re always glad to have another happy fan.” Phil exclaimed, causing rows of flat laughter to ring out from the crowd.

“Mhmm,” Midnight replied evenly. 

“Well then, let’s get down to it then. You, Captain Midnight, have been a thorn in the side of the intrepid vigilante known as the Blue Yonder for quite some time now, yes?” 

Midnight sneered at the very mention of her name. He could hide a lot of his emotions, but when it came to her, it was a far more difficult task.  

“Yes, Blue Yonder and I have been enemies for some time.”

At the very mention of the hero’s name, the crowd cheered in joy for what seemed like eternity, but was likely only around 30 seconds. 

“Blue Yonder was even the reason for your incarceration, isn’t that right? After she foiled your last insidious plan that threatened the surrounding planetary systems near the border worlds.” 

“Indeed.” 

“How did that happen?” Phil Regal asked, mock sympathy lacing every word he uttered.

“You’re clearly a man of great intelligence. How did the ‘Siren of Space’ manage to foil your evil plan to blow up the sun, thereby spreading an…and I quote, ‘eternal midnight’ to the Lenin System?”

“Well, the majority of the blame for that failure lies with the Soviets, the rest is my own.” 

Another round of loud boos and hisses erupted from the crowd. 

“Ahh, so New Earth’s oldest adversary is to blame? The Neo Soviet Space Republic does have a spotty track record when it comes to reliability. From the declassified satellite footage that we’ve been shown, they can’t even half manage their own colonies, much less interfere with ours.” 

“I don’t disagree with your assessment whatsoever. Though, to be fair to them, there were, um, extenuating circumstances regarding their shortcomings in that particular endeavor.” 

“And what might those be, Captain?” 

Captain Midnight’s gaze widened as he thought back to that horrific scene, like he was staring a thousand lightyears ahead in front of him, but at the same time he was looking at nothing at all. 

“It’s...it’s difficult to explain.” 

“Could you try for us, Captain? As you well know one of the conditions from your early release from the bowels of Deep-Six is your complete transparency, as well as the duel, of course.” Phil Regal said, his words were pointed, but his smile still as wide as ever.  

Midnight nodded slowly, the purple half-mask covering the upper portion of his head rising as he furrowed his brow. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his upper thighs. He glanced down at the prop death ray that occupied his holster, then over to the battalion of armed security forces hiding behind the back wall of the set, decked out head to toe in black combat armor, each one of with an energy rifle at the ready. 

There was no easy way out of this, he let out a frustrated sigh as he rested his bearded chin on his knuckles, looking like an odd cross between the Phantom and the Thinker.

“After the Soviets lost control of their mining operations following a widespread riot, their supplies quickly dried up, and I was left high and dry when it came to acquiring the resources that I had purchased to freeze the core of that system’s sun. The explosive components which I already possessed had an incredibly short shelf life, so I was forced to press on, against my better judgement. The materials I was able to obtain from a few straggling venders in a nearby system were of a substandard quality, and easily disabled. Were the instruments of my original design implemented, then it would have been a much different story.” 

Regal nodded passively as he flipped to his next cue card, giving it a quick cursory glance before resuming with his follow-up question. 

“This was the second attempt at blowing up a celestial body in that same system, isn’t it?” 

Midnight’s frown somehow grew even deeper, his upper lip quivered in irritation. 

“It was. I tried to destroy the moon orbiting Lenin IV-B as well.” 

“Can you tell us exactly why?” 

Captain Midnight leaned back in his chair, causing another light squeak to slip out from underneath him. 

“Because of the lunar deity that inhabits it. I’m not sure if it is simply residing in the moon or if it is the actual moon itself, but what I am sure of is that this being is in total control of the planet because of its otherworldly power.”

“If it was so dangerous, Captain, then why would the Reds go there to begin with?”  

“The Soviets did woefully little research on the area outside of its ability to sustain a human presence, then they angered those spirits by interrupting the sacrifices that had the native population had annually provided for eons. That monster used its ethereal powers to torture and slaughter hundreds upon hundreds of colonists until it received its dues once more: one poor soul strapped to a rocket and fired into the moon, every year like clockwork.” 

“That sounds like quite the tall tale, Captain. However, I don’t see why a villain as callous as yourself would fret over the loss of a single life. Care to explain?”

 “After discussing the lore with the few surviving natives of the planet, I discovered a secret far more troubling than mere death. The soul that of those sacrificed is forced to relive the horrific pain of their death repeatedly for all eternity. That soul’s constant pain is seen as atonement for the destruction of the planet’s native populace and the initial rejection of the requested offerings.” 

Phil Regal continued smiling, though his eyes widened in surprise. 

“Were that to be true, then one could argue that you acted as a hero instead of an intergalactic terrorist.” 

“Absolutely not!” Captain Midnight exclaimed angrily, his cool facade dropping in an instant.

“I am no hero for attempting this, I am a bastard!” 

The audience grew deathly quiet, their eyes focused intently on the villain. Normally on this program the contestant would latch on to any excuse they could to appear more empathetic and possibly face a less difficult opponent to win their freedom, but this was different. 

This was real. 

“Tell us why!” Regal demanded, his smile faltering. 

Captain Midnight stood up and pulled off his cowl, revealing his shaggy mess of black hair, the area surrounding his eyes was still black from the makeup used to blend his pale skin color with the suit.

“Because my real name is Mikhail Grushenko, and I lost my only child to that goddamned thing! I defected to New Earth from the NSSR as a means to get the existence of that creature out to the West. I left him on that planet with his mother thinking that he was safe from the selection pool because she was the Overseer of the colony, but I was sorely mistaken.”

Tears began pouring from his eyes, causing his makeup to leave streaks of black down his cheeks. 

Phil was surprisingly speechless. 

“Because of my selfish hero complex, I damned my boy to an eternity of unimaginable torment! If I just would have stayed with them, I could’ve helped him escape, or maybe even have taken his place.”

“But to try again to save others from sharing his fate is still a heroic act.”

“My actions were not heroic in any sense of the word. This was strictly vengeance.”

Gasps began filling the studio as people looked on in horror at Captain Midnight’s words. Phil Regal leered at the Captain with pure disdain.

He was losing control of the narrative. 

He was no longer smiling.  

Mikhail took a moment and gathered himself. A stagehand dressed in gray sweats ran up from a small tunnel hidden behind the set and handed him a tissue.

“Ah, thank you,” he replied quietly as he gently dabbed his eyes dry. 

Sporadic clapping began erupting throughout the audience, it wasn’t everyone, but it was certainly enough to change the overall mood of the room. Phil Regal donned his smile once more before continuing along the bullet points on his little blue cue cards. 

“Well then, that was an...um, unexpected revelation indeed. We at Second Chances sincerely appreciate your honesty, Captain.” 

Mikhail stared ahead, saying nothing. His thoughts dwelling on his failings.  

“In any case, this concludes the interview portion of the show, now it is time to proceed to the Second Chance Standoff!” 

The large screen behind Mikhail, which had been scrolling through photographs and videos of his various crimes, suddenly began to ascend, revealing a large metal platform hovering several feet from the ground via a series of thrusters, a constant blue glow imitated from beneath them.

Standing at the far end of the gleaming platform was Blue Yonder, her suit’s 'Milky Way' inspired pattern swirled and shifted across her muscular form. Her slender face remained unobscured by any sort of mask, with the exception of a similarly styled pair of goggles which were pulled back onto her forehead, revealing her striking green eyes. The sides of her wild red hair were cut close to her scalp, revealing small, stars tattooed running along the exposed olive skin. She held her faintly glowing violet vibro-blades aloft as she looked out at the crowd, receiving an unexpectedly mixed reaction from a torn audience. 

“Captain Midnight, are you prepared to fight for your freedom against your nemesis, Blue Yonder?!” Phil asked, his voice booming over the loud speakers as he reached full on announcer mode. 

Mikhail nodded, the hand gripping the mask shaking slightly. 

He stood up, and was ushered to the platform by the cluster of armed security personnel behind the set dressing to a service elevator. As Mikhail was shoved on the elevator’s grated panel, the plastic model pistol was pulled from his holster, and he felt the heft of his actual death ray take its place. The gentle vibration emanating from its glowing golden canister meant it had been at least somewhat reloaded, though likely not to its maximum capacity. 

“Lay one finger on that before it’s time and it’ll be the last thing you do, boy,” growled one of the faceless security members, lifting her rifle to add an exclamation mark to that statement.

Even if he had wanted to take a few lives before the big show, the staff left him little opportunity to act on such impulses, as he was instantly rocketed up to that floating platform just opposite Blue Yonder. 

Stepping off of the elevator, Mikhail stared intently at his foe, then began cautiously walking to the appointed spot before slipping on his mask once more, Mikhail no longer. 

Blue Yonder glared at him, though something was different. Her eyes were generally filled with nothing but contempt for the villain and his misdeeds, but this time there was a trace of something else there as well. 

Was it guilt? Maybe pity. She quickly slid her goggles over her eyes before he could narrow the possibilities down. 

Beneath the platform rows of spikes began raising from hidden openings in the floor. The pointed tips of the 12-foot steel daggers gleamed neon blue and electric yellow beneath the stage lights hanging from the rafters. 

“Are you finished spouting all of your nonsense, Midnight? ‘cause I’m here to put you down once and for all!” She raised her blades, emphasizing her taunt. 

Captain Midnight’s hand stayed close by his side, waiting for her to make a move. 

The few times they’d collided head-to-head, she’d always gotten the upper hand on him, the beam of his death ray unable to penetrated the alien material that comprised her outfit.

This was different however, unbeknownst to Blue Yonder, the playing field had been evened. He’d had a long time to analyze their past encounters, he knew what to do. 

“And---fight!” Phil Regal exclaimed, tossing his cue cards into the air.

The crowd began to roar as Blue Yonder crossed her blade in front of her.

“Last chance to surrender, Midnight! Limp on back to Deep-Six for the next century and I won’t have to skewer you like a marshmallow!”

“Let’s go, hero,” Captain Midnight growled. 

Blue Yonder dashed towards him with astounding speed, aided in part by the robotic augmentations she’d had added to her boots just for such an attack. She reared back to slash down her opponent, letting loose a great roar. 

Quickly drawing his death ray, Captain Midnight took careful aim at his target. 

She would not stop him this time, he would see his son’s soul freed.  

The crowd jumped to their feet as they watched with baited breath to see which of these titans would emerge victorious.