Air Wave

New Year’s Scream

by Benjammin2000

Prologue

“Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go, I wanna be sedated! Nuthin’ to do, nowhere to go, oh, I wanna be sedated!” Ilyssa Jordan, the teenaged heroine known as Air Wave (II), sang and was dancing. Oddly enough, she wasn’t wearing any headphones, nor was a radio on.

Larry Jordan, grandfather to Ilyssa Jordan, peered over his newspaper at his dancing grandchild. He didn’t know whether he should be upset or proud. On one hand, she had greater control over the Radio Belts power. On the other, the Radio Belt is a tool, not a toy.

“Just put me in a wheelchair, get me on a plane! Hurry-hurry-hurry before I go insane! I can’t control my fingers, I can’t control my brain! Oh no oh oh oh oh!” Ilyssa kept singing, gracefully avoiding objects in the room. All of a sudden, the music stopped. As did she.

“Hey, what happened?” Ilyssa asked aloud, a little surprise and shocked at the silence she was now hearing.

“I happened. I think we need to have a discussion on the ethical and moral use of our equipment.” Larry said, holding his own, albeit less powerful, Radio Belt.

“OK, school is out. Christmas was sometime last week. And all we’re doing is hanging out at the pond? Why? We don’t even ice skate, for goodness sakes!” Tyler Rainey asked his intolerant sister Alex.

“True, we do not ice skate. Ilyssa on the other hand does and does it very well. Also, we were told to meet Bobbi here. She said she had some important news for us.” Alex said to her rather slow brother. The two then saw that Bobbi was approaching them and called to Ilyssa, who skated over to them, braking with a spray of ice.

“Hello, hello, hello, hello! Riddle me this: what do the four of us, Dick Clark, Times Square and the thirty-first have in common?” Bobbi asked as she leaned up against the railing.

“I’ll tell you. We’re going to the greatest New Years party in the country. I won on a radio contest five tickets to Dick Clark Rockin’ New Years Party!” Bobbi exclaimed, answering her own question in a giddy squeal and not waiting for her friends to reply.

Chapter One

“Oh, Grandpa, I’m home!” Ilyssa said in a sing-song voice. She was a little red in her cheeks, as it was very cold from the walk back from the pond. She was trying her best to be the sweet child that no adult could say no to. All she had to do was butter up her grandfather and she’d be going to the Big Apple.

“How was it at the pond? Did you have fun?” Larry asked, entering from the kitchen with two mugs of hot cocoa.

“Yeah. I ran into Mr. Hodge at the pond. Wanted to know if you were going to go ice fishing with him in January. Said that the fish were biting pretty good so far.” Ilyssa said, taking a mug from Larry.

“Well, next time you go skating and see Mr. Hodge, you tell him as soon as I find my rod; I’ll be up there freezing my butt off with him.” Larry said with a chuckle. He noticed that though she was acting all cheery, Ilyssa seemed uncomfortable.

“OK, what’s on your mind? Something is definitely bothering you. You can tell me, I’m your grandfather.” Larry said.

“We doing anything on New Year’s Eve?” Ilyssa asked sheepishly.

“Not that I know of. Why?” Larry replied.

“Well, my friend Bobbi, she won a radio contest a few weeks ago. The prize was some tickets to the greatest party on the planet. Can I go?” Ilyssa said rather quickly, hoping to trick a yes out of her grandfather.

“No. From what I know of your friends, there is most definitely not going to be any parental supervision. At least not in the original plans.” Larry said.

“But, Grandpa, you can’t do this! This is going to be the biggest party I’ll ever be able to go to in my teenage years!” Ilyssa said, nearly yelling.

“OK. If this is so important to you, then we’ll go.” Larry said, adding a marshmallow to his cocoa.

“What mean you we, Kemosabe?” Ilyssa asked. She wasn’t expecting this. Nope, not at all.

“I mean I am going as well. That way there will be appropriate supervision. Besides, I’m sure that you’re the only one that decided to ask if you can go.” Larry replied. Ilyssa then decided that it wasn’t worth arguing. Once her grandfather made up his mind, nothing, not even the strength of Superman, could change it.

Chapter Two

“Come on, Tyler. Don’t focus on the time, just on staying awake.” Alex said. Ilyssa was helping her support Tyler, who was threatening to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

“Mus…. keep… eyes open.” Tyler mumbled. Good thing there was only a few minutes left.

“I’d like to once again thank the Junior JSA for being here tonight. And I’m sure that everyone else, here and at home, agrees.” The Eternal Teen, Dick Clark said.

“Well, it was great to be here.” Whiz Kid replied. For John and Mina it was, but Grant seemed to be more nervous then usual. Probably all the T.V. coverage. At this time, the three heroes pressed the button that would drop the ball and start the New Year.

Ten!

Nine!

Eight!

Seven!

Six!

Five!

Four!

Three!

Two!

One!

Something wrong happened when the ball dropped completely. A painful, piercing noise filled the air. Glass shattered, cars ‘jumped’, and people fainted. All except for a handful. Most of these who were still among the land of the living, were very much alike.

They all were mirrored goggles.

And they were all deaf.

Chapter Three

Whiz Kid grabbed who was ever closest to him the minute things started to blow up. This just happened to be Damage. After a few minutes, they returned to the sight of Times Square.

“Wow. That was one heck of a ring.” Whiz Kid commented, a low whistle coming from between his teeth.

“Hmmmm…. nobody’s dead. That’s odd.” Damage said, looking at one of the passed out partiers. Some movement and groaning startled the two teens, but they relaxed when they saw who it was.

“You all right, Mina?” Whiz Kid asked. The girl looked at him sternly.

“I’ve just been buried under a dozen or so people. Do you think I’m all right?” Coral replied.

“Well – Hey! Why aren’t you knocked out either?” Damage asked.

“I’m used to the high pitches used by dolphins and whales.” Coral said matter of factly.

“Oh.”

Ilyssa was surprised that she survived that noise. How wasn’t hard, since she was wearing the Radio Belt. She had ducked into an alley and changed into her Air Wave costume. One of the lessons that Larry taught her that stuck was to be prepared.

“Biggest case yet.” Air Wave said, rubbing her head. She had a migraine the size of Montana. Anxiously, she exited the alley.

Damage was taking up the rear since he was basically the powerhouse right now. So, naturally, he was the first one that saw the girl come out of the alley. She stood out, wearing the blue and gold spandex. His face grew warm when he noticed that he hadn’t turned away.

“John, Mina? You might wanna look at this.” Damage said. Whiz Kid and Coral turned and caught sight of the girl. When they approached her, they got a greeting they hadn’t expected.

“Ohmigosh! It’s… it’s you! I can’t believe I’m actually meeting…. you!” The girl squeaked. Oddly enough, this was directed towards Damage, whose collar got tighter all of the sudden. Almost immediately, she went back to being serious.

Ilyssa mentally scolded herself. Now she looked like a fool. And all because she met her favorite hero of all time.

“Um…. thanks?” Damage replied with a lopsided and confused grin.

‘Must. Not. Swoon.’ Ilyssa thought to herself. She was starting to fell light head and she probably looked like a total dork.

“I’m… I’m… oh, it begins with an A. Gimme a minute.” Ilyssa said. There was no probably about it now.

Damage on the other hand was embarrassed enough for the two of them. Superboy has fangirls. Even Whiz Kid has a few fangirls. Damage did NOT have fangirls.

‘Grant, take nice, calm, easy breaths. A girl likes you, that’s all. It’s not bad. And, she’s pretty… baseball, baseball, baseball, baseballbaseballbaseballBASEBALL!’ Damage hurriedly thought. Blowing up a girl, especially one that seems to like him, is a bad idea.

“Air Wave. My name is Air Wave.” the girl seemed to blurt out candidly. This was going to be a long night.

Chapter Four

“Does anyone else hear that?” Air Wave asked. The four heroes had decided to work together on this, but weren’t having any luck on finding the cause on that attack.

“Hear what?” Damage finally got himself under control, but he could still feel his temperature rise every time he looked at Air Wave.

“That. It’s sounds like someone’s playing bad blue grass.” Air Wave explained.

“I don’t hear anything.” Whiz Kid said. For him and Damage, it was true. But, with the Radio Belt, Air Wave could pick up those background sounds.

“She’s right. It’s really, really, really, high pitched, though.” Coral said, agreeing with her fellow heroine.

“Thank you. It’s coming from down here.” Air Wave said, entering a bank. It was pretty easy to do so, since the glass in the windows and doors were blown out.

Ilyssa led her new…. well, they weren’t friends and they weren’t roommates. But, she’d settle on calling them allies for now.

“This isn’t what I was expecting.” Ilyssa commented. A bunch of deposit boxes were open and empty. The person that was doing the job was huddled over a safe, working on opening it. It was strange that he didn’t react when the teen heroes entered.

“You think he hasn’t heard us yet?” Damage asked Whiz Kid and Coral. He felt a bit bad at leaving out Air Wave, but she wasn’t part of the team.

“Maybe. Better not-”

“Hey! Bad guy! You ready to go to jail?” Whiz Kid shook his head. Of course Murphy had to show up and foul everything.

“You’re new at this, aren’t you?” Whiz Kid asked. He didn’t want to sound rude, but something had to be said.

“Well, sorry. I just believe that anything worth doing is worth doing loud.” Air Wave replied rather defensively.

Damage could tell that an… explosive situation was about to boil over. To diffuse it, he place a hand on Air Wave’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. Everyone makes-”

“Oh, my! He touched me!” Air Wave squeaked, fainting in a mewling heap.

“Mistakes? Oh, boy.” Damage finished with a sigh. This was all new for Damage, never in a million years would he believe that he could have -that- effect on women.

Deeeet!

“What the heck is that?” Coral asked.

Blaaat!

The wall of sound was solid, as the three heroes soon found out.

 

His name was Cyril. He was deaf. He was employed by a genius. This man gave Cyril, and others like him, a way to interact with the speaking and hearing world. All this man asked, was for their help.

Cyril agreed. Anything to be an equal.

Cyril worked for the Scream.

And today, on New Year’s, one resounded throughout Manhattan.

It must have been beautiful…

Chapter Five

Ilyssa awoke with an even bigger headache. And a pain in her wrists. Of the four, she was the one that awoke first.

“Ah, good to see that you are awake.” The voice was soft and exotic sounding, probably Swedish in origin. Maybe.

“Huh?” Ilyssa asked, her head was still groggy.

“I am the Scream. I believe that you have already witnessed the craft of my hands.” The Scream replied.

“What happened at Times Square? That was you?” Ilyssa exclaimed. Her head almost immediately cleared up.

“I believe that the term is guilty as charged, no?” The grin on his face sent shivers down her spine.

“Where are we?” Ilyssa spat out. She was hiding the fact that she was nearly scared senseless in everyway.

“Times Square. Still, do not be worrying. After this is all over, you will never hear from me again. Nor shall we meet.” The Scream said. Though soft, his voice was sharp. Finished, he turned to leave.

“I’m not afraid of you.” Ilyssa said. If only that were true. The Scream walked back to Ilyssa and caressed her face.

“Sweet child, of course you are. Your heart… your heart is racing.” The Scream said with a soft chuckle and left the four young heroes.

“My head! Gog, it feels like it got hit with a truck.” Damage said, coming to.

“You all right?” Ilyssa asked, trying to get a good look at Damage, see if he was OK.

“Fine enough. Where are we?” Damage said, testing his shackles. While doing this, something occurred to him.

“Why aren’t you going all fangirl on me?”

“What?”

“Just a while ago, you were fainting at my touch. Now, you’re as serious as a heart attack.” Damage explained.

“Oh, that. Don’t have the time to, to be honest. Wait till we stop the bad guy, then I’ll make up for it.” Ilyssa replied.

“You got any idea of what to do? I don’t think I can pull these chains from the wall.” Damage said. Strong he may be, but the chains were like a rubber band, snapping back whenever he got past a certain point.

“Maybe. Just gotta make contact with the lock.” Ilyssa said, her hands straining. When she finally did, there was an arc of electricity and an audible click.

“How’d you do that?” Damage asked. He wasn’t expecting that to happen.

“The belt I wear. It gives me my powers. One of which is minor magnetic manipulation.” Ilyssa replied, freeing her other hand. She then proceeded to free Damage, Whiz Kid, and Coral.

“Do we wait for them to wake up or do we go after the Scream?” Ilyssa asked.

Damage didn’t have an answer to that one.

Chapter Six

“Well?”

“Gimme a minute. I’m not used to making big decisions like this.”

Had Damage been in a different mood, he would’ve mused on the fact that him and Air Wave were arguing like a married couple. He also might’ve noticed Whiz Kid starting to stir.

“Owwww… my head.” Whiz Kid groaned.

“John, could you keep it down? I’m trying to decide whether to wake you up or not.” Damage said. The silliness of what he just said then occurred to him and he sighed.

“Sorry.”

Awhile later, after waking up Coral and playing catch up with her and Whiz Kid, the four heroes were planning on what to do. Of course, the guard that the Scream left was subdued by Air Wave and Damage before they did any of this.

“What time is it? That’s what we need to know first.” Whiz Kid said. The young speedsters mind was ready to form a plan.

“2:48 AM.” Air Wave replied, rather quickly.

“How do you know that?” Coral asked.

“The military uses the Atomic Clock in DC. They radio in a request, then the time is radioed back. That’s what I basically did.” Air Wave explained. Whiz Kid nodded.

“OK, assuming that the Scream started right after midnight, it’d still take him a long time to rob Manhattan. Unless he has an army at his disposal.” Whiz Kid said. Figuring out a plan would be a lot easier with out all this guestimation.

“15. Including Sleepy over there.” Air Wave said.

“Huh?”

“I counted 17 unique signals. 15 outgoing, 1 incoming, and 1 probably used for intercommunication. Can’t make left or right of them, though. Heavy encryption.” Air Wave said, explaining what she did.

“Can you trace the incoming signal?”

“Is rain wet? But I need the receiver.”

It took some time, but they found the device that Air Wave needed. The gauntlet on the henchman’s wrist and the goggles were the transmitter and receiver, respectfully. Air Wave put both on and took to the skies, just hovering there.

‘OK, Lys, focus.’ One of the things that Larry taught Ilyssa was that through concentration and the Radio Belt, one was able to see Electro-Magnetic Radiation, which included radio waves.

But…

“Sorry, no such luck. The signal they’re using is fairly weak. If I could… Damage, you got a lot of energy, right?”

“Huh? Yeah, it’s how I can blow up.”

“So you’d say that you’re like a battery?”

“I guess so.” At this, Air Wave pressed the center of her belt’s ‘buckle’ and a suction cup connected to a length of copper wire. She licked the suction cup, then placed it on Damage’s forehead. Air Wave then took to the air again.

“Wha-?” Damage abruptly stopped when he felt a trickle of his own energy leave him.

“Got it!” Air Wave exclaimed and floated back down. She packed up the suction cup and then turned to the others.

“Far side of Staten Island.” Air Wave said. She then turned to Damage.

“Thanks.” Air Wave said, planting a kiss on Damage’s cheek. He instantly turned beet red.

“Hey! There’s time for that after the bad guy is caught.” Whiz Kid said. And the four made their way to Staten Island towards the Scream.

Chapter Seven

“You getting tire?” Damage asked Air Wave. The blue and gold clad heroine seemed to slow.

“Nah, my eyelids are just getting heavy.” Air Wave replied. The four had been searching Staten Island for little over an hour. And it was starting to take it’s toll. Damage nodded, as he was getting drowsy as well.

“With a Rebel yell, she cried more, more, more.” Damage sang softly to himself.

“Never pegged you for a Billy Idol fan.”

“Huh? The Song? I heard it on the radio once. Seemed loud.”

“Ah, so you don’t know what it’s about?”

“It’s just a song.”

“About deflowering a virgin.” Air Wave enjoyed the look that crossed Damage’s face. No wonder she thought he was cute.

“Uh………” Damage was at a loss for words. And his collar got tight again. For the third time tonight. As he searched for a reply, he caught sight of something unusual. Something out of place. One of the buildings had a painting on it’s door. The Scream, by Edward Munch.

“That makes everything simpler.” Damage said. he pulled out his communicator and contacted Whiz Kid.

“I think I’ve found it.”

Chapter Eight

“This is all too easy.” Air Wave commented. Entering the Scream’s ‘hide-out’ was a cakewalk. No security, no guards, no nothing.

“Maybe he didn’t think anyone would find him..” Damage suggested.

“Or maybe he would rather face you himself, hmmmm?” The voice of the Scream came over an intercom.

“So, you’re going to attack us when we lease expect it?” Air Wave asked. Her crime fighting experience was mostly with gangsters. When they’re given an advantage, they take it.

“Good heavens! What do you take me as? A brute? No, I wish to tell you why, since I believe that you will not give me the chance to do so once you found me.” The Scream replied. He sounded hurt at what Air Wave said.

Super Villain Secret Origins

“I was born at the end of the last Great War in Sweden. My parents were very loving. Father was an art dealer. Mother was a painter. A perfect match they said. I was their pride. Their joy.

“Unfortunately, I had an unforeseeable problem. At first, it was thought that I was mentally slow. And who could blame them? I talked slowly and had trouble paying attention.

But, I was not slow. All of the senses have an area of the brain that govern them. In my brain, the area for hearing is three times larger then normal.

“It is hard to concentrate when you are able to hear all the heartbeats in a single room. It is hard to sleep when an ant in the basement decides to be heavy footed. A lesser man would have been broken. But, I persevered.

“I had one solace that prevented me from loosing my mind. Music. For hours I would listen to records, turned down low so it would not cause me pain. At first, it was the classical masters. Just by listening to their words, I could understand their lives, their thoughts, their passions, and their pains. Later I had expanded my horizons.

“Twenty years ago, I discovered another gift from my advanced hearing: Harmonic Referencing. At different frequencies, sound can do many different things. Glass shatters, nausea is induced, and a myriad of other things.

“When I discovered this, I believed that the manufacturing of non- lethal weapons was my calling. But, that all changed.

“I discovered that I was not the only person with hearing issues. There are thousands more. But, where I have hearing on the superhuman level, they cannot hear at all. I have designs, blue prints that can eliminate the social problems associated with deafness.

“That is why I am here today. I require funds for research. It is also a convenient way to repay the world for forty some odd years of ridicule.”

As the Scream told the heroes his story, the four made their way unhindered. It was sad, really, this man’s life. And the cause was noble, but crime was crime. By the time the Scream was finished telling his story, they were at his door.

Chapter Nine

“OK, so are the four of us gonna fight you?” Air Wave said. She really wasn’t used to fighting supervillains. They really were different from gangsters.

“Not exactly.” The Scream picked up a wine glass that was next to him. Dipping a finger into the crimson liquid, he started to talk.

“If you paid attention, you would know that I am a master of sonics. Allow me to demonstrate.” The Scream started to run his finger around the lip of the glass. Nothing seemed to happen. Well, not for Coral, Damage, or Air Wave.

John Garrick felt his jaw clench so tight, that it felt like his teeth would crack. His eyes felt like white hot needles were poked in them. And that squeal! It was in his gut, his head, and everywhere else. It spread like a malignant heat. His will shattered the same time his goggles did. With a groan, he fell to the floor.

“I am surprised. He lasted a full minute.” The Scream said, stopping the circling of his finger. Two pairs of eyes looked at a fallen teammate. One pair saw a defeated ally.

“What did you do?” Damage asked. Suddenly, he felt that they were in over their heads. Way over.

“Harmonic Referencing and Sonic Distribution. They are very lovely abilities to possess.” The Scream replied.

There’s a time for words and a time for actions. The heroine Coral decided that it was now a time for action. She was fast enough to close the distance between her and the scream. She also figured that she wouldn’t be affected as much by the noise that the Scream used as a weapon.

Pity she was wrong.

She weathered the assault for barely 30 seconds. Now, this could’ve been caused by many things: she was closer, female, Faust having previously messed with her, or any combination of the above. But, whatever the reason, she did not succeed.

As Air Wave saw this happen, she knew that something had to be done. It was a long shot, but it might work.

“Could we have some time to, uh, plan?” Air Wave asked. Hopefully, she judged this man correctly.

“Please, go ahead. But, I can hear whatever you say. Remember that.” The Scream said. Air Wave was surprised that the villain agreed.

“OK, I got an idea. If we can….. share our will, we might be able to resist the attack.” Air Wave told Damage.

“How are we going to share our will?” Damage asked. Air Wave put her hand on his shoulder. She didn’t have to say how. The two turned to the Scream and started to approach him.

“Very clever. Pity it will not work.” The Scream said, using the noise to attack once more.

Unknown to the Scream and Damage, was the fact that the Radio Belt filtered out the harmful effects of the noise, though they could still hear it. Holding onto Damage carried the protection over to him.

They slowly approached the villain. The noise increase in level, as did the look of concentration on the Scream’s face. Soon, nothing could be heard, not even one’s thoughts. Finally, the lights gave out, shattering. By the time the emergency lights came back on, it was over.

The Scream had defeated himself, unconscious and blood dripping from his hand, the wine glass broken.

An hour after the Scream was defeated, both Whiz Kid and Coral awoke, though they had a headache the size of Wisconsin. An three hours after that, the police had arrived. Six hours after the attack at midnight, the city had recovered. And with out the Scream, the goons out in the city were easily caught.

“We made a pretty good team, eh?” Air Wave said. It was odd how everything turned out. Odder still what the Scream told her and Damage. That as long as they were heroes, he would be a villain, since he enjoyed the challenge that they provided. Strange man.

“I guess so.” Damage replied. He was still in a haze. Some of it was worry about Mina and John, but a lot of it…

“You’re in love with me, aren’t you?” Air Wave said, figuring out what else was bothering Damage.

“I might be. I’m not sure. I mean, I’m attracted to you, sure. But, in love? I don’t know…” Damage said, his voice trailing off. He was not ready nor prepared for the kiss that Air Wave captured him in.

On Air Wave’s end, it was absolute heaven, which only increased when Damage started to respond. It took a full ten seconds for the ration part of her brain to, well, rationalize. With some reluctance, she broke off the kiss and turned away.

“I’m sorry, I… I shouldn’t have done that.” Air Wave said, apologizing for that moment of want. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned her head.

“No, you don’t have to apologize. Those ten seconds… they were the best I have ever had. I think… I think I want to pursue this. But, I don’t know where to start.” Damage said. And it was more or less the truth. He had never experienced something like that, nor did he know how to, well, date.

“Ilyssa.”

“Grant.” With that, the two shared another kiss. This one was longer, more romantic, and less driven by hormones. They cared not for their audience. Just each other, it seemed.

Fifty feet away, there were two important observers. Whiz Kid turned to Coral and opened his mouth to speak.

“Not if you were Adam and I were Eve.” Coral replied. Whiz Kid slumped his shoulders, defeated. No victory kiss for him.

 

The End