DC Elseworlds 1. Chapter 1

NOTE: Tempest (Garth) is a registered trademark of DC Comics and is used without permission. The concept and the other characters are mine. When I posted an Aquaman story here last year (The Tiger's Daughter - more is coming soon), I wrote that I didn't like magic in superhero stories. And while that's still essentially true, some of my favorite stories have supernatural elements. Garth is a great character and here he is forced to rely on his strength and intellect, since he's been stripped of his sorcery and "bathroom sink" super powers (controlling the flow of water - left hand makes it hot, right hand makes it cold). I hope you enjoy it.

THE GHOST AND THE TEMPEST

By S. Nolan

It lunged at him. Garth dodged to one side then dove straight down to the sea floor. He waited there motionless as the creature turned around and searched the water for him. Taking effort to move with stealth, Garth came back up behind it, confident that the 60-foot monster had not seen him. Despite its size, it was apparent that this beast was a relatively simple animal, like a dinosaur that had somehow found itself in the twenty first century. Garth decided that he would not destroy it, but send it back to a prehistoric time where it could find its place among similar small-brained behemoths.

He raised his arms and concentrated on the spell that would transport the monster across time, when the beast sudden spun around and faced him. Its mouth closed, hiding the long, sharp teeth that had nearly killed a young man just outside of Atlantis. A soft glow in the creature's eyes was the only warning Garth had and he only had a moment to get the sense of it. It was some sort of magic. In an instant, the creatures eyes grew brighter and Garth's world went dark.

He felt an intense pressure across his entire body, then the darkness around him faded to a dull green and Garth realized he was in colder, darker water than he had been. He looked around trying to figure out what had happened. The creature was gone and Garth realized he was no longer deep in the tropical Atlantic. This was cool murky water of a more Northern latitude and the water was not more than a hundred feet deep.

The water reverberated with the thrumming of diesel engines. Garth raised his arm to summon a pillar of water to carry him to the surface, but nothing happened. He frowned and tried again. After a few more gestures, it dawned on him that he had none of the powers the old man had revealed to him - no control over water or its temperature, no sorcery. His magic was gone.

His physical abilities were still intact though and only Arthur could outrun him in the water. He rushed toward the surface in the direction of the noise. A moment later, he head popped above the surface and he found himself staring at 60 foot blue and white vessel slowly cutting through small rolling swells. The sky above was gray and threatened rain. On the side of the boat were the words _Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution_. He stared for a moment and muttered the words to himself.

He heard commotion on the boat and looked up to see a pair of young men, standing on deck and pointing down at him. The tone of the engines dropped and the boat slowed down.

"Coming around," a man's voice said.

Garth didn't move.

"Hold on, were coming," one of the young men shouted as he looked down at Garth.

As the boat came closer, the men moved up to the front of the boat and one tossed a floatation device to him, a small surfboard-shaped thing attached to a rope.

"Are you ok?" one shouted.

Garth nodded and waved. The boat settled down thirty feet from him. The men gestured for him to approach.

"If you come around back, you can climb up onto the dive platform," a young man with a goatee said.

Garth smirked and dropped beneath the surface for a moment, then sprang up from the water and onto the front deck of the boat. Two young men and an older one stepped back, a look of shock on their faces.

"What the hell..." the older man muttered.

He was a little less than six feet tall with long graying hair, a big belly and the sort of reddish purple face often seen on alcoholics.

"There was a creature," Garth said in a strained voice. "A sixty-foot prehistoric thing, big and gray with big teeth and flippers for limbs. It tried to attack me then next thing I knew I was here. Have you seen anything?"

The men looked at each other and frowned.

"You're five miles from shore and there are no boats around," one said. "Kinda cold this time of year to be in the water, even with a wet suit. We need to get you checked out."

Garth looked down at his red and black costume, then back at the men.

"I'm ok. I'm just not sure exactly where I am or how I got here," Garth said.

"We're a few miles out from the Woods Hole institute. Not too far from Falmouth."

Garth frowned and said, "Massachusetts?"

The older man took Garth by the arm and led him through a door into a small room dominated by a rectangular table bolted to the floor. Books and charts covered the table along with a few electronic gadgets and a bag of tortilla chips.

"Justice League monitoring satellite spotted the thing near Atlantis. By the time I got there, it had already attacked a young man," Garth said.

The other two had followed the older man into the cabin. They exchanged a glance as Garth spoke.

The older man place a hand on Garth's forehead and said, "If you've been in the water a while, you might have hypothermia. Your mind can play tricks on you."

"I'm ok, the cold doesn't bother me," Garth said. "I'm a water-breather."

A stillness settled over the room and everyone stared at Garth. Two young women peered in through the open doorway.

Finally the older man shook his head and said, "You're not really making sense...Justice League?...Atlantis?..."

"We have some dry clothes that might fit you," a young man said. "Some blankets if you're cold."

"We'll get you back to the dock within the hour," another said. "We'll have an ambulance waiting there for you."

Garth saw a small mirror on the wall near him. He turned to it and bent down. Just as he had suspected, the marks left by the old man were gone. His face was as it had been before the mystical training.

"Am I on another Earth?" he said quietly.

The young man with the goatee and reddish hair came up behind him and draped a blanket over his shoulders. He said softly, "There's just one earth, my friend, and this is it."

Garth stepped back from the small crowd that had gathered in the cabin. They all stared at him with apparent apprehension.

"What's your name?" Garth asked the young man with the goatee.

He froze for a moment and turned toward the others. They looked at him and one shrugged.

"Brian," he said. "Brian Whiteside."

Garth nodded and stepped through the doorway out onto into the open stern area. The others gathered in the doorway.

"I'll be back," Garth said. "Thank you for your hospitality, but I need some time to figure out what happened."

The older man pushed through the half-dozen others who stood in and around the doorway.

"You can't go," the older man said. "It's suicide, let us help you."

Garth leapt over the railing and soared through the air a moment before splashing into the sea.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

One month later...

She led Garth out onto the large wooden deck, then stood back and gestured for him to take in the view. The house was on Evergreen Point, a small rocky outcropping of land that had at one time held a lighthouse, but now held only the small stone house that was once the lighthouse keeper's quarters. Parts of the house were nearly two hundred years old, though much of it had been rebuild and renovated, including the three hundred square foot wooden deck with a view of the ocean that surrounded the point on three sides.

The sun was partially obscured by patchy gray clouds. Small waves crashed on the rocks and a stiff breeze blew in from the sea. Garth gazed out, losing himself in the sights and sounds of the Atlantic Ocean and the rugged New England coastline.

After a long and fruitless search for Atlantis, Garth had wandered the tropical seas for a while contemplating his situation. He had remembered a story that Arthur had told him about using gold and jewelry recovered from shipwrecks to get cash. Garth spent a week accumulating treasures then took the gold coins and a few precious stones to a man in Venezuela who was able to give him a fair amount of cash without asking any questions. Garth received only a fraction of the actual value, but he returned to Massachusetts with enough to buy a car and a fake identity with enough left over to pay rent.

He hadn't cut his hair since he had arrived on this world and his straight dark hair, that was usually very short, was becoming somewhat shaggy. His eye's appeared to be a very natural shade blue, thanks to a new pair of tinted contact lenses. His clothes were casual and modern - a pair of cargo pants from the Gap and a light-weight beige sweater.

"It's a little small, but it's one of the best properties for rent on the entire Cape," she said. "And if it's just you, a two bedroom house is fine."

Ellen was a fifty-something year old real estate agent who was showing Garth waterfront properties available for long-term rental. She wore gray woolen pants and a black sweater under a black leather coat.

"How far to the Institute?" Garth muttered.

"Maybe half an hour without traffic. Summer will be the worst."

Garth nodded.

"I want it," he said.

"They're going to want references and a thorough credit check," she said.

Garth looked out at the sea and said, "I'll pay a full year's rent in cash right now, but I want the keys by tonight."

A stunned expression crossed her face. Garth turned and met her gaze.

"That's enough money for a sizeable down payment on house. I can show you something a block from the ocean..." she started

He shook his head with a slight smile on his face.

"All right, all right. I call them, but I'm not sure ..."

Garth looked out over the back lawn that sloped off to the rocks and sand along the shore.

"This place has a colorful history. The lighthouse is long gone, but lighthouse keepers often led lives of loneliness and desperation. I guess you're not quite so isolated here, anymore," Ellen said, gesturing toward a group of small houses a hundred yards to the East of the point. "But they're still far enough away that you might start to feel a little...I don't know...separate."

"I see enough people during the day. A little solitude in the evening is ok."

"All right, then let me make some calls and see what the owner says," she said.

She pulled out her cell phone and headed for the sliding glass doors that led into the living room of the house.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Brian Whiteside returned the rack of samples to the minus eighty freezer then checked the progress of his sequencing gel as he headed out of the lab. Before he made it to the hallway, he heard someone call his name.

"You have a visitor, Brian." Richard Bailey called.

Dr. Richard Bailey was the principal investigator of the lab and Brian's post-doc advisor.

"Gina?" Brian said.

"No, some guy, I think. I didn't actually see him, though," Richard said. "They told me he's waiting down in the East entrance."

Brian frowned, wondering who would stop by the lab unannounced. He made his way down two flights of stairs and out to the East entry. One man stood alone in the lobby, his back to Brian. The man wore no coat, but a dark sweater and a pair of khakis.

"Are you waiting for me?" Brian said.

The man turned around and Brian's mouth fell open. It was the young man from the sea. The events of that day had at first been discussed with a sense of wonder, but with what was happening with Dr. Jenkins and his staff, there was a growing apprehension around the institute. Researchers were becoming uneasy about going out to sea. This young man's sudden appearance at the institute had Brian feeling uncomfortable.

The young man watched Brian for a moment, then spoke.

"I don't know if you remember me," he said. "You picked me up off the coast four or five weeks ago."

Brian nodded, but didn't speak. It was definitely the same man, but he no longer looked so unusual. His clothes were normal and his eyes seemed to have lost the purple tint. After their first encounter with the man, a number of those on the boat had discussed whether or not it was possible for hypothermia to cause the eyes to appear purple. The consensus had been that it was not typically a symptom, but the discussion somehow had made it seem a little less bizarre.

"I think I owe you all an explanation ...and to be honest, I could use your help," the man said then turned to watch someone entering the building.

"Is there somewhere we can go to talk for a minute?" the man asked.

Brian felt uncomfortable and wondered why the man had come looking for him. He was not the head of the lab and had no prominent role on the research vessel.

"Well..."

"Sorry," the man said. "I know this must seem strange. My name is Garth Curry. I ..."

The door across the lobby opened. Richard stuck his head through and opened his mouth to speak, but then froze when he saw the man standing next beside Brian.

"You were on the boat, too," Garth said.

Richard continued to stare at him, then said, "What are you doing here?"

"Is there someplace we can go, the three of us? We should talk." Garth said.

Brian glanced at Richard who shrugged slightly.

"Let's go to the lunchroom," Brian said. "We can grab a cup of coffee and sit for a minute."

Richard held the door open and Brian led the stranger down the hallway to a small room with a few tables, chairs and a pair of microwaves on a counter beside a sink. Brian gestured to the nearest table and all three sat around the table.

Brian stared at Garth. He guessed the young man was about twenty five years old. His dark hair was messy, but clean and his blue eyes focused on the men with a certain intensity.

"My name is Garth," he said. "And I'm what you might call a water-breather."

Garth turned away from them and bowed his head for a moment. He reached up to his eyes, then turned back to the men. The iris of each eye was an unnatural shade of purple.

"I usually live under water, but I can breathe water or air, though my lungs tend to dry out in the air. I need to keep them wet for them to function efficiently. I live on a planet Earth a bit different than this one and I'm not really sure how I can get back there."

Brian glanced over at Richard and realized his boss was probably thinking the same thing. This was crazy, but they had all seen this man leap from the water like one of Sea World's trained dolphins. And when he had returned to the sea, he swam off faster than anything they'd ever seen in the water.

"What do you mean you live on a different Earth?" Richard said, finally.

"This may sound like bad science fiction, but there are different dimensions or maybe different planes of existence, where planets and things are mostly the same, but have evolved differently. I'm not really sure how it all works, but the Earth I'm from diverged from this one in a major way during the twentieth century."

"I've been online reading about your history," Garth continued. "It's mostly the same up to that point, then things seem to change. I have no idea why they should be the same at all, maybe one breaks apart into two dimensions all the time. Maybe I made it here so easily because it's so close to my own plane of existence."

Garth shrugged.

"What is your world like?" Richard said.

"Mostly the same," Garth said. "I think all the major countries are the same and so are most of the cities, though you do appear to be lacking a few of the big ones. You have no Metropolis or Star City or a number of others, actually. And I've never heard of St. Louis or Kansas City or a few of the ones you do have out in the midwest."

Garth paused for a moment, then said, "But I suppose the biggest difference is that my world is a little more...colorful. At some point in the twentieth century, a few men and women with extra-ordinary abilities began to appear across the globe, right around the same time we started having visitors to our planet. Extra terrestrials, sometimes hostile monster-like creatures, began to make public appearances. Very quickly, these special people we call metahumans began to take up sides, either for or against the usual social order. A few normal humans with highly developed skills also began to fight for or against various governments or societies. It has been a tumultuous time."

Garth paused again and reflected, "Maybe it's like Yin and Yang, you know what I mean? You can't have one without the other. Maybe you don't get to see the special people until you start seeing the monsters. Maybe when some hostile alien arrives here, you'll find that you have some pretty extra-ordinary people hiding out on farms or trying to lead a normal life in the city, waiting for the right time to go public with their abilities."

Garth shrugged.

"Either way, from what I can tell, you don't have anyone here like me. I'm not only good in the water, I'm faster and stronger than anyone you've ever seen, judging by what I've read. I used to be able to do some other things you wouldn't believe."

Garth sighed and sat back in his chair. He kept his gaze fixed on the table before him, while the other two watched him carefully.

"This is a lot for us to swallow," Richard said. "I'll accept for the moment that everything you say is true, but I don't understand why you're here. Why have you sought us out?"

Garth looked up at them and said, "To be honest, I don't know anyone here and I don't know how to get back where I came from. In my world there are certain scientific institutes that help people like me when we need it. Maybe together we can figure out what to do or where I might fit in here in this world."

Richard nodded.

Brian said, "You mentioned that you are an extra-ordinary athlete. Is this something you could demonstrate?"

Garth smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was early in the evening when Garth returned to his home on Evergreen Point. It was the end of October. The clocks had already been turned back and the sun had set late in the afternoon. There were no street lights near the point and the nearby houses were dark. The point seemed desolate.

Before leaving the institute, Garth had given the two scientists a short demonstration in the parking lot outside the lab. He had casually lifted the front end of a full-sized pick up truck. He had considered trying to show the men how fast he could run or how high he could jump, but he felt a bit silly about showing off out in a parking lot to a couple of grown men. He had instead promised them that he would go out to sea with them the next day and show them what he could do in the water. They seemed quite eager to see him again. Garth .

Garth drove up to the house and parked his small Japanese sports car on the broken blacktop of the driveway, then walked around back to enter the kitchen from the deck. A cool breeze blew in off the sea and jingled the ancient-looking windchimes that hung off the deck railing. As he climbed the few steps up to the deck, he froze, noticing a young woman standing there, staring out at the sea. She wore a long, faded blue dress and had wild brown hair. She seemed not to have heard him approach.

Garth waiting a moment, then stepped up onto the deck and faced her. She turned suddenly and a horrified expression appeared on her face. Her gaze fixed on him and her expression turned to one of confusion and uncertainty before she turned and ran toward the house. When she arrived at the sliding glass door, she didn't stop or open the door, but just seemed to melt through it.

"Wait, come back here," Garth shouted.

He ran toward the house and fumbled in his pocket for the key that would unlock the door. He turned on the lights in the kitchen as soon as he opened the door, but saw no sign of the young woman.

"Hello?" he called out.

There was no answer. He crossed the kitchen, checked the living room and the bedrooms, but found no one. He returned to the kitchen and found a young woman standing by the open doorway to the deck. He wasn't sure it was the same women. She now wore tight white capri pants with a sleeveless top that exposed her slender midriff. She had blue eyes and her dark hair was shorter than it had been, now barely shoulder length and combed straight. She was probably in her early twenties and was quite beautiful.

"You can see me?" she said with a Irish accent.

Garth cocked his head and said, "Does that surprise you?"

"Maybe it has something to do with this house. Do you live here?" she said.

"I do now."

"This was my house, once," she said, the accent more prominent. "About ninety years ago."

She seemed to be waiting for his reaction. Garth backed up to the kitchen counter and leaned against it.

"You look good for someone over ninety," he said with a smirk.

She smiled and said, "You think this outfit looks good? I saw a young woman wearing it recently."

"Very nice, but maybe not the right thing for the end of October."

"Oh right," she said. "Cold weather. How 'bout this?"

She was suddenly wearing jeans with a tight green sweater. Garth nodded.

"I've been here for almost two months. No one has been able to hear or see me until you," she said.

"And where were you before that?" Garth asked.

"Before that I was sick in bed, over there," she said, pointing toward one of the bedrooms. "Very sick. It was 1918 and I had the Spanish Flu."

Garth looked at her and frowned.

"I think I might have died," she said softly.

Garth took a step toward her. He reached out to touch her, but she backed away.

"You're telling me that you'e a ghost?" he said.

"I remember standing next to my bed, seeing my body there. And this old woman was next to me and she said that I wasn't done yet and that there was something I needed to do. She placed her hand on my shoulder and the house was transformed to this."

She gestured toward the center of the room as her eyes scanned across it.

"The lighthouse was gone and there were all of these machines everywhere. Machines to wash your clothes and wash your dishes and open your cans and cook your food. And outside there's all kinds of fancy cars and trucks and airplanes. I've had a couple of months to get used to it, but it's still amazing to me this world that you live in."

She spoke with an enthusiasm that made Garth smile. She stared at him for a moment.

"You know, I've been wandering this town for two months, and other than the fancy machines and provocative clothes, I thought things were pretty much the same as they were when I was alive," she said, her brogue sounding almost musical. "But you're standing here with a smile and talking to a ghost as if it were an ordinary thing. Is that how life is here in the future, you come home and converse with the dead on a regular basis?"

"Well, I don't think it's normal for people to actually see and speak with ghosts, but I have to be honest, I'm a little relieved to find something a little supernatural going on here. I've been feeling a little out of place. This world seems to be lacking a little magic, a little paranormal excitement."

She frowned at him.

"I guess if we're being honest and open here, I should tell you that I'm not exactly from this world, either. I was somehow transported here from a planet earth very much like this one, but there were some amazing differences. In my world, I had mystical abilities unlike anything you ever seen," he said.

"Like what?" she asked.

He caught her and watched her as he began, "I could control over water...its temperature, its movement. And I could teleport things across time and space. I had mystical powers, taught to me by an ancient being."

"But you can't do that here?"

"No," Garth said. "Here I just seem to have my physical abilities. I can breathe water and swim faster than any fish you've ever seen. I am much stronger than an ordinary man."

She smiled and said, "Sounds like someone's a little pleased with himself."

Garth chuckled and shrugged.

"It's ok," she said. "What should I call you, anyway?"

"Garth," he said. "My driver's license says Garth Curry, though I sort of borrowed that last name from a friend."

"Pleased to meet you Garth, I'm Sarah."

Garth extended his hand and watched for her reaction.

"Don't bother," she said. "I can't seem to actually touch anything."

"Try me."

She reached out and swiped her hand right through his.

"Are you disappointed?" she said with a grin."Disappointed that you're not going to be able to touch me?" she said with a grin.

He smiled and said, "I thought that ninety years ago women would be a little more...well-behaved."

"Ninety years ago, I was," she said lightly.

Garth nodded and smiled.

"So what do you do with your time? Being a ghost sounds like it could be boring," Garth said.

She shrugged, "I spend a lot of time watching people in town. And I watch television with some of your neighbors. Mr. Benson down the street is retired and he watches a lot of the Discovery Channel. It's all very interesting. I've seen how they make bridges and how submarines work and how doctors do complicated operations to help people get skinnier or make their faces prettier. Mrs. Grimes next door watches a lot of television shows about cooking...Italian food and Chinese food and all sorts of unusual things."

Garth chuckled and said "Did you talk this much when you were alive?"

She laughed and walked toward the kitchen table.

"Why don't you sit down and relax," she said. "As far as I can tell, I am going to be around for a while."

Garth walked over to the table and sat down. Sarah stood on the other side of the table and stared at him.

"I have some special abilities too, you know. I can read people, Garth," she said. "And now I seem to be able to do it better than ever, though I'm having a lot of trouble with you."

"What do you mean 'read people'?" he said.

"I was never a normal girl, Garth. When I get close to someone or touch them, I get a glimpse of their future, sometimes an important event from their past, too. The better I get to know them, the more I can see. I spent most of my life hiding it, though. My father thought it was the devil's doing, tried to beat it out of my with a leather strap when he found out. After that, I learned to hide it."

"And you get nothing from me?" Garth asked.

"Just some noise or something I can't quite understand. Perhaps because of where you're from."

He nodded slightly.

"Did you grow up around here?" he asked.

"No, we were poor. We lived in a little tenement building in Boston, in an Irish neighborhood. We moved to this country when I was ten. We didn't have much, but I had a pretty face and by the time I seventeen, men were proposing marriage to me."

She flashed a smile at him.

"This place belonged to Edmund Shannon. He was thirty years old when he proposed to me, I was nineteen. He was a kind man and gave money to my family. He had been a hero in the war, but was sent home early when he lost his left hand. The government set him up with this job, the light house. We both fell ill at the same time."

She grimaced and paused for a moment, then gazed around the room.

"Why do you think we're here, Garth - you without your sorcery, me without a body?"

"I don't know. I think I was sent here when I tried to fight off a creature that apparently had some mystical power."

"You sure you were sent here randomly?" she asked.

Garth shrugged.

"We need to find out if there's a purpose to all of this," she said.

Garth nodded.

A moment passed and Garth said, "I'll need to go into the water tonight. I'm starting to feel a little dried out."

"Don't let me stop you," she said. "I can retreat to the spare bedroom and rest there. I feel very much at peace in there."

"Do you need to rest regularly?" he asked.

"I'm not sure I need to, but it's quite serene. Sometimes a few days will pass before I realize how long I've been in there."

Garth stood and gazed out the window. It was dark out, but the moon was full and cast enough light for him to see the water.

"Go. Do what you have to do," Sarah said. "I'll be around."

Garth nodded and began to walk to the door.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Garth," she said.

"For me too."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"One hundred and four knots," Brian shouted down at Garth from the front deck of the boat..

"That's it?" Garth shot back. "A few years ago, I was clocked at a hundred and eighteen and that felt easy. Don't tell me I'm getting old already."

Dr. Bailey stepped forward and said "This is incredible, Garth. Three out of the four runs you were in excess of a hundred knots. I honestly don't know how it's possible. You are not built to go a tenth of that speed. You have hair on your head, wide shoulders, normal sized feet. You shouldn't be able to move that fast. Dolphins can't do half your speed and they've evolved the right sort of shape and limbs for it."

Garth smiled and shrugged. He was treading water beside a thirty-five foot cabin cruiser anchored half a mile offshore near Falmouth, Massachusetts, at the beginning of Cape Cod. They had borrowed the cabin cruiser for the day from one of Richard Bailey's friends. Richard and Brian had invited two other post-docs along for the day, but they were trying to keep it relatively quiet and didn't want to take out one of the institute's boats.

"If you were in warmer water, that might explain the difference in performance," Richard said. "Anyway, why don't you come back onboard for a bit. There something I want to talk to you about."

Garth nodded then swam around to the stern of the boat, where a swim platform was molded into the fiberglass hull. He climbed aboard the boat and stepped over the back and into the open area in the aft section of the boat. Brian handed him a towel.

"Have a seat," Richard said, gesturing to the chair beside the helm.

Richard sat beside Garth while Brian and the other sat on a bench near the stern.

"When you stopped by the institute the other day, you said something that has been stuck in my head ever since," Richard began. "You said that this world doesn't have any superpowered people, but maybe when monster or alien threat appears, the super people will too. Remember that...you said that maybe you don't have one without the other, yin and yang."

Garth nodded, "I was just thinking out loud, I don't know if that's..."

"Ordinarily, I would not have given it much consideration. I'm not a religious man, I don't believe in destiny or anything like that, but..." Richard paused and looked at the others. They were watching quietly.

"Well, you showed up two days after something unusual happened around here," Richard continued. "And the situation is getting worse. A colleague of mine, Dr. Jenkins, was collecting some deep sea samples on the research vessel and came across an unusual sort of worm-like animal captured in a deep part of the ocean. Apparently, the thing lashed out at him and bit him in the hand. It didn't seem too bad at first, but the following day, his skin was discolored in the vicinity of the bite and he began to feel weak.

"He was admitted to a hospital in Boston a few days later as the greenish-yellow discoloration began to spread out from the site of the wound. As days passed, the color spread across his entire body and he fell into a coma. After two weeks, his belly started to distend and his nurses began to complain that his sheets were soaked with an oily sweat. Late one evening he regained consciousness and turned violent. He trashed his room, knocked down a couple of nurses and when security tried to stop him, he tossed them around like they were rag dolls. He fled the hospital and witnesses saw him jump into the Charles River. They said he sank below the surface and never came back up. Police divers found nothing.

"Then two days ago, two young men disappeared. They were researchers in his group. There were signs of a struggle out in the parking lot."

Garth nodded, but remained quiet.

"I'm not usually superstitious, but I kept thinking about what you said. What if you are the yin to that yang? What happened with Dr. Jenkins is unheard of and isn't it strange that at the same time this happened, you show up on our doorstep, telling us that you're a superhuman from another universe or dimension or something. You have amazing physical abilities and according to what you've told us, you've defended your planet from all sorts of threats."

"I was one of many..."

"I think you may be the only one on this planet who can do the things you do," Richard said gravely.

The boat rocked gently and for a while no one spoke.

"I've heard stories of parasites that can transform their host," Garth said.

"But this isn't just carrying a parasite, Dr. Jenkins was physically transformed into something not quite human."

"Maybe it's like a virus, altering some functions in all the cells that are infected," Garth said.

"Or maybe there's another creature growing inside him like in 'Alien' when those things burst from your stomach," said a young man seated beside Brian.

Garth looked at him and frowned.

"It was a movie," Brian said.

Garth nodded and turned back to Richard.

"We need to see what we can find out about this...what bit him, what were the physiological changes, was there anything detected in his blood while he was in the hospital...," Richard said.

"If Jenkins retreated into the sea, it could be hard to find him, even for me," Garth said.

"There's a few places we should check," Richard said. "Starting with the site where they first caught the thing that bit him."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Garth returned to the house mid-morning the next day. He had spent the night in the sea after an afternoon with Richard and his crew searching the ocean for clues about the mysterious affliction of Dr. Robert Jenkins. The search had not turned up anything notable and Garth had sent home the others home late in the afternoon, while he continued to look around.

A few times during that evening, Garth's thoughts had lingered on Sarah. He wondered if she had spent the evening waiting for him to return to the house. He was the only person with whom she could actually carry a conversation and, truth be told, it wasn't only one-sided. He was comforted by her presence in the house too, feeling a certain comradery with her. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it may have bothered him that fate didn't provide him with the spirit of a more familiar deceased young woman, but Garth was doing his best to avoid dwelling on that small detail. This woman was clearly not the other and that was no reason not to make the most of the unusual situation.

Garth entered the kitchen of the house from the deck and looked around for signs of Sarah. The house appeared empty and there was no response when he called her name. He poked his head into the smaller bedroom where she claimed she went to rest, but there was nothing in there, but some old furniture that left there by the owner or previous tenant.

Garth changed into some street clothes and returned to the kitchen where he found Sarah seated at the small circular wooden table. She wore tight-fitting black pants and a lightweight navy blue sweater.

"I didn't want bother you while you were changing your clothes," she said. "I try to give people some privacy."

"How are you?" Garth said.

"Dead, I think," she said with a smirk.

"I can still see you."

"About that I'm quite grateful," she said in her fully Irish way. "I awoke from my rest early this morning and I've been watching tv with Mr. Benson. He apparently can not see me."

"I've been in the ocean all night."

She nodded and said, "The last time I saw you, your eyes weren't purple. Is that what sleeping underwater does to you?"

"This is my natural eye color. The last time you saw me I had lenses in my eyes to hide the color."

"It's a lovely shade of purple," she said. "Seems a shame to hide it."

"I'm trying to fit in," he replied.

She shrugged.

"Mr. Benson watched the news for a little while this morning," she said. "They said that there are ten people from Woods Hole Research Institute that are missing. A special group of police, called the FBI, are getting involved."

Garth leaned forward and looked at her, "I thought there were only a few missing."

"A bunch didn't show up for work this morning and they immediately became suspicious. None of the ten can be found anywhere and there's suspicious circumstances in many of the cases," she said.

"I spent the day, yesterday, with some of the researchers," Garth said. "We talked about some of the unusual things that have been going on there."

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this Garth. All along, I've been thinking there must be a reason why I'm here. Maybe something is about to happen to change the world."

"One of the scientists stumbled upon some form of sea life that infected him and transformed him into...something," Garth said. "Since then, a few of this man's colleagues have vanished."

Sarah gazed out the window with a worried expression. Garth crossed the room and went to the refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle of juice and carton of eggs.

"Is there anything I can get for you or do for you?" he asked.

"Thanks, but I don't get hungry and I don't think I could pick up the food if you gave it to me."

He looked at her for a moment and frowned.

"How is it that the chair supports you when you sit, but you can walk through walls and can't touch anyone?" he asked.

"That's a good question," She said. "I wondered about that at first. Why don't I fall through the floor or simply hover above the ground, but I think it has something to do with my expectations. I sit down without thinking and the chair supports me. When I first saw my body lying on the bed before me, I imagined that I can walk through walls and now I can walk through walls. I suppose it's similar to the way I change my clothes."

"I've been wondering about that" he asked.

He took out a frying pan and broke a couple of eggs into it.

"That's the most fun part about this. All I have to do is imagine myself in the outfit and I look down and I see that I'm wearing it. I've never been wealthy, but now I can dress myself in the crown jewels if I feel like it."

"Anything you imagine, you'll be wearing?" he said.

She nodded.

"You know what a thong bikini is?" Garth said with a grin.

She smirked, then closed her eyes for a moment.

"Ok," she said, opening her eyes.

Garth frowned. She was still wearing the same outfit.

"It's something you wear under your clothes, isn't it?" she said.

"That's not exactly what I..."

"Behave yourself, young man," she teased.

Garth placed the frying pan onto the stove and turned on the burner. He opened a drawer and fished out a spatula.

"Back to what we were talking about a minute ago," Garth said. "I think there may be something very important about what you said. When you believe that the chair will support you, you don't pass through it. So, I wonder if the chair feels you."

"What?"

"I wonder if the chair weighs more when you're seated on it."

"I've tried pretty hard," she said. "I can't seem to actually touch or move anything."

"It's something we can explore."

She smiled and looked away for a moment.

"I have to go to the institute in a little while. I think you should come along with me," Garth said, returning his attention to his eggs. "I think you could be a big help."

"I'm not sure what I can do."

"You can get past locked doors, maybe get close to enough to some of the people there to see if you can find out anything," Garth said.

"You think that someone there is responsible for the missing researchers? I thought you said there was some sort of bite or infection that transformed them," Sarah said.

"That is what happened to one man, a scientist named Robert Jenkins. We don't know about anyone else."

"So I get to play detective for the day. It sounds like fun," she said.

Garth looked at her smile and felt a bit of apprehension.

"I feel like I should warn you to be careful, but I guess I don't need to worry. There's nothing that can hurt you, right?" Garth said.

"Nothing I've encountered, yet."

Garth flipped his eggs, then turned back to look at Sarah.

"If you come with me to the institute, are you sure that the others will not be able to see or hear you?" Garth asked.

"So far, it's only you," she answered.

"I haven't told them about you, yet. They're a little freaked out by everything else that's going on. I'm not sure what they'd think if I told them I brought a ghost along with me for the day," Garth said.

"You don't have to tell them about me," she said. "It might put them on guard, make it harder to get into their heads."

"Is that how it works?"

"Don't know. Some are easier to read than others," Sarah replied.

"I might not be able to converse with you while I'm there," Garth said. "I don't want them thinking I'm..."

Garth stopped and stared out the window with his mouth still open.

"What is it?" she said, turning to see what he was watching.

"I can't believe I didn't think of it before," Garth muttered.

He turned his back to her and concentrated on the words '_Can you hear me, Sarah'._

'_Can you hear me,_' he thought again.

"No, Garth. I couldn't possibly hear you from five feet away," she said.

Garth turned toward her and let her see his closed mouth as he thought, '_I'm not speaking, just thinking the words.'_

Sarah's jaw dropped. She stared silently at him.

_'I should have realized this before,'_ he projected. _'One reason I can hear you and no one else can I that I am...or at least used to be, telepathic. It's a way to communicate underwater. Vocal chords don't work the same way, when your lungs are full of water.'_

"Telepathic," she said, astonished.

_'Maybe that's why I see you the way you imagine yourself. I'm not really seeing you, but the image you are projecting to me. Just another form of telepathic communication, I guess.'_

"What does this mean, then?" she said.

Garth smiled, _'It means that I can communicate with you in front of them and they won't think I've lost my mind.'_

"Well," she said. "Then I have a telepathic message for you."

_'What?'_ Garth responded.

Without moving her mouth, she said, _'Your eggs are burning.'_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"That was my first ride in a modern automobile," Sarah said.

Garth pulled into the visitor parking space outside of the building where Richard Bailey and the others worked.

"What did you think?" Garth asked, speaking out loud.

"Certainly quieter and smoother than what we had in my time," she said. "But strangely similar, in a way. In the last century, many things have changed, but you're still getting from place to place in a gasoline-powered four wheel vehicle. Flying machines are still just for special occasions and long-distance trips."

Garth regarded her, then nodded. Her answer was not what he expected.

"I saw a show on TV about how hydrogen gas could be used to power vehicles," she said. "When hydrogen burns all you get is water, so there's no soot or smoke. Hydrogen and oxygen combine during burning to give water."

Garth smiled, "The Discovery Channel?"

"The Learning Channel."

"Anyway, once we get in, I'll switch to telepathic communication," he said. "And I guess you should expect to be interrupted occasionally."

"I'll be all right," she said. "I won't be offended if you don't respond to me when others are talking."

They walked across the parking lot to the entrance where Richard Bailey stood waiting for Garth. He wore a rumpled white oxford cloth shirt tucked into a pair of khaki pants.

"Security is pretty tight right, now," Richard said. "Stick with me. They'll be watching the hallways for anyone unfamiliar."

Garth nodded and followed Richard through the security doors, up some stairs and back into the lab. Richard Bailey and a group of other young researchers were already gathered together talking.

"Brian's missing," Richard said. "So is Franz, who was also with us yesterday."

The others quieted for a moment and turned to look at Garth.

Garth said. "What do we know so far?"

"Brian's car is outside in the lot. He apparently didn't make it home last night and didn't show up this morning."

_'Just before we arrived, they were discussing you,'_ Sarah said telepathically. _'This older man was defending you, but some of the others worry that you are involved with the disappearances.'_

_'The older man in Ricard Bailey. Brian, who is now missing, was one of the first people I met in this world,'_ Garth responded silently.

"What about the others that are missing. Were any of them close friends with Brian and Franz?" Garth asked to the group before him.

"I don't think so," Richard said. "You're wondering if they all went out last night and are sleeping it off at someone's house?"

Garth shrugged.

"No likely," Richard said.

"Any signs of trouble?"

"Not that we've seen. The police are outside going through his car," Richard said. "Last I heard there was nothing unusual out there."

Garth glanced over to where he saw Sarah and thought, _'Why don't you have a look around. You should have no problem getting through locked doors.'_

_'I've give you a holler if I come across anything,'_ Sarah replied.

Sarah turned around and disappeared through one of the walls.

"Where's his desk?" Garth said.

"We already checked it out...nothing interesting on the desk or the computer," Richard said.

Garth nodded silently.

"Well, guys, I think we should get back to work," Richard said, turning to face the half-dozen or so young men and women standing beside him. "As soon as I hear anything I'll let you know."

There was some grumbling as some of the young scientists headed back toward a row of desks along the back wall of the lab. Others headed out the door and across the hall to another small lab. Richard remained standing beside Garth.

"Did you find anything last night?" Richard asked Garth.

"No," Garth said. "I swam all around the area. I saw nothing unusual."

"We took a quick look at the blood and tissue sample we took from you yesterday," Richard said.

"Interesting stuff. It'll probably take years to figure out exactly what's going on there, but I can tell you some of the preliminary findings."

"Sure," Garth said. "I don't really know much about Atlantean physiology."

"Well, you have most of the same stuff we do - red and white blood cells, platelets and the like, but you also have an additional type of red blood cells that are not round discs like ordinary erythrocytes, but are flat and have six sort of spindles. We're calling them snowflake erythrocytes right now for lack of a better name. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that they are carriers like ordinary red blood cells, but maybe for something other than oxygen. I don't think a lung full of water has enough oxygen to meet your metabolic needs. I suspect you're taking in something else from the water to supplement you respiration, maybe sulfate. Some primative bacteria can reduce sulfate instead of oxygen."

Garth listened quietly.

"A quick look at the cells in the tissue sample you gave us showed a high density of mitochondria. And there appeared to be different types of mitochondria, too. I suspect your body is a powerhouse of chemical energy. It would have to be considering the way you swim."

Garth opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when he heard Sarah's voice in his head.

_'Garth. The basement. Come quick.'_ she said.

"Is there a basement?" Garth said to Richard.

Richard frowned, "A basement?"

"Yeah," Garth said, his anxiety becoming apparent.

"Well, there's a boiler room or mechanical room or something like that on the lowest level."

"Can you take me there?" Garth said.

Richard headed for the doorway out to the hall, "What's going on Garth?"

"There's something down there," Garth said.

They hurried down two flights of stairs, then walked quickly down a long, dimly-lit hallway with a concrete floor and cinderblock walls. Sarah emerged through the door near the end of the hallway.

_'It's the missing researchers, I think,'_ she said gesturing toward the room.

Garth took the lead and walked to the door where Sarah stood. He tried the handle. It was locked.

"I think I can get one of the maintenance guys to come down here to let us in. Let me just go back to my desk and make a call."

Garth grabbed the locked door nob in one hand and twisted hard. It broke off in his hand, but the door still would not open. He grimaced then slammed his right palm against the door, right beside where the door nob had been. The door flew open and small bits of the metal locking mechanism tinkled down onto the floor.

_'Light switch is on the left,'_ Sarah said.

Garth reached over and turned on the lights. It was a large room with concrete walls and floor. There was a large boiler in one half of the room along with an array of pipes near the boiler and against the ceiling. A network of ducts ran toward Air handlers that hummed loudly beside the boiler. The other half of the room was full of old desks and chairs and an assortment of beat-up boxes. In an open area of the floor in the center of the room were nine bodies, each lying motionless on its own beach towel or blanket. The bodies closer to the entrance were bloated and had shiny yellow-green skin. There was a faint fishy odor in the room.

"Oh God," Richard said and he stared at the figures on the floor.

Brian's unconscious body lay on old blanket on the far side of the group.

'_Garth,_' Sarah said with alarm. She gestured toward an empty blanket on the floor. '_He's in the room somewhere. I can feel him.'_

Richard went pale as he noticed Garth staring down at the empty blanket.

"Don't move," Garth whispered to Richard.

Garth crossed over to where the air handling equipment forced air through the network of ducts.

A green-skinned figure slipped out from behind the boiler and ran into the center of the room. It wore only a saggy pair Fruit of the Looms. Its belly was protruding and its skin was shiny with some sort of oily secretion. The creature ran at Richard and knocked him across the room.

It charged toward the door, but Garth made it here first and blocked the exit. The creature hissed and reached out for Garth who grabbed it, spun it around and shoved it back into the center of the room. The hiss turned into a shriek as the man-creature fought to regain its balance. It stared at Garth with fear and rage in its emerald-colored eyes.

_'I'm going to let him run,'_ Garth said telepathically. _'Do you think you can follow him?'_

_'No problem,'_ Sarah replied.

Garth stepped away from the door, leaving a clear path for the thing to make its exit.

_'I suspect he'll be traveling underwater,'_ Garth said.

_'I'll grab hold of him and imagine that he's taking me for a ride. It'll be just like riding in your car,'_ she said.

In an instant she was right behind the creature as it ran into the hallway.

"Will you be able to get back home?" Garth yelled after her.

_'Yes, I always know where my room is,'_ she replied as she disappeared around a corner.

Garth turned toward Richard who was getting back onto his feet.

"Are you all right?" Garth said.

"I feel like I got hit by a Mack truck," Richard said as he straighten up slowly. "But I don't think anything's broken."

Garth looked around the room.

"I can't be around when the police or FBI get here," Garth said. "My ID won't hold up to scrutiny."

Richard stared at him for a moment, then said, "I have to ask you, Garth. What exactly just happened here? It looked like you let the guy go, then asked him if he knew how to get home. And how did you know to come down here in the first place? "

Garth didn't immediately answer.

"I've been defending you," Richard said. "Some of the others think it's too much of a coincidence that you started hanging around here when people started to disappear."

Garth sighed and said, "I let him get away so that we can track him, but I wasn't talking to him when I asked about knowing the way home."

Garth turned toward Richard and their eyes met for a moment.

"Why do I have the feeling that I'm not going to like what you're about to say?" Richard said.

A hint of a smile appeared on Garth's face.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"A giant mermaid?" Garth repeated.

"That's what she looked like," Sarah said.

They were seated side by side on a pair of wooden Adirondack chairs that faced the sea. Off to the West, the sun was dipping down low in the sky and a gusty breeze blew across the wooden deck.

"She must have been fifty feet long with smooth, dark skin. No breasts or anything on the torso. She had long arms and her fingers ended in hooked claws. The face was definitely feminine, but there was no hair on her head. I've never seen anything like her."

"Neither have I," Garth said. "And we have some strange things living in the water where I'm from."

"The guy from the basement seemed to instinctively know where to go. He swam out to a large sandy circle, maybe a hundred yards across, surrounded by enormous boulders. This mermaid thing seemed to stay in the center of the circle and half a dozen of the greenish skinned people were swimming around her," Sarah said.

"Could they see you?"

"I don't think so, but I didn't stay long. The place gave me the willies," she said.

"And you're sure you could find it again?" Garth asked.

"Yes," Sarah replied. "It's just south of Martha's Vineyard, sheltered by a small rocky reef."

Garth nodded slightly and stared out at the small waves breaking on the rocks.

"Is that what it's like for you?" she said. "Gliding around silently in the water. It was really quiet serene, though not as colorful as what I've seen on tv."

"You have to go to tropical waters to see all the colorful fish and coral," Garth said. "But the cold waters can be quite beautiful in their own way."

"I'd like to go with you some time," she said.

"When this is over, I'll take you somewhere interesting."

She smiled. A moment later she said, "What happened after I left the institute?"

"Well, Richard heard me yell to you about finding your way home. He thought that I was talking to the thing that ran out of there. I eventually told him that there is a ghost helping me, but I didn't stay long enough to give him many details. We had to get the police involved before any of the others in the basement woke up and got loose in the building. And I couldn't stick around and let the police start checking into my identity," Garth said.

"How did he take it, the bit about you spending time with a ghost?"

"I don't think he knew what to make of it," Garth said. "Maybe you can come along with me and we'll do a little psychic reading or something to help convince him."

"Sure," she said with a shrug.

"Are you resting tonight?" Garth asked.

"I might," she said. "I had a big day today and if we're going to confront these guys tomorrow, it might be good for me to get a little rest. I always feel better, though I know it doesn't make any sense."

"Seems natural to me," he said. "Do you think you'll be around in the morning?"

"I can try. I don't have much a feel for the passage of time while I'm resting, but I'll do my best to be here in the morning. Maybe you can leave the tv on tonight, in case I wake up."

Garth smiled and said, "You're adapting quite well to modern life."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Garth was swimming nearly at full speed as he came around the Eastern side of Martha's Vineyard. Sarah was by his side keeping pace with him merely by imagining that she could. She wore a black and purple wetsuit and a diving mask, though she didn't need either.

Garth looked at her and smiled. She seemed to be concentrating very hard. She moved her arms and legs a little, but they clearly weren't the movements of an experienced swimmer. It was the strength of her will, not her limbs that kept her moving through the water.

'_See the rocks up ahead?_' Sarah projected. '_It's just on the other side. Do you want me to go ahead and scout it out?_'

'_No. We'll just approach slowly and make sure we don't let them surround us_.'

She shrugged and pulled ahead of him, just to show that she could, Garth suspected.

They came around a pile of dark rocks that were dotted with barnacles and patches of sea weed. Garth peered around to see the clearing that she had described. It was a large flat region with a sandy bottom bounded by a circle of boulders, each about twenty feet high and nearly as wide. The boulders were spaced about fifty feet apart. In the center of the circle, Garth could see seven or eight of the green-skinned people in various stages of undress. Some were completely naked, others wore underpants or bathing suits. All had bloated bellies and yellowish-green skin. Most were also completely bald, but the few that had hair were also the few that wore some sort of garment, perhaps out of modesty. Garth wondered if these were the newest recruits.

'_I don't see a giant mermaid_,' Garth said telepathically.

'_Looks like she is not here_,' Sarah said. '_I can go search for her_.'

'_No, stay with me if you don't mind. I may need your skills to read them. I'm not sure if I should expect hostility_.'

Garth moved slowly out and away from the rocks. As he entered the circle, a few of the green people turned to watch him. A large heavy man, rushed out from the group and headed for Garth.

'_See what you can find out about him,_' Garth projected.

Sarah nodded and darted out to where the green man was approaching Garth.

'_I think he's from Wood's Hole, but it's very hard to get a substantial read from him_.'

Garth nodded and moved slowly toward the approaching man. The man had a broad smile on his face as he looked at Garth. When he came within ten feet of Garth, the smile faded to confused expression and he stopped suddenly. Garth held up his palms as a gesture of his peaceful intentions.

'_Can you hear me?_' Garth said telepathically.

The man's eyes went wide and he nodded cautiously.

"_Who are you?_" he replied.

'_My name is..._' Garth paused for a moment, then said, '_You may call me Tempest_.'

'_Tempest?_' Sarah muttered in an amused voice.

Garth shot her a glance.

'_I'm Jenkins_.' the other said.

'_I've heard about you, Dr. Jenkins. The others at the institute are very worried_.'

'_They need not worry about me.'_

Garth stared for a moment, then glanced at Sarah who had moved in close to the professor.

'_Can you hear me, Mr. Jenkins?_' Sarah said with the telepathic equivalent of a shout.

The green man did not react. Sarah shrugged.

'_Can you read him?_' Garth said to her, unsure if the other could hear it.

'_Just bits and pieces_,' she said. '_But I'm getting the feeling that there's someone else in there with him._'

Garth considered this, but his thoughts were interrupted.

'_How is it that you can communicate like us and survive without air?_' Jenkins said.

'_I'm a water-breather. I have always lived in the water,_' Garth said.

'_There is no companion within you?_'

Garth frowned and glanced toward Sarah, not sure if Jenkins was referring to her.

'_What companion?_' Garth asked.

It was Jenkins turn to appear confused.

'_If you don't know about us, how did you find us?_' Jenkins said.

Garth paused for a moment then tried a new approach.

'_Please, Professor,_' Garth said. '_We don't know what is going on. We don't know why people are disappearing from the institute._'

Jenkins expression seemed to sharpen for a moment, as if a new awareness of his surroundings had suddenly hit him.

'_When the worm bit me, it transferred something like a virus to my system. This pseudo-virus seeded the growth new types of cells throughout my body. The effect of these cells is like sharing my body with another being, what we call the Companion. This being is linked to our leader.'_

'_It's like a parasite?_' Garth asked.

'_No, it's not a discrete organism, but one that is spread out and mixed into myself. I'm sure this sounds disturbing to you, but you have to understand, it's divine. It's like being touched by the hand of God. Not only can I live underwater, but I'm incredibly strong now. I can heal from almost any injury, even regrow limbs. I've never felt so content and at peace. I actually pity those who can not feel this way. This is paradise, here._'

'_But it was forced upon you_.'

'_Only because I would have been too pig-headed to accept it if it had been offered to me. Our Leader has chosen us to begin the next phase of human evolution. Someday all will join us here, to live in peace, to live forever.'_

Garth stared at the man with growing apprehension.

'_Who is this Leader?_' Garth said.

'_An advanced being of some sort, but that's not what matters. This evolutionary leap will save our planet, bring an end to wars, end poverty and human suffering. Down here, we don't need clothes or cars, we don't have to work. There is food everywhere...kelp beds and small fish. We eat when we're hungry, rest when we feel like it. There's no weather here, we don't need a shelter from rain or snow. We don't need to tear down forests and build ugly concrete buildings and roads. We don't need electricity or cars. No pollution. No heaps of rotting garbage to get rid of.'_

'_You were a scholar, a man of science. You don't mind giving up your life's pursuit in favor of some underwater bohemian lifestyle?' _Garth asked. _'And what does this Leader require of you?_'

'_I understand your concerns, but the Leader requires nothing. The Companion that shares my body is an extension of the Leader. It allows me to be in constant contact with her. That is all she wants, to be one with her people, to be linked to all of us.'_

The man stared off into the distance for a moment as if listening to someone else. Garth took advantage of the break to look over at Sarah. The expression on her face was one of concern.

'_They intend to take over the world,' _she said_. 'They are going to bring the entire human race underwater.'_

Jenkins eyes glossed over and he said, '_Our Leader would like to speak with you. Please wait here. She is approaching.'_

Jenkins backed off a few feet and turned to stare into the open expanse of water to East of the vast circle.

'_I think that you should leave now,' _Sarah said. _'I don't have a good feeling about this. I can stay behind and try to learn more about this Leader.'_

'_Thanks for your concern, but I think I need to meet this creature.'_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

She passed between two of the boulders along the perimeter of the large circle. With her arms hanging against her side and her head tucked, she looked somewhat like a blue whale. When she arrived beside Professor Jenkins and brought herself partially upright, it was clear she was something altogether different. Her arms were twenty feet long with firm muscles and ending in strangely slender hands with fingernails like talons. Her body was very much like that of a whale except for the enormous gray human head and the long arms where fins might be. Large blue eyes stared at Garth from an emotionless face.

'_Hi_,' Garth said telepathically. '_You must be the Leader_.'

She continued to stare at him without speaking. Garth glanced at Sarah who responded with a shrug. They were hovering above thirty feet above the sea floor. Below them, green-skinned beings stared up at them with interest.

'_Are you able to hear me?_' Garth said.

'_You are different than the others_,' she said finally, her voice deep and flat. '_I explored these oceans for many months and I have never encountered one such as yourself_.'

Garth shrugged.

'_You are called Tempest?_' she asked.

'_A nickname_,' Garth replied.

Off to Garth's right side appeared a pair of young men with the same yellow-green skin color as Jenkins. Sarah viewed them with apparent apprehension, then moved around to hover beside Garth on his left side, near to where Jenkins had moved.

'_My disciple has told you what is happening here_,' she said. '_Tell me, Tempest, what do you think?_'

'_You intend to bring the entire human race, 5 billion people, to live underwater_?'

'_We expect only a third of that by the time the process is complete. It will take time. The oldest will be allowed to live out their lives on the surface. Others may fight it and they too may be allowed to finish out their lives on land.'_

'_Still, you are going to bring that many people down here, one at a time?_'

She regarded him for a moment and a hint of a smile appeared on her face. She said, '_Others like me will arrive here soon enough. I am the first, a sort of pioneer. Does this notion frighten you?_'

Garth thought for a moment before responding, '_In some ways, it is a noble idea. Your plan would end the decimation of the planet, bring people into something like the Garden of Eden_.'

She waited for him to continue.

'_But I've seen underwater communities. Mankind's animal nature eventually reveals itself, even in communities striving for utopia_.'

'_It's interesting that you mentioned the Garden of Eden, a biblical reference_,' the Leader said._ 'For thousands of years, humans have looked to the heavens and prayed for peace and love and contentment in their lives. All they have received for their efforts was war, disease, aging, death. I offer what people have wanted for millenia. I offer a life free of disease, free of hard labor, free of violence. With the Companion integrated into your body, you will not grow old or sick, you will feel blissfully united to the community_.'

'_Yes_,' Garth said. '_It would be a kind thing to offer to the world. If you were to give people a choice, I suspect you would find many people willing to take your offer_.'

'_It would not work if only some people joined us_,' she said. '_Those that remain on the surface would likely feel threatened by our existence. They would continue to pollute the environment and poison the planet. For this to work, all must join us.'_

'_That is where you and I disagree_,' Garth said. '_If you take away the things the struggles of life, you will take away the purpose of life. It is in this struggle that people find friendship and love. They slowly unravel the mysteries of the universe, they create music and art and ideas that challenge others to think and grow. If you take all of this away, you are bringing an end to humanity_.'

'_But what I offer is far better for everyone involved._'

'_I'm not sure I agree_,' Garth said.

'_You might think differently, if you experienced it for yourself,_' she said.

'_I can survive in the water without your help,_' Garth said.

Her long right arm shot out and her hand closed around Garth's body, trapping his arms against his torso. Garth struggled to break free, but her grip was tight and powerful. With the talons of her left hand, she reached out and slashed open a wound on Garth's right shoulder. Blood trickled into the water as she moved closer to him. A long slender tongue slid out from between her lips and licked the wound.

She closed her eyes a moment, then said, '_Different, but I think you are a suitable host for a Companion._'

'_No_,' Garth projected with intensity. '_I do not choose this. Do not force it upon me._'

The partial smile appeared on the leader's face again. Sarah looked horrified.

'_Garth,_' Sarah said. '_Fight it, don't let her do it.'_

'_You will thank me some day, Mr. Tempest. Don't fight it. You will not suffer_,' the leader said.

Garth heard the Leader give orders to Jenkins and the other pair.

'_Hold him tightly_,' the Leader said. '_If he resists, tear his limbs off. He will regrow them once the Companion has matured.'_

The leader handed Garth to the three men. Jenkins grabbed Garth around the waist, while each of the other two each grabbed one of Garth's arms. They were incredibly strong, Garth could not break free from their grip.

The Leader swam toward the center of the circle. With one hand she dug into the sand in the center and pulled out a gelatinous sphere the side of a football. With one clawed finger, she scratched open the sphere, pulled a ten inch worm from the center and began to swim back toward Garth.

'_Garth_,' Sarah said, desperation more evident.'_Get away from here_.'

'_Trying_,' Garth responded.

As the leader drew nearer, Garth squirmed and tried to wriggle free from his captors without success.

'_Be still_,' the Leader said. '_This will not hurt._'

Speed, Garth thought. It may be his only advantage. Of all of the creatures he had encountered in the seas, only Arthur was faster than he was. Garth brought both of his feet together and began to kick them together as he would when swimming quickly through the water.

At first, he barely moved, the three men holding him swam to oppose him and were able to keep him relatively still. But as Garth put more effort into it, they started to move upward. Jenkins tried to slide down and grab Garth around the knees, but as soon as he had released Garth's waist, Garth was able to kick his feet back behind him and send Jenkins tumbling away into the distance.

The Leader glared at Garth and began to swim more quickly in his direction. Garth was moving faster and faster away from her while the two men who held him began trying to tear his arms from his body. They were incredibly strong and it was taking all of Garth's strength to resist their force.

Garth twisted in the water and began to swim downward toward the perimeter of the large circle, dragging his two assailants along for the ride. Garth headed for a large misshapen boulder on the circle's edge and swam as fast as he could manage. At the last possible moment, he turned slightly and slammed the man on his right arm into the top of the boulder. There was a sickening crunch as the man's back slammed into the rock and began to spill a dark stream of blood into the water.

'_Let your super-healing Companion work on that for a while_,' Garth muttered.

With his right arm freed, Garth reached over and pried the other man off his left arm, then gave him a powerful kick that sent the man careening into the face of the Leader who had caught up to them and was reaching out for Garth.

Garth swam around the boulder and torpedoed away as fast as he could manage. Four green men were on his tail, but were losing ground quickly. The Leader had apparently given up the chase and Garth caught a glimpse of her hovering over the boundary rocks, near to where the injured man bled into the water.

'_Sarah?_' Garth said.

'_Go home,_' she replied distantly. '_I'll see you there tonight_.'


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Garth placed the note for Sarah on top of the kitchen table and smirked, realizing what a strange direction his life had taken. With his street clothes on and the note placed where it would be clearly visible, he headed out to his car. Half an hour later, he pulled into a parking lot at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and headed toward the building where Richard Bailey stood in the entrance awaiting his arrival.

"I want to hear more about what happened this morning," Richard said as they entered the building.

Richard escorted him back to the lab. They had already spoken on the phone about the events of that morning under the sea.

"I barely made it out of there," Garth said, as the older man took a seat beside him on one of the lab stools. "All of the men and women who've been transformed are very strong and their Leader is incredible. She's just like I described, a sort of fifty foot bald mermaid. She's not particularly fast, but she's incredibly strong.

"This may sound strange, but listening to her and to Jenkins, I can almost buy into what she's planning to do. She thinks that by bringing the human race undersea to live a simplified life, she can save the planet, make people happy and presumably get something out of it for herself. Maybe through the symbiotic nature of these so-called Companions."

"What do you know about that?" Richard asked.

"Just what Dr. Jenkins told me. He said that the bite of the worm-thing started a bunch of cells growing in various parts of his body and it's the presence of these cells that allows the human body to be converted into this underwater form. Jenkins said it feels like he's sharing his body with another being and apparently it's pleasant or fulfilling in some way.

"The strange thing is, I think that some people in the world could benefit from what this Leader is offering," Garth continued. "Don't get me wrong, we can't let them force the entire human race to join them underwater. But if they were willing to back off and let people make the choice for themselves, I don't think it would be such a bad thing."

Richard shook his head slightly.

"You don't agree?" Garth said.

"It doesn't sit well with me," Richard said. "But I suppose it's not my busincess how others choose to live their lives. I just think there will be a problem someday. You can't have two different groups of beings trying to share the planet. It's almost certainly going to lead to violence. I think it's human nature. If the underwater beings are stronger and have some miraculous healing ability, I don't think the land dwellers would do well against them."

Garth shrugged and said, "I guess the point is moot anyway. They are going to force everyone to join them. They were going to literally tear me apart if I didn't cooperate and become one of them. I barely got out of there in one piece."

Garth shook his head slightly and continued, "I don't really know how I can fight them, they're too strong and their Leader can coordinate their attack. I'd need some kind of weapon. And we have to get rid of her quickly. She said more of her kind are coming here soon. "

"Maybe it's time to call in the military," Richard suggested.

"I guess, but I don't think Jenkins and the others are going to fare well in that scenario. Navy divers won't be able to fight them hand to hand and I don't think there are too many non-lethal weapons for undersea combat. The military would probably blow the whole thing sky high. And I don't really know what kind of technology this Leader has access to. I never found out exactly where she came from or how she got here. It could get messy."

Richard looked at Garth for a while, then said, "You haven't mentioned your ghost friend in a while. Can she help with all of this? You told me that she can see the future or something like that."

"Sarah?" Garth said. "I don't know. She stayed behind to see what she could learn. I'll talk to her tonight."

"Her name's Sarah?" Richard asked.

"Yes, Sarah Shannon," Garth said.

A slight frown appeared on Richard's face.

"Why don't we go for a little walk," he said.

He rose from the stool and led the way to the door. Garth followed him out of the building and into a nearby building, an older brick structure that looked like it belonged on a college campus.

Richard stopped in the hallway just past the main entrance and in front of several large black and white photographs that were hung on the walls.

"Have you seen the sailboat on our logo?" Richard said pointing toward a plaque that showed the outline of a sailing vessel surrounded by the name of the institute.

Garth nodded.

"It was our first research vessel," Richard said. "This picture here was taken when it was christened in 1930."

He pointed to a large framed photograph of the two-masted sailing ship. It was on some sort of enormous wheeled cart halfway down a ramp with its stern in the water. Standing on a small wooden platform by the bow of the boat, was a woman holding a wine or champagne bottle.

Garth frowned at the picture for a moment, then said, "Is that..."

"Sarah Shannon," Richard said. "She chose the name of the boat - _The Atlantis_"

"_Atlantis_?"

Richard nodded.

"Are you sure this picture was taken in 1930?" Garth asked.

Richard nodded again.

"She told me that she thought died of the Spanish Flu in 1918."

"She survived. This institute was founded in 1930, by a couple of Biology professors, but according to some stories, an enigmatic young Irish widow played a very important role. They say she was psychic. Supposedly, it was Sarah who convinced the Rockefeller foundation to donate the money that helped start the institute. According to the legend, she had visited one of the trustees of the foundation in July of 1929. Shortly after her visit, they moved a lot of their money around, took money out of the stock market and put it into real estate among other things. By the end of 1929, she had secured a grant from the foundation."

Garth stared silently at the photo on the wall.

"There was a book about Sarah, written in the 70's. I'm not sure it's in print anymore," Richard continued. "She was an activist for the oceans, opposed dumping industrial waste into the seas, fought to end whaling. She was ahead of her time in many ways."

Garth nodded slightly, considering what Richard said.

Richard smiled, "I guess if you are going to be haunted by the ghost of a woman around here, it's not terribly surprising that it's Sarah Shannon."

Movement caught Garth's attention and he spun around to see Sarah standing behind him and staring at the photograph.

"When did you get here?" Garth said aloud.

"She's here?" Richard asked.

Garth nodded.

"I just arrived," she said.

"Did you hear our conversation?" Garth said.

"Not much," she said. "And I do want to find out about this picture, but before we get into that, I need to talk to you about something I learned down in that underwater circle."

"What did you find out?" Garth said.

She opened her mouth, then seemed to reconsider for a moment before saying, "Well, first, why don't you tell me a little about the color purple."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It was nearly noon when Garth came around the Eastern side of Martha's Vineyard and headed for the stone circle. He moved through the water at a moderate speed, not wanting to expend much energy before he confronted the Leader again. He had spent the night in the sea to ensure that he'd be fully refreshed for the battle.

He was still hoping that it wouldn't get violent, but Sarah had told him about an event she had foreseen while lurking in the undersea circle. If her vision was correct, it could be tough fight.

Sarah was beside Garth as they approached the rocky reef, the last landmark before the boulders would come into view. She wore a tight-fitting blue and black suit, similar to Garth's red and black costume and this time she didn't appear a mask or diving gear.

'Are you ready for this Garth?' she said. 'You feeling strong?'

'As ready as I'll ever be,' Garth said.

She smiled.

Garth sped up and headed straight for the largest boulder of the stone circle. He stayed close to the sea floor and let the boulder screen him from the view of anyone inside the circle. When he arrived behind it, he rested for a moment, then went over the top and entered the circle. The Leader was floating in the center, about ten feet off the bottom. There were twelve people with yellowish-green skin swarming around her. The instant, her eyes found Garth, all twelve turned around to face him. Garth approached them slowly.

An unusual expression appeared on the Leader's face and suddenly, eight people zoomed at Garth. He remained still as they surrounded him. The Leader slowly approached Garth. Four young men were closely by her side.

'_Have you had a change of heart?_' the Leader said telepathically.

Garth shook his head and said, '_I'm here to offer you a deal, a chance for things to end peacefully_.'

'_My way will ultimately bring true peace_.'

'_What you have to offer could be of great benefit to many people_,' Garth said. '_All over the world, there are people suffering, starving, crippled and diseased. These people could find health and contentment in a life here with you, I think_.'

'_We've spoken about this before_,' the Leader said. '_I am not going to debate this any more_.'

In an instant, Garth was restrained by half a dozen sets of strong hands. They held him tightly. He did not resist.

'_It's your last chance_,' Garth said. '_If I don't come back, they'll will send in the military. They've developed some powerful weapons in recent years_.'

The Leader smiled a bit as she watched Garth.

'_Do you think I have come here unprepared_?' she said. '_I arrived here in a sophisticated spacecraft. It has weapons as well as the ability to interfere with the electronics of your weapons and communications. I would rather not have to use it. I'm a pilgrim, the first of a group that is seeking to reject modern life and live in harmony. We welcome the chance to share this with beings like these humans. In the long run, it will be better for everyone_.'

'_I'm sorry then_,' Garth said. '_I will have to use force if you continue on this path._'

She stared at Garth.

Garth drew in a lung full of cool sea water and though about what Sarah had told him, about chemical energy and reversible processes.

The Leader hands shot out and snatched Garth. She wrapped her hands tightly around his torso and squeezed his arms against his body. There was anger in her voice when she spoke.

'_If you refuse to join us, then I will destroy you. I can not let one little creature get in the way of the future. I have given you the chance to be one of us, to live forever and you reject this chance and threaten me. You leave me with no choice_,' she said.

The Leader began to squeeze tighter and Garth feared that she would crush his ribcage. He knew what he had to do.

When Sarah first told him what she had foreseen, he thought it was impossible, it sounded like the sort of magic he could no longer perform. But Sarah disagreed, comparing it to something she had learned about on television. She told him that hydrogen combines spontaneously with oxygen to give water and this reaction produces energy that can be used to power vehicles, but ironically if you add energy to water, the reverse reaction occurs it will produce hydrogen and oxygen.

Sarah told him that eyes take in the light reflected off objects and convert it to a signal that the brain can understand, but maybe Garth's purple eyes give him the option to reverse that. Sarah suggested that perhaps Garth's biochemistry can produce enough energy to allow his eyes to covert a signal from his brain into light.

Garth glanced up at the Leader and shouted, '_Enough._'

He focused his eyes on the Leader's right hand and concentrated. Parallel rays of intense purple light shot from his eyes and tore through the Leader's right wrist. He moved the beams across the width of her wrist and nearly severed the hand from her arm.

The Leader let out a horrific scream. All of the green skinned people doubled over as if in pain, their hands clutching their heads, agony on their faces.

The Leader released Garth and tried to slash him with the claws of her left hand. Garth let loose another blast of purple, less intense this time. It opened up a long gash across her left forearm. The Leader screeched again and Garth blasted hole in the center of her abdomen. Green blood gushed from her wounds. She was thrashing around and screeching, fear in her eyes.

Garth charged at her, then grabbed her right arm above where her hand hung loosely on her mangled wrist. He dragged her enormous body to the perimeter of the stone circle at a startling speed. He threw her against one of the boulders then stood in the water a few feet from her face.

'_Do I need to kill you or will you to leave peacefully_?' he asked coldly.

She did not answer. She was gazing off into the distance, her face creased in distress.

'_She's going to go_,' Sarah said.

Garth turned to his left, surprised to see Sarah beside him.

'_She's sad_,' Sarah said.

'_Tell your people to stay away from this world_,' Garth said to the Leader. '_I will look after your followers here, but you should not return_.'

Without looking at Garth, the Leader began to move along the perimeter of the circle. She made it a quarter of the way around the circle, then stopped at a large egg-shaped boulder. She placed one of her hands into a small indentation in the rock. A moment later, the boulder rolled aside revealing a large hole in the sea floor. She squeezed through the opening and a black metallic door slid over the hole.

'_I think we'd better back off_,' Garth said to Sarah.

The green skinned people were swimming around haphazardly, appearing to be in a state of confusion. The sandy bottom began to shake and everyone cleared out of the circle. A two hundred foot long cigar-shaped craft worked its way out of the sand. It was black and looked like a military submarine without the so-called sail. The black vehicle moved silently and as it accelerated toward the surface. When it reached the top, there was a bright flash of light and submarine shot out of the water and into the sky like a rocket.

'_Are you all right_?' asked Sarah.

'_A little drained_,' Garth said. '_I've never used my optic rays so much before. I guess I've been relying on magic a little too much_.'

'_You were heroic_,' Sarah said.

'_Heroic_,' an old woman's voice repeated.

Garth and Sarah spun around to see a sixty-foot long, gray dinosaur-like beast motionless in the water behind them. It was the same creature Garth had encountered outside of Atlantis.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The prehistoric beast hung motionless before them. The contortion of the creature's face looked vaguely like a smile.

'_Both of you have done well here_,' it said in a maternal voice.

'_Who are you_?' Garth said.

'_It's the same voice_,' Sarah said in a telepathic whisper. '_The old woman who was there when I died_.'

Garth looked at Sarah and thought about his recent conversation with Richard.

'_You're not dead_,' the creature said to Sarah.

'_What do you mean_?' Sarah said.

'_Think of this as an extended near-death experience_,' the creature said. '_You will eventually recover. You'll wake up in your own bed in the year 1918. I suspect that you already know that your husband did not survive the disease_.'

'_I knew of his fate the day I met him_,' Sarah said solemnly.

'_When you return, no time will have passed, no matter how long you stay here_.' the beast said.

Garth stared at the creature and asked '_You sent me to this world_?'

'_I brought you both here because this world needs you. It will be threatened several times in the upcoming months and the balancing forces are not yet in place_,' the creature said.

'_I don't understand,_' Garth said.

'_A Kryptonian child arrived here last year, but he is too young to defend this world. An ancient being from Mars is due to arrive here in about a year, but there are no others to defend the humans from extraterrestrial threats. There are no Amazons or Atlanteans on this Earth_.'

'_So you stranded us here?_' Garth said.

'_You're not stranded. When you return to your own world, no time will have passed for you either_.'

'_When can we return?_' Garth said.

'_You may return now if you wish, but you should know that this world will be in danger again soon and they need someone who can defend it. They need a hero, Garth_.'

Something about the way she said his name made him uncomfortable.

'_Why don't you take care of things?_' Garth said.

'_I am taking care of things. I brought you two here_,' the creature said with some amusement.

'_When I first encountered you, you had just attacked an innocent Atlantean_.' Garth said.

'_An illusion. I needed to catch your attention. There was no critically-wounded young man._'

Garth looked at Sarah, who appeared to be troubled by the conversation.

'_I'm not sure I want to go back_,' Sarah said.

'_Eventually, you must_,' the creature said. '_History depends on you_.'

Sarah frowned slightly.

'_You are both free to return to your worlds. When you're ready to go, just dive off the rock at the tip of Evergreen Point. When you enter the water, find the large red rock twenty feet off the point. When you touch it, you will return to the moment when you left your own time and place,_' the creature said.'_But I would like you to consider staying for a while. As I said, this world needs the two of you to protect it. With you here, the balance is maintained_.'

'_I could protect this world better if I were able to use sorcery_,' Garth said.

'_Balance,_' the creature said. '_This sort of thing is not present in this world and if you were allowed to use it, the balance would be disturbed_.'

Garth considered debating that point, but kept himself under control.

'_Are you some sort of angel_?' Sarah asked.

The creature looked at her, but did not answer.

'_If I decide to stay for a while, what should I do? Set up a headquarters and let everyone know who and what I am?_' Garth asked.

'_Keep a low profile and keep doing what you're doing. Trouble will find you, don't worry_,' the creature said.

'_I'm going to stay_,' Sarah said.

'_Stay for a while_,' the creature said. '_It's part of your destiny_.'

Garth turned toward Sarah and regarded her for a moment.

'_I'll stay too_,' he said in a telepathic whisper.

'_Excellent_,' the creature said as it began to swim away. '_The scientists that were transformed remain in the circle of boulders and they'll need your advice and leadership. Good luck to you both_.'

As the creature moved slowly away from them, its head turned back and its eyes met Garth's for a fleeting moment. Something about the gesture seemed odd to him.

'_Are you all right_?' Garth asked Sarah.

She nodded slowly.

'_Sorry about your husband_.'

'_Like I said, it's not a surprise_,' Sarah said.

'_Still_."

Sarah nodded again slightly.

'_Let's go see what we can do_,' Garth said.as he pointed over the boulder toward the cluster of greenish skinned beings that hung motionless in the center of the circle.

'_Lead the way_,' she said.

---------

Late that night, a full moon sparkled off the surface of the cool November sea. A hundred yards off Evergreen Point, the sixty foot long dinosaur-like creature swam slowly toward the shore. As it entered the shallow water where small waves broke against the rocks, it changed, growing smaller and thinner as it came closer to the beach. It emerged from the water as a five and a half foot tall woman with light brown hair and golden eyes. She looked to be in her early twenties and wore a silky white garment draped over her slender frame. She walked slowly across the beach, but left no footprints in the sand. Her whispy white robe was undisturbed by the breeze.

She walked silently up onto the pressure treated boards of the deck behind the house. She stepped through the locked glass door into the kitchen, then drifted into the living room, where Garth lay asleep on the couch beside Sarah. The television was set to the History Channel and Sarah appeared to be fully engrossed in the program, though she would have been unable to see the mysterious young visitor regardless.

The young woman in white stopped by Garth's feet and gazed upon him with a knowing smile. Her focus shifted to Sarah briefly, then she turned back to Garth.

"I'm sorry, but it's better this way, my prince," Tula whispered in a voice that would never be heard. "They need you here, to be their hero. And you don't need old wounds to be reopened."

With a melancholy smile, she drifted back out onto the beach. She crossed the sand with careful footsteps, then waded into the water. Under a moon-lit sky, she transformed herself back into the prehistoric creature and slowly swam away.


End file.

DC Elseworlds, Adventure