Justin Stone and the Iris of the Madonna
Dec. 5th, 2008 02:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
joegodaI know that Nano is over... but the story wasn't. Here's the last chapter.
Justin saw his brother thrown over the railing of the gondola, over the back of the automobile and into Englebrandt's head. He didn't hear, but could well imagine the hollow sound of two hollow trees crashing in the forest.
He didn't have much time to think about it, however, because the dirigible itself was bouncing back up after it's collision with the automobile and brutally throwing its passengers down to the floor of the gondola.
Milky pulled himself off the gondola floor, blinking tears. "Holy moley! We just squashed those guys!"
Justin nodded, as he, too, lifted himself up. "That we did." Justin waved frantically at Marion, who was barely hanging on to the control pedestal himself. ""Down, boy! We must go down!"
Marion stared back at Justin with eyes wide and mouth agape. There was no way he could reach the controls the way the dirigible was moving. He'd be thrown out just as Jonathan had been.
Justin looked at Milky. "Well, he's not any use, is he?" He pointed to a coil of rope lying against the side of the gondola. "Would you be so good as to bring me that bit of rope, Milky?"
"What happened to Rat?" Milky asked as he stumbled to pick up the rope. During one of the calm spots between up and down, he shuffled back to Justin and passed the coil over.
"Who?" Justin pondered, then as the light came on, "Oh! Jonathan is all right. He was just thrown clear of this bouncing... bucket." The dirigible gave another bound. "Lucky duck." He passed the rope around Milky's waist and tied a bowline to keep it secure. "There now," he said, satisfied. "You're more likely not to fall out with a safety line around you."
He looked around, wondering what he might do to stop the gyrations. "Jonathan said this ship is just a like balloon." He cast and eye at Milky. Bags of air." He looked up at the long cylindrical shape above him. "Well, my boy," he said to Milky, "I may not know much about dirigibles, but I do know that if you deflate a balloon, it's not likely to go bouncing around, is it?"
Milky shook his head, and said, "No sir. But what are we going to pop it with?"
Brandishing his cane, he said, "All it takes is a sharp stick." He pressed a hidden button, and a pencil thin blade snicked out of one end. "I do believe this will do it."
"Lordy!" Milky wondered. "You have a sword in your cane!"
"Yes." Justin nodded, off handedly. He examined the thick cables that held the gondola to the rest of the dirigible. "How good are you at climbing trees, Milky?"
-*-
Jonathan shook the daze from his head. Though not rendered unconscious, he was quite dazed. It didn't help any that Englebrandt's head was extremely hard, as was his own. Between the two skulls, it was possible that Jonathan's was the hardest, as Englebrandt was completely unconscious. Of course, having been forcibly rammed into the automobile's steering wheel might have helped.
"Damn you!" The fake Verne railed, while pounding on Jonathan. "Damn you!" He was not a very strong man, and Jonathan was in very good shape. The man's ineffectual fists did little more than irritate Jonathan even more.
When Jonathan was thrown out of the gondola, he flew bodily across the back of the boattail of the vehicle and only stopped when his head met Englebrandt. His body folded to the side and wedged behind the front seats, uncomfortably.
"Hey!" Jonathan twisted as best he could and caught one of his assailant's hands. "Would you mind not beating on me? I've got a bit of a headache here." He continued to extricate himself from where he was wedged; turning until his he could flop into the front seat, sitting next to the unconscious form of Englebrandt.
Jonathan was still holding the fake Verne's hand, and forced it painfully down and behind the man's back. The man was gnashing his teeth and cursing, so Jonathan slapped him, hard, with his free hand. "Stop it!"
The man fell silent and glared balefully at Jonathan.
"Look, Verne, or whoever the hell you are, I don't have time to baby-sit you." He pushed the man out of the passenger side and onto ground. "I told you that the plasma was still under research!" He stood over the man on the ground, looking down at him with nothing resembling respect. "Another couple of minutes and do you have any idea what would have happened?" Not getting a response, he leaned down and spat the question, "Do you?"
He stood up, crossed to the crumpled hood and with a heave, pulled it off the engine compartment. The silver and brass armature had oxidized a brilliant green from the heat that was generated by the plasma ball. There were scorch marks on the inside of the hood and the engine compartment.
"Good lord!" Jonathan said. He turned and glared at the fallen Verne. Gently, he pulled the glassine ball from its seat in the armature. He cradled it in his arm and crossed over to where Verne could see it.
"Almost depleted, Verne. Almost there!" He shook his fist at the man. "If you had pulled all the energy from the ball, there would have been a reversal of energy
The man on the ground raised himself up on his elbows. "Gone?" His eyes grew large. "It has that much power?"
"Theoretically, yes." Jonathan nodded, letting his intellectual self taking control for a moment. "And that's only theory! The reality might be much more terrible. It might create a chain reaction and eventually suck the entire Universe into a spot the size of a pinhead." He swiped at the man on the ground with his foot, catching Verne's ribs solidly. He heard a satisfying grunt.
"Jonathan," the man on the ground wheezed, in obvious pain. "Join me! Between the two of us, there is no telling what miracles we might find. Together!"
"Join you?" Jonathan snorted. "Buddy, I don't even KNOW you. Who the hell are you, anyway, because you sure as heck aren't Jules Verne?"
The man on the ground didn't get a chance to answer. There was a horrible groan and a grinding of metal on metal as the gondola slid from its resting place on the back of the automobile and across the vehicle, crushing it as the gondola moved.
"What now?" Jonathan asked, looking toward the noise.
The air bag of the dirigible was collapsing, slowly folding in on itself.
"Justin!" Jonathan cried out. "What have you done now?"
The gondola slid off the body of the automobile and shoved itself at Jonathan. He dove out of the way, and the boat shaped gondola buried its nose in the ground, between Jonathan and the man on the ground. Three bodies tumbled, unceremoniously, out of gondola to sprawl on the earth.
The imposter scooted on his seat, backwards and moved out of the way of the falling airbag.
The enormous bag continued its deflation and the wooden frame carried it heavily down, trapping the men beneath it.
"Justin!" Jonathan fought to stand, pushing the fabric of the bag and the heavy undercarriage up and holding it over his head. "Justin! Get Up! I can't hold this forever!"
Justin and the boys roused and crawled out from under the collapsing dirigible, past Jonathan. When he had seen them get free of the collapsing airbag, he let one of his hands drop to his pocket. He pulled out his multi tool, and released the blade from it.
Dropping to his knees, he let the airbag fold around him. Holding his breath, he cut through the tough fabric of the airbag and stood up through the gap he had cut. Even collapsed, the wooden frame of the dirigible was still sturdy enough to hold a roof over his head, though much lower than it's original ten foot diameter. When he made it past the two airbags holding the volatile hydrogen gas and reached the nose, he cut another slit in the fabric and slipped out into the air. He breathed in great gasps of air, his hands on his knees.
"Jonathan!" Justin called into the belly of the airbag, his hands cupped around his mouth. "Are you all right? Jonathan! Answer me, damn it!"
"I'd be more fine if you'd quit yelling your fool head off." Jonathan came around to the side of the airbag where Jonathan and the boys stood, holding the side of his head. "I have a terrible headache."
"Jonathan!" Justin ran to his brother's side and bundled him in a brief, constricting hug. Pushing him away, gently, Justin said, "I was afraid you'd..."
"Ha." Jonathan said. "Not likely. It's going to take a lot more than a bump on the noggin and a dirigible falling on me." He saw the two boys standing not too far off, watching the two men. He nodded in their direction and muttered, "Please, Justin. Not in front of the boys."
Justin's attitude changed immediately once again to his ever-proper business side. He nodded and said, "Yes, well. I was a tad concerned, I will admit." He looked at the goose-egg growing on his brother's forehead, and examined it gingerly. "Are you certain that you're all right, Jonathan?"
"You should see the other guy," Jonathan said, grinning like the mad Irishman he was rumored to be. A thought crossed and he frowned. "Verne?"
Justin shook his head and frowned as well. "Gone, I'm afraid. He must not have been wounded. In my concern for you, I didn't even give him a passing thought."
Jonathan sighed. "You know he'll be back, don't you? He really wanted that crystal. He didn't even get to leave with that rugby ball you slipped in its place."
Justin nodded and smiled tightly. "Yes. I fully expect him to be back." He patted his brother on the shoulder. "We took care of him this time. We'll take care of him then. Before then, however, we shall have to put the Iris in a safe place."
"I wonder who he is?" Jonathan said.
"Oh, I'm sure we will find out," Justin answered. "You still have a call to make to your friend Nikola." Sirens were heard in the distance. Justin adjusted the sleeves of his jacket. "I imagine that will be Detective Chanders. Late, as expected."
Jonathan nodded. He looked over his shoulder at the dirigible. "Did you have to kill it?"
Justin arched a perfect eyebrow. "Really, Jonathan. Did you think I was just going to sit calmly by on that..." He pointed accusingly at the collapsed bulk. "That device while it was going up and down and up and down? It was most uncomfortable, let me tell you."
"But how did you ...?" Jonathan nodded, understanding dawning. "Your cane. Of course."
Justin smiled and pointed to the two boys. "Young Milky there proved most capable in climbing the rigging. It was actually he that did the damage." He raised a hand to his mouth and said conspiratorially, "You know Jonathan; we might have to give those boys a position with the foundation."
Jonathan smiled. "Already thought of, Justin." He turned to the boys. "Hey! Come here!"
Marion and Milky approached, almost reverently.
"Yes sir?" Milky said shyly.
Jonathan pulled himself up to his full five foot two inch height as he looked at the boys. "You two guys want a job?"
-End-
Justin saw his brother thrown over the railing of the gondola, over the back of the automobile and into Englebrandt's head. He didn't hear, but could well imagine the hollow sound of two hollow trees crashing in the forest.
He didn't have much time to think about it, however, because the dirigible itself was bouncing back up after it's collision with the automobile and brutally throwing its passengers down to the floor of the gondola.
Milky pulled himself off the gondola floor, blinking tears. "Holy moley! We just squashed those guys!"
Justin nodded, as he, too, lifted himself up. "That we did." Justin waved frantically at Marion, who was barely hanging on to the control pedestal himself. ""Down, boy! We must go down!"
Marion stared back at Justin with eyes wide and mouth agape. There was no way he could reach the controls the way the dirigible was moving. He'd be thrown out just as Jonathan had been.
Justin looked at Milky. "Well, he's not any use, is he?" He pointed to a coil of rope lying against the side of the gondola. "Would you be so good as to bring me that bit of rope, Milky?"
"What happened to Rat?" Milky asked as he stumbled to pick up the rope. During one of the calm spots between up and down, he shuffled back to Justin and passed the coil over.
"Who?" Justin pondered, then as the light came on, "Oh! Jonathan is all right. He was just thrown clear of this bouncing... bucket." The dirigible gave another bound. "Lucky duck." He passed the rope around Milky's waist and tied a bowline to keep it secure. "There now," he said, satisfied. "You're more likely not to fall out with a safety line around you."
He looked around, wondering what he might do to stop the gyrations. "Jonathan said this ship is just a like balloon." He cast and eye at Milky. Bags of air." He looked up at the long cylindrical shape above him. "Well, my boy," he said to Milky, "I may not know much about dirigibles, but I do know that if you deflate a balloon, it's not likely to go bouncing around, is it?"
Milky shook his head, and said, "No sir. But what are we going to pop it with?"
Brandishing his cane, he said, "All it takes is a sharp stick." He pressed a hidden button, and a pencil thin blade snicked out of one end. "I do believe this will do it."
"Lordy!" Milky wondered. "You have a sword in your cane!"
"Yes." Justin nodded, off handedly. He examined the thick cables that held the gondola to the rest of the dirigible. "How good are you at climbing trees, Milky?"
-*-
Jonathan shook the daze from his head. Though not rendered unconscious, he was quite dazed. It didn't help any that Englebrandt's head was extremely hard, as was his own. Between the two skulls, it was possible that Jonathan's was the hardest, as Englebrandt was completely unconscious. Of course, having been forcibly rammed into the automobile's steering wheel might have helped.
"Damn you!" The fake Verne railed, while pounding on Jonathan. "Damn you!" He was not a very strong man, and Jonathan was in very good shape. The man's ineffectual fists did little more than irritate Jonathan even more.
When Jonathan was thrown out of the gondola, he flew bodily across the back of the boattail of the vehicle and only stopped when his head met Englebrandt. His body folded to the side and wedged behind the front seats, uncomfortably.
"Hey!" Jonathan twisted as best he could and caught one of his assailant's hands. "Would you mind not beating on me? I've got a bit of a headache here." He continued to extricate himself from where he was wedged; turning until his he could flop into the front seat, sitting next to the unconscious form of Englebrandt.
Jonathan was still holding the fake Verne's hand, and forced it painfully down and behind the man's back. The man was gnashing his teeth and cursing, so Jonathan slapped him, hard, with his free hand. "Stop it!"
The man fell silent and glared balefully at Jonathan.
"Look, Verne, or whoever the hell you are, I don't have time to baby-sit you." He pushed the man out of the passenger side and onto ground. "I told you that the plasma was still under research!" He stood over the man on the ground, looking down at him with nothing resembling respect. "Another couple of minutes and do you have any idea what would have happened?" Not getting a response, he leaned down and spat the question, "Do you?"
He stood up, crossed to the crumpled hood and with a heave, pulled it off the engine compartment. The silver and brass armature had oxidized a brilliant green from the heat that was generated by the plasma ball. There were scorch marks on the inside of the hood and the engine compartment.
"Good lord!" Jonathan said. He turned and glared at the fallen Verne. Gently, he pulled the glassine ball from its seat in the armature. He cradled it in his arm and crossed over to where Verne could see it.
"Almost depleted, Verne. Almost there!" He shook his fist at the man. "If you had pulled all the energy from the ball, there would have been a reversal of energy
The man on the ground raised himself up on his elbows. "Gone?" His eyes grew large. "It has that much power?"
"Theoretically, yes." Jonathan nodded, letting his intellectual self taking control for a moment. "And that's only theory! The reality might be much more terrible. It might create a chain reaction and eventually suck the entire Universe into a spot the size of a pinhead." He swiped at the man on the ground with his foot, catching Verne's ribs solidly. He heard a satisfying grunt.
"Jonathan," the man on the ground wheezed, in obvious pain. "Join me! Between the two of us, there is no telling what miracles we might find. Together!"
"Join you?" Jonathan snorted. "Buddy, I don't even KNOW you. Who the hell are you, anyway, because you sure as heck aren't Jules Verne?"
The man on the ground didn't get a chance to answer. There was a horrible groan and a grinding of metal on metal as the gondola slid from its resting place on the back of the automobile and across the vehicle, crushing it as the gondola moved.
"What now?" Jonathan asked, looking toward the noise.
The air bag of the dirigible was collapsing, slowly folding in on itself.
"Justin!" Jonathan cried out. "What have you done now?"
The gondola slid off the body of the automobile and shoved itself at Jonathan. He dove out of the way, and the boat shaped gondola buried its nose in the ground, between Jonathan and the man on the ground. Three bodies tumbled, unceremoniously, out of gondola to sprawl on the earth.
The imposter scooted on his seat, backwards and moved out of the way of the falling airbag.
The enormous bag continued its deflation and the wooden frame carried it heavily down, trapping the men beneath it.
"Justin!" Jonathan fought to stand, pushing the fabric of the bag and the heavy undercarriage up and holding it over his head. "Justin! Get Up! I can't hold this forever!"
Justin and the boys roused and crawled out from under the collapsing dirigible, past Jonathan. When he had seen them get free of the collapsing airbag, he let one of his hands drop to his pocket. He pulled out his multi tool, and released the blade from it.
Dropping to his knees, he let the airbag fold around him. Holding his breath, he cut through the tough fabric of the airbag and stood up through the gap he had cut. Even collapsed, the wooden frame of the dirigible was still sturdy enough to hold a roof over his head, though much lower than it's original ten foot diameter. When he made it past the two airbags holding the volatile hydrogen gas and reached the nose, he cut another slit in the fabric and slipped out into the air. He breathed in great gasps of air, his hands on his knees.
"Jonathan!" Justin called into the belly of the airbag, his hands cupped around his mouth. "Are you all right? Jonathan! Answer me, damn it!"
"I'd be more fine if you'd quit yelling your fool head off." Jonathan came around to the side of the airbag where Jonathan and the boys stood, holding the side of his head. "I have a terrible headache."
"Jonathan!" Justin ran to his brother's side and bundled him in a brief, constricting hug. Pushing him away, gently, Justin said, "I was afraid you'd..."
"Ha." Jonathan said. "Not likely. It's going to take a lot more than a bump on the noggin and a dirigible falling on me." He saw the two boys standing not too far off, watching the two men. He nodded in their direction and muttered, "Please, Justin. Not in front of the boys."
Justin's attitude changed immediately once again to his ever-proper business side. He nodded and said, "Yes, well. I was a tad concerned, I will admit." He looked at the goose-egg growing on his brother's forehead, and examined it gingerly. "Are you certain that you're all right, Jonathan?"
"You should see the other guy," Jonathan said, grinning like the mad Irishman he was rumored to be. A thought crossed and he frowned. "Verne?"
Justin shook his head and frowned as well. "Gone, I'm afraid. He must not have been wounded. In my concern for you, I didn't even give him a passing thought."
Jonathan sighed. "You know he'll be back, don't you? He really wanted that crystal. He didn't even get to leave with that rugby ball you slipped in its place."
Justin nodded and smiled tightly. "Yes. I fully expect him to be back." He patted his brother on the shoulder. "We took care of him this time. We'll take care of him then. Before then, however, we shall have to put the Iris in a safe place."
"I wonder who he is?" Jonathan said.
"Oh, I'm sure we will find out," Justin answered. "You still have a call to make to your friend Nikola." Sirens were heard in the distance. Justin adjusted the sleeves of his jacket. "I imagine that will be Detective Chanders. Late, as expected."
Jonathan nodded. He looked over his shoulder at the dirigible. "Did you have to kill it?"
Justin arched a perfect eyebrow. "Really, Jonathan. Did you think I was just going to sit calmly by on that..." He pointed accusingly at the collapsed bulk. "That device while it was going up and down and up and down? It was most uncomfortable, let me tell you."
"But how did you ...?" Jonathan nodded, understanding dawning. "Your cane. Of course."
Justin smiled and pointed to the two boys. "Young Milky there proved most capable in climbing the rigging. It was actually he that did the damage." He raised a hand to his mouth and said conspiratorially, "You know Jonathan; we might have to give those boys a position with the foundation."
Jonathan smiled. "Already thought of, Justin." He turned to the boys. "Hey! Come here!"
Marion and Milky approached, almost reverently.
"Yes sir?" Milky said shyly.
Jonathan pulled himself up to his full five foot two inch height as he looked at the boys. "You two guys want a job?"
-End-
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-05 04:53 pm (UTC)(( wide scared eyes..... ))
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"Hey!" Jonathan twisted as best he could and caught one of his assailant's hands. "Would you mind not beating on me? I've got a bit of a headache here." He continued to extricate himself from where he was wedged; turning until his he... (( uh... ))
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*Wild Applause*
YAY! And she's all set up for a sequel! Wonderful!! YAY! Bravo! *whistles and stomps*
(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-05 05:26 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for all your input here, darlin' sis. I love you for it, truly, truly.
I will do a re-write of this story, incorporating your thoughts and comments, but I have so many other unfinished stories that I'm going to go back and complete. A sequel will have to wait. Plus, Mr. Tim and I are going to focus on Getting Published this upcoming year. New projects will have to wait for another time.
Love ya, dear one! )))HUGS(((