"What the Blue Blazes?", Captain Flag stated, looking at the two identical men. He knew one was Doc Strong and the other appeared to look identical to Doc Strong but with different clothing. Instinctively and without anyone knowing, Capt. Flag scanned the men with his senses, listened to the heartbeats, used his scan vision, even smelled the sweat of both but could not discern that anything was different between the two.
"Do not be alarmed. This is me, I assure you. In fact, I think it is time the merging happens so we can move forward and do our maneuvers.", the Doc Strong wearing the khaki pants and black shirt said. "I agree. It is time.", the "original" Doc Strong stated, looking at himself.
With that, the men shook hands and a red light appeared, fluctuating, and the "original" Doc Strong seemed to disappear..into..the Doc Strong wearing the khaki pants.
"Done.", he said, straightening himself up, looking at his hands and feet. He looked about the room at the gathered men and women. "Again, do not be alarmed. This will take time to explain. In fact, time is on our side. Literally.", he said. He held up a device with a wrist strap and what appeared to be a plastic bubble on it. It was lightly luminescent and Capt. Flag could see there were strange markings, some in English and some in a language he could not identify.
"What...just happened? What is that?", Liberator asked.
"Yes, good question. First I had to merge my past self with my future self to make the time drive adjustments. I am me, trust me. In fact, I believe Captain Flag will verify that because I know he just scanned us...me.", and he looked at Captain Flag who stood in the middle of the living room, folding his arms. He looked around the group and nodded.
"Yes, that is correct. This is still Doc Strong.", he answered.
"Wow. That is some wild stuff.", Red Hawk said.
"Perhaps, but in comparison to all of you, not so dramatic.", he answered.
"Yes I believe you're right. I mean, I do transform into a giant red hawk, my wife Nyoka can grow up to 20 plus feet tall, so it is safe to say encountering time travel isn't quite so wild.", Red Hawk said.
"Don't forget about Sparky.", Blue Lady added.
"Blue!", Man O' Metal said, glaring at her as the group laughed.
"Things are really getting interesting, but we only have a few hours before our first mission. I know with our powers and abilities we can adjust, but as a team, none of us have ever operated together. How are we going to manage this mission when we've only time for some basic drills? Even during the Big One, we all had training with units, fellow soldiers and the like, and Torpedo Man with the Navy seamen and Marines. I hate to complain but I am just questioning how we're going to function so suddenly when we barely know one another, let alone function as a team.", Liberator stated.
"Your concerns are indeed valid. To answer your questions, I am indeed a time traveler but I am also an inventor and apparently I've managed to create a few things. This is a time dilator,", he said, pointing at the odd looking device he now wore on his wrist.
"A..what? Time dilator? What is it, exactly, Doc?", Man O' Metal asked.
"It means I can adjust time when and where I want, with some limitations. I can literally stop time for myself, for us, and create a time bubble as well. It is limited, however, with the number of instances it can be used.", he replied.
"Time bubble? OK, Doc, this is even over my head. Can you explain it?", Liberator asked.
"Certainly. It means while the "real" world is moving through the time stream, when I activate the time bubble, whomever is located inside it, does not move through the time stream. While seconds or minutes might pass outside the time bubble, whomever is in the time bubble, well, they will experience time at a far slower rate. Very slow, but move "normally", so to speak. The persons inside the time bubble can operate for what seems like hours or even days, but outside the time bubble...only seconds will have passed.", he said.
"Remarkable. A bit much to digest, but even that exceeds my magic bluebird ring's ability to a degree.", Blue Lady said.
"I do know we are all being thrust into this situation but with all of your Military backgrounds and experiences with missions during the War, as well as your collective powers and abilities, I believe you..and I..will adjust well. If I may say so, let's all get into our costumes and go outside and go over some maneuvers the General, and the Inner Circle laid out for us to do.", he said.
"Yes. I look forward to this. While all this has been interesting, I need action. So we will be in this..time bubble for awhile?", Torpedo Man asked.
"You got it. Since you're already geared up, Man O' Metal, come outside with me so we can determine where to run the maneuvers. I will meet the rest of you outside shortly", Doc Strong said.
"You are the leader of the Freedom Guard, so looks like we will do this!", Man O' Metal said, flexing his hands.
Each person briefly looked at one another and went into the bedrooms to gear up while Doc and Man O' Metal went outside. They looked around the ranch, and Doc said, "Well, looks like not too much has changed since I left but I know, according to my own information that Tombstone has changed quite a bit, as well as the rest of the country. Let's see, Pat, I think that ridge to the North West will suffice, what do you think? You've done this thing before. I have an idea in my head but it is just piecing together as we speak.", he said.
"Wow, Doc, you really do think and act on the fly, don't you?", Man O' Metal said.
"You could say that.", he replied.
"That is actually an excellent spot. There is some small brush and trees, and I can make out a bit of a low valley off to the side, so the terrain will be ideal for doing a number of things, especially with all our powers.", he said, nodding.
"What do you think, guys? How do we look?", Torpedo Man said as the group emerged from the ranch house, each member dressed in their superhero costumes.
A loud sonic boom was heard over head, and Captain Flag was the first to notice as he looked up to the sky. The others soon followed his gaze and looked skyward. Just as suddenly, several green colored "clouds" appeared in the sky and quickly descended, lowering to the group's presence.
Then a voice was heard as several human shaped metal figures appeared, emerging from the green mist.
"How do you look? Freedom Guard, you look like you're about to get your asses kicked!", a metallic voice stated, echoing across the desert valley.
To Be Continued.
..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The Freedom Guard Files. Introduction.
The Freedom Guard Files. Chapter I.
The Freedom Guard Files. Chapter II.
The Freedom Guard Files. Chapter III.
The Freedom Guard Files. Chapter IV.
The Freedom Guard Files. Chapter V.
The Freedom Guard Files. Chapter VI.
The Freedom Guard Files. Chapter VII.
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