Collaborative Fiction The Greatest Day

   There was a psychedelic swirl of colors and feelings of being stretched and contorted before emerging on the other side of the vortex.  There was a figure sitting in a fetal position kept together by sheer force of will.  The energy was familiar to Astra.  It was the energy of her friend Doug.

    "Doug?  It's me, Kevin," Astra started, "well, Keri now.  How did you end up here?"

    "Kevin?  You feel like Kevin but you don't look like Kevin.  Are you a trick by this place?" Doug was confused.  An astral armor surrounded his form.  He was preparing to fight.

    "I was afraid this might happen," Starmaster stated.  He prepared to fight.  "You should be prepared to fight.  We might not be able to resolve this peacefully."

    "I think we can," Astra confirmed.  "Doug, it's me, Kevin.  The aliens did this to me.  Just as they somehow trapped you here on the Astral plane.  I'm here to help you."

    Doug thought for a moment...

...or he appeared to be thinking...

A force grappled both Astra and Starmaster from behind them. The pressure hurt like the worst brain freeze imaginable, but all over their bodies. Starmaster concentrated on his telepathic shielding, as did Astra. One of the first things any psionic person faced learning was how to keep the minds and thoughts of others overpowering them. Together, their bodies took on the look of armored beings, just as Doug sported, as they protected their minds from the onslaught.

An astral form of Wyldfyre appeared from the gray nothingness around them. "Hey, buddy. Kevin wants you to back off. He doesn't know either of you."

The whoosh of Wyldfyre's fire powers erupted as a wall of flames sprung up between the two heroes and the two other astral beings.

"Doug," Astra tried to scream over the flames. She took a step forward and could felt herself warm from the barrier, despite the lack of fuel to support the element of the physical world. You can trust me. I have been and always will be your friend!"

Starmaster tilted his head to one side just enough to indicate his confusion. "You're not Wyldfyre. Why are you making yourself look like him?"

"What's wrong? Scared of me like always? You've still nothing but a coward." Wyldfyre's translucent form said. "Keep away from him. Both you and the girl. We don't trust your kind anymore."

"Our kind?" Astra said. "What are you talking about?"

"He's called out for help for years. Things have tried to hurt him. Over and over, they've made their way here, but never his real friends. Always something trying to trick him. Well, I'm here to protect him now. Like a friend should. I've got his back, bitch, so back the hell out of here!" The flames of the impossible fire grew higher.

"Back away, Astra," Starmaster said as he withdrew from the inferno. "He doesn't know me and you're not as he remembered you."

"Why is something that looks like Wyldfyre here?" Astra followed her companion back.

"I think Doug is pulling from my memories. Wyldfyre is my oldest friend. We've known each other since childhood, just like you and Doug. " Starmaster said. "We need to play into this, somehow, to earn Doug's trust. I'm sure Futurina has told you about some of the threats that haunt the Astral Plane. He's built this... environment to protect himself."

Astra's heart reeled from the pseudo-Wyldfyre's statement about Doug calling out for help for years. Why hadn't she heard his calls? She let down her best friend without ever knowing of his need. She should have been looking more and harder for him from the very beginning. How could he ever forgive her now?

    "I'm so sorry, Doug," Astra said.  "You reached out to me in Keenesburg and I've been trying to find you.  Apparently I let you down.  I want you to know your parents never stopped looking and neither have I.  I have help friends, and fought demons even held monsters at bay, but I have always believed you were out there somewhere and that I would find you.  I'm sorry I don't look the same as you remember, the aliens that abducted us changed me too.  If you reject me based on my appearance then I have no choice but to leave you behind."

    "Kevin?" Doug questioned.  "Is that really you?"  The fake Wyldfyre dropped the flames.

    "Yes, it's me, Kevin," Astra stated.  "This is Starmaster.  He is a friend and we both know Wyldfyre.  He may be brash and unapologetic, but he has a heart of gold.  You drew upon that when you made your version.  We're not here to hurt you.  We want to bring you home if it's possible.  Can we see you?"

    "Okay," Doug said.  Wyldfyre disappeared and there was Doug on the astral plane wearing the clothes he was abducted in, curled up in a protective ball.  A field of psionic energy surrounded him keeping him in a protective bubble.  It was Doug.  Stuck there in the astral plane for who knows how long.  How could they bring him home?

With the threat gone, Astra moved up to Doug. He looked at her and she saw the exhaustion that infiltrated every centimeter of his building. She could hardly believe she found him at last. "We can guide you back home, Doug."

"That might not be possible, Astra," Starmaster whispered in her mind. "I'm not sensing anything linking him to a corporeal form. Can you?"

Astra scowled, anger welling up inside of her. She and Starmaster's physical forms rested within the Star Force HQ. For every astral traveler, there was typically a silver cord or some representation of the connection between mind and body. While training with Futurina, Astra compared the connection to a soap bubble stretching out from a wand, mainly because Futurina warned her how vulnerable these cords could be. You must be careful while traveling in the astral plane while separated from your body. As long as your connection is present, you can snap back with little effort. If it is lost, there is a fair chance you might not find it again.

Some uses of psychic powers transported the physical form, removing it from one location and moving it through the astral plane, such as when she and Starmaster teleported. Starmaster had a unique ability she hoped to learn where he could 'store' inanimate objects in his Mindscape, or as he called it, a mental closet, only to summon them at will. If they wanted to get Doug back to his parents, they needed his physical body. "Doug, I need you to listen carefully to what I am saying. There is a reason you can't communicate with your parents, even though you think you can see and hear them. You are on the Astral Plane. When you are here, you can sometimes sense or feel things that you normally couldn't."

"Am I a ghost?" Doug asked. He trembled a bit while he communicated the question, his mouth moving to the words of the question as if he asked the question aloud.

Astra felt her chest tighten at the question. She wanted to ease his mind and say no, but it was possible. Some ghosts were strong enough to exist on the Astral Plane. Beings that passed in life but had a will or purpose strong enough to hold together after their physical life ended. "You're simply lost. We have to get you back home, that's all. What do you remember last before you came to be here?  Did you get free of the aliens or did they do this to you?"

    Doug thought for a moment.  "I was driving home with Kevin after a track meet.  The truck died and we were surrounded by a bright light.  Next thing I know we're both on some tables unable to move being taken in two different directions.  Some big headed aliens want me to give consent and then inject me with something.  I feel a sense of great happiness and my body disappears.  I guess that wasn't supposed to happen because I'm watching it from above and they're all confused." 

    "They accidentally severed his connection,"  Starmaster conveyed to Astra.

    "There must be something we can do," Astra returned.  "What if we gave him a new body to inhabit?  I have a new Robotic henchman."

    Astra returned her attention to Doug, "It sounds like they accidentally destroyed your body.  We're thinking of how to help you return.  We can give you a Temporary body to inhabit.  Then we can come up with a more permanent solution."

    "I'm not sure about this," Starmaster cautioned.

    "We have to do something.  We can't just leave him here after looking for so long.  He even successfully reached out to me," Astra reminded Starmaster.

"Doug has been through a lot and I'm not saying that we shouldn't help him," Starmaster said through his mental connection to Astra. "My concern is rushing the process. We need to know more about his mental state before we try to alter his environment.'

Astra took a second look at Doug and tried to order the multiple options that came to mind. She wanted to help him. She wanted to reunite him with his family and give him what she never received. She wanted to save him. He looked so helpless, her heart couldn't help but to ache. What good was she as a hero if she couldn't save her best friend?

"What do you suggest, Starmaster?--," she put a hand up to him before he could respond, fearful that Starmaster would do to Doug what she witnessed his league doing to Highlander. Isolation in a cage wouldn't be acceptable for Doug. "--But know that leaving him here or locking him away, no matter what your reason is, will not be an option."

"I don't want that any more than you do, Astra,"Starmaster thought back to her, along with his emotional sense of pain to her words. "But Futurina would say the same thing, I believe. She would understand the psychic shock Doug would experience if we simply took him from this protected safehouse he is in. Rushing this could do more harm than good."

Astra wished Futurina was here to help. Starmaster's caution made sense, but he didn't FEEL the same way she did about Doug. His soul didn't ache like hers did to help him. She wanted to trust the Star Force founder, but she didn't know if she could with something so precious to her, but she knew she could trust Futurina. "I want to talk to Futurina about this. Can you help me do that?"

Starmaster nodded. "You keep your focus on Doug. Keep him calm. I don't know what defenses he might have subconciously put in place to prevent psychic activity to the Astra Plane."

With that, Starmaster took a step back from her and his astral body seemed to dim in brightness, as if he stepped into a shadowy corner of a room. A brief pulse of psychic energy washed over Astra, centered from Starmaster's body, as she turned her full attention back to Doug.

When the pulse struck him, he shuddered as if struck by a cold wind. His eyes opened wide.

Astra could sense a surge of power coming from within him. Obviously, the pulse surprised him. "Doug, there's nothing to worry about. Starmaster is calling for help for me."

"NNOoooo. They're going to find me. Don't let them take me again." Doug huddled into a tight ball.

Around his body, three beings popped into existence. Astra recognized them immediately. These were the aliens that abducted her and Doug in the first place.

    The shock of seeing Doug manifest the aliens that abducted them took Astra back a second, but she had fought them earlier today.  "Doug, why are you manifesting them?" Astra asked.  She came up with an idea.  One of good times and good music.  She manifested the classic rock group Aerosmith singing "Walk This Way" it was their favorite song, and they would blare it anytime it came on the radio in that truck.

https://youtu.be/4B_UYYPb-Gk

    She realized Doug was manifesting things from fear and negative emotions.  It was best to counter those emotions with happy and positive emotions rather than the combative nature she displayed earlier.  Futurina had helped her by bringing out the positive first to combat the negative that she felt when she first came back.

    The Manifested aliens had a look of shock and backed away when they suddenly shifted to a crowd enjoying the music.  It was glorious to watch and Astra smiled in her Astral form.  She could see Doug relax a little but knew it wouldn't last unless she could bring up other good memories.

***
    Starnaster reached out to Futurina, He had conveyed what was going on.  "Starmaster, what would you like to know from me?  As you know I cannot enter the Astral plane unaided.  My experiences there are limited,"  Futurina reminded him.

"Astra is desperate to aid her friend Doug," Starmaster said to Futurina, speaking telepathically across the Astral Plane. "He's been isolated, protecting himself by sheer instinct while being separated from his native body for years. I'm afraid that the shock of being brought into the physical plane in his current state of mind in an artificially created body is going to do great harm to his psyche. Do you have any advice on how to perform this activity."

Futurina pondered on the question. One of the great perils of entering the Astral Plane was having your bond to your body severed. Most minds couldn't survive the process. Doug's ability to do so meant he must have had a strong will and sense of identity when his "silver cord" was cut or his native body destroyed. Starmaster was right to be concerned. Doug couldn't survive the experience without having some serious trauma or P.T.S.D. from his experiences. One of the most common results of such a dire encounter was the formation of a poltergeist, a supernatural being with a purpose to wreak havoc and destroy.

Astra would need to be very careful with how she proceeded.

    Starmaster reentered to see the Areosmith concert.  "It is you, Kevin," Doug stated.  "You came for me.  What took you so long?"

    "Well, as you can see, I didn't leave unchanged by those aliens either," Astra said.  "I go by Keri now." She smiled at him.  She wondered how and if Starmaster would agree to let him come back with them.

    "Be very careful, or we might have a poltergeist on our hands," Starmaster cautioned.

    "I used what is call cognitive therapy to calm him down,"  Astra told him.

    "How can I go home without a body?" Doug asked.

    "We've been thinking on that," Astra commented.  "We have three options, the choice is yours.  One, we could create a Astral Decompression chamber that you may inhabit while we create a cloned body for you.  Two, You could be transferred to a holoroom while we clone you a body.  Three, we could have you inhabit a robotic body while we clone you a new body."

    "I could be a robot?  Like a transformer?" Doug questioned with excitement.
   
    "I thought you might like that," Astra smiled.  "I don't know if you'd actually be able to transform, but you would be able to move and interact with everybody."

    "Sign me up!" Doug exclaimed.  Starmaster was surprised by this and they prepared to go back to the Star Force HQ returning to their bodies.  Astra summoned her new Robotic henchman and had Catalyst on hand if anything went wrong.

"We're going to need you to let us out from behind this... barrier if you can, Doug,"  Starmaster said. "Can you do that?"

I don't know,"  Doug said. "I didn't know I even created it."

"Astra, why don't you try to help him. You've done a great job so far. I think he trusts you enough to let you deepen your connection."

Astra offered Doug her hand. He looked at it for a moment as if he forgot what the gesture meant for him to do. Slowly, he placed his palm against hers and they twined their fingers together.

Being in contact with his astral self, Astra could feel his powers feeding the bubble he created, an Astral safe-zone. "This is how you are doing it. It is like when I create a shield to protect myself from harm. Just relax your thoughts here."  Astra guided Doug to power down.

The environment shifted back to the norm of the Astral Plane that she and Starmaster first entered.

"Very good. We wouldn't want him to leave any of himself here when we return." Starmaster said. "Catalyst is ready. He's working on some modifications that Doug might like, but if the two of you are ready, we can do this."

    Doug's eyes opened for the first time in his new robotic body.  He saw Astra and Starmaster first, then he saw Catalyst checking if everything was working.  He moved his hand and saw it was robotic.  He sat up.

    "How do you feel, Doug?" Astra asked.  He could hear her heartbeat and noticed concern on her face.  He also knew this was his best friend from school and would never miss the chance to mess with him.

    "Damn, Kevin, I've heard of a glow up but that's ridiculous," Doug commented noticing his new voice.  This caused Astra to laugh.

    "I told you," Astra began, "It's Keri now."  She looked at him and went somber.  "I'm glad we could get you a temporary body, but we have to get some genetic material to clone you a new body."

    "This is fun," Doug turned to Catalyst.  "What can this body do?"

    "I modified it to react to thoughts," Catalyst began, "alter form to give weapons and allow you to fly."  He showed Doug some schematics.  "Nanite and Morphon infused."  Doug Altered his arm into a shield.

    "Cool," Doug was amazed.  Astra was almost afraid to tell him what comes next.

    "Doug," Astra started, "We have to let them know."

    "Who?" Doug questioned.  He changed his arm into a gun.

    "Your parents," Astra returned.  "They never stopped looking for you.  They need to know what happened and what we're doing to fix things."  Doug stopped for a moment.

    "You're right," Doug agreed.  "They need to know, but how do we explain this?"

    "We start with how this came about.  How you became disembodied," Astra commented.  "We can ask Krystal Fae for help when she gets back from the Fae realm."  

Catalyst beamed as he fiddled with Doug's systems. Building the HQ Sentinel was a chore, but giving Doug a body back to use was everything Catalyst dreamed of doing. Using his knowledge and abilities to help people. "I've given the robotic chassis a very powerful, self-replenishing power source. You shouldn't ever need to replace it, but if you do use the enhanced abilities too strenuously, you will need to give it time to build back. There is an emergency back-up, but try not to need to use it."

"Thanks. Does that mean I don't need to eat or... you know, number 2?" Doug asked.

"Biological systems are fully functional, and I recommend utilizing them. The more like a human you can live, the easier it is not to suffer neural-operational degradation." Catalyst said.

"Huh?" Doug looked confused.

"If you are going to be put into a human body after being in this for some time, you don't want to have to relearn how to do certain things. By keeping them as part of your psionic-mechanical existence, you should regain the skills."

"I get it. When I get in a cloned body, I don't want to need to wear a diaper." Doug said.

"Yes," Catalyst replied. "Let me know if there is anything else you want. I did give your new body a internet interface and Netflix subscribtion, so when you emulate sleeping, you can surf the web or watch some of the movies you've missed since you have been away."

"You're the best, man," Doug smilled. "I haven't been able to watch any of Arx's latest blockbusters in so long. I bet I've missed some good ones. Is he still making movies?"

Astra winced. "I think there are a few big events I should catch you up on, Doug. The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and many other beings we thought were only stories are, or were, really aliens living up to the myths they chose to become. Krampus was real too, but he's gone now. And Arx kinda went crazy and is a villain now."

Doug rolled his eyes and laughed. "You big goof. You're always trying to play pranks on me. I may be in a new body, but I wasn't born yesterday."

Starmaster pulled Astra aside as Catalyst fiddled with more of Doug's nanite programming. "It was an adventure, Astra. I'm very pleased this worked out as it did for you."

Astra nodded. The reality of everything that had transpired began to set in. She felt as if she had won the lottery, but couldn't stop staring at the numbers on the winning ticket in case they changed. "Thanks."

"Just so you know, you're always welcome to stop in an visit," Starmaster said, but he paused for a few seconds before walking away as if he wanted to say more. "Or more than a visit, if you would like."

"Hmmm," Astra said. "What's that?"

"I know you've got a league that you are involved with, but if you would ever like to consider joining the Star Force-," Starmaster shrugged, "-the door would be open for you. You've got a lot to think about right now, so no pressure or anything. Just a back-burner option should it ever interest you."

Epilog (done by request of the OP)

~~diinng-bonnnggg~~

An outline of a man appeared through the translucent curtain covering the window of the door, gazing at the visitors on the porch.

The door opens.  "Hello, Keri... who's your friend?"

"Hi, Mr. Woods... surely you recognize Ms. Fae... she's in the papers and on the newsfeeds all the time."

"Ah yes... pleased to meet you Ms... Fae, was it?", he replied.

"Mr. Woods...", Keri started, then paused.

"...We've found him... we... I... found Doug.", Keri continued in almost a whisper.

The man turned a bit pale, and as he began to sink towards the floor, Krystal made a gesture and a chair appeared under him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the shocked couple sat and listened, Keri slowly explained how she located the couple's only son and his present predicament, vis-a-vis, his current lack of a living body.

"Krystal, besides being a member of BADGE, and numerous other achievements has proposed a solution to this problem.  You see, she's a geneticist, and believes it would be possible to 'grow' a new body for him.", explained Keri.

Krystal nodded, then took up the conversation.

"Did Doug ever have blood drawn for a medical test?  Is his room as he left it, or have you packed everything away? I just need to find some cellular remnant of his original body.", Krystal explained.

His mother teared up for a moment, then reached up to her neck and removed a locket.
"I have a lock of his hair in here... could that work?", she asked shakily.

Examining the hair, Krystal found that several strands had a follicle.

"I will need to run tests to be certain, but I believe that might do it.", she replied.