"Remember The Times"
(Episode 10)
by Christopher Elam
(based on the work of Lewis Smith)
© 2003 Christopher Elam
Dedicated to Kyoko Okada & Mitsunobu Kaneko
Jet Phoenix sat in front of the video monitor bank in the Skywatch control room, aimlessly twirling a pencil between his fingers. After all the team had been through, the only sane course of action had been to give them all some time to recuperate. So he'd given each of them a two week furlough and instructed them to take a break. He had been a bit shocked when Ken and Etsuko had left together. Apparently, they had patched things up after all. Otherwise, it had gone about as he'd expected.
Of course, someone had to stay behind to be on alert and that "someone" was him. And as the days wore on with no contact from anyone, the loneliness became more and more frustrating. He had manned the complex alone for 20 years and it had never bothered him. But that was before Skyforce had put him in charge of Jetman. The duty had filled a part of him he hadn't realized was there. And now...
Now he needed to think of something else. He desperately scanned the monitors for somewhere he was truly needed. Nothing. The Chaos Coalition had gotten quiet. Certainly they had a plan, but nothing had come of it.
Perhaps he should call Michiru. It had been weeks since he had spoken to her. He wanted to talk to her, really he did. Yet it would be dishonest of him to pretend that it wasn't painful. Thoughts of the past and the future weighed heavily on both of them.
The future. Ha. As if he had one. Skyforce taking him off active duty wasn't going to be enough. Sooner or later, his synthetic body would consume itself...unless he took himself out of action for months. And that just wasn't an option. Jetman needed him. The Earth needed him. It was his duty to soldier on until the bitter end.
Thinking of something else wasn't going well, was it?
A medium priority alert from Skyforce flashed on the console. Jet Phoenix was almost relieved as he opened channels. The face of Supreme Commander Odagiri greeted him.
"Good morning, Phoenix," the Commander said warmly. "I have a special reconnaissance assignment I'd like your team to conduct."
Jet Phoenix looked around the base. "That could be a problem. No one is here but me."
"Oh? They're not back yet?"
"Not for another four days, I'm afraid."
The Commander pondered the unexpected news. "This is bad. We need their powers and we don't have the time to call all of them back to Skywatch. Our 'situation' isn't critical, but it's very urgent."
"Well then, the solution is simple," Jet Phoenix replied. "Let me take care of it."
The Commander's rejection of his proposal was swift. "No. It's far too risky to send you out on a field mission in your condition."
"Is that so?" Jet Phoenix countered. "You said yourself that this mission was urgent but not critical. Sounds to me as if any risk involved is perfectly acceptable. I'll follow your orders, but I have no intention of letting you protect me."
After an uncomfortably long silence, Odagiri sighed. "OK," she quietly relented, "here's the situation : we're receiving field reports of a cult to overthrow the Japanese government using super technology. Dr. Komyoji himself recently received a report from his, ah, brother Jiro that he had encountered some of their agents."
"And you want me to stop them," Jet Phoenix said. "Interesting. It might be challenging, but I wouldn't be too concerned."
"There's more," the Commander continued. "We believe this group is also tied into a graverobbing incident involving the body of a woman named Yuriko Misaki."
"Sounds sick," Jet Phoenix responded, "but I'm not sure why that's important."
"It's very important," Odagiri answered. "Important enough that the Skyforce Supreme Council asked for Jetman's involvement when they were briefed on it."
"The Council, eh?" Phoenix noted. "Will I be working with your bosses? I always liked Shinmei and I had a crush on Peggy back in the old days."
Odagiri grinned a bit as the man Phoenix had once been shone through. "No, sorry. We had an agent already assigned to this case and you'll be working with him. He'll fill you in on further details. He should arrive within the hour, travelling by flying car. Good luck Phoenix...and please be careful."
As the monitor winked off, Jet Phoenix considered what she had told him. Then it dawned on him.
"Flying car?"
Sure enough, the agent soon arrived in a flying car. Jet Phoenix studied him as he stood in Skywatch's main entrance snapping his fingers nervously. He was in his 60s, slightly overweight with thinning hair and seemed dead-set on chomping the cigar in his mouth. Jet Phoenix had some difficulty in believing this was the man in charge of a case Skyforce considered important enough to ask for Jetman's involvement.
"Hi!" the agent said in an affable way as he extended his hand. "I'm Agent Daisaku Kusama! Please, call me 'Johnny'!"
***
In the hidden cave, men in hooded orange jumpsuits busied themselves with the mundane tasks of subversion. Being a minion of a secret organization bent on supplanting the government wasn't all glamour. It was hard work, too.
Two of the men wore white lab coats over their jumpsuits. They rechecked the report on their clipboard as they examined the body of an inert woman encased in a glass tube. Seemingly satisfied, they made their way to their leader.
Sitting on a jewel-encrusted throne was the man they called Doctor Diabolo. They didn't especially like calling him that, but he insisted. It was always best not to argue with cape-wearing megalomaniacs clad in gleaming suits of armor.
"Sir!" the first henchman said as they both snapped to attention. "The operation is a 100% success. Revival and power up have been achieved with solar-powered energy cells. In a short time, she will be ready to serve us!"
"Excellent!" Doctor Diabolo declared. "See to it that she is ready for our debut raid! I will inform our lord!"
The evil doctor made his way to an exalted corner of the cave and knelt before the giant stone head that commanded him. Of course, not even Doctor Diabolo believed that the idol was his true lord. It was merely his means of communication. At least that was what he assumed.
"Oh great one," Doctor Diabolo said as he prostrated himself before his master. "Our plan is almost ready to begin!"
The stone head sat silently for an extremely long period of time. Then its eyes began to glow and an almost otherworldly response emanated from it.
"I am...pleased," it boomed emotionlessly. "Soon, true power will rest with us."
***
Jet Phoenix had grown accustomed to the unusual, but even he found riding in the passenger's seat of a flying car a tad unnerving. It didn't help that his driver (or should it be pilot? He couldn't decide) was glancing over at his watch every few moments. It wouldn't have bothered him so much if it hadn't soon become apparent that the watch in question was broken.
"Care for some music?" Agent Kusama asked as he retrieved a handful of digital music discs from beside his seat.
"That would be fine, Age...Johnny," Jet Phoenix responded as the Skyforce operative slipped one of the discs into the player. "Now then, I got...What on Earth is THAT?"
The music emitted by the speakers left Jet Phoenix aghast. He had never heard anything quite like it before, and he was grateful for that. He wasn't sure he could survive long-term exposure to it.
Agent Kusama tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Do you like it? Japanese country western music by the masters - Beau Yatani And His The Last Longhorn Band. I caught a show of theirs back in 1977."
Jet Phoenix shook his head. "I'll never think of 'I Walk The Line' the same way again. Johnny Cash would be thrilled."
"I take it you'd like something else."
"Please."
Kusama fumbled through his discs. "Ah! Here's Ako Hayasaka's Greatest Hits! You must want to listen to a former Jetman!"
"Hayasaka is a wonderful woman, but her music never appealed to me," Jet Phoenix said. "May I have a look?"
Jet Phoenix sorted through the plethora of discs scattered throughout the car. Finally, he found one that was to his liking and replaced it in the player. A melodious jazz tune came from the speakers.
Jet Phoenix sighed with relief. "As I was saying, I got the basics earlier. What can you tell me about this group?"
Kusama thought for a moment. "Well, they're named Flaming and..."
"Wait a minute," Jet Phoenix interrupted. "Their name is Flaming?"
"That's right," Kusama replied, missing the point entirely.
Jet Phoenix resigned himself. "Please continue."
"Our information on their specifics is sketchy, but they apparently haven't been operating for long. They're not terribly organized at all. The theft of Yuriko Misaki's body has been their only major attack, so we want to stop them now."
"Why is this Misaki woman so important?" Jet Phoenix asked. "It's a horrible crime, but I don't understand the significance."
"You don't?" Kusama responded. "Are you familiar with the term 'kaizo ningen'?"
"That would be a cyborg, correct?"
"After a fashion," was Kusama's answer. "Hold on, I'm going to land this crate."
The Skyforce agent brought his flying car down in a safe area at the foot of the mountains they would be exploring. He unbuckled his seatbelt and rummaged through the backseat.
"That book is here someplace..." he mumbled. "Ah-ha!"
Kusama picked up the well-worn book and thumbed through it quickly until he found the page he sought. "This is Yuriko Misaki."
Kusama handed Jet Phoenix the book and Jetman's commander examined the page. His eyes widened as he read and saw exactly who Yuriko Misaki was. Whatever this "Flaming" had planned for her, it was bound to be dangerous for everyone.
***
"So the base is here?" Jet Phoenix queried as he surveyed the area with Agent Kusama. "Where, exactly?"
"I, ah, don't know," Kusama admitted. "I'm hoping we can dig up some clues as we go along."
Jet Phoenix and Agent Kusama set out on their blind quest. Jet Phoenix began to wonder what kind of mess he'd been conned into joining. Searching the area alone would be a massive undertaking for a full squadron. With two men, it bordered on hopeless.
Just then, he spotted a figure ambling towards them. He readied himself for anything, then relaxed a bit as he got a better look.
"A Flaming henchman?" Kusama asked.
Jet Phoenix stifled a chuckle at the unintentional joke. "No. Not unless they employ particularly unsubtle gaijin as agents."
"A foreigner? How can you tell?"
Jet Phoenix looked over at Kusama. "He's at least 200 centimeters tall and wearing a cowboy hat. What do you think?"
"That's great! I'm fairly fluent in English," Kusama told Jet Phoenix. "I spent some time in America. That's where I picked up the name 'Johnny'."
"Oi kimi!" the approaching man called to the two of them and they looked at each other in confusion.
"Do you speak Japanese?" Kusama inquired in flawless but heavily accented English.
The tall man stepped up to them. "Hai! Watashi no Mark Oji-san watashi no Nihongo sensei deshita. Anata wa Skyforce kara no futari desu ka?"
"We are from Skyforce, that's correct," Jet Phoenix confirmed. "Who are you?"
The man tipped his hat. "'Wild' Bill Jackson sanjo! Watashi wa puroresu no hoshi. Watashi wa 'Hotshot' Johnny Flash o-mo tsuta All-Asia tag team champion desu."
"A pro wrestler then?" Jet Phoenix said. "So why on Earth are you out here?"
"Tozan wa tanoshii!" Wild Bill drawled.
"I...see," Jet Phoenix replied. "Perhaps you can help us. Have you seen anything unusual here?"
"Orange jumpsuits o-chakuyô shiteiru ningen no yôni?"
"Yes!" Jet Phoenix exclaimed. "We're looking for men in orange jumpsuits! Can you guide us to where you saw them?"
A short time later, after following Wild Bill's directions, Jet Phoenix and Agent Kusama were peering down a rock embankment. Below them was the entrance to the cave.
"Looks as if we have a winner, Johnny," Jet Phoenix whispered.
"Are you sure? I don't see any of them around."
"It's the only place around," Jet Phoenix answered. "They're not likely to have a neon sign above it that says 'Villain Headquarters'. Don't you agree?"
"HANDS UP!" a gruff voice barked.
Jet Phoenix kicked himself for letting his guard down as he rose with his hands held high. A quintet of masked men clad in orange jumpsuits kept their rifles carefully trained on him and Agent Kusama.
"You two interlopers will have to face the wrath of our leader!" the group's head honcho snarled as he began to march Phoenix and Kusama to the cave.
Jet Phoenix mentally shrugged. Oh well, this was what he wanted anyway. At least he wouldn't have to sneak around to get there.
***
Jet Phoenix and Agent Kusama were led into the secret headquarters of the mad sect Flaming. On the outside, it looked to be a perfectly inoffensive cave. On the inside, there were super-scientific gadgets all over the place and henchmen milling around doing their best to look busy, whether they were or not.
The metal-clad chief of the operation greeted them. "Welcome fools! I am Doctor Diabolo and you have stumbled upon your own doom!"
"Don't you mean Doctor Diablo?" Kusama asked, regretting his curiosity immediately.
"No!" Doctor Diabolo fumed. "Doctor Diabolo, as in "diabolical", which I am. Don't question my name!"
Jet Phoenix leaned over to his comrade. "Nice one, Johnny."
"I was just asking," Kusama sheepishly countered.
"I am sure I know why you are here, my garish guests!" Doctor Diabolo pronounced, failing to realize he was rather garish himself. "You intend to stop our magnificent plans!"
"What are they, anyway?" Jet Phoenix queried.
"We will topple the government of Japan!"
"For what purpose?"
Doctor Diabolo became flustered. "Because we can!" he sputtered. "We serve the will of Big Face!"
Phoenix and Kusama looked at each other. "Big...Face?"
"Yes!" Doctor Diabolo declared as he pointed to the corner where the idol sat. "Big Face!"
The prodigious idol sat menacingly in the corner. Its eyes lit up as it prepared to address its disciples.
"Enough preliminaries!" it intoned. "Let them be the first to fall before our pawn!"
Doctor Diabolo clasped his hands together. "A wise decision. Oh, Misaki!"
The young woman stepped out of the shadows, looking for all the world like she had arrived from the past. For her, time had stopped in 1975. She was beautiful, but devoid of any expression. The metal collar around her neck insured her loyalty to her new masters.
"They did it!" Kusama gasped. "They brought her back!"
The young woman moved her arms in a circular motion, "Henshin!" she shouted and there was a blinding flash of dazzling multi-colored light. A transformation was triggered and the woman that had been Yuriko Misaki stood before all assembled garbed in a sleek red and yellow costume.
"Super Ningen Tackle!" she announced.
"Kill the two intruders!" Doctor Diabolo ordered loudly.
"Johnny, hold back," Jet Phoenix cautioned as he drew his Wing Sword. "Leave this to me."
Tackle approached him, detaching an object from the side of her belt. She pressed a button on it and a shaft of cohesive light flashed out of it in the form of a sword blade.
"Kotana!" she declared as she lunged for her two victims.
Jet Phoenix blocked her with his Wing Sword. She was so strong, it took all the power of his synthetic muscles to hold her off. He drew a knee up and drove it into her.
She didn't even flinch. Instead, she lifted her right leg up at a seemingly improbable angle and drove her heel into the back of Jet Phoenix's head. He barely was able to push her away as he tumbled to the floor.
Jet Phoenix looked down at his Wing Sword. Damn. The heat from the Kotana had melted his blade. So much for that. He tossed it aside. He hated to use the Wing Gauntlet's beams on a human, but he didn't see an alternative. He fired the energy bolts at his opponent.
He needn't have worried. Tackle used her Kotana to easily deflect the beams. Jet Phoenix cursed under his breath. He wasn't about to roll over and die in a cave to satisfy the whims of some rock.
Jet Phoenix charged at his opponent. He slammed a fist into her midsection and began to pummel her for all he was worth. She responded in kind and each heaped considerable abuse on the other.
"I know you're in there Misaki!" Jet Phoenix seethed. "The person you used to be is still there."
Tackle didn't blink, but Jet Phoenix continued undaunted. "Being a henshin hero isn't about being a kaizo ningen! Or a jinzo ningen! It isn't about weapons or armor or anything like that! It's about heart! You had the heart of a hero in your day! Find it again!"
Tackle stopped, her dazed eyes seeming to register something. Her hands fell limply to her sides.
"Remember what it was like!" Jet Phoenix yelled. "Remember the times!"
Tackle's hands suddenly went to her head. Her formerly blank mind was filled with names like "Black Satan", "Dr. Keito", "Tobei Tachibana", and "Shigeru Jo". The memories flooded her consciousness like a tsunami.
"ARRRRRRRRRRGH!" she screamed. "I remember!"
The collar around her neck sparked and shorted out. She ripped it from her body and stood examining herself.
"Where am I?" she wondered. "The last thing I remember..."
Jet Phoenix stopped her. "That's not important right now. What's important is that your will is your own again. Welcome back, Yuriko Misaki. Or should I say Super Ningen Tackle?"
***
Doctor Diabolo was beside himself. "Chikushô!" he swore angrily. "She's freed herself! We need to bring out our kaijin!"
Upon hearing those words, Jet Phoenix, Tackle, and Agent Kusama readied themselves for the worst. They got it, but not the way they expected. A cloud of smoke poofed out of the floor and before them was a rotund, blue humanoid something or other.
"Attack - BURUBOI!" Doctor Diabolo ordered.
Jet Phoenix and Tackle exchanged quizzical glances. Phoenix hung his head.
"Buruboi. What kind of day is this?" he grumbled.
The ridiculousness of the situation became secondary as the monster and the orange-suited henchmen converged on them. "Johnny, try to get that crazy doctor!" Jet Phoenix shouted. "We'll take care of this thing!"
Kusama snapped his approval as he whipped out his laser pistol. Despite his age, he was still a crack marksman. He took out the Flaming men with almost frightening ease as Jet Phoenix and Tackle raced towards Buruboi.
Phoenix and Tackle each landed a fist to Buruboi's body. The creature's legs became rubbery with only two punches. Apparently, Flaming didn't build kaijin to last.
"Hi there," Kusama called to his companions. Jet Phoenix looked over and smiled. The man whose abilities he had questioned had Doctor Diabolo in a headlock while holding a laser gun to his head. The few remaining Flaming henchmen were too petrified to move.
"Can you handle this loser?" Phoenix asked Tackle as he pointed a thumb at the bulbous Buruboi.
"Leave it to me!" Tackle confirmed as she struck her fighting pose.
Jet Phoenix took off and flew over to where Kusama held Doctor Diabolo prisoner. "And now, the bad doctor here will take us to meet Big Face!"
Meantime, Buruboi surged toward Tackle. She scooted backward and was rocked by Buruboi's forearm to her head. She was rusty, no question. Time to rectify that problem.
"Tackle Chop!" she shouted as she delivered a fierce karate chop to Buruboi's squishy neck. The creature wobbled again.
"Tackle Punch!" she shouted as she threw a haymaker directly into Buruboi's jiggly stomach. The monster plopped backward.
Now. "Tô!" Tackle exclaimed as she launched herself into the air. She did a flip as she hung above her opponent, then came speeding down with her foot aimed directly at the hapless Buruboi.
"Tackle Kick!"
Buruboi exploded on contact. Gelatinous goop flew everywhere, but fortunately wasn't sticky. Tackle brushed the remnants of her foe away. She did still have what it took.
She looked around. There were no more henchmen. They had all been beaten into submission. The only people still standing were Jet Phoenix and Agent Kusama. Well, Doctor Diabolo was conscious too, but he was hardly standing.
"It will never work! You will never beat us!" Diabolo screamed from his prone position on the floor.
"Quiet," Kusama said as he drove his heel into the Doctor's neck. "We already have."
"The problem is just ol' stoneface here," Jet Phoenix said as he examined the Big Face idol carefully. "I think it must be a relay device. It hasn't made a peep since this started."
Tackle walked up on their discussion. "Let's find out."
The young woman concentrated, slamming her left fist into her right palm. Phoenix and Kusama could see something big was going to happen and backed away. They didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.
"Cho Denpa Nage!" Tackle screamed as her left hand sent forth a destructive pulse of electric waves. Big Face cracked open like an eggshell. Inside, a scrawny, bespectacled teenager manned the controls of the idol.
"Pay no attention to the boy inside the idol," he meekly muttered into the microphone. The jig was up.
***
"Simply astonishing," a still dumbfounded Jet Phoenix repeated as he accompanied Agent Kusama and Tackle to the Skywatch entrance. "An entire organization masterminded by a 13-year old boy!"
"The mansion he had under the cave is what gets me," Kusama added. "We'll be examining that place for years! One hell of a hobby for a kid, and I should know!"
"In a way, I'm grateful he had so many fools following him," Tackle said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
"There's so much about what happened to you that we don't understand," Jet Phoenix observed. "Can't I convince you to stay to undergo tests?"
Tackle shook her head as she reached the doorway. "I've been gone too long as it is. And I know it sounds bizarre, but...I hear them calling me. Hongo, Ichimonji, Kazami, Sh-Shigeru...all of them - they want me to join them. It's my destiny."
Tackle strapped on a red crash helmet as she sat astride her motorcycle in front of Skywatch. "I have to go. But if you ever need me, Super Ningen Tackle will be there for you!"
Tackle revved her motorcycle and sped away. She wasn't even out of sight of Skywatch before a group of outré motorcyclists joined her. Instinctively, they had known that one of their own had returned. They wanted to welcome their sister back to the fold.
"There she goes," Jet Phoenix noted. "I still have no idea where that motorcycle came from in the first place."
"It's a shame," Kusama said as he lit a cigar and puffed on it. "I was going to ask her out on a date. Not many women her age look so good!"
Jet Phoenix cast Kusama an askance glance. "Johnny, how did you wind up so odd?"
"Would you believe I had a strange childhood?" Kusama asked and then he winked at his companion.
Jet Phoenix couldn't suppress his laughter. It had been a day of one absurdity piled on top of another. Now that it was over, it was just too funny.
Kusama put a hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "Seriously, thanks. Working with you reminded me of a buddy of mine. A couple of them, actually. It was nice to get the old feeling again."
The old feeling. It had felt good to see action again after too many months on the sidelines. And that speech? Maybe Ryu Tendo had rubbed off more on him than he knew. Maybe he was finally getting used to this hero business.
Jet Phoenix shook Agent Kusama's hand. For one brief moment, it had been just like old times.
TO BE CONTINUED
Jetman returns from their furlough, but can they deal with the simmering tensions that have developed among them? And what of the Chaos Coalition? Will their new monsters spell the end of our heroes? Learn the answers in RETURN OF JETMAN Episode 11 - "The Nexus Of The Crisis"!
Story © Christopher Elam, based on the TV series CHOJIN SENTAI JETMAN and the original "Return of Jetman" stories by Lewis Smith. JETMAN and all characters from the CHOJIN SENTAI JETMAN series © TV Asahi/Toei/Toei Agency. Yuriko Misaki/Tackle © Ishimori Pro./Toei. Daisaku Kusama © Hikari Pro./Toei. Original characters © Christopher Elam & Lewis Smith.
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