R&D Mishap Pt. 1

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Taipan Man was relaxing poolside when the call came through.  

“Yo, go for T-Man,” he answered, sipping on his absurdly large espresso martini through a curly straw.  

“Hey, it’s Phil,” replied the voice on the line. Immediately, Taipan Man sat upright, spilling his drink in his haste. In ten years, that was the most consecutive words he’d ever heard Phil say.

Something was catastrophically wrong. 

“Stay calm, I’ll be right there,” he heroically assured the R&D Assistant. 

Four hours later, Taipan Man pulled into the Testing Facility carpark. Taipan Girl was already there, her arms crossed. 

“Where have you been? You told me to get here ASAP!” Before he could answer, she grabbed his arm and tugged him away from the huddle of people who had evacuated the building. 

“Dad, I think we’re out of our depth with this one. There’s a weird, glowing light coming from the burst tester that nobody’s ever seen before, and I think I can hear it… whispering.” 

“Amy – I mean, uh, Taipan Girl,” Taipan Man corrected, spotting the R&D team edging closer to where they stood. “Whatever it is, we’re heroes. We’ll deal with it.” He patted her consolingly on the shoulder. “Besides, I don’t think the light is whispering to you.” 

“You don’t?” she asked, her shoulders sagging in relief. 

“No, I just think you’re crazy. C’mon, let’s go,” he said, marching towards the entry. 

As soon as he stepped into the cavernous facility, the hairs on Taipan Man’s arms stood up. The temperature had plummeted, and the shadows felt dense, almost tangible. He’d been here plenty of times, but it’d never felt so menacing before. He shielded his eyes from the intense brightness of a light that was, indeed, emanating from the burst tester. From this distance, he could see it ripple and pulse uneasily. 

It appeared to be growing. 

He took a single step towards it. 

“Are you insane?” Taipan Girl hissed. “Have you seen any sci-fi movie, ever? If you go near that thing, either something’s coming out of it, or you’re going into it.” 

He took another defiant step. 

“Dad, I’m serious,” said Taipan Girl. “This is a bad idea.” 

And another step. 

“If you don’t stop, I’ll tell Mum!” she blurted. Taipan Man whipped around, staring at his daughter in disbelief.  

“You wouldn’t,” he said. 

“I would. Actually, why don’t we call her right now?”. Taipan Girl pulled out her phone and began to dial. She didn’t break eye contact as she brought it to her ear. As soon as it connected, she began talking in a furious rush. 

“Hey Mum, Dad’s about to do something stupid and I’ve tried to tell him not to but he’s still-” 

Taipan Man ran at her, clawing desperately for the phone, but she ducked out of the way. 

“-making stupid decisions ‘cause he’s a big stupid idiot-” 

He tried again, this time trying to sweep her legs out from under her. She jumped the attack easily. 

“-who’s going to get us both killed!” she finished. After a beat, she held the phone out to her father. 

“She wants to talk to you,” she said smugly. He snatched it from her with a withering look and put it to his ear. 

“Okay, firstly, it’s not even in the top ten stupidest things I’ve done this week. I mean, uh, forget I said that, there’s just this light coming from the- ow!” He cut himself off, rubbing the back of his head. A Bulkhead hose tail lay at his feet. After a second, he watched as it careened through the air, disappearing with a gentle pop when it collided with the light.  

Suddenly, objects were flying around the room in a cyclonic flurry. The more objects that disappeared, the stronger the gravitational pull became. Within seconds, Taipan Man was being dragged forwards, his shoes squeaking as he tried to halt his momentum, but it was no use. He and Taipan Girl were sucked into the vortex, the light collapsing behind them.