Call of the Busbar Part IV

The cliffhanger from the last tale left us with an enigma that demanded immediate attention. When Colton yanked Captain Busbar through time into the present, it seemingly birthed a perplexing time paradox. To further complicate matters, the Captain Busbar from the future had somehow regained his superpowers, while the Captain Busbar of the “current day” had been recently stripped of his extraordinary abilities. As we set the scene, “current day” Captain Busbar, Ampere, Voltsmaster, Groundswell, and Colton find themselves at the boat ramp at Eaves Bluff, while the weathered Captain Busbar from the future reclines on the hood of the 1985 Ford Ranger extended cab, allowing the hot and humid Tennessee sun to dry him.

Before we could unravel the complexities of this time-twisting narrative, Groundswell shattered the silence, asking the confounding question: “Two Captain Busbars? How is this possible?” Her query, profound and perplexing, left even the sharpest minds among us bewildered. The idea of multiple Captain Busbars in the same timeline baffled many. Groundswell’s question opened a Pandora’s box of temporal puzzles. Tachyons, theoretical particles capable of faster-than-light travel, held promise in grounding theories. Some believed they were the key to understanding time manipulation, closely tied to copper’s conductive properties and the grounding lattice.

In the realm of temporal science, theories like the “Temporal Grounding Paradox” and “Copper-Chrono Resonance” circulated. Some suggested grounding components as anchors for temporal stability, while others proposed grounding frequencies could create temporal rifts.

Amid this speculation, the presence of two Captain Busbars remained a mystery. It defied all conventional reasoning, as if the laws of grounding and time conspired to create this enigma.

But “future” Captain Busbar intervened, marking the boundary between theory and reality with his solemn words. “Let me stop you right there,” he interjected, his voice bearing the weight of countless battles and years of solitude. “I was once the lone sentinel, never relinquishing my fight, for I still possessed The Shield of Grounding by my side.” He gazed at each of them, recounting the fallen and those who had disappeared from their ranks throughout the course of this convoluted story. Most had perished in the line of duty, their sacrifices forever etched into the annals of Meigsiverse history.

The story that unfolded from “future” Captain Busbar’s lips was one of unparalleled sacrifice and courage. He had spent years battling the tides of disaster, oftentimes with only minimal aid from a few thousand brave interns who had given their lives in the fight for grounding salvation.

But the pivotal moment he recounted was the day of the “big one,” an apocalyptic doomsday nuclear weapon so powerful it could obliterate entire continents. Its intended target was Baghdad, where it was meant to sow death and destruction on a colossal scale. However, the grim reality was that its detonation would usher in the extinction of all life on Earth.

Captain Busbar, resolute and unwavering, piloted the Busbarjet to intercept this cataclysmic missile head-on. As they closed in on the missile’s deadly path, it began its inexorable descent. Captain Busbar, with a courage that defied description, secured his grounding shield on his arm and kicked open the side hatch of the jet. The sudden decompression violently ejected him into the open sky. He deftly maneuvered to grab hold of the jet and, with sheer determination, hauled himself onto the nose.

The journey to that perilous position was nothing short of sensational. From the bone-chilling depressurization to the hair-raising crawl to the nose of the jet, it was a test of Captain Busbar’s unwavering resolve.

On the jet’s nose, Captain Busbar planted his feet firmly, bracing himself for what lay ahead. As a scientist and inventor, he had meticulously calculated the odds. His audacious plan was to harness The Shield of Grounding’s formidable power to absorb the cataclysmic energy of the impending blast. Just as the bomb detonated, he intended to activate the Shield of Grounding’s impervious grounding lattice shield, entrapping the explosion within its protective sphere, and inevitably sacrificing himself in the process, as he would be ensnared within the interconnecting busbars of the lattice with the cataclysm.

The missile drew closer, and Captain Busbar’s life flickered before his eyes. He recalled cherished memories, from his skirmish with the Carl Jr’s manager and the busbar he rescued there, to the camaraderie and adventure he’d shared with countless interns, as well as the myriad snacks he’d sampled. But his mind also revisited the dark moments—the wars that had ravaged the world, the loss of his dear team, and the uncertainty surrounding Colton’s fate.

With seconds to spare, the missile was visibly imminent, closing in at a terrifying pace. Captain Busbar’s lips moved silently, and in those final moments, he quietly uttered, “I can’t wait to see you guys again.” His trajectory remained unwavering, and as the bomb detonated, Captain Busbar activated the Shield of Grounding’s interconnecting lattice of busbars power.

The lattice enveloped the cataclysmic explosion, and what followed was an awe-inspiring display of grounding mastery, a symphony of busbars absorbing and dispersing energy. The blast was confined within the shielding sphere, obliterating the missile while safeguarding the world from its apocalyptic fury. But what of Captain Busbar?

“After a long slumber, I awoke in complete darkness,” he began, the words filled with a sense of profound disorientation. “My shield was radiating a faint green glow, its usual hum now oddly distorted, as if I were submerged underwater. The taste of salt lingered on my skin.”

Captain Busbar’s senses, once bound by the limitations of the mortal realm, were now amplified indefinitely, bestowing upon him a sense of empowerment beyond imagination. But this newfound might came with a startling revelation.

“I soon realized that I was under the crushing weight of the ocean’s depths,” he continued, his voice reflecting a mixture of awe and uncertainty. With a mere thought, he teleported himself to Panama City Beach, desperate to make sense of his situation.

Standing on that desolate shore, he gazed upon a world transformed. The Earth lay barren, a lifeless wasteland that had endured millennia of desolation. Captain Busbar’s mind raced, wondering why his shield emitted its eerie glow and hum. Then, like a complex interconnecting solution made of busbars, the truth dawned upon him.

In a moment of selfless heroism, he had absorbed the bomb’s cataclysmic energy, the blast casting him all the way into the depths of the arctic. There, beneath the icy waters, his grounding shield emitted untold amounts of radiation, melting the polar ice caps and irradiating the planet. His noble sacrifice had inadvertently triggered a slow, agonizing death for the world, while the bomb had cursed him with immortality.

Time, in its relentless passage, had lost all meaning. Captain Busbar’s attempts to escape the Earth’s atmosphere via teleportation had been thwarted by unceasing violent storms. He had ultimately resigned himself to solitude, descending into frequent bouts of deep hibernation, their durations unknowable.

In the midst of this narrative, the future Captain Busbar’s anger erupted like a tempest. He lunged at Colton, pinning him against a tree, the sharp edge of his shield pressed tightly against Colton’s neck. His demand thundered through the wooded landscape: “Tell me why you left me to suffer, Colton! Tell me, or I’ll end this now!”

With limited breath, Colton managed to gurgle out a cryptic response. “4.5 billion years…”

Captain Busbar’s grip eased slightly as he struggled to comprehend Colton’s enigmatic words. “What? What are you talking about?” he demanded, his voice desperate. “Explain yourself!”

Colton, his voice strained, continued to divulge the staggering truth. “The Shield of Grounding absorbed the blast of a bomb made of the most common uranium isotope, U-238. Its half-life…” he began.

Captain Busbar’s eyes widened in realization. “4.5 billion years,” he finished, understanding the implications. But he needed to know more, to grasp the full extent of his transformation. “And the rest… What about the remaining time?” he implored.

In response, Colton embarked on an intricate explanation, taking Captain Busbar on a complex journey through the realms of science, the uncharted territories of implausible phenomena, and cryptozoology. He began to unveil the long-hidden secrets behind Captain Busbar’s newfound powers.

“Captain Busbar,” Colton began, his voice resonating with the weight of untold knowledge, “the key to your regained abilities lies in a peculiar fusion of copper and uranium.” He paused allowing the gravity of his revelation to settle.

He continued, “When you absorbed the initial energy of the bomb, primarily from U-238, it created a unique interplay within your grounding shield. This interaction, unforeseen by any scientific theory, slowly transformed the uranium’s energy into a state that resonates harmoniously with copper. It was as though the two elements danced a cosmic waltz of transformation.”

Captain Busbar’s eyes widened with astonishment as Colton’s words unfolded before him like an arcane script. “You see,” Colton elucidated, “the copper within your shield acted as a catalyst, catalyzing the gradual conversion of the remaining radiation from the bomb. Over the eons you spent beneath the ocean’s depths, this process continued, reshaping the very fabric of your grounding shield.”

As the pieces of this intricate puzzle fell into place, Captain Busbar grasped the profound implications of this revelation. His powers had not merely returned; they had evolved into something entirely new, forged in the crucible of time and the alchemy of copper and uranium. The secrets of his rekindled abilities had been unveiled, and a path toward understanding had emerged from the depths of the past.

“In my quest to decipher how to change the world’s fate,” Colton said with a tremble in his voice, “I had to exhibit cosmic patience as did Captain Busbar. I chose to wait for 4.5 billion years, matching Earth’s age and the half life of the isotopes the shield had absorbed, to ensure his abilities wouldn’t inadvertently endanger the world again. During his eons of slumber beneath the ocean, his powers transformed and the isotopes were morphed and evolved. The residual uranium’s slow decay, combined with copper’s grounding properties, revitalized his abilities. They surged stronger than ever, ready to face the ancient primordial threat that once overcame us all. Time and destiny converged to bring us this pivotal moment in the Meigsiverse.

Colton concluded with a knowing smile, “You, Captain Busbar, have become a living fusion of grounding energy and radiation, a guardian of dimensions beyond our comprehension. The storm rages on, and your powers have evolved to meet the challenge.”

And so, in the swirling winds of time and the embrace of grounding secrets, Future Captain Busbar’s newfound powers had been unveiled. The enigma that had shrouded his abilities for so long had finally been unraveled, and the mysteries of the storm had yielded their secrets. With renewed purpose, both Captain Busbar’s and their faithful team gazed toward the horizon, ready to confront the challenges that awaited in the ever-evolving saga of The Call of the Busbar. As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a radiant copper hue across the landscape, they knew that, in the midst of cosmic storms and the timeless dance of elements, their journey had only just begun.