by Addar Norton
The ships continued to hover ominously over the cities of Australia, casting long shadows that darkened the streets below. By now, the heroes had managed to identify who was controlling these floating monstrosities, which was surprising given that the total intelligence of the ships could fill the shell of a walnut, as Austar had remarked disdainfully. An ant has more intelligence than these blokes, she thought. Who would provide advanced ships like these to such a bunch of dimwits? Either a criminal mastermind or someone with the most warped sense of humour ever, she mused. The jury was still out on that one.
In the heart of King George Square in Brisbane, Austar floated about ten metres off the ground, her eyes fixed on the ships that loomed above like dark clouds ready to unleash a storm. The Roo had contacted her earlier through the police, relaying the news that the Melbourne hero, Reef, had actually managed to infiltrate one of the ships. From within, Reef had discovered that the individuals controlling the vessels called themselves the Offspring, adopting the names of legendary nineteenth-century bushrangers like Ned Kelly and Captain Thunderbolt.
Well, can’t say this gig is boring, Austar thought, a wry smile creeping onto her face despite the gravity of the situation. Somehow, they had to get these ships out of the Australian skies. Initially, there had been discussions about the Australian military shooting them down, but they held off when someone pointed out that the fallout would rain down on civilians, likely destroying Australia’s three major cities. Typical military thinking: if they didn’t understand something, they simply blew it up and figured out what it was later.
Austar sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. She had only been at this super-hero gig for a short while, and already a spaceship was hovering over her city. I wonder if Superman or Batman had days like this when they were just starting out, she pondered, shaking her head at the absurdity of it all.
***
Meanwhile, the Roo stood on a rooftop in Sydney, gazing up at the ships with a furrowed brow. He had just finished a conversation with Austar in Brisbane and planned to confer with Reef later on. Something strange about the ships had caught his attention, and that observation, combined with what Reef had told him, piqued his curiosity.
Pulling out a pair of high-powered binoculars, the Roo focused intently on the ship above Sydney. A nagging feeling tugged at him; it seemed too simple, and the so-called Offspring didn’t appear to have enough brains to build even one spaceship, let alone three large ones. He squinted, noticing something unusual. A bird flew near the ships, then suddenly disappeared, only to reappear on the other side.
“Well, well,” the Roo said, a grin spreading across his face. “It seems the ships aren’t real at all. There is something up there, but not what I see before me.” He had been wondering how Reef had reached the middle of the ship so quickly; she claimed she hadn’t been inside for long. It must be a solid hologram! he realised. Humans recognised certain things in the visible spectrum, but birds and other animals relied on senses beyond sight.
With newfound determination, the Roo jumped down from the building, landing lightly on the pavement below. He spotted a police officer nearby, a young bloke with a look of bewilderment on his face as he stared up at the ships. “Oi, mate!” the Roo called out, striding over. “I need you to patch me through to Melbourne and Brisbane. It’s urgent!”
The officer blinked, still trying to process the sight of a super-hero standing before him. “Uh, right! Sure thing, Roo. Just give me a sec.” He fumbled with his radio, his fingers shaking slightly.
“Make it snappy, mate! We’ve got a holographic invasion on our hands, and I reckon we need to work together if we’re going to sort this mess out,” the Roo urged, glancing back up at the ships, which seemed to pulse with an eerie light.
“Right, right! Just hold on!” the officer replied, his voice cracking slightly as he relayed the Roo’s request.
As the Roo waited, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were on the brink of something big. He took a deep breath as he prepared to relay his findings to his fellow heroes.
***
In Brisbane, Austar floated high above the bustling streets, her eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of trouble. Suddenly, a voice called out to her from below. Looking down, she spotted a police officer waving frantically, clutching one of those new mobile phones that resembled a brick more than a phone receiver. With a smirk, she descended gracefully to the ground, landing lightly beside him.
“You’re Austar, right? You’ve got a call,” the officer said, holding out the phone as if it was a precious artifact.
Austar took the phone, her heart racing as she recognised the Roo’s voice on the other end. “Austar! You there? It’s me, the Roo!” he said, his tone urgent.
“Yeah, I’m here. What’s the go?” she replied, her brow furrowing as she listened.
The Roo’s voice crackled through the line with excitement. “Reef’s intel about the Offspring is spot on, but I’ve just discovered something crucial. Those ships? They’re not real! It’s a bloody hologram!”
“A hologram? Are you sure?” she questioned, though it all made sense in light of what she had heard about Reef’s encounter with the ship. “That does explain a lot of things,” she said, nodding to herself.
“Absolutely! I saw a bird fly through it and vanish, only to pop out the other side. It’s a solid projection, which means we can’t just blast them out of the sky without causing a ruckus,” the Roo explained, his mind racing with possibilities. “We need to find a way to expose the trick and take the wind out of their sails.”
“Right, so we need to figure out how to disrupt the projection,” Austar said, her voice steadying as she began to strategise. “Do you have any ideas on how we can do that?”
The Roo had already shared his idea with Reef, and now he relayed it to Austar. “We need to hit them all at once, love. If we can disrupt their holograms, we’ll leave the Offspring wide open for the local enforcement to deal with. It’s a bit of a long shot, but it might just work.”
“Right, I’m in,” Austar said, determination flooding her veins. “Let’s do this together. If we pull it off, those blokes won’t know what hit ’em.”
Handing the mobile phone back to the officer, Austar floated back up toward the ship, her heart pounding with anticipation. She knew that in Sydney and Melbourne, the Roo and Reef were gearing up to execute their parts of the plan simultaneously.
As she approached the ship, she could feel the energy crackling around her. She raised her hands toward the vessel, gathering her power and focusing it like a laser beam. “Time to show these blokes what we’re made of,” she muttered, forcing her energy toward the ship with all her might.
***
In Melbourne, Reef took a deep breath and leaped onto the ship, landing atop it with a thud. The vessel wobbled beneath her, and she couldn’t help but grin.
“Let’s see how you like this!” she shouted, jumping repeatedly, causing the ship to wobble and flicker like a giant disco ball in the sky.
***
Meanwhile, the Roo stood on a rooftop in Sydney, ready to put his plan into action. He held up a device that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, activating it with a flick of his wrist. The device emitted a special white noise frequency, designed not to interfere with any other technology.
“This should do the trick,” he said to himself, grinning as he aimed it at the ship hovering above his city.
***
On the ship above Brisbane, chaos erupted as the Offspring ran around like headless chickens. They had no idea what was happening to their hologram, but it was starting to short out.
“What the bloody hell is going on?” one of them shouted, panic etched on his face. The holograms were interconnected, so what happened to one affected the others. While the Offspring found this an interesting design feature, the aliens who built it had considered it a mere cost-cutting measure.
***
The ship above Melbourne spun out of control like a giant top in the sky, and Reef was having the time of her life. “Woohoo! This is better than a rollercoaster!” she laughed, her heart racing with exhilaration. Below, the civilians on the ground were treated to an unexpected spectacle, providing a good excuse to throw a party. To an Australian, any excuse for a celebration was a good one.
“Look at that!” one bloke shouted, raising a beer in the air. “It’s like the footy finals, but with spaceships!”
Ned Kelly, the supposed leader of the Offspring, screamed for a bucket, fearing he would throw up. “Not a good look for the leader to get sick in front of his gang!” he groaned, clutching his stomach.
***
Suddenly, the ship above Sydney began to glow with a bright light. The hologram vanished, revealing a rather small ship that looked far less impressive than the hologram had suggested.
As the Roo watched the chaos unfold from his vantage point, he couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride for his fellow heroes. “Well, that’s one way to take the wind out of their sails,” he said, grinning as he saw the Offspring scrambling to regain control. “Looks like they’ve bitten off more than they can chew!”
And just as the hologram faded in Sydney, the ships in the other cities followed suit, revealing their true forms.
***
Austar looked at the small ship hovering over Brisbane and burst into laughter. “You have to be kidding me,” she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. The vessel appeared to be a patched-up collection of many other ships that had been shot down over Australian skies over the years. It turned out not to be much of an invasion force after all. “What a bunch of jokers!”
She couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the small ship. “This is what we were worried about? A glorified tin can?” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve seen better craftsmanship in a backyard shed!”
***
Reef forced the small ship to land safely in Melbourne, where the local police and military swarmed around it immediately. As she ripped off the door, she entered and followed the same path as before, arriving at the control centre. The sight that greeted her was nothing short of comical. Many of the Offspring were green in the face; Ned Kelly had a bucket to his face, and a sickening sound came from him. “You lot all right?” Reef asked, trying to stifle a laugh. They offered no objections to being arrested, too busy dealing with their own nausea.
“Looks like the great bushranger has met his match,” she quipped, crossing her arms as she surveyed the scene. “Not so tough now, are ya?”
***
In Brisbane, Austar piloted her ship down with a determined grip on the controls, aiming for the site of next year’s World Expo 88. The anticipation of the event buzzed in the air, but right now, her focus was on the task at hand. With a swift motion, she ripped off the door of the ship, her heart racing as she prepared for a confrontation. Instead, she was met with a sight that made her pause: the crew inside looked utterly defeated, hands raised in surrender, their faces a mix of confusion and resignation.
“Right, then! No fight in you lot, eh?” Austar quipped, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. “I was hoping for a bit of a tussle, but I suppose this’ll do.”
The crew exchanged glances, clearly unsure how to respond to her casual bravado. One of them, a lanky fellow with a mop of hair that looked like it hadn’t seen a comb in weeks, stammered, “We, uh, we didn’t sign up for this! We thought we were just here for a bit of fun!”
“Fun?” Austar laughed, shaking her head. “You lot are about as much fun as a wet sock! Now, let’s get you sorted out before I change my mind and decide to throw you back in the ship.”
***
Meanwhile, in Sydney, the situation was anything but calm. The Roo stood on a rooftop, his eyes fixed on the ship hovering above the city. Just as the army was gearing up to bring it down, the ship suddenly shot off into space. “Well, that’s just bloody typical!” he exclaimed, watching as the vessel disappeared into the night sky. “You’d think they’d at least give us a chance to say goodbye!”
A sense of foreboding filled him; this wasn’t over. Something was brewing, and whatever it was, it was going to be big. “Oi, mates! We’ve got to keep our eyes peeled. I reckon this is just the beginning of a right mess,” he muttered to himself, his mind racing with possibilities.
***
As the ship flew past the orbit of Jupiter, the two aliens inside exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of frustration and disbelief. “Well, that didn’t go too well, my brother,” one said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“No, it didn’t!” the other replied, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “We shouldn’t have given the ships to those fools! But at the time, they were handy for assessing the forces in that small country!”
“Right, because nothing says ‘strategic planning’ like handing over your tech to a bunch of half-wits,” the first alien scoffed. “Yes, it would have been good to have a base already established for what is going to happen soon, my brother. Soon, the Earth will belong to us and our allies!”
With that, the ship soon disappeared from the solar system, leaving behind a trail of uncertainty and a sense of impending doom.
***
Back in Australia, the atmosphere was charged with excitement as Reef, the Roo, and Austar finally met in person for the first time. They sat around a corner table in a small pub in Sydney, the chatter of patrons all around them.
“Right, so we’re all here,” the Roo said, leaning back in his chair with a grin. “What do you reckon? Should we form a team or just sit around and swap war stories?”
“I’m all for a team,” Reef replied, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. “But we need a name that reflects who we are and what we stand for.”
“Bushrangers!” Austar exclaimed, her voice ringing with excitement. “It’s perfect! Not only does it honour the outlaws of a century ago, but it also pays tribute to the Ranger, the first costumed crime-fighter in Australia. (*) He’s been an inspiration for all of us!”
[(*) Editor’s note: See “The Batmen of All Nations,” Detective Comics #215 (January, 1955).]
“Bloody brilliant!” the Roo said, raising his beer mug in a toast. “To the Bushrangers!”
As they clinked their mugs together, a sense of camaraderie filled the air. They were no longer just individual heroes; they were a team, united in their mission to protect their homeland.
The End