"Myriad are the worlds of the multiverse, O traveller. Some are shining utopias, others are blasted, irradiated hellholes while others still, jostle for a foot-hold on the precarious verges toward dystopia," intoned the man in the rain-drenched grey overcoat and slouch hat, sitting at the far end of the counter in the diner.
Outside, the November rain thundered against the windows and roof while a freezing wind howled and bellowed.
The man's words seemed to be directed at no-one and everyone simultaneously. He took a sip of his steaming hot coffee, as if letting the words soak in as much as the chill rain on his garments.
Sitting at his usual perch, three stools away from the draughty doorway, was Doctor Cal Meachum, about to pull an all-nighter in his lab at the Air Force base. Meachum turned to look at the mysterious stranger, whose features were hidden in the shadows created by his upturned collar and the brim of his hat.
Meachum's pale blue eyes, with flecks of grey, narrowed. He glanced at Wanda the waitress, her face caked in thick make-up, who was engrossed in a phone call.
"Is that so?" asked Meachum of the enigmatic figure sipping coffee.
The man put down his cup and raised his head. Two black eyes staring straight at Meachum.
"Ah, it's rare to find an audience in this push button age," said the man.
Meachum got off his stool and approached the man, extending an open hand as he did so.
"Doctor Cal Meachum," said the scientist.
The man shook Meachum's hand and the scientist noted the absence of any temperature to the man's flesh.
"A man of science. It's been a while since I had the opportunity to talk with the progeny of Da Vinci. Let me see, I think the last scientist I spoke with was Doctor Franken..." began the man until Wanda interrrupted by bringing over a slice of cherry pie and whipped cream.
The man thanked her for the pie.
Meachum was intrigued by the man, saying: "You said something about other worlds and a multiverse?"
The man regarded Meachum with those black eyes and nodded. Then he looked around the diner.
Wanda had disappeared into the kitchen, talking to the owner Gino. At a table near the corner, where the diner branched off to the customer payphone and rest rooms was a tired-looking, overweight truck driver finishing off steak, French fries and tomatoes.
Noting where everyone was positioned, the man stepped off the stool and stood with his arms at his sides.
"Other worlds, yes. But why tell you when I can..." he whispered.
"Show you!" he shouted dramatically, raising his arms. And as he did so dazzling red and orange energy cascaded from the man, swirling around the room.
Meachum stared intently as the lightstorm increased. Wanda and Gino dashed from the kitchen, mouths agape at the sight.
The truck driver had come over just prior, hoping to get a coffee refill and had dropped his cup when the tornado of light had been unleashed.
Enveloped in the energies, the mysterious traveller said: "Lady and gentleman, I am The Walker and I bid you welcome to but the merest glimpse of the multiverse!"
Meachum and the others gasped as the Walker twirled his hand and a glowing purple and blue portal opened amidst the wash of light.
The portal appeared to increase in size, enveloping all within the diner.
Seemingly now within the portal but somehow still rooted to their spot in the diner, Meachum, Wanda, Gino and the trucker observed Richard Nixon, arms aloft, his fingers gesturing V for victory. Behind him, a banner festooned with his name and the legend '68.
The Walker spoke: "On a world a stone's throw from your own, Richard Nixon won the White House during a terrible war that divided America.
In the portal the image changed to show American troops with rifles, machine guns and flamethrowers; artillery and tanks attacking brightly-clad figures.
These figures were young men with very long hair and women, some naked, who either flew or hovered high above the ground,
One by one, these fantastical beings were shot down, blown apart or set ablaze by the unrelenting hordes of troops.
The Walker spoke again: "It was called The Eve of Destruction. It was the summer of 1969."
Wanda had to look away as a tank shell ripped a boy to pieces and a tank crushed two women who were embracing and kissing.
Meachum asked: "Why...why would American troops kill Americans?"
The Walker replied to the scientist's query: "On the world in question, the 1960s turned sour and the American dream died. Nixon, half-mad with paranoia and bloodlust, saw enemies everywhere. Especially in the superhuman counter culture and devised a plan to eliminate them."
As the Walker spoke, Meachum's head swum with the concepts of superhumans and a counter culture. They sounded like terms from a science fiction novel or something that a beatnik would come up with. Yet everyone has lived through the War of the Worlds and had experienced costumed crimefighters.
Perhaps it was the death and carnage he was watching now that made the Walker's words resonate so with Meachum...
"But the super-people fought back. Led by Sunshineman, Meta-Americans, as they called themselves, stood against Nixon and the military," detailed the Walker.
And, as if to illustrate the point, a plethora of sleek figures, men, women, black, white, red, yellow in form-fitting flashes of red, blue, neon green and white, some with armour, some with armour. cowls, visors and helmets, soared toward the troops and tanks.
"Mellow Yellow, Clear Light, Speed Avatar, Karma Zero and the Chemical Brothers were the vanguard," explained the Walker.
It was then that the portal dimmed and faded to black. Meachum and the others were gasping for breath.
When it re-opened the scene had changed once more. This time it showed The Devil's Tower and a battle atop the famous monument.
It was night time and among the machinery of some secret government base on the Tower, a man seemingly clad in the American flag, wielding a metal shield emblazoned with red, white and blue rings and a white star fought alongside a black-garbed cowboy armed with two six shooters.
The duo battled American troops while in the night skies, strange lights and glowing mist were visible.
The Walker spoke: "Most Meta-Americans died on the Eve of Destruction. However, a number escaped. They either fled the country or went into hiding. A few continued to fight on, such as The Weathermen. The resistance fought into the 1970s and in 1974, Captain America and The Midnight Cowboy finally smashed Nixon's hold on the country."
In the portal, Captain America slams his shield against a group of heavily armoured machine men.
"He and the Midnight Cowboy defeated The Enforcer and the Magnum Force," said the Walker, "On the night that the Space Gods returned and the Age of Aquarius began."
TO BE CONTINUED...
