A Faint Light Chapter 1 Revision

In a world where Heroes fly through the skies to cheering crowds, a young champion has been chosen to lead a media sponsored group to fight crime in Los Angeles.
Star - Milton Cross - Age 18 Super Energy Expulsion: Light, Extra-ordinary Mental Affinity, Wingless Flight. Latent Mega Being, Powers Increase with Age. White jumpsuit with yellow nova flash on the chest and sky blue cape. Black gloves, utility belt, and boots. Star wears a .45 automatic concealed in his belt under his cape, just in case.
Rook - Chase Masters - Age 14 Force Fields, Superhuman Physical Strength, Extra-ordinary Physical Endurance, Healing Factor. Forest green jumpsuit with black chess castle on the chest. Black gloves and boots.
Mach - Kelly Li - Age 17 Sonic Flight, Extra-ordinary Speed, Extra-ordinary Physical Strength, Extra-ordinary Physical Prowess, Angel Face. Yellow jumpsuit with white cape. White gloves and boots
Shadow - Lt James Kincaid, rtd - Age 30 Nightstalking, Power Channeling, Extra-ordinary Physical Prowess, Adhesion, Healing Factor, Extra-ordinary Physical Endurance, Cybernetic enhancements give him Heightened Sense of Hearing, and Radar, ambidextrous, double jointed, no facial features, breathe without air, blue green skin, no hair. Black mask, jumpsuit, gloves, and boots. Shadow wears a purely decorative shaded visor, to conceal his lack of facial features. His well padded jumpsuit conceals a pair of submachine-guns and several clips.
Crash - Edward Mantega - Age 23 Supernatural Physical Strength, Slow Motion Control, Mega Being with Mega Strength and SDC, Vulnerable to Silver and Magic. Dark red pants and long black tunic.

During their first, highly publicized, battle, the team, known as Group Alpha was lost in a strange Dimensional Anomaly.

-denotes thought and telepathy-

All around was darkness, a deep black so profound that it soon became meaningless. All the light that Star could produce didn't do a thing to alleviate the absolute nothingness that surrounded Group Alpha, L.A.'s media owned crimefighters. The only thing that seperated them from the acidic nature of the pitch emptiness was the Force Field that Rook erected nearly an hour ago.

Mach was at the forward wall of the bubble, flying them forward at the speed of sound. Normally, Star was uncomfortable flying so fast, but with no resistance, and no variation in the pure absence of everything, even movement seemed to fade into that same state of nonexistence.

- I brought them here. - The thought echoed in Milton Cross' mind. As Star, he was chosen as their leader. He had trained with them for the last 10 months, preparing for their first test, the battle that would define them as Heroes or well intentioned losers. And then, Catastrophy. A vortex underneath them, all of them drawn into this unending emptiness. - It's my fault. My responsibility. My job to get them home. - Star's gaze settled on each member of his team in turn. Each of them was powerful, they had been handpicked by a major cable station to be a kind of corporate mascot, fighting for the safety and entertainment of viewers everywhere. At some point, he'd nearly rejected all but one of them.

Mach, the lovely Kelly Li. Strong, quick, and able to fly faster than the speed of sound. She was only 17, and she still didn't believe that all of this was quite real. Her psych profile said she was a risk taker, an action junkie. That wasn't why he'd asked to have her reassigned. Star knew he was attracted to her, she could make him do things against his better judgement. She was dangerous to his command abilities.

Rook, Chase Masters was the youngest of the group at 14. IQ of 220, and a chess Grand Master. Just for his age, Star hadn't wanted him on the team. He'd been overruled. Incredible strength, in addition to his force fields and intellect was too valuable to any mission. The fact that his age made the team kid friendly didn't hurt with the producers.

Edward Mantega, Crash was the wild card of the whole team. The guy was a natural leader. 8 foot tall, attractive, quick thinker. Stronger than the rest of the team put together. Damn near bullet proof. At age 23, he was 5 years older than Star. He had always been the leader in everything since grade school, and saw no reason why that should change. Truthfully, Star wouldn't mind working for him. But he questioned Crash's ability to take orders from him.

The only one that Star had never questioned was Shadow. Shadow was the only one of the team who had a secret identity. At 30 he was the oldest member of Team Alpha. Only Star knew the whole story. While serving in the Middle East, Army Special Forces Lt. Jim Kincaid acquired a nasty condition stopping a viral warfare attack. The Army tried everything they could to treat him, but somehow, the treatment changed Lt. Kincaid. He was now able to run faster, move quicker, hit harder, and stay longer than any other soldier, but it had come at a huge cost. Shadow's skin under his black jumpsuit and mask was bluegreen, and his face was completely smooth. Some how, he was still able to speak and see. They had to use cybernetic encanhements to let him hear again. Psychologically, Lt. Jim Kincaid was considerd unfit for further service, but he was recruited by the producers anyway. At first, Star had been leary, but Shadow had soon become his best friend.

The member he had questioned most strongly, however, was himself. Milton Cross. Star. He could shoot beams of light, and fly, but the reason they gave him the job was his "TVQ", he had some kind of mutation that made people like him, they said. He had still pushed for Crash as leader, but was turned down flat, and his contract required him to do what he was told.

"Star!" Mach broke the silence with an excited shriek, then her voice returned to its normal clear alto. "I can see a light up ahead."

Although he could never let them see it in his face, it took Star a moment to recover from the shock, and to get his emotions under control before he could respond. "Sounds like a destination Kelly, take us in. Top speed."

"Better make it quick, guys." piped in Rook. Star looked at the teams junior member, and he could see the strain beginning to moisten his young brow. "I've got maybe half an hour before I'm tapped.

A deep bass timber reverbrated through the bubble of safety "Sounds like a good reason to move fast, Mach." toned in Crash.

Star shot a worried glance at his second in command. - Is this it?- he asked himself. - Is this when he tries to take control? If he does, should I stop him? Maybe he would be a better leader.- "You heard the man, let's go."

Kelly knew her business, she flashed a grin at Star and took off in the direction of the light. From the expression on her face, it was obvious that she had no doubt about their success and survival. She was having fun. Rook was starting to look worried. Star could see the calculations running through his mind. On Earth, with a planetary curve, smog, clutter, and the distortion of an atmosphere, Kelly Li could read a sign post 10 miles away during the day, 5 at night. In this God forsaken void, with no discernible interference, that light could be even farther away. A lot farther. Milton Cross had no idea what kind of advanced mathematics Chase Masters had at his disposal to figure in speed, distance, weight, energy drain, it wasn't what he was good at. He just knew that the most intelligent human mind he had access to, and the one thing in this dark Hell keeping them all together and alive was worried. Or maybe he was concerned about what might be at the light.

That's what Star was worried about. He looked around again. He knew for a fact that his own face betrayed no emotion. He had learned that from his parents, and perfected it after the producers hired him. Shadow's expression was, as always, unreadable beneath his black mask, but Star knew that his friend was concerned about the same thing he was. Crash was all too readable. The oversized Adonis looked pensively in the direction that Mach was flying them. Once again, Star wished that the other man was in command.

He knew very well that Mach was in no way concerned about what lay at their destination, she was too excited about the adventure of it all. That was part of what attracted him to her. "Are we any closer, Mach?" asked Rook.

Mach smiled slyly at the young man. "Yep, but if you keep asking that, I'm gonna turn this thing around." Rook smiled, the tension lost some of it's hold on the boy's face. Star was grateful to the lovely speedster, anything that kept the young genius relaxed probably preserved his energy. Even if the joke was too corny for words. Even Crash managed to crack a smile. "If you look real hard, you can probably see it pretty soon now." Mach said cheerfully.

Sure enough, in just a few seconds, a tiny pinpoint of light became visible. In the darkness that surrounded them, the light was like a shining diamond, all the more valuable for its' rarity. The point of light quickly grew brighter and larger. With the absolute absence of their current medium, it seemed as if the light was coming towards them as they stood still. It wasn't long until the tiny pinprick expanded to the size of a mans fist. Then a head.

Steadily, the light continued to expand, turning gradually into an endless horizon of pale blue light. The relief in Rook's eyes was balanced by the caution in Star's mind. This shining shore could save their lives, but there was no telling what might await them. They grew even closer. Close eough that the distance actually seemed measurable. "Kelly," Star asked, "What do you see out there? Are there any people?"

"Hold on a sec, Star." Kelly scanned across the still distant horizon. "Not real clear yet, Star, but I think I see people moving around. A bunch to the left, maybe two or three dead ahead. Both groups moving right. You want me to aim for one, boss man?"

Star thought for a few seconds. - Large group in pursuit of small. Meeting any one of them could involve us in something local. Of course the small group could just be a scout for the large. Best play it safe. - "No. Aim us in front of the smaller group, as much in front of them as you can get in five minutes."

"Not a problem Star. They don't move very fast. I can get us a good ten minutes in front while still keeping in Rook's schedule."

Star knew very well that there was no garuantee that the same pain that they experienced from the darkness didn't await them at their destination. Still it was their best bet. Their only bet, really, despite the risk. True to her word, Mach got them to their desired destination in less than five minutes.

The time finally came when they landed. An almost palpable sigh of relief passed through them all as they felt gravity once again take hold of them. Rooks force bubble passed from existence with an expansive POP as air rushed around them, and everyone began to relax and stretch.

Only Star and Shadow stayed watchful. The terrain was a stony beach, with the darkness they left as the sea.- Must have been the dark area causing that pain, 'cause I'm fine here.- There were trees in the distance, but too far away for the slower members to reach quickly. No other cover was available. "Mach," Star hated to interrupt their celebration, but safety came first. "you keep watch for that small group. How far back can you see?"

Rolling her eyes at her unflappable commander, Kelly Li turned to scan the horizon. "I can see both groups Star. They're pretty weird looking. The big group has ten, and the smaller one has 2. The big group is gaining. Contact in 9 minutes."

"Rook. Status."

"Weak." the exhaustion in the boys face and voice was quite apparent. "I can fight if I have to, but Force Fields are minimal. I doubt if I could stand up to one of Crash's love taps at this point."

"Chase." Star put his hand on Rook's deceptively thin shoulder.

"Yeah, Star?"

"You did good back there. Saved all of us."

Quiet happiness suffused the youth's face. - More of that mutant charisma, I guess. I hate throwing it around on my own team, but he needs to know how important he is.- "Mach, you get Rook to those trees over there, and keep watch. If we need you, hit the afterburners."

"You got it, Chief." With a cocky grin, Mach lifted off with Rook in her arms. Despite her thrill-seeker nature, Star knew he could trust her to follow orders.

Milton Cross studied the rest of his team. Shadow he knew. Knew where he stood, knew he could count on him. He took in his second in command. "Crash. You, me, and Shadow will stay to make contact with the small group."

"Are we expecting hostiles, Star, or potential allies?"

"No telling at this point. Play it cool, keep your guard up."

With nothing else to say, the three waited until the first party came into view. Two ... beings was the best word, were running at full tilt. One of them looked like some kind of Cyborg/ Werewolf with eyes all around his head. The other one was a giant eyeball skittering along on eight spider legs. The two screeched to a halt in front of the trio of mutants. "Hurry!" warbled a woman's voice from somewhere deep within the eyeball. "A Hunting Party of Hounds is chasing us, they'll catch you, too, if you don't move it!"

Star looked deeply at the two creatures, weighing all the possibilities, all the logical arguments. Then went on instinct. "The beings that you're running from are gaining on you. My friends and I can help you, if you need it."

The Werewolf-thing stared at them. "I hope," it rumbled in a deep gravelly voice, "that you are tougher than you look."

Crash grinned easily at the freakish creatures. "Funny," he said, "That's just what I was thinking about you."

All conversation ceased when the larger party, ten humanoids with black metallic armor cast to look like a skeleton attacked with wicked longbladed spears. The werewolf opened the party with a blast of dark energy at the lead creature, the wound to its chest dripping green ichor.

One of the other creatures threw its spear at the werewolf. Shadow rolled forward and shot out a hand to catch the spear, hurling it into the knee of another enemy. The wound looked painful, but it kept going anyway, until Star put a blast of high intensity light right next to the spear. The knee exploded, seperating the leg from the body, much to Star's shock.

Crash went forward and shoreward, intending to attack from the side, and leaving the land side open to Mach. A burst of speed brought the monsters in close, although by the time they got there, there were three less, due to Crash and Shadow. That's when Mach made her entrance, grabbing two of them by the hand and flying them up at top speed. A sudden stop that would tear off a human's arm at the shoulder, and a sharp toss to the ground half a mile down. Crash simply grabbed another one and tore it's head off.

The Werewolf and the Eyeball were up front. Shadow was inland. Crash on the other side, and Mach grabbing them at random from the middle. Star hovered in midair behind the front line, picking them off at the back and lending a light bolt when useful, and a warning when appropriate. It wasn't long before all the creatures lay on the ground, dead or wounded. \

With all the enemies accounted for, the two creatures they had been helping began to melt into new shapes. The half mechanical werewolf transformed itself into a man of nearly 30, while the eyeball became a pleasant looking young lady of approximately 13 years in a floral print dress. "That was great!" said the girl. "Where the heck did you guys come from?"

"Actually," said Star. "We were going to ask you where we are, exactly."

The man looked thoughtfully at the group of strangers. "If you dont know where you are, how did you get here? It's pretty hard to get here by accident."

Milton Cross looked at the former wolf-creature. He knew suspicion when he saw it. He was expert at paranoia. Perversely, Star found trust a little easier to come by. "As far as how we got here, well, we're not sure. We got stuck out in that dark area, and only barely survived that. Quite frankly, we could use some help getting home."

The girl grabbed his arm. "C.W., we owe these guys. I'm not saying take them back to base or anything, but the least we could do is get them back to Earth. We can worry about the rest later."

- Dad always called it "assumed close".- "Thank you. We have another team member. He exhausted himself getting us out of ... that." Star indicated the darkness they had just left. "We appreciate your help. I'm called Star. This is Mach, Crash, and Shadow. Our other member is in the woods up there, his name is Rook. If you'll go get him, Mach, we'll get going." The girl was gone and back in less than 2 seconds, before the sonic boom from her leaving finished fading, an exhausted Rook sleeping in her arms. "We really apprecciate your help."

The man called C.W. looked them over carefully. "Don't mention it. I'm C.W., this is Peeper Creeper. Where do you want to go?"

Star looked at the relieved expressions on his team's faces. The tension that he'd been feeling was reduced as well, but his carefully neutral expression maintained itself by long practice. - As long as these guys don't send us into a trap, then we sould be fine. - "Los Angeles, please." - The producers are not going to believe this.-

Although C.W. still looked a little leery of them, he did nothing as his young companion began muttering under her breath. Without warning, a vortex began to form in the air behind them. The spiral of blue-white energy irised open into a blank portal cut out of thin air big enough for all of them to go through. Peeper smiled triumphantly. "Everybody in!"

Group Alpha was nervous, from his position behind them, Star could see the tension and fear in their postures. - I brought them here, if this is a trap, it's my responibility to spring it.- Striding purposefully through his fear, Milton Cross entered the doorway. He sighed momentarily in relief when he found himself in front of the Chinese Theater, and not back in that unwholesome darkness. Crash was the next one through, followed by Mach, with a still sleeping Rook in her arms. There was a brief, nerve wracking pause before C.W. came out grumbling, then Peeper Creeper, side by side with Shadow. - Way to go Shadow,- thought Star, - paranoid to the end.

"Peeper, C.W., thanks for your help. If there's any way we could reach you, I'm sure Eden Studios would give you a more substantial thanks."

C.W. looked askance at the young man. "Thanks, kid, but no thanks. If you figure you owe us somethin, we may ask for some help again. Cast a short shadow." With that unusual farewell, the two turned and began to walk away.

Once their two mystery rescuers turned the corner, Star reached to his utility belt to pull out the cellular phone that had stopped working when they had gone through the first anomaly. Still nonfunctional. "Everybody check your phones, mine's still dead."

A short time later, all communication's are found to not be functioning. Annoyed, they found themselves resorting to a payphone three blocks down the road. Mach being busy holding a sleeping Rook, and Crash far too large to fit into the booth, Star was the logical and obvious cadidate to make the call.

"Y'know," said Crash, "I hadn't noticed it before now, but with all these bright tights and capes, don't ya think we look kinda conspicuous?"

Star was coming out of the phone booth and heard the conversation unfold.

Mach, her white cape billowing gently around her bright yellow body stocking, stared at him. "Isn't that the idea, Eddy? After all, this is a kinda high visibility prefession."

Crash ran a nervous hand over the sleeveless black tunic that fit his enormous muscles like it was painted on. "I know, but it's real weird. Like we don't belong or something."

"I think you're overreacting big fella, heck we're probably all gonna need therapy after today."

Star chose that moment to interject. "Maybe so, Mach, but we might have to look for it somewhere else. The Studio number isn't working. I tried the private numbers for the producer's too. Some of them are nonexistent, and one was a phone sex line. Mach, hand Rook to Crash and go and see what's up at The Set. We'll wait here. And Kelly, be careful."

Kelly wrinkled her nose prettily at her leader. "Will you two just relax? We're home! We made it through the big scary place, made some friends and beat up the bad guys. It's done! I'll go check things out Mr. Paranoid, but you need to calm down." Quick as a blink, Mach was gone.

5 minutes later, Kelly Li returned to the group, at a subdued pace that deepened the grim cerainty that Star felt in his heart. Something was wrong. She set down with a gaze of deep confusion and fear. "It's not there." She said. "Not the Set, not the Studio, nothing. Even Silas is gone."

More than anything, that brought home to everyone that they were not where they belonged. Even the sleeping Rook stirred uneasily in Crash's massive arms. Silas Black had saved the entire Wast Coast from an asteroid collision in 1973. The giant copper statue that was built after his death from cancer the following year had stood strong through several Earthquakes and a couple dozen superhuman beings, and even a small alien invasion. Eden Studio had built it's headquarters right across the street from the metallic behemoth just to help lend Silas' reputation to their new idea for Group Alpha.

The Studio could fold up and be torn down, just another business down the tubes in L.A., but there wasn't a chance in Hell that Silas culd be gone too. Every meta-being and high-tech hero in the city would fight to the death before letting the Icon of their own personal Saint be destroyed.

Crash said it first. "Maybe there was another invasion while we were gone. They coulda dstroyed the statue when they attacked."

Mach looked at him, angry for no apparent reason, except to shield herself from the fear. "Not destroyed, Mr. Muscle," she hissed between clenched teeth, "gone. As in never there. Empty lot. Covered in grass. Big tree right where Silas used to stand. Gone."

Words utterred in anger, but Star could feel the horrible truth behind them. Wherever they were, no matter that it looked like home, smelled like home, even sounded like home, it wasn't home. Star could see the hope on Crash's face turn to anger, and then, slowly, the anger melt into defeat.

The silence of the night surrounded and then filled them. Although together, each felt the singular desolation of being lost in a place they were alien to.

They were soon interrupted by the blare of sirens and the squeal of tires as 4 police cars came to a halt beside them. Doors opened, spilling out uniformed cops like they were on sale. 8 shotguns trained on them, 4 on Crash alone. "Freeze, freaks, or we shoot!"

Confused and startled, Group Alpha was ready for a fight. Star knew his team, they were lost, scared, but against their powers, the cops wouldn't stand a chance. All they needed was the signal, and they would attack. Star raised his hands up into the air in a large gesture, distracting the police enough to let Shadow fade back into the shadows and climb up a nearby wall. "We surrender." His team could handle cops, but then they would have an enemy where they didn't need one.
Mach followed soon after then Crash, burdened by Rook in his arms, just turned his hands outward. Soon they were bound tightly at the wrists with plasitc ties and put into the backs of the police cars, Crash taking up the entire back seat of one cruiser on his own.

The processing was fairly easy, but harrowing in it's own way. Already lost from their home, the seperation from the familiar carried with it the fear of loss. Star could see crash and Mach visibly restrain themselves when the polie took Rook away to the Juvenile Authorities. The look of defeated stoicism on Mach's face as they took her away to the womens holding area was almost enough to break Star's will. It took all the control he could muster, not to yell at her to leave this place at top speed.

Shadow was on the outside.Star could take comfort in that. He was a pro, quick, smart, quiet. Inside wasn't problem either. Either Crash or Rook could make confetti out of stone walls and iron doors with a half dozen punches. Given the need, they could all be out of here in a matter of minutes. First things first though, information.

He and Crash were ushered into an overcrowded cell with a another half dozen prisoners. Mainstream, fringe, confused or defiant, everyone of them moved out of the way when Crash ducked into the iron barred concrete room. Crash sat down on the heavy wooden bench bolted to the concrete walls, letting it sag slightly under him. Star sat beside him, utterly assured of no interruptions, and began to think. -Silas gone, that's first, then we get picked up by the police. Crash was right; our costumes are out of place here. They used plastic strips on Crash, not magnetic restraints, Exotics are uncommon here, maybe nonexistent. It must have been that void we passed through, we need to find out more about it, see if we can use it to get back home. Cyberwolf and his friend seemed to know something about it, we need to find them, or others like them. First we need to get out of here.

Star looked up at Crash and spoke quietly. "They're going to run our prints and ID cards."

The blonde giant slowly came away from his own thoughts. "Probably. What difference does it make?"

"I don't think they'll find any record of us."

Bright blue eyes considered for a moment and Crash lowered his voice as well. "I see your point. We may have a lot of explaining to do."

"I, personally, don't have any explanations. I'd like some though." Star closed his eyes in thought.

"So do we break out?" The big mans massive hands clenched, knuckles popping audibly.

Star sighed loudly. "No, we can't afford to burn bridges with the law yet. There's no telling how long we'll be here, with what I've seen so far it wouldn't take much to escape if things go badly."

"You're the boss."

There was nothing more to say. The two men fell silent, waiting in the silence of their own thoughts. Until a police officer opened the cell door. "Cross, Mantega, come with me." the officer said, his voice laced heavily with bored contempt, and led them out of cells and down the hallway to an empty room. "Sit down, someone will be with you" He pushed at the small of Stars back, indicating that it was in fact the smaller man he wanted to go in.

As soon as he sat down in the hard metal chair, the officer closed the door. They were trying to make him wait, get him to sweat. Had he not been born Milton Cross, son of the best salesman Geno Mech Technologies had ever seen, it might have worked. - I never thought that Dad's talk about work would be so useful leading a team of crime fighters. Minimum information, and maximum time, and half the time they'll sell themselves before you even get there.- Forewarned, however, is forearmed. When two plainclothes walked into the room ten minutes later, he had had time to formulate a plan.

Almost like he was watching a movie, the two cops sat, the rumpled one turning his chair around so that the back was against his belly, the other sitting almost formally, opening a manila file folder in front of him. As scripted, the nice looking one, who would later be playing "Bad Cop", he was sure, spoke first. "Mr. Cross, is it?

-Serious, earnest.- "That's right Officer. Milton Cross." The young Exotic met the interrogators eyes calmly; careful to keep the intensity he was feeling out of his voice. It wouldn't do at all to have them realize that they had been manipulated later.

Bad Cop pursed his lips in distaste. "Detective." He spat. "Detective Reynolds." Then pointed to his partner and said. "Detective Latimer"

Star smiled wryly at the newly identified detective. "My apologies, Detective Reynolds, I was not informed of your rank." –A little subtle flattery couldn't hurt.- "I suppose it's best to start closer to the top with this. What I have to say may be a little hard to believe at first."

The two detectives looked at each other, exchanging ideas and plans in the almost telepathic way that long term partners seemed to have. Then it was Latimer's turn. Good Cop. "Mr. Cross," he began neutrally, "Your ID came back nonexistent. The state of California has never heard of you. The Social Security Office has never heard of you. Even the IRS doesn't know you exist." He gave a long suffering sigh that Star would bet money he practiced in the mirror. "The only other ID you have is from a government agency that has never existed, using the Seal of the United States, which makes it a felony, on top of the 3 other felonies in your wallet alone."

"Yes, sir; I realize how this all seems, but I can assure you that I do have an explanation."

Reynolds snorted at the young prisoner. "I can't wait."

Star grinned at the two men. "Okay, you asked for it!" he said. "My name is Milton Cross, alias Star, registered and approved by the Bureau of Exotic Affairs. I am a Human Exotic with an inherited genetic augmentation."

He used just a touch of his Exotic personality to get them to listen without interrupting. "I am the leader of Team Alpha, a duly deputized Special Response Group under the control of Xtreme Entertainment Network. My team and I are currently displaced after a dimensional anomaly sent us into a strange void."

The detectives shared another look, barely able to hold back laughter. "So, um, Star? Is that right?" Reynolds was struggling to hold onto his Bad Cop persona. "So, what you're saying is, you're from another dimension and have super powers?"

Star maintained the same engaging grin, then leaned back, putting his feet on the table, and pointing at the far corner of the room, which held the chair that had been sitting on the prisoners side of the table.

The two detectives blinked, then left the room quickly.