MONTREAL
Beetle fell to his knees, blood streaming from his eye. He'd thought the helmet would have shielded him. Jesus, he couldn't think.... The blood was splattered across his visor. He tried to move his hand up to wipe it away, but her blast pierced his hand. This shouldn't be happening. He was an Avenger. Beetle tried to stand, the pain running through him.
She looked at him smiling, enjoying his pain. Beetle gritted his teeth. "Finish it, bitch."
The blast shot through his head and he fell at her feet.
Cyclops liked killing heroes. He was her second.
MYSTERIO: MFS Issue 1 of 3
TALE OF TWO CITIES
Written by Mark PeytonEdited by Jac Milnestein.
DETROIT, THE OLD REPUBLIC, NIGHT
Danny was an old hand. When a new kid ended up on the streets they usually ended up under his wing. He was Uncle Danny to most of the kids around Detroit. On the streets someone looked out for Danny though. The hero's name was Crucible.
Welcome to the United Americas, Avenger's America. Land of the Free as long as you live North of the Wall. Detroit is one of the border towns. No Avenger wants to live here. It had to find its own hero twenty years ago. Meet Crucible.
Danny pulled his blanket up around him and tried to sleep. The kick woke him up. "Get up, old man," the sneering voice said. Danny shuffled out of the way of the second kick. "Clear out of here now if you want to keep breathing." The old man scrambled to his feet and moved down the street. He knew trouble was coming and watched the skyline.
The hostile men gathered around and watched across the road. The storefront was opening up ready to receive food supplies. One man took out a pill dispenser from his coat pocket and pressed it to his mouth. His eyes buzzed and his mouth broadened as the pill slipped down his throat. All his senses felt wired as they stood and waited.
The delivery van arrived as the lights at the entrance flickered falteringly on. The driver and mate got out and made their way to the back. The watchers ran at them brandishing whatever was at hand.
Then he appeared. The flames licked up his arms as he crouched upon the van top. This was Crucible. From the dark, his eyes glowed red. His breathing was heavy as his armour accentuated the sound. He looked down at the assembled. His voice was deep as he said, "Leave!"
The boy at the head of the crowd looked up. "That ain't Crucible. Crucible's dead."
Fire grew around Crucible. "Don't listen to rumours boy, listen to me."
The first projectile glanced off the red and black armour. Crucible looked down. "Mistake!"
Danny watched as Crucible descended from the van into their midst. First one flew back, then another as the air brimmed with electricity. Crucible let the fire from his arms grow, swinging them away from the van in an arc. Those still standing dodged backwards, circling him. He brought his right arm and aimed it towards one wired aggressor. A bolt of energy shot into him throwing the- would-be-thief back into some of his compatriots. Crucible looked up once more, his fierce red eyes seemingly examining each one. "Leave!" He said again in that electronic resonating voice.
This time they ran, leaving those whom had been stunned behind.
As the streets cleared, Crucible walked to the closest fallen form, the flames from his arms dissipating. He would have to be swift as the scuffle might bring attention. He crouched and reached his gloved fingers inside the man's coat. Inside the armour the beep told him that what he suspected was true. From the inner pocket he pulled the Nitro dispenser, standing and walking away.
Beatriz reached over and flipped the switch silencing the monitors. She pushed herself back from the desk, muttering to herself. Her chair wheeled backwards as she said precisely, "Destination 1B." The chair responded and began to wheel itself along the floor slowly as she brought the chair's monitor into view. Looking over the evaluation, she added her own notes to the sides.
She was not impressed at all.
Meet Beatriz Sheridan. She was Crucible for twenty years until she met Cyclops one fateful night. Her chosen successor is not endearing himself to her.
The chair continued to move through the warehouse along its present path as Beatriz brought her fingers to her tired eyes. She should be resting. She was forcibly out of the hero game now.
Beatriz had been a hero for most of her adult life. Apart from the obvious it had left its scars. No family of friends to speak of. The closest she had come to human relationships was her contacts on the streets. She was nearly forty but the grey streaking her hair and the lines around her eyes made her look much older.
The chair wheeled into what was close to being an armoury. Alternative suits and parts lined the walls all in the familiar black and red.
On the control panel of the chair flashed that now all too familiar light. She pursed her lips and ran through her comments.
Into the room strode the armoured form of Crucible. It still seemed strange to Beatriz to see her design, what had been her very being standing tall in front of her.
Her brown eyes ran over the silent figure. "I expect you're pleased with yourself."
Crucible did not answer, but seemed to look like a petulant schoolboy.
"Your entrance was clumsy. Too long spent on theatrics. The fire control was lacklustre at best... look at me when I'm talking to you."
The response was a sharp exhalation of air as Crucible removed his helmet. Meet Joshua Macgregor - Crucible. Beatriz refocused her eyes on the swarthy face of the young man inside the armour. He looked back, trying to appear unmoved.
"You follow my rules in this town. That means paying attention. On your own time you can make your own mistakes. Joshua, do not look at me like that. The only reason you get to play hero is due to me. Do you understand?"
Joshua breathed out deeply, silently counting. "Yes, ma'am." He knew how much he owed her. A boy so far from the wrong side of the tracks he didn't exist on any formal government records.
Beatriz nodded slowly. "I expect to see you put in some hours training, instead of gallivanting off tonight." She turned her back on him. 'Let him nail the basics, then he could hear praise.'
MONTREAL: THE NORTHERN STATES. EARLY MORNING.
The early morning mist suited him fine as he bounced off the Wall and pirouetted before jumping so his feet landed firmly onto his new flying disks. The boots locked down and he twisted to check on his security. Breathing in slowly he readied his arms just in case and began to bank between the supports of the road. His cloak hung behind him shifting through its various settings. The steepness of the climb continued until he almost collided with the undercarriage of the road. He twisted and his feet assumed a parallel to the concrete as he hung upside down, his fists clenched in a successful punch of the air.
Welcome to Montreal, the other side of the Wall.
Detroit and Montreal are opposite sides of the coin. Where one is downtrodden, the other enjoys the affluence of the North. Whereas Detroit had to find its own hero, Montreal had an Avenger in its midst until three nights ago. Three nights past, Beetle was killed, murdered in cold blood by an unknown.
Meet the city's new hero.
Meet Mysterio.
The city lay before him, its inner island illuminated by the morning sun. From behind his mask he smiled as he guided the disks to ascend. The freedom felt intoxicating as he looked onto the rising tower blocks. He shifted so he flew closer to the buildings, masking his silhouette. Montreal is a city close to the Wall, a staging point in moving from the Northern States into the Old Republic. People do move the other way but it is infrequent. This city never saw many Avengers apart from its resident one; its main 'visitors' were Sentinels enroute for duties in the Southern states. For this reason Montreal never had fewer than 5 Sentinels in its environs.
Mysterio was extremely wary of meeting a Sentinel. For all his gadgetry, his method of operation relied on stealth and cunning. Not much good in a 'fair' fight with a giant robot. His sensors picked up the telltale energy signature and he descended rapidly.
The purple monstrosity moved across the sky mocking gravity, heading towards the Wall. Mysterio cowered down in the alleyway, his cloak wrapped around him, its tailends snaking at his feet. There were heroes in this game and there were guys who stayed alive. Being caught by the Avengers or the Sentinels as a vigilante would do no one any good and he didn't intend to waste probably his one chance at taking out a Sentinel without good reason. He intended to be a smart hero and stay alive.
He breathed in slowly and stood up. There were a few more blocks to go before he reached his destination - the murder site of the Beetle. The disks appeared on his feet and he shot down the narrow passageway over the boxes lined there.
The killzone was an open area backed by a pair of warehouses. At its centre, the tell tale marking of a kill. The Police cordoned off the area and there was a camera aimed at the focal point. The camera had been replaying the same sequence for a few minutes and it would buy him grace to look around.
The disks swept in silently and deposited him by the marking. The bloodstain had been removed and a memorial wreath bearing the Avengers' crest was in its place. The removal of the blood had been done as part of Avengers' policy to avoid genetic manipulation of Avengers' stock. Mysterio reached inside his cloak and took out a scanner. The ground showed residue of two laser traces. One was standard Avengers' issue, almost certainly used to remove the blood, while the second was not one he recognised. He recorded its wavelength and frequency onto the scanner for further analysis, then pulled his right forearm from under his cloak. The camera was close to resuming recording. The disks shot in scooping him up as he headed for safety. It was then his sensors picked up a small movement. As he flew out the sensors honed in on a small container rolling, pushed by the wind. A Nitro container.
AVENGERS DATAFILE
Medical Information on the Class A drug NITRO
Nitro was first recorded in 2160 as a proposed drug for the United America's military. It became obvious after the first few trials that the drug was a narcotic with obvious side effects. While the initial effect was an increase in body functions, speed and senses, the after-effects were on a par with the cocaine drug which had been almost eradicated during the re-cultivation of the South Americas. The drug was also highly addictive, with the users displaying heightened aggression, the longer they were kept from a supply.
A copy of the initial research on the drug was stolen in 2170 and Nitro factories have been a target for Government forces ever since. Any suspected cases of Nitro use should be reported immediately. See related file for medical signs of a Nitro user and standard operating procedures for Military personnel.
The cloak deactivated as its swirling form reduced to a simple coloured cape hung over his form. He pulled down his hood and unclasped the cloak from around his neck. He placed it into its container as the equipment began to take its readings. The presence of Nitro in the murder of Beetle meant this was out of his league. He would have to ask for help. Meet Joshua Macgregor - Mysterio. Beatriz was not going to be happy being asked to help out on a case in what she considered his sideline. I guess that's what comes with having two hero identities.
NEXT ISSUE:
So Joshua is the hero of two cities separated by the Wall. How exactly? How are the two cities now linked? And who is Cyclops and why is she killing heroes? More questions in part 2: TOO MANY MASKS?
Hello and welcome to issue 1 of Mysterio. Now you may know me from my other work around MFS and at other websites. I'm usually the European Editor for MFS but for the Mysterio Limited Series and oneshots I'll venture into the Avengers America. There's very little chance Mysterio will ever be an ongoing, not because I don't like the characters, but because the type of stories I intend to do are going to be self contained. The reason for that will get explained when I explain why Joshua has two identities.
Thanks this issue go to Alex Cook aka Biohazard for his thoughts on this issue and to Jericho Vilar for allowing me to play across the Wall.
Any letters should be sent to LEGERDEMAIN at starman26@hotmail.com
See you shortly for issue 2
Mark