Hey guys! I am so sorry that it took so long to update, but I can explain: My laptop broke and I had to get a new one. With it, I lost all of my chapters, so I now have to retype all of them. Additionally, I've started classes with my Local Union to become a plumber, so these chapters will appear less frequently. But, the show must go on!
Chapter XXI: Age of Ultriac! Part 3
Enroute to Berlin, Germany
"How can you look like a human?" Jadestar asked her new companion. One hour ago, she and her brother met a robotic figure named Ultriac-5 who claimed to be a servant of a sentient alien program. Tasked with improving the universe, his master ordered him to make contact with the only government that could help bring peace to its home planet. Now, the trio were heading back to H.I.D.R.A. in Berlin. But during that time, Jennifer-Lynn had grown bored, hence the question.
["Well, it's very simple, Jenny-Lynn…"] Ultriac-5 began. ["In order to make my master's negotiations go smoothly, I am programmed to use whatever resources are available to me to forge a body that resembles the dominant species of that planet. Down to most infinitesimal detail."]
"Did you make yourself a dick?" Jenny asked, earning a slap upside the head. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"You can't just ask a question like that!" Tod snapped. He was growing tired of having to deal with his twin's obnoxious tendencies.
["Aheh, it's alright, Tod. I don't mind."] Ultriac-5 soothed his friend's temper. ["To answer your question, Jenny-Lynn; yes, I have a penis."]
"Ha!" She boasted, pointing a taunting finger at her brother.
["I also have organs, pores, veins, and a whole lot of other synthetic stuff."] Ultriac-5 continued. ["Now, if you don't mind telling me, what are those markings on your hands?"]
The duel mutas glanced down at their palms. On Darkstar's right hand, there was a green six-pronged star; and on Jadestar's left hand, there was a black crescent moon. "They're birthmarks." They answered in unison. In reality, the marks had appeared shortly after their muta-genes activated. Ironically, the marks represented each other's powers instead of their own.
At last, they arrived at their destination. The agents and scientists of H.I.D.R.A. gaped at the site of the green-skinned humanoid in glistening armor. The only man in the hidden facility that was visibly unfazed was Baron Zero, himself. ["Sub-program, designation: Ultriac-5, has returned."] Ultriac stated in a monotone voice.
["Hello, dad!"] Ultriac-5 waved, enthusiastically, at the alien computer system that had taken up half of the lab. If he could blush, his face would have been burning red at the sight of perplexed faces. ["Sorry, for that… I'm afraid that in order to intermingle with your society I have integrated my software with, what you humans call, 'the inter-web.'"]
"Well, Ultriac-5, I would like to know exactly how you expect to help H.I.D.R.A. bring peace to this damaged world."
["You must be the infamous, Baron Zero…"] Ultriac-5 pointed to the parka-clad commander. ["Well, let me answer that question with a question: what if I told you I could bend the Flag's will to your command?"]
"...go on." Zero's eyebrow rose with interest.
["I thought that would get your attention."] The living machine smiled. ["During our earlier travels throughout the cosmos, my master and I stumbled upon an alien race known as the Dominators. They had developed a device that could broadcast a frequency that could manipulate the brainwaves of their enemies."]
"You mean… mind control?" Dr. Grodd sounded highly intrigued.
["Well, there is just one, small problem. In order for the process to be one-hundred percent applicable, the subject's mind must first be put into a trance."] Ultriac-5 placed his hand on Darkstar's shoulder. ["That's where this man comes in. His power over the darkness stems from his mastery over his own inner demons. The devices will grant you control over the Justice Legion of Avengers, but not before he forces them to face their own demons."]
"And after we have the Avengers under our control?" Zero wanted to know the robot's entire plan.
["We will use them to build a device that will expand the frequency around the world. Ending all global hostilities and making it that much easier to bring peace and tranquility to the planet Earth."]
The scientists of H.I.D.R.A. crowded around Ultriac and its scout, bombarding them with endless questions. But while everyone else was preoccupied with the newcomers, Baron Zero took advantage of the distraction to move towards a secluded hallway. Standing in the shadows, waiting to deliver a briefing, was Commander Blizardkrieg. ("Did you do as instructed?")
("Yes, my Baron." Helmut bowed his head in respect. "I followed them from behind the entire trip, maintaining a safe distance between us to prevent myself from being detected. I used my radio to listen in on their every word.")
("And?") His father went on. ("Do we have any reason to believe this machine will act against us?")
("They did not say anything to suggest so. In my humble opinion, I believe we should at least give it the benefit of the doubt.")
"Very well." Zemo conceited and made his way back to Ultriac-5. "One more question… how are we supposed to use this against the Justice Legion?"
["By drawing them out with phase one of our plan."] Ultriac-5 smiled as he extended his hand outward. A bright, magenta light flickered out from his palm, displaying a stupefying image of a large machine.
JLA Headquarters, New York
The Justice Legion were still recovering from their recent defeat as they surveyed the damage down to Jordan's Tower. Green Machine and the West Coast League had returned to Oregon to see what they could do about the situation, while Matt and Tony tried to trace Ultriac-5 through the tower's computer systems. Just then, Thunder Woman, Hyperman, and Firehawk flew through the balcony window.
"The trail went cold half a mile out." Hyperman reported, gravely. "Not even my hyper-vision could see where that thing was heading."
"We need to find it as soon as possible." Flag ordered. "There's no telling what kind of damage it can do."
"How do we know it wants to cause any damage?" Speedster-Man's comment earned him several sour looks. "What? The way he spoke to us? It sounded like he wanted to protect the world."
"He also said he killed someone." Dare added.
"We've checked the surveillance footage and rechecked them." Col. Hill replied. "There was no one else in the building when that thing came online."
"Yes, there was." Tony corrected. The armored avenger held out his ring, creating a hologram of his oldest program. Aya's systems were corrupted beyond repair, this explained why she wouldn't respond to Jordan earlier.
"This doesn't make any sense." Prof. Selvig said as he examined Aya.
"Of course, it does." Matt stated. "Aya is one of the most advanced A.I.s on the planet. This Ultriac-5 must have seen her as a threat and strategically took her out of the equation."
"No…" Selvig corrected. "Ultriac-5 could have assimilated Aya. This… this isn't strategy. This is rage."
Tony tried to say something, but he soon found himself hoisted into the air by Diana's strong arm. "Whoa! Whoa! Use your words big girl!" He choked.
"Oh, I have more than enough words for you, Jordan." Diana spoke with pure venom. "I gave you only two days to use the scepter and yet you still managed to make me regret it!"
"Diana!" Flag tried to calm her down. "We need to keep a cool head." Diana reluctantly let Tony drop down to the floor, who then proceeded to gasp for air. When he finally stood back up, however, he was soon confronted by the rest of his teammates.
"What?" He shrugged. "What?! Okay, fine. I admit it… I created that thing to act as a peacekeeping program, but I never expected anything like this!"
"Why weren't we informed that you were doing this?" Gargoyle interrogated. "When we formed this team under S.H.I.E.L.D., we agreed to share all missions and projects with each other."
"Except that this wasn't relevant to the Justice Legion!" Tony defended himself. "Guys, look, we can fight bad guys and save the world all the livelong day. But what about when we're gone?"
"I thought that's what we were for?" Marvelgirl crossed her arms.
"We can talk about this later." Flag ordered. "Right now, we need to find Ultriac-5. Gargoyle, do you have any ideas as to how we can track him?"
"We're completely locked out of the systems." Matt answered. "Fortunately, S.H.I.E.L.D. prints out their files in case of such events. Seeing as how H.I.D.R.A. had more of the alien technology that Ultriac originated from, it's safe to assume it will attempt to seek them out. If we can find anyone who can link us to H.I.D.R.A. we might be able to find this thing."
For the next few hours, Col. Hill had every agent available bringing in personal files on all individuals who had allegedly been connected to H.I.D.R.A. at some point. At last, "Hey, wait, I know this guy." Tony called his allies over to him. "His name's Winslow Klaw. Weapons dealer. I busted him a few years ago. Apparently he claimed to have a stockpile of some rare substance from a sovereign nation in Africa."
"What country?" Ronnie asked.
"Uh… Wakanda, I think." Tony noticed Steve's skin turning ghostly white at the sound of that word. "Cap? You okay?"
"In 1939, President Roosevelt went on a diplomatic mission to Wakanda to ensure they wouldn't take part in the war." Flag glossed over Klaw's file as he spoke. "When Wakanda's king agreed not to go to war with America, he offered Roosevelt a sample of their most prized resource as a token of peace."
"What was the resource?" Bart asked, nervously.
Steve glanced over at his shield with a dreadful look in his eyes. "Diana, Kent, you guys come with me. The rest of you stay here unless we call you." He said, omminously. "We need to get to Klaw. Fast."
Iguazu Falls, Brazil. Winslow Klaw's shop
"Well, I don't care if it came in two days after I said it'd be there! You still got it, didn't you! Exactly! So stop complaining and have my money sent to me by the end of the week, or else I'll be sending you another missile, much quicker!"
Winslow sighed heavily as he hung up the phone. The Justice Legion's continued existence made it almost impossible for his business to stay afloat. But as he wallowed in self-pity, playing with his model trains and automobiles, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up on end. He reached for his gun, but before he could fire, a gust of wind snatched it out of his hand.
Jadestar casually leaned against the arms dealer's desk, twiddling one of his bullets in between her fingers. Soon after, Darkstar and Blizardkrieg entered the room. The icy commander froze the door shut to make sure there would be no interruptions. Klaw couldn't help but smile.
"I never thought I'd see something so spectacular in my life…" He laugh, lightly. "The son of Baron Zero and Deathgrip's former lackeys standing right here in my office."
"We would like to make a purchase, Mr. Klaw." Blizardkrieg interrupted. "You possess a sensitive material that our Baron needs. And we plan to get it." His fist clenched tight, and razor-sharp shards of ice protruded from his knuckles.
Klaw chuckled in a degrading tone. "I can see this is your first time intimidating someone, frosty. Now, I have business to attend to, and I only ever speak to the man in charge."
Suddenly, something broke through the window in Klaw's office and threw him onto the ground. ["Well, the man in charge is busy."] Ultriac-5 replied as he placed his foot over Winslow's chest. ["Now, about that material."]
It didn't take long for Laser Master to teleport all of the vibranium into the laser dimension, safe for transport back to H.I.D.R.A. Blizardkrieg happily inspected the metal himself to check the quality. "Impressive." He smiled under his mask. "Not even my cryogenic powers can affect it."
["The most durable substance on the planet, and America's government used it to make a giant frisbee."] Ultriac-5 mused.
"Um, you know, my friends…" Klaw rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortably, finally having gotten enough courage. "This came at a great personal cost… It's worth billions."
Ultriac-5 chuckled as he closed his eyes. The luminescent symbol on his chest flashed rapidly until a 'ding' came from Klaw's pocket. ["And now, so are you."] Winslow looked down at his phone with a broad smile as he checked his bank account. ["Of course, just to be safe, you'll want to transfer that into your… 'dummy holdings?' Finances are so weird. But then again, it's like I always say; keep your friends rich, your enemies rich, and wait to find out which is which."]
Klaw's smile disappeared as he looked up at the metal man. "Jordan." He said.
["...what?"] Now, Ultriac-5 was frowning,
"Tony Jordan said that once. To me. You're one of his."
["WHAT?!"] The alien programing grabbed Winslow's wrist in a vice grip, startling everyone gathered. He didn't like being compared to the man who sought to turn him into a slave. ["I am not-that is the most absurd thing I've heard all day! Do I look like Emerald Man to you?! JORDAN IS NOTHING!"] With one swift motion, Ultriac-5 ripped Klaw's entire left arm out of its socket. ["Oh, my god! Oooh! Okay, uh, don't worry, you're gonna be fine. Just-I just don't understand… don't compare me to JORDAN!"] And he kicked the newly disabled arms dealer down a flight of stairs.
"That's enough." Everyone turned to see the three most famous members of the JLA. The Flag took point, keeping his shield ready for conflict.
"You have no place here, Flag…" Helmut's icy voice sent a familiar shiver through his body. "I swear on my mother's grave, you will pay for what you've done to my father." Blizardkrieg ordered his squad of renegades back to H.I.D.R.A. while he and the others dealt with the heroes. Clapping his hands together, Blizardkrieg created a broadsword out of solid ice and pointed it, menacingly at Flag. "Shall we begin?"
Meanwhile, in a humble marketplace just a few miles away from the fight, a man with shining red hair was making his daily rounds. His basket was filled with blueberries, spinach, tomatoes, walnuts, avocados, and other foods that would help speed up the restoration of his lost memories.
("Oh, Walter! Did you see it?")
("See what, Mrs. Tahiki?")
("Three members of the Justice Legion just flew over here and headed to the shipyard!")
("The Justice Legion?")
("Yes! I think that fast American one you keep talking about was one of them!")
("Steve…") Wally breathed, nervously. Dropping his basket on the ground, he ignored the woman's cries of concern as he made his way out of the crowd. Once he knew no one could see him, Wally Barnes rushed to the shipyard at full-speed. "I'm coming, Steve." He thought to himself.
To Be Continued!
Winslow Klaw(Ulysses Klaw/Toyman)
