Justice Denied

"Thanks for coming with us Zach," Shane said as the Galaxy Rangers with Stingray and Darkstar rode on the trail. "It means a lot that you're visiting Flashfire's grave with us."

"He was a brave man," Zach said. "It's an honor to remember him."

"Too bad the kids couldn't come," Doc remarked.

"Eliza's watching the baby and the kids are in school," Darkstar said. "We can come back for them another time."

"Something's been bothering me," Doc frowned. "Isn't Flashfire's body radioactive and if it is…?"

"I put it in a radiation proof coffin," Shane explained. "It won't contaminate the environment. I just wanted to put him in a place where he could rest in peace and…"

He stopped when they came to the site. There was a grave but it was all dug up, a huge hole in front of them with mounds of dirt everywhere. "The grave! It's been dug up!" Zach barked as they dismounted.

"NO!" Shane shouted. "It can't be!"

"Who would do such a thing?" Niko looked at the open grave. "And why?"

The answer came to Shane. "To get viable Supertrooper DNA," Shane growled. "Radiation or not there would still be some strands left for use."

"Slade and the General?" Stingray frowned.

"Who else?" Shane barked. "Most of my other enemies are more concerned with getting revenge on my living relatives! It would be just like those two slime buckets to…GRAVE ROBBING PARASITES!"

Shane let out a frustrated roar as he slammed his fists into the nearest tree. It actually was knocked to the side slightly. "BASTARDS! I'LL KILL THEM!"

"Not if I beat you to it!" Stingray growled. "Even in death there's no peace for our kind!"

"Flashfire died a hero," Darkstar was furious. "He doesn't deserve for his body to be treated like a lab specimen!"

"No, he doesn't," Zach agreed. "Just when I thought Slade couldn't sink any lower."

"Didn't even bother to cover the grave after he finished," Stingray growled. "Not even give the appearance of it still being there. Like it didn't matter."

"Well it does matter!" Shane shouted. "It matters to me!"

"Easy Shane," Niko said. "I agree this his horrible but you have to calm down. Getting worked up about this isn't going to solve the problem."

"Right, but breaking Slade's neck and shooting the Cyclops right in the eye will!" Shane growled.

"I don't know why we're all so shocked," Darkstar grumbled. "It's not like this hasn't happened with any other Supertrooper before."

"When we're alive, we're cannon fodder," Stingray growled. "When we're dead we're specimens in a jar. It's all the same! They treat us like objects when we're not!"

"I'm glad we didn't bring the kids here for this," Darkstar sighed. "This is something they didn't need to see."

"Some of 'em have seen a lot worse than an empty grave," Stingray told her. "But I get your point."

"Let's get back to BETA," Zach told his friend. "Maybe there's a Slade sighting?"

"Good idea," Shane growled. "Because as soon as Slade pops his one eyed head out of the rock he's hiding under he is a dead man!"

There were no sightings of Slade or the General, but that didn't stop Shane from doing more research. "What's up Goose?" Stingray asked as he went to Shane's desk. Shane was working at a computer.

"I thought going over all the information about the Supertroopers from both Wolf Den and the unauthorized Australian base would help get things settled," Shane told him.

"Any luck?" Stingray asked as he leaned against the desk, arms folded.

"Yeah. All bad. In the Cryocrypt there are the 38 Supertroopers from Wolf Den," Shane looked at the list. "But so far they're the only ones I found that are still alive. We managed to get a complete file of the Supertroopers given to Bovo…You remember what I told you about Noah?"

"Yeah but that place he was in was blown sky high," Stingray frowned. "How did you get data from there? I know Doc didn't download enough data."

"There was information in another lab where they were doing research with DNA samples obtained from that place," Shane explained. "Most of them all came from Wolf Den. I've matched all the names. Everyone from Wolf Den is accounted for."

"And the Australian Supertrooper Base?" Stingray asked.

"We have a list of all the names and identifications of every Supertrooper born at that base," Shane let out a breath. "We found most of their bodies at another lab. In fact all but ten have been accounted for and brought to Longshot. They were examined and…Stingray I'm sorry."

"Come on Goose, its not like I didn't think any of my old mates from back then would still be alive," Stingray said. "At least now I know for sure."

"There's still ten bodies I haven't found yet," Shane said. "Ten names missing. There is still a chance…"

"Even if they aren't alive it's good you find them and give them rest," Stingray sighed. "Goose…Those bodies…They have to be destroyed. Completely."

"I know," Shane sighed. "So what happened to Flashfire won't happen to them."

"It's not like there's anything left of 'em," Stingray sighed. "I mean, their spirits are gone. Flown the coop. Just a bunch of empty shells."

"I'm still going to look for those last ten," Shane said. "I still have to find out."

"Listen Goose, you have done more for our kind than anyone has ever done," Stingray pointed out. "You fought for us all even when we all gave up. And you kept on fighting until we became free."

"Not everyone is free," Shane said.

"No, but many of us are and others will be," Stingray said.

"All the more reason to fight," Shane said. "If I can get as many Supertroopers out of the Freezer…"

"Goose it was Domani and Wheiner who were responsible for getting our team mates put in the Cryocrypt," Stingray said.

"But I'm the one who captured them," Shane sighed. "Even though I had no choice I have to find a way to set them free. Even though I forgave myself I still have to do it. Can you understand that?"

Stingray nodded. "Like you said, there's ten missing. And who knows if there are any other seventy year old Supertroopers locked away in a fridge somewhere? I mean you found Rei and La right? And some other nut job scientist could have made a secret Supertrooper without anyone knowing. Like Amy."

"Do you know any of these names?" Shane showed him the monitor. "There are six males and four females."

"Yeah I know 'em," Stingray frowned. "Webfoot…He was one of my best mates there. Failed the final exams at the last minute. He wasn't bloodthirsty enough for 'em. Now that I think about it, he was always a little squirrelly. Preferred to look at the sky all day and talk to birds instead of shooting 'em. Had some kind of empathy with animals."

"Sounds like he and I would have gotten along," Shane smirked.

"Yeah you would have," Stingray smirked. "He didn't like to fight for no reason either. He was definitely a Beta." He referred to the personality type given to classify Supertroopers. Alphas were more intelligent and aggressive while Betas were more passive and obedient.

It goes without saying that Stingray, Shane and most of the Supertroopers from Wolf Den were Alphas.

"For some reason there were a lot more Betas at the illegal base than at Wolf Den," Stingray thought. "Hell nearly everyone at Wolf Den was an Alpha in one way or another. I wonder why that was?"

"Don't know," Shane thought. "Now that I think about it, it doesn't make sense does it? Maybe that's why we were always at each other's throats."

"Especially when they started giving us that genetic modification," Stingray frowned. "Hell now that I'm thinking about it all the last ones who failed were Betas! Some of them didn't even fail. They were just shoved aside at the last minute. Only the Alphas that passed the test were allowed to be transferred to Wolf Den!"

"Are you sure?" Shane asked.

"Positive," Stingray said. "All but one of these ten names are Betas! Spitfire is the only Alpha and she got iced because of a busted leg. If they'd given her a few days she'd have healed right up but those damned bastards were too much in a hurry to close the base down!"

"The others?" Shane asked.

"The rest of the males are Knifejaw, Bluegill, Stoneback, Hammerhead and Raja Brooke," Shane read off. "The females are Snowbird, Magpie, and Nightcloud. And there's more."

"More?" Stingray asked.

"According to these files you share at least seventy five percent genetic material with three of them," Shane said. "Hammerhead, Spitfire and Snowbird."

"That would make them…?" Stingray realized. "It makes sense. We were all decanted at the same time. We all had white hair, reddish pink eyes and were supposed to absorb energy. There were three others but they didn't make it."

"According to these notes you and Spitfire are the closest genetically…" Shane said. "In fact…There was some kind of incident in the lab and you two ended up gestating in the same decanting tube."

"Twins…" Stingray was stunned. "I have a twin sister. You know the two of us always did fight a lot. I can't believe it."

"I'm going to find them Stingray," Shane said. "I promise."

"Why didn't they tell us that Goose?" Stingray asked. "Why didn't they tell us that we were related to each other? It makes no sense."

"Weapons aren't supposed to have families," Shane said.

"Right," Stingray sighed. "Now I remember. Thanks for telling me anyway Goose."

"At least now we know there are ten of us unaccounted for," Shane sighed.

"Yeah ten bodies that Slade or any other creep can get their hands on," Stingray said. "If they haven't already. You think Garson or any other Black Rose creep would know?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure," Shane said. "And I don't see them volunteering that information to us anytime soon."

"They would if they let me in that cell with 'em for ten minutes," Stingray growled. "I mean, Garson is gonna be put to death in a few months anyway? What could happen?'


Antarctica. Epsilon 7. Earth's most secure military prison.

"Dinner time, Garson…" A guard placed a tray in the slot of the metal side of a cell. The front of it had a force field. "Baloney sandwich, potato chips, an apple and fruit juice. Yum, yum."

"Swill…" Garson growled. He had grown a rough beard during his time in prison and he was thinner. He looked dismal wearing his olive green prison garb.

"Enjoy it while you can," The guard sneered. "You only got a month or so worth of it before they give you the shot that will put us all of our misery."

"Oh well then I will definitely miss your charming personality," Garson growled.

"I don't know about that," The Guard smirked. "You know, when I was first transferred to this dump a year ago I thought it was the worst thing in the world. Then you came here and it made everything worthwhile."

"I bet I did," Garson snorted looking at the sandwich in distaste.

"You know I didn't vote for you in the elections," The Guard kept taunting. "Didn't trust you. Even my grandmother knew better than to trust you. Told me you couldn't be trusted cause you looked like you had something to hide."

"A perceptive woman to be sure," Garson sighed. "Couldn't you just beat me or something? Anything is better than listening to your prattle."

"And screw up any chance I have of watching you snuff it? Or better yet, giving you the injection?" The Guard sneered. "Not a chance. There's no way I'm going to miss you getting iced."

"Actually…There is a good possibility that you are."

"What?" The guard turned around and was knocked out with one punch by one of three masked figures, covered completely in black.

"Congratulations Garson," Another figure in black spoke as he took the keys from the guard and opened the cell. "You've made early parole."

"Unless of course you want to finish your dinner?" The first one joked.

"I'd rather starve," Garson stepped out of the cell. He then noticed that each man had familiar looking teleportation backpacks. "I take it that this rescue is due to…"

"Ah, ah, ah!" The third figure held up his finger. "No names. Never know who could be listening!"

"And the finishing touch," The first masked figure placed something on the cell cot before he teleported away with Garson and the others.

It was a black rose.


"How the hell did that bastard manage to escape from the most secure military prison on Earth?" Shane roared. The Galaxy Rangers and Stingray were in their office when they heard the news. Cain had come down to tell them personally.

"Scanners proved that the intruders had some kind of primitive teleportation devices," Cain said. "The same ones we saw before with the Black Rose. And just to confirm our suspicions they placed a black rose at the scene. Which is a tad melodramatic for my tastes but still…"

"I guess Garson did have a few friends left in the Black Rose," Shane remarked. "Those Black Roses are like cockroaches. Every time we squash a few of them, more show up!"

"I never thought I could be this angry," Niko fumed. "Garson was responsible for the deaths of my parents and my colony! For him to just run out and escape justice…"

"He won't escape justice for long!" Shane told her. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"This hasn't been a good couple of days for us, has it?" Stingray grumbled. "First Flashfire's grave gets robbed now this?"

"Don't be so pessimistic," Cain told them. "We're going to hunt down all those bastards even if we have to look under every rock on every planet on every galaxy in the universe!"

"Garson won't escape justice so easily," Zach agreed.

"Not just that jerk," Cain said. "Flashfire was a hero. And heroes need to be honored. Not sliced apart and stuffed in a Petri dish! Supertroopers have been used as weapons far too long."

"That's one benefit of being trained as a weapon," Shane growled. "You learn to fight like one. But this time I'm going to fight for all of us!"

A glint formed in Shane's eye. "Garson wanted me to become a bounty hunter. I think I should grant his wish, don't you?"