Static Force Chapter 13: Eve of Destruction

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction...the chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

Chaos was nothing new the electric-powered hero, a concept that seemed overly out of place in his young mind. Most teenagers his age were concerned with the dire need to buy the newest CD or get their own cell phone. God forbid they suffer being shot down by the object of their affections, for who could ever survive such a tragedy. The thought of average teenage pressures would have certainly been more amusing to the young man had he not been otherwise preoccupied with dodging the hurling fireballs the raging pyromaniac continued to throw in his direction. How he longed for the days when his biggest crisis was making it to the school dance without suffering an outbreak of acne.

But this was his life, and so, when word came that Ebon and the Meta-Breed had attacked the SCU headquarters, Static summoned his team immediately. In his own haste however, he arrived before the others, a slight error in judgment as he struggled desperately to keep himself from being either killed by the Breed or captured by the SCU, neither of which was an easy task.

For what it was worth however, the Special Crimes Unit did a fairly reasonable job slowing down the destructive efforts of the Breed, and though his own presence caused many of the officers to turn their attention towards him, he was nonetheless thankful the Breed did not direct all their efforts on his unwanted demise.

The situation itself had quickly deteriorated however, for no matter how hard the SCU fought, the violent Bang Babies assaulting their base of operations ultimately outmatched them. Static fared little better, spending most of his time avoiding the attacks thrown at him which effectively kept him from mounting any offense of his own. Yet for all constructive purposes, the Breed was holding back, and that single thought was what bothered Static more than the struggle at hand.

Before he could contemplate the situation further however, the newest member of the Breed, Jersey, launched herself at the hero, an unexpected move that would have blindsided the young man had she not been intercepted by Talon. "Took you long enough," Static said, relief pouring from his words as he turned to see Gear, Shebang and RubberBand Man assemble behind him, the last two already sprinting toward the battle to engage Chainlink and Hotstreak.

"Well, if SOME people would wait, we could have organized some offensive bro." Gear smirked through his visor, the amused expression mocking his best friend. With that the brilliant teen flew into the battle, his eyes directed toward Puff.

"Yeah, yeah..." the young man on the flying discus remarked, firing a blast of electricity towards Ebon while deflecting the energy charges fired by the SCU officers. Regardless of any potential organization consolidating their numbers may have initiated, the scene itself quickly deteriorated to one of absolute madness.

Talon spun her body in perfect precision, dodging the volley of energy Jersey continued to launch at her. The battle against the red-skinned Bang Baby was not easy however, for though Talon had the advantage of agility over her, Jersey was faster, which made each combatant's talent equal out.

Talon again launched a sonic screech that tore large chunks of brick and mortar from the police station, but succeeded in missing her target. Likewise, the arrogantly smiling woman spun her body and used her speed to come behind her winged attacker, launching a pair of energy beams from her hands that the feathered teen easily dodged.

"What's the matter honey? Getting winded already?" Jersey mocked, a self-satisfied grin painting her features as she stared at the frustrated and increasingly angry Bang Baby.

Talon flew angrily at her mocking enemy, watching as Jersey used her own wings to propel herself from her line of attack. Talon however, used her advantageous agility to shift her decent at the last moment and collide painfully with the red-skinned villain, the result causing both women to fall tumble toward the earth below.

RubberBand Man and Shebang worked seamlessly in their efforts to subdue the jointed efforts of Hotstreak, Chainlink and Slipstream. RBM had created quite a modest funnel with his elastic body that seemed perfectly able to redirect the wind attacks of the gargantuan Slipstream.

Shebang however had a bit more trouble, dodging not only the dozen or so tentacles by Chainlink but also the fireballs the raging Hotstreak hurled in her direction. Her natural agility however gave her the perfect advantage, yet no sooner than she'd get in striking distance of either Chainlink or Hotstreak, then one of the formers metallic tendrils would bat her aside.

At some point during his battle with Slipstream however, the wind-wielding master grew tired of his attempts to battle the shape-morphing hero and flew off to join the battle against Gear. RBM couldn't worry about that now however as he moved quickly to support his teammate in her struggle against the two powerful criminals.

Extending his arms in a quickly snaking style that avoided the defensive attacks, RBM managed to batter Hotstreak aside as Shebang came running full sprint at her teammate. The coming attack had been practiced with little success, yet that did not deter the two from stopping the fight quickly.

Flipping into a handspring before launching her body at RBM, Shebang allowed her own momentum to carry her into the cushion of his chest, the force bending his pliable form in the measure of a slingshot. Using their combined talents, RBM launched Shebang at the tentacle-producing vandal at a speed appearing near invisible momentum. Despite his own thrashing weapons, Shebang managed to avoid each potential attack before driving her fists into Chainlink's scowling face, knocking the powerful man back against the crumbling wall of the police station.

They had little time to celebrate the success of their attack however, as the recovered Hotstreak launched a searing wall of fire at them, separating the heroes from their intended combatants. RBM and Shebang were forced back however as Slipstream, taking the page from heroes, used his own powers to feed the flame, the fire burning in a great pillar of destruction.

"Why can't you guys just ever make it easy?" Shebang remarked, placing her hand on her hip as she considered the barrier.

Onyx skulked across the battlefield, ignoring the efforts of the SCU to apprehend him as he continued to batter the officers away from his allies. Ebon himself gave the rock-like Bang Baby the mission to occupy the Special Crimes Unit, a job the powerful thug performed with extreme prejudice.

Strewn all about him were the unconscious bodies of officers willing to tackle a bigger enemy than they should. Ignorance however was no excuse, and Onyx preformed his measure of education with hostile results.

Grabbing the Kevlar uniform shirt of yet another officer, the heavy-fisted villain drove the unsuspecting specialist into the wall of the station house, knocking him unconscious as he slumped against the concrete. Onyx prepared to attack two other officers who continued firing their weapons at him, much to his annoyance, when the sudden movement caught his attention.

Staring fixedly at the strange, rippling form before him, Onyx contemplated the shimmering mirage-like figure before the heavy body collided with his, knocking the both of them against the nearby armored vehicle and sending it flipping on its side. Onyx knew a fight when he saw one, and though whatever this was before him, he would crush it like everything else.

"Come on Gear, you can do better than that," Puff smiled arrogantly as one of the geniuses spider-grapples passed through her incorporeal form.

Gear pulled away slightly, trying desperately to calm his labored breathing as he quickly moved, avoiding the random blasts the SCU continued to fire at the gathered Meta-Humans. His mind raced as he contemplated the means to defeat the boasting villain yet constantly his mind was drawn to other aspects of the battle. Talon and Jersey hitting the ground, neither of which was moving while Shebang and RBM battling Hotstreak and Slipstream. Static fought Ebon in a battle the genius was sure would repeat itself many times in the years to come, but now he struggled to subdue Puff, which proved more difficult than expected.

It was then that the large portal appearing beneath the SCU headquarters drew the suddenly terrified young man's attention away from the floating young woman. Ebon had apparently summoned a portal with the full intent of dropping the Special Crimes Unit off the edge of the earth. He would have succeeded too, had it not been for Static summoning all his own power to pull the massive building from the portal and stabilize its position.

Seeing the strain the exhaustive use of his powers were causing his best friend, Gear flew haphazardly toward the shadow master, fully intending to support his partner and leaving Puff behind. That however was an error he realized too late. The acidic villain had mastered her powers marvelously, and could shift her consciousness through the very air itself, effectively teleporting her own being. It was how she appeared before the startled tech wizard.

"Boo," Puff said, smiling as she expelled a gust of air that blanketed Gear. "Don't worry sweetie, Ebon wants you alive."

"What?" Gear choked, his own gag reflex reacting as he tried to purge the toxic fumes from his system. He realized immediately the lulling effect the cloud was having on his reflexes, and noticed too soon that his own effort to stay conscious failed as he fell into blissful darkness.

Static gritted his teeth against the effort of supporting the building. He never knew he had enough power to do something like this, but necessity often caused the realization of drastic measures. Yet despite his own, quickly tiring effort, he fought to keep the building from slipping into the void Ebon had summoned.

Yet as he felt his own mental efforts struggle, the sudden release of Ebon's portal caused his to flip head over heel at the sudden dissolving of the portal. As he righted himself, Static watched as Ebon looked in his direction, a smug and confident smile forming his features as he summoned portals for each of his allies. The sour taste of frustration tainted Static's mouth as he watched in silent frustration as his enemy quickly fled.

He had little time however to contemplate the situation as the recovering SCU operatives began making a valiant effort to collect and incarcerate the fatigued heroes. "Everyone," Static said tiredly, shifting his board slightly as he dodged yet another attack. "Pull back, we need to regroup."

"Static," Shebang said frantically over the Shock Vox, "they got Gear."

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The loud, clanging sound of metal drumming off the concrete floor sent a shockwave of pain through Gear's head as he wearily opened his unfocused eyes. Glaring and blinking his eyes into focus, the genius turned his attention to the half-circle of villains that stood before him.

"Bout time you woke up hero," Ebon smirked, his shadowy arms folded across his chest.

Gear groaned as he struggled to sit up, his concentration now focused on Shiv as the maniac worked quickly in his efforts to dissemble Backpack. Following his line of sight, Ebon smirked his usual cocky grin before answering. "Can't have you summoning the cavalry now can we?"

Gear sighed heavily, a fit of coughing expunging the fumes Puff used on him. "What do you want with me Ebon?" The genius glared, hoping he sounded braver than he felt.

"To the point as always, eh Gear?" With that, the shadow master tossed the rolled paper at the suffering young man. Unrolling the papers and scanning it only briefly, Ebon was welcomed with a mixture of disbelief and fear from Gear. "I want you to build that Gear."

After a moment of silent contemplation of the effectiveness of the device, the bright Bang Baby found his voice. "You're totally mad Ebon...there's no way I'll build this thing for you."

"Wow, I am impressed," Jersey broke in, an appraising smile donning her features. "He only skimmed it and realized what it could do."

Shock again filtered into Gear's system as he clutched the blueprints in a death grip of utter loathing. "You've gone completely off the deep end this time Ebon. What the Hell are you thinking?"

Sighing in complete disappointment, Ebon looked at the genius with a mixture of hate and pity. "I'm thinking its time we liberated the Bang Baby solution."

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"My fellow citizens," Mayor Isabelle Thomas said, addressing the gathered reporters as well as the cameras that carried her image across Dakota. The impromptu meeting had been hastily called to order, and thus she was not entirely prepared for the speech, yet good politics required the ability to think quickly while making a show of acting quicker. "It is my unfortunate duty to advise you that as of 11:03 a.m., this very afternoon, the Special Crimes Unit was involved in an assault with many known Meta-Humans.

"The attack on SCU headquarters all but destroyed the station, and sent more than 20 brave men and women in the service of their community to the hospital, many with very serious injuries. While it has been the stance of this administration in the past to support the so-called hero Static Shock and others like him, their involvement in this attack cannot go unchallenged.

"I fully believe it was the work of the SCU and none other that prevented civilian injuries. But we have suffered too much in our city to accept this mild relief as success of our mission," the mayor allowed for a brief pause, a show for the audience watching that her next words were what this meeting was all about.

"I, myself, as well as members of your city council have just signed an executive order initiating Marshal Law for the city of Dakota. Curfews will be enforced for all communities, and...though I greatly grieve the need for such action, I have requested aid from our state's National Guard division.

"Please bear in mind that we have not come to this decision lightly, yet to curb the violence threatening our streets, we have no alternative than to protect our citizens." Another moment of silence as the mayor raked the reactions she saw in the faces of those present. Regardless, she pushed forward. "In this time of crisis, the safety of our people is our only objective. We cannot submit to the fear that has grieved us all. We will push forward, and succeed, because failure is not an acceptable outcome."

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Static, RubberBand Man and Shebang sat in the private office of the Dakota Community and Wellness Center while Mr. and Mrs. Vale attended to the injuries Talon sustained during the battle. They weren't sure how badly she was injured, as the fall that caused her injuries was particularly nasty.

Static however couldn't shake the sinking feeling of failure that consumed him heart and soul. Not only was Talon injured, but also the Breed took Gear and the fear of not knowing what had happened to his best friend tore at him in silent desperation. And so, he waited like the others, pacing the length of the room as he considered what could have been done differently, all the while avoiding eye contact with his father and Talon's mother who both waited patiently as well.

A nearly a half an hour of uncertain waiting, the two doctors entered the room; both wearing satisfied looks on their faces.

"There isn't anything threatening in her condition right now," Mr. Vale said, his eyes focusing on Ms Garcia. "Give her a day and she'll be back to normal."

"It was really quite surprising," Mrs. Vale commented. "Judging by the fall she sustained, her injuries should have been much worse. We could only surmise her powers also give her an advanced healing factor as well."

A general and consensual sigh of relief echoed through the room as Ms Garcia stood immediately. "Can I see her?" After a gracious nod of approval, the woman rushed off to see her daughter.

"I don't get it," Static said, finally voicing his doubts after the fear of Talon's condition was removed from the pressure. "Why'd they take Gear?"

"That's something we'll have to ask them when we catch up to them, it's that simple." Shebang responded, ignoring the silent protests her own parents fixed upon her. She was certain that after seeing the badly injured Talon her parents would spend a great part of the coming evening trying to dissuade her from taking action. Regardless of the fact, however that she never asked for the powers she had, it was her choice on how to use them.

"There's a lot to think about on all matters," RubberBand Man said, leaning back in his chair to better distribute his weight. "You know the SCU won't let up now."

"No, you're definitely right about that," Robert said, finally bringing his own guiding influence into the circle. "I think it would be better if you all lay low for a while...at least until the danger is past."

"Can't do that pops..." Static sighed, shaking his head in protest. "As much as I'd love to take a vacation, Gear's still missing and we got to find him. It's a shame we couldn't have captured any of the Breed though, that would have made it easier."

"No kidding," Shebang said, her right hand resting against her left shoulder as she generously massaged the aching muscles in her back and neck. "We had Chainlink down. Shiv looked like he was taken down by a SCU blast..." Shebang replied, recounting the memory of the battle in her mind. "Any idea what Onyx was doing? When I saw him it looked like he was fighting with something...but I didn't get a good look, I was trying not to get burned by Hotstreak."

"That something would have been me," the disembodied voice stated as the large form of the massive lizard-like creature uncloaked itself for those within the room to witness. Immediately the heroes flexed instinctively, preparing for battle should it come to it while Mr. Hawkins and Mr. and Mrs. Vale backed into the far corner. "Don't be alarmed, I'm not here to fight."

Shebang however was the first to find her voice. "I remember you...you called yourself Grendel. Well what do you want if you haven't come here to threaten us?"

"I've come to help."

-To be continued

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A/N: Well, everything is now starting to fall into place. I had planned for Grendel to join Static's team earlier, but bringing him in without a good idea of how to do it was posing to be a problem. As for next chapter, you'll find out what Ebon is planning as the full-scale war Alva wanted gets underway. Not to mention, you'll have a better understanding of Alva's own team as well. evil cackle And you though the Breed was bad. MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. As always, reviews are welcomed. Hope you all enjoy.