MASK 2:The Next Generation
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Marcus Gilford
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AN:Welcome back. You're probably wondering who Darwood's friend was and why he had Julie Gates so scared. Well, I can tell you one thing before we start: the chapter is named after him.
I also have to warn you that it's going to get a little dark about halfway through the chapter. Also, I wrote in a joke told by Liam to his teammates. I thought it was rather funny and I'd like to know what you thought of it.
Here we go.
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"You have some nerve bringing him here!" yelled Gates. "You knew Julie would be here and you knew how she'd react!"
"What can I say?" said Darwood. "I'm sadistic."
"Marcus Gilford." gasped Julie. "Not him."
"Well, if it isn't FBI agent Julie Gates." said Marcus. "Last time I saw you, it was through a sniper scope."
"Don't remind her." growled Gates.
He was too late. Julie remembered the last time Marcus faced her.
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Three years earlier...
Marcus situated himself in an office overlooking FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He calmly assembled his sniper rifle and waited for his target to appear. After a few minutes, she did.
Julie Gates walked towards the building talking with one of her fellow agents, Jeremy Sanchez. They were discussing her case. She was assisting in the investigation of businessman Malcolm Darwood. Darwood had been doing business with several associates of Miles Mayhem, the recently deceased former leader of VENOM.
"What did this Mayhem do?" asked Jeremy.
"He led a group of subversives working for an organization called 'Contraworld'." said Julie. "They conducted hundreds of daring heists between 1985 and 1997."
"Julie!" called a man with brownish-blonde hair.
"I'll fill you in later." said Julie. She turned to face the man as Jeremy entered the building.
"What's going on, Matt?" asked Julie.
"Bruno Sheppard is dead." said Matt. "There was a fight in prison."
"What? When did this happen?" asked Julie.
"A couple of hours ago." said Matt. "We were getting some information on the wherabouts of Gorey and Malloy when he got into another fight with another inmate. Unfortunately, this one had made a knife out of a spoon."
"Did you get anything?" asked Julie.
"Have you ever heard of a company called Vampire Computer Systems?" asked Matt.
"I have." said Julie. "I noticed the name coming up frequently in Darwood's phone records. What about them?"
"Sheppard was talking with them quite frequently as well." said Matt. "We theorize that VCS consists of Gorey and Malloy since Malloy's vehicle was called Vampire."
"Vampire Computer Systems." said Julie. "And I thought they named it because it was, you know, edgy. I'll look into it some more."
"Thanks." said Matt. "We've also got some information about a Weller Robotics. Sheppard was talking with one of their representatives quite frequently as well."
Matt turned and walked away and Julie walked towards the building again. Before she got there, she thought about Matt's information. She remembered that Weller Robotics was owned by Darwood Industries. She turned to Matt and said "Matt!"
That's when it happened. Marcus pulled the trigger while aiming for Julie's heart. However, in the split second he was pulling the trigger, she was turning to talk to Matt. The bullet hit her in the arm.
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Her next memory was waking up in the hospital, her father and Matt by her side.
"She's coming around." said Gates.
"Julie, are you alright?" asked Matt.
"I think so." said Julie. "What happened?"
"You were shot." said Matt. "A sniper was trying to kill you, but he hit your arm instead."
"Who?" asked Julie.
"We found the rifle used." said Gates. "We checked the prints and it came back as Marcus Gilford."
"We discovered he went to college with Malcolm Darwood." said Matt.
"Have you arrested him?" asked Julie.
"Unfortunately, we can't." said Gates. "He's fled the country."
"I'm afraid we have only circumstantial evidence connecting him with Darwood." said Matt. "That's a dead end as well."
"So, that's it?" asked Julie. "There's no more leads?"
"Relax." said Gates. "We'll find something. I promise. I will not stop until we can prove Darwood's involvement."
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And back to the present...
"You tried to kill me." said Julie.
"And I could have succeeded." said Marcus. "I could've taken out Trakker as well if my stupid gun hadn't jammed."
"Great addition to your team." said Gates. "The only professional assassin in the world who's too stupid to take care of his weapons."
"What was that?" yelled Marcus as he lunged towards Gates.
"Don't hurt him!" yelled Julie.
"Listen to her." said Darwood. "I want him alive and aware. My plans for revenge demand it. Skull, come with me."
"Why?" asked Skull.
"I need you to help me find something." said Darwood. "Come on."
The two men entered the main storage building. They walked past several military units with signs listing them as "Illegal", "Obsolete", or "Unusable".
"What are we looking for?" asked Skull.
"None of these." said Darwood.
"Need help?" asked Crossbones as he entered.
"What are you doing in here?" asked Skull.
"I thought there might be more defenses in here." said Crossbones. "Also, I didn't want to be around those troops if Gates suddenly said 'boo'."
"There's probably a directory around here." said Skull. "That will tell us where it is."
"Over here." said Darwood. Skull activated the computer.
"I don't get it." said Crossbones. "Why are all of these 'illegal' weapons here? Why were they made in the first place?"
"You don't want to know the answer to that." said Skull. "What am I looking for, Darwood?"
"You're looking for something called the 'Mind's Pencil'." said Darwood.
"What's that?" asked Crossbones.
"I don't know yet." said Skull as he went to work. "Don't know what to make of the name."
Shortly, a file came up on the computer.
"Here it is." said Skull. "Wow, it must be dangerous. It's on the fast track to disposal."
"Is it still intact?" asked Darwood.
"Looks like it." said Skull. "What the...?"
"What is it?" asked Crossbones.
"I just saw the nature of the weapon." said Skull.
"What is it?" asked Crossbones.
"Mind control." gasped Skull.
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The MASK team was on their way in the transport. Jeremy was up front checking with the flight crew.
"We should be nearing George Island within a couple of hours." said Jeffries.
"Thanks." said Jeremy.
"You have a name for this plane?" asked Jeffries.
"I was thinking of calling it Bluebird." said Jeremy. "I think the other will be called Blue Jay."
"That's not gonna get confusing." joked Jeffries.
Jeremy laughed and went back to the agents.
"After that, I said 'What wires?'" said Enzo.
The other agents laughed.
"What's up?" asked Jeremy.
"We're trading jokes to pass time." said Michael, still laughing over Enzo's last one.
"Needless to say, Enzo's getting in a lot." said Wei.
"Anyone else have one?" asked Jeremy.
"I do." said Liam. "Let me tell ye the tale of Agents Johnson and Murphy."
"Let him tell it." said Max. "It's a good one."
"Okay." said Liam. "Here it goes. One day, the director of the CIA called Agent Johnson, his best spy hunter, into his office."
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Liam's joke...
"You wanted to see me, sir?" asked Johnson.
"Yes, Agent Johnson." said the director. "Agent Murphy went missing in Ireland after a mission gone wrong. He has most likely gone to his safe house in a small Irish village. We want you to bring him home."
"When I find Murphy, how will I know him?" asked Johnson.
The director told him "If you think you've found Agent Murphy, tell him 'The weather report calls for mist in the morning.' If it's him, he'll respond with 'Aye, but also mist in the afternoon.'"
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"After that, Johnson left for Ireland." said Liam. "However, he quickly ran out of leads. He went to a local pub for information."
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Johnson went up to the bartender "I'm looking for a man named Murphy."
"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific than that." said the bartender. "There's lots of folks in this town named Murphy. There's Murphy the Baker, our local pastry chef. Also, there's Murphy the Banker who handles all our financial needs. There's also Murphy the Blacksmith, our local iron worker.
Johnson's face dropped. "That's a lot of Murphys." he said.
"Aye." said the bartender "Why, me own name happens to be Murphy."
Upon hearing this, Johnson's ears perked up. He thought "Is this the man I've been looking for? Has my search come to an end?" He then looked the bartender right in the eyes and said "The weather report calls for mist in the morning."
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"When he heard this, the bartender was shocked." said Liam. "His jaw dropped, his eyes widened, and then he said...'Oh, you want Murphy the SPY! He lives just up the street.'"
Several of the agents laughed. Michael grinned. Enzo almost fell out of his seat. Kenny barely broke his expression, but he was obviously amused.
Jeremy laughed too, then said "Okay, I'd hate to break up the fun, but we have to lay out our game plan."
"Okay, go ahead." said Max.
"As I said earlier, George Island has a thick radar net that Darwood is no doubt using now." said Jeremy. "We have to shut it down if we're going to get the plane in to release the vehicles."
"As I asked earlier, how are we going to get past the radar net?" asked Max.
"The radar net, as you're no doubt aware, does not extend beneath the surface of the ocean." said Jeremy. "There's a harbor on the northwest point that creates too much radar interferance to detect anything. That's where you come up."
"How do we get in there?" asked Scooter.
"Enzo, you've been trained with the Marlin." said Jeremy. "Why don't you explain?"
"The Marlin's alternate form is a submarine." said Enzo. "We'll use it to swim into the harbor completely undetected."
"Only one problem." said Scooter. "If the harbor is such a weak link, won't Darwood have increased security there?"
"Very likely." said Jeremy. "He probably has the base guards working for him by force. That's why you're going to have to get out of there as quickly as possible. I'm sorry. There's just no other way."
"Could get really hot in there, eh?" said Enzo.
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"We found it." said Skull as he continued working on the computer. "The Mind's Pencil."
"I'm a little afraid of what that thing can do." said Crossbones. "Should we have the capability of rewriting our enemies' minds?"
"I agree." said Skull. "But Darwood's made up his mind to control those of others. Hey, what's this?"
"What do you see?" asked Crossbones.
"A little history." said Skull. "I can't believe Darwood missed this."
"Is it still here?" asked Crossbones.
"Yes." said Skull. "Wanna go look for it?"
"Might as well." said Crossbones. "Got nothing better to do."
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The Bluebird landed in the ocean just off George Island. The engines shut down and the ventral hatch opened.
In the hold, Enzo and Scooter climbed into the Marlin. "Scared?" asked Enzo.
"You have no idea." said Scooter.
"No, I think I do." said Enzo.
A gantry crane maneuvered over the Marlin and lowered its magnet to the Marlin's roof.
"Okay, after this, you're on your way to the harbor." said Jeremy. "After that, you're on your own. Good luck."
The magnet lifted up the Marlin and carried it over to the hatch. Enzo gave Jeffries a thumbs-up and the Marlin was lowered into the sea.
Underwater, the Marlin's rear fenders extended to reveal four waterjet engines. The rear hatch flipped to reveal vertical stabilizers and a laser cannon. The front wheels rotated up to become directional propellers. The hood slid forward to reveal a torpedo bank and a gripper claw.
"Okay, let's find that harbor." said Scooter. "Let's get this over with."
Enzo cruised through the ocean and found the harbor.
"We can probably get onto the island using that slope." said Enzo.
Enzo pulled onto the slope and converted the Marlin back into a car. He and Scooter then climbed out.
"What's wrong?" asked Enzo.
"There should be guards swarming all over us." said Scooter. "Where are they?"
"I say let's get out of here before you get your answer." said Enzo. "Come on."
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Where were the guards? Darwood had them recalled to the base. The "Mind's Pencil" had been recovered. The Foxbat was landing.
"Why have you recalled all of the island's guards to the base?" asked Gates.
"You'll see." said Darwood.
The other Foxes got off the plane. "It WAS still here." said Frankenstein. "Is it ready?"
"It's ready." said Darwood. "Please, have a seat and watch me use it."
"What does this thing do again?" asked Gearbox.
"It's a mind control ray." said Darwood. "VENOM used a variant on a small American town in an effort to steal a superlaser. This is the more powerful original. Skull should have finished rigging up the control broadcast tower by now." Darwood took out his communicator and activated it. "Skull, is the broadcast tower for the control signal ready?" he asked.
"It done ." said Skull between bursts of static.
"Skull, where are you?" asked Darwood. "I'm getting some static."
"I a coup levels do." said Skull. "I'm look for someth."
"You're looking for something? It had better be a vital organ!" yelled Darwood. "Now, get up here and make sure that broadcast tower is working properly!"
"Alright!" yelled Skull into his communicator. He put it away and said to Crossbones "What a grouch!"
"Ladies and gentlemen," said Darwood "I'm sure you're wondering what's going on here. The thing is I have acquired one of the weapons that was supposed to be disposed of at this facility. Those of you in the clerical department probably know it as being in the 'Experimental/Other' category. Because of your manager's emotions, I now have it and am about to use it. I at least give you the comfort, and at the same time the displeasure, that you will not be killed by this weapon. Skull, is it ready?"
"All set." said Skull as he entered the control room.
"Good." said Darwood. "Foxes, put on your masks."
Any Foxes who didn't have their masks on put on their masks.
"So, that's your plan." said Gates. "You're going to use the Mind's Pencil to take control of the minds of everyone on this base and make them your zombie slaves. What will you do with them afterward?"
"Why, use them to destroy MASK, of course." said Darwood. "By the way, thank you for calling Sanchez. We'll be waiting for him."
"What makes you think he'll come?" asked Gates.
"He'll come." said Darwood. "I know his type. One last thing: you'll notice that the business end of the Pencil is pointing away from you. With you are some of the base's personel. We couldn't let this base fall apart because esssential personel were rendered...well, mindless."
"I see that." said Gates. "I've also noticed that you've put Julie and myself in the safe zone. I assume that's to make us witness the horror you plan to unleash."
"Well, there's just one more thing." said Darwood. "Slash, put Gates' daughter in her place."
Slash grabbed Julie and dragged her over to the base personel.
"No! Stop!" she cried.
"Let her go!" yelled Gates.
"You are in a position unsuitable to give orders!" said Darwood.
Slash held on to Julie as he reached the base personel.
"You'll be fine, Slash." said Darwood as he walked over to the controls. "I don't think the Mind's Pencil can hit that small of a target."
Darwood flipped a few switches and the Pencil powered up. He flipped a few more and some more systems came online. Darwood gave a last smug look to the crowd, then pushed the largest button.
An energy wave swept through the crowd. Everybody's gaze became quite vacant. Grips relaxed and people dropped what they were holding.
Blades ducked behind the Rabbit and stared in shock.
After about half a minute, Darwood shut the Pencil down and looked out at his new army.
"Just perfect." he said.
Gates dropped to his knees in shock, dismay, and incredible self-hatred. "What have I done?" he asked.
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On the northern beach, the MASK agents unloaded their vehicles. Rocky rode up to Jeremy on the Warhorse.
"I just did a head count." he said. "All agents and vehicles accounted for."
"Excellent." said Jeremy. "Prepare to move out."
Rocky pulled away and Jeremy walked over to the Behemoth to check on Scooter.
"Scooter, how long should that radar bypass hold?" he asked.
"A few hours at best." said Scooter. "It was a little tougher than a civilian airfield's radar, but I got it."
"Good to know." said Jeremy.
"Jeremy, I just picked up some kind of energy wave!" said Scooter.
"Are any of us at risk?" asked Jeremy.
"No, it doesn't appear to be strong enough." said Scooter. "I think we're out of range."
"Stay on it." said Jeremy. "Something's odd here."
"You got it." said Scooter.
Jeremy walked away and said "Captain Jeffries, Chris, Liam, come here for a second."
Jeffries, Chris, and Liam walked over.
"Jeffries, the radar net will be back up in a few hours." said Jeremy. "I think it would be best if you made yourself scarce."
"I understand." said Jeffries. "Call me if you need me."
"I will." said Jeremy. "On a similar note, Chris and Liam, your vehicles are capable of flight, so you won't be allowed to take off without permission. Understood?"
"Understood." said Liam.
"I gotcha." said Chris.
"Then we're all set." said Jeremy.
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AN:And so, the retaking of George Island begins.
For this chapter's profiles, I thought I'd turn the spotlight on Chris and Kenny.
Chris Bush
Allegiance:MASK 2
Position:Martial Artist/Explosives Expert
Cover Job:Demolition Man
Birthplace:Dallas Mask:Breaker (destabilizes a small object's molecular structure, making it highly explosive)
Vehicle Code Name:Roc (Ford F-150/jet bomber)
Bio:In college, Chris was dating a girl who meant the world to him. However, she left to join the space program just before he was about to propose. Heartbroken, he threw himself into his martial arts practice (Shotokan Karate) and explosives research. He is also a huge fan of "Buckaroo Banzai" and usually quotes the film at opportune moments.
Kenny Harrison
Allegiance:MASK 2
Position:Survivalist
Cover Job:Forest Ranger
Birthplace:Calgary
Mask:Noah (allows Kenny to issue orders to animals)
Vehicle Code Name:Behemoth (Mack Ultraliner & box trailer/heavy battle tank and mobile base)
Bio:Kenny was raised in one of the more rural areas of Canada. His parents taught him to respect nature and learn from it. As a result, Kenny grew up (a lot) to be a steadfast environmentalist and avid animal lover. At six feet and six inches in height and a very muscular 300 pounds, he is easily the largest of the new MASK agents.
There is more to come.