The operation was only a few weeks away-this was their last chance to turn back.
They gathered at a hunting lodge in the high desert. It was situated on a jagged, surprisingly-forested mountain. The lodge was an expensive, two-story place, not some tiny little shack. At the moment, the timber-and-stone building was surrounded by dark sedans. Heavily-armed plainclothes guards were patrolling the area. The men inside didn't want to meet-it was a risk-but, given the importance of what was about to happen, they felt that they needed to make sure that everyone was still in agreement.
Only one of them lived in the region. The others had traveled from far away, and by covert means. Sneaking onto a train in a fedora and dark glasses, giving a false name at the airport, dressing like middle-class men. These men often needed to make unofficial business trips, so their loved ones hadn't been suspicious.
It was late afternoon. Perfectly-rectangular shafts of sunlight were streaming in through the windows, illuminating the floating dust. The lodge's interior had been done in a rustic style, with rugs and wall hangings that were done in Southwestern patterns, and with Southwestern colors. A huge stone chimney sat unused. The men met in the living room, which was just off of the stairs. There was a strange device in the middle of the room-a phonograph-sized scrambler that would prevent them from being electronically surveilled or recorded.
They'd kept the circle as small as possible; only five men knew every detail of the operation:
There was the Slick Handler. A charming, well-bred Ivy Leaguer who now worked for the CIA, and ran assets for them. He was the youngest of the five men, but he had the most important job.
The Pentagon Bureaucrat. This Army lifer had finally retired from the service, but he'd taken an office job for the Department of Defense. He hated it, he really did, but those white-collar boys needed a real man to explain certain things to them, and he'd taken it upon himself to do so.
The Southern Senator. He had three settings: angry, indignant, and outraged. If you hadn't known that he was a politician, it would have been easy to assume that his life's goal was to get his picture next to the dictionary definition of "seething."
The Lone Star Oilman. As far as he was concerned, the West was the only frontier that mattered. All this newfangled space garbage was just a necessary evil-keeping up with the Commies and all that. Sure, it was nice that they'd set up shop in Houston, but...
And, finally, there was the High-Ranking CIA Lackey, a man who was still waiting for his turn in the top spot. He'd fixed problems for all sorts of important people, and it was past time for him to get something in return.
"We have to do it," the Southern Senator said, pounding his fist on the arm of his chair. "It's the only way to save the country."
The Lone Star Oilman was fidgeting with his bolo tie, but he stopped long enough to nod. "I agree...and, to be honest, I don't even know what we're doing here. There's nothing to discuss. The only question is, are our men ready?"
"They're ready," the Slick Handler said, maybe a little too casually. "Sentinel-8 and Agent Branch are more than capable of doing the job, and so are their backups. We also have multiple, redundant support crews in place, and they're all lie-detector-confirmed and truth-serum-confirmed to be trustworthy. One set of crews for Recon and Interference, and another for after-the-fact Extraction."
"As far as I'm concerned, there was only one thing holding us back, and it's been dealt with." The High-Ranking CIA Lackey's face wasn't as confident as his words. "According to our intel, the space-program mutant is dead. Dr. Richards says that there was a 'cosmic-level event' in a distant part of our galaxy. He charted the course the generator was on, and it matches up."
"That's wonderful...but that wasn't the only issue," the Pentagon Bureaucrat said. "I still say that Sentinel-3 should be one of the two shooters. I've read his file, and he's an amazing young man. Plus, from the sound of it, he took care of our mutie problem for us. God only knows how he tricked him into flying the generator clear."
"Nothing has changed," the Slick Handler muttered. "Sentinel-3 is still pro-Kennedy. And, to be honest with you, I don't even know if he survived his last assignment. He hasn't checked back in, yet. But it can take them a while to do that."
The Lone Star Oilman chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "Just dangle that ol' shield in front of his face."
"That's what I've been doing," the Slick Handler said, glaring at the oilman, "but he hasn't budged an inch. I've dropped hints, and told him that a 'change of attitude' would increase his chances of getting the job, but he's a brick wall. If I actually tried to bring him into the operation, he'd kill me on the spot."
"The other shooters are good enough-they can rise to the occasion." The High-Ranking CIA Lackey was from colder climes, and he took out a handkerchief, dabbing at his forehead. "Dallas could be the best chance we ever get. And if we wait too long, it could all be for nothing. You just know the papers will turn him into some kind of martyr. If people find out about his opinions on certain things-things that haven't been announced yet-they'll turn them into 'Kennedy's final wishes' and try to write them in stone. No, we have to take him out now, before any of that reaches the public."
None of the men spoke about these things that hadn't been announced...but, if you were in the intelligence community, you would have been hearing about them for months.
Even the man on the street knew that Kennedy had strong disagreements with the CIA, and that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover far from being his best friend. But what the man on the street didn't know was that Kennedy was starting up a new government agency. It would be called S.H.I.E.L.D., and in addition to dealing with all the costumed criminals that were running around, it would also target unusual foreign spies, such as the Chameleon and the Black Widow. In other words, it would be usurping some of the FBI and CIA's most important duties. Many in those organizations feared that they were about to be replaced. Kennedy would no longer be dependent on them; he'd get his manpower from a different source. Even worse, he was picking a legendary war hero to run it, the next best thing to Captain America. And the second-in-command would be a woman, which angered many.
The other unannounced issue involved a new anti-mutant program. Human agents struggled when going up against mutants, so they were going to design mutant-hunting robots. The military already had an unusual engineer/anthropologist who wanted to design them. They were afraid that Americans wouldn't stand for such a gross invasion of civil rights, so they were going to give them a Captain America-related name (Sentinels, just like their elite human agents), and they were also going to paint them in ridiculous, non-threatening colors. A purple that was dark, and a purple that was so light it was practically pink. But Kennedy was soft on mutants. He agreed that they could be a threat, but he wanted to evaluate them on a case-by-case basis. Also, his advisors thought that some of the current heroes were secretly mutants, and that they'd police their own ranks. Kennedy was going to come out against the Sentinel program. In addition to angering the military, that also angered the country's defense contractors, who stood to make a fortune by supplying parts and materials.
Those two issues had driven these men to act. The fear of being replaced by a new government agency, and the fear that Kennedy wouldn't sign off on the Sentinel program. They'd put the plan together in utmost secrecy. Even when it happened, they suspected that the country would make up some other conspiracy to explain it: they'd blame Russia, or Cuba, or organized crime.
The High-Ranking CIA Lackey was still talking. "Once the shots have been taken, the hardest part will be over. From what I've been told, Dallas' cops aren't Kennedy fans, and capturing the patsy just might turn them into national heroes. I doubt they'll go out of their way to investigate any further. Hoover will suspect, but this helps him just as much as it helps us. And we'll have cover-story-supporting 'witnesses' planted in the plaza. They'll back up our version of events, and we'll be dealing with investigators who either don't care or benefit from Kennedy's death. Now, whenever you have a homicide investigation, there will be a certain number of inconsistencies, and this will be the biggest homicide investigation in history. A few strange details may pop up, but law-enforcement shouldn't look twice. They know how these circuses are."
"What about the caped wackos, though?" The Pentagon Bureaucrat's bluster had faded. "Kennedy is extremely pro-hero, and if they start looking into it..."
"We specifically chose the patsy with them in mind. He's a scrawny, pathetic civilian-he doesn't have any special abilities, and he isn't connected to any of their enemies. He'll be arrested quickly, and then die. There won't be anyone for them to fight."
The others seemed reassured, but the Slick Handler was still nervous. He got up and paced around.
"And it'll be the perfect moment to introduce our new Captain America," the Southern Senator said. "The country will be trying to recover from this 'horrible tragedy'-everybody will be nice and teary-eyed-and they'll eat it up. They'll want a fresh start, so we'll give it to 'em."
The Pentagon Bureaucrat picked up a large, flat package, which was covered in brown paper. He unwrapped it, revealing a round metal shield and a uniform with a full facemask. Both the shield and the uniform were matte black.
"Now, this is the prototype suit and shield we've been testing," the Pentagon Bureaucrat said. "We had one of the more trustworthy Sentinel agents use the gear on a few night-jobs. When the time comes, we'll make a final version of the suit with the right colors. Shield's made of carbonadium we stole from the Russians."
"I hate to say it, but, Sentinel-3 is our best choice," the High-Ranking CIA Lackey said. "He may not be one of us, but he's clearly the best candidate. And Kennedy's death will kick him into overdrive."
"I don't like it," the Lone Star Oilman said. "I don't trust him."
"Grow up, buddy," the Pentagon Bureaucrat said. "He may not be on the same page as us, but it'll be easy to find a way to control him. And, in America, the job should go to the most qualified person...as long as it's a white man."
That got a few chuckles.
The Slick Handler was still pacing, and he glanced out the window. "Hey...where are the guards?"
Gunfire tore through the room, hitting all five men. They collapsed on the living room floor. A moment later, Sentinel-3 casually leapt down from the second floor.
Three of the five men were clearly dead. He walked over to the fourth, putting two bullets in his head. That left only the Slick Handler.
"Hello, 'John.' "
"Oh god...oh god..." Sentinel-3's handler was trying to keep his blood in with just one hand, using the other to push himself backwards. But he was just barely inching along.
"The mutant was really making you nervous," Sentinel-3 said. "The space program needed him, and we could have drugged him until we figured out what to do with him, but you wanted him dead ASAP. You were worried about what he might see, right? Everyone knew about his 'visions.' If he wasn't hallucinating, he might have been seeing the past or the future, and you were afraid that he'd find out about Dallas."
"Just-just listen, okay?"
"And in New York, when you sent us to take him out, you didn't send the usual snipers. The best ones. You acted like this was the most important mission possible, but they had something else going on."
"Nobody has to know about this! Look, I'll call off the operation, and you can still have the Cap job! I'll tell them that somebody else did this, and you saved me!"
"When you first told me about this, you said something like, 'the country can't take another big hit.' You acted like you were talking about Doom seizing power in Latveria, but it was actually this. You knew this was coming, and if the mutant went over to the Russians, or told the world what he was, it'd make things even more chaotic."
"You think he's a saint? His father was connected to the Boston mob, one of his mistresses was a Russian agent-"
Sentinel-3 laughed. "I kill people for a living, genius. You think I'm going to be morally outraged by politicians behaving like politicians? Yeah, he has feet of clay...just like all the new heroes. He understands the Dream, which is more than I can say for you. Is that really the best you've got?"
"I've got money, I've...you can do more than just be Captain America...we'll put you in charge of a new version of the Invaders..."
Sentinel-3 aimed at his handler.
"You'll never be Captain America, now," his handler spat. "Even if you find the others, they'll die before they talk. You'll never prove any of this."
"I know," Sentinel-3 said.
"They'll figure out that you did this, but they won't know why, and they'll hunt you for the rest of your life. They'll-"
Sentinel-3 shot him, and then went over to grab the shield and uniform. It was some Space Age material, but it felt tougher the suit that "Halo Knight" had worn, even though it didn't have any padding underneath. That suit had been designed for space work and combat; this one was exclusively for combat.
His CIA career had just ended, but Camelot would keep on going. The heroes would continue to have a friend in the White House, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be formed, and that robot program would have a hard time getting off the ground. But the country had just been robbed of a new Captain America, and it needed one. Sentinel-3 felt empty. Still, he'd met Nick Fury a few times, and he trusted him. Fury would be more than capable of finding someone to wield the shield.
Sentinel-3 would never be part of the Dream, but he could protect it from the outside. It was more than a worthy cause.
He walked out of the lodge, carrying the shield and uniform with him, and vanished into the countryside. Sentinel-3 had come out of the desert in his youth; it was only fitting for him to return to it now. His future started to take shape in his mind. He'd hunt down the other conspirators, and then he'd begin the work of shielding the country from the shadows. Sentinel-3 suspected that he'd be traveling a lot. He was about to become a fugitive, a wanderer...a Nomad...
Thanks for reading, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the story.
Yes, the "Avenging Angel" really was a superhero before he joined the X-Men, though it's a little bit of a retcon. A backup story in the original X-Men run reveals the details of this, and how he joined the team. As far as I know, no one's ever done much with this (brief) portion of his career, so I thought I would. And guess who was active right around the same time? A devil and an angel in the same city...one of them blue-collar, one of them blue-blooded...one pretty well-trained, the other an utter rookie? I thought it'd be a natural fit for a forgotten team-up.
Most of this sticks to the original 616 chronology, but there were a few places where I had to cheat. Daredevil's comic actually debuted right after the X-Men's did, but in this, I have him active before the X-Men, so he can team up with a pre-X-Men Angel. I also altered Daredevil's yellow suit a bit. In the old comics, he was depicted with generic, blank white eyes, but I thought I'd give him red lenses, instead. His next suit has them (or at least, his eyes are colored red), and it makes him less like Batman. Also, I love the look of the Reverse-Flash on the CW's Flash series, and he also has red eyes with a yellow body.
I've always been fascinated by the idea of forgotten heroes, such as Sentry and Triumph...but, for whatever reason, they tend not to catch on. Maybe fans resent having "important" characters shoehorned into history? I personally think that characters like that have a lot of potential. I wanted Paul to be obsessed with light and darkness, and I felt that the Sentry and the Void's existence would be a good spark for that. I also performed some timeline-cheating with the Sentry. Originally, before his disappearance, he met the Avengers (at the time of this story, they hadn't been formed yet), and he also met the X-Men (ditto), teaching Angel a lesson about heroism. (The villain in that Sentry/X-Men story? The General!) In this, I have the Sentry hide his existence a little ahead of schedule. Also, I don't think that Dr. Strange had debuted yet, but I have him help the Sentry hide.
Did the original Angel have a magic cape? Yes. Yes, he did. I wanted to include more of him in the final issue, but I simply ran out of room.
Going against expectations is always fun. You'd think that the young man in the space program would be the optimistic one, and the hitman would be more cynical...but here, it's the opposite.
Again, thanks for reading.