Part of the Fifty States Initiative!

StormFront

Issue #3 written by D. Golightly

"Storm of the Century – Part Three"

TUESDAY, 2:05pm

"Do we all have to be out here in the cold?" Cynthia Smalls, codename: Bonfire, asked as she stood shivering. Her red hair was flapping in the cool, brisk Alaskan wind and the orange uniform she had just been issued clung to her body tightly.

"Yes," Blue Shield, the fledgling team's leader, answered gruffly. He had just met the other three members of FSI: 49, and they were now collectively waiting for their final member to join them. "Your dossier said you shouldn't have a problem warming yourself up."

"Yeah, this is like your home turf, right?" Ghost Girl inquired as her barely visible floating form turned to look at Bonfire. "Isn't all this snow like summer to you? I know that in Canada we—"

"I just don't see why we have to wait around for a supervillain," Bonfire interrupted. "Are you sure you got this right, Joey?"

Blue Shield shot an irritated look over his shoulder at the younger heroine. He saw Colleen Wing standing vigilant behind her, fighting not to let a small smirk show on her face. The samurai woman was more focused on the arrival of their last team member, the Abomination, who was being sent to them at Tony Stark's request through the Supervillian Correctional Program that the Initiative had instituted. Joseph had wanted the fledgling team ready to greet Blonksy, not only to ensure their first meeting went smoothly, but also so that if the green behemoth caused trouble the necessary muscle to take him down would be front and center.

Before he could reply the black SHIELD helicopter, identical to the one that had brought all of them to the remote installation, flew into view. Its rotors fought against the cold, stabbing breeze that Alaska was known for, giving credit to the pilot's skills. It circled once around the three-storey complex that was the headquarters for FSI: 49 before landing squarely on the helipad.

The side hatch opened to reveal a mountain of a man, or perhaps a creature, who had to duck to step out of the helicopter. Emil Blonsky, also known as the destructive Abomination, grinned a wide, toothy sneer at the collection of heroes as he approached. He wore nothing but a pair of blue tights, the cold seemingly unaffecting him.

"Greetings," the behemoth said.

"Hi!" the bubbly Ghost Girl replied. "I'm Lilli. That's Cynthia. That's Joseph. That's Colleen. We're superheroes! Welcome to our club."

Bonfire let out a small snort. "This isn't a club, you wacked out freak."

"Don't let her get to you," Lilli added quickly without taking her eyes off of Emil. "She's always crabby."

"What would make you think I care, little one?" the still sneering Abomination said. His expression made him look as if he was prepared to eat them. "Are they allowing children into this regime? I was under the impression that the Initiative had requirements to enlist. Get away from me and return to your parents, child."

Ghost Girl's form began to fade and become transparent as she took a few steps back from Blonsky. Colleen stared at the green giant with one hand resting almost comfortably on the hilt of her sword.

"Take me to where I am to sleep," the Abomination said coldly. "Do not disturb me."

"Now hold on a second!" Bonfire said as her hair began to smoke. She hadn't yet activated her powers but it appeared as if she was ready to at a moment's notice. "You're a bad guy! You don't give us orders. We give you orders. And I don't appreciate the attitude."

"Easy, Cynthia," Blue Shield said as he readied his force field.

"I have no need to be protected," Blonsky said. "I am here as a courtesy. Do not mistake my kindness of friendship."

"Kindness?" Bonfire blurted out. "Ha! That's a joke."

"Forgive me." The Abomination stood up to his full height, towering over all of them, and flexed his chest muscles which caused his green scales to ripple. "What I meant was that I turned myself in to the authorities and volunteered for this program. I am here of my own volition, but do not think that will stop me from snapping your pathetic little neck."

"That's it," Blue Shield said as he stepped between them. "Inside. Now."

"As you wish," the Abomination said. "This team, if it can even be referred to as such, will not last a week."

The Abomination proceeded to walk through the frightened Ghost Girl, avoiding Colleen Wing's gaze completely. Bonfire was fuming, literally, and Blue Shield was letting out the deep breath he had been holding.

Joseph hoped that Blonksy was wrong, but as of yet, he had no evidence to contradict the green behemoth. So far FSI: 49 was barely a cohesive unit and with the new arrival of a possibly uncontrollable villain he doubted things would get any easier. He motioned for the others to follow him toward the complex, trailing behind the Abomination. He noticed that his footprints in the fresh snow were barely half the size of Blonsky's, which sent a chill up his spine that had nothing to do with the low temperature.

THURSDAY, 3:30pm

"Kill them!" the Mole Man screamed at the top of his lungs, making his voice hoarse. "Kill them all now, my Moloids!"

Blue Shield extended his force field out as far as it would reach, illuminating the soft, snow-packed ground under them with a blue hue. What seemed like hundreds of Moloids, the vicious underworld dwelling creatures at the Mole Man's command, pounded against his shielding and threatened to break through. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he pushed himself to his limits, ensuring that he and his teammate wouldn't be trampled from the rushing creatures.

Colleen Wing was taking the opposite approach to their situation. Her sword swung in long arcs, slicing off any Moloid arms and legs that came close enough. The silver blade effortlessly cut into the creatures' flesh, striking down enough to stock a landfill with. She was also exerting herself beyond measure, but retained an air of grace as she fought.

Behind them was one of the twin Ghost Girls, having split herself into two entities to help both sets of StormFront. She had rushed to help them, and had succeeded in that task, however now she was beginning to feel uneasy. The same burst of light that had erupted from within her after splitting herself down the middle had returned, this time emanating from her entire body. Some of the Moloids shirked away from her quaking form as she began to glow all the more, the light soon mixing with that of Blue Shield's force field.

They had worked their way up the icy hill atop of which stood the Mole Man, who was hollering out orders to his minions. The crowd of Moloids had thickened significantly as they moved up the hill, but they were still inching their way through. Slowly, surely, the trio ascended toward their foe.

"Lilli's in trouble!" Colleen screamed to Joseph over her shoulder.

Blue Shield couldn't spare the concentration it would take to pull his eyes away from his force field and look at Ghost Girl. "Lilli!" he yelled. "Can you hear me?"

"Y…y…yes…," she feebly replied.

"What's going on? What's happening to you?"

"Th…th…the scientists at Department H….c…c…called it a resonance c…cascade. I need to phase back with myself…"

"Kill them!" the Mole Man continued to yell from his perch above the chaos.

The Moloids pressed on at their master's command, slamming rough fists against Blue Shield's force field. Joseph nearly buckled under the strain, but Colleen placed a gentle hand on his lower back for support before she turned back to slash at another set of creatures.

"Lilli, we'll get you help!" Blue Shield said. "But you need to pull it together first! Concentrate!"

Ghost Girl was shaking even more uncontrollably now, but her scrunched face showed her to be in deep concentration as she tried to rein in her powers. She had held herself together when she split, why couldn't she do it now? She knew she had it in her. She just had to believe it.

The light began to die down around her as she felt herself gain more control over her reality bending powers again. She was still shaking as if trying to contain the power of an atomic bomb, but she had noticeably become more docile.

"Good!" Blue Shield said. "Very good, Lilli! Now I need you to do one last thing for me, okay?"

Ghost Girl nodded as Blue Shield pounded away on the Moloids trying to break through his force field. His field could act like an aura, bending to his will and condensing inches away from his skin in a thin veil that was impervious to most physical assaults. After having it studied at Project: Pegasus he had learned that it had other characteristics as well, but he still knew that what he was about to do was a huge gamble.

Twisting within the force field, Blue Shield covered his arms in the solid aura and slammed the end into Ghost Girl. There was an explosion of light that covered the entire hill, forcing the Moloids back. Some of them tumbled down the slope, squawking in anger. Shocked and unprepared, the partially solid heroine soared through the air back in the direction she had flown in from. Colleen saw the strike and nearly allowed a Moloid to clip her leg before swinging down with her sword.

"What the hell, Joe!" she exclaimed as she tried to regain her stance.

"She'll be fine," Blue Shield said as he started to run up the now cleared hill to the startled Mole Man. "She said she needs to merge with her double or we're all toast. She'll have a better chance of doing it if she's actually near her double. Let's move!"

Colleen ran behind Blue Shield, now intent on capturing the Mole Man before he could rally his army again. She tossed a look over her shoulder and saw that Ghost Girl was indeed headed in the right direction.

Meanwhile, the Abomination was having trouble dodging the stray harpoon bolts of Ahab, the futuristic mutant hunter. Across the battlefield and closer to the town of Eek, where the chaos had begun, the gamma-powered giant charged through a small shack on the outskirts of town, seeing no need to sidestep the structure.

"Show some class, you animal!" the fiery form of Bonfire called down to him from where she flew in the air. "You're not supposed to destroy the town you're trying to save!"

The Abomination ignored her as he charged down the desolate street toward their target. Ahab had paused as he looked back and forth between the buildings, as if confused on where to run next. His armor was dented and torn, mostly from Blonsky pummeling him after Bonfire had weakened the purple armor with searing blasts of intense heat.

The double of Ghost Girl popped out from behind a flatbed truck parked on the side of the road, glowing the same brilliant light as her counterpart. She had phased through the buildings and flanked Ahab, hoping that the sooner they ended this conflict, the sooner she would be able to merge back with herself. Whatever a resonance cascade was, it didn't feel good…

"Stop, you big meanie!" she called out as she raised a palm toward the villain.

Ahab responded by blindly throwing out a set of harpoon blasts that were roughly aimed toward her. One slammed into the truck, igniting its undercarriage and engulfing the transparent Ghost Girl in flames. She screamed even though in her current state the fire couldn't harm her, and covered her face with both hands. The light emanating from within her was glowing brighter and brighter with each passing second as she gave in to her fear and lost her concentration.

"Relax!" Bonfire shouted as she swooped in low over the blaze. She outstretched her arms and began to take in the licking flames, absorbing them easily within her hands. The fire joined the flames already surrounding her, harmlessly dissolving into her body.

Pain suddenly erupted into all of her senses and the flames that had seemed so strong a second ago quickly diminished, dying off as she fell to the ground.

"That will teach you to turn your back," Ahab said with a sneer.

"I would say the same to you."

The Abomination slammed a solid right punch directly into Ahab's back, sending the villain sailing through the air with enough force to slam into the charred remains of the flatbed truck. What was left of his purple chestplate broke away, crumbling to pieces around his now groggy form.

No sooner had Ahab lifted his head than he saw one of the Ghost Girls flying toward him with a look of pure glee. "Catch me!" she squealed as she descended at an incredible velocity.

The other Ghost Girl dove in front of Ahab at the last second and opened her arms wide. The two collided together in a burst of magnificent light that resulted in a muffled explosion which sent Ahab sailing through the air again. His head knocked against an overhanging lamppost and he fell to the ground in a heap.

The Abomination stooped over and picked up the stunned Ahab, palming his fist in one massive green fist. He began to squeeze, sneering as the mutant hunter began to squirm in his grip.

"Stop, Blonsky!"

Turning, the green behemoth saw Blue Shield approaching, dragging a muttering Mole Man behind him. Colleen Wing had approached also, running to the fallen Bonfire to tend to her. Ghost Girl, now reformed and feeling quite happy, floated over to Colleen with a large smile on her face.

"I mean it," Blue Shield added. "Put him down now."

The Abomination made no move to release the captured villain. Colleen, content that Bonfire would be fine once she was brought to the infirmary, slowly stood up and moved to Blonsky's side, slowly drawing out her sword a few inches.

Blue Shield pulled the Mole Man up and tossed him at the Abomination's feet. "We've secured the area," he said. "Once we nabbed the Mole Man all his minions dove beneath the ice. You've caught Ahab. Fight's over. Now put. Him. Down."

"This semblance of heroics is wasted on me," the Abomination muttered as he dropped Ahab to the ground beside the Mole Man. Colleen gently pushed her sword back into its sheath and moved beside Blue Shield.

"Start talking," Blue Shield commanded as he turned his glare on the Mole Man.

"Never!" the fat villain responded. "Our allies will succeed where we failed!"

"Shut it, you bulbous imbecile!" Ahab retorted. "He's watching us, judging us!"

"Who?" Colleen asked. "Who's watching you?"

The Mole Man opened his mouth but a look from Ahab shut his mouth. "Never you mind, lass," the bruised mutant hunter stated coldly. "You'll find out soon enough I expect."

TUESDAY, 6:08pm

"Joseph," Colleen Wing said, "a word?"

Blue Shield paused in the corridor and looked over his shoulder. He had planned to return to his office and begin planning their next training session, having realized that working with a team made up of such different personalities, to put it delicately, would be more difficult than he originally thought. Their headquarters had little in the way of artistic design, as it had been made ready for their arrival quite quickly. The Initiative had been thrown together nearly overnight and while the complex had everything they needed, it was still a cold and sterile environment.

At the very least he was glad to have Colleen on the team. She was possibly the most experienced out of them and he would be relying on her as the second-in-command. "Is everything alright?" he asked in return.

She motioned toward his office door, silently insinuating that they step inside. He nodded and ushered her inside, closing the door behind them. His computer screen glowed in the relative darkness of the room, displaying a screen-saver with the SHIELD crest. They both sat down and Joseph raised his eyebrows in anticipation of what she wanted to discuss.

"As I've stated," she began, "Director Stark placed me with FSI: 49 for a reason."

Blue Shield didn't reply, but he had overhear her say something to that effect earlier. He had assumed that she was making her role seem more important to the other teammates. He remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"To be blunt, Blonsky is not to be trusted. Even though he is a willing participant in the Supervillain Correctional Program, I have been charged with keeping a watchful eye on him."

This surprised Joseph. He hadn't expected to hear something like this from her. "You're a plant," he stated with an air of disdain.

"No, not at all. I have no authority over this unit. I am only directed to file daily reports on the Abomination's activity with the Director."

"And if you observe him doing something that goes against his agreement with SHIELD?"

Colleen unsheathed her samurai sword that hung on her shoulder and offered the blade to him. He examined it, but was unsure of what she was trying to tell him. The blade was heavy and appeared to be incredibly sharp.

"This blade was fashioned for me by SHIELD engineers," Colleen explained. "It is unique on this world, made of a metal I'm sure you will recognize by name: adamantium."

Blue Shield was beginning to understand what she was implying. Adamantium was a virtually indestructible alloy and incredibly rare. If SHIELD had provided a trained samurai with one of the few weapons on Earth that could actually pierce the tough hide of a gamma-irradiated monster…

Colleen matched Blue Shield's gaze, saying, "I have been given authorization to terminate the Abomination should he become problematic."

FRIDAY, 10:17am

"I don't appreciate being left in the dark," Blue Shield told the tele-screen glowing in the dark room he sat in. "It's one thing to stick me with a group that has absolutely no back-up support, but to issue secret orders without informing me? That's the line."

His mask was removed, revealing the stern look on his face. His hair was cropped in military precision, something he was getting accustomed to since joining the Initiative. When he had enlisted he thought it would be much better than his previous government experience, that of Project: Pegasus, but he had apparently been misled. The taste of mendacity was a bitter one.

"Colleen wing was placed with your team for a specific reason," the SHIELD officer on the screen replied. "Tony Stark appointed her himself—"

"Why didn't he tell me she was here to keep an eye on Blonksy? Did he think I wouldn't approve?" He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, looking up at the screen. "If I'm in charge of FSI: 49 I expect to be kept in the loop, Deputy Director Hill."

Maria Hill glared back at him, but it was obvious that there was sympathy in her expression. "The isolation of your territory was the reason the Abomination was placed in your command. The significance of FSI: 49 is much more than babysitting, I assure you. I apologize on behalf of SHIELD, Joseph."

"The Mole Man implied he was working for someone else," Blue Shield said, deciding to just let it drop and change the subject. "Any intell on that, or are there more secrets being kept from me?"

"We think it may have something to do with the Collective, but we aren't sure yet. It touched down just a few miles from where you intercepted them. We're looking into the Mole Male's last known accomplices. Until I can get you more information to follow up with, we've gotten reports of a werewolf-like creature attacking random towns throughout the eastern part of the state. You're to deploy your team in the morning to investigate. I'm sending you the briefing now."

"Werewolf-like?" Blue Shield inquired with a raised eyebrow. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Reports are sketchy at the moment," Maria replied, "but we think it may have something to do with on Jack Russell."

Blue Shield's mouth hung open at the name. "Wait. I know that name."

Maria nodded. "He's more commonly known as the Werewolf By Night, and if he's gone berserk, it may take your whole team to bring him in."

NEXT ISSUE: Now that the team has gone through their first mission, will they be prepared for what awaits them in the wild wilderness? Don't assume you know who they'll be tangling with!