Heavy footsteps sounded along the endless corridors of the Raft Correctional Facility as the battered armoured form of MACH V moved towards the end chamber, the lithe form of his friend Songbird covered in bruises. For nearly a year the armour's pilot had put up with the changes made to the team that he owed so much too but the latest development that F.A.C.T* had sprung on them was a step too far. He and Songbird had spoken to the team leader but as usual Luke Cage, the former Power Man and part time Avenger had dismissed their opinions. By the time MACH V reached his destination his anger had reached boiling point and with a single punch he knocked down the armoured door that had blocked his way to the F.A.C.T conference chamber. As he entered he saw the committee flinch as the door crumpled and the two Thunderbolts stood before them.
*(Federal Advisory Committee to the Thunderbolts)
"Abraham how pleasant to see you." The dark skinned leader of the group announced his hands wrapped around the arms of his chair. "What can we do for you today?"
"I'm here to talk about what you're doing to the Thunderbolts we lost." Abe bellowed, "You've decided to give up on them before we even started looking. I want to know what you were thinking bringing those monsters that were running with Osborne into the fold."
"Mr. Jenkins." a blonde suited woman said, her voice purring, "We feel that the lost Thunderbolts are a necessary loss. The team we have put together will serve just us well as them, maybe even better."
"Necessary losses?" Melissa spat, "Fixer is our friend, Troll and Ghost were loyal to the team and as for the others, well they may not have been the best fix but they don't deserve to be forgotten."
"We understand your links to the team but we at F.A.C.T believe that they are not likely to return." the dark skinned man announced. "Warden Walker and Luke Cage both signed off on the selection we expect you two to do the sign or we will be forced to take steps."
"Are you seriously threatening us?" Abe asked crunching his armoured fists together.
"No just warning you." The third member of the committee added. "Mr. Jenkins, Miss. Gold we don't want to be enemies with you.
"Really that's not what your buddy just said." Abe growled pointing at the dark skinned man. "Mel and I have put our blood, sweat and tears into this team and have got nothing out of it. That's cool but I'm not going to let you drag the Thunderbolts name through the mud."
"It would probably be a lot cleaner." The blonde woman hissed. "We are planning to scrap the name, restore some honour and try and wash away some of the muck your former members have pilled on the team."
"Every team has some bad apples." Melissa begun before being cut off by the blonde woman, "So you would call individuals such as Baron Zemo, Bullseye, Crossbones, Moonstone, Mr. X and Nuke bad apples? Between them they represent the worst of humanity."
"It still doesn't justify leaving them out in the lurch." Melissa replied, sonic energy pulsing as she spoke.
"Please calm down Miss. Gold." the dark skin man announced, "We wouldn't have to do something rash to you." he added smiling a large malevolent grin.
"There are the threats again." Abe stated. "You don't have the power to harm us."
"On the contry we have all the power we need." the dark skin man stated, "I forward that Abraham Jenkins AKA Mach 5 and Melissa Joan Gold AKA Songbird be suspended from active duty immediately."
"Motion Seconded." the Blonde Woman agreed.
"Motion carried." the third member finished, "I believe you have no further business in this…" his voice trailed off as a sonic fist slammed into his nose sending him sliding off the jaw.
"Now we have no more business." Melissa snarled as she turned to leave the room, Abe shrugged before pointing at the dark skinned man, "This ain't over hombre."
"But it will be." the F.A.C.T leader replied. "Very soon." he added as the woman helped the sprawled man back into his chair. "I'm sure nobody would object if I activated contingency Omicron?" he asked the rest of the committee.
"None what so ever." the bleeding man said through gritted teeth. "I hope the bitch suffers."
Melissa and Abe walked silently along the corridors, their heads bowed as they walked past the rows of convicted criminals, all of them cat-calling and taunting them as they walked past. They had managed to avoid Luke on the way out, he was out on assignment, but they knew sooner or later they would have to deal with his accusations and questions as well. Stopping in Cell Block E Abe turned to look out over the courtyard to where the Thunderbolts Tower had been, now just represented by a gaping hole and crumbling masonry.
"You didn't have to hit him." he told Melissa as she walked over to the door.
"Yes I did." she replied japing at the key pad. "I don't know who those F.A.C.T guys think they are but I do know they are rotten. We've been around enough basterds to know them when we see them."
"Apparently SHIELD and Captain America chose them." Abe answered as Melissa jabbed at the key-pad. "I know that I'm sure as hell going to talk to them about what they are up too."
Melissa frowned as she continued to jab the key-pad, the damm thing had worked on the way up. Looking around she saw that all the Guardsmen from this block had vanished and the prison cells had become unusually quiet. Abe seemed to have noticed it too as he went to the other door and typed a command in. "This one's out too." he stated. Melissa never answered, with a hiss the ten doors on the left hand side of the block opened and the convicts inside stepped out blinking as they looked into the setting sun and marvelled on their seemingly early release. "Warden this is MACH V." Abe said as he twisted one of his gauntlets. "Warden come in." All he got in response was static as the convicts begun to encircle the pair of Thunderbolts.
"You heard what the brass offered." sneered one of them as he removed a set of knives. "Get them and we get off this rock." Melissa narrowed her eyes before throwing up a sonic shield just as the knives started flying and the escaped thugs ran towards them. The first to reach their position was Shatterfist, Melissa recognized him as well as the majority of the others, and he slammed his fist into the shield causing it to dissipate knocking Melissa backwards and leaving Abe's back exposed. Abe dodged Shatterfist's punch and threw him over his shoulder just as the hulking form of Field Stone grabbed him by the head and slammed him into the ground. Firing his boosters Abe rocketed along the floor knocking Field Stone down and crushing another inmate against the prison wall. Getting to his feet he saw Melissa repelling Hoopsnake with a blast of sonic energy, sending the serpentine felon sprawling before turning to the now blazing form of Watchfire, a mistake that exposed her back to the diminutive Knickknack, the cretin producing a second set of knives. Powering up his blasters Abe fired, the shot going wide and blasting Melissa sending her falling to the floor.
"Sorry Mate, It's not that easy." one of the convicts sneered, purple energy pulsing round his hands. "Name's Manslaughter hero, not that it matters, once your dead we get to stroll right out of those doors." he told Abe clenching his fists, within seconds Abe's brain was wracked with pain and he fell to his knee's screaming.
Melissa watched the throwing knives fly over her head, heard Abe scream in pain and tasted the ambient electricity as the felon know as the Eel walked towards her, his hands sparking as he reached down towards her. Reacting instinctively Melissa kicked up clamping the Eel's neck in her legs and throwing him backwards before hand-springing to a standing position. Stepping over the Eel the punk known as Hellrazor rushed in, his hand clenched round a massive scimitar formed from bio-electricity, her own hands blazing Melissa slipped forward blocking his swipe with her own sonic blade. With a series of blocks and parries Melissa found her opening and sliced through her opponents sword before throwing him aside just in time to see Shatterfist come thundering in, his blow connecting with her jaw sending her skidding backwards. Looking over to where Abe was Melissa saw that her comrade was in more trouble then her as Hoopsnake curled round him constricting his arms while the massive form of Powderkeg reigned blow after blow on his armour's chest plate, tiny explosions chipping metallic slivers off his suit.
"Hey Shatterfist." Manslaughter sneered, "Give us a hand mate, Powderkeg here is flipping useless." he called. Shatterfist glared at Melissa before turning and running towards Abe. Melissa reached out with her powers, aiming for Shatterfist's feet, a sonic tie felling him sending him crashing into Manslaughter. Powderkeg looked for three long seconds before turning back to Abe, his punch blocked by the armoured Thunderbolt. Abe smiled behind his visor and slammed his free hand into Powderkeg's gut before activating the concealed Taser, the blast of energy sending the thug flying. The same blast of electricity made Hoopsnake shift and Abe activated his armour's sonic shields, the sound blast exploding out ripping Hoopsnake into two, his armoured torso reaching out as the cybernetic tail thrashed usefully. Abe kicked the fallen villain's torso as it made a grab for him, sending it sailing into Knickknack as he reached for a curved throwing knife. The battle was now in his and Melissa's favour, he thought as he watched Melissa block a set of thrown chemical vials from a spectacled man known as the Quartermaster. Besides him only Watchfire was still on his feet, although both Shatterfist and Field Stone looked as if they were making an effort to stand and continue the fight. As he analyzed the situation Watchfire exploded into action, the villain's body filling the room with smoke. Abe knew if the burning figure continued to burn he would choke the whole room. Throwing a disc at Fieldstone, Abe ducked under the rocky villain's blow before blocking his next clumsy assault setting himself and his opponent into position.
"Sayonara Field Stone." Abe announced activating the anti-gravity disc that Fixer had given him before he vanished. Field Stone looked down before being propelled out through the reinforced window and slamming into the deck below, the smoke produced by Watchfire leaking out and clearing the hall.
Melissa elbow slammed the Quartermaster into the cell wall, the blow knocking off his glasses as he slid down the steel plating. Wind was now blowing through the chamber causing Watchfire to flicker as he advanced on her, fire streaking from his fingers along the floor towards her, cinders burning her skin. Concentrating Melissa slipped a sonic bell-jar over the walking inferno and watched as the fires begun to die down as Watchfire coughed and spluttered, the fire wreathing his body dying out leaving his naked form clawing at the walls. Behind him the jar shattered and Shatterfist staggered forward an angry look on his face as he drew back his fist. "I'm still able to beat you to death Gold." he growled as he threw the punch. Melissa jumped back and wreathed her whole arm in sonic armor and punched back, the blow sending Shatterfist tumbling back past Abe and crashing into the locked door. Melissa suddenly felt the room heat up again as Watchfire attempted to re-ignite, now free of his sonic prison but he was quickly doused by Abe, the anti-radiation grenades bathing the villain in thick foam.
"Okay that was bracing, luckily we were in the loser aisle." Abe stated, "You hear Knickknack mention the brass?"
"I did." Melissa replied looking down at the deck as several Guardsman stunned Fieldstone, the rocky giant crashing too his knees panting as electricity danced across his body. "You think F.A.C.T set them on us?"
"I wouldn't bet against it." Abe answered. "They locked the doors, blocked communications and opened the cells. Apart from them only the Warden can do all those things and I don't think Walker would try anything like that." As he finished the doors hissed open and several Guardsmen flooded the chamber, all of them pointing their weapons at Abe and Melissa rather then the unconscious villains that were littering the floor. "Well this isn't good." he stated as their former allies begun pushing them towards the opening created by Fieldstone's departure.
"Sir we have orders to escort you off site." one of the Guardsmen announced. "If you return before you are reinstated it will be considered trespassing and you will be arrested. Before you can leave F.A.C.T want you psychologically analyzed and for you to surrender your armor or in your case Ma'am take a power inhibition shot so you're not a danger to the community."
"Do you really want to go through all that hassle?" Melissa asked, a wicked smile etched across her face. "Because all the scum in the cells just tried and they failed."
"Are they resisting?" a second Guardsman asked the first causing him to turn away from the two Thunderbolts. In the corner of his eye he saw a flash of pink light, as he turned back he saw that Songbird and MACH V were know out over the ocean, rapidly diminishing dots heading for the horizon. Up in F.A.C.T's command chamber the committee watched the Thunderbolt's escape, no emotion showing on their face.
"The Thunderbolts have been a problem for too long." the Blonde Woman announced, "We should terminate them."
"And we will, but first we should attempt to recapture them. It is imperative that we try and regain control before they figure out who we really are." The dark skinned man announced, "They will soon make a mistake and we will be able to take them down with the blessings of the US government."
"They'd better, last time we met the Thunderbolts ruined our plans." the blonde woman hissed before glancing over to their third member, still clutching his nose. "If we fail we have several assets that would be willing to aid us not to mention our silent partner."
The dark skinned man stood and watched the screen, his hand scratching a patch of skin on his arm, the flesh green and wrinkled under the strange lighting of the chamber. "Soon my friends the Thunderbolts will die and this world will be ours."
Thunderbolts #2
What could entice our Thunderbolt Heros into action? Who are F.A.C.T and what are they planning and will Abe and Melissa be able to stop them? And how will they manage it now that they are Persona non Grata? Find out in the next issue.
Remember to submit all comments, questions and queries to me. I look forward to some insight from any and all readers.
Impurest Cheese.