Quivering Quasars

Disclaimer: "But first, gotta tell it I'm Batman!" - The Angry Video Game Nerd

Chapter 4: Calm Before The Storm!

Outside Project Pegasus

Hovering in the sky, well out of the range of the Project's defensive screens, floating a large white futuristic-looking yellow craft. On the bridge of the ship were a crew of people in yellow suits vaguely resembling beekeeper costumes.

These were Advanced Idea Mechanics, aka AIM. They were a terrorist organization, dedicated to overthrowing the world's governments through advance technologies. They were also knowing for researching and providing arms for various organizations through fronts. They had bases in many major cities, making them regular opponents of various major superhero teams and local-level superheroes alike.

One of the yellow-uniformed men sat in a command chair. Unlike the others, his helmet was off, and on his lap. The brunet man wiped his glasses to clean them off, then put them back on. He then turned his head towards one of the other AIM men, on a communications console.

"Have we heard from our spy yet?" The man inquired.

"No, sir." The communications man shook his head. "Zane hasn't reported in yet."

"I see." The man, Lyle Getz, nodded. "It has been a while."

"He probably hasn't had the opportunity to report in lately." The communications man suggested. "Security in Pegasus is pretty tight."

"Indeed." Getz nodded. "Something he said in his last report worries me. He said that members of GI Joe and the Misfits wer going to provide additional security."

"GI Joe?" The AIM member piloting the craft remarked. "I thought they only fought Cobra."

"Evidently not." Getz shook his head. "This'll be a problem. He hasn't been able to tell us exactly which ones of the Misfits will be there." A light on the communications man's console blinked.

"Sir!" The communications man announced. "Zane is reporting in!"

"About time! What's he got for us?"

Project Pegasus

Dr. Stanley Zane walked into a break room, sighing.

"God." He muttered to himself. "Being around that Australian kid is enough to make a guy go crazy. I don't know how those Joe guys put up with him. Good thing I had to go to the bathroom." He then shook his head. "But then again, based on what I heard about them, they're not exactly all there themselves, so it evens out, I guess." He quickly looked around. "Good." He mumbled to himself, pulling out what appeared to be a standard iPhone. He then opened it up, revealing a small communicator-like device. He pressed a button on it, and Lyle Getz appeared on the screen.

"Zane." Getz greeted.

"Hey, boss." Zane smiled.

"How you been doing?"

"Fine, thanks. They're working on the bands now. By the way, I got more info on the extra security brought in. They didn't bring in the entire Misfit team."

"Oh, thank God." Getz sighed in relief. "That makes things a little easier for us. Which members did they bring in?"

"Avalanche, Starway, Xi, Quicksilver, and Pyro."

"Pyro?!" Getz gaped. "They brought that maniac with them?"

"How do you think I feel?" Zane frowned. "I actually had to talk to that little whackjob!"

"Oh, you poor bastard." Getz shook his head. "I'll see to it AIM gives you a nice bonus for that. That's above and beyond right there. Hawaii, two weeks. No, three, three. Definitely three."

"Nice." Zane smiled. "Anyway, I gotta get going. They're working on the bands now. I'll signal you when to make the pickup."

"We'll be waiting." Getz answered. "Be careful out there."

"I will." Zane shut off the device. He then eyed a vending machine. "Alright, root beer!" He pulled out some change from his pocket and put it in the machine. "I gotta remember I promised Dr. Reznek to get a Diet Coke." A smile formed on his face as he left the room, cold cans of Diet Coke and a can of Mountain Dew in his hands. My day is getting better. He thought to himself. All I have to do is pull this off, and I'll be spending the next three weeks surrounded by surf, sun, sand, and bikini-clad beach bunnies. Easy as pie, and all I have to do is pull this off...and hopefully avoid talking to that whacko Pyro again. Stanley Zane, you can safely say that life is good. Meanwhile, back in the lab, the big experiment was about to begin.

"Alright..." William Wesley rubbed his wrists, glancing down at the black-and-gold energy bands on them. "What do you want me to do first?"

"What we mainly want is for you to try to create some coherent light." Dr. Vaughn explained.

"Coherent light, huh?" Wesley nodded. "Okay." As he concentrated on his task, Wendell Vaughn found himself standing next to Lila Cheney. The two of them watched Wesley perform Dr. Vaughn's commands.

"Really neat, isn't it?" Lila remarked.

"Hm? Oh yeah, it is." Wendell remarked as he watched the various tests being performed. "It's really nice."

"So, tell me, how'd a handsome man like you end up playing security guard?"

"Hey Lila, aren't you hung up on the X-Geeks' resident dirt-biking hayseed?" Pietro called out teasingly.

"I was just paying a compliment, you arse!" Lila snapped. She then turned back to the SHIELD agent. "So, as I said earlier..."

"Ah, I told this to that scaly kid." Wendell remembered. "I was assigned here because they said that I didn't have the killer instinct."

"Killer instinct. Ah, I see." Lila nodded. "I know some parts of space where if you didn't have that, you'd be dead."

"Space?" Wendell blinked. "Ah, I shouldn't be surprised, considering the stuff I witnessed."

"Yup." Lila nodded. "So, because you lacked that, you ended up here?"

"Yeah." Wendell nodded. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't mind the job. Hours are decent, pay is good, and the break room has good coffee."

"I'll have to give it a try." Lila smirked. "The coffee, I mean."

"It's just...well, I was hoping Dad would be proud of me if I could be a full-on SHIELD agent." Wendell sighed. "But I just didn't have what it took. I did well in everything else, but when it came down to doing what it took to win..." He shook his head. "I just don't have it."

"Not everybody has it, and that's fine." The British mutant shrugged. "Not everybody can be James Bond."

"I suppose." Wendell sighed. "But still, it would be nice to have something that my dad would be proud of me for."

"Why are you so worried about that?" Lila blinked.

"Well, growing up, my old man was obsessed with his work." Wendell explained.

"His work is quite fascinating." Xi remarked as he walked up behind the SHIELD agent.

"Gah!" Wendell yelped. "Kid, don't do that!"

"Xi, you really have to stop doing that, mate." Lila sighed.

"My apologies." Xi smiled. "I am quiet by nature."

"Yeah, but you don't need to sneak up on people all the time." Lila sighed. "Todd and Althea may not mind it, but everyone can find it annoying."

"Yeah..." Wendell rubbed the back of his head. "By the way, what kind of name is Xi?"

"It comes from my real designation: XI. Eleven, in Roman numerals." Xi explained.

"His name was a number?" Wendell blinked. Lila shrugged.

"Yeah. He was a Cobra experiment. A fellow Misfit named Toad found him and took him in. He was supposed to be some part of some Cobra super-soldier program or something like that."

"Super soldier?" Wendell blinked. "Like Captain America?"

"Yeah, only on the bad guys' side." Lila nodded. "Toad knows all the details. You'd have to ask him."

"Todd and I met in the jungle." Xi explained. "He and I have been friends ever since."

"Yeah." Lila nodded. "Xi's a weird one, but he's a good guy. Anyway, as I was saying, you shouldn't have to worry so much about making your dad proud."

"Really?" Wendell frowned.

"Really." Lila nodded. "I look at it like this, pal. It doesn't matter what other people think of you. What matters really, is how you feel about yourself."

"That is corny." Wendell frowned.

"Ah, I suck at this, I'll admit it." Lila shrugged. "I'm just saying you shouldn't worry so much about it. It'll make you go nuts." Meanwhile, Lance and Pietro were also watching the experiments.

"Man, I am bored." Pietro yawned, leaning against a wall. Lance was also leaning on the wall next to him. "Bored bored bored bored bored bored..."

"Oh stop it, Pietro." Lance sighed. "It's not so bad."

"How can you STAND watching this?" Pietro frowned. "It's just a bunch of boring eggheads talking boring egghead stuff."

"It's called patience, Pietro. Try to grow some, man." Lance shook his head. "Besides, it's pretty cool seeing what those bands can do."

"Whoo-hoo!" Wesley whooped as he floated in the air. "Check this out! I can fly!"

"Amazing!" Dr. Vaughn gaped in delight.

"That's incredible." Dr. Zane remarked, handing Dr. Reznek a Diet Coke.

"Indeed." The female scientist nodded, gratefully accepting the soda. "The original Marvel Boy was never known to have that ability."

"Yes." Dr. Vaughn agreed. "He was only known to be able to create bright blasts of light. How are you doing this?"

"I'm guessing that it's just willpower and imagination." Wesley shrugged. "I started thinking about, if this thing can fire off flashes of light, what else can it do?"

"Try lasers next." Dr. Reznek suggested. "Lasers are essentially light and heat focused into a beam."

"Concentrate, Wesley." Zane commanded. "Pour your willpower into it!"

"Right..." Wesley did so, pouring his will into the bands, pointing his fist at a slab of metal...

FWASH!

A yellow laser erupted from the band, and slammed into the slab.

"That's pretty awesome." Lance chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so." Pietro snorted, frowning as he watched the tests.

"Besides, we're supposed to be keeping an eye out for anything unusual." Lance reminded, looking around.

"How can you tell what's unusual around here?" The speedster retorted, waving his hand. "Do you know what they do here?"

"I was there at the briefing, Quickie." Lance reminded dryly. "I know what they do here."

"Exactly!" Pietro nodded. "So how the hell do we know if something unusual hits?"

"I think we'll be able to figure it out, Quickie. Right now, let's just watch the tests. We have to make sure those band things stay safe."

Well, well, well! Looks like there was a nice calm moment for you! What insanity will happen next? Will this mission go well for our heroes? Will Zane's treachery get exposed? Will AIM get their hands on the bands? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!