Chapter Two:

The Ace Hero

Far away, on the streets of New Tech City, a battle raged between the local police and a small band of Black Cross loyalists. The Cross had formed a barricade and were currently in a standoff with the police on the other side.

"We need help," an officer said.

"The Ace of Spades is on his way," the captain said. "Just hold out."

Across the way, the leader of the band rose up. "Bring out the cannon," she shouted.

A large black cylindrical object rose up above the barricade. "What is that?" another officer said.

The Black Cross leader laughed wickedly. "Why don't you try this on for size," she said. "Open fire!"

The captain's eyes grew wide. "Everyone, get down!" she shouted.

The cannon started to glow, energy building as it fired a blast of bright white heat in the police's direction. The entire force ducked down behind their cars, waiting for it to be over. A few seconds passed, and they realized that nothing had happened. The captain raised her head to see a warrior dressed in red, form-fitting armor, his head turning to reveal the symbol of a poker spade across the face.

"Sorry I'm late," he said.

The Black Cross leader swore. "It's the Ace," she said. "Fire again! For Callahan!"

The cannon glowed again, firing off another blast of atomic energy. Gordon put out his hands, meeting the blast head on and absorbing it all through his palms, the energy flowing up his suit and into his cybernetic enhancements. Once the light had cleared, he rose up, flexing his fingers.

"Thanks for the boost," he said. "Now it's my turn."

Most of the Black Cross had already started to run when Gordon crossed the distance in a split second, pressing his palm to the leader's chest and launching her backwards down the road. He then drew his bow, firing at each of the fleeing soldiers. Each of the arrows split into binding ropes that wrapped around their targets and stunned them with electricity. Finally, Gordon turned to the new cannon and used a piledriver to smash it into two pieces.

In moments, it was over. With the Black Cross all bound tightly on the ground, the police moved in and gathered them up, unmasking them to reveal a variety of different ages and races.

"Well done, Ace," the captain said, stepping up to Gordon as the enemy was led away. "We couldn't have done it without you."

Gordon rubbed the back of his head. "J-just doing my job," he said. Despite his background talking to reporters all the time, Gordon found himself much more self-conscious talking publicly now as a hero. It didn't help that the captain looked a little breathless and kept tucking her hair behind her ear.

Gordon cleared his throat. "Um, anyway," he said. "I'm sure EAGLE will be taking those prisoners off your hands soon enough. Or the government. Whoever covers that now. This, however," he stepped over and picked up the pieces of the cannon, "would be our department."

He tapped on his earpiece. "Dr. Kuchar," he said. "I'm finished here."

"Well done, boy," the doctor said in his head. "Head on back to the lab."

"Will do."

Before the police captain could say anything further, Gordon nodded at her and raced away.

Ten minutes later, he stepped into Doctor Kuchar's lab at the top of a high rise building in the center of the city. "I'm here, Doc," he said, deactivating his suit and tossing down the pieces of the cannon, shaking out his long dark hair and fluffing his clothing from being pressed down by the suit's nanites.

Doctor Kuchar turned and smiled at him, his big, bushy mustache bristling. He was wearing a bright yellow fake uniform he'd picked up at a flea market. Gordon had tried to talk him out of it, but he'd loved it far too much not to buy it. Standing behind him, in a real, well-pressed uniform, stood Commander Roberts, the Ranger Project's EAGLE liaison. As the Rangers were no longer directly affiliated with EAGLE, Roberts had been assigned to them to keep the two organizations in contact whenever the need arose.

"Gordon, my boy," Doctor Kuchar said, hurrying over to Gordon and taking his morpher, handing it off to the little hamster Algernon, which started using its tiny little paws to open the device up and check for any damage.

Doctor Kuchar had Gordon take off his shirt so that he could start checking over his internal enhancements. Gordon couldn't help but notice multiple technicians around the room staring at his muscular body, and he shifted uncomfortably.

"No trouble, I expect," Kuchar asked.

"Not particularly," Gordon said. "Just a band of stragglers."

"I've already called headquarters to pick them up from the local police," Commander Roberts said. His eyes scanned shirtless Gordon, bright yellow Dr. Kuchar, and the hamster running maintenance on the morpher, clearly not impressed by any of it. "And I see you've managed to destroy another piece of evidence." He crossed over to the demolished cannon.

"They were shooting nuclear blasts at people," Gordon said with a shrug. "What was I supposed to do?"

Commander Roberts ignored him, crouching down to look them over. "Looks like Hallstrom designs," he said.

"Isn't he locked up though?" Gordon asked.

Roberts still didn't respond, rubbing his chin and rolling the front half over.

Gordon waited for Doctor Kuchar and his technicians to be done, trying hard to ignore all the gawking around him. His eyes fell on the Ranger Pods across the room. "Hey," he said, "Jack's up and running."

Doctor Kuchar glanced back at the pods. "Oh, yes," he said. "Just put the finishing touches on it this morning. We'll be able to start vetting applicants soon enough. Then you'll have a teammate."

Gordon grinned. It had started to get a little lonely the last couple of months, especially as the old team had started to transition to full-time civilian life. He nodded at the King capsule beside his own. "What about the guy you used that one on?" he asked. "Davies, you said. When do I get to meet him?"

Doctor Kuchar shifted uncomfortably. "He's still in recovery," he said.

The good doctor had always been touchy about that subject, avoiding giving Gordon direct answers on it whenever asked. Kuchar kept his eyes down away from Gordon's gaze as he finished his diagnostics. "Alright," he said, unplugging something from Gordon's back. "Everything looks good."

At the same moment, Algernon closed up Gordon's morpher and let out a squeak. "Sounds like your morpher's still in good condition too."

"Good," Commander Roberts said, rising to his feet and crossing back over to them. "Then I'm sure there will be no problem with Mr. Cherry here accompanying me down to speak with our friend Callahan, correct?"

Gordon and Doctor Kuchar stared at him.

"What do you need to visit him for?" Doctor Kuchar said.

"With yet another group showing up, I want to know just how many are still left out there. And if they have any more weapons like this."

"But you don't need Gordon for that."

Gordon looked away. He knew exactly why Roberts wanted him there. He'd insisted upon it every single time there'd been a need to visit that particular prisoner.

"Oh, so, you've fully removed Callahan's enhancements, have you, Doctor?" Roberts asked.

"Well, no, but—"

"So they can still be reactivated? The way they were with the former Blue Ranger?"

"In theory, but—"

"So I'd rather have Mr. Cherry's protection than not," he said.

"But you can't—"

"It's fine, Doctor Kuchar," Gordon said. As little as he wanted to see his girlfriend's murderer again, he knew there was no point fighting it. He knew Commander Roberts had no intention of relinquishing all of EAGLE's control over the Ranger Project. "I'll go. Let's do it."

Half an hour later, a government car pulled up outside of the high security prison where Ivan Callahan was held. Commander Roberts stepped out of the car, adjusting his uniform proudly, Gordon getting out behind him.

"Let us through," the commander ordered. A heavy gate lit up at his command, sliding open for them. The pair were led through a long courtyard, down several corridors, and into a lift that took them deep underground. Gordon remained silent the entire trip, his whole body tense. Images kept flashing through his head of the bullet flying through June's head, of Callahan's cruel and sadistic laughter. He clenched his fist and maintained his composure as the lift reached the bottom and opened up. Roberts stepped out, and Gordon followed him down another long corridor to a heavily reinforced door.

Beyond the door, a single prisoner sat inside a glass cell, leaning back against one wall and looking bored. The man was seven feet tall, with a serious face, and a goatee that had grown out to a full beard. His right arm had been severed, leaving him only with a short stump that hadn't fully healed yet.

"Well," he said, turning his head as they entered. "If it isn't my only visitors. Commander Roberts, I trust you're doing well?"

"Callahan," Roberts said, crossing his arms. "We took down another batch of your followers today."

"I saw it on the news," he said. "I don't know who they were, if that's what you're after. Seems the call of the Cross is still strong even after all this time."

"They had a weapon," Roberts said. "A nuclear cannon of some kind. Looked like Hallstrom's design. Care to explain that?"

Callahan shrugged. "Ask Hallstrom. He had labs and designs everywhere. These kids must have found a few that even your people missed."

He looked past Commander Roberts to Gordon standing behind him. "How are you, Mr. Cherry?" he asked. "Bachelorhood treating you well?"

Gordon scowled but held himself back. "Ivan," he said.

"Never mind that," Commander Roberts said, pulling Callahan back on track. "You had better be telling us everything you know."

"Or you'll what?" Ivan said. He wiggled his stump around. "Maim me? Lock me in a hole in the ground? Seems I've already gone through those. I'm not too afraid of a middle manager pretending he's still relevant in a world at peace."

Commander Roberts's face went a bright red, which was just the reaction Callahan was looking for. He smirked, then looked past him at Gordon. "Or an athlete playing hero, still taking orders even though he's not military anymore."

"Now, listen here," Commander Roberts started.

"It's no good, commander," Gordon said, reaching out his hand and holding him back. "Callahan's not going to tell us anything. Are you?"

Callahan raised his hands. "Afraid not," he said. He turned back to his seat in the corner, picking up a book from his side table. "Come back to me when you have something interesting to talk about."

Commander Roberts looked like he wanted to fight, to stay there for as long as possible until he got answers, but his inherent fear of being surrounded by two enhanced people must have won out in the end, and he yielded to Gordon's hand on his shoulder.

They returned to the surface world, Roberts taking a long breath and checking his heartrate. "Curse that man," he said.

"Do you need me to accompany you to Hallstrom, too?" Gordon asked.

"What?" the commander asked. "Oh. No. I can handle him. Thank you, Mr. Cherry."

Gordon was about to say more when he got a beep on his communicator. "Yes, Doctor Kuchar," he said. "What is it?"

"Gordon," the doctor said. "Head to Detroit immediately!"

"Detroit? What for?"

Commander Roberts looked up too.

"We just got a huge spike of energy from there. Energy matching that given off by Vader Clan technology."

Gordon and Commander Roberts's eyes both went wide. "Vader Clan?" Roberts said.

"Send the Sky Ace," Gordon said. "I'll head straight there."