M2K Presents
Force Works 17
Eye of the Beholder
Part 1
Jacksonville North Dakota
The sound of combat boots stomping down the corridor as heavily armed guards rushed to where a security breach had been detected, sounded akin to a stampede of rhinos. Their heavy equipment prevented any pretense of stealth as they stormed the wide white solid marble of the lobby of Masterson Technology with practiced skill. The lobby contained two marble desks and many stone columns that supported the higher floors of the building, while transparent bulletproof glass doors. Three guards took up stations behind both marble desks, another two behind each of the four columns that were scattered about the lobby. A dozen other men found several lesser places with which to conceal themselves in, such as the entrance to the bathroom, behind a bench or some such. All their weapons instantly became trained on the specially reinforced transparent Plexiglas entrance at the front of the building.
The security guards of Masterson Technology are hardly what anyone would call unprepared. The company, a subsidiary of a much larger company, outfitted their security guards personal form fitting Kevlar armor, riot gear specially designed for the individual guard's head, full weapons training and a required ten hours of paid combat training a week. Their standard weapons were specially modified Specfor M4 rifles, weapons normally reserved for Delta Force commandos, loaded with depleted uranium shells capable of piercing almost any modern body armor and even a great deal of superhumans. In all, security guards had more than enough weaponry and training to repel the army of a small nation with little trouble. While for other companies, all this might seem excessive, but Masterson Electronics was different from the vast majority of all other companies in one important way.
It was one of only three other firms in the United States with a security clearance high enough to be licensed by the United States Government to study alien technology for possible military applications. Taking security lightly simply was not an option.
Retired Special Forces Army Colonel Sean Santini watched the men deploy from his security booth deep inside the building. He sat uncomfortably in his leather command chair and surrounded by the latest in communication technology. He'd always dreaded the possibility of an attack. Masterson Technology deliberately kept a low profile for the express purpose of avoiding an attack by the likes of A.I.M and Hydra, but now it looked like an attack was unavoidable.
Laid out before Santini were twelve security screens that constantly shifted, but programmed to zero in one movement. Right now, they were all focused on a single armored van that's burst thru the front gate and was on a collision course for the lobby. The makeup of the parking lot and distance gave Santini's men enough time to react, as per the security plans. Santini depressed a button to speak to his men.
"E.T.A Fourteen seconds. Flooding lobby now."
Vents in the lobby, placed both on the floor and ceiling, began spewing a thick, white smoke that obscured the entire reception area. The smoke was in fact a specially designed form of nerve gas that would instantly disable anyone who breathed it in. The guards were both immunized against the gas and were armed with gas masks as an extra precaution. They also wore night vision goggles that allowed them to see thru most of the gas. In theory, the building was now a deathtrap for any invader, no matter how skilled or dangerous.
In theory.
A heavily armored van, loaded with extra plating designed for ramming, burst thru the lobby doors, sending bullet proof glass into the air with a loud –crash!- and was met with a hail of gunfire so powerful, the 2000 pound armored vehicle came to a quick, grinding halt in middle of the wide lobby. That didn't stop the security guards from continuing to bombard the automobile with thousands upon thousands of rounds of ammunition. The van appeared to almost disintegrate like dust in the wind under the onslaught as bullets powerful enough to dent tanks tore thru it.
Their mistake, however, was focusing the entirety of their impressive firepower on the upper body of the van while completely ignoring the bottom.
Unlatching the harness that held him to the underbelly of the van, the silent warrior underneath dropped to the floor six inches below him only moments after the first hundred rounds began flying. Obscured by thick white tear gas powerful enough to disable ten men with a single breath, the warrior rolled away from the van unseen, and out of the line of fire.
Three minutes and thousands of spent rounds later, the order to cease- fire came. All that remained of the van was two axils with four tires covered by a bed holding it all together.
"Scratch one intruder." One soldier remarked, stationed behind the marble reception desk.
"Make sure." Santini ordered from his command room, "examine what's left. Make damn certain we got the bastard, and be careful. We don't even know if this is the only attack, or just an opening salvo."
At the far end of the lobby stood two security guards who'd taken up positions behind a stone column. They kept their weapons trained on the remains of the van like the professionals they were while another closer soldier examined the remains. By now, the nerve gas had settled to the floor and was up to their knees. Their attention focused on the decimated vehicles, neither noticed a man in a full black body suit with red oval eyes looking out into the world, rise up from the floor like a demon from hell. The man grabbed them by their shoulders, pulled them away from one another and then slammed their heads back together. They fell into unconsciousness instantly. The man then melted back into the gas-induced fog.
Peter Coleman, the guard elected to examine the remains of the van, squatted down so that he could see the underbelly. It took a few moments for the gas to clear so that he could get a clear view, but as soon as it did, his blood ran cold.
"We have an intruder in the building!" He shouted over his comm. unit. He stood up in time to see the black-garbed man punch two of his friends insensible and the guards covering the right of the lobby nowhere to be seen.
Weapon X, government created master assassin, could feel the exact instant that he lost the element of surprise. He wasn't overly concerned, as he'd already defeated roughly half the security team in the lobby before he was finally discovered. The expanse of twenty feet was all that separated him from completing his mission now. For others, closing the distance of twenty feet between themselves and well-trained, heavily armed men with their weapons already aimed on their persons would be impossible.
But obviously, Weapon X wasn't like most men.
Weapon X lunged forward, jumped up about a foot into the air and landed on the spent bullets casings that littered the room. The genetically engineered warrior slid on the casings like a ballerina on ice, and he crouched down to avoid the first barrage of lethal bullets. The men were forced to aim high to avoid killing their friends behind Weapon X, something the former government assassin planned and exploited to the fullest. When he was almost within arm's length of the men, Weapon X fell backwards with his hands underneath him, his back parallel to the floor. He then lashed out with his left foot and swept one guard's legs out from under him.
As the man fell backwards, Weapon X leaped up to his feet, exploiting the hole in what had been an otherwise lethal barrage. A simple scissor kick disabled another two men. Weapon X grabbed one man by his collar as he fell, and turned the man's unconscious body towards several guards who were leveling their weapons at him. The implication was clear. No one knew it was a bluff, or were willing to risk it. Slowly, deliberately, they tossed their firearms aside.
But as they did, they withdrew personally selected weapons from specially designed pockets in their uniforms. Several brandished sharp, foot long combat knives. Some favored brass knuckles. The majority, however, favored batons with special electrodes at the end, enabling them to deliver both blunt force and electric shocks.
Weapon X did an instant threat analyst. He then dropped the unconscious man aside and silently motioned for the guards to step forward.
They were on him in an instant. A security guard preferring brass knuckles as a personal weapon was the first to reach Weapon X. The ebony garbed mutant grabbed the man by the by his wrist and twisted it behind his back. The man cried out in pain as his arm was nearly dislocated, but the mutant warrior paid no heed. He knew exactly how much force he'd have to exert to break the man's arm, and he wasn't anywhere near that at the moment. Weapon X lashed out with a kick to the head to a man attempting to take him from behind and twisted his victim in front of two other guards who'd attempted to stab him with their electric batons. The armor of the first guard protected him from the worst of it, but the combined pain of his arm painfully twisted behind his back and electrocution made him black out.
Weapon X allowed the man to drop to the floor as his two friends with the electric prods stood there startled, shocked at having hurt their friend. Their hesitation lasted only a split second before they charged again. In one fluid motion, Weapon X seized their wrists and pulled them forward, forcing them to trip over their fallen friend and fall face forward. Weapon X planted an elbow in the stomach of a man welding a combat knife, knocking him out and away, and turned his attention back towards the two men who had been wielding the electric batons that were now in his hands.
The two had just realized they'd been disarmed when the two weapons they had been using struck a small opening between their boots and their riot armor with easy and pinpoint accuracy. The two went into convulsions and were unconscious in seconds.
The remaining guards had no better luck against Weapon X. With expert blocks, counter strikes and skill, the specially trained security guards of Masterson Technology were routed and laid sprawled out on the floor in various positions of defeat within moments. Weapon X silently signaled the telepath who'd been in mental contact with him the entire time that the job was finished.
Weapon X felt the air around him beginning to stir, and slowly the gas that permeated the room was sucked up and out of the lobby and out into the night air to harmlessly dissipate as the wind around him seemed to move of it's own accord. Weapon X then walked to the front of the lobby to greet his teammates.
"I've dispelled the gas." The Indian master of weather known as Monsoon reported to his teammates.
"Whoa, good job X." The mutant known as Wildchild commented as he looked at the dozens of unconscious bodies littering the ground.
"Yeah, you kick ass with the best of them." The mutant mercenary known as Random grunted.
"Gentlemen, please. We have a time table." The futuristic telepath known as Fixx commented as she walked past her teammates and strode into the building.
"Yeah, yeah. Hit the computer bank, download some crap, then bolt." Random groused.
Sean Santini listened carefully to the directional microphone he had trained on the mutant intruders. He signaled his men to assembly the heavy artillery in the corridor to the main computer banks, and prepared to man the automated defenses. The building was laced with special defenses that could be controlled and directed by Santini with him never needing to get up from his chair. He waited for the attackers to step into the threshold of the main building, where the automated defenses would do the most good and be the most effective.
He was disheartened to see that while they'd approached the threshold, they hadn't stepped inside yet. His heart nearly stopped when he saw the woman known as Fixx tap what looked like a small communicator on her left ear. A veteran of combat, Santini realized there was more to this attack force than he could see. It was then his old battle instincts alerted him to another presence in the small room. He spun around, but a gloved fist slammed into Santini's face and sent him spiraling into oblivion.
"Sorry about that sucker punch, man." The bioelectric generating mutant known as Bandit stated. He was dressed in casual street clothes, black sunglasses and with a lightning bolt tattooed down his left eye.
"Words simply cannot describe how much I don't want to do this." Silhouette, mistress of the darkforce and Bandit's entry into the otherwise security room, stated drearily.
"I know, babe. Breaking into legit companies isn't high on my list of favorite things either." Bandit replied. He pushed the unconscious Santini aside and looked his command consul over; "Automated defenses are off, but looks like they got some reinforcements at the main security banks."
"Just where we need to be, lovely." Silhouette glanced a monitor displaying the room that was her team's objective, "The light's too soft. No good shadows for me to use."
"Well, we kinda expected that." Bandit said with a heart felt groan, "We'd best tell the others."
John Jackson and Arnold Waller moved at a hurried but careful pace as they set up a plasma cannon up directly in front of the thick, sleek metal doors leading to the company's most precious and valuable commodity, the computer bank that stored all the weapons prototypes and information regarding the alien technology examined over the years. Luckily, the hallway ran directly in front of the metal doors and led to the elevator. As a result, anyone who wanted access to the computer bank would have to storm down a distance of twenty-five-feet, with no cover whatsoever. Behind both corners leading to the computer banks were a half dozen men each, all primed for action.
Waller and Jackson set their jaws when they heard the unmistakable -ping!- of the elevator. It took a seeming eternity for the metal doors to open and took an incredible amount of willpower on Waller's part not to fire the plasma cannon indiscriminately right then and there. The elevator doors slid open to revealed a tall, masculine figure that looked like he could be a charter founder of Harley's Angels, were his skin not chalk white.
"What are you boys waitin' for?" Random asked as he pulled a cigar out of his brown leather jacket and placed it in his lips, "I ain't got all day."
Waller decided that now was as good as time as any to unleashed a powerful ball of energy via the plasma cannon he was manning. He pulled the trigger once, and a globe of green energy the size of a medicine ball shot out and towards the pasty mutant biker. Random shot the ball of energy a look of pure disinterest, and made no attempts whatsoever to dodge. The energy struck the mutant squarely in the chest...
...And then ricocheted back towards the very same energy cannon it had been shot out of. Waller and Jackson barely managed to scramble ten feet before the sphere of energy struck the plasma cannon and exploded with enough force to shake the entire floor. All the Masterson Technology employees were protected by their body armor, but were thrown thru the air like leaves caught in a tornado and rendered unconscious all the same.
Random took his cigar out of his mouth and pressed it up against his smoldering chest. It took only a second or two to light. He then placed it to his lips and took a deep drag.
"Yo, Fixx. Shake that future booty of yours, we're good to go up here." Random reported over his communicator.
"Understood." Fixx replied curtly.
Random enjoyed his cigar for several minutes waiting for the elevator to return to the bottom and climb back up with the rest of his teammates. Monsoon, Weapon X, Wildchild, Fixx and a fifth figure who remained towards the back. They paused to stare at the destruction. The entire hallway was charred black, and shrapnel was strewn about the hallway and guards were lying prone on the floor.
"Subtle." Wildchild remarked.
"Shaddup dog face." Random grunted as he blew a puff of smoke in Wildchild's face, "I got the job done, didn't I?"
"We're not finished just yet." Fixx stated as stepped between the two on her way towards the reinforced steel doors.
"No problem babe." Random smirked as he cracked his knuckles. He wedged his fingers in between the small crack of the five inch steel door and began straining his bulging muscles in an effort to pry them apart, "Won't...uggnh! Take...but a minute!" He grunted.
While seemingly unconcerned with Random's efforts to open them, the doors groaned and began parting. Random, no fool, looked to the side where Wildchild was standing beside an electronic keypad with a smirk plastered on his face.
"The guards had a key in case of emergency." Wildchild explained
Random snorted, and looked at the mass of computer bays and technology that lay before him now that the main obstacle had been removed, "Yo Helix, you're up. Hurry it up, okay? We ain't got all day."
"Oh, you needn't worry about me, for you see, while I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry." The man named Helix boasted. Though his intelligence dwarfed the vast majority of the world's population, his body didn't betray that fact at first glance. Helix was nine feet tall, and with a linebacker body with odd leather like patches systematically decorating his body. Born with the natural ability to instinctively evolve to any threat, Helix had learned in recent months to consciously evolve, to a limited degree. Naturally, the first thing he choose to evolve was his brain. He pulled up a chair as he examined one of the computer screens.
"Triple encrypted?" Helix licked his lips and rubbed his hands together, "Oh you sexy beast!"
"Lets get a move on, people." A voice said telepathically into the minds of Factor X. All present recognized the 'voice' as belonging to Jason Blackwood, the telepathic and telekinetic leader of Factor X, "The authorities might well be on their way soon. The alarms were set on dead man switches, apparently. Any interruption in contact..."
"...And the cops know something is up." Wildchild finished.
"I should be finished here in but a moment." Helix explained, "You and the others best see about removing the guards and placing the charges."
"Heh, when we're thru with this caper, you'll know we've been here, 'cause it'll be a big hole in the ground." Random snickered.
Metro City, The Workplace
Adam Sol, alien warrior known to the world at large as X-Treme, tried and failed to remember a time when he was more anxious. He'd faced killers trained in a hundred different methods of murder, monsters the size of houses and certain death a dozen times over, but nothing compared to this.
Arsenal, cursed with the powers of several different mutants via inhuman and unethical organ grafts, adjusted and tightened Adam's casual blue tie and finally exclaimed in victory, "Finally!"
Adam turned to look at himself in the mirror. Compared to how he looked several months ago, the image looking back at him in the reflection was quite refined. His hair, which had been at one time down past his shoulders, was cut short, gelled and combed to look respectable. His many earrings were gone, and the tuxedo and jacket he now sported naturally looked better than his usual combat gear and the majority of his regular clothes, not that that was hard. Though he'd traveled to a dozen worlds and was familiar with even more customs, Adam Sol found that the nuances of Earth culture, as ever, eluded him. But thankfully, he found one constant always helped him adjust. Friends.
"So you know the rules, right?"
"I think so," Adam answered, "I open the doors, pull out the chairs, do nothing deemed 'crude' or overly male, compliment everything about her and we split the cost of tonight between us fifty percent each."
"All good except that last part. Where'd you hear that?"
"I thought it sounded odd too, but Speedball said that since women are equal, they should be required to pay for their own dinner." Adam explained.
Bobby chuckled, "Yes, in theory. But in practice, tonight's expenses are on you. Welcome to the mystery of women. Any more questions?"
"Just one."
"What's that?"
Adam adjusted his tie one final time, "How do I look?"
"You look fine, Rahne." Danielle Moonstar sighed as she sat on her friend's bed and watched Rahne examine herself in the vanity mirror atop her makeup table.
Rahne wore a strapless, stunning red evening gown, her face lightly touched with makeup and her long red hair up in a bun and wearing hi heels her mother had given her for her birthday.
"Ye sure...?" Rahne asked as she looked herself up and down in the mirror for what had to be the thousandth time, "...maybe some more make up."
"Rahne, it's make up, not spray paint." Danielle stood up and plucked Rahne's compact makeup kit out of her hands. Dani placed her hand on Rahne's shoulder and led her away from her mirror, "man, I remember a time when I couldn't get you to even touch this stuff with a fifty foot poll."
"I jus' want tonight tae go well, is all." Rahne sighed.
"I understand, but relax kiddo. You look fine." Dani reassured her.
Rahne plopped down on her bed and sighed, "I hope yuir right."
"Me too." Dani swallowed hard, and voiced a concern that'd been festering for a bit, "Rahne, have you thought maybe you're taking this too fast?"
"It's jus' a date, Dani."
Dani rolled her eyes heavenwards, "With you, there is no such thing as 'just a date', Rahne. I mean, you broke up with Doug only a few weeks ago..."
Rahne looked away, slightly embarrassed, "I broke up wit' Doug some time ago, Dani. But I ne'er stopped trying to relive the past until a few weeks ago. Adam's different. He's..." Rahne's voice trailed off.
"Yeah?"
"He's not Doug. He's nae Alex and he's nae Sam," Rahne confessed, "But I have feeling f'r him. An' I'd like to see where they lead."
Danielle sighed inwardly. She liked X-Treme okay now that he'd opened up some, but still preferred someone more...straight-laced for Rahne. Someone like Doug was, Sam, or hell, even Speedball. But Danielle wasn't about to even try to force those opinions upon Rahne.
Rahne managed to run a comb thru her hair one final time before she heard a knock at her door.
"Come in."
The door slid open to reveal Adam Sol, never looking more refined and handsome in Rahne's eyes as he adjusted his the cuffs of his sleeves. Bobby was off to the side, leaning up against the wall.
"The limo's waiting. You look incredible." Adam said. He extended his hand, "shall we?"
Rahne took her arm in his, "O' course."
Danielle watched the two walk down the hall, arm in arm with a small scowl on her face.
"Sniff"
Dani turned to look at Bobby, who was melodramatically wiping away an imaginary tear, "They grow up so fast."
"Oh shut up."
"I've arranged a meeting in England at five o clock concerning your European expansion, and another meeting at seven o clock, your time sir, in Japan." Edie Sawyer informed her employer as they went over the plans for tomorrow.
Donald Parvenue, billionaire ideological founder and financer of Force Works, sifted thru various reports that were overflowing on his desk. To describe the room as a mess was too kind. Boxes, papers and files were strewn all about in no particular order, but in truth they didn't need to be. This office, situated in the headquarters of Force Works, was one of a dozen minor offices Parvenue maintained all over the world. Though business was closed for the day, Parvenue always preferred to review the next day's schedule while evaluating reports on his lesser holdings.
"Good, good. I've some concerns about some of my investments in Hong Kong. China's recent decision against elections could have a negative effect on my holdings that we'll need to address." Parvenue explained as he glanced over another report.
"Understood, sir. I'll make a note of that on the agenda. Anything else?"
"Yes," Parvenue said thru clenched teeth and in radiating rage, a drastic contrast from only moments before. His muscles trembled and his eyes narrowed sharply, "I think we may need to loose some dogs of war, because I've just learned that I've been betrayed!"
"S...sir?" Edie asked nervously, her temperature rising, "What...what do you mean?"
Parvenue pushed forward a report he'd just been reading, "The attack on Masterson Technologies. I've just read the police reports and witness descriptions of the attackers. I know exactly who's behind it."
"Sir? How could you know that?"
"I'll explain later. Find Danielle and Richard, now. I fear this act of betrayal must be met with hypocrisy."
"We have reservations. Sol, party of two." Adam Sol informed the Maître d' of the locally famous Metro City Restaurant 'The Hawk and Dove', suggested to them by Kymaera. The crowd was composed of the social crème of the crop, councilmen, visiting congressmen, senators and wealthy businessmen. Thankfully, neither Rahne nor Adam truly stood out and while normally they might have felt a little intimidated by such an affluent setting, their minds were on more important things.
A waiter, dressed as well as than some foreign Royalty, saw them to their table, gave them their menus and promised to once they'd made their selections.
"Man, these prices make me thankful for the strip end." Adam murmured to himself.
"Well, I ken what I want." Rahne set her menu down, "so, tell me aboot yuirself, Adam."
"I... thought I already did."
"No, ye gave me and everyone else some generals. Aboot yuir biological father, D'Ken, yuir life and how ye came tae earth. I'd like tae know details."
Adam placed the menu down, "Details. Alright..."
"Excuse me?"
The two mutants turned to see their waiter had returned, carrying a bottle of Red Wine, "My apologies for interrupting. A well wisher would like you to have this bottle of Chateau Petrus, from 1947." The waiter pointed towards where Rahne saw Senator Rankin, a local and vocal civil rights activist who'd endorsed Force Works publicly more than a few times. The Senator flashed a pure white smile at them before turning his attention towards his date.
"Chateau Petrus...?" Rahne gaped opened mouthed.
"Correct. Also, please accept tonight's dinner on the house as a token of appreciation on behalf of Force Works' efforts in improving our fair city."
"Oh! Umm...thank ye verra much." Rahne said as she accepted the bottle.
"Are you ready to order, sir and madam?"
"We are."
Rahne and Adam gave their orders, and were left alone together once more.
"I'm guessing this bottle of wine is worth a lot, huh?" Adam asked as he set it aside.
"Ye have nae idea." Rahne answered, "I'm nae quite old enough tae drink it though. At least, not here. Still, I was more worried about them refusin' tae serve us than being illegally served expensive wine, what wit' being known mutants and all."
"I guess being one of the more public members of Force Works has its benefits, but...I have a question."
"Oh?"
Adam rubbed the back of his neck and asked nervously, "I'm new to dating on earth. I was more than willing to pay for dinner, but... do I still get credit for the date?"
Rahne chuckled softly, "O' course ye do. Now, ye were telling me aboot yuirself?"
"Well, I grew up on a farm on the planet Dymphna V. Very harsh world. Always dry, sweltering heat, mostly barren even with the right tools for farming. It wasn't the nicest place to grow up."
"I can imagine."
Adam shook his head, "No offense, but I don't think you can. Dymphna was a border planet. Completely lawless planet on the border of the Shi'ar empire, hostile to everyone and everything, especially outsiders. And as a half human, I was an outsider. Perhaps the outsider."
"I thought ye said that The Crystal Claws, that cult yuir father created, manipulated yuir entire life. Why would they stick ye in such an evil place?" Rahne asked.
"Same reason they eventually strung me along to earth, to toughen me up, to make me more dangerous. See, I was never meant to take my father's place as head of the Shi'ar, rather I was supposed to be his personal assassin. But things didn't go as planned." Adam took a sip of his water, "But I'm getting ahead of myself. To sum up, my childhood was basically one big battle and manipulation. It's why I don't talk about it much." He said nonchalantly.
"What was yuir father like?"
"Excuse me?"
"The man who raised ye?" Rahne clarified, "What was he like?"
"His name was Jonath. The man was purebred Shi'ar, and he hated me for being a half-breed and in retrospect, probably found the very idea that I was royal blood offensive. But I've got to admit, I owe him. When I was young, he forced me start practicing what Earther's call martial arts. Even found a Priest of Pama to train me."
"But...ye don't like tae fight."
"I don't, believe me. But I am good at it, and my training has saved my life and my mind more times than I can count. Jonath may have forced martial arts on me, but I'm the better for it. Didn't change the fact he hated me." Adam said with a heavy heart, "Growing up, I used to always ask myself what I was doing wrong, how could I make him love me? I threw myself into my training, so much so it became my emotional refuge from that bast- jak." Adam's voice cracked for the most fleeting of moments, and Rahne heard the years of an all too familiar pain hiding underneath. That of being truly alone.
"Ye say yuir half human. Have ye ever considered looking fer yuir mum's family?" Rahne proposed.
"I've considered it, but honestly, I don't think that'd be a good idea. All I would be was some living, breathing reminder of the fact someone's dead daughter didn't die a clean death, but was raped by some madman and then murdered."
"I...am sorry tae hear that, Adam. Why have ye kept this bottled up so long?"
"No reason to burden others with my history. Besides, most of the others come from nice families. It's not their fault and they are good people, but they don't know how easy they've had it. Don't think they can relate, honestly."
"Nae all o' us. When muh powers manifested, me father's show of moral support was tryin' tae burn me at the stake, wit' the help o' a mob." Rahne confided.
Adam's eyes widened in surprise, "What...? I never..."
"Because ye never asked, that's why."
"Well, that certainly was my mistake." Adam admitted, "I guess Dani was right, I am too guarded, but... no time like the present to correct that mistake. So tell me, how did Scotland's most beautiful mutant become involved in all the craziness of the superhero world?"
"I see Bobby's given ye lessons in flattery," Rahne smiled, "well, it started when my powers first manifested. Worst and best thing to ever happen to me, all at once..."
Danielle Moonstar, mutant illusion projector and leader of Force Works, pulled the bag of microwave able popcorn from the microwave and popped it open. Bobby had suggested they watch a movie together (it seemed platonic enough) and Danielle had taken him up on the offer, for lack of anything better to do. If nothing else, she had a chance to act like a halfway normal person, which in and of itself was very rare for the Cheyenne mutant.
"Yo, Dani!"
Which of course, meant it was the perfect time for Force Works' co-leader, Nova the Human Rocket, to call her over her communicator. Dani hadn't even realized she was still wearing the small devise fitted over her left ear. The communicator was so everyday to her now, like a cell-phone or pager that half the time she often forgot it was even there.
"Yeah, what's up Rich?" Dani inquired as she strolled into the main recreation area where Bobby was lounging on the couch, remote at the ready.
"What's wrong?" He asked, but Dani motioned for him to be quite with her hand.
"Parvenue wants to see us, like yesterday. He sounds royally pissed, but I don't think it's at us. You better get here ASAP."
Danielle sighed and tossed the bag of popcorn into Bobby's lap, "Sorry, official business just came up. May take a while, so don't wait up."
Richard Rider tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Danielle to arrive. After all, facing Parvenue alone wasn't something the Human Rocket was sure he could do. He wasn't scared of him, rather that guy seemed surrounded in an aura of experienced and kind wisdom to Nova, always standing comfortably on a kind of moral pedestal that Richard always felt hard-pressed to even consider defying, let alone challenging.
However, Nova knew that wasn't a problem with Danielle. Danielle has a rebellious streak unlike almost anything he'd seen before. Nova suspected she could face down God and the Devil themselves at once without batting an eyelid. He breathed an obvious sigh of relief when he saw her striding down the hall in full uniform.
"What's the Sit. Rep?" She asked quickly
"No idea. All I know is Sawyer says that Parvenue's mighty pissed about somethin' and is demanding to see us." Nova motioned for Dani to enter the closed door, "Ladies first."
Dani gripped the knob and entered. Underneath her breath she muttered, "Wuss."
Entering, they saw Parvenue sitting behind an old oak desk with Edie Sawyer, the team's main liaison and connection with the billionaire, smiling broadly like the cat that'd eaten the canary. In contrast, Parvenue's hands were clasped before him; an apologetic but determined look was etched on his old features.
"I come before you now as both a liar and hypocrite, and for that I apologize. Last night one of my lesser holdings Masterson Technologies, was attacked by mutant assailants. Somehow, they knew its secret, that the company was a research institute studying xenotechnology for the United States military."
"Hold on, xenotechnology?" Nova asked incredulously, "Do you mean..."
"That's correct, Richard. Alien technology. The research was largely concerning the engines of alien crafts and finding ways to safely duplicate and mass-produce the powercores therein. Unfortunately, the attack by these mutants completely compromised security and they razed the building to the ground before finally departing. No one was killed, but the government has pulled its research contracts and all the research was lost. I've been forced to dissolve the company just to keep my losses down to three billion dollars."
Danielle winced, and then said, "So, what's the problem here, sir?"
"That should be obvious." Edie growled from Parvenue's side.
"Normally, it would be." Dani said evenly, "I don't have an issue putting these guys on top of Force Works' agenda. They may have access to powerful alien technology, and being mutant terrorists, caving their head in on general principle works for me. You, sir, know this. But this little sit down implies that there's more to this case than just that. That's what I was asking about."
Donald Parvenue smiled inwardly despite the grave task ahead of him. Danielle Moonstar never failed to impress him, both as a young woman and leader, "You are quite correct, Dani." Parvenue pushed a manila folder forward for Danielle to read, "I have every reason to believe the mutants who attacked Masterson Technologies were Factor X, mutants with direct connections to the MUSE system."
Danielle almost seemed to jump back at that comment, she was so startled, "Sir, that's impossible, the MUSE was established to help mutants. You must be mistaken."
"I know exactly what the MUSE is. I donated over twenty million dollars to its operations, remember?" Parvenue replied.
"Whoa, time out, hold up." Said Nova, "For the X ignorant, what the hell is the MUSE, and how do you know them, Dani?"
"The MUSE stands for Mutant Underground Support Engine. It's sort of an underground railroad for mutants in trouble. I know them like you know SHIELD and Captain America."
"Are you aware of their strikeforce, Factor X?"
Danielle leafed thru the folder. She carefully said, "One or two. Professionally, of course."
"Of course. At any rate, it was they who destroyed my facility. And I want Force Works to bring them in."
Danielle felt a sudden lump in her throat develop. She already knew where this was going, "Sir, I know these people, I'm sure they had a good reason to do what they did."
"I don't care. They could have come to me first, instead of utterly destroying one of my holdings. I've sent a full report to all major news outlets. Hopefully, they can help smoke these betrayers out." Parvenue snarled, "And when they do, Force Works will need to be ready to swoop in and bring them down."
"Sir, with all due respect, I think you're overreacting, the MUSE and Factor X..."
"Danielle, I've made up my mind." Parvenue interrupted, "I said before that you would be free from my oversight, and I apologize for lying then. But my hand has been forced in this matter."
"Sir, I must object...!"
"I've made up my mind Dani." Parvenue said sharply, "Force Works will bring in Factor X, or I will disband the team. End of discussion."
The Daily Grill, North Dakota
Peter Coleman, former highly paid security guard, sipped the fifth beer he'd had in the last half hour. After being laid off, he and his friends had decided to practice the age-old battle tactic of 'defeating thy enemy by drowning one's self in alcoholic'. The famed tactic had been going on for the past four hours with no end in sight.
"Stinking muties." Sean Santini spat as he slammed his mug down on the bar for a refill, "Just come in and wreckin' shit. Made you eat your words, huh Coleman?"
"Go ta hell." Coleman slurred. Try as he may, he couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal Santini's drunken criticism elicited. All his life, Coleman had been a vocal and staunch moderate on the issues of mutants, denouncing laws such as the mutant registration act and the like. That stance was made a lot harder to hold now, having lost his sixty thousand dollars a year job and health insurance for his disabled daughter. What made the loss even harder is that he had no idea whatsoever why the company was attacked. Were the attackers looking just to steal the company's information, industrial saboteurs? Were they making some kind of political statement? No one was killed, but that's all he knew and it was maddening.
Daniel Howard, wealthy lawyer and family man, found himself wondering just how he passed his college final exams. He'd gone to the gym after work to exercise some before heading home to his wife and daughter. He'd gotten a good work out and had been considering getting something to eat at the bar and grill that was next to the gym, but when he got back to his car, he realized something. He'd locked his damn keys in the car.
"Homo superior my ass." He grumbled to himself. Tired after such a long workout, all he wanted to do was get something to eat and go home to his family. Was that too much to ask? Daniel asked the car the very same question by kicking the door.
"Get yo' hands up and step away from the car, beeyotch! Get yo' hands up and step away from the car, beeyotch!" The car alarm blared loudly and repeatedly. Howard put his hand on his face, now regretting personalizing his car alarm. Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was watching (at state of affairs he was positive wouldn't last) he released a quick electrical burst from his fingers that fried the alarm and opened the electronic locks on the door. He'd have a hell of a time explaining it to his mechanic, but at least he'd get home at a descent hour.
"Hey, that mutie freak is stealin' a car!"
Howard looked over his shoulder to see one of the bar patrons pointing at him. He half considered just getting in and driving away, but was certain that would cause even more problems in the long run.
"Sorry buddy, can't steal what you own. Possession is nine tenths of the law, and all that. Trust me, I'm a lawyer."
"Like your raggedy butt owns a Mercedes." The man spat as he stalked forward with obviously hostile intent. Howard raised his hands in a placating gesture. The drunken man shifted his weight, but Howard misinterpreted it as an attack and instinctively released a burst of electricity.
"Yeearrggg!" The man screamed in pain as his nerves were destroyed.
"Oh shit!" Howard gasped at the man he'd just maimed, possibly killed.
"A mutie just killed a guy!" Peter Coleman yelled from the threshold of the bar's door. He had just stepped out for a smoke when he saw the whole thing, or so he thought. In truth, he didn't see a single thing that wasn't largely tainted by his firing and subsequent anger.
"No wait, you don't understand...!" Howard raised his hands again but consciously prevented himself from releasing any more energy bursts. He still thought the power of reason could win out. After all, he'd lived in the area all his life, and had a good 'feel' for the town.
It was however, a fatal error. Peter Coleman rushed forward and punched Howard in the center of his solar plexus. The punch forced the air from Daniel's lunges and was like pressing a painful 'pause' button on his entire body. He couldn't move, he couldn't think. He could barely breath. Howard fell backwards limp and defenseless.
"God damn mutie freaks think you're better than everyone!" Coleman roared as he began stomping on Howard in a drunken rage, "think you can do whatever the fuck you want and get away with it!"
The former security guards of Masterson Technology poured out of the bar and into the street in what seemed like the blink of an eye. They joined Coleman in releasing their drunken rage on the only mutant they could get their hands upon. Fists, and steel-toed boots crashed into Daniel's body and within minutes his body was devoid of any unbroken bones or an un- punctured internal organ.
But sadly, that wasn't good enough for the angry mob that'd just lost their future. What happened next would be the subject of much heated debate for years to come. Someone realized that across the street, the hardware store was selling rope. Someone else noticed how the street lights that illuminated the block arched over the street. And finally, the drunken crowd silently knew that each and everyone of them wanted to make statement to the world, about mutants.
The next day, the front pages of every newspaper in South Dakota would have the picture of Daniel Howard, devoted family man, beaten and bloodied, swaying back and forth from a lamppost, hanging by his neck. Pinned to his chest, written in Howard's own blood by one of the more sober guards, was a note. It read:
'What goes around, comes around mutie freaks.'
To be continued...
Next issue: Confused? Outraged? Hope so, because things get even worse next issue as Force Works tries to get to the bottom of Factor X's actions without betraying their ideals!
Work Letters
I've got two letters this time, regarding the Giant Sized (come on guys, it wasn't that big, was it?). The first one's from Gary Jones. Go to it, man!
Again I liked this very much, the fight between Days and Force Works was
excellent, but I'm curious if he can only use one of his stolen powers at a
time because it sure seemed that way and to think I was worried that
you were making him too powerful.
He can use as many powers as he needs. He is a villain, after all.
Now on to what I thought was a little iffy about the issue, forgive me
if I repeat any points.
I think I'll live ;)
Dani beat the Confessor far too easily, this is a guy who routinely
humiliates Maverick in a fight and breaks into maximum-security prisons
easily. I don't have a problem with Dani winning but I would have liked to see a bit more of a fight rather than "me Dani Hulk, you insult heritage, I smash". A longer fight would also have set him up as an interesting recurring villain for Dani.
Well, that was meant largely as a 'Joan of Arc', faith empowering act. Majority of the time, Confessor would likely whup Dani's butt
The Petersons just gave custody of Rusty to Skids huh! Now I don't know what
the laws are in America but I imagine that they would be a little more difficult than that. The Petersons are Rusty's legal guardians and as such have a responsibility to him, they would not be able to just hand him over like they apparently did. If anything he would be taken into care until it was established that Skids was able to take care of him properly. Perhaps you could add that Parvenue has given Skids a part time job and is providing Rusty a place in the company childcare scheme, I think this would be a little more realistic and the judges would look more agreeably at it.
Child custody is a little more lenient in regards to the biological mother, and Parvenue did set Skids up with some help. Thanks for the feedback, man!
And now there's master scribe of Avengers and some other cool cosmic series in the works, Brent Lambert!
Giant Sized Force Works #1 by David Ingram
THE GOOD: The dilemma with Skids was definitely the best part of this story. Without it the story just wouldn't have been as rich. Reverend Days is also an interesting new villain to add to the table. I'm more than sure he'll be popping up again in Force Work's future. Having all the religious themed villains together also made for some interesting action scenes. Arsenal getting loaded with a bunch of bullets was a nice touch and you finally get to see his healing factor go overhaul. Skids finally reconciling with her son was another big moment and it'll be interesting to see where the future goes for these two.
Glad you liked Skids' dilemma regarding her son, though I can't say what the future will hold for the two. And oh yeah, Reverend Days will be back and he'll be back big, baby!
THE BAD: Reverend Days just wasn't that convincing of a minister to me. He sounded more like a stereotype of evangelical ministers. He still has that spark of potential though and maybe with a little work on his dialogue he can became one of the great villains of M2K.
Well, in my own defense, he was meant to sound stereotypical ;)
OVERALL: This is probably M2K's single largest issue, but it flows so naturally it doesn't even really feel that long. And if you're wondering just how long I know it's past 30 pages.
Just a little over 30 pages, honest looks around and shifts eyes
Thanks for the review, man!
Force Works 17
Eye of the Beholder
Part 1
Jacksonville North Dakota
The sound of combat boots stomping down the corridor as heavily armed guards rushed to where a security breach had been detected, sounded akin to a stampede of rhinos. Their heavy equipment prevented any pretense of stealth as they stormed the wide white solid marble of the lobby of Masterson Technology with practiced skill. The lobby contained two marble desks and many stone columns that supported the higher floors of the building, while transparent bulletproof glass doors. Three guards took up stations behind both marble desks, another two behind each of the four columns that were scattered about the lobby. A dozen other men found several lesser places with which to conceal themselves in, such as the entrance to the bathroom, behind a bench or some such. All their weapons instantly became trained on the specially reinforced transparent Plexiglas entrance at the front of the building.
The security guards of Masterson Technology are hardly what anyone would call unprepared. The company, a subsidiary of a much larger company, outfitted their security guards personal form fitting Kevlar armor, riot gear specially designed for the individual guard's head, full weapons training and a required ten hours of paid combat training a week. Their standard weapons were specially modified Specfor M4 rifles, weapons normally reserved for Delta Force commandos, loaded with depleted uranium shells capable of piercing almost any modern body armor and even a great deal of superhumans. In all, security guards had more than enough weaponry and training to repel the army of a small nation with little trouble. While for other companies, all this might seem excessive, but Masterson Electronics was different from the vast majority of all other companies in one important way.
It was one of only three other firms in the United States with a security clearance high enough to be licensed by the United States Government to study alien technology for possible military applications. Taking security lightly simply was not an option.
Retired Special Forces Army Colonel Sean Santini watched the men deploy from his security booth deep inside the building. He sat uncomfortably in his leather command chair and surrounded by the latest in communication technology. He'd always dreaded the possibility of an attack. Masterson Technology deliberately kept a low profile for the express purpose of avoiding an attack by the likes of A.I.M and Hydra, but now it looked like an attack was unavoidable.
Laid out before Santini were twelve security screens that constantly shifted, but programmed to zero in one movement. Right now, they were all focused on a single armored van that's burst thru the front gate and was on a collision course for the lobby. The makeup of the parking lot and distance gave Santini's men enough time to react, as per the security plans. Santini depressed a button to speak to his men.
"E.T.A Fourteen seconds. Flooding lobby now."
Vents in the lobby, placed both on the floor and ceiling, began spewing a thick, white smoke that obscured the entire reception area. The smoke was in fact a specially designed form of nerve gas that would instantly disable anyone who breathed it in. The guards were both immunized against the gas and were armed with gas masks as an extra precaution. They also wore night vision goggles that allowed them to see thru most of the gas. In theory, the building was now a deathtrap for any invader, no matter how skilled or dangerous.
In theory.
A heavily armored van, loaded with extra plating designed for ramming, burst thru the lobby doors, sending bullet proof glass into the air with a loud –crash!- and was met with a hail of gunfire so powerful, the 2000 pound armored vehicle came to a quick, grinding halt in middle of the wide lobby. That didn't stop the security guards from continuing to bombard the automobile with thousands upon thousands of rounds of ammunition. The van appeared to almost disintegrate like dust in the wind under the onslaught as bullets powerful enough to dent tanks tore thru it.
Their mistake, however, was focusing the entirety of their impressive firepower on the upper body of the van while completely ignoring the bottom.
Unlatching the harness that held him to the underbelly of the van, the silent warrior underneath dropped to the floor six inches below him only moments after the first hundred rounds began flying. Obscured by thick white tear gas powerful enough to disable ten men with a single breath, the warrior rolled away from the van unseen, and out of the line of fire.
Three minutes and thousands of spent rounds later, the order to cease- fire came. All that remained of the van was two axils with four tires covered by a bed holding it all together.
"Scratch one intruder." One soldier remarked, stationed behind the marble reception desk.
"Make sure." Santini ordered from his command room, "examine what's left. Make damn certain we got the bastard, and be careful. We don't even know if this is the only attack, or just an opening salvo."
At the far end of the lobby stood two security guards who'd taken up positions behind a stone column. They kept their weapons trained on the remains of the van like the professionals they were while another closer soldier examined the remains. By now, the nerve gas had settled to the floor and was up to their knees. Their attention focused on the decimated vehicles, neither noticed a man in a full black body suit with red oval eyes looking out into the world, rise up from the floor like a demon from hell. The man grabbed them by their shoulders, pulled them away from one another and then slammed their heads back together. They fell into unconsciousness instantly. The man then melted back into the gas-induced fog.
Peter Coleman, the guard elected to examine the remains of the van, squatted down so that he could see the underbelly. It took a few moments for the gas to clear so that he could get a clear view, but as soon as it did, his blood ran cold.
"We have an intruder in the building!" He shouted over his comm. unit. He stood up in time to see the black-garbed man punch two of his friends insensible and the guards covering the right of the lobby nowhere to be seen.
Weapon X, government created master assassin, could feel the exact instant that he lost the element of surprise. He wasn't overly concerned, as he'd already defeated roughly half the security team in the lobby before he was finally discovered. The expanse of twenty feet was all that separated him from completing his mission now. For others, closing the distance of twenty feet between themselves and well-trained, heavily armed men with their weapons already aimed on their persons would be impossible.
But obviously, Weapon X wasn't like most men.
Weapon X lunged forward, jumped up about a foot into the air and landed on the spent bullets casings that littered the room. The genetically engineered warrior slid on the casings like a ballerina on ice, and he crouched down to avoid the first barrage of lethal bullets. The men were forced to aim high to avoid killing their friends behind Weapon X, something the former government assassin planned and exploited to the fullest. When he was almost within arm's length of the men, Weapon X fell backwards with his hands underneath him, his back parallel to the floor. He then lashed out with his left foot and swept one guard's legs out from under him.
As the man fell backwards, Weapon X leaped up to his feet, exploiting the hole in what had been an otherwise lethal barrage. A simple scissor kick disabled another two men. Weapon X grabbed one man by his collar as he fell, and turned the man's unconscious body towards several guards who were leveling their weapons at him. The implication was clear. No one knew it was a bluff, or were willing to risk it. Slowly, deliberately, they tossed their firearms aside.
But as they did, they withdrew personally selected weapons from specially designed pockets in their uniforms. Several brandished sharp, foot long combat knives. Some favored brass knuckles. The majority, however, favored batons with special electrodes at the end, enabling them to deliver both blunt force and electric shocks.
Weapon X did an instant threat analyst. He then dropped the unconscious man aside and silently motioned for the guards to step forward.
They were on him in an instant. A security guard preferring brass knuckles as a personal weapon was the first to reach Weapon X. The ebony garbed mutant grabbed the man by the by his wrist and twisted it behind his back. The man cried out in pain as his arm was nearly dislocated, but the mutant warrior paid no heed. He knew exactly how much force he'd have to exert to break the man's arm, and he wasn't anywhere near that at the moment. Weapon X lashed out with a kick to the head to a man attempting to take him from behind and twisted his victim in front of two other guards who'd attempted to stab him with their electric batons. The armor of the first guard protected him from the worst of it, but the combined pain of his arm painfully twisted behind his back and electrocution made him black out.
Weapon X allowed the man to drop to the floor as his two friends with the electric prods stood there startled, shocked at having hurt their friend. Their hesitation lasted only a split second before they charged again. In one fluid motion, Weapon X seized their wrists and pulled them forward, forcing them to trip over their fallen friend and fall face forward. Weapon X planted an elbow in the stomach of a man welding a combat knife, knocking him out and away, and turned his attention back towards the two men who had been wielding the electric batons that were now in his hands.
The two had just realized they'd been disarmed when the two weapons they had been using struck a small opening between their boots and their riot armor with easy and pinpoint accuracy. The two went into convulsions and were unconscious in seconds.
The remaining guards had no better luck against Weapon X. With expert blocks, counter strikes and skill, the specially trained security guards of Masterson Technology were routed and laid sprawled out on the floor in various positions of defeat within moments. Weapon X silently signaled the telepath who'd been in mental contact with him the entire time that the job was finished.
Weapon X felt the air around him beginning to stir, and slowly the gas that permeated the room was sucked up and out of the lobby and out into the night air to harmlessly dissipate as the wind around him seemed to move of it's own accord. Weapon X then walked to the front of the lobby to greet his teammates.
"I've dispelled the gas." The Indian master of weather known as Monsoon reported to his teammates.
"Whoa, good job X." The mutant known as Wildchild commented as he looked at the dozens of unconscious bodies littering the ground.
"Yeah, you kick ass with the best of them." The mutant mercenary known as Random grunted.
"Gentlemen, please. We have a time table." The futuristic telepath known as Fixx commented as she walked past her teammates and strode into the building.
"Yeah, yeah. Hit the computer bank, download some crap, then bolt." Random groused.
Sean Santini listened carefully to the directional microphone he had trained on the mutant intruders. He signaled his men to assembly the heavy artillery in the corridor to the main computer banks, and prepared to man the automated defenses. The building was laced with special defenses that could be controlled and directed by Santini with him never needing to get up from his chair. He waited for the attackers to step into the threshold of the main building, where the automated defenses would do the most good and be the most effective.
He was disheartened to see that while they'd approached the threshold, they hadn't stepped inside yet. His heart nearly stopped when he saw the woman known as Fixx tap what looked like a small communicator on her left ear. A veteran of combat, Santini realized there was more to this attack force than he could see. It was then his old battle instincts alerted him to another presence in the small room. He spun around, but a gloved fist slammed into Santini's face and sent him spiraling into oblivion.
"Sorry about that sucker punch, man." The bioelectric generating mutant known as Bandit stated. He was dressed in casual street clothes, black sunglasses and with a lightning bolt tattooed down his left eye.
"Words simply cannot describe how much I don't want to do this." Silhouette, mistress of the darkforce and Bandit's entry into the otherwise security room, stated drearily.
"I know, babe. Breaking into legit companies isn't high on my list of favorite things either." Bandit replied. He pushed the unconscious Santini aside and looked his command consul over; "Automated defenses are off, but looks like they got some reinforcements at the main security banks."
"Just where we need to be, lovely." Silhouette glanced a monitor displaying the room that was her team's objective, "The light's too soft. No good shadows for me to use."
"Well, we kinda expected that." Bandit said with a heart felt groan, "We'd best tell the others."
John Jackson and Arnold Waller moved at a hurried but careful pace as they set up a plasma cannon up directly in front of the thick, sleek metal doors leading to the company's most precious and valuable commodity, the computer bank that stored all the weapons prototypes and information regarding the alien technology examined over the years. Luckily, the hallway ran directly in front of the metal doors and led to the elevator. As a result, anyone who wanted access to the computer bank would have to storm down a distance of twenty-five-feet, with no cover whatsoever. Behind both corners leading to the computer banks were a half dozen men each, all primed for action.
Waller and Jackson set their jaws when they heard the unmistakable -ping!- of the elevator. It took a seeming eternity for the metal doors to open and took an incredible amount of willpower on Waller's part not to fire the plasma cannon indiscriminately right then and there. The elevator doors slid open to revealed a tall, masculine figure that looked like he could be a charter founder of Harley's Angels, were his skin not chalk white.
"What are you boys waitin' for?" Random asked as he pulled a cigar out of his brown leather jacket and placed it in his lips, "I ain't got all day."
Waller decided that now was as good as time as any to unleashed a powerful ball of energy via the plasma cannon he was manning. He pulled the trigger once, and a globe of green energy the size of a medicine ball shot out and towards the pasty mutant biker. Random shot the ball of energy a look of pure disinterest, and made no attempts whatsoever to dodge. The energy struck the mutant squarely in the chest...
...And then ricocheted back towards the very same energy cannon it had been shot out of. Waller and Jackson barely managed to scramble ten feet before the sphere of energy struck the plasma cannon and exploded with enough force to shake the entire floor. All the Masterson Technology employees were protected by their body armor, but were thrown thru the air like leaves caught in a tornado and rendered unconscious all the same.
Random took his cigar out of his mouth and pressed it up against his smoldering chest. It took only a second or two to light. He then placed it to his lips and took a deep drag.
"Yo, Fixx. Shake that future booty of yours, we're good to go up here." Random reported over his communicator.
"Understood." Fixx replied curtly.
Random enjoyed his cigar for several minutes waiting for the elevator to return to the bottom and climb back up with the rest of his teammates. Monsoon, Weapon X, Wildchild, Fixx and a fifth figure who remained towards the back. They paused to stare at the destruction. The entire hallway was charred black, and shrapnel was strewn about the hallway and guards were lying prone on the floor.
"Subtle." Wildchild remarked.
"Shaddup dog face." Random grunted as he blew a puff of smoke in Wildchild's face, "I got the job done, didn't I?"
"We're not finished just yet." Fixx stated as stepped between the two on her way towards the reinforced steel doors.
"No problem babe." Random smirked as he cracked his knuckles. He wedged his fingers in between the small crack of the five inch steel door and began straining his bulging muscles in an effort to pry them apart, "Won't...uggnh! Take...but a minute!" He grunted.
While seemingly unconcerned with Random's efforts to open them, the doors groaned and began parting. Random, no fool, looked to the side where Wildchild was standing beside an electronic keypad with a smirk plastered on his face.
"The guards had a key in case of emergency." Wildchild explained
Random snorted, and looked at the mass of computer bays and technology that lay before him now that the main obstacle had been removed, "Yo Helix, you're up. Hurry it up, okay? We ain't got all day."
"Oh, you needn't worry about me, for you see, while I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry." The man named Helix boasted. Though his intelligence dwarfed the vast majority of the world's population, his body didn't betray that fact at first glance. Helix was nine feet tall, and with a linebacker body with odd leather like patches systematically decorating his body. Born with the natural ability to instinctively evolve to any threat, Helix had learned in recent months to consciously evolve, to a limited degree. Naturally, the first thing he choose to evolve was his brain. He pulled up a chair as he examined one of the computer screens.
"Triple encrypted?" Helix licked his lips and rubbed his hands together, "Oh you sexy beast!"
"Lets get a move on, people." A voice said telepathically into the minds of Factor X. All present recognized the 'voice' as belonging to Jason Blackwood, the telepathic and telekinetic leader of Factor X, "The authorities might well be on their way soon. The alarms were set on dead man switches, apparently. Any interruption in contact..."
"...And the cops know something is up." Wildchild finished.
"I should be finished here in but a moment." Helix explained, "You and the others best see about removing the guards and placing the charges."
"Heh, when we're thru with this caper, you'll know we've been here, 'cause it'll be a big hole in the ground." Random snickered.
Metro City, The Workplace
Adam Sol, alien warrior known to the world at large as X-Treme, tried and failed to remember a time when he was more anxious. He'd faced killers trained in a hundred different methods of murder, monsters the size of houses and certain death a dozen times over, but nothing compared to this.
Arsenal, cursed with the powers of several different mutants via inhuman and unethical organ grafts, adjusted and tightened Adam's casual blue tie and finally exclaimed in victory, "Finally!"
Adam turned to look at himself in the mirror. Compared to how he looked several months ago, the image looking back at him in the reflection was quite refined. His hair, which had been at one time down past his shoulders, was cut short, gelled and combed to look respectable. His many earrings were gone, and the tuxedo and jacket he now sported naturally looked better than his usual combat gear and the majority of his regular clothes, not that that was hard. Though he'd traveled to a dozen worlds and was familiar with even more customs, Adam Sol found that the nuances of Earth culture, as ever, eluded him. But thankfully, he found one constant always helped him adjust. Friends.
"So you know the rules, right?"
"I think so," Adam answered, "I open the doors, pull out the chairs, do nothing deemed 'crude' or overly male, compliment everything about her and we split the cost of tonight between us fifty percent each."
"All good except that last part. Where'd you hear that?"
"I thought it sounded odd too, but Speedball said that since women are equal, they should be required to pay for their own dinner." Adam explained.
Bobby chuckled, "Yes, in theory. But in practice, tonight's expenses are on you. Welcome to the mystery of women. Any more questions?"
"Just one."
"What's that?"
Adam adjusted his tie one final time, "How do I look?"
"You look fine, Rahne." Danielle Moonstar sighed as she sat on her friend's bed and watched Rahne examine herself in the vanity mirror atop her makeup table.
Rahne wore a strapless, stunning red evening gown, her face lightly touched with makeup and her long red hair up in a bun and wearing hi heels her mother had given her for her birthday.
"Ye sure...?" Rahne asked as she looked herself up and down in the mirror for what had to be the thousandth time, "...maybe some more make up."
"Rahne, it's make up, not spray paint." Danielle stood up and plucked Rahne's compact makeup kit out of her hands. Dani placed her hand on Rahne's shoulder and led her away from her mirror, "man, I remember a time when I couldn't get you to even touch this stuff with a fifty foot poll."
"I jus' want tonight tae go well, is all." Rahne sighed.
"I understand, but relax kiddo. You look fine." Dani reassured her.
Rahne plopped down on her bed and sighed, "I hope yuir right."
"Me too." Dani swallowed hard, and voiced a concern that'd been festering for a bit, "Rahne, have you thought maybe you're taking this too fast?"
"It's jus' a date, Dani."
Dani rolled her eyes heavenwards, "With you, there is no such thing as 'just a date', Rahne. I mean, you broke up with Doug only a few weeks ago..."
Rahne looked away, slightly embarrassed, "I broke up wit' Doug some time ago, Dani. But I ne'er stopped trying to relive the past until a few weeks ago. Adam's different. He's..." Rahne's voice trailed off.
"Yeah?"
"He's not Doug. He's nae Alex and he's nae Sam," Rahne confessed, "But I have feeling f'r him. An' I'd like to see where they lead."
Danielle sighed inwardly. She liked X-Treme okay now that he'd opened up some, but still preferred someone more...straight-laced for Rahne. Someone like Doug was, Sam, or hell, even Speedball. But Danielle wasn't about to even try to force those opinions upon Rahne.
Rahne managed to run a comb thru her hair one final time before she heard a knock at her door.
"Come in."
The door slid open to reveal Adam Sol, never looking more refined and handsome in Rahne's eyes as he adjusted his the cuffs of his sleeves. Bobby was off to the side, leaning up against the wall.
"The limo's waiting. You look incredible." Adam said. He extended his hand, "shall we?"
Rahne took her arm in his, "O' course."
Danielle watched the two walk down the hall, arm in arm with a small scowl on her face.
"Sniff"
Dani turned to look at Bobby, who was melodramatically wiping away an imaginary tear, "They grow up so fast."
"Oh shut up."
"I've arranged a meeting in England at five o clock concerning your European expansion, and another meeting at seven o clock, your time sir, in Japan." Edie Sawyer informed her employer as they went over the plans for tomorrow.
Donald Parvenue, billionaire ideological founder and financer of Force Works, sifted thru various reports that were overflowing on his desk. To describe the room as a mess was too kind. Boxes, papers and files were strewn all about in no particular order, but in truth they didn't need to be. This office, situated in the headquarters of Force Works, was one of a dozen minor offices Parvenue maintained all over the world. Though business was closed for the day, Parvenue always preferred to review the next day's schedule while evaluating reports on his lesser holdings.
"Good, good. I've some concerns about some of my investments in Hong Kong. China's recent decision against elections could have a negative effect on my holdings that we'll need to address." Parvenue explained as he glanced over another report.
"Understood, sir. I'll make a note of that on the agenda. Anything else?"
"Yes," Parvenue said thru clenched teeth and in radiating rage, a drastic contrast from only moments before. His muscles trembled and his eyes narrowed sharply, "I think we may need to loose some dogs of war, because I've just learned that I've been betrayed!"
"S...sir?" Edie asked nervously, her temperature rising, "What...what do you mean?"
Parvenue pushed forward a report he'd just been reading, "The attack on Masterson Technologies. I've just read the police reports and witness descriptions of the attackers. I know exactly who's behind it."
"Sir? How could you know that?"
"I'll explain later. Find Danielle and Richard, now. I fear this act of betrayal must be met with hypocrisy."
"We have reservations. Sol, party of two." Adam Sol informed the Maître d' of the locally famous Metro City Restaurant 'The Hawk and Dove', suggested to them by Kymaera. The crowd was composed of the social crème of the crop, councilmen, visiting congressmen, senators and wealthy businessmen. Thankfully, neither Rahne nor Adam truly stood out and while normally they might have felt a little intimidated by such an affluent setting, their minds were on more important things.
A waiter, dressed as well as than some foreign Royalty, saw them to their table, gave them their menus and promised to once they'd made their selections.
"Man, these prices make me thankful for the strip end." Adam murmured to himself.
"Well, I ken what I want." Rahne set her menu down, "so, tell me aboot yuirself, Adam."
"I... thought I already did."
"No, ye gave me and everyone else some generals. Aboot yuir biological father, D'Ken, yuir life and how ye came tae earth. I'd like tae know details."
Adam placed the menu down, "Details. Alright..."
"Excuse me?"
The two mutants turned to see their waiter had returned, carrying a bottle of Red Wine, "My apologies for interrupting. A well wisher would like you to have this bottle of Chateau Petrus, from 1947." The waiter pointed towards where Rahne saw Senator Rankin, a local and vocal civil rights activist who'd endorsed Force Works publicly more than a few times. The Senator flashed a pure white smile at them before turning his attention towards his date.
"Chateau Petrus...?" Rahne gaped opened mouthed.
"Correct. Also, please accept tonight's dinner on the house as a token of appreciation on behalf of Force Works' efforts in improving our fair city."
"Oh! Umm...thank ye verra much." Rahne said as she accepted the bottle.
"Are you ready to order, sir and madam?"
"We are."
Rahne and Adam gave their orders, and were left alone together once more.
"I'm guessing this bottle of wine is worth a lot, huh?" Adam asked as he set it aside.
"Ye have nae idea." Rahne answered, "I'm nae quite old enough tae drink it though. At least, not here. Still, I was more worried about them refusin' tae serve us than being illegally served expensive wine, what wit' being known mutants and all."
"I guess being one of the more public members of Force Works has its benefits, but...I have a question."
"Oh?"
Adam rubbed the back of his neck and asked nervously, "I'm new to dating on earth. I was more than willing to pay for dinner, but... do I still get credit for the date?"
Rahne chuckled softly, "O' course ye do. Now, ye were telling me aboot yuirself?"
"Well, I grew up on a farm on the planet Dymphna V. Very harsh world. Always dry, sweltering heat, mostly barren even with the right tools for farming. It wasn't the nicest place to grow up."
"I can imagine."
Adam shook his head, "No offense, but I don't think you can. Dymphna was a border planet. Completely lawless planet on the border of the Shi'ar empire, hostile to everyone and everything, especially outsiders. And as a half human, I was an outsider. Perhaps the outsider."
"I thought ye said that The Crystal Claws, that cult yuir father created, manipulated yuir entire life. Why would they stick ye in such an evil place?" Rahne asked.
"Same reason they eventually strung me along to earth, to toughen me up, to make me more dangerous. See, I was never meant to take my father's place as head of the Shi'ar, rather I was supposed to be his personal assassin. But things didn't go as planned." Adam took a sip of his water, "But I'm getting ahead of myself. To sum up, my childhood was basically one big battle and manipulation. It's why I don't talk about it much." He said nonchalantly.
"What was yuir father like?"
"Excuse me?"
"The man who raised ye?" Rahne clarified, "What was he like?"
"His name was Jonath. The man was purebred Shi'ar, and he hated me for being a half-breed and in retrospect, probably found the very idea that I was royal blood offensive. But I've got to admit, I owe him. When I was young, he forced me start practicing what Earther's call martial arts. Even found a Priest of Pama to train me."
"But...ye don't like tae fight."
"I don't, believe me. But I am good at it, and my training has saved my life and my mind more times than I can count. Jonath may have forced martial arts on me, but I'm the better for it. Didn't change the fact he hated me." Adam said with a heavy heart, "Growing up, I used to always ask myself what I was doing wrong, how could I make him love me? I threw myself into my training, so much so it became my emotional refuge from that bast- jak." Adam's voice cracked for the most fleeting of moments, and Rahne heard the years of an all too familiar pain hiding underneath. That of being truly alone.
"Ye say yuir half human. Have ye ever considered looking fer yuir mum's family?" Rahne proposed.
"I've considered it, but honestly, I don't think that'd be a good idea. All I would be was some living, breathing reminder of the fact someone's dead daughter didn't die a clean death, but was raped by some madman and then murdered."
"I...am sorry tae hear that, Adam. Why have ye kept this bottled up so long?"
"No reason to burden others with my history. Besides, most of the others come from nice families. It's not their fault and they are good people, but they don't know how easy they've had it. Don't think they can relate, honestly."
"Nae all o' us. When muh powers manifested, me father's show of moral support was tryin' tae burn me at the stake, wit' the help o' a mob." Rahne confided.
Adam's eyes widened in surprise, "What...? I never..."
"Because ye never asked, that's why."
"Well, that certainly was my mistake." Adam admitted, "I guess Dani was right, I am too guarded, but... no time like the present to correct that mistake. So tell me, how did Scotland's most beautiful mutant become involved in all the craziness of the superhero world?"
"I see Bobby's given ye lessons in flattery," Rahne smiled, "well, it started when my powers first manifested. Worst and best thing to ever happen to me, all at once..."
Danielle Moonstar, mutant illusion projector and leader of Force Works, pulled the bag of microwave able popcorn from the microwave and popped it open. Bobby had suggested they watch a movie together (it seemed platonic enough) and Danielle had taken him up on the offer, for lack of anything better to do. If nothing else, she had a chance to act like a halfway normal person, which in and of itself was very rare for the Cheyenne mutant.
"Yo, Dani!"
Which of course, meant it was the perfect time for Force Works' co-leader, Nova the Human Rocket, to call her over her communicator. Dani hadn't even realized she was still wearing the small devise fitted over her left ear. The communicator was so everyday to her now, like a cell-phone or pager that half the time she often forgot it was even there.
"Yeah, what's up Rich?" Dani inquired as she strolled into the main recreation area where Bobby was lounging on the couch, remote at the ready.
"What's wrong?" He asked, but Dani motioned for him to be quite with her hand.
"Parvenue wants to see us, like yesterday. He sounds royally pissed, but I don't think it's at us. You better get here ASAP."
Danielle sighed and tossed the bag of popcorn into Bobby's lap, "Sorry, official business just came up. May take a while, so don't wait up."
Richard Rider tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Danielle to arrive. After all, facing Parvenue alone wasn't something the Human Rocket was sure he could do. He wasn't scared of him, rather that guy seemed surrounded in an aura of experienced and kind wisdom to Nova, always standing comfortably on a kind of moral pedestal that Richard always felt hard-pressed to even consider defying, let alone challenging.
However, Nova knew that wasn't a problem with Danielle. Danielle has a rebellious streak unlike almost anything he'd seen before. Nova suspected she could face down God and the Devil themselves at once without batting an eyelid. He breathed an obvious sigh of relief when he saw her striding down the hall in full uniform.
"What's the Sit. Rep?" She asked quickly
"No idea. All I know is Sawyer says that Parvenue's mighty pissed about somethin' and is demanding to see us." Nova motioned for Dani to enter the closed door, "Ladies first."
Dani gripped the knob and entered. Underneath her breath she muttered, "Wuss."
Entering, they saw Parvenue sitting behind an old oak desk with Edie Sawyer, the team's main liaison and connection with the billionaire, smiling broadly like the cat that'd eaten the canary. In contrast, Parvenue's hands were clasped before him; an apologetic but determined look was etched on his old features.
"I come before you now as both a liar and hypocrite, and for that I apologize. Last night one of my lesser holdings Masterson Technologies, was attacked by mutant assailants. Somehow, they knew its secret, that the company was a research institute studying xenotechnology for the United States military."
"Hold on, xenotechnology?" Nova asked incredulously, "Do you mean..."
"That's correct, Richard. Alien technology. The research was largely concerning the engines of alien crafts and finding ways to safely duplicate and mass-produce the powercores therein. Unfortunately, the attack by these mutants completely compromised security and they razed the building to the ground before finally departing. No one was killed, but the government has pulled its research contracts and all the research was lost. I've been forced to dissolve the company just to keep my losses down to three billion dollars."
Danielle winced, and then said, "So, what's the problem here, sir?"
"That should be obvious." Edie growled from Parvenue's side.
"Normally, it would be." Dani said evenly, "I don't have an issue putting these guys on top of Force Works' agenda. They may have access to powerful alien technology, and being mutant terrorists, caving their head in on general principle works for me. You, sir, know this. But this little sit down implies that there's more to this case than just that. That's what I was asking about."
Donald Parvenue smiled inwardly despite the grave task ahead of him. Danielle Moonstar never failed to impress him, both as a young woman and leader, "You are quite correct, Dani." Parvenue pushed a manila folder forward for Danielle to read, "I have every reason to believe the mutants who attacked Masterson Technologies were Factor X, mutants with direct connections to the MUSE system."
Danielle almost seemed to jump back at that comment, she was so startled, "Sir, that's impossible, the MUSE was established to help mutants. You must be mistaken."
"I know exactly what the MUSE is. I donated over twenty million dollars to its operations, remember?" Parvenue replied.
"Whoa, time out, hold up." Said Nova, "For the X ignorant, what the hell is the MUSE, and how do you know them, Dani?"
"The MUSE stands for Mutant Underground Support Engine. It's sort of an underground railroad for mutants in trouble. I know them like you know SHIELD and Captain America."
"Are you aware of their strikeforce, Factor X?"
Danielle leafed thru the folder. She carefully said, "One or two. Professionally, of course."
"Of course. At any rate, it was they who destroyed my facility. And I want Force Works to bring them in."
Danielle felt a sudden lump in her throat develop. She already knew where this was going, "Sir, I know these people, I'm sure they had a good reason to do what they did."
"I don't care. They could have come to me first, instead of utterly destroying one of my holdings. I've sent a full report to all major news outlets. Hopefully, they can help smoke these betrayers out." Parvenue snarled, "And when they do, Force Works will need to be ready to swoop in and bring them down."
"Sir, with all due respect, I think you're overreacting, the MUSE and Factor X..."
"Danielle, I've made up my mind." Parvenue interrupted, "I said before that you would be free from my oversight, and I apologize for lying then. But my hand has been forced in this matter."
"Sir, I must object...!"
"I've made up my mind Dani." Parvenue said sharply, "Force Works will bring in Factor X, or I will disband the team. End of discussion."
The Daily Grill, North Dakota
Peter Coleman, former highly paid security guard, sipped the fifth beer he'd had in the last half hour. After being laid off, he and his friends had decided to practice the age-old battle tactic of 'defeating thy enemy by drowning one's self in alcoholic'. The famed tactic had been going on for the past four hours with no end in sight.
"Stinking muties." Sean Santini spat as he slammed his mug down on the bar for a refill, "Just come in and wreckin' shit. Made you eat your words, huh Coleman?"
"Go ta hell." Coleman slurred. Try as he may, he couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal Santini's drunken criticism elicited. All his life, Coleman had been a vocal and staunch moderate on the issues of mutants, denouncing laws such as the mutant registration act and the like. That stance was made a lot harder to hold now, having lost his sixty thousand dollars a year job and health insurance for his disabled daughter. What made the loss even harder is that he had no idea whatsoever why the company was attacked. Were the attackers looking just to steal the company's information, industrial saboteurs? Were they making some kind of political statement? No one was killed, but that's all he knew and it was maddening.
Daniel Howard, wealthy lawyer and family man, found himself wondering just how he passed his college final exams. He'd gone to the gym after work to exercise some before heading home to his wife and daughter. He'd gotten a good work out and had been considering getting something to eat at the bar and grill that was next to the gym, but when he got back to his car, he realized something. He'd locked his damn keys in the car.
"Homo superior my ass." He grumbled to himself. Tired after such a long workout, all he wanted to do was get something to eat and go home to his family. Was that too much to ask? Daniel asked the car the very same question by kicking the door.
"Get yo' hands up and step away from the car, beeyotch! Get yo' hands up and step away from the car, beeyotch!" The car alarm blared loudly and repeatedly. Howard put his hand on his face, now regretting personalizing his car alarm. Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was watching (at state of affairs he was positive wouldn't last) he released a quick electrical burst from his fingers that fried the alarm and opened the electronic locks on the door. He'd have a hell of a time explaining it to his mechanic, but at least he'd get home at a descent hour.
"Hey, that mutie freak is stealin' a car!"
Howard looked over his shoulder to see one of the bar patrons pointing at him. He half considered just getting in and driving away, but was certain that would cause even more problems in the long run.
"Sorry buddy, can't steal what you own. Possession is nine tenths of the law, and all that. Trust me, I'm a lawyer."
"Like your raggedy butt owns a Mercedes." The man spat as he stalked forward with obviously hostile intent. Howard raised his hands in a placating gesture. The drunken man shifted his weight, but Howard misinterpreted it as an attack and instinctively released a burst of electricity.
"Yeearrggg!" The man screamed in pain as his nerves were destroyed.
"Oh shit!" Howard gasped at the man he'd just maimed, possibly killed.
"A mutie just killed a guy!" Peter Coleman yelled from the threshold of the bar's door. He had just stepped out for a smoke when he saw the whole thing, or so he thought. In truth, he didn't see a single thing that wasn't largely tainted by his firing and subsequent anger.
"No wait, you don't understand...!" Howard raised his hands again but consciously prevented himself from releasing any more energy bursts. He still thought the power of reason could win out. After all, he'd lived in the area all his life, and had a good 'feel' for the town.
It was however, a fatal error. Peter Coleman rushed forward and punched Howard in the center of his solar plexus. The punch forced the air from Daniel's lunges and was like pressing a painful 'pause' button on his entire body. He couldn't move, he couldn't think. He could barely breath. Howard fell backwards limp and defenseless.
"God damn mutie freaks think you're better than everyone!" Coleman roared as he began stomping on Howard in a drunken rage, "think you can do whatever the fuck you want and get away with it!"
The former security guards of Masterson Technology poured out of the bar and into the street in what seemed like the blink of an eye. They joined Coleman in releasing their drunken rage on the only mutant they could get their hands upon. Fists, and steel-toed boots crashed into Daniel's body and within minutes his body was devoid of any unbroken bones or an un- punctured internal organ.
But sadly, that wasn't good enough for the angry mob that'd just lost their future. What happened next would be the subject of much heated debate for years to come. Someone realized that across the street, the hardware store was selling rope. Someone else noticed how the street lights that illuminated the block arched over the street. And finally, the drunken crowd silently knew that each and everyone of them wanted to make statement to the world, about mutants.
The next day, the front pages of every newspaper in South Dakota would have the picture of Daniel Howard, devoted family man, beaten and bloodied, swaying back and forth from a lamppost, hanging by his neck. Pinned to his chest, written in Howard's own blood by one of the more sober guards, was a note. It read:
'What goes around, comes around mutie freaks.'
To be continued...
Next issue: Confused? Outraged? Hope so, because things get even worse next issue as Force Works tries to get to the bottom of Factor X's actions without betraying their ideals!
Work Letters
I've got two letters this time, regarding the Giant Sized (come on guys, it wasn't that big, was it?). The first one's from Gary Jones. Go to it, man!
Again I liked this very much, the fight between Days and Force Works was
excellent, but I'm curious if he can only use one of his stolen powers at a
time because it sure seemed that way and to think I was worried that
you were making him too powerful.
He can use as many powers as he needs. He is a villain, after all.
Now on to what I thought was a little iffy about the issue, forgive me
if I repeat any points.
I think I'll live ;)
Dani beat the Confessor far too easily, this is a guy who routinely
humiliates Maverick in a fight and breaks into maximum-security prisons
easily. I don't have a problem with Dani winning but I would have liked to see a bit more of a fight rather than "me Dani Hulk, you insult heritage, I smash". A longer fight would also have set him up as an interesting recurring villain for Dani.
Well, that was meant largely as a 'Joan of Arc', faith empowering act. Majority of the time, Confessor would likely whup Dani's butt
The Petersons just gave custody of Rusty to Skids huh! Now I don't know what
the laws are in America but I imagine that they would be a little more difficult than that. The Petersons are Rusty's legal guardians and as such have a responsibility to him, they would not be able to just hand him over like they apparently did. If anything he would be taken into care until it was established that Skids was able to take care of him properly. Perhaps you could add that Parvenue has given Skids a part time job and is providing Rusty a place in the company childcare scheme, I think this would be a little more realistic and the judges would look more agreeably at it.
Child custody is a little more lenient in regards to the biological mother, and Parvenue did set Skids up with some help. Thanks for the feedback, man!
And now there's master scribe of Avengers and some other cool cosmic series in the works, Brent Lambert!
Giant Sized Force Works #1 by David Ingram
THE GOOD: The dilemma with Skids was definitely the best part of this story. Without it the story just wouldn't have been as rich. Reverend Days is also an interesting new villain to add to the table. I'm more than sure he'll be popping up again in Force Work's future. Having all the religious themed villains together also made for some interesting action scenes. Arsenal getting loaded with a bunch of bullets was a nice touch and you finally get to see his healing factor go overhaul. Skids finally reconciling with her son was another big moment and it'll be interesting to see where the future goes for these two.
Glad you liked Skids' dilemma regarding her son, though I can't say what the future will hold for the two. And oh yeah, Reverend Days will be back and he'll be back big, baby!
THE BAD: Reverend Days just wasn't that convincing of a minister to me. He sounded more like a stereotype of evangelical ministers. He still has that spark of potential though and maybe with a little work on his dialogue he can became one of the great villains of M2K.
Well, in my own defense, he was meant to sound stereotypical ;)
OVERALL: This is probably M2K's single largest issue, but it flows so naturally it doesn't even really feel that long. And if you're wondering just how long I know it's past 30 pages.
Just a little over 30 pages, honest looks around and shifts eyes
Thanks for the review, man!