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Marvel 2000 Presents
Force Works 38
"National Sanity."
Part 4
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The Story Thus far: Force Works has been hunting a madman by the name of Pulsar, and the trail has led directly to a California state prison that the villains had co-opted into being his lair. Force Works attempted a covert approach to taking down Pulsar and his men.
Unfortunately, that plan went off the rails, and now one half of Force Works has been turned against the other!
oooOOooo
California, Avenal State Prison
Clarice Ferguson, AKA Blink, watched in horror as her teammate Wolfsbane lunged for her throat, ready to tear it into bloody chunks. Luckily, Blink had been trained by Victor Creed in one reality, and the young Scotswoman would never be half as dangerous as him.
"Sorry Rahne," Blink teleported directly above Wolfsbane, and came down on the Lupine Mutant like a sack of bricks feet first, slamming her to the ground, "but I can't be gentle, not with someone like you."
"Blink, heads up!" Charcoal stepped in front of Blink, and several psychic arrows struck his center. To her surprise, Blink saw Charcoal stumble, as if drunk.
"Charcoal, you okay?" Blink wasn't quite certain how Mirage's arrows worked, but she thought they had to at least hit the target's head to have an effect.
"Just…fine," Charcoal grunted. Unknown to either of them, in his superhuman form, Charcoal's mind was distributed all throughout his body. It was what enabled him to reform himself and unfortunately, made him vulnerable to Mirage's powers just long enough for Kymaera to slam into him like a freight train, while Blink barely teleported out of the way in time.
"Die!"
Mirage connected with a solid kick to Blink's back, and the mutant teleporter allowed the momentum to push her forward, and then teleported behind the Team Leader and slammed her foot into Mirage's back.
"Damn it Dani, snap out of it!"
"I'll tear your eyes out!" Mirage replied as she swung a backhand towards Blink's face, and she just barely stepped backwards in time to avoid a snap kick.
"Blink, move!"
Blink heard Sabre, but by the time her mind registered X-Treme's blade about to split her skull in two, it was already too close.
"Gottadoeverythingaroundhere," Sabre muttered as she pulled Blink out of the way. She stopped a short distance away, as Mirage, X-Treme and Wolfsbane looked their direction with a snarl and began stomping towards them.
"Got a plan?" asked Sabre.
"Give me a second," Blink observed the rest of the team, and while they weren't in dire straits, the situation wasn't encouraging. Kymaera was hammering Arsenal, Vibraxis was blasting Charcoal with enough power to crack his otherwise rock-like skin, and Tarene was slugging it out with Nova. Her side didn't look like they were about to lose, but there was still Pulsar and his team to consider. The longer this fight dragged on, the easier it would be for him to either get away and finish his plan, or finish them.
"Excuse me, I might be able to help," suggested a chipper, pleasant voice.
The two mutants looked up, and saw Technocrat hovering above them. His face was a mask of rage, eyes bloodshot. His body shook with fury, restrained by some unseen presence.
"I have first hand data regarding what happened to your teammates," said the voice again, and Blink realized that it was Technocrat's tech-pack that was speaking, "however, you should first defend yourselves…"
"Sabre…"
The Vietnamese Speedster nodded, and raced towards X-Treme, Wolfsbane and Mirage, all the while carefully manipulating the electro-magnetic field that surrounded her body. Sabre sprinted lress than six feet before stopping on a dime. The trio thought they had an easy target, but in seconds were slammed backwards by hurricane force winds that lifted them up and away, as if caught in the jet stream of a plane.
"Alright, I assume that you're some sort of failsafe," Blink said to Technocrat (or, to be more accurate, his backpack), "you got a name?"
"Please call me Wooster," replied the Failsafe, "my designer foresaw instances where someone might attempt to manipulate his mind, and prepared appropriate countermeasures."
Blink sighed in relief, "Oh Thank God. I think we'll need someone with super intelligence to figure this out…"
"I'm afraid that my Designer, in his genius foresight, limited my intelligence," replied Wooster, "he feared creating a rogue AI. I am simply programmed to provide all tactical information possible to members of Force Works, and to obey their instructions."
"That's…" Blink paused, "okay, probably a good idea. Taki's annoying and ruthless enough as is. God only knows what an AI spawned by him would be like. Okay, tell me what happened."
"In laymen's term, the criminal known as Pulsar flooded your teammates with a combination of telepathic rage and lowering of inhibitions via applied electromagnetic energy," Wooster replied, "essentially, they have been telepathically ordered to express their lack of inhibitions as violence. My sensors indicate that the effect is temporary, I can detect it unraveling as we speak, but will not end soon enough."
Blink rubbed her chin and then looked towards Mirage, who was shooting her psychic arrows all over the place in an effort to hit Sabre, "I think I have an idea how we can flush it out of them. Sabre, mirror maneuver with Mirage!"
"Mirror what now?" Sabre ducked as Wolfsbane flew over her, lunging for her throat.
Blink looked up at the sky in exacerbation "Make Mirage's arrows hit our out of control teammates!"
"Oh, okay."
"Not going to happen!" Mirage spat, as she unleashed a barrage of arrows in a desperate attempt to hit Sabre. After several seconds of firing wildly, she stopped to get a breath…and saw Nova, X-Treme, Vibraxis, and Kymaera standing in front of her, clutching their heads, trying to clear the fog.
"You were saying?" Sabre smirked.
Mirage raged as she released another arrow at Sabre. But before Mirage had even pulled back the bow string, Sabre had grabbed Wolfsbane and placed her where Mirage was shooting. The psychic arrow struck the Scottish Werewolf, and through the psi-link the two women shared, Mirage felt the effects too, and clutched her head in pain.
"Do I rock, or do I rock?"
"Excuse me, but we still have Technocrat to cure," Wooster stated, while Taki raged like a rabid dog inside the restraints he ironically created.
"I don't know, I think I like you better than the original," Mirage groaned. Then, with a wicked smile, she took a slow draw, and blasted Technocrat with a psychic arrow. The Young Genius let out a shout of pain, and hovered in midair for a moment, his mind slowly returning.
"What's our status?" Mirage asked.
"Adrift in crap creek," Blink replied, as the other members of the team began to gather round, "you guys went insane, the prison's bleeding criminals and we have no idea where Pulsar is or what he's up to."
"Oh, don't bother yourself."
A wave of intense gravity smashed the heroes to the ground, as Pulsar smugly levitated towards them, like a leaf on the wind.
"This bastard just keeps using the same annoying trick!" Charcoal growled, "quit hitting the A button, you jack ass!"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid that the time for a climatic fight scene has passed," Pulsar clenched his fist, and the entire team was dragged together, regardless of their strength or power. Then, with a snap of his fingers, blue energy bars surrounded them, "now it's time for the climax, only we're going to be a little different and leave the heroes out of it. And Blink, don't even think of teleporting out of this cage."
"You didn't say please," Blink replied, though she held off on teleporting for a moment. History had taught her that, more often than not, villains that were also super geniuses wore a cocky grin for a reason.
"Well no," Pulsar said, "but the energy rings that you see wrapped around you are a form of hyper gravity and are now delicately balanced. A severe spatial distortion, like what's caused when you rend reality for your little teleporting act, and you'll find a few hundred thousand of gravity dropped on this general area. You could escape sure, but the surrounding three miles would be sucked into a black hole. Is that close enough to please?"
"Good enough for me," Sabre mumbled.
Both Tarene and Nova threw themselves at the cage. The Human Rocket slammed his shoulder into the bars, while Tarene cut loose with all her strength, swinging her indestructible mallet with more force and power than she ever dared use on anything living.
"Didn't you just hear what he said?" Arsenal shouted.
"I did," Nova slammed his fist in between the bars of the energy cage, but some invisible force stopped him, "he warned against teleporting, not fists. Besides, I doubt our friend Pulsar would let himself get sucked down a black hole or whatever."
"Well, there really are some brains behind that silly helmet and red star," Pulsar remarked.
"'Nita never had any complaints about the other departments, either," Nova smirked, as he rubbed his sore shoulder.
Pulsar lowered his eyes. He resisted the urge to say something, anything, to deny that he had any feelings of jealousy about Nova's relationship with Namorita.
Then he realized that by saying nothing, he said everything.
"Now, I know leaving the heroes alive is a supervillain cliché, but someone has to explain why I'm doing this," Pulsar explained. He crossed his hands behind back as he mentally issued a series of commands. Force Works watched as Pulsar's team floated through the air towards them, along with a large, studded golden metal globe.
"Everything checked out," stated Reflection.
"Good to know," Pulsar nodded towards Force Works, "thank you, heroes, for acting as a test group. Thanks to your performance, I know my baby is ready to go live."
"I'm guessing that globe he has is why you all attacked us?" Arsenal asked.
"Didn't get a good look while our brains were being scrambled, but that's a safe bet," Nova answered, "also, Technocrat? Your telepathy safeguards need work."
"It wasn't telepathy, it was chemical manipulation," Technocrat defended with a trace of annoyance.
"With a mild emotional directive," Pulsar added, "I went for the whole Brisco County Jr. homage, just to be different. Now that I'm done kicking the tires on this bad boy, I'm ready to take it out on the high way and have some fun in a very deserving city."
"You can't be serious!" Mirage snapped, "do you have any idea how many people will be hurt, will be killed?"
"He knows," Namorita spat, "John is a genius who created a system that lets him control a small star. Remember how no one was hurt in his first attack? He knows exactly the kind of damage that thing might do inside of a city."
"And this all could have been avoided with a little compassion from our country," Pulsar countered. He turned to his people, "alright, you guys make sure they don't escape. Reflection, you're in charge, don't let me down."
Pulsar typed a few commands into his wrist consul, and a few seconds later a warp in reality appeared several feet away.
"He can create wormholes?" Arsenal's mouth dropped, "so why didn't he just grab the stuff he wanted and avoid all this damn drama?"
"Because drama is the point!" Pulsar snapped, "seriously, how new are you? Reflection, you, Bob and Max keep an eye on these heroes. I'll be back in a few hours after I've played with my new toy some."
"John, you're better than this!" Namorita slammed her fists on the energy cage in equal parts rage and desperation, "it isn't too late! John! John!"
Pulsar stepped through the wormhole, and Force Works watched as Pulsar disappeared.
Pulsar's people, Reflection, Neutron Bum and Max looked at Force Works, then at one another.
Reflection sighed, "Maybe we should have gotten some lawn chairs."
oooOOooo
Elsewhere
Collette Walker wondered if it was her PhD in Systems Theory, Philosophy or Human Psychology that qualified her to walk down a dark alley for a rendezvous at close to midnight in a seedy neighborhood.
Though she looked like an easy mark, a slim, beautiful red headed woman in a plain business suit, Ms. Walker wasn't especially concerned about muggers. Besides the fact she was an expert at three martial arts, her employers also saw fit to arm her with exotic technology in the event of a double cross or some unforeseen problems. Nothing short of a soldier battalion with armored support was a real threat to her now.
Dr. Walker looked down at her watch, confirming for the fifth time her appointment was late, and when she looked up, all she saw was darkness. The alley walls, the garbage, the street lights and even the moon itself were completely, utterly gone. The young genius looked around, and then at herself, baffled how darkness could consume everything while still enabling her to see her own hand.
Dr. Walker didn't panic, but only because she knew that this darkness was actually the work of people she was meant to hire. Black Mamba, to be precise.
"It is my sincere hope that The Corporation will forgive our tardiness," said a disembodied voice, "but we did not earn our reputation by being punctual, but effective."
Despite herself, Walker took a step back as Puff Adder and Anaconda stepped into view not far in front of her, as if stepping out from behind some unseen curtain. And though she refused to look behind her, Dr. Walker felt an air of menace standing behind her that she was certain could only be the Serpent Society member known as Death Adder, easily their most lethal member.
"And we've had poor experience, in the past, with up and coming organizations."
"I understand," Dr. Walker nodded, "when Man-Beast consolidated AIM and the V-Battlion underneath him, he attacked your organization. Well, rest assured, The Corporation is simply looking to hire you. Your scuffle with the West Coast Avengers has not gone unnoticed."
"It pleases me to hear you say that," Sidewinder, leader of the Serpent Society, suddenly teleported before Dr. Walker, "now, about your request, I have to admit, I'm a little hesitant about tackling Force Works. They may be young, but they are still powerful…"
"We can provide intelligence on the team, and a promise of where they'll be," Dr. Walker interrupted, "and we don't expect you to kill the entire team."
Dr. Walker held out a flash drive for Sidewinder.
"This contains all the information you'll need, in addition to how much we are willing to pay for each member of the team killed. Some we see as more important than others."
"And what about retribution?" asked Sidewinder. He was certain the current truce he had with the West Coast Avengers wouldn't survive his team killing a hero, and wanted to be prepared for the fallout.
"Unlikely to be an issue," Dr. Walker replied, "a divided house can't stand. When you look through the files we gave you, you will notice that one member is exempt."
"You have someone on the inside," Sidewinder smiled knowingly, "alright, Dr. Walker, you have a deal. Tell your people we'll be in touch. Force Works…will never see us coming."
oooOOooo
As the minutes ticked by, a palpable tension fell over the young heroes. Technocrat analyzed the energy cage while simultaneously shooting down ideas from teammates, Nova and Charcoal chose to hammer away with their fists, while Tarene…
Tarene's attention drifted towards Pulsar's team, whom he'd apparently left behind. Both Mirage and Namorita tried futile threats, but the trio just ignored them with a guilty shrug. It was clear that no threat equaled the suffering they'd already experienced.
"Why?" Tarene called out, "why did you agree to work with Pulsar?"
"It's none of your damn business," answered Reflection.
"You will talk to me," Tarene's tone was polite but firm.
"Oh?" Neutron Bum chuckled, "I don't know the exact physics, but you ain't going anywhere in that cage, blondie."
"No, no I'm not," three separate bolts of lightning landed barely a foot behind Max, Neutron Bum and Reflection. The three slowly creaked their heads around, and saw the fresh, smoldering craters that had just been created, and realized that those craters could just as easily be them, if Tarene was so inclined "but I don't need to move to control lightning. I know why Max is here, but not you two. Now talk. Please."
"…I'm here because of what me and my brother gave for this damn country," Neutron Bum spat, "me and my brother were drafted, and we did our duty proudly. Hell, Matt must have pulled at least a dozen people back to base, won a medal of honor too! We saw pure hell, but we did two tours because we had to, because we wouldn't want any other kid to see the crap we did. And you know what happened when we got back?"
Tarene said nothing.
"They didn't do a damn thing for us!" Neutron Bum's hands were shaking, "I could barely sleep, sometimes it felt like I was still in that damn jungle! And Matt…he had it worse. He ate a gun to stop the nightmares."
Tarene said nothing.
"He didn't even get a military burial. We served, we fought and we died because of them and they didn't give a damn if our mind fell to pieces afterwards," Neutron Bum growled, "not that they care much about our bodies when they're done with them, let alone our God damned minds. So this is me, giving the government a swift kick in the ass."
"And you?" Tarene looked at Reflection.
Behind the young goddess, Force Works watched silently, not knowing what to make of Tarene's actions.
"Just what does she think she's doing?" Arsenal whispered to Mirage.
"I'm not sure," Mirage replied, "but lets see where it goes. Not like we have a lot of other options at the moment."
"I'm doing this for my brother too," Reflection explained, "like Pulsar, he was born with schizophrenia, only his was worse. But he…we're Korean. I tried to get him help, but since that carried a stigma my parents wouldn't even discuss it, and without them, the state wouldn't…"
Reflection pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to remember and forget at the same time.
"…how is a sick mind supposed to know it's sick?" Reflection asked.
Tarene said nothing.
"He took a gun to his college campus," Reflection did her best to sound unemotional, unattached, "He took a gun and…"
Reflection's hand went to her mouth, trying to deny what happened next. Her voice broke as she said, "…over twenty people died before he committed suicide. And when the dust settled, all anyone talked about was gun control. No one cared that my brother was sick! And no one cared that I tried to get him help!"
"Later…I tried to make the world a better place, for people like my brother. I became a social worker, dealing with the mentally ill. That's how I met John," Reflection clenched her fists, "truthfully, that only made things worse. I saw how little governments spent on care, how prisons were easier than asylums…
"Well, what we're doing here is a wake-up call," Reflection growled, "it has to be done!"
"Does it have to be done like this?" Tarene asked honestly, "is this what they would have wanted? Is violence in their name what they deserved?"
Reflection said nothing.
"Pulsar left you here because he didn't want you to bear the responsibility for what he's going to do next, you have to know that," Tarene said, "but if you keep us from stopping him, if you don't help us, you'll be just as responsible for what happens next. I'm sorry about how you lost your family, I am, but you have to know that doesn't give you the right to inflict pain on someone else."
Max, Neutron Bum and Max looked at one another, each asking the other an unspoken question, and then to Tarene. The young Goddess never blinked, simply standing there resolute.
Reflection said nothing as she pressed a button on her gauntlet, and the energy field surrounding Force Works faded.
"She did it…" Mirage said in utter disbelief.
"Thank you," Tarene said, "you've saved a lot of lives."
"I assume that you're surrendering?" Mirage asked.
"…that's right," Reflection took a deep breath, "I knew where this would end when I started this."
"Okay," Mirage nodded to Tarene and Blink, "just like we discussed. Reflection stays."
oooOOooo
Later, hauling ass towards Texas
"I just got off the horn with the local police," Arsenal reported from the co-pilot's seat, "the National Guard and local police are being mobilized to help round up the escaped prisoners, and Reflection is on her way to booking now."
"Well, that'll take the edge off of us just leaving," Nova remarked coolly. He didn't like the idea of not rounding up all the prisoners Pulsar had released, but they had little choice.
"I know it's not a question we wish to know the answer to," Vibraxis stated, "but what has Pulsar been up to in the time since leaving us imprisoned?"
For a moment, an uncomfortable silence fell over the team. None of them wanted to think about the damage Pulsar could be doing by himself, let alone with a devise that could make someone dangerously violent. It was like finding for a live nuke and bio-weapon in the same place. If one didn't get you, the other one would.
"…lets turn on the news scanner," Technocrat said hesitantly. Though he valued information above all else, Taki also recognized the potential of Pulsar's weapon. In an urban population, a weapon like that could endanger hundreds of thousands, and that was on a slow day.
A monitor descended from the plane ceiling, automatically scanning the airwaves for any report related to Pulsar. Technocrat was in fact very proud of the program, as it not only looked for key words, but used a complex facial recognition scans and synchronized with Force Works' own server, so that it knew to scan for their latest enemies. A must have program for cutting edge superheroes, in Technocrat's opinion.
Within seconds, the screen came alive. It showed a haggard reporter, seemingly standing on a rooftop with Pulsar and his devise no less than ten feet away.
"…reporting live from Texas, where a villain calling himself Pulsar has unleashed some device on the public below, causing mass rioting and looting!"
The camera panned to the ground below, as people assaulted one another, overturned cars and lit fire to anything flammable. It was a scene renascent of hundreds of riots, as people overran the streets, random men and women bled out in the open, cars burned and basic human society was nowhere to be seen.
"His reasons for doing so remain unclear at the moment, but..."
"Hey!" Pulsar interrupted, "I have very clear reasons for this! Give me that!"
The microphone flew out of the reporter's hand, and into Pulsar's.
"Hello, America," Pulsar began, like he was delivering an acceptance speech, "today is the beginning of an event that will sear into the minds of everyone what it is like to not to be in control of them own mind! Texas, the lone star state, was not chosen at random. As they see fit to execute the mentally disabled, to convict victims of post partum depression, they now will learn what it is like to be unable to control their minds!"
Pulsar then politely gave the microphone back to the reporter.
"You may continue your fear-mongering littered with loose facts now," Pulsar said graciously as he turned away, "if you can think of anything intelligent to ask, you can have an exclusive. Otherwise, stay out of my hair, or I'll turn you into free floating particles."
"Well, that answers that," Charcoal mumbled as the reporter continued to ramble on, "bad guy found. Now what?"
"How are we gonna handle this guy without losing our minds?" Sabre asked, "because this guy's almost impossible to handle without worrying about losing it to begin with!"
"I've already found a way to block Pulsar's insanity devise," Technocrat answered, "it's ingenious in its simplicity, in how it bypasses traditional telepathic safeguards but easily dealt with when analyzed."
"Well, that's one less thing to worry about," Arsenal stated, "but even if we can block the effects of his toy, how do we stop Pulsar himself? He could just beat us up and start all over in a new city!"
"There's got to be a way," Namorita sighed, "I like John, but he doesn't have the mind of a fighter. With our experience, we should be able to figure out a way to handle him."
"I may have something there as well," Technocrat said, "while we were waylaid, I took the liberty of hacking his computer and well, lets just say our plan is going to redefine 'crazy enough to work'."
oooOOooo
Pulsar stood atop the edge of the tallest building he could find in downtown Houston Texas, hands folded behind his back and cape blowing in the wind, because that's how he remembered villains doing it on old cartoons. Of course, he didn't remember them sweating bullets because they were in a heavy, full body suit, but some things just couldn't he helped.
"Even with a coolant system," Pulsar mumbled, "does Dr. Doom ever get sweaty pits?"
The self proclaimed 'Master Villain' looked down on the streets below, still tearing themselves apart with an animalistic savagery. Pulsar wanted to feel vindication as he saw what he felt justified his campaign, but instead he felt disgust and anger, not that he was wrong, but that he was so right. Pulsar secretly thought that he'd have been stopped long before now, never able to test his suspicions but here he was, and the proof that he was right laid out before him.
"Disgusting," Pulsar growled to no one in particular. He then turned his head upwards, sensing the approach of Force Works' airship.
The Stealth Wing stopped above him, and every member of Force Works leapt out of the belly of the craft, and onto Pulsar's roof.
"That must be murder on the knees," Pulsar observed, "so how'd you guys get away? Funnel the field's energy into one of Blink's portals? Reverse the polarity and shunt the thing into orbit?"
"This has gone far enough, John!" Kymaera snapped, "turn off the devise and surrender!"
"Henchman betrayal then," Pulsar rubbed his forehead, "you know, I knew I was walking into a cliché when I left you alone with them and I still did it. I probably should up my meds just for that."
"Shut off your devise and step aside," Mirage ordered.
Pulsar casually looked at his wrist, "Could you wait just three minutes? Please? Just three!"
"Now!"
"Alright," Pulsar sighed as he dropped his arm and then crossed his hands behind his back, "it should have occurred to you by now that I'm not your typical villain. I could crush this entire state into a soccer ball and kick it to the moon if it struck my fancy. Do you think I'd let you stop me? Turn it off, my dear Mirage, I turned it off thirty two minutes ago."
"Nah, nah, no way you turned it off," Charcoal growled, "people are still rioting!"
"And?" Pulsar smirked, "look up the Stamford experiment, kid. Give people an excuse to act like animals, to act like society can't touch them, and they will. You think you can stop me? You think you can beat me? I've already won! I set out to prove that society has no right to look down on the mentally ill, that they are not so far removed from us and look what's happened!"
"He sounds mad," Nova remarked.
"Enough of this," Tarene leapt over Pulsar, well over the edge of the building to the streets below, her war mallet radiating power.
The Young Goddess slammed her weapon down on the street, and it was as if a bomb had exploded. The street rippled like water, cars were thrown straight up into the air and people were thrown through the air as if they'd suddenly fallen onto a trampoline.
"Enough!" Tarene roared, "no excuses!"
People everywhere, some with torn shirts, others with blood on their hands or running down their face, stopped. They stopped to look at Tarene, them themselves in horror.
The mob of hundreds, that had been tearing anything and everything apart only seconds ago, began to drift apart in horror as they remembered what they'd done.
As Tarene saw the shocked faces, the people so dumbstruck by their own actions that they could barely stand, she gripped her mallet even tighter, and looked towards Pulsar.
"Oh," Pulsar didn't even register that he'd taken a step back,
"I guess it's on now."
oooOOooo
The Pentagon, Arlington Virginia
Valerie Cooper sighed as she entered her office, several files under her arm. As part of the Commission on Superhuman Activities, her duties seemed to change with the wind. Sometimes she was asked to liaison with mutant teams, asked to oversee the clean-up of a superhuman brawl or deal with the government's superhuman prisons.
Her responsibilities changed so much, every couple of months it seemed, that she was only just now able to file away some documents from eight months ago. As she pulled open the filing cabinet, she sighed.
"You know, I really don't understand why you secret spy guys insist on smoking," Valerie slid the folder into place, "it makes you smell like ash trays, and ruins your whole 'mysteriously appearing out of nowhere' trick for anyone with a nose."
Cooper turned around, and saw Bruce Hoffman sitting in a chair opposite her desk.
"Hoffman?" Cooper asked, "from the lousy brand, I expected Wisdom."
"I'm trying to cut back," Hoffman explained.
"So why are you here?"
"You know exactly why," Hoffman slapped a manila folder marked 'Top Secret' and 'North Korea's mutant army' on her desk.
Cooper flipped the folder open, and examined the file, "You know, you could get twenty years for having something like this."
"It'd be fun to watch you try," Hoffman countered, "given that your people are the ones who leaked it to us. I know which one of my informants is loyal and which one will feed me anything their superiors give them. So I did some digging, and know that file barely scratches the surface. There's no way we can pull off the mission alone."
"So is this your people turning down the mission?" Cooper asked skeptically.
"Maybe," Hoffman replied, "because there's no way we could pull this off by ourselves. I've seen the raw data, not the stuff you cherry picked to wet our appetite."
Cooper crossed her arms across her chest, "So, what would it take to get you interested in this mission?"
"Two things," Hoffman replied, "First, why us?"
"Force Works is the only team with the muscle and the ability," Cooper replied, "using the Avengers or Excalibur would violate their charters. And any primarily mutant teams would be a liability if North Korea's using any technology to dampen mutant powers."
"Sounds reasonable," Hoffman rubbed his chin, "second thing. The US military is going to help us with this mission."
"You can't be serious."
"Serious as a heart attack," Hoffman answered, "come on Cooper, we can't pull this off on our own. And what the North is doing is banned by dozens of treaties, secret or otherwise!"
"I know that!" Cooper snapped, "but the backlash we'd get…!"
"Is the same it'd be if Force Works did it alone!" Hoffman countered, "come on, we need each other! We don't have enough manpower, and you don't have the people with the right skills. This isn't going to get done any other way, and you know it."
"Alright," Cooper slumped back in her chair, "I'll talk to the Joint Chiefs. No one wants North Korea to have its own mutant army, but this is going to be a bear, even if things go right."
Hoffman leaned up, looking up at the ceiling, "Hey, fortune favors the bold and the prepared. And these kids are both."
oooOOooo
Texas
Pulsar gritted his teeth as Nova and Charcoal slammed into the force-field protecting him. There was a loud boom that that would have ruptured the neophyte villain's ears if he didn't have protection.
But with a wave of his hand, he knocked back both heroes as an afterthought.
"How many times are you going to slam into the same brick wall?" Pulsar smirked.
"As many times as it takes!"
Pulsar looked up just in time to see Tarene bring her war mallet down atop him. The force unleashed was like a concentrated earthquake, all directed at him. Pulsar's armor barely defended him, and he was cast down to the ground like a meteor.
"This is all about you, isn't it?"
Pulsar pulled himself out of the crater, only to come face to face with enough sonic energy to sink a small island.
"You care nothing for those around you!" Vibraxis shouted as he poured the power on, "this is about your bloated oversized ego and mouth!"
"This isn't about me, it's about this country!" Pulsar snapped as he sent a blast of EM energy lancing towards Vibraxis. The hero just barely phased in time to avoid the retaliation, "this is a wake-up call for people unwilling to see those who need help all around them!"
"And that makes it alright to hurt people?"
Pulsar turned around, and recoiled instinctively as Wolfsbane and X-Treme lunged at him, claws and blades flashing. The EM villain took a step back on instinct, even as their attack was deflected by his energy shields.
"You know the saying about eggs and omelet," Pulsar lashed out with a wave of gravity that knocked the two back, "I'm speaking for those who can't! I'm doing what's right!"
Psychic arrows and charged javelins landed all around him.
"Is that why you've left so many people bleeding in the streets?" Blink demanded.
"There was no other choice!" Pulsar lashed out with a blast of energy, but missed both young women as they flipped out of the way, "what, did you think I could just rent a billboard?"
"Okay, we got it," Charcoal came up from behind Pulsar, and unleashed a wave of flame, "so all mentally ill people are dangerous. Got it. So…"
Charcoal stopped, and scratched his head, "Crap, forgot what I was gonna say. Line…?"
"You. Don't. Understand!" Pulsar roared as he lashed out with waves of gravity. Charcoal was sent flying, and Kymaera caught Blink and Mirage before they were blown down the street like a leaf in a hurricane.
"We understand," Kymaera replied, as she dropped her teammates, and grabbed a fallen steel street light. She crushed one end in her hand until it was a jagged point, and hoisted it over her head, "this is all about you, John. How you were humiliated, how you want your pound of flesh."
Kymaera threw the pole as effortlessly as a dart, but Pulsar knocked it aside with a casual backhand.
"No, no it's not!" Pulsar snarled, fists shaking in anger, "this is not about me! This is about how the mentally ill are cast aside, discarded!"
"So traumatizing a city, that's going to change anything?" Arsenal asked as he blasted Pulsar from behind.
"And inaction, what does that change?" Pulsar barely noticed the attack, his face becoming redder and redder, "the louder the outcry, the sooner something will get done!"
"And it's more likely to last if it wasn't done with violence!"
Pulsar turned around to see Sabre rocketing towards him, with countless pieces of scrap metal, loose twigs and trash cans trailing behind her, caught in her slipstream like soap down a drain. But despite that, Sabre shot right in front of Pulsar and pulled left with impossible ease, cutting loose everything.
Pulsar was never more thankful for automated defenses, as all kinds of trash struck his force-fields at over a hundred miles per hour, and hurt him no more than a bug smashing into a car window.
"Are you about done?" Pulsar smirked, "because frankly, this is getting old…"
"Turn around."
Pulsar did, and saw Vibraxis, Technocrat, Tarene, Mirage, Nova, Arsenal and Charcoal standing less than ten feet away, power smoldering in their hands and eyes.
"Well?" Pulsar taunted. He motioned for them to get on with it, "what are you waiting for?"
Flame, psychic arrows, lightning, seismic energy, nova force, dimensional javelins, white hot flames and searing optic blasts, enough power to destroy a city block, slammed into the villain. The ground around him was vaporized, and steam and smoke shot out in every direction. The onslaught continued for a full minute before the young heroes stopped.
"So…do you think we even scratched him?" Blink asked.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Pulsar rose above the smoke and dirt, his uniform completely spotless.
"Einstein once said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing but expecting different results," Pulsar smiled, "and I guess that would make heroes like you completely insane. I control the power of a small star! And I'm going to use it to force the entire damn country to bend over and take it!"
"Technocrat, tell me we're making progress," Mirage whispered.
The technology inclined mutant smiled, "Wait for it…"
"Override B activated," Pulsar's armor chirped, "emergency shut-down activating."
Pulsar looked at his wrist in horror, "What? No, no, no! Override alpha six…"
Pulsar barely finished reading off the override code before Nova grabbed him by the shoulders, his fingers sinking into the metal. With a shrug, just like before, he tore it in two, and then caught his enemy by the scruff of his neck.
"You know, there is such a thing as being too careful," Technocrat remarked as Nova brought the villain back down to earth, "automated defenses are a stroke of genius, and how you protected everyone at Reagan National? So I asked myself, wouldn't he have some precautions against using his powerful inventions while not properly medicated."
"You used my own precautions against me," John spat.
Technocrat shrugged, "It's a gift. After all, you're medically insane, not crazy."
"What, you didn't notice anything odd when we were going on like a bad public service announcement?" Charcoal asked, "dude, I so totally thought you'd clue in."
"To be fair, I thought you guys usually sound like that," John defended with a nod.
"Not far wrong," Blink said under her breath.
"I thought you'd like it," Nova smirked, "I mean, you had such a fun time playing villain, and here you are keeping up the fine traditions of villains failing their evil scheme because they just can't keep their mouth shut."
"Yes, laugh it up Neanderthal," John growled, "but I'll be in the news cycles for weeks! I've already accomplished what I set out to do, even if my victory dance was cut short."
"And since you chose Texas as your canvas, I wouldn't expect any encores," Nova said flatly, "kinda ironic, if you think about it. Not only is a drama queen like you brought down by your own inability to shut up, but you'll be executed by electrocution after mastering the power of a star."
"Your boyfriend is probably right. He really is smarter than he looks," Pulsar looked towards Namorita, but saw no sympathy, no concern. After all he'd done, Pulsar was honest enough with himself to admit he didn't deserve either, "except for one thing. There will be no trial, and no execution. You see, leaders are distractions, but martyrs? They provide an ending, a conclusion to the story. I've said my piece, and now it's time to have mine."
Force Works froze for a moment, and then watched as Pulsar began to shake. First, it was a slight tremor in his hand, but within seconds they traveled the length of his body.
"Move move!" Technocrat pushed Nova aside, and began examining the villain, "Rahne, I need help! Someone call the paramedics! We need…"
oooOOooo
Later
Paige Temple rubbed the bridge of her nose, "So am I to understand that Pulsar's accomplices are no longer in the country?"
"That's correct," Mirage answered the Federal Marshall, "Neutron Bum's powers made him a walking dirty bomb, so we thought it best to have some precautions on stand-by. So we contacted the French government, and they agreed to have a cell ready for us, and a decontamination unit ready."
"I see," Paige made a few notes on her pad, "why did you contact France instead of a US agency?"
"Do you know what France's equivalent of Three Mile Island or Chernobyl is?"
"Can't say I do."
"That's because they don't have one," Mirage answered, "France has been using nuclear power safely for decades. Given the threat, I didn't want to take any chances."
"And the fact that his mutant accomplice, Max, is facing the death penalty had nothing to do with it?" Paige asked with a raise eyebrow.
"Nothing whatsoever," Mirage was thankful that her mask hid her smile, "Reflection surrendered peacefully and Pulsar's on a hospital bed as a vegetable. And his other two accomplices are being held by a US ally…"
"And we have a ten year extradition battle ahead of us to get the rest, best case scenario," Paige sighed, "thanks for that. No, really."
oooOOooo
Namorita watched as John's chest slowly rose and fell in accordance with the beeping of the respirator, the only thing keeping him alive now.
The medics arrived in the nick of time, and John was rushed to the nearest hospital, where they removed a small devise that Technocrat then examined, revealing that it was an implant designed to disrupt the natural electricity of the human body and cause a stroke. The small devise did it's job perfectly, and the medical staff said it was unlikely that John would ever wake up.
Of course, the state of Texas didn't care about that. After a half dozen people were killed because of Pulsar's devise, dozens more injured, some critically and millions of dollars in property damage, the Lone Star State was more than willing to pay any medical expenses in the hopes of putting John before a judge, jury and executioner, in that order.
For a moment, Namorita wondered if John wasn't right to do what he did. As a criminal, he was receiving better medical treatment than he received as a law abiding but mentally-ill citizen.
"How are you holding up?" Richard Rider asked as he entered, holding two cups of coffee.
"Been better," Namorita took the cup, "just can't help but think I should have stopped this somehow. If I'd just known…"
"There were plenty more people who knew him better and didn't spot it," Rich defended, "just because we're heroes doesn't mean we can save everyone."
"What I still don't understand is why he did it."
Nova nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Tarene speak. He hadn't noticed the young goddess leaning against the wall, silently brooding, until she'd finally spoken. Tarene took a few steps towards the bed, hammer in hand, as she looked over the comatose man.
"He spelled out why pretty clearly, kiddo," Nova replied, "dunno how you missed it."
"No, not like that," Tarene clarified, "I mean, he had a point. More needs to be done. So why did he resort to violence? He created a renewable energy source worth billions! He could have accomplished everything he wanted peacefully, if he just waited! And now…"
"Losing a piece of yourself, something that defines you to the core," Nova replied, "it leaves a scar. And even when you get it back, the wound festers. Because you remember what it was like before, and remember what it was like to lose everything. And if you can find someone to blame, well, that's better than looking at yourself and seeing what you did wrong."
Nova took a deep drink of his coffee, and then turned to leave.
"Gotta give him one thing though, he had the villain thing down pat," Rich said, "all the crap he pulled, and he still managed to escape with the one thing he wanted and needed most."
"Peace of mind."
Next issue: Force Works trains to undertake their most dangerous mission yet! But they're not the only ones training for a take down…