Infiltration, Part 3

Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, English, French and Interlac.
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).

Wild Lands
Somewhere Between Continental USA and the Remains of Hawaii
(Former site of Project Mureau, currently abandoned by the USA Government)
Nosferata´s Caverns (Closed subsystem)
15 Days After Sahaquiel

"(Well, my good and doubtlessly very eager to serve Dr. Canus; have you got some good news for me, your so very benevolent queen?)"

Dr. Canus´ white fur bristled at the hated familiarity. ´(I should have gone with the Wild Men into exile…)´ He thought, while keeping his facial expression carefully under control. He breathed deeply, and answered. "(I do, Your Majesty. We found a hidden stash of old notes and records from Project Mureau. The Big Wave buried the original entrance to the cave, but a recent storm moved most of the debris.)"

"(Splendid news, my good doctor!)" the Dowager Queen, Nosferata the First, clapped her hands like a little girl, "(Decipher the secrets of Project Mureau and soon there will be a new generation of thinkers and doers in the Wild Lands! Nosferata´s name will live forever!)" Her white wings unfurled completely, casting a long shadow in the small cave.

"(Go back to work, Doctor. I´ll order an extra half-ration for you and your wife tonight.)" She patted his emaciated face, a happy smile uncovering the gleaming white fangs under the two vertical slits of her upturned nose. "(We wouldn't want my favorite scientist to falter when he´s so close to finding the secret of Cortexin! Especially with a litter on the way.)"

Canus nodded rigidly, "(I´ll keep working, my Queen.)"

Nosferata almost danced her way to the balcony, she took impulse and jumped, her wings caught an ascending air current, and she soared away.

Canus watched her fly away, his jaws clenched tight. ´(If only…)´ he barely dared to think. "(…If only I could kill that Grant-damned monster…)"

"(Canus..? Is that you..?)" a feeble voice called him from inside the caves. It sounded feverish and pained. Canus shook his head, clearing the traitorous thought away.

"(Here I am, my love. Let me get you some water.)"

Professor Dotty, his wife, lay on a simple bed, her neck chained to the wall. Her prominent belly showed clearly in the weak light of a candle. Canus knelt next to her, taking her hand in his. Lovingly, he nuzzled her cheek, closing his eyes. Seeing her so skinny, so weak, broke his heart. Carefully, he held a glass with a straw, helping her to drink.

"(…They are kicking, my love. …They will be born soon…)" She caressed her belly, taking Canus´ hand and putting it over the movement. He smiled despite the dire situation, Dotty always knew how to bring him out of his funk. He didn´t know what would he do without her. And he wanted to keep on not knowing.

He caressed her light brown fur. "(Have you thought some names?)"

"(…Yes… The first boy will be Canus, like his father… the second boy… and the first girl will be Connor …and Sterling, like your old friends …and the second girl will be…)"

He grabbed her hand, "(She will be Dotty, like her mother, bright and curious too. Rest now, my love, keep up your strength.)"

"(…Yes… Dotty…)" She sighed and fell asleep, still smiling.

Canus covered her with an old blanket, crudely stamped with the S symbol his first human friend wore so proudly on his chest.

In a whisper, he said, "(I wish you were here, Superboy… We need a hero to save us from that bloody tyrant.)" He sat heavily on a stool, and carefully extracted a hidden panel from the desk. On it, an old photograph rested, taped to the wood. Canus looked at it for several minutes, remembering better times.

A smiling Doctor Canus, an arm over Superboy, who tried to take a book from his grasp, pretending he actually struggled with him. Behind them, the Wild Men (the ursine Growler, the lupine Howler, and the bullish Gorr), argued about something that was forgotten a minute later. Next to Superboy, a teenage human female, Dr. Sterling Roquette, trying to catch the eye of Superboy.

Good times. His only visit to Project Cadmus had been enlightening in more than one way. The books he had brought back! Such treasures of knowledge and understanding!

Pity that for Nosferata the books would be nothing but a tool to strengthen her claim to the Wild Lands throne.

After King Tuftan´s suspiciously convenient death, Nosferata had lost no time to grab every scrap of power for her own uses. Canus´ precious books confiscated, his bride kept as a hostage, his knowledge perverted in her name.

Canus wept in silence. He held no illusions about the fate of his yet unborn children. He hoped against hope he could find a way to save them from slavery or being kept as hostages.

A chittering on the balcony brought him out of his thoughts. Nosferata had sent a couple of batmen to ferry him down. Careful to make no noise, he hid the picture again, gathered his tools in a satchel, and went to face his destiny.

The two grotesque flyers stood on the balcony, their wings closed. Each had a rope tied securely to his chest and waist, Between them, a primitive harness waited for Canus. A lion child, too small for her age, bowed to Canus, "(I brought food for Professor Dotty.)" She showed Canus a small package, lovingly wrapped with palm leaves and some cord.

"(Thank you, Tanny. Please take care of her while I´m away.)"

The girl nodded gravely, and carried the package to the other chamber.

The scientist secured the harness around him, checking it was secure. Grabbing his satchell, he nodded at the batmen. The smallest one chittered a few words. "(New digs, new digs; we carry you there, yes!)"

"(Lest´s go, Batrok." He sighed, "There´s much to do.)"

New York
S.T.A.R. Labs
Dr. Victor Stone´s Office
(Mental Plane)
Same Time

Victor Stone connected his awareness to the mainframe. This search for the Metal Men would be relatively easy, if not for the Phantom Stranger asking for him to be stealthy, a search he could normally finish in seconds would be long and difficult. And, to top it off, he had just received a priority request. S.T.A.R. Labs managed a lot of data for the neighboring cities. And this data package was marked as Top Priority.

Victor sighed. Part of the reason he had so much autonomy in managing S.T.A.R Labs was his help with data analysis and administrative decisions. "(Damn! Just when I was about to begin!)"

Tokyo-3
GeoFront, NERV HQ
Science Division.
15 Days After Sahaquiel

"Start the test" Dr. Akagi watched the three simulator bodies, safe behind a reinforced transparisteel window. At the other side, millions of gallons of nutrient solution had been prepared to keep the incomplete cloned bodies safe and functional (up to a point) indefinitely.

"Beginning the test. Initiate autopilot recording." A tech intoned in his microphone.

"Inserting simulation plug." Another reported, as the test plug capsules slid into their places, at the back of the simulation bodies. "Connecting simulation bodies to the system."

"The simulation plugs are now under the MAGI´s control." Lt. Ibuki confirmed.

"How do you feel?" Dr. Akagi asked when the second of the three hours of the test started.

Rei was the first to report. "It feels odd."

Shinji followed. "Yes. I cant put a finger on it, but I feel different from other times we´ve done this kind of testing. Maybe these simulated bodies cannot copy our EVAs´ workings."

Asuka sounded worried. "Something´s wrong with my senses, Dr. Akagi. I can feel my right arm as normal, but the rest of my body feels fuzzy. I don't know how to describe this sensation."

Dr. Akagi though for a moment, maybe a simple test of muscular coordination would help with the readings and the interface. "Rei, imagine moving your right hand."

Obediently, the blue-haired pilot pulled at the right control yoke. The gigantic hand of the simulated body twitched.

A tech reported the results, "Data collection is proceeding nicely."

Dr. Akagi nodded imperceptively. "Everything seems good so far. Return the MAGI to their normal state."

A screen showed three interconnected squares, representing Casper, Melchior and Balthasar, the three MAGI components, deliberating on the data they had been fed with.

While Misato watched the blinking blocks, Dr. Akagi indulged in a rare moment of introspection. "You can sure feel the creator´s personality, can´t you?"

"What do you mean with that? Didn´t you create them?"

"No. All I did was create the System Uplinks. The system is a creation of my mother. The basic theorems and the mainframe made with cloned brain tissue were created by Dr. Naoko Akagi."

While the two high ranking officers spoke, Iruel prepared his attack.

In a few minutes more, he would be ready for the next phase of his plan.

Vega System
High Orbit over the Psion Homeworld
Truthful Justice; Almeracian Battle Ship, Krypton Class
Planning Room.
Same Time

"(Lord Kal-El! Lord Kal-El!)" an ensign rushed into the room, clutching some papers in her hand.

The Prince Consort raised his eyes to look at her. "(Easy, Ensign. Your report please.)" His face was grim, but his eyes still held the noble warmth that had conquered the Almeracian people years before. Never, in all his years as second in command of the glorious Almeracian Navy, had he raised a hand against any subordinate; even though he had every right to do so, according to the Imperial laws. He didn´t even need to raise his voice to keep both morale and discipline.

Every soldier knew Lord Kal-El was just and fair to his subordinates, he wouldn´t ever ask of them anything he woldnt be prepared to do himself; and in return, they were willing to assault the Black Gate if he asked them to.

The young soldier paused for a moment, realizing that in her rush to deliver the message, she had breached into a war council. She smoothed her crisply pressed uniform, and bowed according to the royal protocol. She knew the Prince Consort wasn't one for much ceremony, but the Planning Room now held a conference with several high ranking officers of not only the Almeracian space forces, but also from Rann, Thanagar, Korugar, and others.

"(Apologies, my Lord. We just received word from the Omega Men. They an urgent message for you.)" A quiet murmur spread around the table. Superman held up a hand, asking for silence. The ensign continued. "(Tamaranian Royal Heir Mar'i Grayson is trying to break in into the Deep Reach Complex; Queen Koriand´r asks for us to help the heir recover some prisoners the Psions may be experimenting with, my Lord. Her forces are busy holding the line at Sector 2828.)"

A new murmur, this time of incredulity, grew around the table. Superman broke the whisperings. "(Right in the middle of the Apokoliptian Occupation force.)"

"(Yes, Lord Kal-El.)" The representative of Korugar answered. His red skin almost glistened in the harsh light of the hologram floating over the table, showing the Psion Homeworld. A few movements of the controls displayed a close up of the Deep Reach Complex.

"(What do they have there?)" The Rannian leaned forward, studying the place, as much data as it could be obtained from orbital picts. ("War Wheels, several no doubt. Fire Drakes, a few, look at the tracks. The barracks here and here imply a respectable number of Parademons. I doubt the Deep Six are here, too dry a terrain for their tastes. And this place is too unimportant for Darkseid´s Elite. Female Furies?)"

The Thanagarian snorted, "(Mad Harriet has not been seen in a good while in this sector. Stompa and Bernadeth were sighted in Sector 1216, two vols ago.)" He rubbed his chin in thought, and his artificial wings trembled, settling their feathers. "(If I were to bet, I´d say that… Ah, look at that, Speed Queen!)" A streak of brown and yellow zipped from one side of the image to the other. "(And where she goes, Malice Vundabarr and Bloody Mary are not too far. Seems we have the Female Furies Third Squad here.)"

The Korugarian shook his head. "(My men and I have been lucky to survive a couple of scraps with these particular Furies. They are no longer mere apprentices. They have earned their badges in combat.)"

Superman pulled the files on the tentatively identified Female Furies. Their portraits replaced the world hologram. The first one was a rough looking woman wearing a half helmet and dark goggles, "(Speed Queen, a maniacal speedster who gets her kick from high speed combat, expert on maneuvering her trackskates in close combat.)" At the push of a button, she was replaced by a woman with white skin and scarlet hair; while Speed Queen looked like a futuristic member of a biker gang, the second Female Fury from the archives looked like a seductress, her long hair even covered her left eye, reminding Superman of a cartoon character from a movie, "(Bloody Mary, she has a longer reach, some kind of force beams from her eyes; and apparently, she feeds on the blood of her enemies.)" The last one was completely incongruous, and looked almost like the stereotypical image of a well behaved girl from the 1930s Earth, she looked like a brown-haired cross between Alice in Wonderland and Shirley Temple, but her eyes betrayed a cruelty born in the most hellish planet known. "(Malice Vundabarr, niece of Virmin Vundabarr, the youngest Female Fury in record. Not really inclined to the militaristic trappings of her uncle, but deadly all the same.)"

"(She´s just a child!)" the Thanagarian hissed, "(What´s she doing here?)"

Superman looked intently at the image, then at the fearsome winged warrior. "(Don't let yourself to be deceived by her looks. If she has not only survived Granny Goodness´ training, but risen to the rank of a full Female Fury, she is the most dangerous of the three. Maybe not the leader, but a very dangerous opponent. And I am sure she even uses the way she looks like a child to her advantage.)"

A secondary file bleeped, and Superman opened it. It was the debriefing of a survivor who had faced Malice. Superman played it aloud. "(The darkness! The darkness is alive! And hungers! And eats! Oh, Holy X´Hal, it eats!)"

Ivory Coast
Deep Underground
Brotherhood of Evil Secret Base
(Mental Plane)
Same Time

An almost inhuman awareness floated in cyberspace, savoring the feeling of power obtained from knowledge and safety. "(Everything proceeds as you expected, Brain.)" A deep voice rumbled in the dark, open space. Despite the fluent French words, a strange un-French accent was clear in the pronunciation.

"(Did you had any doubt, my old friend?)" an electronic rasp answered. Two points of light brightened and dimmed with each syllable. Clicking sounds were heard, as a series of cables retracted back onto the computer banks.

"(Haw, haw, haw! Of course not!)" the owner of the voice flipped up a switch, and a series of lamps lighted the place, revealing a metal cylinder of about four feet in height, crowned by a stylized skull. At its top, a clear dome revealed a mass of pinkish, convoluted flesh, suspended in nutrient fluids.

Next to it, a hulking gorilla walked on two feet, his long arms balanced at his sides. A red beret rested on top of his head, and a machine gun hung from a strap, over two bandoliers full of heavy caliber bullets.

"(Now, Monsieur Mallah, what´s the next item to attend?)"

The gorilla took a clipboard with dextrous fingers, and read the writing on it. "(The hunt for the last members of the Doom Patrol is still on. Only Beast Boy and Robotman are still free. All the others are dead or in our dungeons, fitted with nullifiers and unconscious.)"

"(Good, good. Now, we should not rest in our laurels yet. Order the men to keep on the hunt. More than once, the last one free has turned the tables on us. Make sure Robotman is brought here as intact as possible. I want his support suit.)"

"(Certainly, Brain.)"

A priority alarm sounded.

"(Quick, Mallah, connect me back into the mainframe!)"

The evolved gorilla´s fingers tapped a series of keys on a reinforced keyboard. A series of cables reconnected themselves to hidden ports in Brain´s case, giving the disembodied organ a direct interface with the digital domain.

"(Ah… Yes… New data! Be ready to take notes, my old friend.)"

Monsieur Mallah sat on a specially reinforced chair, cracked his knuckles in an incredibly human-like movement, and nodded "(I´m ready, Brain.)"

A Ranch Not Very Near Reno, Nevada
And Very Far from the NERV-2 base
(Mental Plane)
Same Time

"(Dang it. I hate filling tax forms. And my robotic body is not deductible!)" Cliff Steel sat on a sturdy wood chair, especially made to support his weight. He set the documents on the old table. Checked the mechanical pencil and the calculator were in good working order, and began to fill the complex forms the government sent him with appaling regularity.

He managed to sigh, though his metallic chassis didn´t have much in the lung department. Inside his chest, an incredibly complex set of machines replicated the functions of his old human organs. The cardio-pulmonar system was a true wonder of science. Compact and efficient, it barely occupied the volume of his original heart. The digestive system was awfully simple in comparison, and he had no way to taste anything. That was one of the things he missed the most about his lost human body.

Still, a couple of years before Second Impact, the Chief had managed to invent some peculiar gizmo, that made his memories of old meals especially vivid. He would never taste any new food ever again, but at least he could taste anything he had ever eaten back when he wasn´t a metallic monster.

He looked at the mound of papers, and decided that this was the perfect moment. He closed his optic sensors, and directed his memory to a ten-years old Cliff Steele. That summer had been hot and nice. And one day, he had found an old style malt shop, where the most perfect chocolate ice cream was sold.

He lost himself in that memory.

He could almost feel the glass in his fingers, and his non-existent tongue melted under the delightful taste of chocolate and home-made cookies.

Had he been able to do so, he would have smiled the most peaceful and contented smile in the whole world.

The moment passed, and satisfied for a while, Cliff Steele, Robotman, went back to the math that allowed him to maintain his ranch, and take care of all the animals that depended on him to live.

Horses, cows, and a few chickens.

When Cliff had retired from the superhero life, he had bought the ranch, and decided to spend his last years there, far from the metahuman conflicts that had costed him everything. Friends, family, his own body, for God´s sake!

Tokyo-3
Residential Neighbourhood
NERV´s Workers Apartments, Block 42, Section D; Apartment 3
Same Time

"(Things proceed as planned, Doc.)" Mr. Weatherbee spoke in the cellphone he had brought with him from H.I.V.E. Island. "(I feel great, and I think I will be fit to run a marathon in a couple of months.)"

At the other side of the line, and the world (and after the call had been rerouted several times), Dr. Cyber played idly with a remote control. "(Splendid! Splendid, Mr. Weatherbee! I´m glad your are feeling well enough to plan for serious physical activities. However, I must advice you to keep to your current physical regime, or you could get hurt. It would be a pity to lose all the progress you have done so far.)"

"(Yeah, Doc. I´ll be sure to call you in case I feel any pain.)" Weatherbee wiped his forehead with a small towel. Apart from the perpetual summer temperatures in Tokyo-3, talking with that crazy woman always gave him the creeps. Even separated by thousand of miles, her voice was like nails on his nerves.

The conversation finished after a few minutes, hidden in the meaningless chatter, several key words relayed the true message back to H.I.V.E.

It would take time, but H.I.V.E.´s first foothold into NERV had been successfully established.

Tokyo-3
GeoFront, NERV HQ
Central Dogma
Same Time

While the Science Division worked on their autopilot test, the crew at Central Dogma realized something was not right.

Several problems surfaced at the same time.

Corrosion, leaks, and anomalous readings in the testing pool.

By the time the Science Crew transferred the nervous impulses to the actual body of Unit-00, it was too late.

Iruel had arrived.

And he announced his arrival in spectacular, horrible fashion.

By invading and controlling the Simulation Bodies!

Author Notes:

Nope, that´s not the Doctor Canus we have been seeing with Kamandi and Mari in NERV-2. This is his distant ancestor. His fur is white, with a black spot over his right eye and black ears, while the Canus in the future has light brown fur, and no spots except for his black ears. They look very much alike, except for the color of their coats.

Both Doctors have been official canon in DC Comics in different times. The original is the one in Kamandi´s time, who debuted in Kamandi issue 1 (November 1972), as the scientist working at King Caesar´s court. He was always thirsty for knowledge of the Pre-Great Disaster time; before the Crisis in Infinite Earths erased the Kamandi timeline.

The Doctor Canus in current times debuted during the "Last Boy on Earth" storyline in Superboy 50-53 (Apr 1998 to Jul 1998), specifically, in issue 50. Most of the Kamandi tropes were homaged in this story arc. I highly recommend you read both series! Kirby´s Kamandi was quite a feast of strange things, while TLBoE reworked Kamandi´s tropes for a more modern reader´s tastes.

The Wild Men, as far as I know, were original creations by Karl Kessel and Tom Grummet, the creative team behind Superboy, and debuted in the same story arc. The trio are a very clear homage to the Warriors Three, from Marvel´s Thor. Growler, the bear, is close in shape and temperament to Vostagg the Brave, even to his love of consuming massive amounts of food. Howler, the wolf, is an expy of Fandral, including his penchant for seducing beautiful ladies. And Gorr, the bull, homages Hogun the Grim; in his eternal pessimism, though Gorr is much bigger than Hogun.

Nosferata was an original creation by Kessel y Grummet, also debuting in Superboy 50.

Professor Dotty and Tanny are OCs created by me. I tried to make characters who wouldn't be out of place in Kirby´s world.

Why have both Doctors in this story? Well, I have plans for both, of course! And Nosferata is too good a villain to just leave her behind!

The Vega System has been a rich source for conflict in the DCU, debuting back in Detective Comics 256 (Jun 1958), although it didn´t really become an important part of the DCU until New Teen Titans, with the introduction of Starfire in DC Comics Presents 26 (Oct 1980), and her evil sister Blackfire in New Teen Titans 22 (Aug 1982).

The Vega System contains a great variety of alien worlds and races.

It is also part of the reason why most space based heroes are not even near Earth!

Among many other characters who come from the Vega System, the best known must be Starfire. A warrior princess from the planet Tamaran, she was turned into a slave, and later a test subject by the evil scientist race of the Psions. Her origin was best detailed in Tales of the Teen Titans miniseries, issue 4 (Sept 1982).

Nightstar, Mar´i Grayson, is another character from Kingdom Come (issue 1, May 1996). She is the daughter of Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Starfire. In KC, Starfire died sometime before the beginning of the story. Obviously, things happened differently here, a story for a future Interlude.

The Female Furies are also a creation by Jack Kirby, debuting in Mister Miracle (Feb, 1972). They are part of the Apokoliptian army, trained and conditioned by Granny Goodness, to be highly proficient in many forms of combat. Unlike the regular soldiers, each Female Fury has either powers or specialized equipment, tailored to their favorite fighting styles.

The best known of the original Furies were Lashina, Stompa, Burnadeth, and Mad Harriet, once under Big Barda´s leadership. After Barda´s desertion, command fell to Lashina.

In Hawk and Dove 21 (Feb 1991), a group of second generation Female Furies debuted by invading Earth in a ritualized contest to earn points; basically, killing humans or metahumans earned them varied amounts of points. Hawk and Dove fought them until the Furies were recalled to Apokolips.

Those second generation Furies were Speed Queen, Bloody Mary, Gilotina (who actually debuted after the original Furies, in Mister Miracle 8 (Jun 1972), but for some reason or another, was not part of the main roster), and Malice Vundabarr.

Malice was modeled after Alice in Wonderland, and her constant companion, Cheesure, was inspired by the Cheshire Cat, Cheesure, is a cloud of darkness with eyes and jaws full of sharp teeth. Apparently, Cheesure is a projection/pet/bodyguard/hunting beast controlled by Malice.

The Brain and Monsieur Mallah are two old villains of the weird kind, they debuted back in Doom Patrol 86 (Mar 1964).

The Brain is, as his name implies, highly smart and cunning. His body was destroyed in an explosion, and his still living brain transplanted into a support unit by his greatest success, Monsieur Mallah himself, a gorilla raised to human level intellect by a series of experiments. Both are the backbone of the Brotherhood of Evil, a loose confederation of villains, who clashed repeatedly with the Doom Patrol.

For this story, I´m basing their characterization on the first comics I got featuring them, the new Brotherhood of Evil in the New Teen Titans issues 13 to 15 (Nov 1981 to Jan 1082); their characterization in Grant Morrison´s version of the Doom Patrol is at a whole different level than I feel comfortable doing, and I couldn´t do justice to the pure undiluted bizarreness of his work!

Robotman debuted with the rest of the Doom Patrol, back in My Greatest Adventure 80 (Jun 1963), along with Elasti-Girl (Rita Farr, not Helen Parr of the Incredibles movies, of course), Negative Man, and the Chief.

The Doom Patrol usually deals with truly bizarre threats to the world. I mean, the Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man? And that was in the 1960s! However, the truly bizarre stuff came when Grant Morrison took the title in Doom Patrol volume 2, starting with issue 19 (Feb 1989)