Chapter 2
The Phoenix Force existed in all places in the universe simultaneously. It saw all and it experienced all. To many species out there it was itself the god of their creation. This was however inaccurate, the force did not itself make creation or anything else for that matter.
It had been uncounted eons since the force came into existence, when the first living thing sparked into life it was formed, soaring through the endless, universe the sum total of all future births and psionic energy which came with that life. It was eternal and all powerful holding within it the power of all gods, all demons, all races and species whether they were carbon based, silicon based or anyone of the other basic forms throughout the levels of creation. It deserved to be worshipped.
They were amongst its worshippers.
Their ship soared through the Milky Way Stargate 2814 which was colloquially known amongst the gate users as ‘the Earth gate’. The tone with which you spoke of the gate could tell you a lot about the speakers. Those who guffawed and sneered knew of Earth relatively limited technology in comparison to their own, those whose voices trembled knew of the might of those present. The Cleric spoke with disdain.
The High church of the Phoenix viewed Earth as a holy paradox. It was a holy place but also a source of great corruption. It was here centuries ago that a holy man named Feron gave a new facet and name to the ancient force into that of the phoenix. It was also the place that the force took on its most complete vessel in the form of the X-Man Jean Grey and was then tainted by Terrans.
The church did not shy away from this dichotomy, they had always embraced the paradox of the force. In the Shi’ar galaxy where the church truly flourished the Phoenix was viewed as both divine and corrupting. The Rook’shir, one of their own number had effectively managed to channel and be possessed by the Force and had used its power to kill billions across the breadth of the galaxy. Yet they still understood what the Phoenix was, the power of all life. They knew that the food that they ate, the air that they breathed and all of their loved ones were only possible because of the Force.
The Church of the Phoenix was treated with the respect and deference that you would give to any psychopomp who could not only lift you to a place of bliss and peace but drag you through the torture zones in the darkest recesses of their underworld. Yet their religious practice had to be undertaken in secret, hidden in the shadows of the society.
“Arkonian,” said one of the Clerics, dressed in his red and orange robes. The name was a title rather than a proper-noun. In Terran it meant something akin to both General and Father. The Arkonian was both the spiritual leader of the fleet and its military commander. They were both Aerie, though the church saw no separation of species as we are all children of the Phoenix. Their feather plumes on their head stood proudly, the edges of their feathers had been singed and smoked gently. “The last of the fleet have passed through the gate and are ready to advance.”
“Are we sure that the Guard have fled to Feron’s Rest?” he spoke in reference to scripture of Earth.
“Yes Arkonian,” he nodded in a gently bow, “The trail leading to Feron’s Rest matches their ship, it is 8 Chandalarian days old.”
“Continue as planned, their ship was damaged beyond repair, they do not yet know that their life force will be removed from the Phoenix but it will be done.”
# # # # # # # # # #
Earth, De Moines, Iowa…
“Now this is something that I like about this planet,” said Starbolt as he lay on his back in the middle of Chamberlin park soaking up the rays of sunlight. “Not as hot as I’d like but still nice.” He said in his strong, deeply toned voice which echoed from his throat.
“I’m sure we can find you a volcano if you really want,” Fang stretched out and twisted his neck and spine. He looked positively feline as he did so, though in truth his species evolved from a creature very different to the cats of Earth. “This does it for me though.”
“Enjoy it while you can,” Oracle gave a strong word. She watched carefully a pair of joggers who were running along the path which wound through the park chatting about some girl they had went to college with. They had a small terran animal with them running alongside tethered to one of them. It was pulling on the leash and barking at them. She extended her hand towards it, she had been focusing on sight and sound of the humans in the area and had not considered more olfactory creatures. She clouded its mind, it was a slightly different skill than tackling higher level minds.
“I know you’re the praetor Oracle but could we not just enjoy this a little while longer, I think even Gladiator would give us a slide at the minute” asked Starbolt as he turned his face to look at her. He hadn’t meant it as a slight, he hadn’t meant to question her authority. It had been pure familiarity amongst friends. Oracle still however had to maintain her command structure tightly, especially given their current situation.
“I trust you remember why Gladiator isn’t here Guardian. Only the Gods know where he is at the moment going through who knows what whilst the Imperium crumbles. We are here on a mission not a pleasure cruise and it would do you well not to forget that.” She spoke with ice in her voice, it was cold enough to combat the heat that Starbolt put out.
“I’m grateful for the respite but I think I’ll be good to go anytime now,” Nightshade spoke cutting through the tension which she felt had become palpable. They had taken a slight delay in the mission because she had fallen ill from some terran virus or other. They team had managed to help heal her and she had been gathering her strength for the last day.
Now that she was healed she would be able to teleport them to their ultimate target of New York City to seek out the heroes of Earth to enlist their help in the Shi’ar empire which was currently in dire straits.
“Good,” Oracle said with a nod to her comrade. “I think we can afford another hour first though, a rested team will be best prepared for the trials that we will have coming.”
“We fight here?” asked Neutron as his fingers raked through the ground to make his point clear. He was not adept at verbal communication despite years of serving with the Guardians having come from a non-auditory communicating species.
“I would assume so,” Manta as was her way, hovered above the ground as she spoke. She was wise beyond her years and seemed to be able to see many things clearer than others. Some wondered whether this was one of her heightened abilities. “It seems to be a tradition or ritual amongst the enhanced class of citizens of Earth.”
“Let them come,” Fang grinned. He had that feral look in his eye that the others recognised well from his predecessor who they had all worked with. “I’ve been itching to test myself against one of Earth’s champions since I memory viewed previous clashes,” he growled gently as he spoke almost in a purr. He was an artificial being grown in a tank who had been implanted with the memories of the last Fang…even if he had hatched a little sooner than intended.
“Don’t underestimate them young’un,” Starbolt said. He had a gentle ribbing tone in his voice, it was clear though that he respected the attitude. He and the old Fang had spent a lot of time fighting side by side on the front lines….and in bars all across the galaxy. This younger version seemed even more cocksure of himself and crazy to boot.
“Less of the ‘young’un flamebrain, it’s the same old Fang just in a new and improved body,” he laughed. Starbolt joined him.
“The sooner we get out of here the better if you ask me,” Astra pouted. Her skin was still smeared with a thick coating of some Earth cream or another to keep her rash at bay. It had started to cause her feathers to moult too. Nightshade may have recovered from her illness but there was still something which was irritating Astra mightily. She sat partially phased so that whatever was effecting her skin wouldn’t get a chance to come into contact with it anymore. It hadn’t seemed to help too much.
“We’ll be heading back home soon enough Astra, don’t you worry,” informed Oracle with a confident nod. She didn’t mean to right then but she couldn’t help but pick up mentally the thoughts from some of her team. Their home was currently burning, when this mission was over they would go right back into a multi-way war between the factions which had arisen. It was not a situation which would be easily solved.
# # # # # # # # # #
Elsewhere in Demoines, American first national bank of Iowa….
The alarm had just stopped blaring thanks to a powerful fist by Piledriver which had punched a hole in the wall about the size of a soccerball. “Thank God for that,” he pressed one of his oversized fingers against the middle of his ear and wiggled it gently.
“Ready to roll Bulldozer?” asked Wrecker as he ripped the teller’s desk from the ground and threw it sideways sending a horde of people scattering with screams of terror.
“Born ready Wrecker,” he said as he stamped his feet a few times on the floor to create a groove like the blocks of an Olympic runner. He pressed his hands to the floor and tilted his head down.
“Can I still suggest that we would be more effective by pulling on the door,” Thunderball stood back from his team mates working on crowd control at the minute. This consisted of standing there looking threatening and giving everyone that ‘don’t think about it’ glare that he had perfected as an 8-foot tall supervillain. It wasn’t too dissimilar to his ‘what do you mean you want an extension on your term paper’ look which he had long ago perfected when he was working at the university.
“Shut it Thunderball you big egg-head,” growled Bulldozer, he was the one who was furthest away from Thunderball intellectually and whilst it was Thunderball and Wrecker who ended up butting heads more often than not there was a constant underlying conflict with Bulldozer.
“Ok,” he held up his hands to show that he wasn’t going to argue the point anymore. He had learned a long time ago when he was dealing with his team mates that he could often use his intellect to push them in the direction he wanted them to sometimes it was best to let them blow off steam.
Bulldozer laughed, he’d won this round and felt like he had one over on Thunderball before he launched forward head first down the little corridor out of the bank’s main foyer. The other three members of the Wrecking Crew listened intently.
They heard the loud clanging ring followed by a loud curse word. Thunderball gave Wrecker and Piledriver a smug look. “Don’t even say it Thunderball, don’t even say it!” warned Wrecker as he shook his head and began to walk down the corridor. The others followed.
They found Bulldozer sans helmet rubbing his head half way down. “Maybe we should think about some padding Bull, last thing we need is you to get screwy with a concussion like that wrestler guy,” Said Piledriver as he slapped his friend on the back and helped him to his feet.
“It’ll take more than that to dent this noggin,” he tapped stoutly on his head.
“Looks like you’ve wedged the outer part of the door into the reinforced bars pretty well,” Wrecker nodded as he inspected the door, he had experience with vaults. “Seriously not one word, this was your idea remember.”
Thunderball sighed, “it was my idea to come to a state not overrun with superheroes to do some robberies yes but…” he shook his hand in the air “Let’s just forget it. This isn’t rocket science, which I could do FYI. We’ve got a magic crowbar and three other guys with super strength.”
“Finally something sensible out of your mouth,” said Wrecker as he span the crowbar in his hands and wedged it into the gap by the edge of the door.
“Once more unto the breach dear friends,” said Thunderball with a gracious nod.
“What are you talking about Franklin,” asked Piledriver as he sidled up next to him to get ready to pull.”
“It’s the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death this year, thought I’d inject some culture.”
“Well save it for that wine tasting club you go to with the Mad Thinker, this band of brothers don’t need no bard,” Piledriver smiled with a nod. The four began to pull. The door screamed before finally pulling clear as it twisted and bent.
The four then looked into the vault. “He that wants money, means, and content is without three good friends,” Thunderbolt quoted then looked at his colleagues “sorry.”
“I don’t think it was Shakespeare who said it guys but, money money money money,” began Wrecker.
“Money,” finished the others with a laugh as they set into the vault.
Minutes later The Wrecking Crew left the bank in high spirits. They looked at the crowd who were lined up at what they thought was a safe distance so they could get a good look at the big time supervillains who had come to town.
“The modern capacity to put themselves in harms way to get a photo on their phone knows no bounds does it?” asked Thunderball with a wry smile.
“Can I juggle some cars to give them something to look at?” asked Bulldozer as he waved to the crowd. Iowa was not New York, super crime didn’t really draw crowds the way it used to out on the right coast.
“How about you put the money down instead,” said a voice from above them. ‘Good start Izzy’ she added to herself mentally. Her heart with in her throat, she had butterflies in her stomach and she was sure her super-heroic debut was going to end in her wetting her pants. She was debating whether tacking four supervillains head on was the best of ideas.
She began to lower herself to the ground. When she touched down she very quietly to herself made the command “Invulnerability.”
The four members of the Wrecking Crew looked at one another before finally settling with three of them staring at Thunderball “This doesn’t make me wrong!” he lectured as he held up his hand not wanting to hear their complaints “Have any of you seen her before? How was I supposed to know Iowa had a super-hero. If we were in the Bronx we would’ve had Thor or Captain America or someone standing here instead.”
Wrecked shrugged “Good point, well made,” he nodded “Yo lady who are you?”
“Yeah we like to know who we’re pummelling,” laughed Piledriver. “Four of us up against little you.”
“I’m Smasher,” said Smasher adding ‘apparently’ mentally. The exo-specs seemed very set on her name and whereas she could call herself something else this seemed easy enough.
“Smasher?” repeated The Wrecker. “Is this a try-out?” He turned his head and pulled an interested face. “Smasher could fit well in the naming scheme of the group don’t you think guys.”
“We could totally have a chick on the team, might make things a bit more interesting….one that flies too,” Bulldozer nodded. He through instinct moved his entire upper body in a nodding motion, his usual mask not allowing for much subtle body language.
“I am not auditioning,” she yelled towards them “I’m here to stop you…if that’s ok.”
The four started laughing, belly laughs which caused them to double over resting their hands on their knees to steady themselves. This was going to be a funny story at the villain bar when they circled back to the big apple.
“Let’s pretend I didn’t say that,” said Izzy with a cringe “let’s just pretend the fight started like this.” ‘Activate speed’ she whispered quietly before launching forward. The Wrecking Crew weren’t paying too much attention but had they then they still wouldn’t have seen her coming. She covered the distance between them in a second.
“Strength activate,” she commanded herself before slamming her fist full force into the gut of Piledriver. She had never actually been in a real fight but her Grandfather had taught her to defend herself and throw a mean punch as soon as she’d been old enough for boys to notice her. “Speed activate,” she was at a safe distance before she turned to face them. Piledriver crumbled to his feet fighting for breath.
The other three members turned to look at him and then back to Smasher. She was now hovering about thirty feet in the air. She pressed her advantage making sure to keep up the offence on the three men, she switched to her ‘Penta-Beams’ she began to blast energy bolts from her eyes. It was easy for her to aim by just looking at the thing that she wanted to fire at. The fact that she began to drop from her hovering position the second she activated the power, this was something she had practiced for.
The beams of red energy struck Wrecker and Bulldozer in the face and chest before she switched back to flight, regained height and unleashed a volley of blasts against Thunderball. The grimaced and cringed away from the painful blasts but with their enhanced strength were more than capable of standing their ground. That was except Thunderball, he took a step back and looked weakened.
“Take him out and then figure out the rest Izzy,” she instructed herself. She corrected her position in the air before again switching to ‘Penta-Beams’, she began to drop and shifted her attention to Thunderball. She let out a shriek of surprise as instead of setting her sights on the villain she instead saw the rapidly approaching wrecking ball.
She activated her flight power as quickly as she could and twisted her body in the air. The wrecking ball glanced against her shoulder sending her spinning on all three axis towards the ground. She had been suckered in by Thunderball’s play acting.
“That was brilliant lad,” Piledriver laughed as he launched into a run towards the tumbling Smasher.
Izzy managed to gain control and slow her descent just a second before she collided with the floor. Pain launched through her body even at the slower speed. “Should have switched to invulnerability,” she corrected herself as she took a deep breath, pain rippled through her body but she didn’t think anything was particularly damaged.
She opened her eyes as she pushed herself up into a crouched positon “Invulnerability” she yelled, she felt her power activate just in time as Piledriver’s boot connected with her midsection. She was punted into the air about ten feet before crashing down with a bounce. She quickly rolled back to her feet. “Hurts….but not enough,” she grinned towards him.
“Speed,” she grinned.
“Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength….” she repeated over and over again as she burst into a quick dash in one direction or another and unleashed a powerful blow. Piledriver just flailed at her whilst she easily dodged his blows before unleashing her own.
She was luckily on Speed when she felt a change in the pressure around her, a hand touched gently against her shoulder. Wrecker made contact, she didn’t have enough time to wriggle free but she did have just enough to speak at her enhanced speed ‘invulnerability’.
Her body was hauled upwards before being slammed back into the floor, again and again. Wrecker shifted his hands to get a better grip before turning “Batter up!” he called before spinning and unleashing her in a strong one armed throw.
“Ow,” was all Izzy could think about. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt before, if not for her powers then clearly she would have been dead. She was self-aware enough to be able to cycle through her powers mentally in the second she travelled, trying to think if she could change course with her flight or avoid the coming blow by switching to strength to land one massive sucker punch on whoever she was about to collide with but they were both too risky. If she got rid of her invulnerability and they got a hit in against her then she was done.
Thunderball’s wrecking ball, which he had dutifully collected, collided with her during its massive arcing swing. She was flung backwards and into the air again. “I maybe should have thought this through a little more,” she scolded herself.
Izzy had wanted to be a hero for as long as she could remember, it seemed like it was meant to be and here she was getting her ass kicked on her very first outing. Sure maybe tackling The Wrecking Crew as part of her debut wasn’t the most sensible thing, a simple armed robbery or something would’ve been perfect but given that these were the cards she was dealt she had little other choice.
She span and tumbled on two axis through the air forced back by the power of Thunderball’s strike. She stretched out with her will and slowly stopped her spin before stopping herself altogether. Flight was a difficult thing to describe she had realised as she thought about it, it was not like falling, not like swimming as she could imagine but rather more like rock climbing in some ways. You reached out with your cells and grip the air, the force of gravity still pulling down on you calling you back to the Earth and then the movement was like sliding down a slide.
She began to fly hesitantly, even a little slowly towards the four men who were standing on the ground looking up to her. “is there any shame in running away?” she asked herself “You wanted to give this a try, you did that but you’ve bitten off more than you can chew, save your life and just them rob the place.” She reasoned, maybe she wasn’t like her grandpa, maybe she wasn’t cut out for this life.
Sirens drew her attention as four police cars hurtled onto the scene and skidding into formation at a safe distance from the Crew. The police launched out of their cars and drew their weapons “Hands in the air and then slowly lie on the floor!” barked one of the officers.
Izzy rolled the thoughts around in her head and gathered her mettle. These police officers were powerless humans facing down these powerhouses with guns which might as well have been water pistols, they had no chance in stopping the villains with what they had and they were going to get stepped on. Yet here the stood, sure it was their job but that didn’t really mean anything, they were there because they had made a decision, choosing that they would risk their lives every day for the good of the people and society. She had more power to stop the villains, more power to protect others if she didn’t and anyone else got hurt then it would be on her shoulders. She moved in for a landing.
“You ready to give up yet?” Izzy barked to the four villains who stood in a 2X2 formation facing towards her. The four looked at one another like they weren’t sure if she was serious or not and then they began to laugh.
“Before we start again can I ask you one quick question?” She asked, she raised her hand to ask the question like she was at some sort of town hall meeting.
“Yeah sure go ahead,” Wrecker waved his hand dismissively. He couldn’t help but smile, he was enjoying this whole fight more than any in a while.
“What exactly is the thought process on you all dressing like a mix between professional wrestlers and a construction crew? It seems…I don’t know….dumb? Counterproductive? Corny?”
“It was a whole thing…magic crowbar enchanted by the gods.” Wrecker seemed to be getting annoyed, he had been asked this question before.
“What’s with the masks too? Your identities are part of the public record, we all know who you are. I’ll give you Bulldozer over there, his clearly serves a purpose….even if it is dumb.”
“Isn’t it dumb to call out the power you’re about to use…and clearly flagging up that you can only use one power at a time?” Thunderball asked raising his eyebrows as if it was a very obvious question.
Izzy sighed mentally thinking “Ok let’s stick with what ‘worked’.” She instead however said as quietly as she could ‘speed’. She covered the distance strafing to the left of the group, they moved in slow motion as they tried to spot her. She peppered the back of Thunderball’s head with a series of punches, it felt like she was hitting steel or stone, she darted back off to a safe distance for a second to see if he had felt it. He began to turn clearly acknowledging it but showing no real pain.
She darted in towards Wrecker, she stood face to face with him and again unleashed a series of punches. This time she aimed directly at his eyes, she managed to hit him about ten times before she saw the blood vessels in his eyes start to blur. His arm moved up in an arcing motion towards her. She dropped backwards to the floor ‘Pentablast’ she barked quickly as he world sped up. She unleashed one powerful set of eye beams before launching back into ‘speed’ and hurtled passed Piledriver who was now running towards where she had been a second earlier.
“Strength,” she said before lifting her foot from the floor and driving it down onto the back of his knee tripping him to the floor.
Bulldozer was on her a second later, she was flustered for a moment trying to decide on whether she should protect herself with speed or invulnerability, this let him get another step or two closer before she managed to call ‘Speed’. She turned to run and came face to face with Thunderball, she tried to stop but instead ran into him. The jolt slowed her down to normal speed.
The ground shook as Wrecker collided with the floor on his return trip towards the Earth. Thunderball’s arms wrapped around her and tightened instantly. It felt like she was trapped in a vice. ‘Strength’ she managed to mumble, the pain still tore through her body, she was sure her bones would break at any second. She pushed with all of her might against his arms and felt them loosen as she pushed them further and further apart. Her hands gripped onto his arms and she pushed them apart. They were marched in strength though so it wasn’t exactly easy. She heard the pounding of footsteps behind her as all three of the others rushed towards them.
“Pentablast,” she barked before unleashing a blast at Thunderball’s face. ‘Speed’ she barked afterwards. She ducked under the swinging crowbar of a visibly angry Wrecker and slid through the gap between Piledriver and Bulldozer.
“I need to keep them separated, slow their movement,” she lectured herself thinking out loud. “Pentablasts,” she commanded before firing volley after volley at the Earth at their feet. She kept moving, human speed rather than at superspeed so that she could keep up the blasts. She kept focused on the ground beneath their feet obliterating chunks of asphalt with blasts with each second, the ground cracked and splintered and the villains stumbled and fell into the growing holes.
Billowing clouds of dusts flew up into the air obscuring the villains from view. Izzy stopped and breathed in deeply, her heart was pounding and her lungs burning as she tried to catch her breath. She hadn’t realised just how much she had exerted herself.
The dust started to settle. Her heart fell as the four figures stood up making sure they found some sort of sure footing. They apart from Wrecker’s reddened eyes and Piledriver favouring one leg were unharmed.
“We’ve held back for this time, would you mind if we provide some assistance,” the voice was speaking calmly in her mind.
“Who is that?” Izzy asked as she turned to try and look for who was talking to her and why they seemed so close.
“We’re allies, we’re where you got the Exo-Specs from which you’ve clearly been working well to master. We thought we’d let you tackle these three but it’s clear that they are enhanced individuals who could take on a battalion or two and you might need some team work. Are you willing to have our assistance?”
“Oh God yes,” nodded Smasher.
“Look up,” said the voice, she could sense the face which was the source of the voice was smiling in her mind.
Smasher looked up followed a split second by the Wrecking Crew. There above her appeared 7 figures floating in the air in a straight line formation.
Oracle held out her hand whilst pressing another to her head. “Magically or cosmically enhanced…warded to some degree against telepathy. I still think I could drop them if needed, definitely via touch,” she assessed. Oracle’s species were formidable psychics with the right training, their very nerve cells pulsed with Psychic energy like a second nervous system, touching someone skin to skin increased the effects of her powers dramatically.
“I can handle it very quickly by dumping them into the Darkforce if you’d like,” Nightshade said as she cracked her neck and formed dark tendrils around her body like the legs of an octopus of squid which whipped through the air around her body.
“When was the last time you lot recruited someone to the Guard?” Starbolt grinned with a shake of his head. “You give them a big welcome, give them a little bit of a show if you can. Permission to call this one Praetor?”
Oracle grinned and nodded.
“Right, let’s see,” Starbolt clapped his hands sending a shower of sparks tumbling to the ground like a welding torch as he thought “Nightshade you can take the one with brown skin…make it a bit showy though. Neutron punch the one in the red and white with yellow hair. Astra handle the one with a metallic head and Fang take the one with the metal pole. We three will hover here and judge you.”
The four descended to the floor and touched down gracefully. Fang, Astra and Neutron burst into runs towards the enemy. Fang dropped to all fours and quickly began to outpace the others. Not even he was fast enough though to out-speed Nightshade’s Darkforce. She merely reached out her hand and darkness swelled across the ground from her feet across the distance to Thunderball. A tentacle wrapped his leg before hauling him into the air upside down. He let out a wail of concern and surprise before the tentacle flicked towards the sky sending him tumbling upwards before Gravity took its control and pulled him down into the dark puddle which had grown on the floor. He vanished from sight.
The others took their eyes off the Guardians for a second to look at their disappearing friend. Fang capitalized on the error from The Wrecker. He launched into the air towards the villain grabbing his crowbar, he used it like a swing bar and whipped his body weight around behind him. He delivered three swift kicks to the face of the villain before turning on a dime and slashing his claws down Wrecker’s face. He somersaulted back just missing the hard metal blow from the weapon as the villain swung at him.
Wrecker yelled in anger and pain before grunting in pain as the body of Piledriver collided with him sending them both to the floor. Fang stood to his full height and looked across as Neutron who was currently correcting his stance following the ‘follow through’ from his mighty hit to Piledriver’s face which had sent the villain hurtling towards him. It was a ‘technical foul’ in their fighting etiquette to take out a foe who your team mate had on the ropes.
A dark portal opened up above the villains letting the figure of Thunderball drop from it on top of them. The three of them grumbled as they began to climb to their feet and faced their foes, Thunderball looked shaken by his trip through the Darkforce as many who had been through the same journey often did.
Bulldozer distracted both groups as he let out a massive shriek of pain. When they looked to him he was doubled over on the floor, the long brown haired female figure of Astra was stood in the central mass of his body. Her waist was pressed into his shoulder blades whilst her legs stuck through his chest and parts of his legs.
“Should I knock him out or play with my food?” she asked with a shrug. She increased her density slightly causing her own face to flinch slightly but causing another scream of pain from the behemoth who she had floored.
“Let’s drop them quick…look out!” barked Fang with a sudden animal like growl as the three villains launched towards them. Thunderball’s wrecking ball span through the air colliding with Neutron who had been too slow to get out of the way, he flew sideways but brought himself to the ground quickly by increasing his own gravity slightly which gouged a hole in the floor.
Nightshade stretched out her arms and moulded the darkness into a wrecking ball of her own. It swung around her first by its long chain without her having to move and then around her in an orbit like a moon around a planet. It split into three as it did, the three span on slightly different axis but never connecting with one another. She threw out her arms and the three balls hurtled at the Wrecking Crew.
Piledriver and Thunderball took blasts directly to the face tumbling backwards whilst Wrecker managed to dodge, the two who fell looked like they were going to catch themselves with only a slight stumble when suddenly a shadow fell over them. Neutron had hurtled into the air with his flight belt before cutting it off and increasing his gravity, he came down legs akimbo with one foot into the face of each of them. Their skulls collided with the floor with a loud crunch.
Nightshade snaked her darkness around them. Their fight was done.
Fang swept sideways staying low to the ground, his shoulder blades stood up from his back like blades as he darted sideways. He slashed at Wrecker’s Achilles’ tendon with his razor sharp claws sending a splash of blood before delivering a strong sweeping kick which sent him crumbling to the floor like a ton of bricks. The darkness took him.
The three looked over at Astra who nodded to them and reached her hand into the head of Bulldozer through his helmet and tensed for a second. He didn’t scream this time but simply slumped forward. She had caused no permanent damage but had just shunted his system more than it was physically capable of handling.
The three who hung in the air above Smasher drifted towards their comrades, Smasher followed unconsciously until they stood in a small group over the bodies of their foes. “You think your Earth law enforcement will be a problem?” asked Fang.
“Nah they’ll have superhero protocols set up….wait did you say Earth law enforcement? You guys are aliens?”
The group were unable to answer as a series of spotlights shone down on them from above. The light was blinding. A series of four or five ships decloaked above them. Red, green and blue target lights danced around their chests and heads. They moved into fighting stances.
A voice from the loud speakers of the ships began to speak. “This is Abigail Brand commander of S.W.O.R.D. You are a military force currently trespassing without prior knowledge on a sovereign planet and are being placed under arrest for further questioning” there was a pause “with the formalities out of the way let me make this clear, get your hands in the air and get down on your knees before we atomise you…there will not be a second warning!”
To Be Continued….
It had been uncounted eons since the force came into existence, when the first living thing sparked into life it was formed, soaring through the endless, universe the sum total of all future births and psionic energy which came with that life. It was eternal and all powerful holding within it the power of all gods, all demons, all races and species whether they were carbon based, silicon based or anyone of the other basic forms throughout the levels of creation. It deserved to be worshipped.
They were amongst its worshippers.
Their ship soared through the Milky Way Stargate 2814 which was colloquially known amongst the gate users as ‘the Earth gate’. The tone with which you spoke of the gate could tell you a lot about the speakers. Those who guffawed and sneered knew of Earth relatively limited technology in comparison to their own, those whose voices trembled knew of the might of those present. The Cleric spoke with disdain.
The High church of the Phoenix viewed Earth as a holy paradox. It was a holy place but also a source of great corruption. It was here centuries ago that a holy man named Feron gave a new facet and name to the ancient force into that of the phoenix. It was also the place that the force took on its most complete vessel in the form of the X-Man Jean Grey and was then tainted by Terrans.
The church did not shy away from this dichotomy, they had always embraced the paradox of the force. In the Shi’ar galaxy where the church truly flourished the Phoenix was viewed as both divine and corrupting. The Rook’shir, one of their own number had effectively managed to channel and be possessed by the Force and had used its power to kill billions across the breadth of the galaxy. Yet they still understood what the Phoenix was, the power of all life. They knew that the food that they ate, the air that they breathed and all of their loved ones were only possible because of the Force.
The Church of the Phoenix was treated with the respect and deference that you would give to any psychopomp who could not only lift you to a place of bliss and peace but drag you through the torture zones in the darkest recesses of their underworld. Yet their religious practice had to be undertaken in secret, hidden in the shadows of the society.
“Arkonian,” said one of the Clerics, dressed in his red and orange robes. The name was a title rather than a proper-noun. In Terran it meant something akin to both General and Father. The Arkonian was both the spiritual leader of the fleet and its military commander. They were both Aerie, though the church saw no separation of species as we are all children of the Phoenix. Their feather plumes on their head stood proudly, the edges of their feathers had been singed and smoked gently. “The last of the fleet have passed through the gate and are ready to advance.”
“Are we sure that the Guard have fled to Feron’s Rest?” he spoke in reference to scripture of Earth.
“Yes Arkonian,” he nodded in a gently bow, “The trail leading to Feron’s Rest matches their ship, it is 8 Chandalarian days old.”
“Continue as planned, their ship was damaged beyond repair, they do not yet know that their life force will be removed from the Phoenix but it will be done.”
# # # # # # # # # #
Earth, De Moines, Iowa…
“Now this is something that I like about this planet,” said Starbolt as he lay on his back in the middle of Chamberlin park soaking up the rays of sunlight. “Not as hot as I’d like but still nice.” He said in his strong, deeply toned voice which echoed from his throat.
“I’m sure we can find you a volcano if you really want,” Fang stretched out and twisted his neck and spine. He looked positively feline as he did so, though in truth his species evolved from a creature very different to the cats of Earth. “This does it for me though.”
“Enjoy it while you can,” Oracle gave a strong word. She watched carefully a pair of joggers who were running along the path which wound through the park chatting about some girl they had went to college with. They had a small terran animal with them running alongside tethered to one of them. It was pulling on the leash and barking at them. She extended her hand towards it, she had been focusing on sight and sound of the humans in the area and had not considered more olfactory creatures. She clouded its mind, it was a slightly different skill than tackling higher level minds.
“I know you’re the praetor Oracle but could we not just enjoy this a little while longer, I think even Gladiator would give us a slide at the minute” asked Starbolt as he turned his face to look at her. He hadn’t meant it as a slight, he hadn’t meant to question her authority. It had been pure familiarity amongst friends. Oracle still however had to maintain her command structure tightly, especially given their current situation.
“I trust you remember why Gladiator isn’t here Guardian. Only the Gods know where he is at the moment going through who knows what whilst the Imperium crumbles. We are here on a mission not a pleasure cruise and it would do you well not to forget that.” She spoke with ice in her voice, it was cold enough to combat the heat that Starbolt put out.
“I’m grateful for the respite but I think I’ll be good to go anytime now,” Nightshade spoke cutting through the tension which she felt had become palpable. They had taken a slight delay in the mission because she had fallen ill from some terran virus or other. They team had managed to help heal her and she had been gathering her strength for the last day.
Now that she was healed she would be able to teleport them to their ultimate target of New York City to seek out the heroes of Earth to enlist their help in the Shi’ar empire which was currently in dire straits.
“Good,” Oracle said with a nod to her comrade. “I think we can afford another hour first though, a rested team will be best prepared for the trials that we will have coming.”
“We fight here?” asked Neutron as his fingers raked through the ground to make his point clear. He was not adept at verbal communication despite years of serving with the Guardians having come from a non-auditory communicating species.
“I would assume so,” Manta as was her way, hovered above the ground as she spoke. She was wise beyond her years and seemed to be able to see many things clearer than others. Some wondered whether this was one of her heightened abilities. “It seems to be a tradition or ritual amongst the enhanced class of citizens of Earth.”
“Let them come,” Fang grinned. He had that feral look in his eye that the others recognised well from his predecessor who they had all worked with. “I’ve been itching to test myself against one of Earth’s champions since I memory viewed previous clashes,” he growled gently as he spoke almost in a purr. He was an artificial being grown in a tank who had been implanted with the memories of the last Fang…even if he had hatched a little sooner than intended.
“Don’t underestimate them young’un,” Starbolt said. He had a gentle ribbing tone in his voice, it was clear though that he respected the attitude. He and the old Fang had spent a lot of time fighting side by side on the front lines….and in bars all across the galaxy. This younger version seemed even more cocksure of himself and crazy to boot.
“Less of the ‘young’un flamebrain, it’s the same old Fang just in a new and improved body,” he laughed. Starbolt joined him.
“The sooner we get out of here the better if you ask me,” Astra pouted. Her skin was still smeared with a thick coating of some Earth cream or another to keep her rash at bay. It had started to cause her feathers to moult too. Nightshade may have recovered from her illness but there was still something which was irritating Astra mightily. She sat partially phased so that whatever was effecting her skin wouldn’t get a chance to come into contact with it anymore. It hadn’t seemed to help too much.
“We’ll be heading back home soon enough Astra, don’t you worry,” informed Oracle with a confident nod. She didn’t mean to right then but she couldn’t help but pick up mentally the thoughts from some of her team. Their home was currently burning, when this mission was over they would go right back into a multi-way war between the factions which had arisen. It was not a situation which would be easily solved.
# # # # # # # # # #
Elsewhere in Demoines, American first national bank of Iowa….
The alarm had just stopped blaring thanks to a powerful fist by Piledriver which had punched a hole in the wall about the size of a soccerball. “Thank God for that,” he pressed one of his oversized fingers against the middle of his ear and wiggled it gently.
“Ready to roll Bulldozer?” asked Wrecker as he ripped the teller’s desk from the ground and threw it sideways sending a horde of people scattering with screams of terror.
“Born ready Wrecker,” he said as he stamped his feet a few times on the floor to create a groove like the blocks of an Olympic runner. He pressed his hands to the floor and tilted his head down.
“Can I still suggest that we would be more effective by pulling on the door,” Thunderball stood back from his team mates working on crowd control at the minute. This consisted of standing there looking threatening and giving everyone that ‘don’t think about it’ glare that he had perfected as an 8-foot tall supervillain. It wasn’t too dissimilar to his ‘what do you mean you want an extension on your term paper’ look which he had long ago perfected when he was working at the university.
“Shut it Thunderball you big egg-head,” growled Bulldozer, he was the one who was furthest away from Thunderball intellectually and whilst it was Thunderball and Wrecker who ended up butting heads more often than not there was a constant underlying conflict with Bulldozer.
“Ok,” he held up his hands to show that he wasn’t going to argue the point anymore. He had learned a long time ago when he was dealing with his team mates that he could often use his intellect to push them in the direction he wanted them to sometimes it was best to let them blow off steam.
Bulldozer laughed, he’d won this round and felt like he had one over on Thunderball before he launched forward head first down the little corridor out of the bank’s main foyer. The other three members of the Wrecking Crew listened intently.
They heard the loud clanging ring followed by a loud curse word. Thunderball gave Wrecker and Piledriver a smug look. “Don’t even say it Thunderball, don’t even say it!” warned Wrecker as he shook his head and began to walk down the corridor. The others followed.
They found Bulldozer sans helmet rubbing his head half way down. “Maybe we should think about some padding Bull, last thing we need is you to get screwy with a concussion like that wrestler guy,” Said Piledriver as he slapped his friend on the back and helped him to his feet.
“It’ll take more than that to dent this noggin,” he tapped stoutly on his head.
“Looks like you’ve wedged the outer part of the door into the reinforced bars pretty well,” Wrecker nodded as he inspected the door, he had experience with vaults. “Seriously not one word, this was your idea remember.”
Thunderball sighed, “it was my idea to come to a state not overrun with superheroes to do some robberies yes but…” he shook his hand in the air “Let’s just forget it. This isn’t rocket science, which I could do FYI. We’ve got a magic crowbar and three other guys with super strength.”
“Finally something sensible out of your mouth,” said Wrecker as he span the crowbar in his hands and wedged it into the gap by the edge of the door.
“Once more unto the breach dear friends,” said Thunderball with a gracious nod.
“What are you talking about Franklin,” asked Piledriver as he sidled up next to him to get ready to pull.”
“It’s the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death this year, thought I’d inject some culture.”
“Well save it for that wine tasting club you go to with the Mad Thinker, this band of brothers don’t need no bard,” Piledriver smiled with a nod. The four began to pull. The door screamed before finally pulling clear as it twisted and bent.
The four then looked into the vault. “He that wants money, means, and content is without three good friends,” Thunderbolt quoted then looked at his colleagues “sorry.”
“I don’t think it was Shakespeare who said it guys but, money money money money,” began Wrecker.
“Money,” finished the others with a laugh as they set into the vault.
Minutes later The Wrecking Crew left the bank in high spirits. They looked at the crowd who were lined up at what they thought was a safe distance so they could get a good look at the big time supervillains who had come to town.
“The modern capacity to put themselves in harms way to get a photo on their phone knows no bounds does it?” asked Thunderball with a wry smile.
“Can I juggle some cars to give them something to look at?” asked Bulldozer as he waved to the crowd. Iowa was not New York, super crime didn’t really draw crowds the way it used to out on the right coast.
“How about you put the money down instead,” said a voice from above them. ‘Good start Izzy’ she added to herself mentally. Her heart with in her throat, she had butterflies in her stomach and she was sure her super-heroic debut was going to end in her wetting her pants. She was debating whether tacking four supervillains head on was the best of ideas.
She began to lower herself to the ground. When she touched down she very quietly to herself made the command “Invulnerability.”
The four members of the Wrecking Crew looked at one another before finally settling with three of them staring at Thunderball “This doesn’t make me wrong!” he lectured as he held up his hand not wanting to hear their complaints “Have any of you seen her before? How was I supposed to know Iowa had a super-hero. If we were in the Bronx we would’ve had Thor or Captain America or someone standing here instead.”
Wrecked shrugged “Good point, well made,” he nodded “Yo lady who are you?”
“Yeah we like to know who we’re pummelling,” laughed Piledriver. “Four of us up against little you.”
“I’m Smasher,” said Smasher adding ‘apparently’ mentally. The exo-specs seemed very set on her name and whereas she could call herself something else this seemed easy enough.
“Smasher?” repeated The Wrecker. “Is this a try-out?” He turned his head and pulled an interested face. “Smasher could fit well in the naming scheme of the group don’t you think guys.”
“We could totally have a chick on the team, might make things a bit more interesting….one that flies too,” Bulldozer nodded. He through instinct moved his entire upper body in a nodding motion, his usual mask not allowing for much subtle body language.
“I am not auditioning,” she yelled towards them “I’m here to stop you…if that’s ok.”
The four started laughing, belly laughs which caused them to double over resting their hands on their knees to steady themselves. This was going to be a funny story at the villain bar when they circled back to the big apple.
“Let’s pretend I didn’t say that,” said Izzy with a cringe “let’s just pretend the fight started like this.” ‘Activate speed’ she whispered quietly before launching forward. The Wrecking Crew weren’t paying too much attention but had they then they still wouldn’t have seen her coming. She covered the distance between them in a second.
“Strength activate,” she commanded herself before slamming her fist full force into the gut of Piledriver. She had never actually been in a real fight but her Grandfather had taught her to defend herself and throw a mean punch as soon as she’d been old enough for boys to notice her. “Speed activate,” she was at a safe distance before she turned to face them. Piledriver crumbled to his feet fighting for breath.
The other three members turned to look at him and then back to Smasher. She was now hovering about thirty feet in the air. She pressed her advantage making sure to keep up the offence on the three men, she switched to her ‘Penta-Beams’ she began to blast energy bolts from her eyes. It was easy for her to aim by just looking at the thing that she wanted to fire at. The fact that she began to drop from her hovering position the second she activated the power, this was something she had practiced for.
The beams of red energy struck Wrecker and Bulldozer in the face and chest before she switched back to flight, regained height and unleashed a volley of blasts against Thunderball. The grimaced and cringed away from the painful blasts but with their enhanced strength were more than capable of standing their ground. That was except Thunderball, he took a step back and looked weakened.
“Take him out and then figure out the rest Izzy,” she instructed herself. She corrected her position in the air before again switching to ‘Penta-Beams’, she began to drop and shifted her attention to Thunderball. She let out a shriek of surprise as instead of setting her sights on the villain she instead saw the rapidly approaching wrecking ball.
She activated her flight power as quickly as she could and twisted her body in the air. The wrecking ball glanced against her shoulder sending her spinning on all three axis towards the ground. She had been suckered in by Thunderball’s play acting.
“That was brilliant lad,” Piledriver laughed as he launched into a run towards the tumbling Smasher.
Izzy managed to gain control and slow her descent just a second before she collided with the floor. Pain launched through her body even at the slower speed. “Should have switched to invulnerability,” she corrected herself as she took a deep breath, pain rippled through her body but she didn’t think anything was particularly damaged.
She opened her eyes as she pushed herself up into a crouched positon “Invulnerability” she yelled, she felt her power activate just in time as Piledriver’s boot connected with her midsection. She was punted into the air about ten feet before crashing down with a bounce. She quickly rolled back to her feet. “Hurts….but not enough,” she grinned towards him.
“Speed,” she grinned.
“Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength…. Speed….Strength….” she repeated over and over again as she burst into a quick dash in one direction or another and unleashed a powerful blow. Piledriver just flailed at her whilst she easily dodged his blows before unleashing her own.
She was luckily on Speed when she felt a change in the pressure around her, a hand touched gently against her shoulder. Wrecker made contact, she didn’t have enough time to wriggle free but she did have just enough to speak at her enhanced speed ‘invulnerability’.
Her body was hauled upwards before being slammed back into the floor, again and again. Wrecker shifted his hands to get a better grip before turning “Batter up!” he called before spinning and unleashing her in a strong one armed throw.
“Ow,” was all Izzy could think about. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt before, if not for her powers then clearly she would have been dead. She was self-aware enough to be able to cycle through her powers mentally in the second she travelled, trying to think if she could change course with her flight or avoid the coming blow by switching to strength to land one massive sucker punch on whoever she was about to collide with but they were both too risky. If she got rid of her invulnerability and they got a hit in against her then she was done.
Thunderball’s wrecking ball, which he had dutifully collected, collided with her during its massive arcing swing. She was flung backwards and into the air again. “I maybe should have thought this through a little more,” she scolded herself.
Izzy had wanted to be a hero for as long as she could remember, it seemed like it was meant to be and here she was getting her ass kicked on her very first outing. Sure maybe tackling The Wrecking Crew as part of her debut wasn’t the most sensible thing, a simple armed robbery or something would’ve been perfect but given that these were the cards she was dealt she had little other choice.
She span and tumbled on two axis through the air forced back by the power of Thunderball’s strike. She stretched out with her will and slowly stopped her spin before stopping herself altogether. Flight was a difficult thing to describe she had realised as she thought about it, it was not like falling, not like swimming as she could imagine but rather more like rock climbing in some ways. You reached out with your cells and grip the air, the force of gravity still pulling down on you calling you back to the Earth and then the movement was like sliding down a slide.
She began to fly hesitantly, even a little slowly towards the four men who were standing on the ground looking up to her. “is there any shame in running away?” she asked herself “You wanted to give this a try, you did that but you’ve bitten off more than you can chew, save your life and just them rob the place.” She reasoned, maybe she wasn’t like her grandpa, maybe she wasn’t cut out for this life.
Sirens drew her attention as four police cars hurtled onto the scene and skidding into formation at a safe distance from the Crew. The police launched out of their cars and drew their weapons “Hands in the air and then slowly lie on the floor!” barked one of the officers.
Izzy rolled the thoughts around in her head and gathered her mettle. These police officers were powerless humans facing down these powerhouses with guns which might as well have been water pistols, they had no chance in stopping the villains with what they had and they were going to get stepped on. Yet here the stood, sure it was their job but that didn’t really mean anything, they were there because they had made a decision, choosing that they would risk their lives every day for the good of the people and society. She had more power to stop the villains, more power to protect others if she didn’t and anyone else got hurt then it would be on her shoulders. She moved in for a landing.
“You ready to give up yet?” Izzy barked to the four villains who stood in a 2X2 formation facing towards her. The four looked at one another like they weren’t sure if she was serious or not and then they began to laugh.
“Before we start again can I ask you one quick question?” She asked, she raised her hand to ask the question like she was at some sort of town hall meeting.
“Yeah sure go ahead,” Wrecker waved his hand dismissively. He couldn’t help but smile, he was enjoying this whole fight more than any in a while.
“What exactly is the thought process on you all dressing like a mix between professional wrestlers and a construction crew? It seems…I don’t know….dumb? Counterproductive? Corny?”
“It was a whole thing…magic crowbar enchanted by the gods.” Wrecker seemed to be getting annoyed, he had been asked this question before.
“What’s with the masks too? Your identities are part of the public record, we all know who you are. I’ll give you Bulldozer over there, his clearly serves a purpose….even if it is dumb.”
“Isn’t it dumb to call out the power you’re about to use…and clearly flagging up that you can only use one power at a time?” Thunderball asked raising his eyebrows as if it was a very obvious question.
Izzy sighed mentally thinking “Ok let’s stick with what ‘worked’.” She instead however said as quietly as she could ‘speed’. She covered the distance strafing to the left of the group, they moved in slow motion as they tried to spot her. She peppered the back of Thunderball’s head with a series of punches, it felt like she was hitting steel or stone, she darted back off to a safe distance for a second to see if he had felt it. He began to turn clearly acknowledging it but showing no real pain.
She darted in towards Wrecker, she stood face to face with him and again unleashed a series of punches. This time she aimed directly at his eyes, she managed to hit him about ten times before she saw the blood vessels in his eyes start to blur. His arm moved up in an arcing motion towards her. She dropped backwards to the floor ‘Pentablast’ she barked quickly as he world sped up. She unleashed one powerful set of eye beams before launching back into ‘speed’ and hurtled passed Piledriver who was now running towards where she had been a second earlier.
“Strength,” she said before lifting her foot from the floor and driving it down onto the back of his knee tripping him to the floor.
Bulldozer was on her a second later, she was flustered for a moment trying to decide on whether she should protect herself with speed or invulnerability, this let him get another step or two closer before she managed to call ‘Speed’. She turned to run and came face to face with Thunderball, she tried to stop but instead ran into him. The jolt slowed her down to normal speed.
The ground shook as Wrecker collided with the floor on his return trip towards the Earth. Thunderball’s arms wrapped around her and tightened instantly. It felt like she was trapped in a vice. ‘Strength’ she managed to mumble, the pain still tore through her body, she was sure her bones would break at any second. She pushed with all of her might against his arms and felt them loosen as she pushed them further and further apart. Her hands gripped onto his arms and she pushed them apart. They were marched in strength though so it wasn’t exactly easy. She heard the pounding of footsteps behind her as all three of the others rushed towards them.
“Pentablast,” she barked before unleashing a blast at Thunderball’s face. ‘Speed’ she barked afterwards. She ducked under the swinging crowbar of a visibly angry Wrecker and slid through the gap between Piledriver and Bulldozer.
“I need to keep them separated, slow their movement,” she lectured herself thinking out loud. “Pentablasts,” she commanded before firing volley after volley at the Earth at their feet. She kept moving, human speed rather than at superspeed so that she could keep up the blasts. She kept focused on the ground beneath their feet obliterating chunks of asphalt with blasts with each second, the ground cracked and splintered and the villains stumbled and fell into the growing holes.
Billowing clouds of dusts flew up into the air obscuring the villains from view. Izzy stopped and breathed in deeply, her heart was pounding and her lungs burning as she tried to catch her breath. She hadn’t realised just how much she had exerted herself.
The dust started to settle. Her heart fell as the four figures stood up making sure they found some sort of sure footing. They apart from Wrecker’s reddened eyes and Piledriver favouring one leg were unharmed.
“We’ve held back for this time, would you mind if we provide some assistance,” the voice was speaking calmly in her mind.
“Who is that?” Izzy asked as she turned to try and look for who was talking to her and why they seemed so close.
“We’re allies, we’re where you got the Exo-Specs from which you’ve clearly been working well to master. We thought we’d let you tackle these three but it’s clear that they are enhanced individuals who could take on a battalion or two and you might need some team work. Are you willing to have our assistance?”
“Oh God yes,” nodded Smasher.
“Look up,” said the voice, she could sense the face which was the source of the voice was smiling in her mind.
Smasher looked up followed a split second by the Wrecking Crew. There above her appeared 7 figures floating in the air in a straight line formation.
Oracle held out her hand whilst pressing another to her head. “Magically or cosmically enhanced…warded to some degree against telepathy. I still think I could drop them if needed, definitely via touch,” she assessed. Oracle’s species were formidable psychics with the right training, their very nerve cells pulsed with Psychic energy like a second nervous system, touching someone skin to skin increased the effects of her powers dramatically.
“I can handle it very quickly by dumping them into the Darkforce if you’d like,” Nightshade said as she cracked her neck and formed dark tendrils around her body like the legs of an octopus of squid which whipped through the air around her body.
“When was the last time you lot recruited someone to the Guard?” Starbolt grinned with a shake of his head. “You give them a big welcome, give them a little bit of a show if you can. Permission to call this one Praetor?”
Oracle grinned and nodded.
“Right, let’s see,” Starbolt clapped his hands sending a shower of sparks tumbling to the ground like a welding torch as he thought “Nightshade you can take the one with brown skin…make it a bit showy though. Neutron punch the one in the red and white with yellow hair. Astra handle the one with a metallic head and Fang take the one with the metal pole. We three will hover here and judge you.”
The four descended to the floor and touched down gracefully. Fang, Astra and Neutron burst into runs towards the enemy. Fang dropped to all fours and quickly began to outpace the others. Not even he was fast enough though to out-speed Nightshade’s Darkforce. She merely reached out her hand and darkness swelled across the ground from her feet across the distance to Thunderball. A tentacle wrapped his leg before hauling him into the air upside down. He let out a wail of concern and surprise before the tentacle flicked towards the sky sending him tumbling upwards before Gravity took its control and pulled him down into the dark puddle which had grown on the floor. He vanished from sight.
The others took their eyes off the Guardians for a second to look at their disappearing friend. Fang capitalized on the error from The Wrecker. He launched into the air towards the villain grabbing his crowbar, he used it like a swing bar and whipped his body weight around behind him. He delivered three swift kicks to the face of the villain before turning on a dime and slashing his claws down Wrecker’s face. He somersaulted back just missing the hard metal blow from the weapon as the villain swung at him.
Wrecker yelled in anger and pain before grunting in pain as the body of Piledriver collided with him sending them both to the floor. Fang stood to his full height and looked across as Neutron who was currently correcting his stance following the ‘follow through’ from his mighty hit to Piledriver’s face which had sent the villain hurtling towards him. It was a ‘technical foul’ in their fighting etiquette to take out a foe who your team mate had on the ropes.
A dark portal opened up above the villains letting the figure of Thunderball drop from it on top of them. The three of them grumbled as they began to climb to their feet and faced their foes, Thunderball looked shaken by his trip through the Darkforce as many who had been through the same journey often did.
Bulldozer distracted both groups as he let out a massive shriek of pain. When they looked to him he was doubled over on the floor, the long brown haired female figure of Astra was stood in the central mass of his body. Her waist was pressed into his shoulder blades whilst her legs stuck through his chest and parts of his legs.
“Should I knock him out or play with my food?” she asked with a shrug. She increased her density slightly causing her own face to flinch slightly but causing another scream of pain from the behemoth who she had floored.
“Let’s drop them quick…look out!” barked Fang with a sudden animal like growl as the three villains launched towards them. Thunderball’s wrecking ball span through the air colliding with Neutron who had been too slow to get out of the way, he flew sideways but brought himself to the ground quickly by increasing his own gravity slightly which gouged a hole in the floor.
Nightshade stretched out her arms and moulded the darkness into a wrecking ball of her own. It swung around her first by its long chain without her having to move and then around her in an orbit like a moon around a planet. It split into three as it did, the three span on slightly different axis but never connecting with one another. She threw out her arms and the three balls hurtled at the Wrecking Crew.
Piledriver and Thunderball took blasts directly to the face tumbling backwards whilst Wrecker managed to dodge, the two who fell looked like they were going to catch themselves with only a slight stumble when suddenly a shadow fell over them. Neutron had hurtled into the air with his flight belt before cutting it off and increasing his gravity, he came down legs akimbo with one foot into the face of each of them. Their skulls collided with the floor with a loud crunch.
Nightshade snaked her darkness around them. Their fight was done.
Fang swept sideways staying low to the ground, his shoulder blades stood up from his back like blades as he darted sideways. He slashed at Wrecker’s Achilles’ tendon with his razor sharp claws sending a splash of blood before delivering a strong sweeping kick which sent him crumbling to the floor like a ton of bricks. The darkness took him.
The three looked over at Astra who nodded to them and reached her hand into the head of Bulldozer through his helmet and tensed for a second. He didn’t scream this time but simply slumped forward. She had caused no permanent damage but had just shunted his system more than it was physically capable of handling.
The three who hung in the air above Smasher drifted towards their comrades, Smasher followed unconsciously until they stood in a small group over the bodies of their foes. “You think your Earth law enforcement will be a problem?” asked Fang.
“Nah they’ll have superhero protocols set up….wait did you say Earth law enforcement? You guys are aliens?”
The group were unable to answer as a series of spotlights shone down on them from above. The light was blinding. A series of four or five ships decloaked above them. Red, green and blue target lights danced around their chests and heads. They moved into fighting stances.
A voice from the loud speakers of the ships began to speak. “This is Abigail Brand commander of S.W.O.R.D. You are a military force currently trespassing without prior knowledge on a sovereign planet and are being placed under arrest for further questioning” there was a pause “with the formalities out of the way let me make this clear, get your hands in the air and get down on your knees before we atomise you…there will not be a second warning!”
To Be Continued….