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Posts: 1674
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Mainframe sent out a distress call to the remaining members of the Superhuman Defense League. Bombshell and Crimson Shield responded within hours. Bombshell was the first to arrive.
“I got here as quickly as I could” she explained “I had to finish up evacuating the civilians first.”
Mark quickly explained the situation to Melanie and she was appalled by the turn of events. Sirens blared as an ambulance with a military escort rolled into view. Mark had called them right after the battle was over. Coordinating with the National Guard must have taken awhile though.
“Sir, General Viceroy apologizes for the delay. He had to cut through a lot of red tape to authorize this” a soldier said to Mainframe with a quick salute and then he rushed off to set up a perimeter.
“General Viceroy?” Bombshell asked curious.
“President Westlake gave me his name in case we ever needed military support, sort of his way of saying thank you for the whole H.A.R.M. incident.”*see issue #13*
Midnight was loaded into the ambulance while a crane was used to place the Voltage “statue” onto a flatbed truck. It was determined that Midnight was merely in a coma from serious head trauma but he still lived, at least for now. The Avenger was taken to S. Katherine General under military guard while the flatbed took Voltage on a trip back to Sentinel Tower so that Mainframe might find away to break the spell.
“Bombshell, I want you to stay with John at the hospital. I want to go but I need to begin working on a solution to Voltage’s stasis. And I need to get these two power swords to the armory, Harbinger will likely want them protected until he can retrieve them.”
Crimson Shield arrived at Sentinel Tower at about the same time as Mainframe and helped him set up the laboratory to run some tests. Voltage was placed in the middle of the room on a small pedestal which was wired into the computer system. Wires ran off of him in various places and they too were hooked up to different machines and monitors.
Meanwhile aboard the hydrofoil…
Queen Medusa reprimands her followers as she threatens to turn each and every one of them to stone. Vyper, Lady Hydra, and Black Adder cower before her as the snake warriors surround them, weapons drawn and pointed at their backs.
“You three are my commanders, correction were my commanders. There is no reason that I shouldn’t kill you now” she paced back and forth in front of them staring daggers at them all the while “what would you do if you were in my place?”
Vyper was the first to speak “give us a second chance, my Queen” he hissed as he bowed low before her.
“No” she spat “I will not! There is only one way to settle this and redeem yourselves. You must enter the snake pit and battle to the death!”
The snake pit is an arena dug in the ground where gladiators do battle with nothing but their magic. The winner is the last one left alive and is the only one allowed back out of the pit to rejoin the ranks of the Gorgons.
Vyper and Lady Hydra both cringed at the thought of doing battle with their magical talents. Their power swords were the source of their magic and now they were powerless. Black Adder however relished the thought of proving herself once and for all to the Queen.
The hydrofoil made its way to an island in the middle of the Atlantic. Snake warriors went to work digging a pit immediately upon disembarking. The three combatants were taken nearby and placed in cages made of steel so that they could not escape.
As the Gorgon’s prepared for the upcoming battle, Mainframe finished up his tests…
“Luther, I need you to tell his wife, I don’t think I can do it” Mark said to the Crimson Shield as he fought back tears.
“No, he can’t be gone, he just can’t” Luther exclaimed.
“The tests are conclusive. Even his heart has been turned to stone. There’s no way he survived that.”
As the Superhuman Defense league prepared to bury one of their own while wishing another a speedy recovery, other plans were being made by an as yet unknown foe.
Unknown Island in the Atlantic…
The Gorgon’s cheer as Vyper, Hydra, and Adder are tossed into the snake pit to duke it out. Black Adder immediately conjures up several fire bolts that lance out from her fingertips. Vyper quickly dodges one by rolling out of the way while Lady Hydra dives to the side. The two powerless snakes try to come up with a plan of attack.
Vyper tackles the Adder from behind while Lady Hydra stomps on her face while she’s down. The Black Adder shoves Vyper off of her and summons her fire magic once more. An eruption like that from a volcano shoots out of the ground singeing the other two as it forces them to back away.
The powerful Black Adder surrounds herself with a wall of flame forcing her opponents to keep their distance. With no way to reach her and no magic to summon they become easy prey for her own magic. More streams of fire shoot forth hitting each one center mass setting their robes afire.
Hydra falls to the ground screaming in agony as Vyper manages to beat the flames out with his hands though it left them with third degree burns. The firewall finally dissipates and Vyper takes his shot. He dives head on at Black Adder reaching for her throat. Unfortunately for him she was prepared for just such an assault.
The temperature around her rose to scorching levels causing the very air to burn him as he got within range. He began to sweat as the hair on his head burst into flames and the water evaporated from his body causing him to drop dead of dehydration.
Black Adder looked over to see Lady Hydra’s body had been burnt to a crisp and the snake warriors were placing a ladder in the pit providing her a way out. Queen Medusa applauded the cult member’s victory while inside she was plotting the Gorgon’s next attack on the United States.
Epilogue:
Six months later…
The funeral was held off until Midnight was conscious, though still recovering, and could be present. All the members of the Superhuman Defense League to include current members Bombshell, Crimson Shield, and Mainframe were there as well as past members Ghost Ninja and Harbinger. Other members of the superhuman community as yet unknown in the United States were also present having heard of Voltage’s death through media outlets. These included Sphinx and Horus of the Egyptian Elite; Celtic Commando of the British Isles; Boomerang Jane from the Outback, and Ashigaru the Samurai. President Westlake and his Secret Service were also in attendance as well as General Viceroy of the National Guard.
The preacher began with a brief sermon about the afterlife and God’s will. Then he turned it over to Lindsay Cole who stood up and sobbed through a few words of how her husband was an honorable man who would live on through his deeds. Each League member stood up in turn and said their piece about what it was like to fight alongside him and of his courage.
President Westlake posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor for his service to the country and thanked all of the super humans for doing their part in protecting the world from evil.
All the while a shadowy form stood back watching from afar as his plans to unravel the League fell into place.
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thanks, I kind of like it.
