The MetaWar Saga (unfinished)

[Alexander Tau]

Appendix



Cast List

The original 4 members of "Justice" are:

Pulsar, male, 31, Energy Master
Thor, male, 29, Stength
Psyche, female, 28, Telepathy
Speed, male, 26, Speed

The "Early 11" are:

Geo, male, 19, Matter Master
Nova, female, 22, Energy Proj - Fire
Atlas, male, 26, Growth
Kid Flash, male, 16, Speed
Web, female, 28, Web-like Entangle
Apollo, male, 23, Energy Proj - Light
Athena, female, 21, Energy Proj - Concussive fists
Nike, female, 33, Flight
Medusa, female, 30, Telekinesis
Mantis, female, 24, Armor
Pathfinder, female, 19, Mind Scanning

The first set of Teams:

"Justice" Leader Pulsar
Pulsar, Thor, Speed, Psyche, Nova

"Red Team" Leader Apollo
Apollo, Athena, Geo, Cronus, Mantis, Nemesis, Selene, Lightray

"Blue Team" Leader Nike
Nike, Medusa, Talon, Brawler, Web, Shadow, Circe, Raven

"PsiInt Group" Leader Psyche
Psyche, Selene, Circe, Pathfinder, Shadow

The 4 new Speedsters:
Quicksilver, male, 21
Blur, female, 17
Hermes, male, 18
Bluestreak, female, 22

Cronus, male, 27, Strength
Nemesis, female, 23, Acrobat
Selene, female, 31, Telepath
Lightray, male, 19, Flight
Talon, male, 22, Mind Blast
Brawler, male, 23, Strength
Shadow, male, 25, Invisibility
Circe, female, 21, Telepathy
Raven, female, 29, Flight


End of Year 1 - Day 357

"Justice"
Pulsar, Thor, Speed, Psyche, Nova, Sif, Valkyrie, Demon

"Red Team"
Apollo, Athena, Cronus, Mantis, Nemesis, Selene, Lightray, Starfire

"Blue Team"
Nike, Medusa, Talon, Shadow, Circe, Raven, Freya, Ghost

Sif, female,19, Strength
Valkyrie, female, 22, Flight
Demon, male, 18, Acrobat
Starfire, female, 25, Energy Proj - solar energies
Freya, female, 27, Strength
Ghost, female, 23, Density Control

[Alexander Tau]

Author Comments


Well there you have it, the first 'Book' in my MetaHuman saga. I have already learned that I need to edit this a bit and add a little more in the way of descriptions, especially of the characters.

Important Note: I need to check the rating and language rules here. It is possible I need to edit a few words here and there. If that is necessary I will do so.

Comment is invited and my Ego is very secure so you can be honest. Although if you really hate it what would be the point of telling me that? *grins*



A.T
(-)

[Lady Della Lettera]

Not sure if you want the first comment on this story to be from me or not...but you're going to get it.

I see that this story has been improved a bit. It looks different from the one I once read...I haven't completely read this version...yet. But I'm getting there and will get there eventually. *wink*

Good luck with plenty of feedback, love.

-Lady D.

[Alexander Tau]

Comments

I have worked on it a bit, but mostly it looks different because I hit the 10,000 character limit a few times and had to make the 'a' chapters. Really need to do a full revision, add in the stuff I already mentioned, and hunt down some of those annoying typos that still lurk here and there.

Then of course I need to finsh the second book. But we will not get into that one right now. *smiles*


With MetaWar I wanted to just start with the sudden creation of a moderate amount of superpowered people and see where the idea took me. Based on what I know of human nature I decided that the Earth would be in a fair amount of trouble. To be a 'Hero' in real life is no easy thing, and they never last unless they die.

On the other hand a whole lot of people would naturally use their powers for whatever the hell they felt like doing. Human force would not be very effective. Very gloomy really. So I thought what would it take to bring out some heros? And once this happened how could they make it work? How could they change the future which to me seems almost a certainty.

So I put 4 very different people with very different powers in a situation where they had to fight or watch people die. I spent a lot of time creating those 4 people and then I turned them loose in my head to see what they would do.

I write it all first person because that is where the story comes from, those characters. I want it to feel like people telling their stories and most people seem to think it does so I am happy about that.


A.T
(-)

[Alexander Tau]

MetaWar: Changes by Christopher Darque

Table of Contents

1. In Brightest Day I (1)
2. In Brightest Day II
3. Demon & StarGirl
4. Pulsar's Changes (2)
5. Monsters I (2)
6. Monsters II
7. Mountain, Island & Asgard(3)
8. Teen Titans I (4)
9. Teen Titans II
10. Pulsar and the Trial (4)
11. Another City I MT 1 - City 4 I (5)
12. Another City II MT 1 - City 4 II
13. Pulsar Captured I (8)
14. Pulsar Captured II - Drac Finale


WARNING This is unfinished.

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 1


Things had gotten harder.

At the beginning of Year Two we estimated there were only about 100 potentially hostile MetaHumans left in the world.

The bad news was that they had almost all joined some sort of group. Five people we knew little about had the largest numbers of Metas working for/with them, but that left plenty of independents.

They had gotten smarter, or at least less fatally stupid. Our enemies had watched us operate, and had learned.

Case in point, the battle playing out before my eyes.

I was in the new Central inside the Mountain. Nike's team was in combat.

It might help you to understand the situation if I explain something about MetaHuman style fighting.

Everybody goes on and on about Power. How strong Thor is, how many inches of steel I can blast through with which beam, etc.

MetaHuman combat is not about Power. It is about Defenses.

If two humans stand facing each other, pistols in hand, you have a fair fight. Both are equally vulnerable to the weapons, and both have a chance to score a hit.

Face off with me and your pistol becomes useless. Congratulations, you have just become a QK.

Quick Kill.

Remember poor Morgan in Philadelphia? She was a classic QK. Mordred should have shielded her before they walked out of the building, I would have. He left her vulnerable, and once he rejected my final offer, I had Speed QK her.

They suck, they are ugly, and they are how we win battles.

The reason we have not told every story about the MetaHumans we have fought is because in most cases it was not battle, it was slaughter. We would face six dangerous bad-ass Metas, and in ten seconds three of them would be dead.

It was sad, it was a terrible waste, and it was necessary.

Speedsters, Fliers, drones, Telepaths, whatever it takes, but the first stage of any successful Meta battle is learning about your enemy. Does not take a lot if you are experienced. Identify those who can be QKed, and take them out. Then deal with your other problem, the HKs.

Hard Kill.

These are people with natural defenses like Armor or Forcefields. Now the field commander has to make a basic choice, brute strength, or get tricky. Pounding, or blasting a target is one way to go, and often works. It does tend to be hard on the landscape so we do not encourage it. Getting tricky involves considering the exact nature of the opponents powers, and finding some creative way to neutralize or inhibit them. Then pound the crap out of them.

For the first year of our existence we enjoyed quite a bit of success on the battlefield because of these tactics. We lost people, and we still mourn them, but we won the battles.

Right from the start I got my people into protective gear. First Kevlar and now our Black Metal armor. People who have no natural defenses at all are strongly encouraged to develop the heaviest armor they can handle.

Those people who could become QKs on our side were protected, mostly by not being on the goddammed battlefield. If Justice was going to fight then Psyche got the hell out of the way. She could kick ass don't get me wrong. Unless the target was protected against psi, she could do all sorts of nasty things, but she was vulnerable, and extremely valuable to us.

But as the Black Metal Armor began to reach it's present perfected form, we were feeling pretty good about how well our people were protected.

Now, a year later, the other sides have started to catch up.

“Nike, Medusa, Talon, Shadow, Circe, Raven, Freya, Ghost, all active 90% or better effective” came from one of the 50 Techs who now manned the new Central. Again, no names sorry.

“Talon and a Praetorian squad have Circe just off the sphere of engagement.”

“Nike is engaged with Reaper, Raven is fighting Hawk, both pairs are currently at around 10,000', Freya and Ghost are in a free for all with Hammer and Nail, Medusa was stunned by the grenade but is ok, vitals 95% and steady.”

There had been no QKs today.

Five HKs, not a good day.

Reaper and Raven were fliers, Reaper carried guns as well. Hammer and Nail were both supermen with massive strength.

“Still no location on Shadow and Moon, presumed engaged, married, or something.”

Shadow was universally disliked by Central. He knew it and did not seem to care. Despite their personal dislike of my Invisible Man they never left him hanging or provided him with anything less than top performance.

I would not permit such things, ever. Early on one brave young tech asked me a question about Mr. Personality.

“What if, just if mind you, something non-fatal, but embarrassing, were to accidentally happen to Shadow because we were just a little bit slow on the draw?”

I responded by asking him if he had ever seen any Star Trek movies? He said he had seen all of them. I told him that while on the whole I did not approve of, or follow, the Klingon method of keeping discipline, I did recognize the effectiveness of it. They were always at War after all, and so are we.

“Should anyone under my command, for any reason whatsoever, provide less than their best in support of any Olympian, I would respond in a way that would make a Klingon shudder.” I finished.

They take proper care of Shadow, but they still loath him.

He was hunting another Invisible person, this one a woman. He described hunting other people with his power to me once.

“We can see each other, very faintly, while we are moving we very hard to spot. So to hunt someone who is invisible it is a matter of who stops moving for just that little bit too long. We tend to beat on each other a little, but those kinds of blows rarely do any real damage.”

Where where the speeders you ask? Oh they were close, all of them.

Fucking Zippy.

Two were looping around the battlefield to keep Zippy out, and the rest were chasing his slippery ass around the countryside.

I did not dare free up even one of them to help Nike. It takes a hell of a lot of effort to prevent a speedster from going someplace they want to go. If he got into the fight, it would be bad for our side.

Very bad.

“Sir I have Medusa on Comm 7.”

“Comm 7 go.” I said to make the connection.

“Sir, I am not doing too good. That grenade scrambled my brain, my focus is off and my head hurts.”

Concussion I wondered?

“Alright my powerful friend, withdraw, we can handle it. I cannot evac you. You are going to have to walk out.”

“Zippy?”

“Zippy”

“Fucking Zippy. Alright give me a vector and I will get going. Sorry boss.”

“Sorry hell, you got hit by a grenade, be thankful your ass is alive, catch it next time ok?”

“Not in the mood Pulsar.”

“Roger, get moving then.”

The problem was that Talon had decided, properly, that this battle was going to get ugly and then decided to take Circe the whole 20 miles or so to the Praetorian base camp. He had not reported this decision to Central so they had him marked as on foot.

So when the order came to link up Medusa with Talon, she got a vector to where he was at the moment. Along with this directional info came other data, incorrect data, like the fact that he was moving but on foot.

Medusa headed out, and followed directions that kept slowing shifting on her. I am sure if she had been her usual self she would have noticed the problem quickly. As it was she started walking and kept going. I did not forget about her, but the battle was raging and my attention was drawn elsewhere. I should have assigned a Tech to monitor her, I did not.

Nike finally managed to score a heavy blow on Reaper and he plummeted out of the sky. She immediately called for vectors to Raven.

Ghost was distracting the badly named pair of villains while Freya tried to put one of them down.

The battle continued for some time, minutes that seemed like hours. Really, try it sometime.

Nail was down but the rest kept going. At least things were finally turning our way. Or so I foolishly thought.

“Sir something is happening with Medusa.” called out a tech to my right.

She should have been safe at the mobile HQ by now.

But that was not where she was at all.

She was standing in a parking lot, surrounded by large grey buildings.

“Where the fuck is she?” I asked with more than usual force.

Two people were standing in front of her, a man and a woman. They were talking but I could not hear what they were saying. I ordered the volume increased.

“... for the money of course. It does make the world go round you know. “ came from the unknown woman. Both were masked and costumed. A little colorful was all I could make out.

Bright flashes came from the male. Medusa went down.

If you have ever tried to watch from a someone's personal camera you know how difficult that can be sometimes. This was one of those times. With my warrior hurt as she was, the point of view bounced and did not center properly. The audio was still working fine.

“Let's go my Romeo” said the woman.

“As you wish my fair one” from the man.

Great, romantic killers.

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 2


Medusa's camera showed a huge hand for a moment, and then went dead.

“Lost the signal sir, they destroyed it.”

She needed help, fast. Since fast was not an option I did the second best thing.

“Central to Nike”

“Go!”

“Nike, Medusa has been jumped by two unknowns, can I send Raven?”

“Fuck! Yes, send her. Out!”

We got Raven disengaged and on the way just in time to have Medusa and her two attackers disappear.

A Teleporter, dammit all to hell! Raven rejoined the battle.

I did not know the two MetaHuman Scanners who were on duty, but they bent to the task of locating our lost Hero immediately.

“She is doing multiple jumps, all under 1,000 miles. We are tracking”

I am still not good at the waiting. The bitch jumped 8 times.

“They have settled, fixing location now. 100 miles northeast of us. Small town.”

Psyche swept into the room with Pathfinder and Selene.

“They are hurting her.” was her first statement to me.

“You think I do not fucking know that! We have found her now we have to get to her.” I snapped.

“Speedster status.” I requested.

“Zippy is pressing, trying to get into the Battle. He has almost gotten in range to strike three times.”

Fuck! I could not break off even one of the speedsters, if I did Zippy would get into the battle and I would lose more than just one person.

“Psyche can you reach her at all?”

“We can hear her, barely, we are sorry but that is all. She is still alive but...” she trailed off.

“Confirm distance”

“114 miles via direct path. It would take you 22.8 minutes to get there.”

“Did I ask how long it would take me to fly there?”

“No, but you were thinking it, Sir.”

I guess they know me a little too well. Techs as mind-readers, lovely.

“She has a back-up earpiece! She has a back-up!” cried one of the female techs.

“It is live, getting the connection.”

“Medusa to Central.” came across the speakers, weak and in pain.

“Pulsar here. Status?”

I know, all business. It is what you do in these situations, it is what works. Trust me, I know.

“Barely conscious, right arm is broken, couple ribs cracked, they worked me over good. She is a Teleporter but he throws some sort of bolt. Force, gravity, fuck I don't know. I could really use some help Alexander.”

That is not my name of course, but she did use the real one that day.

“Zippy is trying like hell to kill your team, Speed and his crew are holding him off but I cannot get them to you. Choppers and a load of pissed-off Praetorians are already on their way. You are only a hundred miles from home now.”

“There you are, come back and play now” said the hostile female, from really close.

Light Flash. Darkness. Light Flash.

Medusa was back in the parking lot, and she did not escape this time.

I could see she had done some damage to her attackers though. The man had a nasty cut across his left cheek and and some other cuts and scrapes. The woman was wearing a cape the first time I saw her but that was missing. Bet Medusa choked her with it.

They hit her, and kept hitting her.

“Mute that!” I ordered after the forth blow landed. I could not listen and perversely I did not want the people in the room to hear her scream. It was not right for people to hear a Hero scream.

Yeah I know, I was on the edge of the pit. Bet you would have been worse.

Light Flash.

“Sound!”

It was over, they were gone. Medusa was alive but not by much.

“Central to Medusa.”

“Pulsar to Medusa.”

“PULSAR TO MEDUSA!”

Nothing.

“She can hear you, but that is all. We are going to lose her.” softly from Psyche.

It got worse.

“Sir, I just ran the playback on the audio. They left a bomb. Medusa is in a chemical plant next to a town of over 30,000 people. If the bomb goes off, casualties will be high. Sir they picked the town because of it's proximity to us. They are going to kill all those people to quote 'stick a finger in the collective eyes of Olympus' unquote.”

Think, find a way, come on Mr. God, find a fucking way.

I had no speedsters to send, no way to get to her in time. In case you were wondering of course we scrambled helicopters as soon as we knew where she was. Three of them were on the way, loaded with a bunch of hostile Praetorians. They fly slower than I do and would be too late.

I had nothing.

Except.

“Open the line to her, and keep it that way.” I ordered.

“Done.”

“Kelly, I know you can hear me. I need you to listen. There is a bomb and you have to get rid of it. You are in a chemical plant and if that bomb goes off thousands of people are going to die. You are not going to let that happen. I know you. I have seen your heart. You have never backed down from anything in your life. You are a bad-ass Meta Bitch and everybody knows it. You have to get up and throw that bomb. Get Up! Now! That is a direct order from your Commander!”

I waited, nothing.

I looked at Psyche, tears were running down her face as she shook her head.

“Medusa you must get up! People are going to die! They need a Hero, they need you!” I shouted.

Not sure if I can explain exactly what happened to my voice at this point. It was not a conscious effort on my part but it grew deeper and resonated with harmonics.

“In brightest day.” I intoned.

“Medusa! In. Brightest. Day.” louder, stronger.

Nothing. Nothing.

A breath.

“in blackest night,” faint, but there.

One hint of a cheer started to burst from one Tech's lips before I killed all sound in the room with a damping field. Instinct, not thought.

The only sounds I allowed to exist were my voice and hers. Even the background hiss vanished.

“No evil shall...” I continued. Slow and with dignity.

“escape my sight” came back, still faint.

“Let all who worship...”

“evil's might”

“Beware my power...”

“Medusa's light!”

Her, “ hi boss.” was a touch stronger.

“Welcome back. Bomb. Can you see it”

“Yes, they could have left it closer.”

A grunt came over the speakers, and a long sigh. Ragged Breathing.

“Got it, big sucker.”

“Time?”

“Oh we have tons of time, a whole 33 seconds.”

“Wait until 3 and then toss it straight up, hard. Can you do that?”

“Boss, I... I don't know. I can hear you but it is like I am in a well or something. Eyes are foggy just pulling it over made me almost black out. I have a blessed 21 seconds to rest, lets see how I feel then.”

Psyche tapped me on the shoulder. She was pointing to her mouth.

I realized what I had done and dropped the sound damping field. She hugged me briefly and then stepped back.

“5 seconds.” called a Tech, they do recover quickly.

“Get ready to throw it.”

A deep painful moan was ripped from her lips as she reached out with her power and threw the bomb up into the sky. Only barely high enough, the explosion thundered.

She was out again, but she did it.

“Now everybody can cheer if they wish” I said still in that odd voice I had conjured.

They did.

The choppers arrived and picked Medusa up. It would be a month before she would take her place with her team but she came through it. She wears heavier armor now.

Romeo and Juliet, their choice of names this time not ours, were MetaHuman mercenaries. They worked for anyone for the right price. The team Nike had fought had hired them to find and remove our mobile HQ. While they were jumping around the city looking for that they happened upon Medusa.

It seems that someone out there has put a price on the heads of a every member of my combat teams. The almost unbelievable amounts offered are big enough to make it worthwhile for this fucked-up pair to decide to take a shot at Medusa.

If they had just done the job and not tried to get cute by mixing in a little mass murder they would have succeeded. Too close, way to close.

Bounties on our heads, better organized enemies, hostiles with body armor, and another rogue Teleporter.

Like I said, things had gotten harder.

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 3


Part I

I am The Demon.

Do you know me? Are you scared?

I hope so.

I am not a 'good guy'. Course I should be a dead fucking guy so what the hell.

Humans, don't like you much.

I am blindingly fast, I am fucking strong, Spider-Man strong.

But unlike all my freaking supermodel Meta 'friends', I am ugly. Maybe not ugly, but sure as shit not pretty either. When I changed my skin got tougher, and redder. I do not look like some cartoon demon, but the red is there, you can't miss it, nobody ever has.

Everything about me is more angular too, not the pretty kind, harsh, less than human.

More than human.

The day of the Change, I was 18 years old, just. My mom called it 'a skin rash'.

Running out of the house I broke stuff, tables, chairs, doors. For hours and hours I ran, learning along the way I could leap up 2 stories easily. My reflexes were amazing, when I just let go I could vault and swing like an acrobat. Heh, little joke there.

Acrobat is my Meta power class, so you see... oh fuck it.

I returned home hours later almost bursting. Alive, I was alive and powerful. I rushed in to tell my parents about what I could do. I had all but forgotten about my appearance.

Mom and dad were waiting, with a doctor, a nurse, and four large orderlies.

Pulsar talked about having your world change in a few steps, it was words for me.

“Something is wrong Son, we want you to go along with the doctor.” ordered my father.

“I am not sick, you should see what I can do!”

“Son, go along with the doctor, now.”

“No.”

Do you know what happened next? Can you guess?

All of them, mom, dad, the doctor, the nurse, and the four policemen disguised as orderlies.

It was easy, even the cops were slow and clumsy. Bare handed too, really messy that way.

Think I care what you think?

Bet you wanna call me psycho right? Abused child maybe, sick in the head somehow? Bullshit. I was fine, I was normal, then I changed.

Why did I do it? Because I could. Simple as that.

They wanted to lock me up, fix me, I said no. I am alive, they are dead.

I went bad, yep I was one of those guys, the killers.

Found some buddies too, not people like me fuck that, but people with powers. Miami belonged to us for months. We had all the money we could ever need, and we were stealthy about it. Mostly that was my influence if you care.

We were not one of those stupid groups who go all flashy, TV cameras, news conferences, dumb. All that did was call Olympus down on your ass. As much as we hated those righteous dicks, we knew they could kick our collective butts. Actually, they knew that, I was never scared.

But eventually Justice came crashing through out front door. People had gotten killed during some of our jobs, that was also mostly me, and they eventually found us. Oops.

It was one hell of a fight. We were in a fairly isolated area, an old factory we had bought. Not sure why that woman and her kid came tooling down the road, but they did. The car got hit by something, and died. The smoke pouring from the engine convinced the woman to get out. The bolts of energy, screams, and other insane crap convinced her to hide.

The good guys did not notice her, nobody swooped down to shield them.

Here is how it went down.

One of my former teammates was in trouble. Nova was kicking his ass and well on the way to barbecuing him. He panicked and ran. Another former teammate of mine took a few pistol shots at Nova and got her to turn and fire back.

Crusher, my buddy, grabbed the kid from her mother, and threw her at Nova.

I hate kids, but I do not kill them either.

I ran, vaulted off the roof of a car, and caught the kid about half of the way to Nova. A split-second after I had the kid in my arms I felt a hell of a lot of heat near my backside. Hair was singed.

Nova had seen something coming from behind her, and had fired to destroy it.

If I had not grabbed the kid, Nova would have killed her.

I hit the ground and let the little girl run back to her mom.

Nova looked down at me. I looked back.

Mom and the kid were crouched in a stairwell leading down. I turned my back on Nova and walked over to the top of the stairs. I sat and faced the street.

If you think I felt bad that the little girl almost got killed you are wrong, mostly wrong anyway. But it was not right what Crusher did, it was pointless and stupid. A waste of effort that simply hastened his demise.

When it was over Justice had won, of course, and Pulsar confronted me.

He knew what had happened, Central must have filled him in, not to mention his girlfriend.

We cut a deal.

I work for Justice now, and I only kill when it is allowed. Pulsar points out the people he wants dead, and I make them that way. Business is good.

So all you Metas out there, go on, stir up some shit. Get rowdy, I dare ya.

The Demon is hungry.


Part II

Hi! My name is StarGirl.

Well that is not my name, well it is but, ok, you know what I mean. I have a regular name too but I am not allowed to tell you.

I was 18 years old when I became a MetaHuman. Before that I wanted to do all the normal things that girls want to do, fall in love, go to college, travel Europe with a backpack and a hot guy, ya know, girl stuff.

Most of that is not really possible anymore. I'm not gloomy or sad but my life is hard, and not at all what I expected to be doing at this point.

Do you know what I can do? I guess I should tell you anyway just in case. I can produce force fields around myself. Cool huh?

I can make layers of different fields and build them up into a 10' tall body. My 'Energy Form' is what Pulsar calls it. Not sure how I see though it, but I do. I am suspended in the middle of the form.

Well ok, look, that is what I think. What Pulsar thinks is that I actually change completely into energy and merge with the form.

I feel normal, my butt still itches sometimes, I think I am right and he is wrong but who cares anyway?

In my energy form I am powerful, invulnerable, and just super cool. I can actually make any color force field I wish. To make Pulsar and my Captain happy I do basic black. But when I do that I still get these little twinkles of light on my outer 'skin'. Motes of dust and tiny bugs going zapper against the shield.

That is where StarGirl came from. Black form, tiny bursts of light, you get it right?

Hope so, I have never talked to the public, ever.

My power was not one of those ones that make life all messy or hurts people when it goes off. I love Nova so much and feel so sorry she has to work so hard to contain her wicked cool powers. I was just covered in this weird glow, and nobody could touch me.

I freaked out all my friends. My dad was the man though, he understood what was going on with me pretty quickly. He says it was all the Star Trek, I thought he was just a smarty-pants. But he did not panic or try to send me to a doctor.

When Pulsar, Psyche and the rest went on TV, my family was actually relieved.

I was a MetaHuman. Ok, that was cool I guess.

But people getting powers like mine and hurting people with them? My dad tried to hide it from me but that part hit him really hard. He held my mom's hand and everything. I mean like he was all brave and normal to me but I saw it, he was a little scared.

He told me that I had better start to practice with my new abilities, and that we would check out this place Pulsar talked about when it was open.

It was his idea to try putting out another layer of forcefield, I would never ever have thought about it.

I was up to 4 layers when I met my first Metahuman. Two of them, both assholes.

They were recruiting a gang, they had money and they handed me a bag of it.

$75,000

Next night, they were back. With my dad standing beside me I told them I was not interested.

A blast of flame killed my dad.

Shock and disbelief froze me. My mother was in the next room.

The one who had just blasted my father down suddenly spurted blood from his face before collapsing in a heap. The other bastard got to spin around to see the hole in the glass the bullet had made before his brains were splattered across our carpet.

I was going to be sick.

My mother slammed open the door and screamed. She ran to my fathers body.

Crash. The twice punctured window gave way completely as a disc-shaped object zipped through it. Whatever it was embedded itself in the wall behind me, missing me by about six inches.

Pretty sure I was ready to just pass out and be done with it.
My mother was sobbing, my living room was covered in blood.

So much blood.

Like a robot I walked over to disc. It was black and in the stylized shape of a bat.

Batman?

We called the police, gave them the money, watched them take away what had been my father.

When the opening of Olympus was announced, we put our house up for sale and took a plane to Wyoming. We had been living in a hotel since the day of the attack anyway.

It was quite a while after that before I was ready to leave Olympus. I did not feel safe and I was afraid to leave my mother alone for too long. Scared, invulnerable and scared, sad huh?

Pulsar helped me to build up my energy form and make it stronger. And let the record show that he could not do an energy form before he met me. I taught him!

Philadelphia happened, and I began to feel like I should be doing something with my power. My mother was doing ok, she had made friends and even the just lovely Psyche said she was going to be fine.

I signed up for training. I regretting signing up for training the very next day, and the day after that.

Training SUCKS! It hurts, it bends, it folds, spindles and mutilates.

And I know those instructors like that part, being mean, I just know it!

But I got through it. There were no new teams forming at that time so I worked for security for a while. Dull, really, really, dull. But necessary. And ya know since I did those few months with them, I appreciate what they do. Every single week I go and visit someone on some duty post somewhere. Usually I bring food, they love that. I only stay for an hour, but still, every week.

I was like so freaked out when they asked me to join the Avengers. I mean when they told me that they were going to be the most powerful team Olympus had, I was just blown-away.

Me, 19 year old me, I was a 'big gun'?

I said no.

In fact I said no, went outside, changed into my energy form and walked away very quickly. I walked for a long time. I just did not think I was ready for that. A combat team maybe, but the Avengers, no.

Pulsar found me. He took me for a little ride up above the clouds, way up.

“Are you scared?” he asked once we were floating and I had gotten a good look down.

“No, this is soooo cooool!”

“But we are 10,000 feet up in the air, what if I dropped you?”

“I would survive, this form of mine is very tough.” I said with confidence.

“Are you sure? You have never tested anything like this, you could be wrong.” he was testing me.

“Ok I am not sure sure, but I am sure enough not to be afraid.”

“So you have learned to really trust your power?”

“Yes, I guess I have. Still freaky but I guess this is me.”

“No this is most of you. There is still one more thing left to do.”

“What?”

“Join the Avengers. I need you on that team StarGirl. Olympus needs you on that team. It is where you belong.”

“How can you know that? I don't know that!” I spat it at him, kinda ashamed of that now.

“I know because certain people have a place in the world, a place that is only for them. Sometimes it is because of their personality, or their skills, or their knowledge. With us it is power. You are one of the most powerful MetaHumans at Olympus and I need that strength out there in the world.”

“I am scared, is that what an Avenger is supposed to feel like?”

“Right now yes. Scared is good. Scared will make you wear serious armor for those times when you are not in your powerful form. Scared will make you run every practice drill like it matters, cause they all do. Scared, well scared is just normal, and smart. After all, being a hero is an unnatural act.”

I thought about it.

I thought about my dad.

“Drop me”

“Excuse me?”

“Drop me. If I am going to be an Avenger then I have to conquer my fears. Drop me please.”

He did not look all that happy, but he did it anyway.

Free fall was G R E A T !

I felt strong, I felt powerful, I felt...

SLAM!

The ground was kinda hard.

But I stood right up and was fine. I fell from 10,000' and was fine.

And I was an Avenger.

So that is what I do now. Train, work out with my team, and wait for the call. We have times when we have to be close to the ready areas, and times when we have to be suited up and ready to go. But sooner or later they always call.

It is pretty cool, scary sometimes, harsh too, but cool.

I am StarGirl and I walk with the Gods. Way cool.

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 4



As I look back over the first year I can see so many things that had indeed changed.

Because of us of course.

People say that the world we are in now is not the one that would have been if MetaHumans had not appeared. I accept that since I have always believed we make our own future with each choice.

The MetaHuman change happened just weeks before the US Presidential election. Seems like everything went as expected there.

I mean what, America was going to elect the moron from Texas who could not put a coherent sentence together? Please. Yeah let's elect the idiot rather than the brilliant guy with the track record.

Right.

Even with our rather intelligent President you know what happened, what they tried to do. Imagine if we had had that dunderhead in office when MetaHumans arrived.

After Philadelphia we did do some work at the request of the U.S. Government. We checked all the background information ourselves first, every single time. We made sure that those terrorists in Afghanistan really were planning some horrific things before we struck.

Our successes of the first year meant we were able to devote more time to dealing with normal criminals, and with positive things. Please understand we did not go out and bust shoplifters. We went after violent criminals, huge gangs, organized crime, that sort of thing.

The speedsters and others who liked to patrol the streets had made an impact. Minor crimes had been down for quite a while. No one ever thought that anyone could do anything to even make a dent in the crime of pick-pocketing. It is everywhere, it is fast, it is unstoppable in the broad sense.

Until Speed and his team came along. Sure they cannot be everywhere, but they are a whole lot of places all of the time. They learned to spot things like pick-pockets and did something about it. Fear helped a lot, it was what the military calls a force multiplier. The impression was that the speedsters had so changed the odds that it just was not worth the risk anymore.

For some reason the Speedsters have a serious hatred of car thieves. In most cases they do not haul the person to jail, they just scare the holy crap out of them. Rough the thief up a bit and warn them that a 'next time' would mean death. Not sure if they ever carried out that threat, don't really want to know.

Our operations in Mexico and Canada grew more frequent.

We had learned from one enemy that we had others. A set of five others who were gathering forces and making plans. Take over the world kind of plans.

Because of this we took what was, and remains, our most controversial act.

We took over the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

What you don't remember that? Not surprising, it was done very quietly.

Here is the thing. When a Telepath takes control in any way of another person they leave marks. They can command the subject to forget but another Telepath can see the traces. And more importantly, only one person can be in control at a time. So once a person is under someone's control, they tend to stay that way.

On my orders, with approval from the MetaCouncil, PsiInt took over the minds of the Presidents, Legislators, Supreme Courts, and all other vital parts of the governments of the USA, Canada and Mexico.

It took 3 weeks.

Ok, now I realize that if you are one of those people, or a citizen of one of those Countries you are probably feeling pretty angry right now. Anger does not do it does it? You are Enraged. Violated, betrayed in an obscene and unholy manner!

I get that.

But.

Let me tell you why, or better yet let me tell you something else and see if you can get the why for yourself. Let's see if you can figure it out like I did, maybe that will help you to hate me a little less.

There were five Masterminds operating in the world, at least.

A Mastermind is someone who plots, gathers minions and resources. They are smart, and they are sneaky. I am a Mastermind but since my goal is to protect the world I never get called that.

Loki you have already met. And contrary to our original information there was a woman, the other three were men.

PsiInt did it's most intensive investigation to date to find out about these five.

Two they have a lifetime of data on, from birth to the time they vanished we knew everything. The other three we knew almost nothing about.

The woman we knew little about. She was Meta but with an unknown power. She was great at recruiting and had a huge force already. It seemed obvious that she had the highest number of Level 1 Metas of any of the Masterminds. Why she was so good at recruiting was a mystery related to her powers. Her forces were so large they already qualified as an army. Oh, and she had a thing for ships, she owned 4 that we knew about. Her base of operations was unknown but possibly Africa or an Island somewhere.

We called her Satana.

The second new enemy was in his late 20s and had left the United States when Charon began to operate. He was set up somewhere in Australia which was somewhat funny considering the name we gave him, Dracula. We did not know the specifics of his power but he had killed a number of people with some sort of energy.

Dracula had 5-10 Meta minions and one very special one, Vortexx, a Teleporter.

We did have at least a hint of his plans, a hint which turned out to be correct. He was going to cause Chaos, yes with a capital C, destroy whole societies to make them vulnerable. Modern societies are very fragile, poison a few water sources, plant some bombs, point fingers in various directions. It is a lot easier to do than you might imagine.

Loki, well you know about him. Back then we knew nothing. It would have been nice to have had some warning about what he was doing. We thought he was friendly with another of the Masterminds and it turns out he was. But like his namesake he had his own disturbing plans as well.

That brings us to Robert Anton Uday who was 41 years old, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He had a degree in management and had a wife and 2 children before the change.

We had no idea what his power was, but we do know what he did once he understood he was a MetaHuman. He left his family, later on he would send them $1 million, and headed to Europe.

He probably started recruiting at the same time we did.

His organization was massive, at least 10 MetaHumans were working with him. Hundreds of security people including a fair number of Level 1 Metas. More money than most Countries too.

We had no idea what he was up to, but we suspected something very subtle and complex. To make matters worse he seemed to be friendly with Loki. That meant he had Teleport capabilities which made his forces a whole lot more dangerous.

We called him Brainiac.

When the final Mastermind heard the name we had given him, he liked it so much he started to use it. His power was Armor. That and the fact that he had a PHD in Botany lead us to tag him with his name.

Dr. Doom.

He was born Abraham Albert Duncan, 32 years old at this particular time. He took a plane from his home in Ohio the day after our initial press conference.

Dr. Doom was not a great leader and recruiting did not go well. That was until he met Vortexx. Once they teamed up he gathered a small group of about eight MetaHumans and a few hundred other personnel. But it seems the female Meta was fickle and she soon left him for Dracula.

But not before he found Serina. Her Telepathic powers were perfect for his plans. He too wanted to take over the world but he wanted to do it nice and legal, well mostly legal. He was going to put the world's leaders under Serina's spell. Quietly he would become the power behind every throne, every desk, every seat of power in the world.

Then he would do up all the paperwork and take over legal and proper.

The other half of Doom's plans was to manufacture events that made us, Olympus, look bad. Those would be the lever to get us out of a Country entirely.

We had made arrangements with almost every free, and some not so free, Countries. We could go anywhere, with different levels of official acceptance. Dr. Doom wanted to take that away from us.

You saw those videos right? The news reports. Scenes of what look like Olympus MetaHumans acting with total disregard for property let alone innocent lives. Oh sure the fake Olympians were going after somebody, somebody supposedly bad, but the way 'we' did it make us worse than what 'we' were fighting.

In some cases the destruction was massive.

Sleazy, but effective. We would deny of course, but when has that ever worked?

He was a sharp guy that Dr. Doom.

That is what we were facing, people who were not stupid and who were plotting.

What would you have done?

Do you see the danger? Do you see how easy it would have been for Doom to subvert the US President's mind, and with him take over the United States? We could not guard everyone, we could not keep them safe. That was not possible, believe me that was the first option we explored.

What we could do is what we did, we got to them first. Once we had all the key people in all three Countries under control we at least had some breathing room.

Now do you see?

When things got rough later on we did make use of the Telepathic control to a small degree. But really it was just to make things easier for ourselves, which meant more time to save more lives. If you expect me to feel bad about that you are going to be disappointed.

Like so many other things we, I, have done, this was necessary.

Satana, Dracula, Loki, Brainiac, Dr. Doom

Five distorted images of me, doing what I had done, but with different goals.

I had some 130 MetaHumans at Olympus, 80 of which were Type 2s and Type 3s.

Would it be enough?

We formed two new teams right after the Day 357 party. I gathered all the current Captains and Seconds, some people from PsiInt, and a handful of others that I thought could contribute. We sat down and created the new groups.

The first was going to be the heavy hitters, powerful Metas with strong defenses. No QKs was motto we followed. The second would be a more balanced team but still with an eye towards power and defenses.

Neither team would have a Telepath, they were just too vulnerable and valuable. PsiInt would support the teams much the same way the Speedsters did, when they were needed they would help.

Up until this time I had been very hesitant to let too many comic book names become too important around Olympus. I was just afraid that if we used too many famous names people would forget what we really did, what the stakes really were.

But when it came time to create these two teams I tossed those worries out the window. I wanted these teams to have names that would resonate with the public from day one. The first name was the real focus, but it naturally suggested the second. Both are rich in comic book tradition.

The Avengers

Our "Gold Team" was to be lead by Arclight & Balder

Arclight, Balder, Isis, StarGirl, Vision, Scarlet, Hellboy, Achilles

The Defenders

The "Green Team" was to be lead by Ajax & FireLord

Ajax, FireLord, Atlas, Whisper, Hawkman, Hercules, Devil, Midnight


The teams got together, one or two of the members required a little nudge, and began to train.

We went to work.

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 5


Typical day at the office.

Well actually not. Last time we had a day like this Nemesis almost died.

Monsters.

Eleven of them to be exact.

The city of Redding, California was getting demolished. These suckers were all at least 7' tall and a few were nearly 9'. Strong, tough, we had no idea what the fuck they were.

They were not Shape Shifters.

“Arclight to Central.”

“Central, Pulsar here, go”

“We confirm eleven, we also confirm that they are fucking tough. Request assistance.”

The leader of the Avengers was asking for help, get the picture?

“On the way buddy, you going to pair off?”

“Affirmative, seems the best way but that is what makes me nervous. Any idea who, or what they are?”

“Not a clue, take em out one at a time, help is on the way. Central out.”

“Force Status Board please.” I requested.

I love this display, all of the forces at my command were listed. The 66 high level Metas, the Praetorian Guard, my Security Forces, reserve Metas, associated groups, and even local police. Indicators told me their current status and even location.

“Send an immediate alert message to Huntress, Devil, Demon, FireLord, and NightWing.”

“Wow, a personality convention.” muttered a Tech.

“Alerts have been sent Commander.” declared another one.

“Please tell Star I need to see her as well. Have her come here.”

“Commander, NightWing requests verification, her exact words were 'He cannot possibly need me'.”

“Tell her I do need her, and right now would be nice. I will be in the ready room.”

I needed to suit up. The ready room is a locker room with a few special touches. Everyone I had called was at Olympus so they would all arrive in short order. The areas devoted to each of us require a rather large room but beyond that it is just a place to change clothes, special clothes.

FireLord was first, of course, followed closely by Devil, they both fly. Demon and Huntress were not far behind. NightWing was last, she flew faster than anyone else here, but I was not surprised it took her the longest.

“Hey bossman.” came from Demon, he is always up for a fight. That grin.

“Something serious sir?” was what FireLord wanted to know. At 19 he was second in command of the Defenders and was always right to business.

“Take a look around pal, he would not invite the likes of us to a picnic now would he.” said Demon with his usual tact.

“Why me?” was the first thing NightWing said, before the door had closed behind her. She was young and had never been on a combat mission. She was also the second fastest Flier at Olympus and blessed with a solid defensive field.

“Because you signed up as a reserve and it is time you got out in the field. You can withdraw from the reserves if you wish. But if not, I need you to come with me today.” I replied.

She thought about, and agreed.

Getting into costume was something for which we all have our own rituals. Mine involved sitting down and looking at my uniform as it stood displayed on it's stand. For a few minutes I did not think about what we were going to be doing, or where were were going. I just thought about what it meant to wear that suit.

I regarded my cloak somewhat differently. It had become such an extension of my will that it seemed alive. To wear it was to take the final steps away from humanity. The impact of that animated pool of blackness was astounding. But not today, monsters are not easily impressed.

Everyone except NightWing was ready.

While the rest of us waited on her, the questions started again.

“So you gonna tell us anything bossman, or is it a surprise?” asked Demon.

“Monsters, eleven of them in California. The Avengers are there but these are tough critters and they need support. That would be us.”

“Sounds like a blast.” added Huntress. She also loved a good fight.

Huntress was an Acrobat, and a violently powerful fighter. Today she carried a lot of explosives along with her swords and other weapons. Devil was on FireLord's team, he had moderately strong Telekinetic abilities and he loved to use them. FireLord was much like my beloved Nova, but with more control and only about half her power.

“We are teaming up today, Demon and Devil, FireLord and Huntress, NightWing you are with me.”

“You are kidding about the monsters right?” asked a clearly nervous NightWing.

“No, they are from seven to nine feet tall, and very sturdy.”

I noticed that NightWing was not carrying any weapons.

“Huntress, NightWing needs a strong sword and a long knife.”

Huntress nodded and walked over to one of the weapons lockers. From one she selected a longsword, from the one next to it a nice knife. Both were made of Black Metal. NightWing looked slightly confused when she handed them to her. She had trained with weapons so I assumed the look on her face was more general confusion than anything else.

“Huntress can show you how to attach them.” was all I said.

We were ready.

“Alright everybody, listen up. Except for NightWing you all have something in common, and you all know what it is. Today is your kinda day. We have a collection of ugly murdering monsters out there and I want you to help me kill the fuckers. NightWing I know this is not a typical mission but it is time for you to see what it means to be an Olympus MetaHuman. I suspect that after today you will either sign up for active duty, or withdraw from the reserves. You will be with me and I know you can handle it.”

“Lets go people.” with that we headed back to Central.

Star was sitting in my chair waiting for us. She was cute, she was tiny, and she was a Teleporter.

The rules had changed once again.

Now we could jump across the planet when necessary. Star could not do that many portals per day, they were very draining on her. But she could open a portal that any number of people could pass through.

I was very glad to meet her.

She had been avoiding all contact for a long time. She said she always wanted to travel the world and she had set out to do it. She claims to have visited every country on the face of the earth and she probably has.

The news of the world she was jumping across did catch up with her eventually. When she was finally confronted with the destruction caused by rogue Metas she came to us.

Again, I was so very glad she did.

Instead of pacing and watching the action unfold, I was about to go to Redding and get involved.

We arrived in an alley just off the main battlefield.

Smoke was in the air. That is one of the constants of any battlefield, things burn. There are other constants and they were also present.

Hitting the street we could see one of the monsters about 4 blocks down. He had just torn into an Ambulance, scattering the terrified crew.

“I got $1,000 that says I do the most damage today” Demon declared.

“Your on!” replied Huntress.

“I will take a piece of that.” came from Devil.

“Me too.” tossed in FireLord.

They do love their work.

“Demon, Devil, that bastard is yours, take him down.” I ordered.

They took off down the street. Except for the screams of the injured all around me I would have felt sorry for the creature. As it was, there was work to do.

“Pulsar to Central.”

“Central online.”

“Vectors to the two nearest beasties for FireLord and myself please.”

“On the way.”

“Pulsar out.”

We split up and headed off in separate directions.

I took us up well above the buildings. This was a rough scene and NightWing was clearly a little freaked. The air was clear up here, the smoke of burning cars and buildings rose in columns but they were mostly behind us.

NightWing and I flew in silence for almost 2 minutes before she asked her question.

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“You are pretty good at dive and attack, you do those and we alternate. Call out before you come in, and don't mosey along.”

“I can do that.”

“Good. When you are making an attack focus on that, but otherwise keep your eyes moving. Do not loose track of your surroundings.”

“I will, I mean I won't I mean...” she sputtered

“Yes sir will do fine.” I said with a chuckle.

“Yes sir.”

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 6


We found the bastard, all 8' of him. He had just finished slaughtering all the employees of a small tire dealership. I ordered NightWing to hold altitude.

“Where are you going?”

“Inside to say hello, be ready.”

I pushed more energy into my shield and flew through the front door, or what was left of it anyway. Damn this thing was ugly. The room was long with a high ceiling. My target was at the far end.

Floating just inside the door I called out, “Hey there ugly, what's up?”

His head snapped up, and with a roar he charged in my direction.

Now this gets a little complex but I have been told that people really want to hear the details. As he charged forward I flew up and over his head. I passed over him very quickly and then angled downward. Twisting my body I ended up flying towards the creature's back at about his waist-level.

I knew he would be too heavy for me to lift so I sent out a wave of anti-gravity. Slamming into his back I wrapped my arms, and bands of force fields, around his waist.

Locked together in this fashion we essentially rode the waves of anti-grav through the front wall.

When we hit daylight I let go and dissolved the force field bands. Pulling my legs under me I reversed direction by kicking off my opponent.

He smashed six cars before he slid to a stop.

“NightWing, go!” I ordered.

“Coming in.”

Her attack was pretty good for a first time. She came in fast from his right. The sword slashed at precisely the right moment. If the creature had not got his arms up in time it would have opened his throat.

As it was, first blood was hers.

My turn.

By now I have to admit it felt like running a checklist. Number one on the list, concussive force.

Boom. Boom. Boom. I slammed him with force bolts. Other than moving his body around a little they were not doing any good.

Heat. My left and right hands released great torrents of fire.

Seems to piss him off, so much he roared a few times and threw a car right down my line of fire. The car exploded and I had to contain it to keep the rest of the lot from going up.

This was fun. Read that with a butt-load of sarcasm.

“Coming in.”

Fast and hot, she struck again. This time the beast could not react fast enough, her speed and perfect strike drove the blade in deep.

The creatures howled in pain.

NightWing had come in so fast she had to bank up hard to keep from slamming into the building behind me. I knew she would be a bit getting turned around.

I pulled electricity into my right hand, and concussive sound waves into my left.

Zap. KaBoom. I call it a ThunderBolt. A blast of electricity worthy of a natural lightning strike, and enough sound to rival thunder. They hit at the same moment and are generally devastating.

Not this time. Oh I rocked him, I burned him a little, but basically, zip.

Let' try softening him up a bit. Green concussive force blasts kept the creature off balance. I kept those up right until I heard NightWing's next call.

“Coming In.”

She came in lined up with the street this time, low, only 6' off the ground. Her swing caught the monster off guard and rendered it's left arm almost useless. She zoomed away, over and past me.

Eyes. Two Lasers in parallel burned into the monster's other arm. Bingo.

Flash, Flash, Flash. Again and again I slashed at the monster with my ruby red beams.

“NightWing, hold off on any more attacks, I think I have it now. Good job so far.”

If you thought I was going to make her finish the beast off then you have formed an overly harsh impression of me. I never forced anyone to kill. I demand that people attack full out when the situation calls for it, like this one, but to take life intentionally is no small thing.

You either have it in you, or you do not. And that is something everyone has to discover on their own.

She had not answered me yet.

“Pulsar to NightWing.”

Crap.

“Pulsar to Central. Where is NightWing?”

Yeah, I broke radio protocol, so sue me.

“Central online. Well sir, she is unconscious, but ok. You had better see for yourself. Vectors up.”

I hate it when Central gets cryptic. I have told them that.

CRUNCH. Something huge hits me in the back of the head. Well the forcefield around the back of my head.

Oh yeah, the monster. He hit me with a car which promptly exploded.

He was right on top of me. Oh no.

I caught both of his wrists in my hands. My strength was nowhere near his but I could, and did, solidify my forcefield. Bands of force stronger than steel bound us together.

The downside was that I could not move either.

Didn't matter.

I locked eyes with it. I tried to see some humanity in those yellow orbs. I saw an animal, not a man. The red beams struck one last time, and I held them on target until he went slack.

“My target is down, going after NightWing.”

Into the air, following the vectors to her. 13 blocks away.

In the middle of the street lay a pile of people. Along the sidewalks were five civilians, all dead. In the street, mostly obscured by the bulk of the dead monster on top of her, lay Huntress. She was out but alive.

Half across the dead monster was NightWing. Also alive also unconscious.

It was the monster's body which caught and held my attention. Sticking up from the back of the poor creature's neck was a sword, it had to be NightWing's. It plunged straight down into the creatures body, right behind, and through, the spine.

“What the fuck happened?” asked a groggy FireLord. He had just walked over from one side of the street and looked roughed up.

Took a little while to reconstruct, but this is what happened. As NightWing was slowing down from her last attack she spotted FireLord, Huntress and their creature.

Huntress was doing well with her sword, the creature was cut in over a dozen places already. FireLord was above them looking for a shot. He got impatient and got too close.

The creature jumped 15' straight up and caught my foolish comrade by the ankle. I am sure it must have hurt his hands but that did not stop the monster from using FireLord's body to smash Huntress to the ground.

FireLord was violently thrown across the street into a brick wall.

What NightWing did next took a lot of guts, more than I thought she had.

She accelerated until she was right above the monster then shot straight up. When she came down 10 seconds later she had the sword held out ahead of her in both hands. Diving straight down she drove the sword into the back of the monster's neck with all that force behind it.

Let me explain the risk here. We of Olympus have a wrist display that gives us all sorts of information. Most useful are the navigation vectors. An arrow points the way and moves as your arm moves. If you are a flier you can get a set of displays similar to what an aircraft uses.

None of these things were of the slightest help to NightWing as she rolled over the top and began to plunge downward. If this was going to work it would be because she could fly with precision guided by instinct. At the speed she would be traveling being even the slightest bit off the mark would mean hitting Huntress.

And she knew that even if she was successful she would be slamming into something awfully hard.

Perhaps fatally hard.

She still did it, and she hit her mark perfectly.

The monster died but she slammed into the ground with incredible force. Her shield kept her alive but it was a stunning impact. Afterwards she was one big bruise for a week.

When that week was up, she signed up for active duty. Since then she has been working for Psyche and PsiInt.

At the time we had no idea what the monsters were, or more accurately how humans became monsters. We did note one odd thing about them. They were all particularly vulnerable to a specific energy or in some cases, type of attack.

None exhibited any powers other than enormous strength, a very tough hide, and resistances to a wide variety of energies.

What were they?

“Central to Pulsar”

“Go Central.”

“We have a teleport traces in your area, looks like Loki.”

Made sense.

“Vectors to him, now. Send a Praetorian team to this location.” I ordered.

I took off fast and burned a hole in the sky getting to where he was standing.

Strangely he seemed to be waiting for me. He waved. I did not land but instead floated 50' away from him.

“Pulsar! How good to see you, how is that smoking hot girl of yours?” beamed Loki.

Funny, I am never that happy to see people who want to kill me. He was standing on a roof top looking down as the Avengers took out the last of the monsters.

“Were those your pets?”

“Mine, oh my dear boy no. I am just the messenger, the ferry-man taking his charges to their assigned destination. Don't blame me.”

I believed him actually. He was too full of himself to lie to me. And he suggested what we already suspected, he was Charon as well.

“Then who? Come on Loki you waited here for someone to show up, you have something to say. Spit it out.”

“Just straight to it eh Pulsar, not very subtle.”

I built up power and lashed out with my eye beams. Two brilliant red pencil-thin lasers stabbed through Loki's head. Nothing.

“That was rude! I should leave.” he pouted.

“Can't blame a guy for trying. You know you want to talk. So talk.”

“Very well, but thou do vex me mortal.”

Throwing up seemed the proper response, I waited instead, floating, arms crossed. Now I wish I had my cloak.

“I bring a message from one who respects you, that should tell you it is not me, and he wishes to make a deal. He will split the planet with you. He gets Asia, Europe and Africa. You get North and South America. Australia gets turned into a resort, that was my idea.”

A pause.

“So what do you think?” he finished.

You know what I wanted to say. But I had never been this close to Loki before and I was starting to get some sense of the energy he commanded.

I stalled.

“So this would be your friend who spends most of his time in Europe? We call him Brainiac, you might want to tell him that.”

“He will probably like it, I will do that.” he snickered. This really was a weird guy.

“It is a temping offer, after all we are likely to destroy this planet if we keep up this constant fighting. But I am not sure I like the terms. I represent Olympus, and you of all people know how much power we have. Do you think the terms are fair?”

I was asking a psychopath for his opinion on an insane deal, actually I guess that made perfect sense.

“Well he does have a lot you do not know about. A lot of the MetaHumans who ran from America ended up joining with him. And you should see his base, underground and... wait. Naughty Pulsar, you got me talking. Well done.”

“Hey I am just trying to explore the possibilities here, I did not ask you anything about his base. If he really wants to make a deal then we should be able to talk a little right? How did he build it anyway? I have Geo but he must have done it the old fashioned way.”

“No I am not going to tell you anything more, silly. I would take the offer, you are trying to protect something that is very, very fragile, my dear Pulsar. Hold on as tight as you like but you will lose.”

He was fully intangible, but not in the way the Density Masters did it. It seemed like he was half in, and half out of a portal. Standing in the doorway he was only partially there. I could not touch him because I was talking to an image, not a physical body.

Except.

“I am not going to lose Loki. You want an answer, well my answer is a message. Be a good little errand boy and take it back to your master. Tell him that I am coming for him. Tell him can take his offer and shove it up his ass. I am going to kill him, I am going to kill you. Tell him that.”

Loki look pissed. Gods hate it when people mouth off.

“And before you go I have to compliment you. This little trick of standing in your portal is very effective. As long as you can keep that running you are invulnerable. One little thing though, that portal is connected to you, that portal draws on ambient energy to function. Do you see where I am going with this?”

His face told me he did not.

I raised my right hand and the entire rooftop began to glow with an intense yellow light.

Loki screamed in pain, and then vanished.

Yep, this was turning into a pretty good day. A valuable MetaHuman had passed her first trial by combat with, ahem, flying colors. And I got to make Loki scream.

A pretty good day.

Not typical, but good enough.

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 7


The Mountain.

That is what we call it, officially it is Mount Olympus II.

Seems silly to describe it, you have seen pictures, everyone has. It reaches 8,008 feet into the sky.

The first 1,000 or so is fairly normal looking, hills turning into something bigger. The next 3,000 are fairly sharp slopes.

From there it just goes up, and up and up.

You can breathe on the top, but it is kinda thin.

What can I say? Right after we acquired the final section of land that completed the Olympus you know today, Geo and his team sent me a proposal for a 'little mountain'. We had an area nearly 100 miles east/west and 80 miles north/south so there was room for a lot of things.

He wanted to take the southeastern corner and turn it into a 'small set of hills and a moderate mountain'.
I swear that is what his proposal said, I have that page framed and on my office wall.

We had learned by then that a lot of rock, or water, could shield people from the Scanner Metas, and as much as I hated to admit it, we had to keep under cover, all of us. The Mountain was a perfect solution.
The actual Mount Olympus stands 8,800 feet.

It was not that big in the plans. I would have noticed 8,008 feet.

I swear I woke up one morning at a comfortable 10 am, walked out onto my patio, and there it was.

Frozen, I stood and looked for the longest time, my tea arrived and I was still looking.

Wow. No, WOW!

I will admit for a few moments I considered how I could inflict the maximum amount of pain on Geo without actually killing him. But the scope of the creation just washed those thoughts away. How could I be angry? How could I deny this achievement?

And something more.

How long has it been since the Earth itself has been altered this radically? Changes happen all the time, but this... wow.

What were we really? Humans with superpowers? Or Gods?

Were people like us, long ago, the reason we believe in Gods?

The top section is a square nearly a quarter mile wide. Four original members, four sides, is what Geo had to say about that.

The vast majority of the people of Olympus live inside that mountain. Again I am sure you have seen pictures but we have such vast open spaces inside it is easy to forget where you are. We do not live in caves. We live surrounded by grass and trees just like you. Our sunlight is sometimes artificial but I can assure you the energy make-up is exactly the same.

It rains inside Olympus in the big open parks.

Our main entrance lies 20 miles south of Gillette, WY which is many times the size it was before all this began. A thriving town where we do a whole lot of business. We have always maintained an active watch over the entire area of course.

We have also gone down into the earth. Frankly the amount of space we have available or in use is staggering. There were, in this third month of the second year of Olympus, 31,503 residents and we had space for many times that number.

It was decided by the MetaCouncil that we had to go global. We had Star's teleport abilities but she could only handle a few portals an hour at most. Anything beyond that was a real strain on her and we tried to avoid that. I do feel bad about all the times I got her out of bed to open a doorway for us.

How to do it? We would need secure bases. The countries we were in would have to be under our control.

We decided that somewhere in Europe and somewhere in the Pacific would be enough. 150 miles off the coast of Japan was the eventual choice for the latter. A large section of land in what used to be East Germany was found for the former.

Sadly there were no good island choices near the land of the rising sun, so we decided to make one. Geo was sure he could do it. It was to be bigger than Olympus, and public. We could not hide a huge new island.

It would also serve as our retreat point should the USA fall, or decide they no longer wished to tolerate our presence.

The base in Germany was as secret as we could make it. Tunnels connected it to all sorts of places. Airports, trains, garages, everything was available with almost zero exposure.

That's right, you still do not know where it is. It is rather amazing I am admitting it's existence even now.

We call one Asgard and the other Atlantis.

The decision to install telepathic controls on the governments of Germany and Japan was not an easy one. But the evidence was mounting that someone was manipulating countries like pawns on a chess board and there seemed little choice.

America, Canada, Mexico, Germany & Japan.

Quite the alliance.

The Mountain, and the new bases when completed forced us to confront another problem that we had been avoiding for some time now.

The list of people who wanted to come to Olympus was just under 1 million.

None of these people were MetaHumans, they could just move right in practically. No these were people who were not immediate family but in about 10% of the cases, somehow connected to a MetaHuman, or a human staff member.

The other 90% had no connection to Olympus at all they just wanted to live with us. A fair number of them were famous which was sadly an extreme problem for us. Some were willing to pay gigantic sums to buy land, a request never granted. We had plenty of money. For our own safety we were a rather closed society and the needs of celebrities did not fit in.

The ones we did consider were those who were afraid of what the world was becoming and wanted to be safe. We got a lot of those, complete with pictures. The simple lack of a place to put them, and the infrastructure to support them, kept us from saying yes to all of these requests.

What we did do for the people who wished to come to Olympus was to interview everyone of legal age for some sort of job. They also got to meet a Telepath.

Sigh. I mean please.

22 of the 'families' on the list were actually groups of agents, intelligence agents.

Five were from hostile Meta groups, the rest were from the US, Canada, Mexico, the EU, etc.

Again, sigh.

Do people ever learn? We drained the impostors of information and sent them back to their masters.

We did need to expand our staff, so our first round of expansion brought 3,000 new employees. With them came 11,121 dependents. We built some houses, but most people elected to live inside the Mountain.

By the end of this year the total population of Olympus, Atlantis and Asgard would be just short of 100,000 people.

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 8


This is going to be different.

I was in Boston, in a limo with Nova, Erin, and some Praetorians. The black SUVs ahead and behind us carried a squad of Praetorians as well. Nine more of their comrades had a mobile HQ up and running outside of town and I was sure a drone was above us.

Ajax's team was lounging at the HQ.

We were heading to the secret base of a friendly MetaHuman team. If this really worked, it would be a first. The first time a group formed outside of Olympus and yet shared our basic goals.

PsiInt had done all the real work on this one, along with Nike's team. It had been pretty easy to see that a group of Metas was going some good work in and around Boston. We were rather busy and pretty much left them alone for a number of months.

Alone, but not forgotten, or unwatched.

They did ok. Kept mostly undercover, picked off a number of Metas who really were problems. Speed and his folks helped them out from time to time. The team knew the speedsters were helping out but made no attempt to contact them, or us, about it.

Then Philadelphia. I was looking for allies, for more power.

They called themselves the Teen Titans.

After all the oldest was only 18.

I went over what I knew about them as we drove in. The leader was a male, age 17, a Telekinetic, and a strong one, he could fly which meant he did a lot of training. He had an female Energy Projector that used air blasts and could manipulate wind to some degree, age 18, as his second in command. Also lover according to my info. She could punch through 1 inch steel with a concentrated blast, very impressive even to me.

Then two problem children, at least as far as I was concerned. Acrobat and superwoman. Both female, and both really liked to fight. The acrobat had killed a few times and the strong one had done the rest. Most of the kills were valid MetaHuman problems, most but not all. They were 16 and 17 respectively.

A 17 year old male Density Master provided the team with recon and information, and from all reports a lot of jokes. A 16 year old female with the power of Invisibility helped in those departments. She was one of three Metas with that ability who did not go bad.

The last member of the team was the one I was the most interested in. She was 18 and a Shape Shifter. We had only encountered the three Carnage wanna-bes so I was curious about what she could do.

Cyclops, Magic, Batgirl, Sasquatch, Wisp, Mirage & Shifter.

Psyche, Selene, and the new girl who's name it took me forever to learn, all met the seven, and forged a basic agreement. I was here to seal the deal, and deliver gifts. Erin was with us to handle the transfer of goods, and get them set up. Oh, she did have two techs with her, one male and one female.

The three squads of Praetorian Guards were with us because of Erin. One would remain with her at all times, and the other two would hover close. Ajax's team was in the area because I was feeling a little paranoid and wanted to hold all the cards I could. Two speedsters were in the state as well.

I was impressed at the cover they had arranged for their lair. We drove into a huge downtown parking garage, and then went up. The last few levels were not open to the public which should keep most people from venturing to the top. There, still under the cover of a roof, we entered a large service style elevator. Two average sized cars could ride down at a time but our limo would have to go solo.

The elevator went down below ground level and let us out in some sort of tunnel. It looked rather old but still in fair shape. There was only one way to go and we took it. Almost two miles later another large elevator stood lit up before us. Up we went, one SUV, then after a radio call, us, followed by the last SUV.

Huge garage, still underground. And there was a welcoming committee made up of Batgirl and Sasquatch, both in costume and masks.

So were Nova and I for that matter. The plan was to make nice but first we had to do the formal thing. Nova looked fetching in her black and red outfit. Spirals of flames crawled along her body like snakes, very erotic. My formal outfit is not any different than my usual, sorry, but I was wearing my cape.

When we exited the cars I draped it over me like a shroud, hood and all. No part of me was visible and the folds of cloth swirled around me.

“You look like death, need a scythe?” Nova teased.

I retracted the hood and left a high circular collar instead, “Better?”

“We should lose the masks, we are here to team up with them right?”

“Not yet, we have to do this right.”

“yes boss”

“Stop that.”

Batgirl and her large companion walked over to us.

“Hello, I am Batgirl and I will be your guide today. It is a pleasure to meet you Pulsar, and you too Nova. This is my friend, we call her Sasquatch.”

Greetings were exchanged all around.

“Ah, Pulsar, what is with all the guys with guns? You are a superhero right?” came from Batgirl.

“Those are Praetorian Guards, they are here because Erin is here. One set of them will be staying with her at all times. The other two groups will stay with the vehicles. I hope that is fine with you.”

“Well, not really, I thought we were all friends here.” a little hostility from Batgirl there.

“We are, but Erin is a VIP at Olympus, and as such she does not leave it's confines without a dedicated bodyguard. The Praetorians are that bodyguard. If you look closely at the group standing right next to her you will see that one of them is indeed female. Her name is Michelle, she is quite possibly the deadliest shot I have ever seen, and believe me that is saying a whole lot. When Erin has to visit the bathroom, Michelle goes with her. Besides what do you care about guns, you are superheros right?”

The eight of us took another elevator up.

The room was a little odd, circular which is not a common shape for rooms, and about 100 feet in diameter. Display screens much like a miniature version of our Central were to my right, and a big screen TV with couches and tables to my left.

In the center of the room was a large table, also round, with seven identical chairs on one side, and three different ones on the other.

The way the rest of the Titans were waiting for us told me something about each. Cyclops was standing near the control center. Someone who I could not see was occupying one of the six chairs there. The boss keeping his eyes on everything, looking for something to do. I liked that.

Magic and Mirage sat at the table. The second in command who was where everyone probably should be, or at least would soon be. Mirage, there as a friend or. Hmmm. Special senses tell me lots of personal details, but I also read body language. Something between these two, interesting, have to ask the PsiInt girls about that.

Wisp and Shifter were sitting along the outer wall, as far away from the door as possible. They were perhaps not all that pleased about us, or just not all that social.

Batgirl and Sasquatch walked directly out of the elevator and parked themselves in front of the side screen. Something animated came on. We were not all that important to them it seemed. The constant scanning the two of them gave Nova and I on the elevator notwithstanding.

All this power, in the hands of another group of teens. I hope you can understand why this was not just some simple visit. It was good, too good, but it seemed real. Telepaths told me it was real, they were honest, not perfect, but honest in their desire to do something useful with their powers.

But I was the one that had to approve this connection. What we would give them would make them far stronger than they currently were. If we were wrong, hell, if I was wrong...

The die was cast, we were here, lets do it already.

I motioned the Praetorians to take up station at the door, and took Nova and Erin forward to the table. Cyclops had already begun walking that way, and without a command the rest of his team did the same.

Getting a little surreal now.

Nine masked people, and one perky Engineer, faced each other across the table.

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 9


I reached up, pulled off my mask, and tossed it onto the table. Nova did the same.

Two seconds of silence.

Cyclops pulls off his mostly red mask. Not a bad looking kid, worn around the eyes though.

His team follows their leader's example.

Nine unmasked people, and one amused Engineer, face each other across the table.

“This is weird” says Cyclops to break the silence.

“I agree.” which was the only thing I could say.

Laughter.

Ok I will not keep the suspense going, they really are a good group of people. They did not attack us and the day went well. Erin worked her magic and a bunch of trucks rolled into the Titan's garage.

We gave them all two sets of Olympus combat uniforms each, complete with masks. Communication and security links were established between their command central and our Central.

They take care of Boston and the surrounding state as much as they can. They can request speedster support or more if they really need it. About once a month a pair of my people go and spend a few days with them and deal with something extra nasty.

The Teen Titans are not Olympus citizens, they do not have our Immunity. I worry about them because of that, and because they are all so young.

Turns out they all knew each other before becoming Metas. Three of them had moved away from the state but the rest had known each other for a decade or more. When the Meta change happened they got in contact with each other, looking for old friends to help deal with something difficult. Once a couple of them found each other it was not long before they were all standing together.

I really wanted to know why they would not simply come to Olympus. They could remain a team if they wished.

Cyclops showed me why he was their leader, very thoughtful. “There are a couple of reasons, and I am sorry that one of them is not very complimentary to you sir. Boston is our home, and we agree on the level of danger that MetaHumans present. We cannot leave our home unprotected. Your fight is too big for us sir, but this city, that we can handle.”

“I understand how you feel, but we can move your families to Olympus as well, and some close friends..”

“Can you move the guy at the photo shop I have been flirting with for six months?” came from Batgirl.

“Will you bring my favorite bar too?” slightly sarcastically from Magic.

“You see sir we really are all tied to this place. We are MetaHuman and we do feel a responsibility to do something worthwhile with our powers. But here, not at Olympus, sorry.” added Cyclops.

“Alright, and the less warm and fuzzy reason?”

“Well sir, and please know I really do hold you in the highest respect, we all do.”

“I don't.” Mirage tossed in.

“All of us.” repeated Cyclops with a stern glance at Mirage. “But we are afraid you might eventually turn out to not really be a good guy. Not so much yourself sir, but Olympus. Or maybe you get taken over ya know? Olympus is a big target now and something might happen. Think of us as the reserve, the back-up in case something really bad happens.”

“I understand, I do.”

I did, they did not trust us. Smart kids, will wonders never cease?

Food arrived, and we broke up a little to eat and chat. Nova went off with Magic and Batgirl to see the rest of the headquarters. Turns out they all lived there as well.

I sought out Shifter.

“You are a shape shifter correct?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“You are the first person with your power I have met, I am curious about it.”

“There is nobody like me at Olympus?”

“No, we have only met a few people with your power, and they were very unpleasant.”

I told her about our encounters with the Carnage creeps.

“Carnage, icky. Watch this.”

She bent down to put her hands on the floor and changed. In under five seconds she had become a panther. For a moment she moved and acted like a cat but then she looked at me, bugged out her eyes and tilted her head in an all too human gesture.

Freaky.

She bounded around the room, making full use of the power and speed of her feline form. Diving behind one of the couches she was out of sight for just long enough to transform again.

A huge snake poked it's head up. It slithered over the couch and into a coil on the floor.

Merging, flowing, and Shifter was back to her normal self.

“Very impressive. But you know the name 'Shifter' just does not do you justice.”

“Why not, it is descriptive.”

“Agreed, but not impressive. I would call you BeastGirl. Eventually that would become Beast.”

“Ohhh. I like that. I will think about it.”

Cyclops was curious about our mobile command bases so I took him down to the garage. The Praetorian in charge was willing to give him a small tour once I ordered him to do so. My Praetorians are really serious bastards, and that is how they are supposed to be.

Me? I have a sense of humor, they do not.

“That is amazing stuff, I have barely begun to think about doing something like this.” gushed Cyclops.

“We have had some time to work on how we do things. Since we do travel a lot they help.”

We have two full-sized RVs as the core of our mobile HQs. From the outside they look normal but they are armored and over-powered. One is equipped with screen and sensor equipment, the other with lockers and storage. HQ One is where the eye-in-the-sky drones come from, and the other the combat teams call 'The Armory'. If we are traveling long distances we have fairly comfy RVs dedicated to creature comforts and beds.

And I just have to add some slightly messy detail. Anyone who has traveled much in an RV or similar vehicle knows that their toilet facilities are generally somewhat limited. Ours were not, they were fully and properly functional.

Along with the big boys we used SUVs, Vans, Limos, motorcycles. All armored to some degree, most in basic black but we had other colors for when we wanted to be less obvious.

The price tag for a complete set? In the area of 100 millions dollars. I told him that.

“Want one?” I asked.

“Hell yes.”

We lived in an odd world but that was how it worked. He ended up buying the two command vehicles, 2 sleeper RVs, 4 SUVs, 2 Limos, and 16 motorcycles. Closer to 150 million actually.

The rest of the day went smoothly. Over the following months the Titans would prove themselves worthy of every bit of faith I invested in them. They kept mostly undercover and still managed to do a lot of good.

Later on they would provide a very valuable service, but that would be getting ahead of the story.

[Alexander Tau]

Chapter 10


Some days are just bound to go bad.

Pretty sure this was going to be one of those. Psyche and I were in one of our limos riding through Chicago. Our destination was a courthouse and a trial.

Yes, a MetaHuman we had captured, well almost captured, was going on trial for murder.

He called himself Burn, and his power was microwaves. With one of the more deadly of energy projections he could generate an enormous amount of heat. We are sure he is responsible for more than 20 deaths, and I should have killed the son of a bitch when I had the chance.

Justice had tracked him down a little over a month ago, and we had been trying to get custody of him ever since. Unlike most states in similar situations, Illinois had refused. Their reasons did not make any sense to us at all, and the subpoena had come as a complete surprise. They wanted me to testify at Burn's trial.

I could have refused, they have no power over me. The alternative plan would have been to send someone in to kill Burn off and be done with it.

Instead I was here with a small army of Praetorians, and Apollo's team with a mobile HQ outside of the city limits. Psyche was here because I needed information, I was confused and I hate that feeling.

The reason he was in custody was because a significant number of Chicago's finest had arrived on the scene just as my fight with Burn was reaching it's end. I won but he did not die in the battle. When I moved to deliver the final blow, the officers challenged me, ordering me to stop. Again, they have no power over me, and I could have ignored them. I didn't, and they took Burn into custody.

And now a trial.

We arrived at the courthouse to find another small army, this one of police. There were 18 Praetorians with us to protect Psyche. They were not happy either, this was too public, too many people, they hate that.

“Hold on now, you cannot carry weapons into court.” ordered the Sargent in charge.

“My presence has been requested, and these people come with me.” I stated rather flatly.

“No way, they stay outside.”

“Let me put it to you this way Sargent, they go in, or I do not. I suspect there is more than simple testimony desired of me, you might want to contact a higher authority before you refuse our entrance.”

He did, and I could see the anger on his face when the expected answer came.

“Alright dammit, you are cleared to enter, all of you.”

“Praetorians, establish your perimeter. Sargent this is Monitor Falken, he is now in charge of security for this location.”

We went inside.

I suspected that the District Attorney was the prime mover behind the day's events and he was Psyche's first target. As soon as we entered the courtroom she scanned him.

“He is ambitious, and he does not like MetaHumans. With this trial he wants to establish that we of Olympus are every bit as bad as those we fight. He hopes to make enough stink over the way we operate to get himself elected Governor. He is also deathly scared of you and is having serious second thoughts about facing you here. The fact that you could kill him with no legal repercussions was not really real to him until we walked into the room.”

She chuckled, an evil sound that was not really her.

Good, I could use that fear. But the sum of her report just sent me straight to pissed the hell off.

We were fighting every day just to keep this planet spinning, and this jerk-off wanted to make political points with us? Fine pal, you want to play, lets play, and a few similar thoughts ran though my mind as we waited.

I will not bore you with all the details of the trial, you have probably seen it anyway.

Burn was guilt as sin but they did not request the death penalty.

Finally it was my turn.

“Would you remove your mask sir?” was the DA's first question.

“No.”

“Why not, are you possibly ashamed of the things you have done? Or perhaps you are afraid to show who you really are for some other reason.”

“I am not ashamed of anything I have done.”

“How many people have you killed?”

“Personally, or do you mean in my role as Commander of Olympus?”

“Both.”

“Personally I have killed 24 MetaHumans and 16 humans. The other information is classified and I am not at liberty to answer.”

“Forty people, you have killed forty people?”

“Yes.”

“And this does not bother you?”

“It bothers the hell out of me, but it is necessary.”

“Necessary, yes you do like that word don't you. Who decides what is necessary Mr. Pulsar?”

“Pulsar will do. I decide that, with advice from the MetaCouncil.”

“You decide who lives and who dies? What gives you that right?”

“Fate gave me the right when it handed me and 600 other people this power.”

As I said that I ran cracking blue electricity all along my body. I could see the fear in the DA's eyes at my display.

“So because you have this power, you have the right to decide who lives and who dies?”

“I am not a god if that is what you are asking.”

“Seems to me like you are, or at least think you are.”

“No, but a lot of my brother and sister MetaHumans feel that way. Burn is one of those.”

“Mr. Dubrose has said he is sorry for his crimes. Are you sorry for yours?”

“He is lying.”

“How do you know that?”

“My best friend is a Telepath.”

“Telepathy is not recognized under Illinois law.”

“That simply shows how human law has failed to cope with MetaHuman existence. I know what Burn is, and I know what he will do if given the chance.”

“You did not answer my question, are you sorry for your crimes?”

“I am sorry for the people who have died at the hands of MetaHumans that I could not stop. I am sorry for the destruction that has claimed so many innocent people. I am sorry that people like Burn even exist. But I am not sorry for anything I have done.”

“So you enjoy killing? Admit it, you think you are above us don't you?”

Finally, took him long enough.

“How could anyone in their right mind enjoy killing? How can you even ask me that?”

“Because I believe it is the truth, I believe that you are every bit the criminal that Mr. Dubrose is. It is time to shed the light of day on that nest of vipers you call Olympus!”

“Foolish little man. You brought me here for this? I said that like a question but it really is not, I know. I know why I am here and I know what will happen. You are going to lock Burn up. You will isolate him from every possible power source and you will watch him around the clock. It will work, perhaps for a couple of months. But people get sloppy as time goes by. He looks harmless enough and that will be your downfall. He will escape, and he will kill.”

I stood up, raised my arm and pointed towards the assembled people.

“I want everyone here to realize what is going to happen. We could stop this, I could stop it right now. Wipe that smirk off your face Burn or I will. When he escapes, we will hunt him down. But what happens next is up to you. Either you change your laws so that Olympus can deal with MetaHumans, or you watch more cities burn and more people die.”

With that I walked off the witness stand.

The prosecutor said, “You have not been excused.”

I said “I don't care.”

My path took me right by Burn. I leaned in towards him, he looked properly scared. The chains that tapped off his excess power were designed and manufactured at Olympus in case you were wondering. We would help them build his cage too, but none of it would matter.

“We will be watching.” I said for his ears alone.

Olympus left the courthouse.

Once we were back in the limo Psyche and I had an exchange unlike any before it.

“If it looks like this asshole is going to be elected I want PsiInt to make sure it does not happen.” I ordered.

Ordered mind you, not asked, not requested. I am the Commander of Olympus and when I give an order it is obeyed. Period.

“No.” she said softly.

“We cannot allow this sort of... What did you say?”

“I said No.”

Now I was confused, I mean I know the word but what was she saying to me?

“Why?”

“Because it is wrong, because we have done everything you have ever asked of us but we will not do this. We have killed for you, we have violated so many minds, so many. Not that long ago we convinced a 52 year old man to give up land that his family had held for six generations. Six! We have done all of this because we believe in you. We believe that you alone can save this planet and every living thing on it. But we will not do this.”

Conflicting emotions hit me. She had not referred to herself as 'I' even once in that rant and yet I believe she meant I in almost every case. This was happening too often these days.

But as much as I was concerned about my friend I was angered by her refusal. I am the Commander, and no is not an option.

“And if he succeeds?” I asked.

“Then we will deal with it. We have an alternative plan, just kill him. That is your normal answer to a problem.” she threw at me.

I was stunned, and yes dammit I was hurt. Psyche knew me in a way that you really cannot comprehend unless you know a Telepath. She was my Spock, always at my side, always ready to do the impossible. I counted on her, I trusted her, and she had just inflicted a terrible wound on me.

But as fast as that hit, she followed up.

“I am sorry, that was unfair. We know you do only that which you must and we have agreed with you all along the way. If you are guilty, we are guilty.” she said.

I did not know what to say. Should I lash out too, get up on my Commander's high horse and demand she obey my orders? Would it be better to try and talk through this with her, after dropping my psi shield?

For safety I was always protected against psi just like any other energy. I routinely let my shield drop when I was with her so she could in fact read me, but not always. I will admit it, when she could get into my mind she had all the advantages. With her telepathy blocked we could argue on a more level playing field.

She took the options away.

“Stop the car.”

The limo was being driven by a Praetorian of course, and Psyche's lead bodyguard was in the other seat. The divider was down and for the past few minutes they had both been trying not to listen to what we were saying. She and I had never argued in front of anyone before and I think it worried them much like when your mother and father would argue in front of you.

Psyche leaned forward and slapped Michael, her guard, in the back of the head.

“Stop. The. Car.” she ordered.

The driver looked at me.

“Do it.”

We pulled over and she started to get out.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

She ignored me and ordered Michael back into the limo.

“Where are you going?” I asked with a lot more force.

“For a walk, alone.”

“Not alone.”

“Fuck you.”

“Them or me, your choice but you are not going alone.” I said in my full command voice.

She snarled at me and waved at Michael to follow.

“Get your squad and stay with her. You lose her and it's your ass, you read me Praetorian?”

“Yes sir, we will not lose her sir.”

He saluted and headed off after her, his squad mates converging on him.

I got back in the limo, and we headed to the Hotel. The driver had the sense to close the partition as soon as we got going. Good thought because I was in a deeply black mood.

“Pulsar to Apollo”

“Apollo, go”

“Change of plans, Psyche decided to see some of the sights of Chicago. I am heading back home but I want you to stay here until she is ready to leave.”

“What's going on boss?”

“Don't ask, she is mad at me and wandering the city. Michael and his squad are with her but I want you watching too, get your people shadowing her right now.”

“Yes sir, Apollo out.”

My worry about my friend eventually overcame the anger. Nothing happened to her that day, and soon we were all home at Olympus.

Turns out I was wrong about Burn though.

It took four months.

One of his guards, worried about his sick daughter, had forgotten to deposit his cell phone in his locker before going on duty. When he entered Burn's cell to deliver his lunch he did not know the battery was already dead, just like him.

Burn had drained it even before the door was open and it gave him enough power to reduce the poor guard to a cinder. The guard's name was Kelly. On the way out of the prison Burn managed to kill 3 more guards, Robert, Dave and Lexi.

Before we terminated him he murdered more people. Sam, Debbie, John, and Tina.

To the families of Kelly, Robert, Dave, Lexi, Sam, Debbie, John, and Tina, I am sorry.

I am sorry I did not kill Burn the first time.
I am sorry I did not kill him that day in court.
I am sorry I did not have him killed later.

Each time I had to make a choice and I can only hope I made the right one. But at this moment it did not seem much like it. There was nothing right about any of this.

The Greater Good.

Sounds hollow but it is the only path I know. Do the most good for the most people.

I used this event to change the laws, it was necessary but I wish I could have found a better way.

Because of what happened with Burn every state passed laws that gave Olympus jurisdiction over all MetaHumans. Those who remained outside of Olympus essentially were given dual citizenship in the eyes of human law. When a MetaHuman criminal was apprehended they were turned over to us.

We executed most of them.

But some, those that were willing to change, those we gave a chance. Only one of them ever turned on us and that was driven by events none of us could control.

And the ambitious District Attorney? He was demolished in the election. His opponent was a strong supporter of Olympus and won in a landslide.

And believe me, we had nothing to do with that.