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#2
MAY 10 |
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“Planetary Strike” Part Two
EARTH 97701 (In orbit over Hala)
Earth Year: 2200
Selene smiled mischievously at the pacing of her commander. "You worry too much, Magus. They will come."
The black and purple mass swirled around the large command room. Only the Magus' head wasn't in a gaseous state. He stopped swirling right above Selene's head. "You would not mind being my only General I think. Do not pretend your heart is with them, if you have such a thing."
Laughing, Selene sat down in the chair behind her with the care only an expectant goddess would take. She crossed her legs together and relaxed her shoulders. Holding out one palm, she playfully created a black rose in the center of it. "Long have I desired to be your sole confidant, but now is not the time."
“At least you have that much sense,” the Magus said as he continued his swirling. Where were the rest? He had sent the call for them to assemble hours ago. Waiting for his underlings was a task that he was not accustomed to.
If any of the Generals were actually dead, Selene hoped that it was Frostsword. That wench had crossed her more times than it was healthy for the average mortal to. The only reason the slut wasn’t dead was because the Magus had use for her. Selene yearned for the day when that was no longer the case. She would personally be the one to end the demi-god’s life.
The Magus felt Selene’s hate and found humor in it; Selene was as cutthroat as ever. He admired her desire for lasting power and immortality, but that desire overrode any sense of loyalty. She had no morals and he couldn’t trust her. One time before she nearly let death claim him and, if not for her army, he would have struck her down.
“At least have faith in Skaar,” Selene said as she blew on the black rose and dispersed it into dust. “He is a capable man.”
The door to the command room slid open and titanic green barbarian walked in. “Glad you noticed.”
Floating above his General, the Magus asked, “Where are the others?”
“Frost is on her way. Arides and Cerebro are being held up by Technocrat’s team.”
The Magus despised Technocrat with a burning passion. He disrupted more operations than any one of T’Chaka’s cronies. “Damn him! That fool is infuriating to his interference.”
Selene liked to see the Magus emotional because it meant that he was off his game. He was at his most potent and uncontrollable when cold and calculating, and that was no good for Selene’s purposes. She preferred her men to be malleable. Emotions lent themselves better to manipulation.
“This is why we need to strike at Sol. They grow bold and need to be reminded who their betters are,” Selene said as the Magus began his smoky pacing anew.
Skaar didn’t even attempt to follow his master’s path. “For once I agree with her. The rebels are regaining their courage.”
“Plans are already in place for such an attack,” the Magus said as he reformed his body and landed in front of Skaar. “That was the entire purpose of this meeting. With Sol’s fall, my empire will be firmly established.”
Selene licked her lips. “And our immortality begins…”
A.R.M.O.R. Headquarters (Earth-792)
Brian was standing on the stadium stage with the entirety of his A.R.M.O.R. staff in front of him. From the podium he was able to pick out the one person that wasn’t part of his staff. He could only imagine what his visitor was going to tell him. Still, there wasn’t time to sugarcoat anything.
“As of this moment this installation is going to be at TL-One. We are about to be engaged in a full-scale conflict. If any of you remember the Earth-12488 incursion then this is going to be a similar operation. I want all combat related staff to be ready for DT in 3 hours. Mission Op specifics have been uploaded to all of your Stark-Pads. If anyone needs one, I will be in a meeting with Field Team One.”
Braddock stepped away from the podium and felt the eyes of his visitor locked on him as he stepped down from the stage. It didn’t take long for the next step in the process to happen. “Director Braddock! Director Braddock!”
Brian turned to the sound of the voice and faked a smile. “Mr. Halloran I thought that was you I saw. What business brings you here?”
“We need to discuss this mission you’re undertaking.”
Brian nodded. “Walk with me then; I’m about to brief my top field team in detail. After that, you can ask me any questions you want. Sound like a plan?”
The unshapely, nerdy man nodded. “Yes, yes. That’ll be fine.”
Braddock smiled even though he was grimacing on the inside. He knew that he was about to have to hear an ear load of bureaucratic bollocks that wasn’t going to benefit a single person in his organization. Halloran’s presence was just as annoying as he looked. Brian just hoped that he would be able to stall the man long enough to complete the mission to Earth-97701 without a hitch.
“Well then, follow me and I’ll tell you everything you need to know,” Braddock said.
Halloran nodded and walked alongside Braddock. “Your work continues to impress the U.N., Mr. Braddock.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Brian, you silly chap.”
Halloran shook despite himself from the strength in Brian’s voice. “Of course. Well, Brian, the United Nations is pleased with the job you have done thus far. A number of threats have been diverted due to your work.”
A slim redhead walked up to the two men and handed Captain Britain a clipboard. “This the list of A.R.M.O.R. units that will be deploying with us for this mission. Just came in, sir.”
Brian casually flipped through the listed units. “Thank you Mylene and good work.”
“Yes sir,” the woman smiled as she walked away from the two men. She gave a glance of compassion Halloran’s way, but that was all.
“That was Mylene Drexler,” Brian said as he held the clipboard to his side and continued walking. “Low level pyrokinetic. She’s an agent from America.”
Halloran stopped to fog and wipe his glasses. “Well, I’m sure she is of superior caliber, as are all the staff here, which is why the U.N. doesn’t want them made expendable.”
Braddock frowned at the comment, but tried to not let the U.N. inspector notice. So it seemed that the United Nations had already made their assessment of his current mission. Well, to hell with them! He wasn’t going to let the M.D.A. deal with thousands of escapees pouring back into the Multiverse. It wasn’t going down on his watch and he had promised Battlestar he would take the lead. He didn’t like breaking promises.
“I think you’ll find my field team quite interesting,” Brian said as he opened the door to the conference room where Field Team One was waiting.
The Earth Assembly HQ (Earth-97701)
President T’Chaka Stark sat behind his desk with a number of red, green and blue holographic data screens floating in front of him. With a mere push of his finger he was able to flip through each screen like pages in a book. “Looks like we’re taking losses in the Praxis and NCLB systems, but there have been reports that Skaar has left from that area.”
Alise Parker paced back and forth in front of his desk. Her crystalline almost caused a glare in the brightly lit room. “Then it’s as we feared. The Magus is calling them together and they’re going to make a move against us.”
Stark sighed. “Then we need to be prepared. I’m going to have to talk with S.W.O.R.D. about mobilizing the Deathloks here on Earth. Blue Marvel and Technocrat will need to be recalled back to Earth and the Jupiter Moon Defense Systems will need to be reactivated.”
Parker stopped pacing and clinched up with military precision. “The Deathloks, sir? Are you sure that’s necessary. The M.D.A. will provide us--”
“I will not take that risk. You vouch for this version of Captain Britain and I trust your opinion, but I want all angles to be covered. I’m going to be calling a meeting with the Five Continental Governors in an hour.I want you to be there to explain exactly what the M.D.A. is going to provide for us.”
Alise nodded. The expression on Stark’s face showed clear worry, but she wasn’t sure whether it stemmed from the pending invasion or having to deal with the Governors. They had to be hands down the most difficult collection of people in the galaxy to deal with. At the end of the day, the President could not make certain actions without their approval so he had to work with them. Parker would have preferred to just show them all the nearest airlock. It didn’t help that the African governor happened to be her ex-boyfriend.
Stark must have figured that thought would cross her mind. “Are you ok speaking with Amiri?”
“He’s just a man. I’m over us. I’ll be fine.”
She knew that was a lie because she thought about what she’d had with Amiri everyday. They had been engaged and nearly were down the aisle when she found out about his infidelity. Alise knew her father was saying, “I told you so” from the grave. He had warned her from the beginning that Amiri was a Nur and they just weren’t the kind of people you wanted to be around. But she had decided to follow her heart and look where it had gotten her…bottled up in her work and alone.
Then a thought flashed through her pity party. “You know he is going to want to resurrect the Horsemen?”
Stark smiled wearily. His white teeth shone even brighter against his ebony skin. “His family’s legacy. I already anticipated that, but the scary thing is…I might actually agree with him.”
Alise’s dress suddenly felt three sizes smaller. “You can’t be serious? The Horsemen nearly burnt Europe to the ground. The place is still recovering nearly two centuries later!”
The President understood his old friend’s passion, but greater things were at stake than covering old family wounds. “The Magus will burn all of Earth and we won’t recover. If there are tools we can use to save our world then we need to use them. No questions asked.”
Alise leaned forward on T’Chaka’s desk and pushed her face through his holographic interfaces. “If you let those animals loose, I’ll be tending my resignation with you once Earth is safe.”
The two locked eyes for an intense moment and T’Chaka finally relented. “I’ll just have to accept that, Alise. But think for a moment what that will do to the continuity of this war effort. Saving Earth does not go hand in hand with beating Magus. It may, but that’s not assured, so think long and hard.”
Pushing herself off his desk, Alise finally felt like she could breathe again. “I’ll see you at the meeting.”
She turned and walked out the door.
A.R.M.O.R. Headquarters (Earth-792)
Brian sat at the head of the table with Mr. Halloran to his right. “Everyone, I think you remember Mr. Halloran. He’s here to bring us some news from the United Nations.”
Shevaun Haldane, the woman known as Dark Angel, was at the opposite end of the table. “I hope it isn’t a bunch of bollocks. You politico types are known for that kind of rubbish.”
Halloran seemed a bit rattled by that comment, but managed to put on a half-smile as he sat his briefcase down. “Not at all, ma’am. We’re just wanting to bring some concerns to light.”
Captain Britain jumped in before Halloran could continue any further.“Before our guest here lays out anything, I want to field any questions about our coming mission. Have you all reviewed the dossier on Earth-97701?
Shevaun yawned. “Of course, boss, but I don’t know why. Not like we haven’t worked with Alise in the past.”
“Working with her and actually dealing with her world are two different things. There are certain people and things we have to be prepared for. We’re going into an all-out warzone, so I want all of my people going into it to be prepared.”
Wiccan raised a hand and waited for Braddock to acknowledge him. “Have you figured out any specific mission parameters for us?”
Brian smiled. He could see through his agent. “You want a chance at Selene, don’t you?”
“From what I’ve read, she’s amassed quite a bit of mystical artifacts. You know I don’t feel particularly kind towards those who are magical hoarders.”
Portal rolled his eyes. “Is that why you’ve got so many trinkets?”
Gaia elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs while still maintaining a smile. She knew her lover had a bit of asshole in him and she loved him for that flaw, but now wasn’t the time. Besides, the only thing Wiccan had ever done to Portal was eating the last box of Fruity Pebbles. Charles had held a grudge with Wiccan over it ever since. She probably needed to tell Wiccan to buy a box to smooth things over.
Brian picked up on the slight jerking movement of Portal and tried to contain a laugh. “I haven’t laid out any specific missions yet. I want to get all the A.R.M.O.R. units in front of me before I start divvying up duties. I also want the chance to speak with President Stark.”
Halloran blinked his eyes in disbelief. “As in Tony Stark?”
Motormouth shook her head. “That would be too weird!”
Mindbender adjusted his red and green sunglasses as he puffed on a cigarette. “Trust me, gel, there’s plenty of stuff on this world that throws me for a loop.”
Brian could tell that Halloran was beginning to get overwhelmed by all the information being thrown his way. All the better. “This Stark is the descendant of Tony Stark and Black Panther. He is the President of Earth and who I will need to deal with in order to make sure our mission is successful.”
Halloran could take no more. He was going to have to speak up. “That is precisely why I am here, Mr. Braddock! The United Nations will not stand for our A.R.M.O.R. agents being casually thrown away!”
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To Be Continued...
Next: In A.R.M.O.R. #3: U.N. is not happy with A.R.M.O.R.’s current mission, but Brian is going to show them why they don’t have any choice in the matter. Alise and Stark meet with the Continental Governors about what has to be done to save Earth. How does Bastion play into that?
This is something I’m going to try and do at the end of every A.R.M.O.R. issue. It’s to offer up some supplementary information to explain things I might not be able to get into the story because they’re extraneous information, but still kind of fun to me anyway. Certain terms may get explained here and backstory on different worlds may be provided. Just all in good fun.
So for this issue…
People of power in Earth-97701’s government
President T’Chaka Stark- He’s the top of the food chain
Alise Parker- Head of A.R.M.O.R.
Josiah Rage- Head of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Vulcan- Head of S.W.O.R.D.
Fire Mage- Head of X-Force
Amiri Nur- Continental Governor of Africa
Lorien Lensherr- Continental Governor of Europe
Sable Voleur- Continental Governor of the Americas
Tucker Grimm- Continental Governor of Australia
Kiriko Nguyen- Continental Governor of Asia
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