| Roll Call: |
|---|
 Black Diamond |
 Enchantress |
 Firestar |
 Lightburst |
 Supreme |
 Thing |
Guest Starring Blizzard |
 Sorceress |
 Spinnerette |
 Texas Ranger |
"Fall back to the elevators!", Black Diamond shouted. Her raiding team had just infiltrated into the lowest level of the Crimson Claw ship and now found themselves beset by demons!
"I'll handle these bunch of uglies!" Supreme leaped forward, smashing into the largest of the trio of 'wrath demons', as the Sorceress had called them. In spite of its hideous appearance, the demon was no match for Supreme. Its claws raked the muscle bound Avenger, but were unable to draw blood. A punch from the hero propelled the demon across the chamber and into the far wall.
"Supreme! No! Stick to the plan!" However, much to Black Diamond's chagrin, Supreme paid her no heed. "Damn that man!" Diamond advanced on several of the servants as they approached the remainder of her team. One of the servants hit her with its weapon, but the attack had no effect on the heroine. Black Diamond waded into the servants, sending them flying every which way.
Firestar, Speedster, and Lightburst reached one of the elevators, avoiding the weapons discharges from the Claw's servants. They turned to watch the battle unfolding behind them. "Hurry up!", Speedster urged the others.
"Just hold your horses, Mr. Yellow-Jeans!" Blizzard slid forward on an ice slide, and was promptly shot down by one of the servants. He was unconscious before he hit the floor of the chamber.
"Let's get this crate moving," the Speedster said as he examined the controls.
"You can't just leave them out there!", Firestar shouted in protest. "They need our help!"
The Speedster gave Firestar an understanding look. "Hey, I don't like it either, but you know the rules: keep moving!" Turning back to the panel, the Freedom Leaguer spoke into the microphone: "cellblock."
"Light!", the Sorceress yelled to her companions. She struck down another servant with her silvery sword, named Reaver. "Demons are vulnerable to light!"
Lightburst stepped forward and fired a light blast into the demonic horde. They screamed in pain, as several of the servants dropped. "I knew I could make a difference!", Lightburst proudly stated. He prepared to fire again, when the elevator doors slammed shut in front of him! "We've got to go back! I can destroy those monsters!", he protested in vain.
"Too late...", Speedster answered in a small voice. He wasn't particularly proud how this raid was going down. But there were plenty of heavy hitters down there. They would be all right. He hoped.
"Damn it!", Firestar uncharacteristically cursed. She should have stayed and helped Black Diamond. That's what teammates were for.
An uneasy silence between the trio filled the elevator as the car traveled through the Claw's ship.
Back in the engine room, Spinnerette flicked her wrists, blanketing the remaining 'wrath demons' in webbing. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got places to go, people to free, and villains to humiliate. You know how it is." With a leap and a bound, she joined the others in the remaining elevator. "Besides you're all much too ugly for this gal," she called back over her shoulder. Imperial, Tritium and the Comet were already there.
"Come on!" Imperial called out to those heroes still fighting. "We are leaving, people!"
Supreme continued to ignore the commands and kept on fighting. The Sorceress was managing a fighting retreat towards the elevator. The Shadow Cloak whipped around the mage, seemingly of its own accord, often blocking discharges from the servants's weapons. Tritium and Imperial provided cover fire.
The demons caught in the webbing simply vanished, causing the web to collapse to the deck. They soon phased back into existence a few seconds later and renewed their attack.
"Get out of here!", Black Diamond yelled to the heroes in the elevators. She grabbed another servant and sent it sprawling across the chamber. "We'll follow when we can!"
"Man, I'm going to hate myself...", Imperial muttered to himself. Toward the elevator controls he stated simply, "cellblock." Then Imperial flew out of the car and towards the Sorceress.
"What are you doing?!"
"Sorry about this, Doll..." He shoved the Superior Seven's mage into the car a moment before the doors slammed shut. Turning back to the battle, Imperial blasted away one of the Demons.
"Doesn't anyone in this group listen?", Black Diamond wondered aloud. Down below, Supreme was being overrun by the demons. They piled onto the Avenger and he was quickly buried beneath a sea of demonic limbs. With a sigh, Black Diamond flew in, reached into the pile and pulled Supreme out of their midst. "Honestly, there are times when you act like a little kid."
Supreme shrugged and just grinned. He couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't land him in more trouble than he already was in.
Imperial flew up alongside the pair as a perky voice came over the ship's loudspeakers. "Attention all villains. The ship has been invaded by heroes! The Crimson Claw will reward those who succeed in capturing the heroes. They are to be brought to my master alive. He will not compensate you for dead bodies."
"That's some consolation," Imperial added with a smirk. In one hand, he carried the still unconscious form of Blizzard. Down below, the servants and demons were regrouping.
"And you--!", Black Diamond said to Imperial, pointing her finger in an accusing manner.
"What?", Imperial answered in mock surprise. "I'm just following your instructions, oh-diamondy one. Everyone gets out alive. Remember?" Before Diamond could argue, Imperial grabbed a hold of her arm. "Let's take your advice and get the hell out of here." Imperial concentrated and the quartet winked out of existence, leaving the demons below confused and without a foe to fight.
Firestar shifted uncomfortably in the elevator. The announcement made by the receptionist had only reinforced her convictions that they should have never deserted the others. "I don't like this. Not one little bit."
Lightburst could only nod in agreement, but kept his mouth shut. His attitude towards Firestar had been less than gentlemanly in the past. He was thankful for his full mask as it currently hid the shame on his face.
"I know what you mean, kid," Speedster offered. "I feel dirty for leaving the others behind, but like Di said, this is bigger than any one of us. We have to keep moving and accomplish our mission objectives."
The door silently opened to reveal a corridor that curved away to the heroes' left. Cautiously, the trio entered the hallway and examined its contents. What appeared to be the outline of doors lined the left hand wall every eight feet or so. A small keypad was mounted to the right of each cell door. In the center of each door was a small plate bearing the name of its occupant.
"How do we get these things to open?" Firestar looked at the keypads. They appeared normal enough, sort of like a push button phone with a few extra keys.
"Can either one of you blast your way through these doors?", Speedster asked, while examining another keypad. He could go through code combinations fast enough, so that wasn't a problem. However, not even knowing how many digits there were in the combination was a problem. "I'll try to guess the opening code, but it could take some time."
Lightburst and Firestar moved further down the hallway, each taking a different door. 'Burst projected a concentrated light blast from his palm, but it didn't even scratch the metal on the cell door. Likewise, Firestar's flames didn't make any headway either. "What's this stuff made out of?"
A loud screeching noise filled the corridor behind the two Avengers. Both covered their ears to block out the horrific noise. Looking back, they could see Speedster slumped to the floor. Floating in the hallway was a woman with long brown hair. She wore a dark blue body suit, armless and legless, with matching short gloves and high boots. A long white cape was attached by a glowing pendant just below her neck.
"Howler!", Lightburst yelled accusingly. He raised his hands and fired a light burst at the woman. A sonic force field erected by Howler deflected most of the blast's damage, but the force did propel the woman back a few yards.
"That's right," the woman taunted, as she righted herself in midair. "You're in for one howling good time!"
Firestar raised her arms in preparation for sending a blast of fire at Howler. She never got it off as an unseen attack slammed into the young heroine's torso. Cassie sailed backwards, hitting the deck of the ship and sliding ten feet before coming to a stop. Hunched over on the floor, Firestar gasped trying to get her breath back, the unexpected attack having knocked the air from her lungs.
Howler screamed again, catching Lightburst fully. The light-wielding Avenger crumbled to his knees from the onslaught, his hands trying to keep out the horrible sound. Out of the corner of his eye, Lightburst saw something streaking towards him. It looked like a man, but he was badly out of focus. Lightburst was struck hard and sprawled to the deck floor.
The unknown attacker stood over Lightburst. Slowing down his vibrating, the man came into focus. He wore long black bicyclist shorts, sneakers, and little else. "You never had a chance, hero. Not between the combined forces of Howler and Vibron!"
Struggling to her knees, Firestar looked at the two distant villains. Before she could act, another attack slammed into her, knocking her further back. Firestar didn't rise this time.
A third villain slowly appeared in the hallway. He wore a light blue costume with white trim. He reached down and grabbed Firestar by the hair to made sure she was unconscious. "Sorry, girl, but Freon doesn't like to get burned." Satisfied that she was out cold, Freon picked Firestar up and carried her over his shoulder.
Heading back towards the other villains, Freon said, "Looks like we all bagged a hero."
"I wonder what the Claw is going to give us as a reward," Howler added with a laugh.
Vibron picked up Lightburst and the Speedster, tucking one under each arm. "Why stand here wondering? Let's find out!"
Together, the trio of villains entered the elevator.
"I got you!" Spinnerette caught the Sorceress, who had been roughly pushed into the elevator by Imperial. Gently, the wall-crawling Guardian set the mage down.
"Thank you so much," Tanya said in appreciation, regaining her bearings. "That was an extremely rude thing to do. Quite noble, but still extremely rude."
"Are you all right, Tanya?", the Comet asked in a concerned voice. "I'll teach that thug a lesson when I get my hands on him!"
Turning to face Comet, Tanya answered, "I am well, my friend. Do not worry yourself."
"It's like they said at the briefing, we've got to keep moving to accomplish our goals," Tritium added.
"As much as I hate to run from a fight, Trit is right in this case," Spinnerette said in agreement. "We'll get all the help we need from---" Unexpectedly, Spinnerette stopped in mid-sentence as a familiar tingling came over her.
"There is trouble ahead for us." The Sorceress sensed the same approaching danger as did Spinnerette, thanks to her mystical Amulet of the Warrior.
"What do we do now?", the Comet asked. Before anyone could reply, the receptionist's announcement reached their ears. It was of little comfort.
Imperial and his passengers winked into existence in a small, enclosed area. They continued to hover in mid-air.
"Where are we?" Black Diamond looked around as best she could in these cramped quarters. It was a featureless seven foot square area.
"You moron!", Supreme roared in realization. "Of all the places you could have chosen, why did you put us in a cell!?" After spending two long months in such a cell, Supreme was not eager to repeat the experience.
"Hey, I needed someplace familiar to transport to. I got to know this cell very well."
Black Diamond couldn't imagine being held in such close quarters for any length of time. The horror of Supreme's long captivity was just beginning to dawn on her.
"Besides," Imperial continued, "each cell was keyed to its occupant. Meaning, that you and Di should be able to break us out if I can't teleport again."
A weak voice called out from below in the room. "Is someone there--?" Looking down, the heroes saw a battered American Eagle laying on a cot.
"Oh, man. Those creeps did a number on American Eagle!" Imperial carefully lowered himself to the floor, and laid the still unconscious Blizzard off to one side. Black Diamond and Imperial landed as well.
Black Diamond sat on the edge of the bed and leaned towards the elder hero. "American Eagle? Can you hear me? It's Black Diamond. We're going to get you out of here."
"Diamond?", American Eagle whispered. "Thank you..." The Freedom Squad leader fell unconscious once more.
"He's in bad shape," Black Diamond announced after a quick examination. She had taken a basic first aid course many years earlier that all too often came in very handy. "We've got to get him to a hospital."
"Then I'll just make an exit." Supreme wound up and smashed the cell door with a powerful punch. The blow made an impression in the door, but didn't break it open. "Or maybe not."
"Attention, Blade," Black Diamond said into her headset, intent upon alerting the other team leaders of her group's status. After a long pause she added, "That's funny. Quasar, can you hear me? Is anyone reading me? What's wrong with these things?"
Imperial experimented with his own headset. "Yo, Defender?" Static was the heroes only response. "What a piece of junk!" To emphasize his point, Imperial threw his headset to the floor.
"We are cut off from the others," Diamond reported. "At any rate, we need to get out of this cell."
"What's going on?", Blizzard asked groggily on the floor. "Where are we?"
"Welcome back to the land of the living, popsicle." Imperial helped Blizzard to his feet.
Black Diamond joined Supreme at the cell door. "Let's see how tough this door really is. Together on three."
"Sure thing." Supreme wound up and waited as Diamond counted down. As she reached three, they both struck the barrier with all their might creating a hole in the solid metal door! Leaning forward, Supreme quickly enlarged the hole and then stepped out into the hallway. "Looks clear out here."
Blizzard was next out of the hole. Imperial gestured towards the prone American Eagle. "Gonna take him with us?"
"We don't have much choice," Black Diamond stated as she picked up American Eagle. "The damage inflicted by Black Paladin could be life threatening."
"I don't mean to sound callous, but this is a war zone. Taking him is gonna be one big handicap."
Black Diamond stepped through the opening and into the hallway beyond. "Everyone gets out of this alive, Imperial. No exceptions."
As Imperial entered the hallway, a strange momentary tingle passed through the heroes. The heroes exchanged concerned glances. "What the hell was that?" Blizzard didn't know what to make of the odd sensation.
"The dome just teleported," Imperial explained. "I've felt that many times before."
"So that's what that was. I thought my body was falling asleep." With a shrug, Supreme led the heroes down the corridor.
"When the door opens, fire at will," Cryotron, the leader of the Corrupters of All instructed his team. He wore a light blue suit of armor with a red visor. His eyes continued to be locked on the flashing lights above the elevator. "Should luck be with us, the heroes will be taken unawares. An easy capture for us!"
"I do not like this," Sergeant Supreme stated. The sergeant was dressed in a dark gray costume, accented by yellow lightning bolts. A deep v-neck on his tunic exposed a strange brand on his chest. "What if there are other villains inside the car?"
"Then we'll apologize after they wake up," Cryotron explained offhandedly.
"It doesn't feel right to me either." Gaussian was the next to speak. She was the only woman in the quartet. Most of her short brown hair was covered by a white cap with black arcs on it. The same pattern was repeated on her costume, essentially a one-piece swimsuit-like outfit. The average looking woman wore a long white cape with black lining. Short white gloves and boots finished her attire.
The final member of the Corrupters was called Bruiser. Since the group's muscle man was mute, he kept his opinion to himself. Bruiser towered over them all in his red costume with black accessories.
"The end justifies the means," Cryotron explained. "We capture some heroes, turn them over to the Claw, and he gives us a reward. Perhaps passage back to our home dimension? Is that not what we all desire?"
Gaussian and Sergeant Supreme could only, reluctantly, nod in agreement. The Corrupters were once the crime lords for one third of their home planet. A position they shared with two other crime lords, all of which were bitter rivals. One of the other rivals had managed to get the Corrupters blasted out of their home dimension. They hoped that their exile on Earth was coming to an end.
Turing back to the elevator, the Corrupters prepared for their assault. The door slid open and the Corrupters attacked. Cryotron fired a cold ray, while Gaussian unleashed a magnetic blast. Sergeant Supreme sent a bolt of lightning into the elevator car that emerged from his chest brand. None of the blasts struck a living target!
"How--!?", Cryotron could only wonder in amazement.
Comet, who had been laying on the elevator floor streaked forward, a pyrotechnic tail trailing behind him. He rammed into Cryotron and Sergeant Supreme, taking all three further down the corridor. "Wha-Hoo!!"
Spinnerette swung down from the car's ceiling, used the open doorway as a swinging bar, and was propelled feet first into a surprised Gaussian. "Hi there! Let me put my best foot forward!" The heroine kicked the villainess across the face, launching her backwards down the corridor. Gaussian never expected to be attacked during the Corrupters' ambush and had not raised her magnetic field for protection. She was out cold before hitting the floor.
Tritium and the Sorceress had flattened themselves to the elevator sides to avoid the surprise assault. Now, they moved to the center to face their attackers. "Shall we show these thugs some manners?", Tanya asked of her companion.
"You know it, sister!" Tritium fired off a blast of internuclear forces and caught Bruiser fully. The musclebound villain's mouth opened, as if in pain, but no sound came forth. Like his teammates, Bruiser was sent flying back. However, he groggily tried to stand.
"Nicely done, Tritium," the Sorceress complimented as she rushed Bruiser. Reaver grasped tightly in her hands, Tanya swung the magical blade at Bruiser and it passed harmlessly through his body! In spite of this, Bruiser seemed to be in pain once more. He dropped to his knees, his mouth locked in a silent scream.
Tritium flew closer and finished off the villain with another blast of energy. Turning to the Sorceress, she asked, "What the heck did you do to him? I could have sworn the sword passed right through him!"
"Your eyes do not deceive you, my friend. Reaver did not hurt our foe in the manner that you expected, but it did wound him none the less."
"Uhm, yeah," was Tritium's response. Looking around, the Champion noticed the name of Obsidian on one of the nearby cell doors. "Hey! My teammate is in here! We've got to get the big guy out!"
"Agreed. The question does remain just how we can open this portal."
Tritium took several steps back and then assaulted the door with a blast of energy. It didn't harm the cell door. "These doors are really tough! Considering their occupants, I suppose that they'd have to be."
"Let me try something." The Sorceress sat Reaver on the hallway floor. Then she started to speak arcane words and made mysterious gestures. At the height of her spell, a whitish glow appeared about her hands. Then she directed this energy into Reaver and the magical blade now glowed white. "We shall see momentarily if I am successful or not."
Taking up Reaver once more, the Sorceress drove the blade into the door! With effort, Tanya cut an opening into the hard metallic door.
"Damn!" was Tritium's impressed response to the scene.
There was movement from inside the cell. An ebony hand reached out through the opening, followed by an equally jet black head. Slowly, the Champion known as Obsidian climbed out of the cell. "You have my thanks," the eight foot tall alien prince stated.
"Good to have you back, big guy!", Tritium said as she, in an uncharacteristic show of affection, hugged her teammate.
"I have not your strength, Obsidian," Tanya said to the Champion, handing him her sword. "Take Reaver in hand. Coupled with your great strength, the blade will free the others far faster than I ever could."
Obsidian nodded his understanding and moved to the next opening. The blade bit deeply once more, making short work of this cell door.
Further up the corridor, Spinnerette rushed after Comet and the remaining Corrupters of All as their flight path had taken them further along in the cellblock. Suddenly, her spider sense kicked in and the heroine launched herself upwards and flattened on the ceiling. A split-second later, a wave of electricity filled the corridor. "That could have hurt."
"Impressive, woman. But it will not save you from Sergeant Supreme!"
"Who says I need to be saved, buzz-boy?" Spinnerette flicked her wrists, and webbing covered the Corruptor.
The Sergeant was surprised by this turn of events. "What are you doing---?! This will not hold me for long!"
Spinnerette leaped from the ceiling, bounced off a wall, and slammed hard into the struggling Sergeant Supreme. "It doesn't have to, Sparky! Just long enough for me to play bowling ball!" The nimble heroine tumbled away from the impact and inspected her handy work. Supreme was out cold on the floor, still wrapped up in the webbing. "Aw, he fall down and go boom."
"That's the last of them then." Turning, Spinnerette could see Comet coming up the corridor. "I put Frosty on ice for a while."
The heroine groaned at the bad pun. "You're not related to Spectrum, are you?"
Returning to the others, Comet and Spinnerette saw that Tritium and the Sorceress had freed Obsidian. The Champion's muscle man had used Reaver to free the Black Phantom and was already working on the next door.
"All right!", Comet commented as he saw the freed heroes. "Looks like the tide is beginning to turn in our favor!"
"About damn time, too," Spinnerette added.
Unexpectedly, the Sorceress fell to her knees and grabbed her head in pain.
"What the--?", Tritium uttered upon seeing this. She bent down to examine the writhing Sorceress.
Obsidian turned his head to one side and watched the scene in confusion. "Has she been injured?"
"I can't tell!" Tritium was a physician in her secret identity, but in spite of her training, the cause of Tanya's pain was not evident.
"Those fools!", Tanya muttered to no one in particular. She, like most mystics, were sensitive to things magical. There was a sudden change in the area. Great magic was in action. As well as intense evil. "More demons.... Those fools! Overwhelming evil!" (Editor's Note: See Troubleshooters #12 for the cause of this!)
All the heroes could do was exchange concerned glances. Whatever was going on, it didn't sound good...
Unknown to the heroes, there were two separate cellblock areas. Each accessed separately by the two elevators. In the other cellblock, Black Diamond and her companions were facing a quandary...
Imperial looked over the keypad beside one of the cell doors. "Got me how this thing is supposed to work. I said it before and I'll say it again, we should have brought an egghead with us."
"Here," Black Diamond said, handing American Eagle gently to Imperial. "Looks like brute force is our only option. Come on, Supreme, let's get our friends out of these cells."
"With pleasure, Di."
On the count of three, both Avengers struck the door with all their might. Once again, a large hole was burst through the door. With effort Supreme enlarged it enough for a man to fit through.
Looking inside, Black Diamond spotted the cell's lone occupant. "Earthquake! We're here to rescue you!"
"That's great!" Earthquake, one of the Superior Seven, rose from his cot and made his way towards the exit. "Are you guys a sight for sore eyes!" The brown and black clad earth manipulator crawled through the newly created opening. He vigorously shook Supreme's and Diamond's hand. "I was beginning to think that I'd never get out of there!"
"I know what you mean," Supreme added.
"It's good to see you again, Earthquake," Black Diamond said. "We're getting everyone out of here. It will take time to bash all these doors in, but I don't see any other way to free the captives."
"Ehhh, what's up, doc?" Turning at the sound of Bugs Bunny's voice,, Diamond, Supreme, and Earthquake could see Sabre of X-Factor approaching. Beside him was his teammate Blizzard.
"Look who just popped in!", Blizzard added, pointing to the new arrival.
Moving to face Sabre, Black Diamond asked, "Where is the rest of your team?"
"The plan hit a snag. I'm the only one who got inside safely."
Black Diamond accepted the simple explanation with a concerned look. "You say you have another way to open up the cells, Sabre?"
"It worked before. I can only hope it works again. Stand back, everyone."
Following Sabre's instructions, the heroes all moved away. Sabre stood before one of the keypads. He gathered his lethal energy into his hands and placed it into the keypad. Stepping back, Sabre and the others watched as the energy rapidly consumed the keypad. In seconds, it exploded in a showering display of energy! All the doors in the cellblock slammed open a moment later!
"You did it, Sabre!", Black Diamond said in appreciation. "I could almost kiss you!"
"Well, don't let me stop you," Sabre answered with a look of false modesty. A scowl from Supreme made Sabre change his mind.
Former prisoners filed into the corridor, some of which had been missing for many months: Starburst, Dimension Man, Warhawk, Jaguar, Crusader, Resonator, Aftershock, Brainstorm, the Marksman, Sidewinder, and Mind Titan.
Friends and teammates were reunited, but the celebration was short lived. Black Diamond spoke over the loud din. "Please, everyone! This isn't over with yet! We can chat later on, but right now we must keep moving!"
The talk settled down as the heroes listened to the Avenger's leader. "We are just one of several raiding forces assaulting this place. Our next objective is to---" Diamond came to a halt as she felt that her unique sixth sense was trying to tell her something. "I'm sensing something-- I don't know what! Be on your guard!"
Silence filled the hallway, as the heroes tried to determine just what possible new danger was approaching.
"Someone's coming in the elevator!", Imperial announced, pointing to the elevator's door. The lights over the doorway were flashing.
"Ha!", Blizzard said with a laugh. "Whoever they are, won't they be surprised to find all of us waiting for them."
"You got that right," Aftershock added, smacking his armored fist into his palm. "Time for a little payback!"
"Let's not get cocky, Shocky," Imperial shot to his fellow Capitol Patrol member. "That's my department."
The heroes watched as the elevator doors silently opened. Instead of the carload of villains they had been expected, there were shadowy forms in the elevator! In a shower of claws and fangs, the creatures erupted from the car and swarmed over the surprised heroes!
"What the hell are these things?!"
No one had an answer, as everyone in the large hallway was now fighting for their lives as these strange shadowy creatures rapidly began to fill the hallway. More and more came out of the elevator shaft and there seemed to be no end to their numbers! It was as if a tide of pure darkness had swept into the corridor...
And check out Muskateer #15 & Troubleshooters #12 as well!
