"I can see myself tearing up the road
Faster than any other boy has every gone
And my skin is raw and my soul is ripe
No one is gonna stop me now
I gotta make my escape
But I can't stop thinking of you
And I never see the
#6 - "Sudden Curve"
until its way too late
I never see the sudden curve until its way too late"
- Meatloaf
Sandra Anderson stared at the monitor in apprehension. During her days as the supervillainess Ladybug situations such as this never would have ruffled her feathers. She was usually calm, cool, and collected. Indeed, it was Ladybug that often got under the skin of others. Especially stuffed shirts like Guardian Angel and others who took things way too seriously. Well, most others at any rate.
The Muskateer had always been a special case. During their past conflicts he always seemed to know what to do, what to say to drive Sandy up the wall. He was just one of those people that got under Ladybug's skin. Even more frustrating, in spite of all the power the Ladybug armor gave Sandra she never was able to get a really good shot in on her nemesis.
But now the situation had changed dramatically. The world itself was no longer the same and certainly not for the better. Sandra was captured by the HPA and her armor confiscated. Since she was not a mutant, she was placed in a scientific research and development center. 'Placed' in this particular instance meaning that Sandra agreed to go there in order to continue living and breathing. Before too long she was in the employ of the turncoat Resonator and subject to his vile, evil whims.
But now that too had changed. Resonator was dead and the fortress that housed his scientific labs scattered to the four winds. The man once known as Muskateer had extracted his bloody vengeance with a small assistance from the former Ladybug. It was a small bargain that kept Sandra alive once more.
Once the details were completed, the former Ladybug now worked for Muskateer. Once more Sandra made a deal with the devil to keep on living. At times she truly wondered if it was really worth it. When it came down to choosing between life and death, there really was no choice. She, like most individuals, would do whatever it took to stay alive. Even if she had to place her own life in the hands of her one time nemesis. Fate was strange like that.
At the present, there was very little Sandra could do to aid the Last Avenger. She was seated inside the big rig he had 'borrowed' from Resonator's compound. Her injured ankle severely limited her mobility. The rear of the trailer was loaded with gear that Muskateer had appropriated before destroying Resonator's complex. The exact contents were unknown to Sandra. It was a need to know situation and Sandy didn't need to know.
In fact Muskateer had been horrifically tight-lipped about everything. From what little Sandy could draw out of the black clad man was that he wanted her to help build weapons so that he could fight Destroyer. Beyond that, there was very little that she knew.
She had no idea of their exact destination. They had been driving along in the big rig for hours now. At the Brooklyn checkpoint they had punched through the barrier in an impressive display of firepower that had lit up the night. Once out into the Free Zone, Sandra thought them home free. That was until those mutant bikers had shown up.
Muskateer drove the Downtrodden away and the two continued on their trip. The big rig chewed up the miles as they continued to travel along in the Free Zone. Were Sandy to venture a guess, their destination was somewhere in what used to be Long Island. She couldn't be sure.
The rig was currently at a stop. The tractor-trailer was idling in the parking lot of what had once been a shopping center. The place had been totally destroyed and looted many years ago. Today it was just a pile of rubble along the side of the road. Now it was only the home to rats, stray dogs and other vermin.
Muskateer slipped out of the cabin without saying where he was going. He did hand Sandra a communication headset to keep in contact. His explicit instructions were to keep an eye on the tractor's radar in case of trouble. Time passed slowly while Sandy watched the display on the monitor. All was quiet. That is until four blips appeared on the edge of the screen!
"Hello? Muskateer?", Sandy meekly said into her microphone. "Are you reading me? Anybody there?"
"What is it, 'Bug?", came the terse response.
"I'm picking up four blips on radar. Fifty miles out and moving fast towards our position."
"What are they?"
Sandra stared at the display, not quite sure what to do next. Fortunately, the system was automated and didn't require operator input. One of the blips suddenly enlarged on the screen as the computer attempted to identify the incoming craft. The search of the database was a very short one.
"HKA Skyhawk assault choppers," Sandy blurted out as soon as the information came up. The display showed a schematic of the craft along with specs and typical armaments. The assault choppers were heavily armed and extremely dangerous.
"Not surprising," was Muskateer's response. "Advise me when they are ten miles out."
Sandy didn't immediately respond. She was waiting for Muskateer to say something else. But he didn't so she quickly stammered out a reply. "Uhm, roger that."
For the next few minutes, Sandy watched the screen as the blips on the display drew ominously closer. They were only forty miles away now. Thirty. What in the world was Muskateer waiting for? How did he plan on outrunning the choppers in this lumbering massive truck?
The blips continued to close and Sandy's fidgeting increased. Now the choppers were just twenty miles away. Maybe Muskateer had a plan? It wouldn't be a total surprise, as he seemed to be prepared for just about any contingency. In fact, it was his comment that the arrival of the choppers was not a shock. Therefore he must have been expecting them.
That revelation was only a minor comfort to Sandy. After all, the plans he had made before his assault on Resonator probably didn't take a passenger into account. Once more she felt like excess baggage. Damn this stupid foot injury!
Finally, the incoming targets hit the ten mile barrier. "Ten miles out!", Sandy nearly shouted into her headset.
Once more, there was no response and that just made the former Ladybug all the more nervous and increased her fidgeting. Where was Muskateer? Sandy's mind began to fill with panic as various scenarios came into her thoughts. None of them were in the least bit pleasant. She repeatedly kept looking in the rear view mirrors vainly trying to spot Muskateer. So far there had been nothing. All she could see was just inky blackness outside of the cabin.
"He's not coming back!", Sandy suddenly concluded in surprise and alarm. Muskateer had used the delay to get himself away to safety. All this time she had just been sitting here waiting for the choppers to come along and blow her up!
"Aw, crud!" Sandy cursed and started to slide across the seat. She wasn't sure if she could drive in her current condition, but now she had no choice. Her life was on the line yet again!
At that moment, the driver's door opened and Muskateer swung himself in. He eyed the frightened woman for a moment. "Not thinking about leaving without me, were you 'Bug?"
"No, no! I was-- I was getting worried!" Sandy quickly slid back to her side of the cab. She felt greatly relieved, but realized that they weren't even close to being considered out of the woods yet. However, she was confident that Muskateer had a plan. At least she dearly hoped so.
Muskateer simply let the matter drop. It really didn't matter at the moment if he believed her story or not. He shifted the large truck into gear and mashed the accelerator down. The truck surged forward, sluggishly at first, but rapidly gathered speed.
"Five miles out," Sandy reported as she observed the display once more.
Long minutes passed as the truck rumbled down the abandoned highway. Muskateer pushed the rig to the limits but it wasn't enough. The choppers continued to draw even closer. According to the display, they were almost on top of their position.
"You have a plan, don't you?", Sandy worriedly asked.
There was no reply from Muskateer. A moment later, the approaching aircraft fired a stream of rockets. They exploded behind the rig and off to the side. In response to the attack, Muskateer began to weave as he speeded along. Sandy held on for dear life as the not so nimble truck danced across the highway.
Muskateer made a wide high speed turn that Sandy thought for sure was going to cause the rig to flip over. She could feel the truck starting to lift but then it leveled off. Muskateer was now driving back towards the destroyed mall. The radical maneuver shook the airborne pursuers for a brief moment, but they were quickly back. More rockets were fired but none of the weaponry had yet to actually hit the truck.
Sandy couldn't help but scream as the missiles exploded around the truck. Each detonated with a tremendous explosion. It was almost deafening and the ground shook under the onslaught. She frantically tried to cover her ears to block out the explosions. Debris rained down from above and pelted the roof of the truck like huge hailstones.
"We're going to die!", Sandy cried out in exasperation.
"That is the general idea," Muskateer simply stated.
Sandy looked at her companion in dead shock. The blood actually drained away from her face. Did he really say what she thought he said?
"Let's make this a bit more interesting." Muskateer thumbed a button on the control panel. In response, the rig's own rocket launcher was sent into motion. The computer controlled launcher quickly locked in on a target and fired. A volley of missiles was fired off into the night sky, trailing fire and smoke. A tremendous explosion soon followed that briefly lit up the night. One of the choppers disappeared from the radar display.
"One down, three to go," Sandy reported, growing slightly more confident. Muskateer must have been having fun at her expense once more. He had really turned into a cruel bastard over the years. "Do that three more times and we're home free."
"Out of missiles", Muskateer responded without any emotion.
Whatever hope that had started to grow inside the terrified woman quickly died yet again. The choppers were back and they fired once more. One of the incoming missiles connected with the trailer behind the large rig. An explosion followed, louder than anything Sandy had yet to hear. It literally deafened the woman.
Fire exploded from the trailer and the cabin was momentarily covered in flames. The front windshield's view was nearly obscured from the raging inferno. Sandy thought she was screaming, but couldn't hear herself any more. She was going to die and there was not a thing she could do about it. And then everything turned black.
Another tremendous explosion followed as the fuel tank was ruptured. Blasts ripped through the tractor-trailer and once more the night was lit up. When the brightness faded, the three remaining helicopters circled their destroyed prey. Fire engulfed the smoldering, flaming rig as it continued along the highway.
The big rig lost speed and was just coasting along now. Then the engine exploded in a miniature fireball sending a volley of shrapnel in every direction. Anyone inside the cabin was surely dead or dying by this point. What remained of the rig struck a pile of rubble and jackknifed to a crunching stop. The truck fell over onto its side, dragging the trailer with it.
The choppers circled for several more minutes. They did not detect anyone getting out of the truck. There were no signs of life. With their mission accomplished, the choppers banked and flew back towards base. Their superiors would be pleased at the success of the mission. Muskateer was finally dead.
Molly Berkowitz stood outside the command center in Muskateer's hidden base. She peered intently through the viewing panel in the secured door. From this position she could see most of the main monitor and could make out the message that was being decoded on it.
Moments before Muskateer had departed on his mission against Resonator, a coded message had been received. It came in heavily garbled and encrypted. Even odder, it came in on a very private frequency. One that Muskateer had only shared with a few other individuals.
Logically, the communication came from someone who knew Muskateer very well. The last Avenger was not content to wait for the message to be decoded. He would let the computer handle that task while he was away. As Molly watched, more and more of the message had been decoded.
It was clear that the letter was a warning of some kind. The text of the message said so. Apparently some, as of yet unknown, acquaintance of Muskateer had sent it. Even more ominous, the word Mechanon was used several times.
Everyone knew who Mechanon was. He was a killer robot who repeatedly had tried to exterminate humanity. The Prime Machine was a powerful and relentless foe that typically took entire teams of heroes to defeat. During the war, Destroyer had employed an entire squad of Mechanons for his maniacal purposes. Molly had thought them all to be have been destroyed years ago.
But apparently that was not true. There was at least one more Mechanon out there and it was on its way here. It's purpose? That seemed rather obvious in Molly's mind. Destroy Muskateer.
"I have to warn him," Molly thought to herself.
But how? The communication system was inside the locked room, a place that Molly could not access. Maybe she could try and find out how far away Mechanon was. But no, that equipment was also inside the locked command center.
Anger and frustration swelling inside of her, Molly struck the door with all her might. A hurt hand was her only reward for her efforts. Feeling helpless, Molly looked back at the main monitor as more of the mysterious message was being deciphered. All she could do now was watch and wait.
"Shut the hell up," Muskateer growled. As he spoke, he slapped his left hand over Sandra's mouth. "Yer screeching is almost as bad as Howler's was!"
Sandy felt as if she was in shock. Her eyes opened wide in surprise. Darkness still surrounded her, but Muskateer was right next to her, his hand painfully clamped over her mouth. This couldn't be the afterlife, could it? Could fate be so cruel as to force Sandy to share all eternity with him?
"Yer not dead," Muskateer said into Sandy's ear. "But if you don't come up for air, then maybe you will be. Understood?"
Meekly, Sandy nodded her comprehension. Muskateer released the woman and stepped away. Sandy tried to catch her breath and take in her surroundings. The place she found herself in was unlike any she had ever seen before. It was a dark and misty place. There was no definitive up or down. Sandy could feel ground underneath her feet but for the life of her couldn't see it. It was all very disorientating.
A short distance away she could see Muskateer. He was walking off into the darkness. The blackness of his costume was nearly obscured by the mist. Confused, Sandy hobbled after the man. Each step caused shooting pains to flare up Sandy's injured leg. Tears welled up in her eyes and flowed freely down her dirty face.
"Where are we?", Sandy called out. "What is this place?"
"It's called the Shadow Plane," Muskateer responded. "It's a place accessed by the cloak I wear. The Shadow Cloak is a magic item that used to belong to the Sorceress. I transported us here before the truck blew up."
Sandy paused once more. "So that's what you meant by 'them killing us was the general idea'. You wanted them to blow the truck up!"
Up ahead, Muskateer stopped and looked back towards the former Ladybug. "Now you're using your head. The HPA won't waste resources searching for dead people. It isn't the first time they killed me. Probably won't be the last either."
"But what about the truck and all the equipment on it?"
By now, Muskateer was walking back towards Sandra. Given her present condition, she was only going to slow him down. That would not do.
"We didn't lose much of anything. As for the truck, it was too big anyway. Didn't have a place to put it."
Muskateer now stood before Sandy. He casually picked her up in his arms and started to walk off once more.
Sandy was greatly surprised at first. Perhaps she had misjudged Muskateer. Tentatively, she reached up and put her arms around his neck for support. This was certainly easier on her than walking.
"Thank you," Sandy said gratefully.
"Don't thank me," Muskateer growled. "I just want to get back while I'm still relatively young. They usually shoot lame horses, after all." Sandy just gulped in response and was content to remain silent there after.
With relative ease, Muskateer crossed the bizarre landscape with Sandy in his arms. Her weight was no great hindrance to the man. To Sandy's surprise, Muskateer gave the impression that he knew exactly where he was going. In fact, every few minutes he would check the device on his wrist. From what Sandy could see, the device was supplying Muskateer with a directional vector.
Up ahead in the mist, shapes started to appear. A large collection of boxes and crates were somehow stored here in this bizarre Shadow Plane. As they drew closer, Sandy realized that the boxes and crates were from Resonator's base. It was the items Muskateer had taken from his defeated foe!
"That's what you were doing when you were gone so long before the copters first appeared," Sandy suddenly blurted out. Muskateer's seemingly strange actions were now making a great deal of sense. "You were unloading the truck!"
"Like I said, I didn't have a place to safely store the rig. So I transferred what I could over here near a recognizable landmark."
"The collapsed plaza," Sandy correctly guessed.
"Right. Then I'd ditch the rig and pick up the stuff later on. Fortunately, the HPA just made my job all the more simple."
Muskateer circled around the haphazardly stacked inventory and his grav-cycle came into view. He had used the flying bike to reach Resonator's Staten Island stronghold and stored it in the back of the rig for safekeeping. It was the first thing he transferred over, as it was his ride home. Not even someone as deadly and competent as Muskateer wanted to traverse the Free Zone on foot. It was foolhardy to even attempt such a thing.
As he neared the cycle, Muskateer lowered Sandy to the ground. He was surprisingly gentle in performing this maneuver. Sandy used the seat of the grav-cycle to steady herself. The pain in her ankle had subsided considerably. As long as she didn't put any pressure on it, she was fine.
"Get on," Muskateer instructed Sandy. "They've had enough time to search through the remains of the rig. If they don't think we're dead by now, they never will."
Gingerly, Sandy swung her bad leg over the bike's seat and sat herself down. She pushed herself as far back as she could on the seat, making as much room as possible for Muskateer to pilot the cycle.
"So what do I do now?"
"Nothing."
Muskateer grabbed the edges of his dark blue cloak. Before Sandy's startled eyes, the inside of the cloak turned jet black in color. Then Muskateer swept the cloak out behind him and spun. As he did this, the inside of the cloak passed over Sandy and the bike and both vanished!
From Sandy's point of view, she was on the Shadow Plane one moment and back in the real world the next. Even though she was sort of expecting that, it was very startling to live through. Both her and the grav-cycle were parked near the ruined plaza close to where the rig had been originally parked.
Sandy scanned the skies but saw no sign of the assault choppers. All was quiet. Some four hundred yards away could be seen the flaming remains of the rig. Its fires illuminated the night for miles around.
Nearby, Muskateer swirled into existence in a flash of dark blue. It was as if the cloak had unfolded itself back into reality. Muskateer quickly glanced around and found the area to be deserted. Seemingly satisfied, the last Avenger took a seat on the grav-cycle and powered it up.
"I'd hang on if I were you, 'Bug. I haven't gone through all this crap to lose you now."
Sandy gingerly slid forward and wrapped her arms around Muskateer's torso. She was starting to feel very tired. This whole ordeal had been very draining, both emotionally and physically. Sandy leaned forward and laid her weary head on Muskateer's back.
Muskateer noticed the gesture but made no comment. He continued to run through the start up sequence of checks for the grav-cycle. Quickly, the bike was all ready to go. The black clad man revved the engine and then lifted off into the night. He flew over the wreckage of the big rig as if to examine it for himself. Then Muskateer leveled off and streaked off into the night. Soon the flames would vanish from sight, engulfed by the darkness of night.
Time was passing so slowly to Molly as she paced back and forth in front of the command center door. Not even the nights spent hiding out in trash containers seemed this long. Molly was not completely aware of the timetable Muskateer had assigned to the mission he had gone on. Only that she thought he should have been back hours ago by now.
All alone, Molly's mind couldn't help but imagine all the terrible things that could have gone wrong. Muskateer could have failed in his mission against Resonator. He could even be dead right now. Or maybe Mechanon had already intercepted the last Avenger. They were just a handful of the many 'maybes' that plagued the young girl's thoughts.
Molly continued to pace back and forth. Mainly it gave her something to do in this otherwise helpless situation she currently found herself in. Maybe it would help work off some of her nervous energy. Every now and then Molly would peak in through the door's access panel.
Work on the message had slowed down considerably. Although Muskateer had earlier indicated that it was badly garbled. Portions of it might never be readable. Still, as more and more words were filled in, Molly began to feel that she had misunderstood the message. The whole started to take on a very different meaning, but one that still eluded Molly.
But on this glance, something else caught the young girl's attention. A different display had picked up something. The new imagine depicted the base at its center. Concentric circles radiated from the center. A blip appeared on the screen and appeared to be approaching the base.
Molly's heart soared for a few moments. Muskateer was on his way back! At last all this waiting would be over with. Then the thought hit Molly that maybe it was Mechanon who was coming instead. That sudden notion shattered the moment for Molly.
Then a second blip appeared on the screen. Now Molly didn't know what to think. Maybe both Muskateer and Mechanon were on their way. Each was heading directly towards Molly's present location. It looked like Molly's long wait wasn't quite over with just yet.
The grav-cycle sped through the dark sky. As was typical, it was an overcast night. The damage that had been done to the Earth during the great war had severely impacted the weather patterns of the planet. Clear and sunny days were a rare thing as heavy cloud cover blanketed the Earth. Growing crops was becoming more and more difficult. Hunger was a major problem as there was simply not enough food to go around anymore.
Without moonlight to provide illumination, the grav-cycle was nearly invisible in the night sky. The bike flew along in virtual silence thanks to its advanced design. The only sign of its passage was the faint light given off by the bike's display screen.
Sandy continued to hang on for dear life. She gripped Muskateer tightly and tried to keep her eyes open. She felt herself growing more and more sleepy. It was becoming a struggle to stay awake. Given everything that had happened to the woman during the last nine hours it was understandable. Her life had literally been tossed around and shaken vigorously. The trip from Resonator's stronghold had been like one very long amusement park thrill ride.
Muskateer himself remained quiet during the trip. The night sight lenses built into his full-face mask allowed him to see well enough to navigate the grav-cycle. Not that it was totally necessary. The location of his base was stored in the bike's navigation computer. It could fly itself back to Muskateer's hidden base if need be.
This last leg of the journey home seemed like it was going to be the easiest part. The adrenaline rush that had been pushing Muskateer on had long since faded. Even he was beginning to feel the fatigue from the day's events. He was looking forward getting some much-needed sleep. Muskateer would rest well tonight as he had finally dealt with Resonator and achieved vengeance for the senseless death of Black Diamond. It was just the first step in Muskateer's overall plan to set things right.
A flashing light from the grav-cycle's monitor attracted the Last Avenger's attention. He glanced down at the screen and pressed several buttons on the adjacent keypad. The display changed in response to the radar screen. The position of the grav-cycle was at the center of the screen and a blip representing home base was directly ahead.
There was another blip on the screen. It was also on a heading towards Muskateer's hidden base. This new blip was slow moving and could not be identified by the system at this range. The grav-cycle would beat this unknown intruder to the base by only a few minutes at present speeds.
The detection equipment at the base might be able to identify this intruder. Muskateer pondered what to do for a few moments. He wasn't expecting any visitors, so in all likelihood this new blip was an enemy. However at this stage of the game, Muskateer never blindly charged into battle anymore without reconnaissance if it could be helped.
At the touch of another button, the computer system of the grav-cycle linked with the main system back at the base. Muskateer would have preferred to continue running silent as such actions could be traced. Such precautions were how Muskateer had remained hidden for all these years.
But it really didn't matter if this intruder already knew the location of his base. Muskateer's security had already likely been compromised so secrecy was no longer a top priority. Learning the identity of this incoming intruder was all that mattered currently. Was it a friend or a foe?
With the link established, the main computer updated Muskateer on the current situation. The unknown blip expanded on the display to form a rough outline. Muskateer still couldn't readily identify the target. It appeared to be something on some sort of flying platform. The target was small, not much larger than Muskateer's own grav-cycle in size and mass.
Muskateer adjusted the flying bike's course to intercept this intruder. He increased speed as well, causing the grav-cycle to surge forward. The navigation computer informed Muskateer that he would rendezvous with the intruder in less than three minutes. In preparation for the encounter, Muskateer brought the cycle's weapon systems online. Better safe than sorry.
The main computer kept working on solving the identity of the incoming intruder. Progress updates were automatically displayed on the grav-cycle's monitor. Two portions of the incoming target had been identified. Both were surprisingly familiar.
The flying platform itself had an 85% probability of being an X-Form. X-Forms were short range flying transports that had been used in the past by X-Factor. Muskateer had heard about them from Shockwave when she had been a member of the Avengers. The X-Forms had been adapted from a flying platform that was previously used and developed by the villain Hexmaster.
Muskateer had thought all the X-Forms destroyed along with California. One might have survived and been salvaged by someone however. It was certainly feasible. Or it might be the older Hexmaster version of the same flying platform.
The second identified target made Muskateer blink in astonishment. What was flying on the X-Form had been finally identified. The image on the display was enlarged to show better details. The black-clad Avenger couldn't help but speak out loud in surprise. "Mechanon?"
"Hmmm?", Sandy asked groggily. "What did you say? Mechanon?"
"Hang on tight, 'Bug. This ride's gonna get bumpy."
"What's Mechanon got to do with anything?" There was no response and Sandy increased the tightness of her grip around Muskateer. She could almost feel him tense up underneath his body armor. What new nightmare were they heading into now?
Once in range of Mechanon and the X-Form, the bike's targeting computer automatically engaged. The X-Form was moving slowly and had yet to deviate from its course. Mechanon might be unaware of Muskateer's approach. Even if he was, Muskateer wasn't about to change his strategy. When dealing with someone as deadly and merciless as the Prime Machine, you attacked first and asked questions later. Too many heroes and friends had died at the hands of this monstrosity.
Up ahead Muskateer could just barely make out the X-Form moving slowly across the sky. Target lock was achieved and Muskateer thumbed the firing button. Half a dozen missiles were launched from the grav-cycle and sped towards the unsuspecting target. The projectiles' exhaust illuminated the night. Sandy closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable explosions.
As the projectiles neared their target, the cluster missiles burst open unleashing many smaller missiles. Each of the weapons exploded upon contact with the target. It was like a fireworks display going off as missile after missile exploded. Each blast momentarily lit up the night.
Muskateer watched via his display monitor. To his surprise there was no retaliatory fire. The X-Form had been virtually destroyed and what remained plunged to the ground in a rain of fire and metal. All the Mechanons that Muskateer had fought in the past were capable of flight, and yet this one just went down with his transport. The cluster missiles might have damaged Mechanon, but it was beyond their power to destroy the powerful Prime Machine. That was a task Muskateer would have to see to personally.
The grav-cycle made several passes over the site of the X-Form crash. Small fires illuminated the area which allowed Muskateer to catch a glimpse of Mechanon moving slowly through the wreckage. The Prime Machine was heavily damaged. Its legs were missing, as well as its left arm. All that remained was the head, torso, and right arm.
Confident that Mechanon wasn't going anywhere, Muskateer slowed down and landed the grav-cycle a short, but safe distance away. No need to put the beleaguered former Ladybug in any more danger than necessary. It would just inevitably lead to more whining from the woman.
Once on the ground, Muskateer slipped free of Sandy's grasp. He simply let the bike idle. This was going to be a very short trip.
"Stay here," he instructed Sandy in an even, but authoritative tone.
"Don't worry," Sandy shot back. "I'm not going to budge."
Without another word, Muskateer stalked off into the darkness. He paused only long enough to retrieve a rifle from the Shadow Cloak. In addition to its ability to transport people and items back and forth to the Shadow Plane, it also could hold things like a storage drawer. Muskateer kept a small arsenal of weapons within the magic cloak.
Muskateer slung the rifle's support strap over his shoulder and powered up the weapon. It hummed to life eagerly with power. A long time ago, this particular weapon had belonged to Lazerblast. Muskateer had claimed it after that particular hero had fallen. It was the most powerful firearm in Muskateer's vast arsenal and more than a match for a damaged Mechanon robot.
Moving forward once more, Muskateer quickly reached the crash site. He kept his distance, not believing for an instant that Mechanon was as helpless as he appeared. Such a mistake could be deadly. What remained of the Prime Machine had crawled about ten feet since the crash. The robot's passage had carved large grooves in the ground behind him. Feebly, Mechanon continued to crawl forward, propelled by its remaining arm.
Muskateer raised the rifle's sight up to his eye and took careful aim. A moment later he fired and Mechanon's head exploded in a million pieces. All movement ceased. Muskateer watched for nearly a minute to make sure it was truly dead. One couldn't be to cautious when it came to these monstrosities. Once satisfied, Muskateer stored the rifle back in the Shadow Cloak and made his way quickly back to the bike. He would return and salvage the remains later. It was too late and he was too tired to worry about it right now.
Sandy nearly jumped in surprise when Muskateer strode out of the shadows. From her perspective, the Last Avenger just suddenly appeared next to the bike. "You startled me."
"Mechanon's toast. We're just about home now."
"I think you should look at this," Sandy said and she pointed at the bike's display. "This message popped up on the monitor after you left. Does it make any sense to you?"
It was probably the garbled message that he had received before leaving on his mission against Resonator. The computer had been working on decrypting the message and would alert him when the job was complete. Obviously, that task had been completed and the computer had forwarded the results to Muskateer's last known location: the grav-cycle. (Editor's Note: The message was received in Lost Heroes #3)
Mildly interested, Muskateer looked at the display and read the message. His interest grew as he read the message. Upon completing it he uttered, "Oh crap!" and ran off into the night, leaving behind a very confused Sandy.
After a few moments, Sandy re-read the message to herself. Maybe this time it would make more sense to her. It read:
Hi, it's me Jaime. I know it's been a very long time and that you're not going to believe this, but I am still alive. I've been trapped for years now and only recently acquired the ability to move again. I managed to find a damaged Mechanon robot and now I'm inside. The communications systems are damaged beyond my ability to repair. I don't even know if this message will get through at all. I just wanted you to know that I'm coming and am inside a Mechanon copy. Didn't want to alarm you.
Jaime
My dearest Steven,
