The lecture was now at an end and Defender began fielding questions. Ladybug tapped her fingertips absentmindedly on her armor as she endured the wait.
"Hey, Toots," a voice called from surprisingly close. "I didn't realize this was going to be an armored convention. Or are you just waiting to get Defender's autograph?" Ladybug looked up with a start. How did he know she was waiting for Defender?
"What... What are you doing up here? Who're you supposed to be?" The villainess regarded the man. He was dressed in an orange and navy blue costume with a purple cape, plumed hat and a sword at his side.
"I really need to get some cards printed up, maybe even some advertising," the man said to himself. "Why, I'm the Muskateer, of course. And you are...?" (Editor's Note: This story takes place before Muskateer joined the Avengers.)
"Ladybug's the name, Canada's finest," the villainess answered proudly as she stood to greet the new arrival.
"G'day, eh?" Muskateer said in an exaggerated accent. He unsheathed his sword with a flourish and swished it before him.
"Very funny. Something I can help you with? I have an appointment in a few moments.
"Yeah, me too. I was hoping to catch Defender as he left the lecture." Muskateer gestured with his sword towards the lecture hall.
"Really?", Ladybug said excitedly. "Good, maybe you can help me then. I figure I can take him on my own, but a little assistance never hurt. Besides I like guys with muscles." She turned to watch the building. "The lecture's Q & A period is winding down. Defender should be leaving any moment now."
Muskateer walked up next to the golden armored villainess. He looked out towards the lecture hall as he spoke. "Well, I'm afraid I have some bad news for ya, Toots. Ya see, when I said 'catch', I meant 'talk to'." He looked over at Ladybug as she returned the look. "I'm one of the good guys."
"Oh, darn," Ladybug said disappointedly. "Too bad you're going to miss out on your little chit-chat."
Muskateer backed up a couple steps and pointed his sword towards the armored villainess. "Unfortunately, I was really looking forward to this meeting." Ladybug turned to fully face the hero. "And so by mutual consent the battle was joined," Muskateer quipped.
"Gimme a break," Ladybug chuckled. "You're little more than a minor annoyance." In a quick motion, the villainess struck, her powerful fist pulverizing the parapet of the roof. "You are also faster than I gave you credit for."
Muskateer had leapt over the surprise attack, avoiding the powerful blow and moving past the villainess. "Yeah, well, it would be rather embarrassing to be clobbered by an overgrown beetle. Missed me! Missed me!" He swung his sword as he landed, connecting a clanging blow with the back her polarized armor. Ladybug was knocked forwards, but quickly caught her balance.
"I suppose now, you want me to kiss you?", Ladybug asked as she turned to attack again. She swung another powerful blow, which the hero deftly ducked underneath.
"If you want to take off that helmet, maybe we could discuss necking, but not with you flailing around like that!" Muskateer cartwheeled across the rooftop, avoiding her blows as he went. He stopped on the far side of the roof as Ladybug closed in on him quickly. He quickly reached the ledge, balancing on the raised parapet.
"You move pretty good, swordboy, but you've gone and run out of rooftop." She closed in menacingly as she spoke. "Where are you going to run to now?"
Muskateer glanced over his shoulder off the rooftop to the concrete far below. Turning back to his opponent, he answered, "I guess you're right. I'll just have to do this..." Pushing a stud on the hilt of his sword, a burst of electricity coruscated around the blade. Lunging forward, the sword-wielding hero jabbed it into Ladybug's abdomen. The electrical discharge knocked her across the roof.
"That smarted, hero! Good thing for me this suit is polarized plastic and not metal." Ladybug quickly regained her feet. "Look, this would be a fun fight, but I really have to run. Defender is getting away and he's the one I need to fight right now."
As Ladybug activated her boot jets and launched herself into the air, Muskateer unfurled his swinging line and latched the end onto her ankle.
Ladybug stopped for a moment to regard the hero's attempt to halt her. "This won't stop me. I can shred this like string." She struggled against the steel-reinforced line, but to no avail.
"Sorry to inform you, Bug Lady, but the polarized metal fibers in your wondrous suit just love the magnets in my line. You might get free in a minute or two, but by then it'll be too late." He pointed to the sky, toward where Defender was flying away, oblivious to their battle.
"Maybe, maybe not." With that, Ladybug fired her bootjets and rocketed off, dragging the sword-swinging hero behind her.
Muskateer held on as tightly as he could, as Ladybug pulled him across the roof. "I never tried concrete skiing before, Bug Lady!" He skidded quickly across the roof trying to get a foothold for leverage. He slammed into the parapet at the edge of the roof and crashed right through the concrete barrier. "Yeow!"
Clutching the line for all he was worth, Muskateer soon found himself hurtling through air, high above the ground. The collision with the edge of the roof and the extra, unbalanced weight of an unwelcomed passenger threw off the gyros in Ladybug's battlesuit. She fought to correct her trajectory.
"Oh no!", she yelled, seeing that she had over-corrected and was now on a collision course with an approaching building. Without the tethering weight, Ladybug could easily have avoided it, even at this short distance. This time, though, she crashed headlong into the concrete wall.
When the dust had settled, the two antagonists found themselves sitting next to each other amidst a pile of debris. Muskateer removed his hat and slapped it against his thigh to get the dust out of it. "Sorry, Bug Lady, but at least it was fun while it lasted." He leaned over and kissed her on the side of her helmet and replaced his hat. "We really will have to do this again some time."
"Argh!", she screamed, letting her frustration loose. She swung her arm at the annoying hero, but all she contacted was more wall. Muskateer was already out of reach. Rubble tumbled down, crashing into Ladybug and partially burying her.
Muskateer watched as she unceremoniously unburied herself. "Thought you would have learned that one by now," he said with a chuckle.
"Oooo...." Ladybug nearly trembled with frustration, balling her fists tightly. She had been unable to lay a hand on the nimble swordsman. Deciding to cut her losses, she activated her bootjets and rocketed away in a huff. So much for Halfjack's 'perfect' plan!
"Bye!,' Muskateer called after her mockingly. "Don't forget to write!"
Unaware that the ambush of their leader was only narrowly averted, the remainder of the Champions were enjoying the victory parade. "A grand celebration," Obsidian noted. "I have not seen the likes of this since the last time I rode with my father."
"Yeah, I bet," Tritium noted sarcastically. "Being royalty and all, this must seem like old hat to you."
The jet-black giant turned to face his smaller teammate. "Can you explain to me where a well-used head covering enters into this celebration?"
Before Tritium could even try to explain, the truck that the Champions rode on exploded in a burst of fire! The crowd let out a collective scream as panicked people scattered around the area, running in all directions.
Jaguar, Tritium and Seeker were thrown clear of the wreckage. Obsidian stood in the midst of the burning debris and was hit again by a burst of pyrotechnic blasts. The repeated shots sent the jet black Prince of the Kkkrrystk flying backwards. "Ah, this must be the 'Old Hat', Tritium, spoke of. A most peculiar way of celebrating."
Seeker looked up to see numerous villains converging on the area. Halfjack bounded in and landed on the public addressers raised podium, causing the speakers to scamper off fleeing for safety. Lady Blue flew overhead and Foxbat glided in behind her. "We got those jokers on the run, Lady Blue," Foxbat shouted gleefully. He fired his ping-pong ball gun at the Champions. It burst amid them, sending out a noxious, greenish gas. Seeker, Jaguar, and Tritium quickly dispersed.
"Everything is working exactly according to plan," Halfjack mused from his elevated view. "Now, the next stage comes into play."
Down below, the villainous mastermind watched as Bulldozer moved in on Obsidian. He lifted a car and slammed it onto the large hero, shattering it into thousands of pieces. "Hope the twerp who owns this car got a piece a' the rock! Haw! I just kill myself!"
Obsidian shrugged off the attack, realization coming to the alien prince's features. "This is not part of the celebration... You are the villain that is called..." Obsidian cocked his head to one side to read the writing on Bulldozer's arm. "... Bulldozer."
Obsidian rushed his attacker, and exchanged punches with him. Despite being knocked away by the force of Obsidian's punch, Bulldozer quickly reclosed and grappled with the taller opponent.
As they wrestled, Obsidian failed to notice the sudden arrival of one of Bulldozer's allies until it was too late. The Black Paladin teleported in from an unseen location and unleashed a powerful blow to the small of the Prince's back. "Fall ebon golem before the might of the Black Paladin!"
Obsidian let out a scream of surprise and pain. Black Paladin's surprise blow was enough to give Bulldozer the opening he was looking for. Winding up, the villain smashed Obsidian with a powerful two-fisted blow that sent him crashing to the street. "A'nutter victim of the Bulldozer!", the villain shouted, extremely pleased with himself.
Halfjack looked on with half of a pleased visage. "Obsidian has fallen, just as I planned. The rest of the Champions will be defeated in short order."
Not far away, Ankylosaur and Foxbat were chasing Jaguar around the area with their projectiles. It was all the hero could do to avoid the various explosions which the pair fired, either ping-pongs from Foxbat's gun or grenades fired from Ankylosaur's tail. Jaguar was quickly becoming aggravated and more bestial under the constant barrage. "Now you creeps have it coming! I'm unleashing the beast!"
"Ooh! I'm just soooo scared," Foxbat taunted as he exchanged a high-five with Ankylosaur.
Ankylosaur just stood there, goading the young hero into attacking him. "Come on, furball! Let's see what you've got!"
Jaguar let out a low snarl and leapt at the villains. He was suddenly met in mid-air by a black form materializing before him. Night Shade had waited in shadows outside the heroes' view and studied his target. His sudden appearance and following powerful punch sent Jaguar rocketing backward, stunned. He landed hard on the asphalt and rolled to a stop some distance away. "I guess I put out the cat."
Seeker had quickly run out of the billowing, choking cloud that Foxbat deposited in the Champions midst earlier. He came face to face with the deadly Sparkler. "G'day, miss."
"Hola, muchacho," the coruscating villainess said. "Allow me to bring a shining spark to your dark existence." She fired a volley of bursts at the newest Champion. He deftly avoided the first three blasts, but the next two struck him down. Seeker landed hard on the concrete, burn marks scorching his bare torso. "All to easy."
Tritium had taken to the air. She was being harried by the electrical blasts of Halfjack. She returned fire a couple times, but was afraid of hitting spectators who were still mulling about the area. Lady Blue closed in from above.
"Accept your fate," Halfjack called to the heroine. "Your teammates are falling all around. It is only a matter of moments before you too are beaten."
"I'll never quit, madman!" She fired a blast of nuclear-powered energy that blasted the podium upon which the villain stood into hundreds of splinters. Halfjack crashed to the ground below. "The Champions never give up!"
Lady Blue landed near the fallen Halfjack and helped him up. "Unhand me, you fool," Halfjack ordered. "Get that wench and this battle will be ours!" He pointed toward Tritium as he shouted his command. Before Lady Blue could comply a burst of powerful energy exploded in the villains' midst, sending most of them flying.
"What was that?", Halfjack asked excitedly, while scanning the area. He looked up into the air and human eye grew wide as it met the source of the explosion. Nebula streaked onto the scene, closely followed by her teammates, Star Knight and Equinox. The Titanic Trio had arrived! Obsidian and Jaguar staggered slowly to their feet, the villains' attention all drawn to the newcomers. The crowd roared in approval at the new heroes arrival.
"Nice to see you too, Halfjack," Equinox stated boldly over his armor's speaker system. The hero wore a suit of armor in contrasting black and white color scheme.
"No! No! No!" Halfjack shouted in dismay. "My plan is fool-proof. You shall not stop us, heroes. Even with your unexpected arrival, the odds are still numerically even and the Champions are battle weary and wounded."
"Guess again, Halfie," Lady Blue said. A powerful roundhouse right knocked the cyborg villain flying. He landed further down the street with a disbelieving look on his face.
"Wha.. What do you think you're doing?", Halfjack stammered.
"Hate to rain on your parade, Halfjack," Star Knight answered, "but Lady Blue is the reason we're here. She informed us of your treacherous plans and well, here we are." Star Knight was also armored as his teammate Equinox. The Knight wore a dark blue mesh armor outfit with hard silver plates in places. Silver gauntlets, boots and a helmet, along with a dark blue cape completed his look. Star Knight carried his signature weapon: the Atomic Axe.
"You... you traitor!" Halfjack was beside himself with anger, pointing an accusing finger at his former ally.
Lady Blue smiled sweetly and launched herself into the air again. "You said your plan was fool-proof, but you forgot to take one factor into consideration."
"That is not possible!", Halfjack shrieked. "I considered all possible variables!"
"What you forgot is the fact that you yourself are a fool!" Lady Blue punctuated her statement with an energy blast at Halfjack. "That and this whole contest idea is really stupid!"
The assembled villains were somewhat dumb-founded at the sudden turn of events, but only for a moment. Sparkler, Foxbat and Ankylosaur quickly returned fire at the incoming heroes. "Blast'm outta the sky!", the armored villain shouted.
Equinox moved in and intercepted the trio of energy blasts, protecting his teammates from the assault. His armored form was sent flying out of view.
"Why does he always have to do that?", Nebula asked her remaining teammate. Nebula wore a dark red bodysuit with blue gloves, boots and vertical insert down the front of her costume. Her light brown hair floated on the wind as she hovered overhead. Her face had an odd appearance to it. It was completely black with a star field upon it. Only her eyes showed through the silhouette. It was a very disconcerting image to view as the star field seemed to draw you in towards it.
"It's just his way," the Knight answered with a shrug. They quickly flew forward on the attack. "He'll be okay soon enough."
"Come down here and fight like a man, ya wusses!" Bulldozer thrust his fist in the air as he shouted his challenge.
"Okay, here I come," Nebula answered. "But you'll forgive me if I embarrass you." Nebula rocketed in, trailing a golden glow behind her as she flew. She slammed into the waiting villain, fists first, and knocked him clear through a nearby building. She landed in front of the large hole Bulldozer's body made to survey her handiwork. "How's that?"
Nearby, Star Knight closed in on Black Paladin with his Atomic Axe. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time, Black Paladin," the Knight said as he landed in front of the villain. "To challenge your armor, your weapons, against mine."
"A pity." Black Paladin surveyed the area. The Champions were recovering their composure and the battle was turning against the villains. Night Shade had been knocked out by Obsidian and Ankylosaur had set up a diversion to cover his escape. "There is still something to be salvaged from this debacle as yet. I will accept your challenge with the utmost pleasure." He raised his mace to meet the Knight's axe and promptly teleported away. "But at a time and a place of my choosing. Adieu."
Lady Blue's energy blasts had Sparkler on the run, literally. The dangerous villainess bounded about on electrical bursts which catapulted her quickly through the air.
"Give it up, Sparkler. You can't out run me!" She fired again, the energy discharge being mostly absorbed by Sparkler's coruscating energy field.
"Perhaps," the villainess agreed, "but I know your weakness." Sparkler turned and stopped. Lady Blue slowed up and hovered, waiting for some attack. Sparkler raised her hands and fired, not at Lady Blue, but at a large sign hanging several stories overhead. The metal easily gave way under the assault and dropped towards the screaming crowd below.
Lady Blue's eyes narrowed as she saw what Sparkler had been getting at. "Damn you, Sparkler! I'll get you for this!" With that threat, Lady Blue quickly dove after the plummeting wreckage, while Sparkler gleefully departed the scene, laughing as she went.
Some distance away Tritium and Foxbat dueled. "This is certainly not how I would have written the end of this issue," Foxbat grumbled to himself as he fired exploding ping-pong balls at the Champion. "I never saw this plot twist coming, but upon reflection, I should have. All the clues were there."
"You can't keep this up forever, Foxbat," Tritium said as she blasted away at the villain. He was able to avoid her blasts in between returning his own fire.
"You may be correct." In response to the heroine's comment, Foxbat fired a series of gas and smoke projectiles, liberally filling the surrounding area with them. Using the billowing clouds as cover, Foxbat vacated the area, grumbling to himself as he went. "It's a conspiracy, I tell ya! They couldn't defeat the greatest supervillain of all by normal means. So they had to go and cheat. Boy, that really ticks me off. Why I'll..."
The Jaguar went to check on the condition of his wounded Aussie teammate, Seeker. He had taken some serious hits from Sparkler on the villains' first attack. Jaguar helped the dazed and wounded hero to his feet.
"Oy, I feel like an I've torn up by a pack of dingos."
"You look like it too," the furry hero joked. An ominous metallic noise sounded just behind them. The heroes turned to look as one. The Black Paladin was standing there, mace pointed towards them.
"Stand aside beastial one and you shall not be harmed, or cross me and I shall take you in your comrade's stead."
"What's he talkin' about?", Seeker asked weakly.
"I think he wants me to turn you over to him. Get real, metal pants." Jaguar growled defiantly at the armored villain.
"Very well, your choice is made. It matters to me not. I only wish I could stain my fingers with your heart's blood." Black Paladin strode forward.
Jaguar growled again and leaped, his claws raking the ebon armor of the ancient knight. Black Paladin interposed his shield to fend the beastial Champion off. Then he struck with his mace. The powerful blow struck Jaguar in the side of the head and dropped him to his knees. "And so it is ended, the curtain does descend." Another blow flattened the hero to the ground.
Black Paladin grabbed the Jaguar by the scruff of the neck and turned to Seeker who was too wounded to stop the villain. "Pity, I have not the time to take you as well." He turned for a moment to see Nebula closing in on his location and teleported away with his catch.
Halfjack was completely beside himself by this point. His plan was in shambles. His victory, once so close at hand, was now nothing more than a wispy, ethereal dream. Firing a blast of electrical energy at the closing Obsidian, Halfjack flexed his powerful cyborg leg muscles and leaped into the air. He would easily clear the immediate area with his next jump.
"How strange. For one so eager to attack from an ambush, he flees like a frightened infant when faced with more even odds."
"He won't get away if I can do anything about it!" The Star Knight steadied himself and aimed his axe at the departing villain. A sudden, short burst of energy pulsed out of the axe and streaked towards Halfjack. The two heroes strained to watch the blast connect with the villainous mastermind in the back, dropping him from the sky.
"Well struck!", Obsidian complimented.
"But of course," the Knight responded. "Come on, let's go get that bugger." Before Obsidian could mention his lack of rapid movement, Star Knight had hefted the large alien prince with one hand and streaked towards Halfjack's location.
As the pair raced off, Defender flew in from the other direction. He stopped and hovered near Tritium who was still shaking off the effects of the gas barrage Foxbat had unleashed on her. "You insufferable little gnat! When I get my hands on you---!!"
"Tritium! What happened? What's going on here?" Defender landed close to his teammate.
It was all over but the shouting by now. The remaining crowd cheered as the heroes had either captured or driven off the villains. Nebula landed close by, as did her teammate Equinox. Lady Blue joined the group a moment later.
"Halfjack set up an ambush for you Champions," Equinox explained. "Lady Blue clued us in and we pretty much ambushed them in return."
"Yeah," Nebula agreed. "We were skeptical at first, but once the attack got going, the info proved right on the money."
"Just happy to be of service," Lady Blue offered with a smile. "I have no desire to fight any of you just for the sake of fighting. If you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to just now." Lady Blue rose into the air and streaked away from the battle site. "Bye!"
"Wait!", Defender shouted. "I have some questions for you." However, she didn't appear to hear and all Defender could do was just watch her depart. "This is all very strange." The other heroes joined the conversation. But one seemed to be missing. "Anyone seen Jaguar?"
Epilogue:
James Waller had gone in search of companionship of a kind. All he found was more heartache and all he gained for his trouble was a trip to the Midwest Stronghold. He no longer had the safety and comfort of his darkness. The bright lights that illuminated every inch of his cell had taken away his only friend, denying him the ability to escape this prison. James Waller was now truly alone and would be for some time to come...
