#3 - "Assault of the Heroes"
Silver Avenger Joseph Gray piloted his anti-grav sled over the streets of Los Angeles. Down on the street below, a PRIMUS personnel carrier weaved through traffic. The streets in Los Angeles were crowded, even at three AM in the morning.
It had been a long night already and it was just growing longer. Earlier in the evening, PRIMUS had taken three members of the infamous Terror Incorporated into custody. But before they even returned to base, the trio had escaped. In hindsight, Professor Muerte thought it easier to escape from PRIMUS forces than the dozens of heroes present at the Guardians Base.
And what was that all about anyway? Why were so many supers here in Los Angeles? Some of them were even from out of state. The Los Angeles branch of PRIMUS always had good relations with the local hero teams. It was unusual for Hornet and American Eagle to keep PRIMUS in the dark when something big was going down. Gray hated being out of the loop as he currently was.
Another call for assistance, this time from the LAPD, had sent PRIMUS back into action at this late hour. A silent alarm at the First National Bank of California had originally drawn the authorities to investigate. The Irish powerhouse called Shamrock greeted the police, currently number six on the PRIMUS Most Wanted list.
Led by the Silver Avenger and backed by a unit of Assault Agents, PRIMUS moved in. A squad of Iron Guard agents were scrambled as well.
Silver Avenger Gray brought his craft to a landing outside of the bank. The area had already been cleared by LAPD. Police cruisers, their lights flashing rhythmically, ringed the structure.
One of the officers approached Gray. "As far as we can tell, they're still inside. We tried to contact the Guardians also, but haven't gotten an answer from them."
"Have your men draw back," Gray instructed. "This is a PRIMUS operation now. And keep those reporters out of the way!" Already, several of the local news stations had crews on the scene, their cameras rolling.
At the Silver Avenger's command, the PRIMUS Assault Agents disembarked their transport and took up defensive positions around the bank attempting to cut off all avenues of escape. Gray watched his men move with crack precision. The Silver Avenger would wait for the Iron Guard back up. He wasn't about to let a big fish like Shamrock slip through his fingers due to carelessness. Not after what had transpired earlier in the evening. He would allow the criminal make the first move.
Inside the bank vault, four costumed individuals were busy emptying deposit boxes and grabbing cash bags.
"Have you ever seen so much money?", Mind Slayer asked rhetorically. The psionic mutant lovingly held the stacks of hundred dollar bills against her body.
"I never knew money could look so good," Spectrum answered as he sneaked a glance at Mind Slayer. He wished he was as close to her as that cash was!
"Stop fooling around, lassie," Scorpia hissed. "Speed is of the essence. PRIMUS will be here soon enough."
"PRIMUS is a minor detail, me wild Irish rose," Shamrock boasted. "I've slipped through their hands plenty of times. This operation will unfold just as smoothly."
"Too late." Spectrum took a glance out of the vault, through the main lobby of the bank and into the street outside. His superior night vision revealed that new players had arrived on the scene. "PRIMUS just arrived."
Scorpia stopped her stashing of cash, stood up, and slyly smiled. "Then it be time to introduce ourselves to the world. Make them aware that we are truly a force to be reckoned with."
The quartet finished up by dumping all their ill-gotten gains into one huge reinforced sack that Shamrock could easily carry. That task completed, Terror Unlimited made its way to the front of the bank and the waiting authorities.
"This be it, lads and lass," Scorpia whispered. "Just do as we discussed, and our debut will be a memorable one."
"Gotcha, boss." Spectrum concentrated and warped light around himself, making the colorful mutant invisible to the naked eye.
Mind Slayer let out a small gulp and took up a position near the front window. Her heart was pounding in a combination of excitement and fear. She had to do well in this battle. She had to prove her worth to Scorpia.
The desk she was crouched behind effectively hid the psionic villainess from onlookers. Unlike the others, all Mind Slayer had to do was see her target. Her mental powers would do all the rest from a safe distance.
Shamrock set the giant moneybag down. "Let's teach these yanks how we Irish settle things!" The large man picked up a large, stone bench and launched it! The missile shattered a huge section of the glassy front of the bank and loudly crashed to the ground before the startled PRIMUS Agents.
"Report!", Silver Avenger Gray yelled to his assistant. The man was currently using night sight binoculars to peer into the bank.
"We have movement inside. I can see Shamrock. Wait, he's not alone. Oh my God, its Scorpia!"
The Silver Avenger could make out movement inside the bank as the two terrorists drew closer. "Fire at will! Take'm down, boys!"
The Assault Agents opened fired, but Shamrock and Scorpia were already on the move. The nimble Scorpia tumbled out of the bank and avoided the incoming blaster fire. She paused long enough to fire off a dart from her wrist launcher before seeking shelter behind one of the many large pillars in front of the bank. The dart exploded on impact, and sent half-a-dozen PRIMUS Agents flying.
One of the Assault Agents had Shamrock in his sights and fired his SP-4 at the criminal. Right before impact, the projectile exploded, unleashing a nylon-reinforced netting that covered Shamrock from head to toe.
"Gentlemen, you are about to experience unlimited terror!" Spectrum suddenly turned visible, above and behind the PRIMUS barricade. He opened fired on the inviting backs of the agents. "Just like shooting fish in a barrel!"
Mind Slayer acted next. Her mind reached out and picked up one of the many police cruisers. Using it like a giant club, she smashed it into another group of agents. The PRIMUS agents were on the run, not having any clue just who was behind this strange attack.
Silver Avenger Gray was stunned by the sudden turn of events. He had greatly underestimated the strength of the enemy. As he watched his men being picked apart, Shamrock advanced on the patriotically clad agent. The nylon netting that had held him a moment ago was easily ripped apart by the Irish strongman.
"Hope you got yer insurance paid up, boy-o!" The large man unloaded on the Silver Avenger, sending him rocketing across the street and disappearing into a small boutique. Next, he picked up the Anti-Grav Sled and crushed it into a ball that he threw at other agents.
Terror Unlimited was relentless in their assault. Scorpia continued to launch her darts at the enemy while she danced away from their blaster fire. One unfortunate agent got close enough to experience the business end of her claws. It was the last mistake he would ever make.
Spectrum continued to blast away from above. He took several blaster hits, but his force field protected him from serious damage. "Oh, come on! You can't hurt me with your energy weapons! Too bad you can't say the same about mine!"
Mind Slayer used whatever she could find to throw at the agents. As the fight wore down, she emerged from the bank. With PRIMUS and the police being routed, she needed to move to keep them in sight. The villainess fired her razor sharp blades of pure force from her hands. These projectiles mercilessly cut into the PRIMUS Agents, in spite of their protective armor.
Shamrock waded into a pile of Agents and cleaned house. In close quarters they were hesitant to fire, should they hit their own comrades. They didn't have a prayer against Shamrock and wisely fell back.
Scorpia activated the remote control on her short-range transport. The small plane that had been waiting on a nearby rooftop-landing pad quickly arrived. While Mind Slayer and Spectrum kept the law at bay, Shamrock carried the loot into the plane.
Pausing at the hatchway, Scorpia turned back to the scattered operatives. "We are Terror Unlimited!", she announced in a loud voice so that the media could hear. "You will come to know us. You will come to fear us." The Irish Terrorist entered the craft. A moment later, it rose into the sky and streaked out of sight.
Mind Slayer took to the air joined by Spectrum. "This has been so much fun! And we're rich!"
Spectrum took Mind Slayer into his arms and carried her. He could fly much faster than the mentalist and the transport already had a huge lead. "Pardon me for being so forward, but I don't want to loose sight of all that money!" Holding the petite mentalist so close to his body felt good. It was an effort to keep his mind on his task.
Mind Slayer giggled and snuggled closer to Spectrum. "I don't mind at all," she whispered into his ear. "A girl can get used to this sort of treatment. I don't know about you, but I feel like celebrating. I never did properly thank you for rescuing me back in Colorado..."
Underneath his mask, Spectrum smiled. "I can get behind that..."
Back down in front of the bank, PRIMUS and the Police pulled themselves together. Three PRIMUS Assault Agents had been killed. Ten others seriously wounded. Silver Avenger Joseph Gray was still unconscious. The LAPD wasn't hit as bad as they were further away. But the law enforcement agents couldn't help wonder just where all the heroes had gone...
#3 - "Assault of the Heroes"
The heroes' aerial force had succeeded in locating the citadel and instigated the beginning of a fight. An impressive collection of villains had already exited the blue dome, enough to give the heroes' assault force a run for its money.
Firewing was among the first to emerge. That gave the attack force more than enough reason to pause. His fiery powers kept the entire ground force at bay, keeping them well away from the Claw's Dome.
In a way, Firewing actually helped the heroes out. Those villains who came out looking for a fight would have further to travel to find one. It would make the task of those groups going inside that much easier.
The immediate threat of Firewing came to a quick end from an unexpected source. Plasmoid and Charger of the Ultimates attacked from behind, bringing the alien gladiator down to earth. Binder, leader of the Ultimates screamed about getting vengeance for some past transgression by Firewing. The combined forces of Plasmoid and Charger would keep Firewing's attention for a long time. Their battles illuminated the night sky for many miles.
The Ultimates/Firewing conflict was not the only case of villains fighting each other. Earthmaster and Aerion quickly found themselves in conflict. Each claimed to be the master of their particular element. The battle was decidedly one-sided as the Master of the Air was able to, literally, blow away the Master of the Earth. Helios then cleaned Aerion's clock proving that fire was master over air.
"Gangin' up on me, huh?" Tyrone Armbuster, better known as the Dreadnought, struggled against the combined might of the recently assembled Demolition Crew.
Bulldozer struggled to grapple with the Avenger while Sledge and Piledriver pounded on the ironclad hero. "Awright, kids, let's see what ya can do!" Bulldozer, self-proclaimed leader of the Crew, was using this free-for-all as an opportunity to test out some new recruits, namely the hispanic youth named Buzzsaw and the woman called Airhammer.
Airhammer circled overhead, propelled by her pneumatic power pack. This wondrous device gave her the power of flight and the ability to amplify her strength into devastating jackhammer-like punches. Airhammer wore a reinforced dark blue costume with ceramic armored plates in key locations.
"It's hammer time!", the villainess cried out. She soared in and struck Dreadnought in the chest with her pneumatic powered punch. To her immense surprise, the steel Avenger was unmoved! "I don't believe it!"
"Geez, lady, whatya tryin' ta do? Tickle me with that feather duster?" Dreadnought shifted and threw Piledriver and Sledge across the battle field. Turning, a new threat was closing in.
"I'll chop'm down to size, boss!" Buzzsaw's choice of costume was blue jeans, a leather biker's jacket over a t-shirt and a Zorro-esque mask. As he approached, the lad's hands vibrated at super speed. Like Airhammer's efforts, Buzzsaw came up short against the Dreadnought. He was unable to penetrate the hero's hide, only causing the Avenger's body to vibrate and give off an odd hum.
"Buuu-zzzzz offfff-ffff, yaaa-aaa creeeeampuff!" The back of Dreadnought's hand sent the small-time villain sprawling.
Overhead, Nebula sped over the battlefield, firing bolts of cosmic-powered energy. A blast here to help Renegade with the Griffin, a blast there to send Dash rushing off his trajectory. Seeing TK swarmed by villains, the Titanic Trio member sped up and raced to his aid.
"Now, now, boys, there's enough heroes for everyone! No need to get greedy." A wide-angled blast caught the Demolition Crew unexpected. It wasn't enough to hurt any of them seriously, but it gave TK the opening he needed. The Avenger wound up and smashed Bulldozer square in the face. Bulldozer landed some 100 feet away.
"Thanks fer the assist, Nebs!"
Nebula waved briefly and regained altitude, scanning the field of battle once more. A number of small fights had broken out in various areas with some of the combatants bouncing back and forth between opponents, or just throwing mayhem around as they desired. With the destructive energy at play, many of the heroes and villains were being knocked about the battleground, causing a very unexpected and changing pace to the battle.
On the ground, Shockwave was trying her best to stay in control. "What have I gotten myself into?," she lamented to herself. The swirling blips on her radar were too much to keep track of. Her computer's sensors indicated that at least thirty-one individuals were battling away.
Shockwave had been trying to selectively place her shockwave effects for the best result, but was unable to avoid affecting members of her team. For now, she would be forced to wade in toe-to-toe and slug it out. Letting out a deep breath, Shockwave activated her jet skates. "Might as well get into it all the way." Seeing Ripper battling Satara for the moment, she let out a scream and rocketed into the back of the purplish monstrosity. The collision forced her to the ground, but knocked Ripper through the air.
"Well struck, comrade!", Satara offered. The Viking-esque lass was Sabre's younger sister. Shockwave had distracted Ripper long enough for Satara to act. She swung her combination war hammer/axe over her head and slammed it into Ripper. "Have at you, varlet!"
Ripper was sent staggering backwards several steps. "You can't hurt me, girlie! Guess ya have to learn it the hard way!" Ripper sent a powerful backhand blow that nearly took Satara's head off. The young Blood was violently sent flying back and collided with the valley wall. She slumped to the ground in a cloud of dust.
Blasts of all kinds filled the air everywhere. Anyone who stood still for more than a moment was a sitting duck. The villains were even occasionally hitting other villains. Not that any of them seemed to care about it.
Some distance away, the Reserve group was observing the battle from a distant high ground. Quasar looked on impassively as he studied the ebb and flow of the conflict. So far the heroes were more than holding their own. However, they had yet to lure out enough villains to allow the strike teams to move in.
"Why aren't we helping them?", the Empress questioned irritatedly. "They're gonna get clobbered if more villains come out!"
"Patience," Quasar answered in a calm voice.
"We will have our own tasks to complete soon enough," Maelstrom added. Having served under Quasar's leadership for many years now, the storm master was used to his tactics. "For now we should keep watch for anything that may prove useful to us later."
"I would be better off fighting beside them," Jo-Tan said quietly. It was difficult for many of the heroes to stand by and watch while their friends and teammates fought such a dangerous battle. Victrix put her hand on the giant young hero's arm, but had no comforting words to offer.
"They also serve who only stand and wait," Bryn added.
"Milton," the Enchantress stated.
"Indeed," Quasar nodded. "But most appropriate. We are not concerned on winning any one particular battle, but the war itself."
"This is one case where I am way over my head," the woman called Peregrine thought to herself. "Crooks and criminals are one thing, but this is nothing short of a supervillain convention!" The Peregrine was far afield from her usual Chicago stomping grounds. It was just this sort of thing that led to her resignation from the Champions.
Marie Debray remained in the rear of the group, as far away from the others as she could. The pounding in her head was growing worse. Marie lived in two separate times. The here and now, and just a little bit into the future. This tended to put others off as she would often answer questions before they were asked, or even worse not answer, foreseeing that she already had. With so many people around her, there were so many possibilities. So many possible futures existed that she was in danger of being overwhelmed by the images in her mind.
Quantum sat on a nearby outcropping, a solemn look on her face. She fully understood the need for herself to be held in reserve. With her radically fluxuating powers, the planners of this attack couldn't depend on Quantum to be powerful enough to deal with the number of foes they would be encountering. Quantum didn't feel particularly powerful at the moment. While she wished she could be more helpful, deep down inside she knew that she would be easily overpowered at her current power level.
Likewise, Solitaire remained quiet. The young woman was the newest member of the Champions and was something of a psionic-mage. A softball-sized gem hovered in the air around her head. "Yes, Widget, I agree. This is more than we are ready for..." The heroine was given some odd looks as she talked to her gem.
The Enchantress was also among the reserves, and like many of them, she was not happy. She had the suspicion that Muskateer was responsible for placing her in this group. On the one hand, she was angry to be kept out of the action. But at the same time, she was pleased. Muskateer must have feelings for her as well and wanted to keep her safe. She would have done the same had their places been reversed. If only he knew how much she needed him.
There were many things going on that did interest the Enchantress. The crown the Empress wore superficially resembled one of the three crowns created by the demonic Krim. The sorceress didn't think that it really was one of the three. The last she knew, the Earth Crown was in the possession of the Earthmaster. And Earthmaster was one of the active villains in the valley below. Perhaps there was some relationship between the two?
What also interested the Enchantress was that the black sorceress who called herself Lady Bale was present in the valley below. She was one of the two dozen or so name-level Morbanes known to exist. Lady Bale was known only to the Enchantress by reputation. She had crossed paths with the Sorceress in the past, as both Lady Bale and Tanya actively collected magic items. The black sorceress briefly appeared in the valley. She appeared to look about and then re-entered the Dome.
The Reserve team watched as villains dropped and as heroes dropped. The battle continued and the fallen struggled to return to the conflict.
Like Nebula, Spectrum was content to remain overhead lending a hand where needed. The Gremlin came after him again, but he managed to shake her. Maverick of the Superior Seven had taken a sniper position above the valley. Spectrum lured the reptilian villainess into that area and Maverick blasted her out of the sky.
A voice over his headset made him pause. "We've found an alternate entrance," Black Diamond explained. The heroine and her assault force were located somewhere near the valley. The job of the outside assault force was to lure out as many villains as possible allowing others to go inside the Claw's Dome. "Diamond out."
Unsure of just what Black Diamond had discovered, Spectrum kept glancing in that direction. But he didn't find any trace of that assault group. "How weird..." (Editor's Note: See Avengers #17 for an explanation.)
A few minutes later, a second group of heroes moved into position to enter the dome. Spectrum gestured to the other flyers. Together, they worked to herd the villains away from the dome, keeping them occupied in front of the dome, allowing the heroes come in from the rear.
Spectrum could see a flash of lightning streak from above the valley and hit the dome. If all was going according to plan, it was in reality Captain Lightning in his energy form. The idea was for the hero to find a way into the Dome's control system. Then he would open a back door for this group to go in through. Spectrum could make out the heroes moving towards the Dome, but didn't dare watch for long, lest one of the villains become aware of what was going on. (Editor's Note: See Muskateer #15 for the actions of this group.)
Morning Star watched the conflict from her hiding spot above the valley. All during the battle, she, Sabre, Foxbat, and Density had inched their way closer and closer to the Dome.
"We are close enough now," Sabre stated. The young Blood's power of teleportation would take this small group directly to the cell block area of the Dome. There they could bolster their ranks by freeing even more of the captured heroes.
"Then let's go." Morning Star extended her right hand to Sabre, her left to Foxbat. Density took Sabre's other hand.
"Once more, my love, into the belly of the beast!" Foxbat stated dramatically. "Teleportation is pretty cool! I wish I could do it, but then flying is even cooler!"
Sabre ignored Foxbat's rantings. Instead, he concentrated on his special vision. He stared hard at the dome, peeling away its protective walls until he could see the corridor outside the cellblock. Carrying this many people this far was a strain, but it was much too important a mission to deal with such trivialities. He concentrated, willing himself and his passengers to the spot he had observed. The quartet winked out of existence.
Unexpectedly, they reappeared outside, at the base of the dome! "What happened?!", a shocked Morning Star asked.
"I don't know...", Sabre tried to explain. He had teleported in and out of the dome easily enough before. "There must be something in place to block teleportation."
"This is not good," Density muttered as she looked around at the battles going on nearby. It would only be a matter of seconds before they were noticed. It was actually even less.
"There you are!", Ripper roared. "Come ta papa, sweet cheeks!" Ripper leapt into the commando team's midst propelled by his massive purple muscles. He slammed directly into Morning Star and sent her sprawling to her back.
"This is definitely not good!", Density now shouted. As the team began to react to the Ripper's attack, the Dome's doors opened once more and a volley of blasts flew out at the embattled heroes. Foxbat was struck down, while Density shrunk away from the attacks and Sabre teleported sideways a short distance.
A new collection of villains spilled out of the metallic dome. Lazer, Pulsar, the mad Blowtorch, Panda and Raccoon and the twins Phobos and Deimos hurtled into the conflict. "There's gonna be a hot time in the old town tonight!", Blowtorch announced as he fired his modified flame-thrower.
Ripper leapt onto the prone Morning Star, as she was his ticket to progressing to the last stage of the contest. "Nice of ya ta come right to me, darlin'". His powerful metallic hand locked onto her throat. Morning Star struggled to break his grip.
A short distance away, Sabre watched the new group of villains rush out and join the fray. They spread out and quickly mingled into the battling throngs. As the hatch began to slide closed, the sound caught Sabre's attention. This could be the opportunity they needed. If the door was open he could 'port through that, theoretically.
"Hey guys...." Looking to his teammates, he saw that Morning Star and Foxbat were engaged. Density was unable to be seen anywhere. "Ah well, here goes nothing!" Without a second thought, Sabre teleported just inside the entrance to the dome. The hatch slid shut with a thud a split second later.
Seeing the love of his life menaced again by this annoying purple monstrosity, Foxbat jumped onto Ripper's back and pummeled him ineffectually. Ripper didn't even notice at first; Foxbat's incessant talking is what actually drew the monster's attention.
"Leave her alone, you brute! I, the great Morning-Fox Star-bat shall stop you and rescue my love!"
Ripper struggled to hold Morning Star down, while dealing with that annoying little gnat. He shifted his body violently a few times and flung Foxbat off of him. A sharp sideways kick launched the unfortunate Foxbat across the battlefield as though he had been shot out of a cannon.
"You won't get rid of me that easily," Morning Star threatened as she began to pull free of Ripper's grip.
"I have no intention of gettin' rid of ya, sweet cheeks."
"Good." A familiar purplish glow formed around Morning Star's fist. She had been studying her foe for an opening as they struggled. Utilizing her superior quickness and agility, she slipped in closer to Ripper and uncorked a powerful haymaker. Ripper was rocked by the blow and tumbled across the rock-strewn battlefield.
"You're my kinda gal!", Ripper roared in delight as he rose to renew the conflict.
Overhead, Spectrum struggled with the decision of whether to go to Morning Star's aid. He held back and continued to blast away at any opportune targets, along with Nebula.
Over his headset, the leader of X-Factor heard that the second Interior Attack Team was ready to enter. "Just give us a few more moments, and we'll all be in," Defender's voice stated in Spectrum's earpiece.
"Concentrate your fire on those creeps," Spectrum said to Nebula. He pointed toward the ugly twins from PLUNDER, Phobos and Deimos, who were gliding in on the team entering from the rear of the dome.
"Consider them crispy Halloween treats", Nebula stated as she raced to head them off while firing blasts of cosmic power. Between the two heroes, Phobos and Deimos efforts were at least redirected at them.
"Very well," one of the brothers stated.
"If you wish to play, we shall oblige you!" It was almost impossible to tell the two apart.
"You will learn fear at the hands of the terror twins!"
"Oh please." Nebula gained altitude, and opened fire again, concentrating all her power into one blast. It knocked one of the twins from the air. He slammed hard into the ground. The other twin banked and caught an updraft, heading straight towards the mutant master of light.
Elsewhere, the reserve group continued to observe the conflict.
"This is getting really old," the Empress protested. "I--"
Before the heroine could finish her latest gripe, an unexpected noise behind her caused her to turn. The others present did so as well. Much to their surprise, the armored form of Ankylosaur was approaching, sliding quickly down the slope!
"At last!" Jo-Tan grew to his full eight feet in height. "Finally the fight comes to us!"
Ankylosaur skidded to a stop on the ledge holding the rest of the Reserve group. He held his hands up before him in a 'stop' gesture. "Hold it! I'm on your side!" The armored villain cringed, preparing himself for the inevitable attack by the heroes.
"WAIT!!" Marie Debray suddenly leaped between the heroes and the armored villain. "He's telling the truth! He is on our side. You must listen to him!"
"What--?" Quasar was momentarily confused. Ankylosaur was a known villain and the hero also knew very little about Marie Debray. Still, the young woman wouldn't have acted as she did unless she was certain of her convictions.
Bryn moved forward and stood beside Marie. "I do not know what is transpiring here, but I do trust Marie's instincts."
The other heroes exchanged puzzled looks and turned to Quasar for guidance. "I sense no danger from him," Solitaire added.
"Hold your fire," Quasar ordered. At any rate, Ankylosaur was alone and severely outnumbered. "Can anyone determine if he is telling the truth?"
"I'll cast a Spell of Truthfulness," the Enchantress stated and began spell casting.
"Thanks, toots." Ankylosaur sighed in relief and moved around Bryn and Marie. "Look, you have no reason to trust me, but I'm tellin' ya this contest is nothin' but a sham. The Claw intends to invade our dimension. This Emerald Eye of Azog thing is the gateway that they're plannin' to use!"
"Azog?!" The name was more than familiar to the Enchantress. It's mere mention chilled the sorceress to the bone.
"You know of this 'Azog'?", Quasar asked.
"He's one of the demonic overlords that were imprisoned during the pre-history of Earth," the Enchantress reported.
"Yeah, right," the Empress stated in an exasperated tone. "Look, I know some stuff about history and what you're talking about is sheer nonsense."
Annoyance showing on her face, the Enchantress turned toward the Empress. "Are you naive enough to think that only humans have created history on Earth? Do you honestly believe that the crown you wear was manufactured by a human?"
The idea that her crown was non-human in origin made the Empress pause. She couldn't think of what to say in response.
"I have heard the name before myself," Solitaire quietly added. "Although, I didn't put much faith into those stories before this."
"Look, I hate to interrupt this little debate," Ankylosaur interjected, a touch of panic in his voice, "but this Claw Guy is gonna bond the Emerald Eye to the most powerful super he can find and open a gateway to whatever hell these things come from."
"If this is true..", Quantum started to say.
"It is," the Enchantress added in a urgent tone.
"...then it is high time for us to enter the fray," Quantum finished. She could feel her power levels increase.
Quasar could only nod in agreement. Activating his headset, he spoke into the mike. "Attention, all leaders. Come in."
"Spectrum here. What's going on?"
"Blade reporting. Have you news?"
Strangely enough, Black Diamond, Imperial, Defender, and Captain Lightning did not answer. "The nature of the situation has changed," Quasar explained. "We're coming in."
By the time the Reserves had reached the battlefield, many of the heroes as well as the villains had fallen and lay scattered about the surrounding area. Those that remained standing continued the desperate fighting.
The arrival of the new group of heroes quickly turned the tide of the assault force. The sudden addition of fresh fighters caused those villains who remained to pull back and regroup. The villains who were fighting amongst themselves forged a brief truce as well. They reformed near the entrance to the Claw's immense headquarters.
"We must keep their attentions," Blade directed to his force, as well as the newcomers. "If we force their retreat back into the dome, we will be compromising the tasks of our teammates inside the base."
"Very well," Helios commented, flying in and hovering near the Blood warrior. "We shall continue to press on!"
A few other heroes grouped around Blade and prepared an attack, but suddenly a huge form coalesced in between the heroes and their targets. It was the head and shoulders of the Crimson Claw. Just this small section of him was well over 30 feet tall.
"It's a hologram!", Brute shouted.
"Mus' be 'fraid to come out here and put up his dukes like a man," Dreadnought commented sarcastically.
"Or alien..." Nebula added.
After a moment, the Claw's hologram spoke. Or actually the voice was transmitted over an external speaker system somewhere on the dome. "Your paltry, foolish attempts to infiltrate my ship have proven laughably inadequate," the Claw stated in an even, yet unearthly, voice. "Those so-called villains amongst you were a perfect diversion, giving myself enough time to extinguish the attacks you sought to mask. Your own cleverness has turned against you." The Claw let out a disgusting laugh that sent chills down the backs of some of the heroes.
"We were too late," Ankylosaur said quietly.
"Your attack has been blunted. Your assault lies in ruins. Leave here now while you still cling to life. Otherwise you shall join your fellows in death! Not that it won't be coming soon enough for your entire pitiful planet. I already possess enough powerful beings to create the gateway. You have failed."
Most of the heroes were silent as the Claw spoke his fateful words.
"You scum!" The Empress flew forward, firing blasts of fire from her fingertips at the holographic projection. Her impassioned attack caused her to fly through the Claw's image, disrupting it. She screamed in frustration.
The Claw's image was gone, but his voice spoke over the loudspeakers one last time. "I take my leave of you disgusting beings. Do not follow, unless you wish to bring your existence to a quicker end."
Before the startled heroes could react, the dome began to take on a translucent quality and then simply was no longer there!
