The Justice Chronicles 2 Convergence, Setting the new stage

[VincentX]

The Justice Chronicles 2
Convergence

(Posted Image)

By: VincentX




Chapter 1:

Heading South


Kevin Daniels practically jumped out of his seat when the final bell for the school day went off.

The teacher for the class smiled as everyone started to grab their things to go and she said, “Have a good winter break and I’ll see all of you in two weeks.”

Everyone said their goodbyes and did their best to leave the classroom and the school as quickly as possible as their winter break always seemed to short so they wanted to get it started as soon as possible. Students poured through the different pathways in the school like water through pipes as they headed for the exits.


Kevin seemed to fly up through the crowd before he and his skate board landed on the ground and sped off. They bandana wearing teen had been eagerly awaiting winter break for the last couple of weeks. Throughout the school semester he had practiced with his newly obtained powers and soon everyone in the town was wondering who the masked teen was that was appearing to stop the minor crimes. He had taken Jerry Richard’s words to heart and was putting half of his focus into his powers and the other half into his real life. Kevin’s life didn’t change much otherwise and he continued to act like a normal teenager when he wasn’t off practicing with his powers.

However, the way he got his powers and the man that had given them to him; Jackal; were constantly on his mind. The fact that he hadn’t seen or heard about the strange man since he got his powers back in September made him wonder if Jackal had forgotten about him. Kevin was constantly checking news reports and online articles to see if the man had done something or about anything out of the ordinary. The biggest thing he heard about was the story about a mysterious girl covered in lightning that foiled a bank robbery. Another one was how a set of explosions had been heard in an empty field about thirty miles east of San Clemente. According to what Kevin was able to find out; government officials had already arrived on the scene when the police and media found the place. It was because of this that very little information was being released and all that was being said was that the government was testing some new weapons in an abandoned area.

One thing that Kevin was highly looking forward to was how his family and he were going to take a small vacation during winter break. He hadn’t been initially happy but he perked up when his parents revealed that they were going to San Diego, the home of the Fanteenstic 4. Though he figured that meeting the team probably wasn’t going to happen; there were still plenty of places to go that were dedicated to the team to visit. The main landmark that Kevin wanted to visit was the former headquarters of the group. It had been decommissioned as a full base and transformed into a veritable museum of facts and information about the team.


Steven Daniels; Kevin’s father; was standing on the front porch of the Daniels’ home when he saw his son speeding towards the house on his skateboard.

“Kevin!” he called out, “How was your last day of school before winter break!?”

Kevin rolled up to the front of the house and replied, “Too long. When do we leave for San Diego?”

“We’re going to leave in half an hour so get ready.”

“Right!”

The teen immediately ran inside and up to his room so that he could pack what he needed.


Not even half an hour had gone by when Kevin bolted down the stairs and his parents were almost bowled over by the speeding teen carrying two suitcases.

“Ready!” he declared as he tossed the suitcases into the back of the family car, “How about the two of you?”

Steven started laughing, “We’re just about ready son. Calm down okay?
I’m sure San Diego isn’t going anywhere. Go inside and relax for a few minutes while we finish loading the car.”

Kevin nodded before he went inside and dropped down in front of the TV and decided to see if anything good was on.

“I wonder if anymore of my exploits are on the news,” he thought as he flipped channels before stopping when he saw the words “Unknown Hero” in the headline, “Probably me,” he thought before watching the report.

A reporter sat in a news studio and said, “Hello, this is Tim Shatner and welcome to the afternoon news. We are reporting on yet another supposed ‘hero’ sighting. This time the sighting was in Orange County, California.”

“Orange County?” Kevin echoed in a confused tone.

“We now go to our correspondent in the field.”

The TV switched to another man standing in a park and he immediately replied, “Thanks Tim; this is Cameron Jones reporting on location of the sighting of a supposed ‘super hero.’ From what we’ve gathered; a man was trying to kidnap a child in this park. Apparently he was soon found hanging from a tree with multiple bruises and the child was found sitting safely next to the tree.”

The camera cut to a young boy who said, “A strange blur shot past the man and me and before he said anything, someone beat him up and then another person picked him up and threw him into the tree. The one that threw him was a really strong lady wearing a mask! She was so cool!”

Cameron Jones appeared once again and said, “And there you have it. A young boy is saved and a dangerous kidnapper is arrested thanks to two mysterious ‘superheroes.’ Back to you Tim.”

The camera went back to the studio and Tim Shatner continued, “Thanks Cameron. So far we have been unable to determine if this incident is related to the super hero sightings up in the Los Angeles area but we will keep you updated as we acquire more information. This is Tim Shatner reporting and we will return after these messages.”

Kevin blinked as he turned off the TV, “Woa…I guess I’m not the only one,” he muttered.

His mother’s voice could be heard shouting, “Kevin! We’re ready! Move it or lose it son!”

The teen leapt off the couch and replied, “I’m coming mom!” as he ran outside.

Steven opened the door to the driver’s seat and said, “Hop on in Kevin, we’re moving on out!”

Kevin dashed around the back of the car and leapt into the back seat before he fastened his seatbelt and the roar of the engine starting filled the area. As they backed out he pulled out his iPod and decided to listen to some music and relax during the two hour car ride. His vacation was just starting and he had been ready for it for a couple of weeks.

“Let’s roll!” he stated before turning on some music and thinking about all the things he was going to do in San Diego.

[VincentX]

Chapter 2:

Catching Up


A boulder flew across an empty field and smashed into a large target; obliterating it on contact. Other targets just like the one that was just destroyed were lined up parallel to each other in the field; pieces of others lay in the empty spaces. Periodically other boulders would fly over and knock over each target, causing splinters and larger pieces of wood to shatter in all directions. A teenage girl with short black hair was the one who was launching the objects and it was obvious that she possessed a type of inhuman strength.

“Woo! Nice aim sis!”

Linda Flint turned to see a blur in human form speed towards her before it raced around her in enough circles to almost make her feel queasy. Finally the speeding person stopped and started to lean up against one of the boulders that she hadn’t thrown yet.

Jim Flint smiled as he tipped an imaginary hat, “That there was some good rock tossin’ ma’am!”

“Hahaha! Who do you think you are? A younger and speedier version of John Wayne?” the girl laughed.

He shrugged and replied, “Not really; more like Flint Eastwood!”

“Ugh! That was horrible!”

Jim started laughing, “Sorry, guess I’m too quick on the uptake for ya!”

“Enough with the puns! Anyway, what are you doing here?” Linda asked before lifting another boulder.

“Mom said she saw a report about us on the news!”

“What!?” the girl exclaimed before missing one of her targets and the boulder crashed into the ground.

“Yeah, remember that kid we rescued? One of the news stations is reporting on it.”

“What did they say?”

“Well they don’t know who did it but they did mention something interesting.”

Linda decided to stop training for a moment and turned to face her brother, “What was it?”

Jim smiled now that he had his sister’s full attention, “Apparently there have been sightings of a superhero up north near Los Angeles.”

“Really!?”

“Yeah, so I decided to do a quick search on the web on any hero sightings or anything like that and I found some articles. There seems to be a guy in a town near LA that has been saving people and stopping minor crimes. Plus there was an article from back in September about a girl covered in lightning that foiled a bank robbery up in Irvine.”

“Covered in lightning?” Linda asked, “Now that’s a new one.”

“Tell me about it. I’d like to meet whoever it was myself.”


Kathryn Jones yawned as she stretched in the backyard, glad to be out of school for two weeks. Ever since she had gotten her strange lightning powers she had done her best to keep them under control and it had been a tiring process. She had a hard time taking showers as she would randomly blow out the lights in the bathroom due to the water causing her to “short out.” Plus when she was sleeping she was prone to sleep zapping random things in her room and it forced her to lose sleep as well. She had done her best to control her powers but they mainly went out of control when she lost focus.

“What the heck is going on with me?” she thought as she zapped a cup and blew it to pieces, “Ever since that lightning storm back in September I’ve had these weird powers. I wonder if I can replicate what I did when they first erupted and I stopped that bank robbery. Of course that was all over the news…and thank god that lightning covered me so they didn’t see who I was or that my clothes had been fried.”

Kathryn sighed as she walked inside and headed for the kitchen to get a drink of water. She opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle; opened the cap and just as she began to drink it reacted to her and energy shot out of her. It struck the refrigerator and all of a sudden the light bulbs inside exploded and the entire device shorted out.

“Oh for goodness sake…” she groaned, “That’s the third fridge this month. I wonder if the store we get them from will give us a discount for constantly coming back…”

She put the bottled water back inside the now broken machine and shut the door before she walked over to the living room and slumped down in a chair.

“Hope something is good on TV.”

Kathryn started flipping channels and stopped when she saw a repeat of the report on Jim and Linda’s exploits in the park.

“Superhero sightings?” she thought, “Geez, now I know the world is going crazy.”

“This is Tim Shatner in our follow up for our earlier report. We have now determined a third possible superhero sighting in the last four months. This one occurred in Irvine, which is right between Los Angeles and Orange County. According to witnesses and police; a strange girl covered in lightning stopped a bank robbery. These are three reports in three towns that are less than fifty miles from each other. The police and our reporters are investigating to see if these incidents are connected or if they are simply coincidences. Once again there have been three separate superhero sightings in the last four months: multiple occurrences in a town right outside of Los Angeles; one in Irvine and one in Orange County. According to witnesses there is one individual in LA, one in Irvine and two have been spotted in Orange County. This is Tim Shatner reporting; we will return after these messages.”

Kathryn shook her head, “Woa. Who the heck could those other people be? Three supposed ‘superheroes’ and they think I’m a fourth one. Hmm, a superhero…that might be a cool thing to try if I can actually get control of these weird powers,” she thought before pressing the power button on the remote; which caused an energy bolt to shoot out from it and blow out the TV, “Oh shit!” she shouted.


“So have you heard anything on him?”

Stan Logan stood in a room in the middle of a government facility and watched Trent Fisk lie on his couch long enough. He couldn’t take the waiting any longer; Jackal had practically disappeared since the young man had escaped the underground base and it was driving Stan crazy. For the past three months all he had done was train and pass different government tests to prepare himself for the supposed assignment for him to lead a group. After escaping Jackal’s base he quickly found out that Trent now worked for the US government and this team was going to do with that alliance.

The black haired former villain shook his head, “Nothing. Jackal can be a damn ghost if he wants to be. We’ve got our best investigators looking for him but they haven’t found anything. Relax Stan, we’ll find him. Meanwhile I’m thinking of arranging for you to meet two of the people that will make up your team.”

“Really? It’s about time,” Stan replied, “Though my personal top priority is to find Jackal. He’s a major threat.”

Trent nodded, “I know; I did my homework on the guy too; he’s more dangerous than Skull Ninja was from what I can tell. The man is highly trained and an expert at what he does; which is why we’re having trouble locating the bastard. Trust me Stan; the minute I find out where he is, you will be the first person I tell.”

Stan let out a frustrated sigh before he walked over to and slumped down in a chair. He knew Trent was doing his best and so was everyone else that was involved in the search for his former commander. But he was starting to go stir crazy in the headquarters that he had been relocated to and he wanted to do something. He had already told Trent and his superiors about Jackal’s plans and they were doing their best to use that to their advantage. He told them about the codenamed projects A-01 and A-02; that Jackal had given two supposedly random people superpowers to bring them into his organization. They already realized that the supposed superhero near Los Angeles was someone that Jackal had tapped. He also found out that they knew who the second person was and they were keeping tabs on her.

Trent also told him that the team they were working on was going to be a team of superheroes. Two members besides Stan had already signed on for the group and they had a couple of prospective members as well. Both of which were the same two that Jackal had found and they quickly realized that the first one was a good choice since it was obvious that he was already trying to become a hero. The second was still questionable as those who had met her weren’t sure if she matched the personality of someone capable of such responsibility. The young man also wondered if he was the best choice to be a leader but he decided that it was either this or face the consequences that came from previously working with Jackal.

“So…” he began, “You say you found the second person that Jackal tapped…who is she?”


Vanessa was walking home from school and she breathed a sigh of relief that her winter break was finally starting. Her first semester as a sophomore had definitely been unique, especially due to the events back in October. Since then she had noticed that her body was definitely changing and that many of her physical attributes were, for lack of a better term, evolving. Her hearing had gotten extremely sensitive and she was able to hear what people were saying even if they were almost fifty feet away. Her sense of smell was also better than before; whenever she walked around the school if she tried she could smell the McDonald’s over in the Highlands as if it were right in the center of the campus. The girl also noticed that she was getting stronger and that she now had very defined muscles that she didn’t have back in September. She had never been a physically strong person and now she was one of the best athletes in PE class. One of the strangest changes she noticed was that her teeth were sharper than before and her fingernails had a strange; claw-like look to them.

Vanessa looked down at herself as she walked and muttered, “What is happening to me? Is this some sort of creepy puberty after effect or something? I’ve heard of people changing in High School but this is just weird.”

One welcome change for her was that people in her school wouldn’t try to bully her anymore. Ever since Jess Grey and Lauren Parker had intervened on her behalf back in October people showed her a little respect or just avoided her. Though she was still a little sad that she didn’t have any friends, the girl was glad that no one would push her around. This was also an after effect of her physical appearance as well; since many people didn’t want to mess with someone that was ripped.

Confidence was still something Vanessa couldn’t bring herself to have as she felt out of place at her school. She wanted someone to help her but she didn’t want to abuse the friendship she had with Jess and Lauren. She didn’t feel right calling them just to talk as they were busy people and told her to call if she really needed help. Her mother was looking into her transferring into another school and she was set to check out San Marcos High School later in the next week. The drive was long but she had gotten her driver’s license and as a way to try and be a little more independent, Vanessa said she would go by herself.

As she reached her house she thought about how her life and her body were changing and what the significance of it was. Vanessa didn’t want anything bad to happen but she felt that her changing was part of something a little bigger than her.

[VincentX]

Chapter 3:

Plan of the Jackal


“Get your asses in gear! We are mobilizing in four days and I want all of you to be ready or there will be hell to pay!”

A massive man stood in the center of a large warehouse, barking orders to the scores of the soldiers that were running in all directions. This man was known as Powerhouse; he was the one that Kathryn had blasted at the bank back in September and it was obvious that the others feared him. He was constantly seen as Jackal’s right-hand man and for good reason as he had inhuman size and strength that allowed him to demolish anything and anyone in his path. Also, they respected him not only because of his physical attributes; but the monster of a man was also very intelligent. Powerhouse was not the typical “all muscles and no brains” fighter; he was a smart fighter and was a good squad leader as well. However, he knew that he was nowhere near as smart as Jackal; who always seemed to have a plan for every occasion.

At the moment he was organizing the troops as Jackal had an operation planned that would require everyone available. Ever since the inability to acquire subjects A-01 and A-02; as well as Stan’s betrayal; Jackal had been planning for a coup. He designed this attack so that it would allow him to obtain his two subjects and either get Stan back on his side or kill him. This plan also involved finding out about the girl that attacked Powerhouse and recently, discover who the two strange heroes in Orange County were. Powerhouse was immediately selected to join the group as he was virtually unstoppable and he could take down anyone if needed. Despite the fact that Stan had been Jackal’s best pupil; even he had never been able to go one on one with Powerhouse. It was estimated that the genetically enhanced man’s strength was even greater than Crusher’s was when he was at his peak.

“Unit 5, make sure your guns are in fully working order! We don’t need another jamming fiasco like last time! If I see one person throwing their gun instead of shooting it I’m gonna throw him!”


Jackal watched his troops as they struggled to get ready for their attack in two days.

“Hmph, looks like they’re doing well; and our secondary base works well. No thanks to Trent of course. I’m still wondering how that little shit found my old headquarters.”

Ever since Trent demolished his old headquarters and its location became public knowledge; Jackal had to relocate. However, he had a couple of different locations planned just in case something like that happened. Still, it was difficult to relocate over one hundred soldiers without attracting unwanted attention. It had taken over a month to get everything set back up again and the place was ready for action. But since he never found out how Trent discovered his old base; he didn’t know what would stop the young man from finding this one too.

Powerhouse walked over to Jackal and said, “We’ll be ready when the time comes sir.”

“Good, this time it’s no more mister nice Jackal. I will recover subjects A-01 and A-02, by force this time.”

“What about Stan? You really think he’ll interfere with this operation?”

“I do. If that happens and he decides not to join back up with us; we will take him down. I do not tolerate betrayal and Stan knows too much about us to be left alone.”

The giant nodded, “Alright. It’ll probably be best to brief the individual squad commanders so everyone knows what we’re going to be doing.”

Jackal smiled, “Good idea my enormous subordinate. Tell them to meet you and me in the briefing room in twenty minutes. Their teams can take a quick breather while they’re gone as well.”

The black haired commander turned and left the hall and headed towards his briefing room.

Powerhouse then shouted, “Listen up! Jackal wants each of the squad commanders in his briefing room in twenty minutes! The rest of you can take a break until we get back!”


Jackal walked into the briefing room which housed a score of chairs and a large computer with multiple control panels. He immediately began pressing buttons on the panel and pulled up a file on the central monitor. After waiting about fifteen minutes the man watched as his squad commanders and Powerhouse entered the room and sat down.

“Alright, now that all of you are here let’s begin,” Jackal stated, “In four days we’re going to perform a mission that will allow us to re-obtain my two test subjects and take care of Stan Logan. This will not be a stealth mission so let your teams know not to bother taking any silencers for their guns. We will assuredly meet resistance during this operation; and not just from the local authorities. Here are your main targets and concerns,” the man pressed a button and an image of Kevin appeared on the screen, “This is Subject A-01. We had given him powers so he could join us but before we could perform a mind-wipe he escaped. His powers consist of super-agility and above slightly average speed and strength,” another button was pressed and a blurry image of someone covered in energy appeared, “This is the one that attacked Powerhouse back in September. We don’t know who she is and this was the only image that we have of her. I was able to hack it out of a police video that recorded the robbery. From what Powerhouse has recapped; she has the ability to throw lightning and control it to a point where she can grab objects with it. From what I was able to tell, if she concentrates hard enough she can stop bullets as well. Exercise extreme caution around this one, one of her attacks was able to knock Powerhouse into a car,” he pressed another button and two shadowed images of people appeared, “These two I don’t have much information on. All we know is that they have been performing some hero acts in Orange County. According to the few witness reports; one has super speed and the other has super strength.”

Everyone was already a little on edge from hearing about four people; and they began to worry about the lightning girl’s ability to injure Powerhouse.

Jackal pressed a button again and an image of Stan appeared, “You all already know who Stan Logan is. He was the best individual fighter we had and he defected two months ago in October. Stan is an expert at hand to hand combat and he is extremely deadly with his push knives; especially when he throws them. In this mission we will try to re-acquire Stan and get him back; if he refuses then your orders are to terminate him,” he switched the image once again and an image of Vanessa appeared on the screen, “This is our last target; Subject A-02. We shouldn’t need to worry about her at the moment as from what I can tell; her powers haven’t fully surfaced yet,” Jackal quickly pressed a few keys and an image from a city appeared, “This is where we will be executing the operation, downtown San Marcos, California. It is right next to a freeway, the 78, we will be causing the bridge there to crash down and then take over the area. All of you will be provided with a list of the local businesses and their locations so you will know where to move. I will want this central part of the city locked down and I picked it because it should be easily held. From there we will bate some of our targets while acquiring the others on site. I have pulled some strings to ensure that they will be in that location.”

Everyone immediately took note of the layout of their target location on the map that was being displaying. Escape and entrance points were studied and they mentally decided the best strategies for holding it against multiple attacks.

“Now you all see why we are organizing and utilizing such a large portion of our forces,” Jackal continued, “I want all of you to make copies of maps and images of this location and distribute them to your troops. I also want you all to decide between yourselves who will secure what quadrant. You all have your orders and know your enemies. Now I want you to demonstrate why I am not a man to be trifled with, dismissed!”

[VincentX]

Chapter 4:

Setting a New Stage


Three days had passed and Kathryn had been putting her full attention into learning how her powers worked. Ever since she had gotten them she tried to learn them but the majority of her focus was on school and doing well in her classes. Now that she was on break she decided to put that same focus towards tapping the strange power that she had been granted. The girl had been practicing a little in her backyard but then headed for an old empty lot that no one ever went near. It was there that she truly began her training and she practiced throwing small lightning bolts as well as trying to use energy streams to pick up objects.
This hard work seemed to be paying off as Kathryn discovered many different aspects of her abilities. One was that she wasn’t able to lift all objects but she could pick up metal parts or anything that conducted electricity. She could also create shields that would deflect metallic projectiles and her powers even granted her the ability of flight if used correctly. Kathryn would surround herself with electro-magnetic energy and let her defy gravity and take to the air. However, this did drain her as it took a lot of mental and physical concentration to perform. Despite this, the teen was delighted with the freedom her powers gave her and she felt like a new person.


It was mid-afternoon and Kathryn was lying on one of the few patches of grass in the lot, resting after practicing her flight ability.

“Maybe I should try to get into better shape,” she muttered, “I never really paid that much attention to being physically strong and I guess this is the result. Not that I’m in bad shape…even though I can’t run for ten minutes without falling over.”

The dark haired girl got back up again and concentrated so that her hands became covered in electricity.

“Still…with these powers…I wonder what I could really do. Maybe I should become a superhero like that guy up in LA…that’d…be kinda cool actually. If I did, what would my superhero name be? Hmm…Elec Girl? Ba-pssch, definitely not. Lightning Girl…meh, not creative enough. The Zapper! Bwa ha ha! Yeah right! I gotta think of something cool, something that people will remember. I wonder who that supposed hero up in LA is...and what is he like?”


“Wow…it’s amazing…”

Kevin stood in the entrance to the Fanteenstic Four Museum, which was located in the former base of the team. In it he looked around and saw different types of memorabilia, such as costumes and vehicles, as well as information on the team and their adventures.

The wide eyed teen was practically overwhelmed by everything that he saw as he walked inside. He looked to the wall on the left and saw what appeared to be an imprint of a person. The description under it said, “Caused when Stretcher was thrown into the wall by Annihilator, later found out to be Mike Grimm. His powers at the time were those of Wolverine of the X-Men and the Adamantium skeleton caused his body to make an indentation in the wall.”

Kevin smiled as he looked down and saw tears in the metal that were probably caused by the former hero’s claws. He continued to walk through the base and walked into the first room on the right in a hallway. Immediately upon entering the teen saw the former costumes of Stretcher lined up on the back wall. Each one starting from the first one from 1999 which consisted of a blue shirt, a black vest, black fingerless gloves, black pants and black boots; to the final one he wore in 2005 which was composed of a black long sleeve shirt under a dark violet short sleeve shirt with a white colored “J” on the front, a black knee length vest, black shorts, dark blue shoes and black fingerless gloves each with a white “8” on the back.

“Wow…” Kevin gasped as he marveled at the costumes, “I can’t believe where I’m standing right now. This was Jerry Richard’s room and those were his outfits that he wore when he was a superhero.”

Kevin turned to look at the wall on his right and saw a collection of strange watches lined up on the wall. A couple were burned out alternate power watches and the others were the costume and alert watches the young man had made when his intellect had been improved by Mr. Fantastic’s powers. He then left the room and continued to look around in admiration and amazement at what used to be the base of the Fanteenstic Four.

The awe filled teen walked into a massive room that a placard identified as the Fanteenstic Four’s training hall. Scorch marks and dents were scattered in random places across the ground and walls, no doubt caused by Flare and Crusher.

Kevin ran a hand across one of the dents and smiled as he thought, “They were lucky they had this place…all I get is the empty section of the local park.”

He continued to walk around and watched a video of the Fanteenstic Four as they trained and practiced the use of their powers. It was obvious that it was when their abilities had been at their peak and the team used them with incredible ease and grace. Flare streaked through the upper sections of the room, randomly throwing fireballs into targets with incredible accuracy. Crusher was lifting weights and performing punching and kicking combinations while holding the weights and wearing weighted training gear. Inviso would blink in and out of visibility and she would also perform incredible acrobatic attacks and moves that even Kevin wondered if he could do. He then watched as Stretcher would swing his limbs around, flatten and enlarge himself and flex his powers to amazing lengths.

“Man…I wish I could’ve fought side by side with them,” he whispered, “They were truly extraordinary.”


“I still don’t understand why no one has contacted us,” Linda commented as she drove herself and Jim to the mall.

“Maybe they’re watching us with spy cameras?” the younger sibling joked.

“You’re a riot…”

“Hey I can’t help it if I have a quick wit.”

“…Real punny.”

“I try.”

“But seriously, both of us were supposedly tapped to become superheroes but since we accepted no one has tried to contact us in any way. There’s just something weird about this.”

Jim thought for a moment before he replied, “They’re probably not ready for us. I bet they’re waiting until the time is right to contact us and tell us the whole story. Until then we’ll just have to wait. You heard what Sam Summers said, ‘patience is an important ability for a superhero to have.’”

“Patience has never been one of my strong points bro.”

“I know. But at least we have time to train and to do what we want until they do contact us. We’ve helped plenty of people lately right?”

“I guess…”

“Oh come on, you and I both know we have fun kicking some criminal butt!”

“…Yeah.”

“So let’s not worry about it for right now and just relax…and shop!”


Stan looked through the information on his future team and noted each of their strengths and powers.

“So about how strong is my muscle fighter?” he asked as someone walked in.

Brad Banner replied over an intercom, “Not as strong as I was at my prime but not bad either. She could use some actual combat training though. However I gotta say she’s got some damn good potential. Oh and her name is Linda by the way.”

Stan nodded as he came across Vanessa’s profile for the fifth time and shook his head. From everything that he had been told by Jess and Lauren and that he had read about her, she didn’t seem like anything close to a potential hero. She had a good sense of what was right and just but she didn’t match the profile of a fighter, and that was what worried him. Someone like her could become a liability out on the battlefield and either she or others could get hurt.

“I still don’t get why this girl was tapped by both Jackal and you guys,” he stated out loud, “From everything you’ve told me she’s not a fighter in any definition of the word.”

Jess Grey shook her head as she sat down next to him, “I don’t get it either but Trent said that there was a reason. Do you know what Jackal gave to her to give her any type of power?”

Stan shrugged and stood up to stretch, “No, all he said that whatever it was would be obvious and I’m assuming it would’ve manifested itself by now. You said when you first saw her she was acting like a wild animal right?”

“Yeah, but outside of that short time she was a normal girl. She didn’t even remember what she had done.”

Brad’s voice came through the intercom again, “I bet we’ll find out eventually. Hey is the gel master back?”

As if on cue Trent walked in and placed a fog horn next to the mic, “Yes Brad and I have a message for you.”

The two observers stifled their laughter as the unaware young man asked, “What’s that?”

Trent pulled the trigger and the horn blasted a loud sound that caused his victim to yelp in pain and the sound of him falling on the floor could be heard.

“Gotcha!” Trent laughed before hanging up on Brad, “Anyway, on to business.”

Stan chuckled at the antics of his “boss” and replied, “And that business is?”

“You’re going to meet Linda and Jim; we’ve waited long enough for them to train and I bet they want to know more about the project as well.”

Stan had hoped that Trent had gotten some information on Jackal but he figured that meeting some of his subordinates wouldn’t hurt.

Jess chuckled, “Guess who’s coming to dinner.”

[VincentX]

Chapter 5:

The Jackal Strikes


Jackal watched as his soldiers lined up in rows behind the main commanders and Powerhouse walked through the ranks, checking everyone. It had been done in a very short amount of time but the preparations for the assault were complete. Everyone had their assignments and orders and they were prepared for the operation that their leader had devised.

The evil commander waited until everyone was still before he addressed his troops, “Listen up! We’re only getting one shot at this and I want it done right! You’ve all been briefed by your individual commanders so I won’t waste my breath repeating your orders. All of you are the best of the best and I want you to prove that to me today! Now let’s move out!”

With that the evil man, followed by his forces, headed for a half a dozen of large transports. All but one of them housed each of the individual teams while the last served as Jackal’s information center and had multiple computers set up. Inside there was a team of men who communicated orders and information to each of the teams. After everyone was ready Jackal gave the order and the six vehicles shifted into gear and sped off for the attack point.


While Trent talked to someone on the phone Stan was stretching and exercising in the small meeting room. At the moment he was performing a score of one armed push-ups as he thought about becoming a commander of a team of supposed “super-heroes.”

“I’d better not have to wear some dumb mask,” he thought to himself before he felt something start to weigh him down.

He looked up and saw Jess sitting on his back and she quickly said, “What? I didn’t say stop. Keep going tough guy.”

Stan placed his other hand down and continued, “Ugh, you know you…”

“You say anything about me needing to lose a few pounds and I castrate you with a rusty spoon.”

“…have really nice hair.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Trent laughed as he hung up the phone, “They’re on their way here now. Now you remember what you read about the two of them right?”

The irritated young man nodded as he continued to perform more push-ups, “Jim and Linda Flint: Adopted siblings from an unknown planet. Jim is the younger one and has super speed while Linda, the older one, has super strength. Between the two of them they have about as much training as super heroes as Joe Pesci’s character had as a lawyer in ‘My Cousin Vinny’ but supposedly have great potential.”

Jess chuckled while Trent nodded, “Good; now I just hope you three get along.”

“Still no word on Jackal?”

“Nope.”

“What about the other two potential members for the team?”

“They’re fine.”


As Vanessa walked past the classrooms at San Marcos High School she thought about what going there would accomplish. She would be in a new environment but what would really change? She never considered herself to be a very social person and she didn’t see herself making friends. But at least no one would know who she was and they wouldn’t pick on her if she kept a low profile.

“I could defend myself though,” she thought, “Though I’m still not sure what I can really do with these new abilities,” the girl sniffed a couple of times as she walked and then thought, “Mmmm, In ‘n Out smells pretty good right now…”


At the same exact time as if by coincidence Kevin was eating at the In ‘n Out on San Marcos Blvd.

“Damn this place is good,” he thought as he munched on a fry and took a sip of soda.

The teen’s parents were resting at the hotel and since it was a little after noon he decided to run out and get some lunch.

“I wonder if I’ll get the chance to use my powers…maybe I’ll try it tonight…”


Kathryn looked at what she considered a prototype for her superhero outfit and nodded with approval. The costume consisted of a pair of older blue jeans which were frayed at the end of the legs and had two holes at the knees, a blue denim shirt with the sleeves torn off and the symbol of a lightning bolt had been outlined with yellow thread in the center, a dark blue eye mask and a short cape that she had made from the remains of her clothing the day she gained her powers.

“Looks good…” she thought as she tried on a pair of black gloves, “Now if only I could think of a name…”


“Geez Linda could you slow down before you get us both killed!” Jim pleaded with his sister as she swerved through the cars on the 5 South Freeway.

The older sibling smiled as she sped down towards Camp Pendleton where she and Jim were to meet with the ones in charge of the super hero project. It had been months since they had heard anything and she was very anxious to find out more about not only her role; but who she would be teaming with.

“Don’t worry bro, I know what I’m doing,” she replied.

“Hey I know you want to meet the guy in charge but I’m sure they’ll wait for us and…TRUCK! TRUCK!”

As she narrowly avoided a semi-truck Linda growled, “I told you a couple of days ago: patience isn’t my strong point!”

“And apparently neither is driving safely!”


Jackal stared at a computer monitor as his lead transport closed in on the attack point. It displayed the locations of Kevin and Vanessa as blips on a map; both of them tracked by homing in on their modified DNA. Everything was going the way he wanted it to and he knew that if he attacked near them then Stan and maybe Trent would show up to try and stop him. He also placed his bets on the two unknown “heroes” in Orange County and the one that attacked Powerhouse in Irvine to show up as well. Once they were all in one location he believed it to be a simple task to take them down and then either capture and turn them to his side or eliminate them permanently.

“We’re only two minutes from the target sir,” the driver called back to his leader.

“Good, patch me through to Powerhouse.”

“Right away sir.”

Jackal waited for a moment before he heard the booming voice of his second in command, “Powerhouse here!”

“Powerhouse, I want you to hold off on joining the battle unless it’s necessary.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I’d rather keep you as an ace up my sleeve just in case things go wrong. I want you to supervise the destruction of the bridge and then keep out of sight so our enemies don’t know you’re there.”

A loud sigh could be heard before Powerhouse said, “Yes Jackal.”

“Relax, you’ll get to crack some heads when the time comes.”

As Jackal cut communications his driver shouted, “Sir! We’re here!”

“Good, begin!”


The intersection by the entrances and exits to and from the 78 Freeway on San Marcos Blvd. was always a crowded place. Cars were coming and going from all directions and at the moment a massive semi-truck was making its way through it as well. Suddenly Jackal’s squad of transports barreled through a pair of cars underneath the 78 bridge and two of them continued until the end of the intersection. They both turned and struck both sides of the massive semi and created a makeshift barrier, preventing more cars from entering the intersection. Soldiers immediately piled out of the transports as the remaining three set themselves up at the two ramps to and from the 78 to block more traffic. Jackal’s transport set itself up in front of the bridge and he immediately began shouting out orders to his forces.


Powerhouse ran from the transport that had set itself up at the entrance onto the 78 Freeway and immediately began setting up explosive charges. He looked across to where the bridge turned and saw a quartet of soldiers doing the same and they prepared to signal each other when they finished. Powerhouse suddenly whirled around and put a giant boot into a car, smashing the hood and forcing it to stop. More cars skidded to a halt and a massive traffic jam started in the lane going west. On the other side two of the four soldiers opened fire on cars going east and forced them to stop as well.


Soldiers began spreading out, taking up the positions that had been set for them by their commanding officers. Squads of five would kick their way into the businesses in the main shopping center and hold the occupants hostage. Meanwhile the others would take up positions in the parking lot and along the street so no one besides them could freely come and go.

“Quadrant One secured!”

“Quadrant Two secured!”

“Quadrant Three secured!”


“Acknowledged! Continue to check for any possible captives and await further orders once the bridge is blown!” Jackal replied to his sub-commanders.


Powerhouse planted the last explosive and looked to see that his cohorts had finished as well.

“Charges have been set Jackal,” the giant barked into his communicator.

“Good. Blow the bridge and then take up position behind it to deflect anyone coming from that direction.”

“Affirmative.”


While the four soldiers used the off ramp to get off the freeway, Powerhouse simply jumped down and landed on a civilian’s car. He got off and pulled out a remote before an evil grin appeared on his face and he pressed the trigger for the bombs. A pair of explosions shot out from the two sides of the bridge and the giant piece of concrete and metal came crashing down onto the street below. Debris, dust and smoke flew in all directions as the laughter from the massive fighter could be heard echoing.


Jackal let a confident smile appear on his face before he stated, “Everything is going perfectly. Now all we need to do is wait for our targets to arrive.”


Inside the In ‘n Out, Kevin and the other occupants witnessed all of the soldiers taking over the area and they heard and saw the bridge blow up.

“Guess I’ll get my chance now…” he muttered as he silently made his way into the bathroom to change into his costume.

Just as the bathroom door shut a squad of soldiers came through the doors and immediately aimed their guns at the customers and employees.

“Nobody move!” one of them shouted, “Just don’t resist and no one gets shot!”


Kathryn was in her room thinking of a superhero name when suddenly the music from her radio cut off and a news report came on.

“This is breaking news from San Marcos, California. A large group of soldiers have been reported to have taken over the street and shopping center near the 78 Freeway on San Marcos Boulevard! They have even destroyed the bridge and are holding hundreds of people hostage!”

“Holy shit!” the girl exclaimed.

“Police are arriving on the scene now but it is reported that they are meeting heavy resistance from automatic weapons. Some witnesses even reported sightings of a giant man who helped to demolish the bridge.”

Kathryn immediately began putting on her costume and said, “That sounds eerily similar to the guys that robbed the bank. I hope I can get there in time!”

After she finished putting on her outfit the teen turned her entire body into pure energy and she shot out of her window and streaked across the sky south towards San Marcos.


Jim and Linda had almost reached Camp Pendleton when they heard a similar report and the latter immediately hit the gas to try and get there as well.

“Jim!” she shouted, “When we get closer we’re gonna hit a lot of traffic! When that happens I want you to get out and run there! I’ll catch up!”

The younger sibling nodded as he grabbed a pack from the back seat with his costumer, “Gotcha sis! I’ll hold the line for ya!”

Their car went even faster as they continued to swerve through traffic and blew past their original destination.

[VincentX]

Chapter 6:

Convergence Begins


Trent and Stan rushed through the halls of the military base as alarms blared; both of them wondered what was happening. As they passed a break room they quickly ran back and saw a news report broadcasting the destruction in San Marcos.

“It’s Jackal!” Stan shouted before he turned to Trent, “It’s got to be him!”
Trent clenched his fists before he replied, “Damn it! We’ve been caught off guard! Alright, time to mobilize. First we should contact Linda and Jim.”

He pulled out his cell phone and immediately started dialing as Stan tapped a foot impatiently, frustrated that he wasn’t fighting Jackal’s forces.

“Shit!” Trent swore as he shut his phone, “They’re not answering!”

“Maybe they heard the news report and went there to stop Jackal themselves.”

“If that’s the case then it’s time you headed that way as well,” Trent replied as they started running down the halls again.

“That’s what I wanted to hear! Now get me a car and I’ll be off!” Stan demanded as he followed the other.

The black haired young man shook his head as they turned a corner, “Car won’t work, freeway’s gonna be backed up. I’ve got a better idea!”


Trent kicked the door to the main garage open and quickly pressed a button combination on a keypad on the wall. Right as Stan entered he watched as a covered object was raised from underneath the floor and now sat in the center of the room.

“What is that?” the latter asked.

“I’ve been tinkering with it since I first used it last year during the final battle against Skull Ninja,” the other replied as he walked over to the canvas covered object, “I think it should be exactly what you need to get there and start kicking some ass.”

Trent practically tore the canvas away and revealed a black and red motorcycle, not too small but not large; it had a pair of nitrous tanks custom made for it and it shined in the lights of the garage.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Stan declared.

Trent tossed him a set of keys and asked, “You know how to handle this baby?”

The confident fighter sat down on it as he buckled his combat vest and confirmed that he had a full set of push knives.

He smiled and replied, “Damn straight.”

The main door opened as Stan quickly put on a pair of sunglasses and his commander shouted, “Then get your ass in gear and go!”

After the key was inserted and turned the bike’s engine roared to life and Stan shot out from the building like a bat out of hell.


Vanessa had joined a group of students in the staff lounge and saw the destruction that had taken place down the street. Everyone had felt the reverberations from the explosion and the girl had practically heard everything as if she had been there. The smell of smoke and ash virtually overwhelmed her senses as she stared at the television screen with a shocked look on her face. She then realized that maybe with her recently enhanced abilities she could help and the teen ran out of the room and the building.


Trent barged into a break room and found Jess watching the news as it provided video coverage of the scene.

She turned to him and asked, “Well?”

“He’s on his way…and I’m assuming so are Jim and Linda; it’s all up to them now.”

“What about the other three?”

Trent shook his head, “No idea. Let’s just hope they’re able to help as well.”


Kathryn shot across the sky in a form that was composed almost completely out of energy. She kept checking to make sure she was heading south and did her best to stay focused on what she was doing. She didn’t have much time to perfect the ability she was using and it took almost all of her concentration to keep it up.

“Guess I’m going to use these powers to fight whether I like it or not!” Kathryn thought as she gained speed.


Linda’s car skidded to a halt at Jefferson Street near the beginning of 78 East and she turned to the costumed Jim.

“Time to go bro!”

“Gotcha sis! See ya at the party!”

The teen opened the door of the car and immediately sped off down the freeway on foot while Linda started to get changed so she run and meet up with her brother.


Inside the bathroom of the In ‘n Out Kevin frantically put on his costume and tried to get his breathing under control as he place his mask around his eyes.

“Oh boy,” he muttered, “This is going to get ugly, I just know it!”

As he finished putting on his boots he accidently kicked the bathroom stall door and it slammed into the wall with a loud “bang.”

“Shit!” he swore under his breath, “Only a deaf person wouldn’t have heard that! Guess it’s time for The Acrobat to make his San Diego debut…”

The soldiers turned to face where the bathrooms were and the leader shouted, “If someone’s in there then come out!” after a minute of no reply he turned to one of his subordinates and said, “You, go in and drag out whoever’s in there!”

He nodded and walked over to the bathroom while the others turned their attention back to their captives.


The soldier slowly pushed the door open and he took a step inside before he aimed his gun at nothing.

Suddenly he heard someone say, “Psst, hey, up here,” and looked up to the top of the stall to see a masked teen who then said, “What’s up!”

Before the soldier could react the Acrobat leapt over the stall and kicked the man in the chest and sent him crashing through the door. The others turned to see the young hero leap out, grab the soldier and toss him into another before he jumped at them and kicked both in the face. As they went down he turned to face the leader before performing a kick to the side that smashed into a third man’s nose and knocked him out cold.

“Who the hell are you!?” the leader shouted as he started to raise his gun.

Kevin didn’t even reply as he ran at the man and performed a flying side-kick that not only smashed the soldier’s chest but the momentum sent them both crashing through the front window of the building. The teen landed feet first on the man’s prone form and turned to a shocked soldier who received a punch to the face that stunned him long enough for a roundhouse kick to the head to knock him down.

A pair of soldiers only twenty feet from the In ‘n Out saw the teen beat up their partners and immediately opened fire.

“Oh shit!” the Acrobat shouted as a barrage of bullets flew at him.

He quickly performed a series of back flips and propelled himself over and behind a car that absorbed the ammo. Realizing they needed to move in, the two rushed the fighter’s position with their guns ready. Suddenly the hero bounded over the bullet riddled car and put one soldier in a head-lock and kicked the other in the stomach. The second soldier quickly recovered from the kick and aimed his gun at Kevin while the other struggled to free himself from the hold. The teen quickly kicked the armed man’s gun before he punched his captive in the face multiple times. Bullets flew from the assault rifle and started bombarding the Shell gas station, sending gasoline and sparks flying in all directions.

“Oh that won’t end well!” the Acrobat shouted as he tossed one soldier into the other and started running towards the main street.

Sparks mixed with the gas, a fire quickly started and then the entire gas station erupted in a massive ball of flame that shook the entire area.


Jackal heard the blast and his transport was shaken from the resulting shockwave that caused his soldiers to almost go flying in all directions.

“What the hell is going on out there!?” he roared into his headset.


A soldier that had been standing on the semi-truck that was trapped in the main intersection was hanging onto the side after the blast sent him falling. He pulled himself back up and just as he regained his balance and looked up to see something or someone flying towards him. By the time he realized what it was it was too late for him to react and the Acrobat, sent flying due to the explosion, smashed feet first into the man and they both flew off the truck. The soldier landed on the ground with a recovering Kevin now standing on him and shaking his head in disbelief at what had happened. However it only took him a few seconds to get his mind back into the moment and he immediately rushed a pair of soldiers. These two reacted quicker than the others and tried to hit their attacker with the butts of their rifles but the attacks were ducked and they swung themselves off balance. The Acrobat then leapt up and performed a jumping split kick that sent both of the men reeling in opposite directions. Without any hesitation the reckless teen rushed another group and leapt at them before clothes-lining two, kipping up and then punched another in the throat.

“Woo!” he shouted before he ducked a punch and countered with a roundhouse kick, “I love this!”

The people trapped in their cars watched the young hero fighting the men that were holding them captive and started cheering. None of them had seen anything like this since the days of the Fanteenstic Four and they whole-heartedly supported the would-be savior.

As he fought, Kevin didn’t notice that a ten-man contingent of Jackal’s forces were surrounding him and soon had their guns trained on him. After he took down another soldier the Acrobat turned to finally see that he was in a lot of trouble.

The self-proclaimed leader of the squad then called out, “Alright, on three open fire! One…two…three…what the hell!?”

Before anyone could react, what looked like a flying steam of energy flew down and struck the ground before ten bolts of electricity shot out of it. The guns were flung from the soldiers’ hands and they all yelped in pain as the energy stream faded and a masked teenage girl stood in its place.

“Woa!” the Acrobat exclaimed as the girl turned to face him, “And what do they call you?”

Kathryn thought for a moment before she whirled around and blasted a recovering soldier and shouted, “Call me…Tricity!”

“I see why!” Kevin commented as he spin-kicked a man in the head.

Tricity smiled at her new partner and asked, “And what’s your name friend?”

“Call me The Acrobat,” he replied before he pointed to himself, “And I’m one of a kind!”

“I’ll say. Well now that we know each others’ names let’s get down to business!” the girl stated before she blasted a gun out of soldier’s hands.


Vanessa was running down San Marcos Blvd. and her feet hit the ground like pistons as she picked up speed and dodged by random people. As she closed in on the location of Jackal’s attack something shot past her in the form of a blur. The girl skidded to a halt and watched the strange blur head towards her destination at an incredible speed.

“What was that!?” she exclaimed before she started to run again.


As Kevin kicked a soldier in the head something shot past him and struck another soldier that was trying to sneak up on him.

“What the!?” he shouted before he witnessed another masked teen wearing a red shirt, red pants and black boots standing next to him.

“How’s it going man?” the speedy hero asked, “Name’s Speedster, and you are?”

“I’m the Acrobat!”

Suddenly a bolt of energy flew between them and electrocuted a soldier; which sent him flying into a parked car.

Tricity walked over to them and said, “Hmph, I gotta do this by myself? The name’s Tricity by the way.”

Speedster laughed, “Don’t worry, I can pull my weight. Let me guess, you’re the electricity covered one who stopped that bank robbery in Irvine back in September right?”

Kathryn shrugged, “Guilty as charged; and you’re one of the two from Orange County right?”

“Of course, and I bet The Acrobat here is the Los Angeles Angel as I’ve heard him called.”

Kevin smiled and quickly kicked a soldier before he stated, “Well now that we all know each other let’s kick some ass!”

Tricity simply responded by blasting two men and Speedster started zipping back and forth between people, knocking them out as he went. The Acrobat, not wanting to be left out, leapt at a man and almost kicked his head off with a powerful attack.

The people trapped in their cars now had three heroes to cheer for and they did with as much vigor as they could muster while the trio of saviors went to work.

[VincentX]

Chapter 7:

No More Words


Stan swerved between cars on the 5 South as the engine on his bike roared and he climbed past 80 miles per hour. In his mind he was the only one that could take on Jackal and his forces despite the news reports that were being fed into the headset he found on the bike. Trent was giving the young fighter updates as he sped down the freeway and at the moment it seemed like Jim, the unknown one from Irvine and Kevin were handling themselves. However Linda still hadn’t shown up, no one knew anything on Vanessa at the moment and those three were fighting trained soldiers with assault rifles. It wasn’t exactly a fair fight and Stan was determined to get their as soon as possible and turn the tide by himself.


Linda did her best to keep her breathing normal as she ran across 78 East towards San Marcos Blvd. Thanks to her enhanced strength she was able to randomly leap into the air and the momentum allowed her greater speed than when she ran. Unfortunately the stopped cars were getting in her way and randomly when she landed she would either land on them or clip the sides. Her feet smashed the ground and concrete flew in all directions as the young heroine put more force into her footsteps. She was worried about her brother as she left her car before the news report could mention that the Acrobat and Tricity were there to help.


The Acrobat performed a back-flip to avoid a spread of bullets that struck the ground in front of him before an energy bolt struck the attacker. He dropped the gun and before it even hit the ground he was hit by a speeding fist that knocked him out cold.

After a small amount of time had passed the trio realized that the soldiers they were fighting had started regrouping and got reorganized. Once the initial shock of the attack wore off they were fighting back and the three heroes knew that they were in trouble.

“We seem to be at a slight disadvantage!” Tricity stated as she zapped a gun out of another soldier’s hands.

Speedster knocked the same man out and replied, “Work with it! We should be getting some help soon!”

Kevin tripped two soldiers with a sweep, “Really? From who?”

“You’ll see!”


Vanessa finally saw the battle and she was just about to wonder what she could do when she saw two soldiers aiming their rifles at a group of police officers. On pure instinct Vanessa put a huge amount of strength into a jump that carried her over cars and at the soldiers.


One of the soldiers was about to pull the trigger when suddenly he looked up and the last thing he saw was Vanessa flying at him. The powerful girl landed by smashing both of her feet into the man’s chest and forced him into the ground.

“Who the hell are you!?” the other soldier gasped as he aimed his gun at her.

Vanessa yelped at the sight of the weapon but before the man could fire he was riddled with bullets from the police officers’ guns.

“Th-thanks…” she stuttered.

The head officer shook his head, “We should thank you; that was incredible.”

Vanessa blushed but quickly turned to check on the battle along with the police and they watched the three teens fight against Jackal’s forces.


Linda was almost at the San Marcos Blvd exit and she saw that Jim was being aided by two unknown fighters.

“At least he’s not alone!” she thought as she neared the battle site, ready to start thrashing people.


Vanessa’s mother sat watching the news report and the thought that her daughter was in that area had her greatly worried. So far no reports of anyone outside of the intersection being attacked had been released but there was no report on who was there.


Both of Kevin’s parents paced back and forth restlessly in their hotel room, wondering if Kevin was okay. They had already tried running over to where he was and they had been stopped by the police. They knew that Kevin had gone over to In ‘n Out but he hadn’t returned and they quickly realized that he had to have been taken hostage along with everyone else.


Jim dodged a bullet and thought, “Come on sis, where the hell are you!?”

He then turned to see a trio of soldiers aiming their rifles at him and the others and realized that he couldn’t stop them in time. Tricity and the Acrobat turned and saw the same thing but the former looked upward and saw something else that made her jaw drop.

Before the soldiers knew what was happening a sedan flew down from the freeway and smashed through all three of them like they were bowling pins. The smashed car was followed by Linda landing feet first on the ground and quickly turning to clothesline a soldier.

“Took ya long enough sis!” Speedster laughed as confidence began to build within him now that his sister was with them.

Tricity blasted a man that was trying to sneak up on Linda and called out, “Sister huh? I’m Tricity and that’s the Acrobat, what’s your name?”

The powerful teen smiled before she rushed a group of disarmed soldiers and practically flattened them before she turned to face Kathryn and replied, “Call me Bulldozer.”

The Acrobat leapt through the air and kicked a soldier in the gut and stunned him as he shouted, “Well don’t we have some appropriate names! Now should we call ourselves the Fanteenstic Four Version Two or do you all have a better group name?”

Speedster laughed as more soldiers began to appear and replied, “How about we get through this situation first and then we’ll decide on that later!?”

Tricity was starting to struggle to catch her breath and muttered, “If later even occurs…”


Jackal sat in his transport, barking orders to his men while he typed away on his on-board computer like a madman. Ever since Kevin first started fighting back against his forces, the black haired man started throwing out orders so his forces didn’t fall into disarray.

“Squad four leave a small contingent behind and head to the street. All of you do not shoot to kill but don’t let those four overwhelm you! One of your opponents is subject A-01 and I do not want him killed!”

“Sir, is subject A-02 here?”

“I can’t tell; between all of the gunfire and the gas station exploding my equipment’s been damaged. I know she’s there but I can’t get a fix on her position; find her and subdue her as well!”


“Stan, Linda’s there so four of them are fighting now. Still no sign of Vanessa.”

Stan was racing down the 78 East at 100 miles per hour when he heard Trent’s message come through his headphones.

“How are they fairing?”

“Looks like they’ve hit a stalemate. They’re powers are giving them a combat advantage but the soldiers are too well organized.”

“Hmph,” Stan grunted into the mic as he dodged through the stopped traffic, “Jackal’s probably feeding them orders from somewhere. Any sign of him?”

“Not that I’ve seen, he’s probably hiding out in one of the transport vehicles scattered throughout the area.”

Stan rounded a bend and finally was able to see the street where the battle was taking place, though it was obstructed by the buildings around it.

“I see it!” he shouted, “I’ll come around from the West rather than directly jumping in from the freeway.”

“Good idea, from what I know from the layou…” Trent started.

“I can see where to go from here!” Stan interrupted as he swerved and launched the bike off of the freeway.

He fell for a few crucial moments before the bike struck the ground and Stan drove up next to the Fry’s which was only a block away from the battle.


The Acrobat took out another soldier and saw that more were re-grouping so that they could surround him and the others. At this point even his heroic optimism was starting to fade and he realized that unless something big happened then they would be in serious trouble.


Vanessa watched the four heroes taking on the much larger force and she thought about if she could, or should, enter the fray. However, her thoughts were cut short when a soldier spotted her and attacked. The girl tried to fight back but she was caught off guard and after he hit her with the butt of his rifle he let go of the weapon, drew a knife and grabbed one arm so that she couldn’t punch him, the other trying to stop him from stabbing her. The police drew their guns but they couldn’t get in a shot without hitting Vanessa and could only watch as she struggled against the trained mercenary.


Stan adjusted his sunglasses and then revved the engine on the motorcycle as he prepped himself for what was going to happen next.

Trent’s voice then came through the headset, “Alright Stan listen up. I don’t want you engaging Jackal without the others to back you up. We also still don’t know where P…”

The young man shook his head even though Trent couldn’t see it and interrupted him for the second time, “Sorry Trent, but I don’t take orders very well…”

He could faintly hear the other’s voice shouting, “Stan! Stan come in!”

Stan revved the engine one last time before he kicked the bike into gear and smoke shot out from the rear tire as the vehicle propped up the front and rocketed forwards. He sped past a set of parked cars before turning onto San Marcos Blvd and propped the bike onto the back wheel once again. The motorcycle popped up onto one a car, fell back onto two wheels and he coasted across stopped vehicles at an incredible speed. The reckless would-be hero heard a scream, saw Vanessa in trouble and quickly drew one of his push-knives. He then hit the back windshield of a police car like a ramp and practically flew off into the air like a rocket.

Just as the soldier’s dagger was about to strike Vanessa a push-knife hit him in the forehead, killing him instantly. The girl whirled to see a young man on a motorcycle fly past her and over the giant semi-truck.


Stan saw the four heroes struggling, let go of the handle bars of the bike and threw a barrage of knives at the soldiers. The incredibly sharp objects struck, killed and injured a large amount of the men as the teens looked up to see where the weapons came from.

“Who the hell is that!?” the Acrobat exclaimed.


Jackal heard the cries of help from his soldiers and jumped out of the truck to see Stan flying towards him on a motorcycle. A trio of soldiers ran in front of him and aimed their guns as the bike turned sideways so that it was parallel with them. Suddenly the wheels turned and when the vehicle landed it was rolling sideways at top speed. As the soldiers opened fire Stan leapt off the bike and while bullets bounced off its armor, he spun in the air and threw his knives. All three weapons found their marks in the soldiers and they dropped to the ground as the young man landed back on the bike and stopped right in front of Jackal.

“Long time no see Jack-ass!” he shouted before leaping off the motorcycle and aiming a kick at his former leader.

“Stan!” the enraged commander shouted as he blocked the attack and the two started their fight.

Both men were experts at hand to hand combat and every attack one threw, the other found a way to retaliate against. Stan performed a spin kick that was ducked and Jackal tried a sweep that was avoided by a back-flip. The younger of the two threw a push-knife but the other man knew his protégé’s attacks too well and easily anticipated and dodged the deadly weapon.


The minute Jackal got distracted by Stan the four heroes noticed that the soldiers started to lose their organization and things started to break down.

Bulldozer threw a man into three of his partners and shouted, “Who the hell is that guy that just jumped in!?”

Tricity blasted a few guns and called back, “No idea, but he definitely can kick some ass!”

The Acrobat looked over to where Stan was and immediately recognized that the man he was fighting was Jackal.

“Wait…I know that guy!” he shouted as he countered a punch.

Speedster zipped through a cluster of soldiers as the four started to re-group and asked, “Who? The guy who just helped us?”

“No, the guy he’s fighting!”

Kathryn did her best to catch her breath as she found herself back-to-back with the others before she turned to Acrobat, “Bad guy?”

“Definitely, I bet he’s in charge of this party!”

Linda smiled before she nearly booted a man’s head off, “Well then why don’t you go re-acquainted with our host! We’ll take care of his chaperones!”

Acrobat hesitated, “You sure?”

Kathryn blasted a soldier and replied, “We’ll be fine now that the head guy isn’t giving any orders! Go!”

As Kevin ran towards Jackal and Stan, Speedster looked at his two remaining partners and shouted, “Let’s kick some ass!”


Jackal kicked Stan in the stomach, elbowed him in the face and started to reach for a gun in his jacket. However he heard a shout and looked up just in time to receive a flying kick from the Acrobat that sent him spinning into his truck.

“Hey Jacky Schmuck! Remember me!?” Kevin taunted before he turned to a recovered Stan, “Need some help?”

Stan was about to deny the assistance before he realized that the teen next to him was the one Jackal had given super agility to.

“Hmph,” the young man grunted before he took up a fighting stance, “Just don’t get in my way.”

The Acrobat threw back his head and laughed before he did the same and responded, “Same to you buddy. By the way, the name’s The Acrobat. What’s yours?”

“Stan,” he replied before tossing his sunglasses to the ground.

Before their conversation could continue Jackal rushed the two fighters and kicked Stan in the ribs before he punched Kevin in the face.

“Keep your minds on the fight kids!” the angered man shouted as the fight started up once more.


Meanwhile the other three heroes were finding that they were having an easier time fighting back now that Jackal was busy with Stan and Acrobat. Punches, kicks and lightning bolts were thrown with a renewed sense of confidence now that the trio had the advantage.

Bulldozer saw that Tricity was having trouble keeping up and kicked a soldier away from her before she turned to the tiring heroine.

“You need a breather?” the powerful teen asked.

Kathryn coughed a few times before she nodded, “Yeah, I’m not used to this much exertion of my powers.”

Speedster ran over to the two girls, “I think we’ve got them isolated to one side of the street. Tricity, if you need a break this is the best time.”

The girl nodded as she desperately tried to catch her breath and the siblings rushed the remaining forces.


Vanessa continued to watch the battle alongside the police officers and wondered who all these heroes were. She did remember hearing about a couple of them on the news but she never believed that there were anymore superheroes since the retirement of the Fanteenstic Four. Suddenly a barrage of bullets flew past her and struck the police; injuring most and killing a few.

Vanessa turned and saw a soldier aiming his rifle at her who shouted, “Don’t move!” before attempting to use his radio, “Sir! I think I found Subject A-02! Sir?”


Tricity was finally recovering when she saw Vanessa being held at gunpoint by one of the stray soldiers. Though she wasn’t at full strength she couldn’t let an innocent girl be killed because she was tired.


“Hmph, the boss must be busy,” the soldier commented as he cocked his gun, “I’ll just shoot ya to wound you…now stand still.”

Vanessa screamed for help just as Tricity came flying through the air and unleashed a powerful lightning attack that struck the soldier. Pure energy shot through the man’s body before the resulting blast from his gun sent him crashing into a car before he crumpled to the ground.

Tricity landed and started to gasp for breath before she turned to Vanessa and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, th-thanks,” the scared girl stuttered out.

“Glad to hear it. Now get going, this isn’t a place for you to be hanging out.”

“B-but I can help.”

Kathryn was just about to ask how when Vanessa leapt past her and punched out a soldier that had been trying to sneak up on them.

The brunette heroine shook her head and said, “Alright, I guess you can help.”


As Linda threw a soldier like a javelin she looked over and saw Tricity talking to a random girl.

“Who’s that?” she asked her brother, who was speeding up his arms so he would punch soldiers hundreds of times in only a few seconds.

“No clue. We’re almost done so let’s regroup!”


All four teens met up in the center of the street, Vanessa slinking back a little bit as she was nervous being around the others.

Bulldozer pointed at the girl, “Who’s that?”

Tricity smiled, “Someone who can help. She saved me back at the truck so don’t worry about her. Anyone check on Acrobat and his dance partners?”


Jackal performed a sweeping kick that knocked the Acrobat off his feet but Stan dashed in and hit the man with a right hook. He quickly followed up with a side-kick to the chest that sent his opponent stumbling backwards.

“Give it up Jackal!” Stan shouted as he drew a pair of his push-knives, “Your soldiers are almost gone and there’s no way you can take on the two of us!”

An evil smirk grew on Jackal’s face before he replied, “Really? Well how about I just add one more guest to this little party?” he then grabbed a communicator out of his pocket and shouted, “Now!”

[VincentX]

Chapter 8:

Power Unleashed


Stan was just about to ask Jackal who he called when the wrecking ball that was Powerhouse struck. The giant man leapt down from the broken bridge and landed between Jackal and his opponents with a crash that shook the area. Neither Stan nor Kevin had a chance to move before two massive punches struck and sent them flying.


The other four were about to check on Acrobat when he and Stan flew over them, crashed into and bounced off the semi truck.

“What the hell!?” Bulldozer exclaimed before she turned and saw Powerhouse stomping towards them.

“Holy shit he’s huge!” Speedster shouted.

Powerhouse grabbed a car in which a woman and her daughter were in that had gotten trapped during the initial attack and lifted it above his head. He then tossed it into the air towards his targets while its occupants screamed in fear. Linda reacted out of pure instinct and pushed the others to the side before she threw out her arms and actually caught the car before it hit the ground. Though her strength was great, even she had trouble holding up the vehicle and she dug her feet into the ground to steady herself.

Jim saw that his sister was struggling and also saw that the massive fighter was continuing his advance towards them. He thought for a second before he threw caution to the winds and rushed the giant at full speed, leaving Tricity and Vanessa behind. A fifty mile an hour punch struck Powerhouse in the cheek but the attack barely fazed him and an evil smirk appeared on his face. Speedster dropped to the ground and immediately began unleashing hundreds of punches that the giant didn’t even seem to feel. Before he knew what was happening, the teen’s head was grabbed and he was spun around before Jim was tossed across the street and through the windshield of a car.


As Bulldozer lowered the car onto the ground she saw her brother go down and a great rage began to build within her. She ripped the doors off the car and when Tricity and Vanessa ran over to help the woman and daughter she kept her grip on the doors.

“Get them away from here,” the young heroine growled.

Powerhouse was stomping towards them when Stan leapt in out of nowhere and stabbed two daggers into the shoulders of the giant. He started punching his enemy in the face, hoping the push-knives lodged in him would slow the massive fighter down. Unfortunately for the smaller fighter the knives only felt like small needle pricks to his opponent and he couldn’t stop what happened next. Powerhouse grabbed one of Stan’s legs and threw him across the street and into the side of an empty car, denting the door and shattering the glass. The young man dropped to the ground, his face a mask of pain, as glass rained around him and onto the ground.


Linda growled as she held one of her arms back and then threw one of the car doors like a Frisbee at the giant. Powerhouse turned just in time to get hit by the object in the chest before the other flew in and bounced off his face.

Bulldozer stopped towards the man, “Hey freak! Why don’t you pick on someone your own strength!?” she shouted as she cracked her knuckles.

“Just try it you little bitch!” he called back.

That snapped what was left of the heroine’s patience as she screamed in anger and rushed the seemingly unstoppable giant. She quickly ducked a punch before jumping upwards and striking her enemy in the chin with an uppercut. This was followed with a quick punching combination that Powerhouse shrugged off as if it was nothing. He quickly put forward a boot and struck his attacker in the face, sending her to the ground in pain.


As Tricity and Vanessa watched the two people they rescued run off Acrobat literally dropped down to the ground next to them and did his best to pull himself up.

“Are you okay?” Kathryn asked as she tried to help her partner stand.

“Ugh, I feel like I just got hit by a truck…” he coughed.

“That guy’s a monster, everyone’s getting taken down,” she commented as Kevin finally stood up.

The masked teen stretched for a second before he replied, “Yeah but if we don’t stop him here then who knows what he’ll do. You two wait here, if I can’t stop him then it’s up to you!”


The minute Trent saw Powerhouse get involved he ran at full tilt towards the landing pad where he had a helicopter waiting just in case. He shot past soldiers and commanders as he went and finally burst out of the door and sprinted to the vehicle.

“Get it started!” Trent shouted to the pilot.

As the copter-blades started up the young man jumped inside and buckled up before he put on a headset. Just as they were ready to take off Jess jumped in through the other side and buckled up as well.

“Woa, woa, you are not coming with me!”

She turned to him and replied, “Hey! I am not sitting around while all this goes down. Besides, I don’t think I’d forgive myself if anything happened to that girl Vanessa.”

Trent let out a groan, “Fine, pilot, go!”


Powerhouse picked up Bulldozer by the neck and saw Acrobat running towards him. He threw his defeated opponent at the charging hero and sent them both crashing into the ground and out of the fight. Suddenly a push-knife flew across the street and buried itself in the man’s stomach but it was as if he didn’t even feel it. All he did was turn to see Stan barely standing, blood running out of a wound in his head. Before the young man could continue, however, Jackal rushed him and kicked him in the ribs, forcing him to defend himself against a new opponent.


Powerhouse laughed as he turned to see Speedster running towards him once again, albeit much slower than before. This gave the giant another advantage as he sidestepped and struck the young hero with a clothesline that flipped him head over heels before he hit the concrete with a thud. The behemoth turned to face the last two members of the heroic group in front of the semi and stomped towards Tricity and Vanessa.

Kathryn pushed Vanessa to the side as she gathered power and said, “Stay back!”

Powerhouse was only a few feet away when Tricity fired a moderate sized bolt of energy that struck him in the chest caused him to stumble back. However, despite the power behind the attack; it was nowhere near as strong as the one she had hit him with months ago and it didn’t even knock the giant off his feet.

“Pfft, was that it?” Powerhouse asked, “You’re the one that actually hurt me three months ago and that’s all you can manage now?”

Tricity clenched her fists as she tried to gather more power, fear running through her as her attack had almost no affect on her opponent. She extended both arms and fired a pair of lightning blasts but even though they hit their target, this time the behemoth didn’t even seem fazed.

“Pathetic,” the giant taunted as he continued to walk menacingly towards his targets, “I think I’ll take out sparky first!”

Tricity was running on empty and her legs were shaking; all of her strength was gone due to the exertion of her powers. Before she could try to run Powerhouse rushed her, grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up so they were face to face.


Stan saw what was happening but he was busy trying to fight off Jackal and every time his concentration shifted he was struck by an attack. The young man dropped to the ground and coughed before a kick struck his stomach and sent him rolling across the concrete.

“You lose Stan,” Jackal commented as he stood over his former protégé, “Give up and maybe I’ll let you rejoin us. Well what do you say?”

Stan spit some blood into the man’s face and replied, “I say this: Go f…”

“Defiant until the end,” Jackal interrupted him, “Fine, then you’ll die here.”


Vanessa watched as Powerhouse choked Tricity and she rushed forward and punched the man in the stomach.

“Stop it!” she shouted before she threw another punch.

The giant looked down and laughed, “So it’s a squeaking mouse! Well don’t worry you little rodent, your friend won’t suffer for long. Now be a good little girl and beat it!”

He then kicked the girl in the face and sent her crashing into the front of the semi-truck, denting it. Tricity was desperately hitting the man’s arms with glowing hands but everything was starting to blur and she could feel herself slipping away.

Vanessa’s sight kept going in and out of focus as she looked up at Powerhouse and Tricity. A trickle of blood ran down from her mouth and she ran her tongue down to stop it. However, the second she tasted her own blood it was if something inside of her changed and she began to shake and twitch. A low growl escaped her throat as her eyes changed and looked like those of a wild animal and even glowed a little.

“Let…her…go…” she muttered.

Powerhouse looked down at her and asked, “What was that?”

It was then that the small girl screamed, “LET HER GO!”

She then roared, rushed forward and tackled Powerhouse, knocking the wind from his lungs and Tricity from his hand. Vanessa then swung her left hand up and a set of growing nails slashed across Powerhouse’s chest, sending flecks of blood flying. The giant man stumbled backwards clutching the wound and coughing while Vanessa stood snarling and shaking. She threw out her arms as her fingernails formed into claws and froth poured from her mouth, which was framed with a sharp set of fangs.

Without any warning the savage girl quickly closed the gap between herself and her target, her feet hitting the ground hard and cracking the pavement. After letting out another snarl she leapt up and slashed Powerhouse’s face with her claws before grabbing his shoulders and head-butting him. The giant felt the razor sharp nails dig into his shoulders and he retaliated with a head-butt of his own and backhanded Vanessa. She fell backwards, her claws ripped out of her opponent and he let out a grunt of pain before he kicked the girl in the face, sending her to the ground. Powerhouse breathed heavily as blood ran down from his wounds and his fists clenched tightly as prepared to stomp the girl into the concrete. However, just as he took a step forward, Vanessa leapt up and punched him in the jaw, knocking a few teeth loose and causing the man to stumble backwards. She hit the ground running and hit the giant with a full body attack that sent him to the ground with the girl on top of him, digging her claws into his chest. Vanessa let out a vicious roar and bit the man’s left shoulder, her fangs cutting through his skin like it was paper.

Bulldozer and Acrobat were helping each other up when they had heard Vanessa scream and now stood in shock at what she was doing to Powerhouse. Speedster limped over to them and just watched as the fighter that all of them put together couldn’t beat was dismantled by the savage girl.

Jackal inwardly cursed as he watched his best fighter being beaten and realized that he should’ve located the girl before this happened.

“Damn it!” he shouted before the man ran to help Powerhouse.

Vanessa interlocked her hands and slammed them down on her enemy; the impact caused him to gasp for air as she continued. Suddenly an animal like sense kicked in and the girl turned just in time to see Jackal leaping at her and then perform a flying side-kick. With speed like lightning she grabbed his leg and raked her claws across it before punching the man in the face. He was sent reeling but the lull gave Powerhouse the chance to attack as he rose up and punched Vanessa in the face as hard as he could. The impact sent her flying and then skidding across the ground before she dug her claws into the concrete and slowed to a halt.

She then glared at the giant and let out a primeval scream, “Rrrrraaaaaaaah!”

Vanessa bounded towards her enemy on all fours like a wild animal, snarling and growling as her eyes never left the man’s massive form. She then leapt through the air and caught Powerhouse with a brutal clawed swipe that left multiple cuts across his face. The giant struck back with a punch that hit her in the stomach but she grabbed his arm and raked her finger-nails across it.


Jackal slowly and painfully picked himself up and was about to attack the girl again when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned to see Stan’s bloodied face and the young man stated, “Who needs to give up now?” before he punched Jackal in the throat.


Kathryn coughed and choked as she did her best to stand up and watched Vanessa tear Powerhouse to ribbons. The others ran over to her and Kevin helped her up and supported her with one arm while Linda supported him and Jim as well. All four of them watched the savage girl beat the man that all of them combined couldn’t take down in silence.


Powerhouse threw the wild teen face first into the concrete and stepped on the back of her head. However her hands began to push down on the ground and she slowly moved herself and the behemoth’s leg upwards. Vanessa then spun her body and grabbed onto Powerhouse’s boot like a vice, her claws breaking through the leather and into his foot. She quickly planted her feet into the ground before the girl was able to stand up and flipped her opponent off his feet and onto the street. Vanessa jumped up to attack but Powerhouse threw out both of his feet and kicked the girl’s entire body. But due to the injuries he had been sustaining and the strength he had been using, the kick only knocked Vanessa to the ground and she simply jumped back up again.


One of the few remaining soldiers climbed into a transport truck and started up the engine. Escape was the only option he believed was left and he checked to see where Jackal and Powerhouse were. He spotted his leader and immediately began driving slowly and quietly towards the man’s position.


Vanessa lifted Powerhouse above her head and let out another primeval scream before she tossed him across the street. She was about to rush him to finish him off when her instincts and hearing kicked in as the sound of a gun clicking filled her ears. The girl spun around as she leapt to one side to avoid a bullet from an injured soldier’s handgun.

“Die you psychotic bitch!” the man shouted as he re-aimed his weapon.

Vanessa roared at him before she ran towards the soldier on all fours, her blood covered finger-nails cutting the gravel. The soldier opened fired as she was within a few feet of him and a bullet struck the crazed girl in the right shoulder. However it was as if nothing had touched her as she continued her charge and slashed the man’s face open.


Stan punched Jackal in the throat again but the black haired man finally grabbed the gun out of his jacket and smashed the handle of it into his enemy’s face. As the young man went down Jackal was about to finish the job when he heard the gunshots from the soldier. He looked and saw the man get slashed to ribbons by Vanessa, then saw the transport heading his way and decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Jackal limped towards the transport and jumped in the passenger seat before he turned to the driver.

“Get Powerhouse and then let’s get the hell out of here,” he groaned.


Powerhouse saw the transport and limped towards it as he kept an eye on Vanessa as she finished thrashing the soldier that distracted her from attacking him. The girl stood up and turned to see her original quarry slinking away and the bullet that hit her shoulder slid out of the wound as it closed up. She then bolted after the giant with the crazed glint of battle still in her eyes and blood stains on her clothes.

Just as she was about to leap at the giant, the transport hit her and sent her reeling across the ground. Powerhouse hobbled around the truck while Jackal shouted for him to hurry up and get inside. Moments after the giant got inside the vehicle a further enraged Vanessa leapt up onto the front of the truck and put a fist through the windshield. But after she pulled her arm out to continue the attack, Jackal shot her multiple times with his handgun and she fell off the hood.

“Go now!” the man shouted to the driver.

The soldier behind the wheel didn’t need an order to do so as he slammed on the gas and drove through an opening to San Marcos Blvd. Vanessa got up and limped after the vehicle as the bullets dropped out of her wounds but the strange light in her eyes began to fade. Soon her eyelashes started to flicker as she stumbled and coughed, her body beginning to fail and her mind calming.

Tricity saw the girl who saved her life beginning to wobble and used the remainder of her strength to rush over to her. She caught Vanessa just as she fell and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that the girl was still breathing.

“Thank you…” Kathryn whispered as the sound of an approaching helicopter could be heard.

[VincentX]

Chapter 9:

Project: Justice


Trent looked down from the helicopter as it neared its destination and the first thing he saw was that it was completely still.

“So they won…” he thought.


Bulldozer walked over to Tricity and Vanessa and picked up the unconscious girl so that she was safe in the powerful teen’s arms.

“I’ll hold her,” the stronger girl stated, “You look like you can barely hold yourself up.”

Tricity chuckled as she felt her legs shake, “Good point.”

The two girls looked upwards and saw a passenger helicopter start to descend towards their position.

“I wonder who that is,” Kathryn commented.

“Probably my boss,” Stan replied as he walked over, his eyes constantly looking over the area, “I bet he got a little worried.”

Acrobat and Speedster limped over as the vehicle landed a decent length away from the group. They watched as Trent and Jess jumped out and walked over to them, the former looking around and smiling.

“You made quite a mess of this place Stan, not to mention of yourself,” Trent stated, “But I don’t mind the results.”

The young man shook his head, “Wasn’t all my doing. The majority of your thanks should go to that sleeping kid. She was the real hero today.”

Jess shook her head, “I heard it over the radio but I just couldn’t believe that she could take on that monster like she did.”

Trent smiled, “I told you so…ow!” he yelped as the young woman slapped him upside his head.

“Don’t be smug about it Trent.”

The Acrobat had been silent but at the mention of the former villain’s name he blurted out, “You’re Trent Fisk and Jess Grey!”

Trent nodded, “That would be us. However there will be time for full introductions later. Right now I need all of you to come with us.”

“Let me guess, you’re the guy Bulldozer and I were going to meet earlier,” Speedster pointed out.

“Yep. Now come on, this helicopter’s big enough for all of us. Plus we have medical equipment and food back at the base. Which, from the looks of it, you could use some.”

Bulldozer nodded as she headed for the helicopter with Vanessa still unconscious in her arms. Speedster shrugged and followed his sister, knowing that they should be in good hands.

The exhausted Tricity tried walking and almost fell when Acrobat hopped over and supported her.

“Need a hand?” he asked.

She smiled, “Sure...thanks.”


As the helicopter took off, the five conscious fighters looked down at what had just been their battlefield. They saw emergency vehicles arriving while smoke billowed out of what had been the gas station and dust settled from the explosions on the bridge.

“Heh, between those soldiers and us, we made quite a mess,” Speedster commented.

Acrobat blushed, “I should probably take the blame for the gas station.”

Stan didn’t look in the teen’s direction as he had a cloth over his head to stifle the bleeding but he replied, “You’re reckless, impulsive and crazy Acrobat.”

“Aaaand?”

“What ‘and?’ That was it.”

“Well…well you don’t have a super hero name, Stan.”

The others chuckled while Stan just shook his head and allowed a tiny smile to appear on his face.


As they flew, silence soon reigned over the group, none of them was sure of what to say now that the battle was over.

Tricity then thought of something, turned to Acrobat and extended a hand, “Kathryn Jones.”

Acrobat shook the offered hand, “Kevin Daniels.”

Bulldozer continued the introductions, “Linda Flint.”

“Jim Flint,” Speedster added.


After a few minutes of light conversation, Trent turned around from the front and stated, “We’re here.”

The group felt the helicopter land and waited for the go ahead before they all de-boarded and headed for the base.

Trent immediately told them what he wanted the group to do, “Alright, I want all of you inside and patched up as soon as possible. You all need to be debriefed on what’s happening and I want you at least bandaged.”

“What about her?” Linda indicated the still unconscious Vanessa in her arms.

Jess fielded that question, “She can rest in one of the beds until she wakes up. I’ll stay with her until then, don’t worry.”

All eight entered the med bay and while Vanessa was placed in a bed, the others were immediately seen by the medical staff. Limbs were realigned; cuts were bandaged and stitched while everyone was also checked for internal injuries as well.

As her neck was being wrapped up Kathryn asked, “So what’s going on? I have a feeling we weren’t all brought here just to be patched up.”

Trent’s face turned serious, “I was wondering who the first to ask that would be,” he then looked over the inquiring faces before he began his explanation, “You were brought here because we’ve been keeping tabs on almost all of you. Kathryn, you were a bit of a wild card but I’m glad you joined up with the others when you did. Ever since I was brought into fold; a division of the government and myself have been working on building a new superhero team. One that will take over the burden that the Fanteenstic Four left for normal law enforcement to carry when they were forced to retire. You were chosen because each of you has a specific trait and power that you can add.

“Kevin Daniels; aka The Acrobat, we’ve been keeping an eye on you ever since you got your powers. From what we saw; as well as what Jerry Richards told us about you when he visited your class; you’re headstrong and a little over-anxious but you have the true heart and soul of a hero, as well as powerful acrobatic abilities. Jim Flint; aka Speedster, when Sam Summers and Mike Grimm approached you I know you were a little unsure of being a hero. However, your powers are an amazing gift, you’re a calm thinker and you can help keep a cool head during wild situations. Linda Flint; aka Bulldozer, you were contacted by Brad Banner and Zack Storm the same day as your brother. Your powers come naturally to you and your physical power is very impressive; you’re the type of person who can bring strength and security to those around you. Kathryn Jones; aka Tricity, sorry we didn’t find you sooner but besides that robbery you stopped we hadn’t heard anything more on you. But I can tell that you have a good head on your shoulders and your heart is pure; plus you can throw lightning at people, which is just damn cool.”

A slight chuckle came from everyone and Trent mentally sighed; glad that the group had a sense of humor.

Suddenly everyone turned to the side as a timid and tired voice asked, “What about me?”

Jess was holding Vanessa’s head up, her eyes betrayed her nervous feelings but she was very much awake and she had heard most of what Trent had said.

Trent walked over to the girl’s bed and replied, “Vanessa Ferris; a very unassuming teenage girl who, though quiet and shy, is pure of heart. You headed for the battle not knowing the true nature of your powers, but you went anyway.”

Jim stood up and adjusted a bandage around his head before he stated, “You saved our lives Vanessa.”

Vanessa’s eyes darted around a little as she replied, “I-I don’t remember much. I just remember that giant man hurt all of you and then choking Kathryn. I…I had to help but I didn’t know how and then everything went blank.”

Trent looked into her eyes and said, “The power that has been building within you for the last few months came out. You’ve got a lot of strength within your body Vanessa; more than anyone knew.”

“But how? How did I get this way?”

Jess held up her hand so that Trent would let her answer and she replied, “Remember that flu shot? Jackal injected you with something that changed your DNA and gave you these abilities. Lauren and I didn’t want to tell you right away because we didn’t think you’d be able to handle it,” she placed her other hand on the bed where the girl grasped it.

“I’m…what am I then?”

“Special,” Kevin replied as he walked over to the frightened girl, “Just like all of us. Vanessa, I got these powers because of Jackal as well. So I guess we’re blood brother and sister now.”

Vanessa looked at him and said, “I’ve always wanted a tough brother.”

Trent then coughed to get everyone’s attention and continued from where he had left off in his speech, “I also believe you’ve all met Stan Logan,” he indicated the bandaged Stan, “He will be your leader should you all decide to join this team.”

“What do you mean should we decide?” Kevin asked.

“It’s up to you whether you want this to be your life,” he replied, “No one will make your decisions for you. If you want to join us then that is your choice; as it will be your choice if you do not wish to join us. Just so you know now; you will need to be placed in a location we have found. You will have to leave your schools and move away from your homes. You will obviously be able to keep in touch and visit your parents but you will live in a completely new place. You will all live together and go to the same school as well. I know this sounds like a lot but I won’t rush you; take your time to decide and let me know what your decisions are.”

Jim stood up, “Well Linda and I are obviously with you. We already made that decision two months ago.”

Kevin’s eyes had lit up from the moment he heard that Trent was ready to put together a team to take over for the Fanteenstic Four, “Hell yeah I’ll join up!” he exclaimed, “This is like a dream come true for me!”

Trent laughed, “I knew you’d say that.”

Kathryn began to think about what Trent had proposed and the idea of becoming a hero and part of a team became more and more interesting to her. The prospect of moving out of her house was a plus in her mind and she didn’t feel too attached to her school either.

“I’ll go,” she stated, “It sounds like it will be an interesting experience.”

Vanessa was the last to go and just said, “Count me in…oh, and for my superhero name…call me Feral.”

Trent then said, “Okay, then welcome to what I call ‘Project: Justice.’ I will now explain what you will need to do…”

[VincentX]

Epilogue

Fortunate Sons and Daughters


Within the next week all five teens were moving out of their homes to the house that Trent had set up for them. Explanations were given when needed and though some of the parents, especially Vanessa’s, were a little hesitant; they saw the fire in their sons’ and daughters’ eyes and let them leave their nests.


Kevin hugged his parents as he said, “Hey don’t worry mom, dad. I’ll keep in touch. Plus I’ll come home for holidays and birthdays okay?”

The teen’s father nodded, “Okay son. Just stay safe out there okay?”

“No problem dad!”

His mother then said, “Promise me one thing Kevin.”

“What’s that mom?”

“That you’ll kick some bad guy butt!”

“That definitely won’t be a problem!”


Jill and Leon Flint hugged their son and daughter tightly as they prepared to say goodbye, if only temporarily.

Jim produced a smile, “Hey you two, we’ll be fine. Between the two of us and the others we’ll be the best damn superhero team ever!”

Linda nodded in agreement, “We’ll stay in touch with e-mails if that’ll make you feel better.”

Jill smiled, “It will. Keep me updated on how you’re doing in school as well.”

Leon placed hands on his children’s’ shoulders and stated, “You two have immense potential that I know you will live up to by doing this. That is why I believe this will be a great experience for you. Remember this: always give it your best and never give up.”

The siblings nodded as they gave their parents one more hug before they headed out.


Vanessa’s mother Candace was almost in tears as she hugged and kissed her daughter for the fifth time that day.

“Be careful sweetie,” she told the teen.

“I will mom.”

Bruce Ferris looked into his daughter’s eyes and saw that determination was beginning to appear within them.

“Vanessa,” he said, “I believe this new life you have chosen will do you a world of good. But always remember that if you ever need someone to talk to; your mother and I will be here for you. Do your best and let that confidence within you build up so that you will be able to do anything.”


Kathryn stood outside her house with a pack of her belongings sitting on the ground next to her. She didn’t get along very well with her parents and she didn’t want to go through any goodbyes.

“Look out world,” she stated as she turned around and walked away, “Here I come.”


The five teens arrived at the house where they would be living in central California and it looked like a simple suburban home.

“You know, I was expecting something a little bigger,” Kevin commented as they headed inside.

Stan was inside waiting for them and said, “You will find your rooms on the second floor. Down on this floor we have a fully stocked kitchen and a couple of lounge rooms. Now I will show you what our base of operations will be; leave your things here for now.”

The group followed their leader over to a large grandfather clock and right after Stan pressed a button on its side, it moved and revealed a staircase, with a door and control panel at the bottom. He walked down and opened a metal door at the bottom of the stairs by punching in a key code. Everyone headed through the open portal and a large metal hallway was revealed to them.

As they walked Stan gave them a quick rundown of what was inside, “Down here there are multiple training halls; sleeping quarters for when we may need them. There is also an ample amount of supplies here as well. Finally there is a meeting room that will allow us to monitor cities and discuss strategies,” he then turned to the group and stated, “Welcome to your new home boys and girls.”


Kevin stood on a balcony attached to the roof and looked out over his new home town. He wore a dark blue jacket that flapped in the wind and a feeling of raw energy filled his body.

“You ready for what lies ahead of you kid?” a voice asked.

Kevin turned to see Stan leaning up against the doorframe and replied, “You bet I am. Oh…and the name’s Kevin, not kid.”

Stan laughed, “You’ve got guts Kevin…and you’re gonna need ‘em! I’m expecting a lot out of you and the others and you’d better deliver.”

Kevin put on his mask and stated, “Don’t worry about me; because I’m The Acrobat…and I’m one of kind!”

This post has been edited by VincentX on Mar 17 2009, 11:35 PM

[VincentX]

Author’s Notes


They will be heroes…if just for one series.


Here we go; we are now at the threshold of my new series The Justice Chronicles at its true take-off point. The characters have been established; the stage has been set and it is time for the true story to begin.


Okay enough with the serious talk, let’s get to my author’s notes!
First off let’s start with the obvious: Tim Shatner and Cameron Jones; two reporters who have been with my fics since the beginning. Actually they’ve only been in three including this one: The Origin of Mega Man X and Final Cowboy: Knockin’ On the Promise Land’s Door. I figured it would be fun to bring them back again, this time in yet another series and universe! Man, they get around don’t they?

Next up I have to cover the climactic fight that composed a great deal of the fic as it went through multiple changes along the way. First off since I hadn’t originally planned for this to take place in Southern California, it was in a random city. Also, I had the original plan thought up before I even wrote the first fic. Plus the music for this section (I’ll cover the songs in the soundtrack listing) was also going to be completely different as well.

The original set-up had each of the heroes showing up by walking down the street one by one, taking out a few soldiers with their powers. Jackal was going to have more of a fighting part and Powerhouse was going to appear for the first time by breaking through a building. From what I remember the plan was for the group to beat Powerhouse by combining their powers and eventually overpower him.

Then I made it so Stan came in a little later on the motorcycle; but on his own accord as he originally left Jackal without outside influence. Then I decided on him being recruited by Trent; especially since their base wouldn’t make sense without some serious financial and technological backing. I soon came up with the idea of Vanessa being the one to take down Powerhouse by unleashing her powers for only the second time. Of course it now became the first time since she didn’t use them like that in the first story.

Then came the location change to Southern California and eventually to the location of San Marcos. Next I set up the order in which the characters would show up; Stan showing up last and Kevin being first was always the plan. Originally Jim and Linda were going to show up at the same time but I figured having them appear at different times added more tension. Eventually the battle that is in the fic came to be and I decided that it was the best way to conduct the fights.

A couple of things were removed to keep the flow better:

One was that in my original idea; Kevin was going to flirt with Kathryn while just the two of them fought. However…I kinda forgot to write that and just decided to leave it out when I remembered as it seemed out of place (besides, there’s plenty of time for that later).

Second was at one point Kathryn was going to use her powers to create a shockwave that would knock all the guns out of the soldiers’ hands. But I realized that it was a little too farfetched that she wouldn’t know how to do so without affecting the surrounding cars and policemen as well.


Also, Chapter 9’s title went through multiple changes until I decided on “Project: Justice,” which is also the name of a fighting game on the Sega Dreamcast.

Now here’s the soundtrack:

Stevie Wonder – Higher Ground: Chapter 1

Sheryl Crow – Real Gone: Chapter 2

ACDC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap: Chapter 3

Matchbox 20 – Real World: Chapter 4

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Snow (Hey Oh): (Chapter 5) From the beginning of the chapter until after Jackal says “Good, begin!”

Saliva – Superstar II: (Chapter 5) From the line “The intersection by the entrances” until the end of the chapter.

Steve Jablonsky – Sector 7: (Chapter 6) From the beginning of the chapter until the soldier is sent to investigate the noise in the bathroom.

The Used – Pretty Handsome Awkward: (Chapter 6) From when the soldier opens the bathroom door until the end of the chapter.

Steve Jablonsky – Scorponok: (Chapter 7) From the beginning of the chapter until the line “Trent’s voice then came through the headset, “Alright Stan listen up. I don’t want you engaging Jackal without the others to back you up. We also still don’t know where P…”

Endeverafter – No More Words: (Chapter 7) From the line “The young man shook his head…” until the end of the chapter. Note: there is a build up at the beginning of the song; basically it should cut into the main part when Stan revs the engine.

Disturbed – Glass Shatters: (Chapter 8) From the beginning of the chapter until the line “Vanessa’s sight kept going in and out of focus…”

Our Lady Peace – Whatever: (Chapter 8) From the line “Vanessa’s sight kept going in and out of focus…” until the end of the chapter.

Kevin Reeves – Peace: (Chapter 9) From the beginning of the chapter until the line “Trent’s face turned serious…”

Five For Fighting – Superman: (Chapter 9) From the line “Trent’s face turned serious…” until the end of the chapter.

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Fortunate Son: Epilogue.


I know this fic, when compared to a lot of my others, was a little short; but believe me when I say that this is just the beginning and you won’t believe what will happen next…

So to borrow a term from the legendary Stan Lee; hang on true believers, the best is yet to come.