“Stupid machine,” said a digitized voice from the battlesuit. “I never should have fixed it in the first place.”
It was Harlan Washington, the Destroyer.
“Oh, no!” Faith groaned, forgetting her pain for a moment.
Javelin shouted, “Cook him!” He and Sunstorm cut loose with full power. A curved shield unfolded from each of Destroyer’s arms. Sunstorm’s flame splashed across one, harmlessly deflected into the sky. The other shield blocked Javelin’s energy bolts, simply trapping them in whatever material from which it was made.
There was a flash of smoke and flame from a unit mounted on Destroyer’s shoulder. Twelve miniature missiles, each no longer than a foot, arced out, zeroing in on Javelin. He yelped in surprise and dove for the ground as the missiles turned to follow like a horde of angry bees. He bounced off a heavy gravestone, sparks flying from his burnished armor. The missiles struck the gravestone and exploded, sending granite splinters flying in all directions.
Destroyer trained his hand-cannon on Sunstorm. “I’ve got nothing against you. This is personal between me and them. Leave now.”
Sunstorm growled and sent a bright stream of plasma hotter than the sun at Destroyer’s weapon hand. “Personal? I’ll show you personal!” Metal bubbled and ran like melting butter. “You killed my sister, you son of a bitch!”
“Your problem, hero. Here’s another.” Something sharp and shining lanced out from Destroyer’s damaged arm, struck Sunstorm in her chest, and poked out of her back. It was a wickedly barbed spear.
Sunstorm looked down at it in surprise. She raised her head slowly, red flames flashing in her eyes. “You stupid asshole. You might as well try to spear a campfire.” To illustrate her point, she simply moved aside, letting the spear slide out of her flaming side.
It gave Destroyer pause, and he dropped out of the sky like a stone before she could light him up with another plasma stream. Powerful shock absorbers took the impact of the heavy battlesuit striking the ground. The suit’s feet sank a few inches into the dirt.
Juice crouched down by one of the lampposts along the path, tore open the electrical access plate, and grabbed hold of the wiring. The lights flashed and then burned out in a tinkling of broken glass as he drained electricity from the surrounding grid to fuel his own abilities.
Javelin picked himself up from amid a pile of granite pieces. He stood gingerly, bleeding from several deep gouges. His left arm hung useless and broken.
Imp flew in front of Destroyer, scolding him like an angry hummingbird. “Harlan, just what do you think you’re doing?”
Destroyer batted a hand at her that would have turned her into paste if it had connected. “Just a little payback, dear sister. I spent five years in hell because of you people.”
“Juvie hall,” called Javelin. “And you earned it, you little bastard. They shoulda locked you up for good.”
A multi-barreled gun lifted out of Destroyer’s undamaged arm and fired, barrels spinning in a blur. Jack leaped in front of Javelin, who was caught unawares. The stream of bullets drove him back and both men went tumbling over the rubble. Javelin hollered as his broken arm twisted.
Juice came crashing in, wrenching the gun loose in a shriek of overstressed metal. “I’m going to tear your ass right out of there,” he shouted. “And when I’m done with you, you’ll wish you were back in juvie!” He sank his fingers into the armor plating and tore a piece free.
“Watch it, Juice, he’s clever,” Imp warned, but not in time. A puff of white gas shot out of a hidden nozzle into Juice’s face. The dark-skinned man coughed once, then his eyes rolled up and he dropped heavily to the ground.
“Get clear, Irlene!” Sunstorm opened up, raining flames down on Destroyer as if she had opened the very gates of Hell.
Destroyer staggered under the onslaught, trying to hold the shield up. With his other hand, he yanked a gravestone out of the ground and hurled it at Sunstorm. The heavy missile splashed right through her and melted into slag. Her body reformed once again. “I’m coming after you next time, you bitch!”
“There won’t be any next time. You’ll burn before I’m done with you.” Sunstorm’s flame was so bright it was actually painful to look at, casting new shadows in the daylight. Jack dragged Juice clear, clothes smoking from the nearness to the inferno Sunstorm had unleashed.
Something exploded in the battlesuit, causing everyone to look away. Faith saw something rising very fast out of the torso, riding a pillar of flame that paled in comparison to Sunstorm’s. As she watched, stubby wings snapped out of it and it accelerated at an unbelievable pace. Sunstorm made a half-hearted attempt to pursue, but it was much faster than her and she was exhausted from the amount of energy she’d expended. She sank to the grass, shaking and spent.
In the distance, Faith heard all the sirens in the world approaching. She felt faint and realized she’d been holding her breath. Unable to take a deep breath because of her daughter pressing against her diaphragm, she panted a little and spots appeared in her vision. It occurred to her faintly that she hadn’t had any more contractions. Grace was massaging her wrists.
Bobby.
“It’ll be all right,” Grace kept saying, like a soothing litany. “Bobby’s in stasis.”
“Eight years,” Faith murmured, watching numbly as emergency vehicles began pouring into the cemetery.
Grace asked, “What did you say?”
“Eight years,” said Faith. “He’s been nursing that grudge against us for eight years. We can’t fight that kind of hatred. We can only hope to survive it.”
Roll Call: the Teams of the Just Cause Universe
Project Circus
Project Circus, known colloquially as The Freakshow, was formed in the summer of 1940 by the U.S. Army in conjunction with a French researcher, Dr. Georges Devereaux. It was a team of special operatives designed to exploit the first documented American parahumans. In 1941, the four exceptional talents—Strongman, Flicker, Meteor, and Sounder—were sent to operate in the European theater and were instrumental in helping the French Resistance.
Meteor and Sounder were killed in action in 1942 with the destruction of Aufstein Castle, and Strongman and Flicker were seriously injured. Project Circus was officially disbanded later that same year.
Project Shetland
Project Shetland, also known as The Dog and Pony Show, was formed in late 1941 by Georges Devereaux after he discovered additional American parahumans: Colt, Gray, and Flashpoint. If Project Circus was a low-profile operation, Project Shetland was practically invisible. With a membership that included a woman, a black man, and an American Indian, the team was very unpopular and was given missions of little consequence in the Pacific Theater. Despite the lack of support, Project Shetland functioned very well and succeeded brilliantly in every assigned mission.
Project Shetland was officially disbanded in 1943.
American Justice
American Justice was founded in 1946 by the surviving members of Projects Circus and Shetland. Having served their country across two oceans, the heroes turned their attention to America’s growing crime problems. In 1949, Flicker and Gray were killed battling Nazi agents and mobsters in New York. Later that year, Dr. Danger joined American Justice. Strongman was seriously injured in 1951 and later died from his injuries.
Between 1950 and 1953, three more heroes joined American Justice: Lady Athena, Kid Crash, and the White Knight. In 1953, Georges Devereaux was called before the House Committee on Unamerican Activities. When he refused to disclose the secret identities of the unknown members of American Justice, the team was blacklisted. In response to the actions of the committee, Devereaux moved to Paris; the White Knight returned to his home in the South, and Flashpoint retired from the team to study alongside of Malcolm X. Colt retired from active hero duties to marry Dr. Danger and have a baby.
American Justice officially disbanded in 1953 and reformed as Just Cause in 1954.
Just Cause
&nb
sp; Just Cause formed as a covert team in 1954, consisting of Lady Athena, Dr. Danger, and Kid Crash. Dr. Danger led the group for ten years, retiring in 1964. New members joined during this period, including John Stone, Lionheart, Danger (Dr. Danger’s handpicked successor), and Tornado. In 1964, Lady Athena assumed command of the team. During her tenure, Just Cause made the slow transformation from covert operations to gaining public approval and sanction.
Eventually the laws enacted in the Fifties were repealed, due largely to the actions of Georges Devereaux and Adrian Crowley (Dr. Danger) and metahumans were no longer considered a criminal class. Although Georges died in 1955, his son Lane took up the cause and continued to fight for metahuman rights. An equal rights bill for metahumans was passed in 1969.
Lady Athena retired in 1971, leaving Lionheart in command of the team. Danger left Just Cause to operate as a solo vigilante. Kid Crash retired in 1974. Tornado remained active. New members joined including Sundancer, the robotic Steel Soldier, Imp, Pony Girl, Audio, and the Javelin. In 1974, Just Cause relocated to a new headquarters in Two World Trade Center. By the mid-70s, Just Cause had become a true “supergroup” and were celebrated by the press and their fans alike. In 1977, Just Cause battled Destroyer for the first time.
By the 80s, Just Cause had become its own corporation. The new commander, Sunstorm, was Sundancer’s younger sister. Danger returned to Just Cause after his solo stint in 1983. New members joined the group: Foxfire, the Timekeeper, Fast Break, Juice, and Crackerjack. John Stone and Lionheart retired in 1979. Tornado died of complications relating to AIDS in 1985. His funeral was attacked by Destroyer and several Just Cause heroes were killed including Sundancer, Danger, Lionheart, Audio, and Fast Break. The Steel Soldier was destroyed as well.
By the 90s, Just Cause expanded into two separate teams with large memberships. The organization had become the single most powerful collection of paraahumans ever assembled. They battled such groups as the Zodiac and the New Malice Group, but were essentially unchallenged in their success and authority.
In 2001, Just Cause headquarters were destroyed in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Several members of Just Cause perished in the attack: Timekeeper, Javelin, Foxfire, and Imp were all killed.
The surviving members of Just Cause—Juice, Doublecharge, Desert Eagle, Crackerjack, Glimmer, and Forcestar—relocated temporarily to the JCST headquarters before moving out to a new facility built in Denver, Colorado. A presidential order made Just Cause an official part of the newly-created Department of Homeland Security.
In 2002, Just Cause added its first graduate of the Hero Academy: Mastiff. In 2004, Mustang Sally, the daughter of Pony Girl and granddaughter of Colt, was added to the roster.
Forcestar and Glimmer were both killed in action in Guatemala in 2004.
Children of the Atom
The Children of the Atom was a team of young metahumans that formed in 1960, inspired by the growing popularity of Just Cause. The Children of the Atom were never as well-organized as the larger group, and had many stops and starts with varying memberships. Two heroes that remained in CotA through all its various incarnations were the Neutralizer and Photon.
The Children of the Atom disbanded in 1972.
Just Cause Second Team
Just Cause’s Second Team was formed in 1995. The team roster consisted of MetalBlade, Icebreaker, Superconductor, Alloy, and Mosaic. Hero Academy graduate Orbital joined the team in 2002. The Second Team is based in Richmond, Virginia.
The Lucky Seven
The Lucky Seven is the oldest active independent team in the country, having been in existence with the same roster since 1990. They are led by Spark, who has no metahuman powers and uses his athletic prowess and electric gadgets to meet parahumans on even footing. The rest of the team consists of Bullet, Juliet, Tremor, Stratocaster, and Carousel. Trix was killed in Guatemala in 2004. They have not yet replaced him. The Seven are based in Chicago, Illinois.
The New Guard
The New Guard began operating in 1999. Based in Los Angeles, the young team has seen a lot of action in the short time since they came into existence. Their leader, Javelin, is the daughter of the first Javelin and his wife Imp. The rest of the team—Seahawk, Chrome, Ogre, and Blueshift—follow her in their exploits.
Divine Right
Divine Right consists of six heroes who believe their powers are gifts from God. They took their names from books of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Esther, and Ruth. Interestingly enough, not one of them has tested positive for the gene linked to parahuman abilities. They are based in Atlanta, Georgia and have operated since 2000.
Young Guns
The Young Guns are a team formed by the 2003 class of Hero Academy graduates (except for Mustang Sally and Orb, who joined Just Cause, and Vapor, who left active superhero work after graduation). They operate in New York City. The roster consists of Bombshell, Surfboy, Johnny Go, and Toxic.
The Hero Academy
The Hero Academy was established in 2000 as a place for young parahumans to receive training in the use of their abilities as well as providing a moral and ethical foundation for them. It is a fully-accredited high school, and students can continue on to achieve an additional two years of post-high school education. Since Just Cause became an official part of the government in 2002, graduates of the Hero Academy are now licensed as Federal law enforcement officers.
The principal and several faculty members are retired heroes, including Sunstorm, John Stone, and Photon.
Deep Six
Deep Six is the prison facility established by Just Cause in 1994. Located six kilometers under the ground in Montana, it is capable of holding up to two hundred parahumans in solitary or group confinement. The warden, Neutralizer, used to be part of the Children of the Atom. There were thirty-seven prisoners being held in various levels of security in 2004.
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About the Author
Ian Thomas Healy dabbles in many different genres. He’s an eight-time participant and winner of National Novel Writing Month and is also the creator of the Writing Better Action Through Cinematic Techniques workshop, which helps writers to improve their action scenes.
When not writing, which is rare, he enjoys watching hockey, reading comic books (and serious books, too), and living in the great state of Colorado, which he shares with his wife, children, house-pets, and approximately five million other people.
Ian is on Twitter as @ianthealy
Ian is on Facebook as Author Ian Thomas Healy
www.ianthealy.com
About the Cover Illustrator
Jeff Hebert is the creator of the HeroMachine online character portrait creator. He splits time between Austin, Texas and Durango, Colorado pursuing his lifetime dream of drawing super-heroes all day while not wearing pants.
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