LSH Issue 4: "The Revolution"

Metropolis, Earth.

The office of United Planets President Touronis smelled sterile. Not just sterile, it smelled unused. The data padds scattered over his desk said otherwise, but still, there was something that just wasn’t right.

At least, that’s what Shrinking Violet thought. Then again, she was naturally skeptical of everyone; Especially politicians. At least VP McCauley wasn’t there. His slimy demeanor was even more off-putting than Touronis’s nervous jittering.

“Are either of you… aware… of why I asked you here?” the President asked, each word carefully measured as he spoke.

“No, Mr. President,” Cosmic Boy responded. Vi just shook her head in response.

“No… of course not… how could you?” He trailed off, staring at a holo transmitter that sat on his desk.

How did this guy ever get elected? Vi thought again.

“This morning there was an… incident… on Imsk.” He paused looking directly at Vi as if she knew what he was going to say next. “Prime Minister Shyik… murdered… the ambassador of Braal and the ambassador’s staff during a routine conference.”

The statement caught both Vi and Cos by surprise, forcing them upright in their chairs.

“This has, as I’m sure you are both aware… reopened certain wounds, that both men had been working vehemently, over the last two years, to heal. And with today’s… assassination… there is unrest at the Braalian embassy. ”

“Sir…?” Cos started, but was silenced by a wave of the President’s hand.

“I am aware that the Legion is currently working on putting a stop to this ‘Dark Circle’… but this sort of incident could drive the United Planets into another civil war.” President Touronis continued with a renewed vigor. Vi could tell he’d been practicing this particular speech. “Being from the two planets at the center of this… travesty… yet being close friends and comrades in arms, you two are a beacon of hope. You embody the perfect ideal of harmony that the United Planets strives for.”

Laying it on a bit thick, Vi thought as she gazed at Cos whose expression was set and grim.

“Of course, Mr. President, the Legion will do anything we can to h…”

“Unnecessary, my boy!” the President interrupted. “The Legion’s current duty of stopping the Dark Circle must not be interrupted! Lightning Lad can handle things on that front, while the two of you, alone, take a detour. I have taken the liberty of securing my own personal shuttle to take the two of you to the Braalian embassy on Imsk! I need both of you there to calm matters down.”

The Braalian Embassy, Imsk.

Cosmic Boy watched the surveillance recording from the Imskian Prime Minister’s office with the newly appointed Braalian ambassador. Around them the embassy staff rushed around gathering data units, holo-comms and information padds. Shrinking Violet kept her distance from the Braalians due to the awful looks they threw in her direction.

The scene on the embassy’s perimeter was utter chaos. Protestors and Imskian militia gathered outside the embassy gate, which, was luckily reinforced by a defense field that kept the Imskians out, regardless of what size they shrank to.

The surveillance holo showed the Imskian Prime Minister greet the Braalian ambassador and his staff. They sat, and began poring over documents. The recording blurred for a second, then the Braalian ambassador and his staff lunged at the Prime Minister, who, in turn, pulled out a blaster and fired systematically into each of the gathered men. The playback stopped.

“That’s all there is?” Cos asked.

“Yes. There is no sound to the recording. The Prime Minister then went on the holo-net and proclaimed that he was attacked and that all Braalians on Imsk must be detained for questioning. Judging by what’s on the holo, I‘m afraid he may have been justified.” The new ambassador’s features darkened as he recounted the events following the killings.

“Can I see that recording?”

“Yes.” The ambassador flipped a switch and the holo projector came to life again.

{“This morning, during a routine meeting with the ambassador to our neighboring planet, Braal, I was brutally assaulted. The ambassador declared Braal’s intentions to try and invade our world again, then he and his staff charged me. They forced my hand, and I had to do what was necessary to protect myself and our world. As of this moment, any Braalian on Imsk is to be considered an enemy of the state and is to be detained… with lethal force if any resistance is given.”}

“That’s enough,” Cos said. “His voice… does it always sound so odd?”

“No. It must be the recording…” the ambassador offered.

“I don’t think so,” Cos replied, motioning Vi to join him. He placed his arm around her and led her away.

“You think the Prime Minister was forced by the same being that influenced Jo to attack Colu?” Vi whispered to him.

“It’s too early in the investigation to jump to that conclusion, but based on Brainy’s report, I would say absolutely.” Cos took a deep breath and looked into her purple eyes. “And the blurred section of the recording…”

“The recording was tampered with…” Vi interrupted him.

“Yes. There’s footage missing.” He looked back to the ambassador. “Sir, may we have a copy of both recordings?”

“Of course…” the ambassador replied, grabbing the holo-unit. He handed it to Violet, which caught her by surprise. “Young lady, I know from experience with my own government, that the actions of a few politicians do not necessarily reflect those of their people.”

“Thank you, Ambassador.” Violet bowed to him.

“Get to the President’s shuttle and transmit those to Brainy,” Cos ordered. She nodded to him and flew from the room with her flight-ringed hand outstretched.

“Now, ambassador…” Cos began, but was cut off by the sound of a massive explosion coming from inside the embassy.

Screams filled the corridors as embassy staff ran for cover. Laser beams zipped passed them from down a hallway! Cos placed himself between the blasts and the ambassador.

“They’re in! They’re in!” Security shouted over comm systems, as they returned fire.

“Ambassador! Come with me!” Cosmic Boy ordered, before shouting another order into his flight ring. “Vi! Belay that last order, we need you in here!”

Cosmic Boy knocked over a large table, and tossed the ambassador behind it for cover. He himself ducked behind it, but put his arms out to either side. He stretched out with his magnetic power attempting to find something, anything, that he could use as a weapon. Lasers began to slice through the table like it was made of butter when the ambassador placed his hand on Cos’s.

“They wouldn’t allow us to have any metal in the embassy! Permacrete and synthetic alloys only!”

“Grife!” Cos cursed, as he reached into his utility belt. “Guess it’s a good thing I always have a backup plan!”

He pulled out four small metal spheres and held them steady in his palm. He then reached into another pocket and pulled out a small, yet thick metal disk, which he tossed on the ground. He held his hand over the disk, forcing it to expand until it was the size of a underground access hatch.

Lasers continued to shred the table as Cos grabbed the ambassador and jumped on the disk. It immediately took flight zipping out from behind the table.

The small steel spheres in Cos’s free hand were sent flying in all directions. The spheres slammed into the attackers, knocking them unconscious, before speeding off to find new targets!

Cos and the ambassador flew through the long hallway above their unconscious assailants when his flight ring made a pinging sound.

“Vi!” Cosmic Boy shouted. “Catch!”

He tossed the ambassador into the air as Shrinking Violet appeared. She snatched up the ambassador and rocketed away under the power of her flight ring.

Cos tipped the disk on its side, using it as a shield, and continued to fly toward the Presidential shuttle using his flight ring. It was the first time Cos had a moment to really look at their attackers. They wore all black, with form-fitting black masks bearing gray circles. He reached down and plucked an unconscious female militant up before flying out of the rear door of the embassy.

Luckily the Presidential shuttle was still intact and loaded with the surviving Braalian refugees. He threw the masked woman in and raised his metal shield to deflect the pursuing laser blasts.

“Go! Go!” Cos shouted to the pilot, who quickly closed the hatch and opened the throttle up to maximum.

The shuttle tore free from Imskian airspace without clearance and rocketed back to Earth.

Across the planet, families watched in fear as Imskian Prime Minister Shyik addressed his people. He stood at a podium surrounded by men and women of all shapes and sizes. Each one carried some form of weapon and wore a black mask with varying sizes of gray circles on their forehead. Directly behind Shyik stood a very tall man with a loose-fitting mask, the gray circle encompassing the whole face of the mask.

It was obvious that he was in charge.

“People of Imsk! Welcome to a new era of freedom!” The Prime Minister addressed the crowd. “As of this day, I am declaring Imsk free of the United Planets!”

Mothers drew their children closer, husbands drew their wives close in an attempt to protect them. They knew the gathered people were members of the ‘Dark Circle’, and responsible for the murder of millions on Mars.

“The Dark Circle has graciously offered to protect us from the influence of the diseased United Planets!” the Prime Minister added. The crowd gathered gasped in response. What had happened to their Prime Minister?

The tall masked man took Shyik by the arm and led him away from the podium. They stepped into a secured room surrounded by Dark Circle security.

“Very good, Shyik,” the man said with a raspy growl of a voice. “You will now hand over control of your militia to me.”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me… I have other matters to attend to,” the man said, with a slight nod of his head to Shyik, before walking out of the room.

Moments later, Prime Minister Shyik drew in a sharp gasp of air. He had awoken from a horrible nightmare. He placed a hand to his head and wiped the sweat from his brow. That was the moment he realized he was standing. He glanced all around seeing his new security team… wearing all black with Dark Circle hoods.

“No… What have I done…?” he whispered solemnly to himself.