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Post by David on Apr 21, 2007 9:13:04 GMT -5
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Post by David on Apr 21, 2007 9:13:33 GMT -5
DC2 Challenge
Week 9: “Shadows’ Pawns.”
Written by David Charlton
Cover by Craig Cermak
Edited by David Charlton |
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Post by David on Apr 21, 2007 9:14:43 GMT -5
The HIVE drone infected with the Eclipsed Venom swelled and roared his fury at Orion, but the Dog of War came on, the Astro-Force blazing from his glider.
Huge chunks of ground erupted around the shadowspawn, but it faced Orion’s assault head-on, empurpled veins straining on its chest and neck. The Astro-Force slammed into it, causing the body to jerk and twitch--- but the shadowspawn did not fall. Orion swooped up and back around for another pass, determined to exterminate the abomination--- but he forgot about Bane.
Not to be ignored, Bane leaped up at Orion as he swung about, and pulled the New God out of the air, slamming him into the ground with a shuddering thud.
“You would bring war to me? To my home?” Bane shoved Orion into the ground, thrusting his masked face close to the New God’s. “I will show you war!” He reared back, his fist clenched---
Orion had only been caught off-guard. This human, however enhanced his strength, was as an insect to him, and he prepared to swat him. But the shadowspawn was another matter. It had shambled up upon them, behind the unknowing Bane, ablaze with dark fury, and swollen with power. In a moment it would rain down darkfire upon them, Bane and Orion both.
Orion threw up his arms, the gauntlets on his wrists alight. The Astro-Force exploded from his Astro-Bands, on either side of Bane’s head, and immolated the shadowsapwn.
The blast rocked the clearing, liquid darkness splashing everywhere. Bane had been thrown clear, and rolled on the ground, covered in the ichor of the shadowspawn. Orion stood, cautiously, and took stock of the destruction all around him.
The shadowspawn had been dealt with, and the human would soon be dead--- though that was of no consequence to him. He retrieved his Astro-Glider, called for his Mother Box to open a Boom Tube, and was gone--- this was just the beginning.
He did not see Bane crawl to his knees, gasping for breath. The brute was slick with the liquid darkness that had been the shadowspawn, the Eclipsed Venom absorbed through his pores…
And in the mind of Bane, a symphony of blood and violence began to play…
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Post by David on Apr 21, 2007 9:16:03 GMT -5
“Merlin, search keywords: Command D.”
Gardner Grayle, the Atomic Knight, flew across the dark horizon, the unfamiliar stars shining on the faceplate of his chrome helm.
The stars are not right. He could not shake that feeling. The feeling that he had woken up in a reality removed from the one he had always known… A reality that had, thus far, been spared the Great Disaster. But it was coming. He felt it in every fiber of his being. And the goddess Rama Kushna had sent him to stop it.
{Command D,} Came the feminine voice of the A.I. Merlin interface built into his battlesuit. {Keystroke used to delete a webfile from a---}
“Route the list to my VR display.” Grayle subvocalized, and glanced at the 3D image that was instantly projected inside his faceplate. His eyes scanned the list, searching for likely references.
Only one stood out: Kommand D, a top-secret operation of the former Soviet Union, centered around the archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic Circle. There was no more information, other than the operation was considered an utter failure, and abruptly shut down in the mid 1990s.
“Merlin, I need coordinates for Svalbard.”
The Atomic Knight swooped north, a comet blazing across the night sky.
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Post by David on Apr 21, 2007 9:17:17 GMT -5
“This is just insane,” Professor Haley worked frantically at the console, calling up multiple VR windows, and correlating data faster than any of the other Challengers could keep up with him. “I haven’t seen anything like this since…”
“Since when, Prof?” Rocky Davis leaned forward, squinting at the screen as if he could make heads or tails of the information.
“Well, I’ve never seen anything like this!” Haley declared in exasperation. He grimaced around the stem of the pipe in his mouth.
“What is it?” Asked Red, sounding almost eager to get involved, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“Settle down, Matt.” Ace cautioned. “We’re not as young as we used to be.”
Matt “Red” Ryan snorted and glanced at Kyle “Ace” Morgan and said: “Who’re you trying to fool? You want in on this as much as I do.”
But Ace wasn’t so sure. He thought his days of living on borrowed time were long behind him. He had a wife and a daughter to live for now… But the thought of this new threat imperiling them had set his blood to boiling…
“Let’s figure out what we’re up against first.” He urged cautiously.
“It’s as Professor Palmer indicated.” Prof. Haley shot over his shoulder. “There is profound upheaval of the natural order, on a molecular level, affecting everything from weather patterns to cellular decay… There seem to be abnormally high levels of necrolux in the atmosphere…”
“Necrolux?” Rocky frowned. “That doesn’t sound good--- whatever it is!”
Prof shook his head. “It isn’t. Necrolux was first identified by Professor Palmer years ago as a kind of mind-altering radiation, though it seems to have certain entropic properties as well. Presumably, the radiation comes from an element Dr. Palmer named ‘necrolite’, though no sample of it has ever been found. Dr. Palmer postulated that necrolite is extraterrestrial in origin, and should be contained immediately if ever found…”
“Do you think there is a connection to this ‘shadowstorm’ that Dr Stein tried to warn us about?” Ace leaned forward, studying the monitor displays.
“Quite possibly.” Prof conceded. “Ray Palmer was one of Martin Stein’s prized pupils; Martin was well aware of Palmer’s work on the subject. Now, if I could just adjust the spectrometer to---.”
A furious alert sounded on the console, causing the Prof to gasp.
“What is it?” Red inquired, far too eagerly for Ace’s taste.
“The necrolite,” Prof breathed in disbelief. “I’ve managed to pinpoint an enormous deposit of it…”
“Well, don’t leave us hanging, Prof; where is it?”
Professor Haley turned and stared at them, aghast. “It’s… here. About ten miles beneath Challenger Mountain…!”
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Post by David on Apr 21, 2007 9:17:53 GMT -5
Man Bat crossed in front of the moon, ghosting on leathery wings in the night skies of Gotham--- in his clawed hand was clutched a sliver of necrolite, a perfect black diamond…
The creature was drawn on, over the rooftops of the city, finding his way instinctively. Something was leading him where he needed to go. Something was calling him. The diamond was whispering in his mind, vying with the serum in Langstrom’s bloodstream for control, but for now, Man Bat thought clearly--- more clearly than he ever had before when the Bat was upon him; he wondered if this was a side-effect of the diamond? Had he at last found a cure…?
For once, Kirk Langstrom was in control.
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Post by David on Apr 21, 2007 9:18:11 GMT -5
So focused was Man Bat on his destination, he did not notice that he was being watched. Another creature soared the skies of Gotham that night, a thing of malice and bloodlust. A killer on gossamer wings…
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Post by David on Apr 21, 2007 9:18:58 GMT -5
The penthouse suite was before him, and without hesitation, Man Bat crashed through the glass doors of the balcony, bringing chaos to the otherwise placid, candle-lit room. Folding his wings in close, the creature advanced inward, clawed feet grinding glass into the Berber carper.
Chopin’s “Funeral March” sonata was playing softly in the background, and the figure in the soft, plush chair rose to greet his guest, non-plussed by the dramatic entrance.
“Dr. Langstrom,” Jason Blood said in a clipped, urbane tone, and raised one eyebrow. “To what do I owe this… visitation?”
Wordlessly, his pupil-less eyes steady and his brutish chest heaving, Man Bat extended his arm, palm open. The black diamond glittered there, but Jason Blood made no move to take it.
“I see…” He nodded thoughtfully. “The Devourer makes his move at last…”
Something caught Blood’s eye. His gaze focused over Man Bat’s shoulder, and his eyes widened in surprise. Without another thought, he dove for cover.
With a piercing shriek, the insectile Charaxes swooped into the room, slamming into Man Bat, and the two winged creatures went crashing through the penthouse suite, clawing and snapping at each other…!
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Post by David on Apr 21, 2007 9:19:14 GMT -5
TO BE CONTINUED!
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Post by mockingbird on Jul 28, 2011 13:06:25 GMT -5
To let us know what you think of this issue, please visit the letters page here!
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