GZ Legends 63: Robot Assault!

Galose grabbed the Claymore sword protruding from his chest and pulled it out. Thanks to the fact that his actual body resided in another dimension, he was never touched by it. Only his armor suffered damage and that was quickly under repair. Galose had been hitting Silver Crow with everything he could think of without leveling the White House. The room they fought in was a shambles. Walls were broken in, furniture destroyed and a chandelier had gone out a window. Silver Crow, the haunted armor continued with the eerie echoing laugh and Galose was fed up with it.

            “Let me give you something to laugh about.” Galose said as he spun the blade of the sword in his armored hand.

            He and the haunted armor clashed as they had several times, but this time, Galose grabbed the helmet of Silver Crow and pulled it to him. In a fluid motion, he flipped the visor open and jammed the blade of the sword into the opening and far down into the armor itself.

            Silver Crow abruptly stopped laughing and staggered backward. He clutched at the hilt of his sword that stuck out from the opening of his helmet. Galose had wedged it in very well. It couldn’t be removed from an angle Silver Crow could reach.

            “Too bad you don’t have an actual throat to shove it down, but that will do.” Galose said.

            Silver Crow vanished and Galose detected the use of teleportation for the haunted armor’s escape.  At that moment Sandstorm appeared.

            “Wow. What happened here?” Sandstorm asked.

            Galose turned to him. “He bit off more than he could chew.”

            “Fair enough. Let’s find the President.”

            “Hey, guys!” Anubis called as he ran into their area. Blacktide, Nyhtwulf and Electrode also arrived. All of them had been heading for the loudest sounds of fighting.

            In the Oval Office, the Bagman had just released the President and family from his mystical bag of holding.

            “My business here is finished, Mr. President, but I dare say, the horror is far from over. I just need you here on your knees between me and that door for a few more seconds. Then I’ll let you go.”

            “Please just let my family go.” The President said.

            “Oh of course. I’m not going to hurt one hair on their heads or yours either. Now, the folks about to arrive? They  may need convincing.”

            “What are you talking about?”

           

The doors burst open and Sandstorm came in followed by the others. They all stopped as Bagman kept his hands on the President’s shoulders.

            “You’re all alone.” Sandstorm said. “It’s over and we want words with you.”

            “I’m never alone, it’s far from over, and you don’t have time for words with me.” Bagman gave an un-nerving smile and disappeared.

            “That’s really going to tick me off soon.” Sandstorm said.

            “Who are you people?” The President asked as Electrode helped him to his feet.

            “We’re PAC, the Parahuman Activity Commission. I’d point out that we’re here to help you, but that should be obvious. Are all of you alright?”

            “We aren’t hurt, but that man said someone else is coming.”

            “He’s right.” Galose said. “We have multiple incoming outside. We need to get out there now.” As if on cue, explosions could be heard outside. The ground shook with multiple impacts.

            “Mr. President, please take your family somewhere safe.” Sandstorm said before he dissipated into air.

            “Don’t worry, Mr. President, we’ll take care of it!” Anubis called as he followed his friends out of the room.

            The President was left standing in awe and wonder at what happened. His wife had to snap him out of it with a poke to the shoulder.

            Galose raced down a hall toward a window and jumped through it. As his armored form passed through the cascade of shattered glass and wood, weapon systems were already locking on targets all around him. As he landed on his feet, he started firing without hesitation. The newcomers were sleek and black in their armor. Their helmets were shaped like those of ancient Samurai and their silver face places were shiny and featureless. Their weapons spit energy blasts far more powerful than any laser on Earth.

            “What the heck are these things?” Anubis said as he and Nightfall stopped at the broken window.

            “Rotanian soldiers. They’re robots so don’t hold back!” Nightfall fired her blaster from the window a few times as she spoke.

            “My kind of fight!” Anubis flew out the window with his lance glowing. He landed in a group of the Rotanians and swung his lance in several directions. He broke two robot heads, but one of the others hit him. Anubis was knocked sprawling. “I shouldn’t underestimate you guys, should I?”

            Lightning flew in several directions as Electrode raced between the dozens of Rotanians that were attacking human soldiers. The weapons of humans were no match for Rotanian armor. Military forces were taking heavy casualties.

            “Let’s get their attention on us!” Sandstorm shouted as he combined himself with the ground. He rose as a giant of dirt and rock, scooping up several robots and smashing them together in giant hands.

            “I will get them to shoot at me while you shoot at them from cover.” Nyhtwulf suggested to his partner.

            “Go get ‘em.” Blacktide agreed.

            Nyhtwulf didn’t have to try very hard to make himself a target. Many of them opened fire on him. Thanks to his ability to redirect energy through his intangible body, the shots all went to new targets. Before Rotanian learning programs could adjust, Nyhtwulf took out 15 of them with their own weapons.  Blacktide took cover and disintegrated any that came near.

           

On the other side of the fence, Redeagle and Atomizer did their best to defend the troops. Redeagle fired until he ran out of ammunition for his .454 Casull revolver. When a blast broke the barrel off a nearby tank, Redeagle snatched it up. With little protection from their weapons, Redeagle charged into the robots, swinging the tank barrel like a giant baseball bat.

            Atomizer found himself in a quandary. There were so many high tech alien weapons, that he dared not use his power on them. The near disaster he caused with one accidently still haunted him. He blew the ground from under their feet and threw some into the air. Suddenly a Rotanian was right in front of him, its rifle aimed directly at his face.

GZ Legends 62: Holding the Fort

           

 Some moments earlier Hypnotist had just commanded Electrode to go and kill soldiers around the White House property. Before the command could fully sink in, a gust of wind threw Hypnotist over a desk and against a wall, knocking him unconscious. Sandstorm formed his body out of the air as Electrode shook off the effect.

            “We’re not having you mind controlled again if I can help it.” Sandstorm said.

            The two men walked over to Hypnotist’s body and before their eyes, he shimmered and vanished.

            “Teleportation!” Scott said. “That’s cheap.”

            “Must be their escape route.” Sandstorm said. “Well, never mind that. Let’s find everyone else who’s holed up in here.

            A loud thump came from behind a pair of double doors. Sandstorm walked over to the doors slowly, scrutinizing them up and down. From past experience he learned to expect traps of all sorts. It didn’t appear there were any wires or switches around the frame or between the doors. He looked over to Electrode who nodded to signal readiness. Sandstorm reached out and put his hand on the doorknob. After a second, he turned the knob and yanked the door open. The group of service people inside the small room practically fell over each other backwards in terror.

            “Whoa. Easy, folks. We aren’t going to hurt you. We’re here to help.”

            “That guy put us in here.” Said a young man in a janitor’s uniform. “He said, if we came out, he’d make us strangle each other.”

            “He’s gone.” Electrode offered. “You’ll be safe now.”

            “You should still stay here.” Sandstorm said sternly. “There’s fighting going on and we don’t want you to get hurt. Someone will come for you when it’s all clear.”

            “We should go see who we can help.” Electrode said.

            Sandstorm nodded and regarded the small crew of people one more time. “Are any of you hurt?”

            No one was injured. Sandstorm and Electrode left the room to head for the sounds of combat echoing through the building.

            Out on the back property, Serpent stood over Blacktide. He had a sword blade in the ground on either side of the hero’s neck. The shadowy Death snakes shifted anxiously around Serpent’s wrists, neck and just under his coat.

            “Maybe I should just let my pets have you? I know they love the taste of human life.” Serpent smiled exposing fangs and his forked tongue.

            Blacktide looked over to his right hand and felt an odd sensation course through him. He rubbed his fingers across his palm and looked up to his opponent with a smile.

            “A smile? What are you smiling for, boy?”

           

Suddenly Serpent’s body was yanked into the air with a cry of surprise. Nyhtwulf threw the murderous dwarf into the branches of the fallen tree. Blacktide jumped up and followed that with a direct blast of disintegration power. Serpent rolled clear, but with smoke curling off  his body.

            “Impossible! Nothing survives the bite of my pets!”

            Nyhtwulf flew past Serpent and slapped him to the ground on the way.

            “I was a servant to Death himself. For my service I carry his blessing. Your pets will never harm me again. I am now immune!” Nyhtwulf landed on the other side of Serpent and growled showing his own assortment of sharp teeth. While facing Nyhtwulf, Serpent didn’t see Blacktide move into position. A blast of heat caught the small monster in the back. Serpent fell to one knee with a scream of pain, lashed out at Nyhtwulf with a sword and then disappeared.

            Nyhtwulf stood unhurt as he was intangible when the sword was swung at him. He looked to his partner. “He was teleported away.”

            “Coward.” Blacktide said. “Guess we win that one after all. I thought you were gone.”

            “They only stunned me. It won’t happen again.”

            “Is everyone okay here?” Electrode said as he sped into the area.

            “Nice of you to join us.” Blacktide said with mock disdain.

            “What?” Electrode held his hands up in surprise.

            “Could have used you about 3 minutes ago.”

            “But I was…”

            “Save it. We got work to do.”

            “Hey!”

            Nyhtwulf patted Electrode on the shoulder. “He is joking.”

            “Joking? He doesn’t sound like he’s joking.”

            Blacktide turned and shrugged. “Maybe you’re just slowing down.”

            “I am not slowing down! I’ll have you know I can get us Chinese food fresh from China in 3 seconds flat! Hey, don’t walk away!”

            Blacktide walked into the building with a wry smile. Maybe there was more to this team gig after all.

            Far out in front of the White House property, Redeagle and Atomizer stood with soldiers, watching the showdown from a distance.

            “I hate sitting on the bench.” Atomizer grimaced.

            “Sandstorm said they may have backup waiting to move in. It’s our job to intercept that. If not, we lead the troops in on the signal.”

            “Benched.”

            “Look. We aren’t benched; but I know how you feel. I’m 7 feet tall, strong enough to toss a truck. I can shoot the head off a cockroach at 50 yards with ridiculous ease. Even with that, I just don’t compare to the kind of power on the rest of our team. Even with you, I’m not that powerful.”

           

“Are you kidding? I would never want to get in a fight with you. I’ve seen you lay out 10 or 15 guys without getting a scratch. You put a bullet in a speeding car’s carburetor by calculating where it was going to be when you fired. You could probably shoot Electrode. Compared to you, all I do is blow stuff up. Although I can level a building if I want to.”

            “Yeah, but what could we possibly do out here?” Redeagle gestured at the vast grounds of the Nation’s Capitol.

            “Plenty! You can shoot anything that moves because you see in the dark better than anyone. I have lots of room to cut loose with explosions to toss bad guys all over the place and… uh wait a second.”

            “Starting to see why we’re out here now?”

            “I hate it when you do that.” 

GZ Legends 61: Fight for the Capitol

           

 Silvercrow swung his Claymore sword for Galose’s head. Galose grabbed an arm with martial skill and threw the haunted armor across the room. Its landing destroyed an ornate sofa and cracked a wall. Silvercrow quickly got back on his feet, eerie laughter still echoed from within an empty helmet.

            “You remind me of someone much larger than you.” Galose said as he fired his optic cutting laser. The beam of red light hit Silvercrow across the chest without leaving a mark. Galose extended a metron cannon from his left shoulder and fired it several times. Bright explosive orbs of light blew furniture in all directions.  The explosions forced Silvercrow through the wall and buried it in smoking rubble.

            “Now maybe I can scan you for weaknesses before you get out of there.” Galose said.

            Silvercrow stood up, shrugging off the pile of debris with ease. Before Galose could respond, it charged him. Silvercrow moved with speed and agility that belied his appearance completely. No knight of olde could ever have moved so well in such armor. Galose shifted his weight and turned his body with the incoming attack. As he turned the tip of the sword etched a small line just above Galose’s red optic sensor, casting sparks as it went. His shoulder cannon locked on target and fired, tossing Silvercrow another direction across the wide room.

           

“Need to get that sword out of your hand.” Galose set his targeting systems on the right hand of Silvercrow and fired with three weapons. The blasts threw the long Claymore from Silvercrow’s hand and sent it spinning across the room.

            “That didn’t go as expected.” Galose said as he viewed half the sword emerged from his chest. Sending it spinning across the room had sent it right to him. He quickly checked system damage reports. “No critical damage. At least you don’t have it. Maybe now I can deal with you.”

            Outside, behind the White House, Blacktide stared down the Serpent with mounting rage. The ground around his feet and up to five feet away smoldered and burned. Grass shriveled and turned black. The smell of scorched landscaping drifted around them on the air.

            “Well, boy? I don’t have all day.” Serpent shifted his weight and gripped his two short swords. “Show me already!”

            Blacktide moved his fists back slightly and lunged them forward. The wave of shadowy force raced at his target, carving a trench across the ground as it went. Serpent spun one of his swords in flashes of silver. The wave went around Serpent like a river around a great stone, missing him completely. As the attack dispersed, Blacktide found Serpent leaping at him through the air. Both swords were aimed to skewer and the shadowy forms of the death snakes could be seen ready to strike. Blacktide threw himself backward frantically and the swords sliced his leather jacket as Serpent landed. Blacktide tumbled across the ground, struggling to stay away from the sharp blades. Serpent swung again and again with gleaming arcs of swift death.

           

Blacktide lashed out and disintegrated a deep patch of ground in his enemy’s path, hoping to trip him up. Serpent laughed and caught himself with one of his sword tips into the ground to propel him across. He followed that up with a cartwheel and flip into the air. Blacktide had to stay low as the blade cut through the shoulder of his jacket just enough to scratch the surface of his skin. Blacktide tumbled sideways and into the trunk of a small tree. Serpent slashed with both blades and the tree fell. Both of them had to roll out of the way. Serpent cartwheeled out across the lawn as Blacktide rolled another direction, throwing disintegration beams as he went.

            “I’m going to burn your arms and legs off!” Blacktide yelled. “Then I’m taking your head!”

            Serpent turned his cartwheel to move towards his opponent. “Oooh, such rage! I love it!”

            Blacktide fell flat on his back and found the Serpent falling toward him. There was nowhere to dodge this time. He could see the red eyes of the death snakes in the darkness and lamplight shined off deadly swords.

            In the front of the building, Monolith, the Stone Demon reached out for Nightfall’s head as she calmly lifted her blaster toward his face.

            “You’ve already seen that won’t hurt me, girlie.” The demon smiled with shining fangs.

            “It doesn’t have to.” She hit the trigger of her blaster and shot Monolith between his green glowing eyes.

            “AAAARRRR!” Monolith howled and covered his eyes from the bright flash of the blaster’s point blank shot.

            “Still sucks to get flashed in the eyes doesn’t it?” Nightfall said.

            Monolith turned away to shake off the effects of the floating dots in his eyes. His vision cleared to reveal Anubis. The Egyptian hero placed the blades of his lance under Monolith’s jaw. Anubis applied leverage and threw Monolith into the air like using a pitchfork on a bale of hay.

            “Oh, I’m going to kill you both good now!” Monolith growled as he stood up.

           

“You know, you shouldn’t fight on an empty stomach. Here, have a snack!” Anubis blasted cosmic energy into the ground between them, spraying Monolith with dirt and grass.

            While Monolith sputtered and spat from a mouthful of Earth and wiped at his eyes, Anubis flew into the dark sky.

            “Stupid dog!” Monolith yelled. He shook the dirt off his face just in time for a view of Nightfall and her blaster. Monolith howled even louder from the second blaster shot into his face.

            “How about stupid statue man?” Anubis flew into the demon’s lower back and propelled him into the air. “I have a special idea for you.”

            Using his lance across Monolith’s back, Anubis pushed him high into the air and away from the White House.

            “I’m going to shred you to pieces!” Monolith shouted into the wind as they flew.

            “You know, you’re awfully hot tempered. You need some time to cool off.” Anubis stopped flying abruptly and watched Monolith fall away to the blackness below.

            “AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Monolith could be heard until a loud splash interrupted him. Anubis had flown him two miles out over the North Atlantic Ocean.

            “Can’t fly eh? Gee that’s too bad.” Anubis mused. “Well, back to the White House!”

GZ Legends 60: The White House Mission

           

 It didn’t take long to explain the plan to the General. He watched them split up for different sections of the White House while saying a heartfelt prayer.

            Anubis and Nightfall landed at the base of the steps to the front doors. Someone stood waiting for them. A dwarfish man with dark hair stood by one of the great columns. He wore a white suit jacket and black pants. He smiled at their approach, crouched slightly as if regarding a child and slapped his knees.

            “Well hi, puppy!” As soon as he spoke his body contorted and grew. The white jacket vanished to reveal a muscular frame with skin of stone. His ears became pointed and his eyes glowed a sinister green. He laughed loud and hard before speaking again. “WANNA PLAY FETCH?”

            Anubis held up his lance, “Sure. I even brought my stick.”

            “Bring it on, dog boy!”

            “It’s a jackal for your information!” Anubis flew over his head and caught him in a restraining hold with the lance as a bar across his wide stone chest. It wasn’t easy since Monolith was a full head taller and quite a bit broader than he was.

            “What kind of weak move is this?” Monolith shouted.

            “I thought the lady should hit you first,” Anubis answered.

            Nightfall ran up and slapped a bare hand on the stone man’s chest and he laughed. Her power had no effect on him.

           

“What was that supposed to do?” He gave a sharp twist and broke free, tossing Anubis down the steps. Monolith grabbed Anubis’s lance before it could return to its owner and threw it. It stopped, hovering just inches away from Anubis’s nose.

            “Guess my own weapon can’t be used on me,” Anubis said as he snatched it out of the air.

            “I got plenty that can be used on ya! Come and get it.” Monolith taunted.

            Anubis flew up and smacked Monolith with the lance like a professional baseball player. The hit echoed across the grounds. Soldiers in the blockades ducked for cover, thinking they were under fire. Monolith laughed.

            “That felt good!” He gave a return punch that sent Anubis shooting all the way out to the far fences of the property. Anubis’s body was caught by wrought iron fencing that bent around him like a net.

            Nightfall fired her blaster. The shots did nothing. Monolith grinned as he stepped toward her.

            “Little girlie, you’re in the wrong fight,” he laughed.

Blacktide and Nyhtwulf approached from the back grounds. They too, found someone waiting for them, just standing there as if they were fully expected. The other dwarf, called the Serpent, stood with a gleaming short sword in either hand. Like Blacktide, he wore dark glasses, but they were to hide is serpentine eyes. His smile revealed a pair of fangs. He wore a broad hat and a long coat that went past his knees. Past the coat, Blacktide could see pin-striped pants and suspenders.

“Wow,” Blacktide said. “Little man, I think retro would like their style back.”

            “Well lookie here,” Serpent sneered, “a boy and his flying dog.”

            “You best give it up,” Blacktide warned. He burned a trench across the ground toward blade wielding dwarf.

            Serpent spun one of his swords like a silver fan blade and the disintegration beam stopped short. “Oh, I can’t give up yet, boy! I got tricks to show you!” He leaped into the air and balanced on his sword blades in a bizarre cartwheel, spinning right at them. Blacktide and Nyhtwulf dodged to either side with ease. Serpent landed on his feet and swung both swords through the air, while not close to any target. A tree on the other side of Blacktide fell over with a crash.

            “We’ve got tricks too.” Blacktide said as his fists were surrounded in shadows of disintegration energy.

            Nyhtwulf growled and charged, phasing through Serpent to disrupt him. To Blacktide’s surprise, it was Nyhtwulf that hit the ground didn’t get up.

            “Nyhtwulf?” Blacktide called.

            “Oh, your flying dog shouldn’t have done that,” Serpent sneered as the shadows in his clothing started to move. Long shadowy hooded snakes emerged from six places on Serpent’s body. They came out with two near his collar, one from each sleeve and two from under the coat. “He’s been bit by a death serpent. Not even Death himself controls these. You’re about to have a dead dog.”

            What was worse, Blacktide could feel his control slipping again. He staggered backwards.

           

“What’s wrong, hero? Not feeling so good? That serves me fine. If I don’t have my pets deal with you, maybe I’ll use you for a blood sacrifice.” A forked tongue flickered from Serpent’s mouth.

            “No.” Blacktide growled clenching his fists even tighter. “I just survived way worse than you. I bet you couldn’t take a full on blast. I bet you can’t turn it aside if I just let you have it all.”

            “Ooh, you have venom after all. To me that’s as sweet as honey. Show me boy. Show me what you can do.”

            Sandstorm and Electrode had the easiest time getting into the building. Sandstorm dissolved into air and Electrode went in with speed. They saw a man in a black tuxedo, leaning on a door frame. Electrode appeared in front of the man, planning on finding out who he was. Hypnotist locked eyes with him immediately.

            “You’re fast and powerful. Go out and see how many soldiers you can kill before they kill you.”

            In yet another room, Galose appeared by teleportation. It looked like he was in a study of some kind. A suit of armor stood against a far wall with a claymore sword in its gauntlets. Galose scanned for life signs and found it interesting that one came from that suit of armor. Galose extended a rifle from his armor and aimed at the helmet of the antique armor.

            “Who are you?”

            Silvercrow, the haunted armor, responded only with eerie laughter and a flash of movement. The claymore sword slashed right through Galose’s arm rifle and the Cyborian had to step back quickly. His armor worked to repair a gash on his chest and Galose realized that the sword was an enchanted weapon. It was capable of slicing through his armor, making Silvercrow a deadly opponent.

GZ Legends 59: Shell Shocked

            

As Blacktide opened his eyes, fluorescent lights overhead stung them. He clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath. To his surprise, he felt no pain. It relieved him greatly that he could breathe without searing agony. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw the office ceiling. He lay on a table with an assortment of blankets under him and a pillow. The sound of loud chewing made him slowly turn his head toward the source of the sound.

            Nyhtwulf sat on a tall stool with a clawed hand filled with foil wrapped cream cheese squares. Several were being chewed in his canine mouth, foil and all, as Blacktide looked over at him. As Blacktide stared, Nyhtwulf noticed his gaze.

            “Oh good, you’re awake!” Nyhtwulf jumped up and moved next to his partner.

            “How?” Blacktide asked.

            “I can’t help it. I like them this way.”

            “No.” Blacktide groaned. “How am I alive?”

            “After you defeated Maniac, he teleported away. No one knows where. Galose said you did severe damage. I caught you and healed you. I had to keep you intangible to reset your bones. Many of them were broken.”

            “I’ve never ever hurt so bad.”

            “You will be alright now.”

            “I’m not so sure of that.” Blacktide slowly sat up and Nyhtwulf reached out to help him. Blacktide naturally flinched.

            “Your powers are back under control. Apparently my being in another dimension severed our link until I returned. I am sorry. That will not happen again.”

            As Blacktide sat up he leaned forward on his knees, taking slow deliberate breaths. “Is everyone else okay?”

            “Well, yes and no.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “While we were out against Maniac, Commander Larratus was attacked. Professor Zombie and the Vagabond have escaped.”

            Blacktide shook his head. “This just never ends.”

            “No it doesn’t.” Sandstorm entered the room. “How are you doing?”

            “I really don’t know. My body is healed but I don’t feel right.”

           

“You look shell shocked to me.” Sandstorm observed. “Can’t blame you. You aren’t used to the idea that anything can hurt you, never mind kill you.”

            “I know I can be killed.”

            “Not be anything solid. Maniac had you in his fist even though you were burning him.”

            “Yeah.” Blacktide said, devoid of emotion.

            “Take a break in here as long as you need to. We’re talking about our next move in the conference room.”

            Blacktide thought for a long moment. “No. I have to do something, anything. I can’t just be stagnate.”

            “Are you sure?”

            “Yeah. Besides, I’ve got Nyhtwulf with me.”

            Nyhtwulf nodded with a mouth full of cream cheese and foil. It was a sight his friends were becoming used to.

            In the conference room everyone but Commander Larratus waited for them. The Commander was under treatment for the damage done by Deformer. Galose nodded to Blacktide in respect. Blacktide nodded back not understanding why.

            “Hey man!” Anubis said. “Great to see you walking!”

            Nightfall’s first instinct was to go hug Blacktide, but she knew better. Blacktide was not the hugging sort. Everyone seemed okay, but Blacktide couldn’t miss the expressions of concern.

            “Has your armor finished its repairs?” Sandstorm asked Galose.

            “Yes. I am ready for our next course of action. I believe you want to liberate the White House?”

            “I think it’s way past time we did that.” Sandstorm said. “As I understand, the military is all around the property. They don’t dare move in for safety of the First Family. Commander Larratus was communicating with the military about our moving in. We need to go there and take back the White House.”

            “What about Professor Zombie and Vagabond?” Anubis asked.

            “I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of them.” Electrode said.

            “Has everyone had enough rest? Have you had something to eat?” Sandstorm asked.

            “I sacked out for several hours while we were waiting for Blacktide.” Atomizer said. “No offense. I was worried, but if we didn’t take advantage of down time, we’d be fools.”

            “No problem.” Blacktide said.

            At the White House, the criminal called the Bagman sat in the Oval Office with a cruel smile on his face. Outside the fence of the White House property, soldiers, jeeps and even tanks lined every street. Military Special Ops teams tried to infiltrate the building twice. None of them lived.

            “Are you ready?” Stormy appeared in the room without warning, but Bagman was used to it.

            “Always. We’ve held this building for days now. I’m sure we can fend off the crew you told us about.”

           

“Just remember the plan and stick to it.” Stormy vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

            “Always so talkative,” joked Bagman as he put up his feet and examined his black silk bag. “Everything’s in the bag.”

            All around the White House, the other members of Bagman’s team stood guard. Bagman had been receiving reports of the heroic activities of PAC and felt sure they posed little threat. The plan was strange to him, but none-the-less he would follow it.

            “Let them come. We’re more than ready.”

            A few hours later a Lieutenant approached the General in charge of the scene around the White House.

            “Sir, they’re here.”

            “Who’s here?”

            “Agents of PAC.”

            “Good. Send them over.”

            The General scrutinized the motley looking mix of people as they approached. Sandstorm stepped forward and offered a hand. The General accepted a hearty shake, testing his grip.

            “You’ve got a good handshake, son. I just hope you have an even better plan.”

            “Nothing less than taking back the White House, rescuing the First Family, freeing hostages, and stomping those responsible into the dirt.”

            The General cocked a bushy eyebrow. “Sounds like the start of a good plan.”