Crossover Earth '98

"...Angel is decidedly disturbed, and needs to seek professional help."

"Thank you Dynamo, this is Jason Montgomery in Seattle for SHNN, Superhero news all the time."

"Thank you Jason. In Kansas, we caught up with Zephyr evacuating towns in Armature's path of destruction. For the most part, this process has gone without incident, except for that unfortunate occurrence last Tuesday in rural Kansas. The costumed criminal known as Saber momentarily stopped Zephyr. But the Speedster hero easily took care of the minor threat. What do think, Bob? Was this just some silly glory hound looking to---"

The ashtray flying through the TV tube cut the anchorwoman short in a spray of static and broken glass. Nathan Lee, fuming, paced in the small motel room. His plan was perfect. Zephyr should be a cripple by now. Instead, the cattle known as mankind still worshipped him as a hero.

Nathan thought back to that day. Something must have been overlooked.

Two million was a steep price for Gossamer thread, but the Exchange never asked questions when handed that much cash. They even delivered it to the location Saber provided.

According to Saber's calculations, that town would be next on Armature's path. His reconnaissance found two buildings that would suit his needs. He prepared his trap and waited.

The call to evacuate came quickly and people were complying with little panic. After all, Zephyr was there to help. People readied themselves as a wind blew through and whisked them away to safety. The sight was very impressive. Groups of people simply disappeared with the wind.

Saber double-checked the settings on his chameleon field, making sure that Zephyr wouldn't carry him off with the others. Sure of his invisibility, Saber waited until the town was nearly empty. He only had to wait half an hour. Any thoughts of amazement at the hero's ability were crushed by his hatred of the super.

Saber walked into the middle of Main Street and activated his trap. The Gossamer thread, nearly invisible and nearly indestructible, rose between the two buildings in downtown Summerville creating a net to trap a hero.

Zephyr ran from building to building making sure no one was left to evacuate, when a man dressed in yellow and black simply appeared in the middle of the street. The man's pose was defiant, challenging.

"Don't ignore me, hero," shouted Saber, "Or the next town you evacuate will be full of nothing but dead bodies."

Zypher paused for breath as he considered the villain. Armature was about a mile away, everyone in town safe from harm. Yes, he could spare the second needed to deal with this nuisance. And if the costumed man could carry through on his threat, Zephyr could not ignore him.

"Come on, hero, innocent people are waiting to die. Unless you think you can't take Saber."

The hero decided that a simple run by, tapping the man on the head should be sufficient. He ran at Saber as fast as the wind. But unlike wind, Zephyr was still flesh and blood. At the speed he traveled, he didn't stand a chance of seeing the Gossamer stretched taut across the road.

The explosion of brick and mortar surprised Saber. Zephyr was no where to be seen. Saber followed the trail of debris and discovered a fallen Zephyr four blocks behind him. The Gossamer thread managed to hold the speedster, but the buildings holding the thread in place were too weak.

Saber activated his chameleon field and ran to find his prey. As he approached, he noticed Zephyr kneeling on the ground, in obvious pain. The Gossamer did its job after all. The silver costume of the world's fastest man had ripped open, coated in blood. The fallen hero seemed to be concentrating.

Assuming Zephyr could heal himself with his super speed, Saber wasted no time in closing with him. He spotted Zephyr's flesh knitting itself back together, so Saber ran and kicked the hero in the ribs, causing him to tumble a few feet. Then he appeared with shotgun in hand, squeezing the trigger that would blow out the speedster's knees.

But the blast only pocked the asphalt.

"You know, if you'd shot first you might have hit me."

With another plan falling apart around him, Saber attacked Zephyr with a chop to the neck. Zephyr quickly dodged the attack, but Saber never expected to connect with the speedster. While feigning attack, Saber reactivated his chameleon field, blending perfectly into the background.

He scrambled away from the conflict shouting, "Next time Zephyr, next time!"

Sure that he was free and clear, Saber jogged away, already plotting to get even with the hero. But Zephyr did not give up. He started to punch the air around him, walking as he went. He built up speed until a wind howled around him as his blows pierced the air. He moved through the town, covering every square foot with attacks.

Saber never knew what hit him. One minute he was jogging to his car, the next minute an explosion of pain followed by a howling wind knocked him to his knees. As he breathed in, washing away the pain, he found himself toppling to the ground, completely bound in a strong nylon rope.

Saber struggled in his bonds furious that the silver clad hero stood over him. Zephyr made sure the bonds would hold then raced toward Armature. But he no longer moved quite as fast. Zephyr had been hurt. Saber may not have stopped the hero, but the hero would no longer be the invulnerable good guy to the public.

Saber smiled as he dislocated his arm and slid out of the ropes. His plan hadn't completely failed. Hitting the shoulder back into its joint, Saber ran to his car and left the deserted Summerville.

But the public didn’t care! The confrontation barely got airtime, and now Saber was the butt of jokes on the Super Hero News Network. Nathan Lee couldn’t stand it. Feeling claustrophobic, he stormed out of his room, slamming the door behind him. Perhaps a walk to cool my head will help, he thought.

And while walking in the cool Los Angeles rain, Nathan planned. The rain and wind were inspirational. He thought of Los Angeles, and it's local champions. And a new plan began to percolate. If the master speedster could be annoyed by that plan, perhaps his speedster student would fair worse!

Nathan laughed out loud, drawing looks from the people running in and out of shops. Watch out Zephyr, we'll see how much you slow down while you grieve at Blur's funeral.

At that moment, the clouds boiled away as a giant space ship settled over the city. People around Nathan screamed and ran, but Nathan just stood there watching the ship settle over the city. A cold smile grew across his face.

Well, Blur, you may just have to wait. This could provide me with a much greater opportunity. Nathan punched in some numbers in his cell phone and walked back to the motel.

"Hello, what is your next flight to Norfolk, Virginia? Yes, I'll hold."

Things were looking up.

"Colonel Perry! I think we have a line on Captain Lee!" The young Asian man rushed into the office carrying a videotape.

The colonel glowered at the interruption, "This better be good, Doctor Izumi. Interviewing the people from the LA bank robbery didn't lead us anywhere."

The scientist fidgeted, "well, sir, this may not show where Captain Lee is, but it does confirm our new psychological profile on him."

"Doctor, our last profile of Nathan Lee said that he would remain loyal to the United States. It said he would be the perfect operative to test our stealth suit." The colonel's normally stone cold façade cracked to reveal the pure hatred inside.

"Now the bastard has made off with it, leaving us with nothing. Why should I believe your profiles now?!?" Colonel Perry was out of his seat, using his considerable height and width to intimidate the scientist.

Izumi swallowed hard, "Sir, if you'll just watch the tape."

The colonel motioned the scientist to the VCR. Izumi fumbled the tape into the player. It was a news piece about Zephyr, the super hero and some trouble in Kansas. When the piece ended, Doctor Izumi stopped the tape and looked back at the colonel.

Perry sat down behind his solid oak desk, dark brows furrowed over dark eyes. His hands formed a steeple in front of his face. Nothing could be read in the colonel's face.

Izumi smiled. "We're ninety percent certain that this Saber is actually Lee. And he's hunting heroes. If we can anticipate who he'll hit, we may catch him in the act and get the stealth suit back!"

Colonel Perry finished the thought, "And then put Project Chameleon into full production. Excellent work, Doctor. Distribute this information to the team and continue monitoring the stations. With a little luck, we should have our equipment back inside six months."

The smile that broke across the Colonel's face was anything but warm.

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