Crossover Earth '98

by Scott Bennie, Scott Couchman, Jay Shaffstall, Christopher Shea,

Michael Kelly, Mike and Paul Cocker

The shadow of the alien ship above L.A. fell over the street outside the Guardian's base. Video and audio monitors were setup around the meeting room to allow those who couldn't attend the conference in person to participate, and one monitor displayed the underside of the alien ship looming over the City of Angels. Golden Gate sat at the main table, with Lightstar sitting beside him, while the rest of the Guardians took chairs along the wall. Photon was farther along the table, clearly uncomfortable.

Blur stood in the back of the meeting room, her tinted glasses hiding the wonderment glistening in her eyes. She couldn't believe what had transpired during the short months that passed, and now she was attending a council with not only the Guardians but with several of the country's most respected metahumans and crimefighters.

This is the Big Time, she said inwardly. My god, just look at them all. Old Glory, Chariot -- and is that that Dynamo fella on the monitor? Good, the Gnome's here. I'll stand by him to make myself look taller. Oh wow, Mark Battle -- what a hunk!... Uh, who's that big robot?...

"Thank you all for coming," Golden Gate said. "Guardians HQ was a convenient place to hold this meeting, but I'm not in charge by any stretch of the imagination. I do want to say something right off the bat, though. I want to stress that right now we know nothing about these aliens. While they seem threatening, we can't simply assume they're hostile."

"Do you call placing ships over key cities a peaceful act?" Photon asked. Some of the other Guardians, in their spots against the wall, winced. They'd obviously seen this sort of interaction between Photon and Golden Gate before.

"They're alien, Photon," Golden Gate said. His voice radiated both patience and frustration. "We don't know what motivates them. The positioning of the ships might be part of some religious ritual, or something equally incomprehensible to us."

"Look, old man," Photon said, clearly working up some anger, "I know you like to analyze a situation until it's crystal clear, but this isn't a supervillain and a few civilians at stake. Our entire planet might be threatened. Better to attack immediately and be wrong than to wait and give up the human race."

"I can't agree with that." Golden Gate's voice was quiet. He clearly understood Photon's position, but the two had spent years working their way to opposing views.

Photon looked around the table, not seeing any support. The other Guardians wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Fine." Photon's voice was cold. "I'll leave you to it, and deal with other business." Photon left the room, not quite storming out, but clearly barely suppressing his anger.

Golden Gate looked after him for a moment, sadness in his expression. Finally, he turned to the rest of the group.

"I think we all agree we can't assume anything about the aliens. Does anyone have any ideas how we can get more information?"

Just then a radio, previously unnoticed, broke the silence, and a man’s voice spoke over the theme from X-Files.

"I also have information of particular value to this assembly," the voice said.

"What thuh?...," Blur turned to face the radio.

"Who is this?" Golden Gate demanded. "And I must inform you that you’re on a restricted frequency."

"I currently go by the name Anchorman," the voice said. "And, yes, I’m aware of what channel I’m on. I wish to help."

The tall, hulking robot known as the Machine nodded. "Anchorman’s legit," he said, the metallic, riveted features of his face contorted with his every word. Just as surprising, the robot’s voice was a deep and human voice. "I recently worked with him in an attempt to hold back Armature."

"Ah, yes," Golden Gate said. "I recall reading about you in a New York newspaper. We could sure use your assistance in any way."

The static of the radio wavered slightly. "Months prior to this development I discovered the alien fleet parked on the far side of the moon. The fleet appeared dormant and one of the ships had a hole ripped in it's hull. When I went to investigate Armature, suspecting that he might have made the hole for reasons that would be apparent if you saw the hole, I did, indeed, detect traces of the hull material on Armature. I have theorized that after penetrating and crippling the ship, he was somehow captured and enslaved. I suggest we form a team of scientists to investigate the orphaned ship, for it still resides, alone, in it's original location, at least according to my sensors. When your vessel leaves, I will intercept it and guide it to the ships location. I insist, however, that all scientists sent be tested thoroughly for loyalty to this country or I will take measures to deny them access. My own experience has shown me that dangerous and even criminal organizations, such as the one led by Omega Corp, will be doing their darnest to have representatives on this mission and will most likely succeed despite all our efforts. And I must caution you. There is still another ship unaccounted for."

"Well," Mark said. "Seems to me the first order of business is to pick someone as a commander. Someone who will make the call as to when we strike. If a commander's unacceptable, then maybe a small council of three or five individuals who can implement a measure on a majority vote. We're going to need to be able to react pretty quickly to an unstable situation. I hate politics as much as anyone here, but I don't think a consensus among this many people's the way to go, especially as things start to hit the fan.

"Second, we need to pick our targets for intelligence gathering. Do we try to raid the ruined spaceship for clues first, or do we try to find the spaceship, find Kayli, and try a cyberpathic attack on the alien craft simultaneously? I don't think we've got a lot of time, but we shouldn't tip our hand with the cyberpathic attack unless we know a little more about what we're up against."

"That's pretty much the way I see it." He turned and vaguely looked in the direction of Photon's empty chair. "I want to kick butt as much as anyone, but not if it costs lives. Not if we can do it more intelligently. I do have a few vague leads on Kayli and if you want to send someone like Blackjack with me, I think we might be able to find her pretty quick."

Blur watched the bounty hunter in awe. She had to make a conscious effort to close her mouth. She had to try her best to look mature and experienced at this juncture, and that wasn't going to happen if she kept ogling over Mark's handsome features and muscularity. The speedster looked at the others to see if they had anything to add to Mark's comments.

The Quartz representative nodded at Mark's words. "Agreed. We need a commander. With all due respect to Golden Gate, I don't think the public would appreciate having him in that capacity, especially if all this blows up in our faces. From an admittedly biased point of view, Old Glory seems the ideal choice."

Golden Gate didn't seem disturbed by this, he simply nodded in acceptance.

Milo Tagelohn smiled his assent, and waited for a lull in the conversation before speaking up.

"I had some plans of my own for investigating the Armature problem, but in light of the new information we have received, it seems best I set them aside for now.

"May I suggest that reaching the abandoned alien craft be our first priority? Trying to board one of the others would no doubt provoke a fight we are likely not ready for. As for Kayli" -- he sighs and turns up his hands -- "I do not know her, but from what I have heard she is not, how to put it, reliable? Best not to waste too much effort chasing down one who may not care to aid us at all.

"Of course, that is only my opinion. I shall be glad to serve in whatever capacity I may."

At the corner in the meeting room, Totem glowered at the heroes in attendance. But as the Gnome finished his words, his dour face settled slightly.

"I agree with the doctor in regards to Kayli's role here. She is ruthless, mercenary, and can't be trusted. I've ran into her before. If I ever do so again, there'll be a bloodletting." The Native American made his eyes grow wide, a rage hiding behind its hard stare.

Golden Gate spoke once the debate died down.

"Mark's laid out a good plan. First, gather intelligence. Second, gather resources. Quartz won't be able to provide as much as we'd like, but they'll do what they can. Third, break Armature free of whatever control he's under.

"Obviously, we can't move forward without information. We have six ships within easy reach of the surface, one on the far side of the moon, and one unaccounted for. Kayli may or may not be extraterrestrial herself, but we should find her and see.

"Any ideas?"

The frame rate on the video feed Dynamo used to attend the meeting from Seattle wasn't bad. He could see the faces of everyone involved quite clearly.

"If I may interject, how are we going to proceed? Ideas on the table are good, but we need to keep order in the chaos."

Dynamo punched some keys his keyboard. "If Mr. Battle and Old Glory don't mind, I've come up with a basic strategy, using Mr. Battle's notes as a baseline."

A window opened up on his video feed with the following:

"I know this is a bunch of bureaucracy," Dynamo said, "but I think it is necessary for the job at hand."

The electric hero then rubbed his eyes through his mask. "As much as I'd like to join in the main groups, I feel a great responsibility for my corner of the country. I will offer my assistance in any way the leaders feel is necessary, but I would like to volunteer to be a part of the third team, as outlined above."

After his speech, Dynamo reflected for a moment, then asked, "Has anyone looked to see if there is a pattern to Armature 's path? Maybe the spaceships are using him to communicate with us. We should see if his trail has moved in a pattern, like using the destruction to write words visible from space. Or maybe the way he has moved forms some kind of pattern, like bees explaining to the rest of the hive the directions to a flower."

Brainstorm spoke up from the side of the room. "Up to the appearance of the alien ships, Armature moved in a straight line. After the ships' appearance, he veered just enough to start heading towards Dodge City. If there's any information here, it's in the destination, not the path itself."

Thus far, Old Glory had remained silent, standing erect yet poise. He merely listened to everyone's ideas and concerns. His gloved hands were interlocked behind his back, much like a soldier at ease. But as Brainstorm finished commenting, the living icon stepped forward and started to speak.

"There have been several good ideas on how we should go about handling this situation," he said. "I, for one, am open to many of these suggestions. I'm even open to the idea of tracking down Kayli to help us with handling the aliens, if they're indeed hostile." Old Glory suddenly looked at Totem, giving him a slight nod. "But if we're to work as a team we can't exhaust our efforts with infighting."

Old Glory then acknowledged all the members of the conference. "As for handling Armature, the notion of Grey Veil's assistance sounds promising. But it may turn out to be painstaking just trying to find her. You see, we don't know who she actually is; moreover, we don't know where she's residing. I have, however, used my pull within the government's ranks to acquire some intelligence on the Grey Veil. I have five probable leads on who she might be."

He paused, his eyes shifting to see if he still had everyone's attention.

"My first lead is Amanda Demeter. For those of you not familiar with her, she's the daughter of a wealthy politician. Armature historians picked her as a possible lead as Amanda had the freedom to travel widely, and often showed up in areas where the Grey Veil had been reported. Amanda made no secret of being attracted to Armature. She's presently living off her family's fortune in Florida, north of Miami.

"Secondly, there's the possibility of Christina Connors, the actress who played the Grey Veil in the movie adaptation of Armature's life. While Christina had absolutely nothing in common with the Grey Veil, critics claim her portrayal of the Veil was flawless. One reviewer said, 'If she isn't the Veil, she should be.' Armature historians like to think this is the sort of joke the Veil would have liked, playing herself in a movie. Miss Connors made no more movies after The Life of Armature, and retired to a small town in North Dakota.

"Thirdly, there's Dolores Spinetti. Wife of a prominent mobster in New York city, Dolores often disappeared for long periods at a time. An ongoing theory was that she, as the Grey Veil, ran a crime organization that consequently competed with -- and eventually took over -- her husbands'. However, Dolores Spinetti is believed dead as part of a mob hit on her husband.

"My fourth lead is Marsha Two-Feathers. She's an enigmatic woman who came into Armature's life now and again to help him. She provided him with information that helped him out of scrapes with villains other than the Grey Veil, but never appeared when he was involved with the Veil herself. Most of the Armature historians don't favor Marsha as a possibility, but she has enough supporters to keep her in the government's black book. Marsha Two-Feathers' whereabouts is unknown.

"Finally, there's Judy Klemper, the renowned reporter who chronicled Armature's exploits. She's also every Armature historian's last choice. Judy was present at several meetings between the Veil and Armature, making it impossible for her to be the Veil. Ms. Klemper still writes an opinion column for syndication, and lives in Texas."

Old Glory forced a slight smile. "You see, this may turn out to be chasing shadows. And if luck is on our side," the hero's glance passed over in Anomaly's direction, "what's to say that she will assist our cause?"

"I don't know about luck," Mark interrupted. "But I've already met with both the Veil and with Ms. Klemper a few days ago, before E.T. decided to come here looking for more Reeses. I can probably get them here without too much trouble. They were willing to help once, they'd probably be willing again, provided we don't make any attempt to pierce the Veil's identity.

"As for trustworthiness, heck no. There are people in this room I don't trust." He looked directly at the Quartz representative, watched a slight reaction rise, and smiled. "And I'd be willing to bet the love is mutual. But there's an old chestnut that everyone in this room knows: keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. If Grey Veil's up to something, I want to keep an eye on her. And if she's innocent and can help us, then we'd fools to reject her."

The Quartz representative looked annoyed.

"Thank you for the philosophy, Mr. Battle. Now, can we get down to specifics? Dynamo has proposed three teams, which seems reasonable. If you know how to contact the Grey Veil, I would propose you be in charge of the team confronting Armature, and pick your own team. Quartz can coordinate protection of those cities left undefended. That would only leave us with picking a leader for the expedition to the ship behind the moon."

Old Glory looked at the Quartz representative and nodded. His attention then returned to the rest of the team. "If it's alright with you, I would like to be in charge of exploring the abandoned ship."

"Fine," Mark said. Inwardly, there was a voice screaming at him for getting into this situation -- he was a bounty hunter, not a leader! But screw it -- no doubts, not in front of Quartz. "Here's my squad. Myself. For additional speed and the ability to place people quickly, Blur. For mental prowess and for keeping an eye on people, Lightstar. For his ability to command lightning, and because he seems to have a clear head on his shoulders, Dynamo. For stealth and because you'd want him to keep an eye on us, we'll take Blackjack. And because I need someone to debate philosophy with..." Mark looked at Totem and smiled. The Native American remained steadfast and stoic, his arms folded across his chest. "We'll take 'Macho the Navajo' off your hands. And if you can find us someone with technical ability, that'd complete the unit. Although this is the one time in my life, I wouldn't complain about being around Quartz power armor squad. As for Zephyr and Chariot, it's your call where you go. You're welcome to come with me, but I don't want to split our forces too thin, and I know you'd be valuable anywhere the old guy puts you."

The Quartz representative seemed a bit uncomfortable at Old Glory leading the off-planet mission himself, but kept silent. On the other hand, he was pleased at Mark's taking the lead in confronting Armature. If any of the missions were likely to pound down the man's ego and make him easier to deal with later, that would be the one.

"Zephyr generally goes where he wants, but I think the best place for him is backup, and helping to defend the cities left unprotected. He's in the unique position of being able to cover more physical area than anyone else."

Chariot's instincts told him to accompany Mark, in case he needed help. Would Mark see it that way, or just see old Charred Riot looking over his shoulder? And what sort of help would he really be, against Armature? I can fly with some effort, he thought, but Blur could probably knock me flat without half trying. With an inward sigh, he spoke.

"At my current power level, I'll be most useful keeping order around Miami. The people there know me as a symbol, and that symbol might keep order where brute force wouldn't."

"Good idea," Old Glory agreed. "There's no telling how the citizenry is going to react." He shuddered as he pictured the gripping images of bedlam in New York. My god, the possibility of world-wide riots. This would eclipse the effects Laughing Death had. The blue fabric of Old Glory's mask hid the dread etched on his face.

"I propose that Golden Gate act as field commander for the third team," he said. "He's a natural leader. And with Dr. Tagelohn's assistance, I'm positive that he can form the required members to pacify the general public, not to mention muster the reconnaissance team to locate Kayli."

Old Glory paused for a moment. "As for my team, we need to be small so as to look nonconfrontational." His gaze fell across the Quartz representative as he added, "It's the only way we're to be truly successful."

The living icon then started to pace slightly, his eyes on everyone, much like an orator. "That's why I want the away team to consist of only Brainstorm, Stronghold, and myself. I believe Brainstorm's incredible faculties in science and deductive reasoning, coupled with Stronghold's affinity with computer technology, will be what we need to analyze the derelict space vessel with proficiency. And if we encounter any ALFs up there, this pairing will hopefully have the means to communicate as well. My presence is merely as frontman. But if we encounter any aggressive lifeforms, I'll provide the means to safely relinquish our position."

Anchorman’s radio transmission spoke again, this time sounding like the voice over from a Japanese monster movie. "I agree, and I am willing to support that selection of individuals. How do you plan to make the trip and when? I am willing to accept you leadership too. Would you like me inside the ship or posted as rear guard? I am also quite proficient in the sciences and would most likely be an asset in either position, though my current circumstances bias me towards the rear guard role."

Old Glory replied, "It’s my understanding that Quartz will be providing the means of transport." He immediately shifted his glance towards the Quartz representative, who in turn nodded affirmatively. "As for your role in this mission, you’ll be responsible for guiding us to the ship and providing backup if and when needed."

Milo Tagelohn spoke up. "As for my role in the, er, Fallout Mission, I am not certain how effective I will be as a spokesman, but, as always, I shall do what I can."

The floor seemed to lurch slightly as the Machine nodded. "And that goes the same for me."

Milo cleared his throat before continuing. "You will forgive me for bringing up what may be irrelevant, and I do not intend to divert us from the work at hand. But I must point out that this is not the only perilous situation we currently face. I refer, of course, to the self-styled Goblin King and whatever he plans to undertake in New Orleans this month. I intend to be present, and I hope at least some of you will find the time to join me. After what occurred with Apocalypse Now, I confess I have a low tolerance for taking risks with others' lives... "

There was a flicker of understanding in Old Glory's eyes.

"The Goblin King is a madman that needs to be stopped," he said. "I too can't make slight of such terror tactics. I will accompany you in New Orleans, Milo. You can share with me any details you've acquired on the matter after this conference."

Old Glory returned his attention to the council of heroes before him. "Now, back to the matter at hand. Are there any more questions, concerns, or suggestions? Don't be afraid to state what's on your mind, people."

Milo nodded. "One last thing -- a caution to those who are going to examine the damaged spacecraft. Our mysterious ally also commented that there is one ship unaccounted for. When I heard that, the first thing that came into my mind was that the aliens may well have left the damaged ship as... I think the proper word is bait. With the missing ship concealed nearby, of course. But perhaps I am simply too suspicious."

Old Glory shook his head. "Your suspicion is well warranted, Milo. If our, uh, friend on the radio is correct in his details then precaution is priority one on the away mission. And that's why I'm hoping a small away team will appear nonthreatening."

Golden Gate rose from his chair. "Very well then. We have a lot in front of us. And as much as I don’t like to sound trite, the world depends on our every move."

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