Harbinger
From Valiant Entertainment - The Book Of The Geomancer
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A new breed walks among us –– harbingers of the next step in human evolution. Are these paranormal Harbingers the hope of the future, or heralds of doom?
The Beginning
The Beginning
For the longest time Harada believed that he was unique even amongst his kind, until he met Pete Stanchek, a kid living a relatively normal, shy, and studious life that began to notice that he had unusual powers. Pete could read minds, move objects with the force of his thoughts, and make others obey his will. Frightened by his abilities, Peter wrote a letter to the Harbinger Foundation at the urging of his best friend, Joe Irons, who discovered their ad in the local newspaper. At the Harbinger complex in Pittsburgh, Harada watched as an interviewer spoke with Pete, whose abilities manifested independently whereas in others they remained dormant until he drew them out. Taking an interest in him, as he reminded him of himself, Harada personally supervised Pete’s training.
When Joe confronted Pete about his blind faith on Harbinger and his use of his powers to force Kris to love him, Pete realized that his abilities were influencing his personality and walked away from the foundation. Worried that Pete was too powerful to be on his own, Harada had Joe killed because he believed that he was causing his change of heart, but Joe’s death only made Pete more suspicious and highly unstable. Reluctant to tamper with his mind due to the extend of his powers, Harada ordered that Pete be terminated as well.
By then Pete had released Kris from his control and she had forgiven him, so when he asked for help she went to him. As Rachel Hopson, the recruiter that brought him to the foundation attempted to shoot Pete in the back of the head, his subconscious mind saved him by releasing a psychic backlash that destroyed the complex, killing Rachel and many others. Harada, who was in Rachel’s mind during the encounter, allowed Pete and Kris to escape after he saved her from two Eggbreakers so that he could be tested until they found a weakness that would kill him.
Children Of The Eight-Day
Concluding that Harada was training kids to follow his doctrine, Pete and Kris decided to intercept letters sent to the foundation and warn the kids who wrote them about what it was really like. Stealing a batch of mail from the post office, Pete and Kris’s first stop was the home of Faith Herbert. Although Faith insisted she had special abilities, when Pete took a look in her mind he concluded that she only wished she did. However, after they left they discovered that Pete had somehow turned on Faith’s ability to fly when he probed her mind. An avid comic book fan, Faith took the name Zephyr and insisted on helping Pete and Kris in their task.
When Pete used his power to ease the rising tension between the girls, he noticed that he was acting like Harada and released them so fast that Faith dubbed him “Sting” for the way his mind probes hurt. Upset, Kris warned Pete that if he controlled her again she would kill him. Under Kris’ guidance, the plan became to find more people like Pete and Faith to form a team that might one day become an army to stop the foundation.
Their next step was to raid a Harbinger Foundation building in Atlanta to get more names and addresses of potential Harbingers. While there, Pete met Charlene Dupré, and used his power to activate her abilities. Known as “Flamingo” to her friends, Charlene had the ability to raise her body temperature sufficiently to start fires and melt various objects. As Flamingo gladly joined their little group, Kris felt that she was out to snare Pete for her own.
Their next recruit was John “Torque” Torkelson, a mechanic in Decatur who had little use for a bunch of kids with weird powers. However, after Peter activated his Harbinger ability of super strength, John decided to at least stick with the group long enough to get better acquainted with Kris. Shortly after that, a group of Eggbreakers attacked and totaled Torque’s car. Though the kids survived, Kris was badly injured.
The Root Of All-Evil
Taking her to a hospital for treatment, Pete realized that forcing the doctor to help her was dangerous, so instead he removed the slugs from Kris himself. After Dr. Heyward stabilized Kris, he let the kids take his car and stay at his summerhouse. While Kris rested, Faith returned to the mill and two Harbinger soldiers attacked her. After Sting rescued her, they followed an address he took from a soldier’s mind to a clothing factory that made uniforms for Eight-Day Inc, a foundation subsidiary. Convincing the owner that they worked for Eight–Day, Faith and Pete returned to the house with a box full of uniforms for everyone. Two days later, inspired by Kris, the team raided Eight-Day Inc’s worldwide headquarters, where they came across Harada. Though ambushed by Eggbreakers, the kids were victorious and escaped with a stash of loot.
One Small Step…
Traveling to Seattle with a disk retrieved from Eight–Day Inc, the kids met Ax, a young computer whiz who they paid to help them break into it. Ax had an affinity with machines that vastly increased after Sting activated his latent Harbinger powers. The disk turned out to contain a list of Spider Alien landing sites. Investigating one of the sites, the group took an unexpected trip to the moon in a pre–programmed Spider Alien Transport Vessel. Ax betrayed them there by siding with the aliens, who needed his incredible ability with machines to help them build ships to flee the solar system because Solar had destroyed all their deep–space ships. The group eventually escaped the aliens’ clutches with Flamingo’s help and earned Ax’s animosity in the process.
Where The Love Light Gleams…
Returning to Earth, the kids discovered that they had been gone for five months. As subtle tensions developed within the group, Pete noticed a romance blossoming between Kris and Torque that also upset Flamingo, who wanted Torque for herself. As the girls and Torque returned home, leaving Pete alone, Ax used the disk to gather rogue Harbingers to take his revenge on them. As Charlene, Faith, and Kris came back after realizing that they belonged together with Pete, Ax’s Harbingers attacked Torque, but Pete and the girls rescued him.
All For One…
While spying on Aric Dacia in New York, the kids learned that Harada was in New Orleans. Going to New Orleans determined to kill Harada, the kids faced X–O Manowar, who swiftly defeated them in combat. A week later, the kids took their first photo together, a picture damaged by an ominous beam of light. Splitting up, the kids spent their last day in New Orleans visiting the sites; Flamingo and Kris went to an art gallery, Pete enjoyed a pretzel in the park, and Faith found Torque in the zoo, discovering his gentler side. That night, while having dinner in a restaurant, Pete used his powers to track Harada to Dallas, where an explosion caused by Puff, a Harbinger who had lost control of his ability, destroyed the Harbinger offices. Charting a private plane, the kids traveled to Dallas and broke into a Harbinger research facility to kill Harada, but Thumper, Puff’s girlfriend, stopped them. Escaping during the fight, Harada released his hold over Puff, who he was helping regain control of his power. Unable to stop himself, Puff released a brief outburst that stopped the fight. As Pete levitated Puff off the ground as Harada was doing, Solar beamed himself into the facility through the telephone line. With Solar’s aid, Sting helped Puff regain control of his ability before Harada returned with a group of Eggbreakers and his personal army.
One For All
The kids wanted to fight, but Solar took them away and left them in the woods. As the kids returned to the facility to kill Harada, Eggbreakers and soldiers ambushed them. Escaping with Thumper and Puff’s sudden aid, the kids hid in an abandoned home where Pete tried to persuade Puff and Thumper to join them to no avail, as though they helped them escape they still believed in Harada’s doctrine. The next morning, after Flamingo learned that Kris was late getting her period that month, she was surprised when Torque apologized to her for treating her like dirt when they first met. Going their own way, Puff and Thumper arrived in Oklahoma, where they ran into Takashi Kuramoto. While Kuramoto interrogated them on where Pete’s rogues were, Harada read their minds and discovered that Pete and the others were returning to New Orleans. On their way to New Orleans, Harada’s Eggbreakers attacked the kids, and during the fight Rock killed Torque.
Flowers For The Living
As the cops arrived, the kids hid and watched them leave with Torque’s corpse. Shaken up by what happened, the kids made their way to a hotel in Louisiana. As Kris and Torque had been romantically involved, his death hit her the hardest. Inconsolable, Kris made the others break into the morgue to retrieve Torque’s body so they could give him a proper burial. The next day, Pete and Faith returned to their hotel in New Orleans to collect their stuff, and while going over Torque’s possessions Faith found a wad of bills in his pants. That night, the kids stole Torque’s body and took him to a burial home, where they used all their savings to give him the best funeral they could afford. The next day, after they had all said goodbye to their friend, Faith convinced them to use the money she found to fix Torque’s car to honor his memory.
The Origin of Harada
Returning home, Harada shared the evening’s events with his wife Noriko. While Harada slept, Noriko took a knife out of a bureau and plunged it down over him, seemingly stabbing him. The next morning, she visited Madame Rowena, the psychic responsible for unlocking Harada’s powers when he was a boy. Troubled by the many deaths Harada had caused during his life, Noriko confessed to Rowena that she contemplated killing him, when then he walked through the door. Taking Noriko with him, Harada confronted her over her cutting herself with the knife again. Confessing that while she still believed in him, Noriko asked Harada to wipe away her doubts, but he refused, insisting that there had to be control and that when she stopped believing in him she should just end it. That night, Harada stood watch over Noriko while she slept.
Unity
Heart Failures
While washing dishes with Dr. Heyward’s wife, Monique, Kris revealed that she was pregnant with Torque’s baby and was considering having an abortion. Just then Geoff McHenry whisked them off to fight in the Unity conflict. Arriving in the Lost Land, Faith thought that Magnus looked familiar, when then Mothergod’s forces attacked. As Solar engaged Mothergod, Pete learned that Solar had died. Escaping Mothergod’s forces, Pete discovered Kris’ condition and, believing the child to be his, decided to keep them out of the fight. After Geoff told Sting that he could not send them home, the kids hid in a bunker for three months. Worried that discovering that Kris’ baby was not his would upset him, Flamingo unsuccessfully tried to seduce Pete, who learned that Kris cheated on him with Torque. Enraged, he lashed out against Mothergod and came close to killing her, but she blindsided him and he collapsed. Returning to the bunker, Pete coldly consoled a remorseful Kris.
Children of Destiny
157 days after they arrived in the Lost Land, Kris went into labor. Desperate, Pete brought Armstrong to help with the delivery, which occurred soon after. Kris gave birth to a boy whom Geoff had told her would become Magnus. Just then, Faith returned from an assault on Mothergod’s complex and said that Magnus had fallen in battle. Scared, Kris made Sting go get him. Rescuing Magnus and Geoff, Sting brought them back to their HQ, where Geoff told them that Solar was alive. As the heroes broke into Erica’s complex to rescue Solar, two robs entered their headquarters and captured Kris. Finding Solar trapped in a wormhole, Sting entered his mind. Finding himself in Unreality, Pete almost succumbed to his shortcomings, but fighting past them he helped Solar escape. While Solar led the heroes against Mothergod, Sting rescued Kris and the baby. As Mothergod’s reactor destroyed reality, Sting and Kris made peace over her infidelity. As Pete flew away to help Solar, Geoff appeared and told Kris to give him the baby. As Pete found Kris, he discovered that the baby was gone before they all vanished in a flash of light.
New Beginnings
As the kids returned from the Lost Land, Kris collapsed from exhaustion after giving birth. The next morning, Pete conveyed everything he experienced during Unity into Dr. Heyward’s mind. Four days later the kids left for Hoboken where Dr. Heyward had arranged for Pete to get with an old friend of his, unaware that the HARD Corps were watching them. The next day after they found an apartment they could afford, Pete faced Kris over what happened to her baby and she told him the truth. While Faith got an interview at a comic book store and Flamingo considered becoming a model, Kris was not as lucky in finding employment. That night the kids returned to Eight–Day Inc’s offices, only to discovers that the place was deserted. Deciding to resume their search for other Harbingers, they visited an arcade at Faith’s urging where they met Shatiqua, a girl with uncanny reflexes. As they followed Shatiqua and her boyfriend Darryl to talk with her, the HARD Corps attacked. Confronted with Pete’s power, the corps fled, but maintained their surveillance over them.
Hard Choices
While Faith left for her job interview, Flamingo discussed her apprehension over recruiting Shatiqua with Pete and Kris, when then the HARD Corps broke into the apartment and captured them. Returning to find an empty apartment, Faith went to look for Shatiqua to ask her for help finding her friends. Reluctant to help at first, Shatiqua left with Faith after she learned that someone was watching them. As Faith realized that the HARD Corps was using a blimp to follow them, she and Shatiqua snuck onboard. The blimp took them to a ski lodge in Upstate New York where the HARD Corps used their technology to replicate Harbinger abilities. Breaking into a munition depot, Shatiqua set off an explosion that distracted the Corps while Faith freed Pete. Discovering the ruse, Gunslinger led the others back to the lab, where a one sided fight between the Corps and Pete ensued. Taking the others with him, Pete popped Shatiqua to help her fend off Maniac. As the kids left, Gunslinger and Pete came to a mutual understanding as they realized that they were on the same side.
Revenge
As Charlene’s dreams about Torque’s death grew increasingly worse, Pete and Faith broke into Eight–Day Inc’s offices and used computer passwords taken from an employee’s mind to find Weasel, the Eggbreakers’ leader. Though Shatiqua’s association with Pete’s Harbingers was putting a strain on her relationship with Darryl, she nevertheless went with them to Chicago, where they found Weasel and Pete took Rock’s name from her mind. Making their way to a motel where Rock was waiting for Weasel, the kids confronted Rock, who taunted them over their inability to kill him. As Flamingo and Pete argued over what to do, a group of Eggbreakers burst through the wall and attacked. While the reengages engaged the Eggbreakers in battle, Rock chased Flamingo to a gas station. Using her power, Flamingo set the station ablaze with Rock inside, and though the fire did not kill him, it did scorch his lungs and he passed out. In the end, however, Flaming found no solace in taking revenge for Torque’s death and walked away.
Wrath Of The Subterranean Underground Dwellers
While on her way to work at the comic book store, Faith collided with a group of thugs, one of which brandished a switchblade at her. Saved by a homeless man named Sam, Faith hurried to the store. Opening a box of new comics, Faith found the newest issue of Elfquest, her favorite series. That night after work, Faith ran into Sam, who had a mask on and said that he was a super hero. Saying that she was a super hero too, Faith showed Sam what she could do. Claming that he could do the same with his magic ring, Sam took Faith to his hideout in the subway to give her one. There, Faith learned that Sam had a daughter named Cindy that died, when then the thugs from that morning showed up and beat them up. Waking up, Faith took Sam to the hospital. Inspired by her comic book, Faith attacked the thugs and forced them to confess to the police. Though realizing how much she had grown up that night, Faith retained her child-like wonderment, signified by the “magic ring” in her finger, a soda can lid.
Dream Child
While at the park, Zephyr helped a boy untangle his kite from a tree, unnerving Pete, who was worried that someone might see her. After appeasing him, Kris turned her attention to a group of kids from a daycare. That night, Kris’ guilt over abandoning her baby pushed her away from Pete. Dreaming of the day she gave birth, Kris had a nightmare in which Mothergod took her child. The next day, Pete told an inattentive Kris how well his job was doing, then when he confronted her about her lack of interest in him, she lashed out at his selfishness. That night, Kris had a nightmare in which a robot garbed as the grim ripper approached Magnus ready to strike him with his scythe while all she could do was watch. The next night, Kris had a dream in which she willed herself to help Magnus, who after thanking her for her aid assured him that she did the right thing giving him up and should not feel guilty for it. The next day, Kris got a job at the daycare where being around children made her happy. Elsewhere, Harada promoted Stronghold into an Eggbreaker.
Hard Boiled
Returning to his apartment in NYC after his battle with Bloodshot, Ax began to work on building a new arm for himself, when then, Twenty–Twenty, one of his rogue Harbingers, told him that he was still in Spikeman’s head seeing what he saw. In a Harbinger training room, Stronghold was having a difficult time controlling his power during a training session with the Eggbreakers. That night, he shared his concerns with his girlfriend, Amanda McKee, who did her best to encourage him. Meanwhile, as Pete, Flamingo, and Shatiqua were Christmas shopping, Scout, one of Ax’s rogues, caught their attention and they decided to follow him. Tired of seeing through Spikeman’s eyes, Twenty–Twenty switched his remote sensing into Fort, who unbeknownst to him was on his way to see Harada. Discovering the intrusion, Harada severed Twenty–Twenty’s link by putting him in a coma and then sent the Eggbreakers to eliminate Ax. Following Scout to a penthouse building, Pete, Flamingo, and Shatiqua were surprised when they came face to face with Ax and his rogue Harbingers.
Scrambled
Using his power, Pete kept the rogues off balance while he airlifted himself and the girls up the elevator shaft. As they escaped to an adjacent rooftop, Pete collapsed. In Hoboken, Kris saw a man standing outside their window who mysteriously vanished. Back in NYC, the girls awoke Pete by throwing snow on his face just as the rogues found them. Bazooka shot a water tower, and as the water rushed toward them it pushed them off the roof. While holding on to the ledge, an Eggbreaker assault craft hovered behind them, but instead of going after Pete and the girls, the Eggbreakers went after Ax and his rogues. During the fight, Bazooka overpowered Stronghold, who he would have killed if Amanda had not dismantled his weapon. After Bazooka hit Amanda over the head with a pistol, Stronghold grabbed him and accidentally absorbed his mass, instantly killing him. Meanwhile, Spike-man and Roxy betrayed Ax to the Eggbreakers, who took them away to the foundation. As Amanda and Stronghold ran away, they came across Pete in an alley. Though Pete asked them to join him, Stronghold refused to let him or Harada use him, proclaiming that he controlled his own destiny now.
Camouflage
Two days before Christmas, Pete, weakened due to illness, barely stopped a truck from colliding with traffic. As sirens approached, Kris carried Pete away while Faith and Flamingo followed. The next day, Shatiqua had another fight with Darryl about her hanging out with the rogues, whom he considered freaks not fit to go to their friend Monica’s Christmas party with them. Upset, Shatiqua left the apartment in a huff. Meanwhile in the Harbinger Foundation’s complex, Simon Morrell, an introverted kid with the ability to become invisible who Rachel Hopson found in a mental institution a year earlier, asked his therapist if he could be allowed to go outside and be with other kids. Though the doctor forbade him to leave due to his inability to contain himself when interacting with other people, Simon used his ability to sneak out of the complex. Finding himself with not a penny to his name, Simon tried to beg a hot dog vendor for some food, but the vendor reacted violently toward him. Hearing the commotion as walked by, Shatiqua paid the vendor and then asked Simon if he wanted to go to the party with her, an invitation he hesitantly accepted.
That night, Pete and the girls arrived at Monica’s house. As they made their way through the crowd, Darryl came up from behind them and shoved Pete. Angered, Darryl, who was ready to punch Pete, demanded to know where Shatiqua was, when then she arrived with Simon. Enraged even further, Darryl verbally abused Simon, who ran away and vanished. As Shatiqua went looking for him, Simon turned back and assaulted Darryl, pummeling him as hard as he could, empowered by the rage he felt towards him for calling him a freak and his parents for abandoning him. Going outside, Pete stopped Simon from hitting Darryl, who admitted that he deserved what he got. Just then, a group of Eggbreakers led by Rock arrived to take Simon back with them to the foundation. Standing up to Rock, Pete was prepared to stop them from taking Simon, but ultimately the Eggbreakers and Kris convinced him that the foundation was better equipped to help him, so he let them take him. The next morning, Pete pondered over how much growing up he had to do.
Friends and Enemies
Walking down the street, Faith noticed a man in a trench coat following them who Flamingo and Shatiqua dismissed as a gawker staring at Flamingo. Going inside the arcade where they met Shatiqua, the girls ran into Scout, who ran away and threw a grenade that the man in the trench coat encapsulated in a force field as it exploded. Calling himself Screen, the man, who also encapsulated Scout, convinced the girls to let him go home with them so they could talk. Meanwhile, Dr. Heyward examined Pete, who had been sick for weeks. Taking a blood sample, Dr. Heyward promised to find out what was wrong with Pete.
At the Harbinger Foundation, as Harada prepared to leave, Walter Sakai questioned his decision to allow Pete to continue attacking his facilities and recruit Harbingers, a course of action that made it look like he had lost control of him. Replying ominously, Harada stated that it only seemed that way, implying that appearances were deceiving. Across the globe in New Deli, Ambassador Toynbee contracted Kaliph, a mercenary, to retrieve his daughter Natalie from the Harbinger Foundation.
After Dr. Heyward left, Pete passed just as the girls and Screen came home. Waking up in the living room, Pete saw Screen in the kitchen. Reacting instinctively, Pete attacked Screen, who pushed Pete against the ceiling with a force field. As Faith ran toward Screen to make him stop, he pushed her away. Realizing his overreaction, Screen apologized and released Pete, who demanded to know who he was. Warning Pete that the foundation had the house under surveillance, Screen told Pete that Harada knew what he was doing, but Pete ignored his words as his only concern seemed to be a desire to live as normal a life as possible until they gathered their forces to attack Harada. Disappointed, Screen said that he had been through this before and cautioned the kids that their time was up before he left. The next day, Pete and Kris were shocked to see Toyo Harada standing beside Bill Clinton during his swearing–in ceremony as President of The United States.
Enter Kaliph
At the Harbinger Foundation complex in NYC, Natalie Toynbee, tired of being probe and prodded, refused to pee in a cup for a doctor, when then Pete and the girls broke through a wall and said that they were there to rescue her. Confusing the rogues with Eggbreakers due to their outfits, Natalie believed this was a test, then when Pete explained who they were she accused them of being ruffians. Nevertheless, Natalie left with them as she felt that she deserved more respect that what she was getting at the foundation. As the kids ran toward their car, Kaliph’s spies spotted them leaving with Natalie and followed them. At the airport, Kaliph arrived in the States and used his ability of persuasion to compel a belligerent taxi driver to drive him to his destination, where Malik informed Kaliph that Natalie was with the rogues, who they had under surveillance.
Back in Hoboken, the kids took Natalie to their apartment, which she instantly found disgusting. Insulting everything she saw, Natalie quickly incurred the girls’ wrath. The next night, Kris furiously went to the store to buy Natalie some mineral water. On her way out, Kris ran into Kaliph, who used her ability to make her tell him everything about her friends. As Kris told Kaliph of Pete’s illness and Dr. Heyward’s test, a man at the testing center mailed a copy of Pete’s test results directly to Toyo Harada.
Compelling Kris to take him home, Kaliph tried to use his power on Pete in vain, as he resisted his attempt to control his mind. Just then, Kaliph’s men broke in through the windows and shot the kids with tranquilizer darts. Grabbing Pete and Natalie, Kaliph and his men left, leaving the others unconscious on the floor.
Iranian Lights
With Screen’s help, the girls traveled to Iran to rescue Pete, who was in a dungeon in Kaliph’s fortress where Kaliph’s servant women were pampering Natalie. Contacting the Harbinger Foundation, Kaliph told Walter Sakai that he had captured Pete Stanchek. That night, while Screen and the girls broke into the fortress, Pete escaped the dungeon when Kaliph’s men tried to inject him with a tranquilizer and went to find Natalie.
Making their way through the fortress, Screen and the girls found themselves surrounded by Kaliph’s men Setting the rug they were on ablaze to keep Kaliph’s men back, Flaming lost control and inadvertently trapped herself and the others. Meanwhile in the dining hall, as Kaliph told Natalie that her father had hired him to find her, she became enraged and he used her power to tranquilize her. Just then, Pete flew into the room.
Weakened by the drugs and his illness, Pete lost control of his flight and crashed against the table. While his men held Pete up, Kaliph looked into his eyes and used his power to break Pete’s spirit, but then Natalie jumped on him from behind and blinded him with her ability. Breaking into the dinning hall, Screen and the girls rescued Pete and Natalie and they all escaped together. Hours later, as the kids stood outside the fortress and watched it burn, Natalie told them that she had decided to return to the foundation and they parted ways.
Two weeks later, the once feared Kaliph was on the run from those he trampled in his quest for power.
Resolutions
Although Pete hid the results from the tests Dr. Heyward ran on him, the girls found them and discovered that he had mono. Mad at him for lying to them, Kris forced Pete to stay in bed until he felt better. That night, Pete had a terrible nightmare about his father that compelled him to return home and face the ghosts of his past.
Returning to his parents’ house, Pete recalled the times he spent in his bedroom day dreaming of Kris while playing with his powers with Joe to hide from his parents’ fighting, as well of the last time he saw his father the night that Joe was killed. Entering his parents’ room intent on confronting his father’s abuse and mother’s neglect, Pete learned that his father was in the hospital after falling into a coma due to his heavy drinking.
Entering his father’s hospital room, Pete entered his mind as he did Torque’s to find peace with the only man he had ever feared. Finding himself in a black void within his father’s mindscape, Pete confronted the abuse he suffered at his hands and lashed out at his father, who reacted like an abused child. Seeing his father’s mental image revert into a frightened boy, a reflection of a part of himself he did not like, Pete came to understand that his father had no love to give him and left, certain that someday he might forgive him.
Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot…
While in Coney Island with Kris’ uncle Mel, the girls ran into Archer & Armstrong. Recognizing Aram as the man who put the moves on his fiancé while he was in Europe during WW II, Mel went to Anthony Carino and asked him to kill Aram. A mobster who also had a score to settle with Aram, Carino agreed to help Mel.
Back in Coney Island, Flamingo found Archer meditating on a rooftop and they bonded over their religious beliefs. Meanwhile in the boardwalk, as Kris told Aram that the baby he helped deliver in the Lost Land was Magnus, Carino’s men showed up and threatened to shoot them unless they went with them.
Pushing the men out of their way, Aram grabbed Kris and they escaped. Hearing gunshots, Archer and Flamingo turned back and saw Carino’s men shooting Aram. Borrowing a man’s motorcycle, Archer and Flamingo went after Aram and Kris. Standing in the food court talking about Pete, Faith and Shatiqua were startled when Aram, Kris, Carino’s men, Archer, and Flamingo ran past them.
Joining the chase, Faith and Shatiqua went after the others. Chasing Aram and Kris into a subway car, Carino’s men subdued them at gunpoint. Missing the train that Aram and Kris were on, Flamingo, Archer, Faith, and Shatiqua barely avoided a second subway train bearing down on them.
At Mel’s house, the girls told Mel what happened and he confessed what he did. Taking the kids to Carino’s restaurant, Mel and the others found Carino and his men lying on the floor and Aram talking on the phone with the restaurant’s owner, Benito Carboni, an old acquaintance that apologized for the inconveniences he put them through. Opening a bottle of wine, Aram offered Mel a drink for old time’s sake.
Meanwhile in an alley in NYC, Twenty–Twenty found Ax crawling out of the sewer and took him to an apartment he set up for them where he stashed his armor and equipment.
Twilight Of The Eight–Day
Twilight Of The Eight–Day – Part I: … The Most Unkindest Cut Of All
Cornered by Harada’s soldiers while breaking into the Harbinger Foundation private hangar at La Guardia airport, Sting, Flamingo, and Zeppelin were against the wall until Zeppelin fooled the soldiers into shooting a fuel barrel, which caused an explosion that knocked everyone out except for them as Sting protected them from the blast. In a nearby room, Kris and Shatiqua printed out a list with names of kids from all around the world with Harbinger abilities. Escaping the flames, Sting made his way to a private foundation plane where he came across Walter Sakai. Scanning Walter’s mind, Pete came across information that he dismissed as lies and then flew away to be with his friends. Hours later, Sakai, ashamed for his weakness, met with Harada, who assured him that everything was under control, and said that until Pete made a move they would wait.
A week later Pete lost his job, and though Kris and Flamingo asked him to trust them he retreated from them as if trusting them was the last thing he could do. A few days later, while the girls went over the print out, Pete, having grown tired of lies and games, called Harada demanding to know why he had not made a move against him despite knowing where he lived and everything he did. Enraged at Harada’s silence, Pete lashed out psyonically and created a maelstrom in both Harada’s office and his apartment that threw the girls against the walls and ceiling. Realizing what he was doing, Pete hung up and silently berated his actions.
One late night days later, Kris got up from bed to answer the phone. Moments later, Pete heard a loud scream coming from the living room. Flying there to investigate, Pete was shocked to find Flamingo, Kris, and Faith standing threateningly over Shatiqua, who Faith had cut in the arm with a knife. Attacked by the girls, Pete defended himself without hurting them, then he grabbed Kris and shook her to bring her out of the daze she was in, unaware that Faith was coming up from behind him brandishing the knife.
Pushing Pete out of the way, Shatiqua said that after Kris answered the phone she told something to Faith and Flamingo that made them want to go after him with the knife. Just then, Flamingo fired a blast of fire that separated them. While Kris kicked and punched Pete into submission, Flamingo cornered Shatiqua and pushed her out the window with a blast of fire. Fed up, Pete lashed out psyonically and stunned the girls
Flying outside, Pete found Shatiqua laying on the ground dead, so he picked her in his arms.
Twilight Of The Eight–Day – Part II: Dead End
After an ambulance carted Zeppelin, Kris, and Flamingo away after the incident Pete spent half the night searching hospitals for them. Infuriated by his inability to find them, Sting wrecked havoc at St. Mary’s hospital in New Jersey, which alerted the cops to his whereabouts. Lashing out, Pete inadvertently blew up a squad car, and would have killed the cops and doctors had it not been for Screen, who helped him escape.
The next day, Pete convinced Screen to break into the Harbinger Foundation’s headquarters in New York with him to search for the girls and he agreed, even though he knew that it was what Harada wanted them to do. Walking into the building, Pete and Screen dispatched Harada’s security force as they made their way through the floors, until they arrived at the training level, where they came across Rock and the Eggbreakers.
Twilight Of The Eight–Day – Part III: Armageddon
Angry beyond reason, Sting pushed Rock out of his way like a rag doll to deal with him after he finished with the Eggbreakers. Unfortunately, Sting’s rage blinded him, so while he dispatched the Eggbreakers Rock killed Screen. Staring down at Rock, Sting peered into his mind and popped a blood vessel in his brain, killing him instantly to avenge Torque’s death. Making his way through the empty hallways, Pete found the girls, who he was shocked to discover had no memory of him. Defeated, Pete pointed the girls toward the exit and told them to go home, then he turned back and went to find Harada.
Reaching Harada’s office, Pete confronted Toyo for taking his job, friends, and whole life from him. Alas, Harada revealed he had been controlling Pete’s life from the beginning, using him to find Harbingers across the country in his behalf, and that his friends, girlfriend, and object were all a sham, a declaration that verified what Pete gleaned from Sakai’s mind. Enraged, Pete lashed out and threatened to kill Harada, who held him down on a chair with his mind. Musing over his expectation that Pete would become his greatest Eggbreaker, Harada offered him the opportunity to be his lieutenant of his own free will, but Pete refused, so Harada tried to take control of his mind by force, an act that enraged Pete, who broke free from Harada’s hold.
Standing over Harada, Pete pushed him through the floor with his mind all the way to the cellar, and for a moment it seemed like he had triumphed over him, but then Harada returned. With a glance, Harada pushed Pete out of his office and threw him across a dozen city blocks. The ensuing psionic conflict of epic proportions leveled entire buildings as Harada pushed Pete into falling to his whim, but Pete refused to bow down despite having lost everything that made him who he was and rejected Harada’s offer. Suddenly, without explanation, Harada succumbed to a stroke that put him in a coma.
As the dust settled and Harada laid by his feet, Pete discovered that he had inexplicably lost his powers. Hours later, while escaping the scene, Pete came across Flamingo, who told him that unlike Faith and Kris, who had gone home, she had no where to go. Asking her if she liked to go with him, Pete took Flamingo’s hand and they took off for parts unknown, proclaiming that Sting was dead and Pete Stanchek’s life had just begun.
The Other Side
Locked in isolation in a Harbinger Foundation installation, Faith saw on the news that in the three weeks since the collapse of the foundation’s headquarters in New York Harada laid in a coma from a seizure and Takashi Kuramoto and Walter Sakai were now control of the foundation. Listening to the reporters praise Harada and his foundation, Faith stares at her television with a sad stare and accuses them of telling lies.
Sometime later, Faith and other students from the New York facility arrived at the foundation’s facility in Bolivar. Meeting with Coach Joseph Nicoletti, who assured her that he would straightened her out after her time with the renegades, Faith learned that she was going to train with one of his Harbinger squads and found herself assigned to share a room with two of them. Dismissed, Faith went to her room and met her roommate, Victoria Martinelli, a slob who turned the room into a mess. Meanwhile in Minnesota, Mira Choudhury, Faith’s second roommate, finished packing her back to return to the foundation much to her father’s dismay.
The next day, Nicoletti introduced Faith to the members of B-Squad; Victoria, Samuel Coleman, Beatrice Lewis, Malik Williams, Simon Morrell, and Butch MacFaddin, who called her Zeppelin, a remark that upset Victoria, who jolted him with a blast of electricity. Not amused by his antics, Coach Nicoletti ordered Butch to run twenty laps while the others ran fifteen. Meanwhile in the monitor room, Katsumi Kabuto, the Squad’s supervisor, analyzed each member’s file while they ran an exercise, paying particular attention to Faith.
Days later in the cafeteria, Butch asked Faith if she knew what happened to Pete after he took on Harada, but she confessed that everything that happened after that was a blur. After the attack, Faith, who had lost years of her life, wandered in a daze until she found her way back to Virginia. Walking into her house looking for her parents, she found that the place was empty, as if no one had ever lived there, except for a representative of the Harbinger Foundation who told her to go to the Bolivar installation. Due to the representative’s refusal to tell her what happened to her parents, Faith had doubts about whether or not they really were her family.
As Sam asked her if the foundation was forcing her to stay there and Faith said that they were because that place was not real, the elite Eggbreakers stormed into the cafeteria. Accusing her of being a murderer due to Pete killing Rock, Weasel told Faith that she was a fat cow and that no one else wanted her there. That night, taking Weasel’s insults to heart, Faith broke out of her room and flew away, unaware that Victoria saw her and that elsewhere a technician in the monitor room detected her escape and alerted Katsumi and Nicoletti.
As Faith made her way across the sky, two Eggbreakers caught up to her and knocked her down to the ground. Surrounded by the elite, Faith was in tears and begging them to let her go, but kneeling beside her, Blast said that they were going to teach her a lesson. Just then, Jolt and the rest of the B–Squad showed up to rescue Faith. As the two teams skirmished, Katsumi and Coach Nicoletti arrived and stopped the battle.
While everyone got inside the coach’s van, Victoria urged Faith to stay, convincing her that some of them wanted her to be there. Deciding to stay for her own reasons, Faith returned to the facility with the others.
Cabin Fever
Following Victoria, Faith and Simon snuck out of class and met up with Butch and Sam, who had acquired a beat up car that they all drove away from school in. As they left, a taxi dropped off Mira, who went looking for her room. Upon seeing the mess the room was in, Mira questioned her reasons for being there. Stopping in a gas station on the way to Brookfield, Butch learned from the attendant that a bear had mauled two people a week earlier, but Butch dismissed his warning as the rantings of a nutcase.
That evening at a cabin that belonged to Butch’s uncle, while Butch teased Victoria, who took the attendant’s warning to heart, Simon, who did not feel well, went to walk in the woods and came upon a Spider Alien that would have eaten him if it had not for his ability to become invisible. Meanwhile back in Bolivar, Katsumi and Walter Sakai discussed their annoyance with Kuramoto’s intentions to cut back on the foundation’s training and education programs, the very foundation of Toyo Harada’s quest for Harbingers.
At the cabin, Simon told the others what he saw, but no one believed him, not even Faith, who suggested that they call the police. Convinced that Simon saw a bear, Butch grabbed an ax and led the others into the woods to look for it as well as to find a tree. Finding a garden of trees that they deduced was manmade, Butch went ahead and tried to cut one down, when suddenly the Spider Alien leapt from the branches to stop him. During a skirmish with the alien, the kids continued to inadvertently damage his trees, which resulted in his paying more attention to the safety of the timber than to them. Though her memories were fuzzy, Faith remembered that the Spider Aliens revered plant life as sacred. Turning to the others, Simon told them that they could not just leave the alien there. Meanwhile, back in school, Katsumi met Mira and recruited her for a secret project.
The next day, after reporting the alien to the authorities, the kids packed their car and returned to school.
Heal Thyself
In Evansville, Indiana on January 27th, 1987, Butch MacFaddin used a sonic blast to kill his abusive father, but in the process he also killed his mother and sisters, an accident that sent him to a mental hospital for years.
In 1994, Dr. Clark, a psychiatrist at the Harbinger Foundation in Bolivar, gave Butch’s file to Dr. Harrison, a newly–promoted psychiatrist, to study them. Meanwhile, during a training session Mira defeated the entire B–Squad until she and Sam were the last ones standing. Somersaulting toward Sam, Mira failed to account for Simon, who tripped her into Sam’s arms. Stopping the session, Coach Nicoletti came in with Katsumi, who said that she removed Beatrice and Malik from the squad because the others were a bad influence on them. At her wit’s end after their unauthorized trip, Katsumi appointed Mira leader of the squad in the hope that she could point them in the right direction, a notice that upset Butch, who accused Mira of being a mark and refused to obey her. After the others left the training room, Mira stayed behind and sat in a corner to cry.
The next day, Walter Sakai walked into Harada’s hospital room and found Takashi standing next to his bed. Accusing Takashi of destroying everything Harada had worked to achieve, Walter said that his petty envy was getting in the way of how the Foundation should be run, but ignoring him, Takashi left to return to Dallas. Meanwhile, as Sam and Simon left their room for class, Sam told Butch that he would see him in the cafeteria after his shrink appointment. Minutes later, Sam and Simon ran into Mira, Faith, and Victoria, who told Sam that she had a plan to get back at Mr. Smalls for making him and Butch mop the cafeteria floor.
That afternoon during a therapy session, Dr. Harrison confronted Butch with the question of how he survived the explosion that killed his family. Forcing him to remember what happened, Dr. Harrison asked Butch if his Harbinger ability had anything to do with the explosion, a question Butch refused to answer that nevertheless stirred his memories of the event and made him remember that he killed his family. Lashing out with a sonic blast, Butch threw Dr. Harrison against a wall, which broke his ribs and sent him to the hospital. Later, while Sam reassured Butch that he did not mean to kill his parents and reminded him that he had said that when his powers manifested he could not control them, Butch said that maybe his powers manifested before that night and that he knew exactly what he was doing, which lead to an uncomfortable silence between them.
Days later at the Harbinger Foundation, Katsumi briefed the executives on Stronghold and Livewire, who in the last few months had clearly shown that they could not function without their auspices and she intended to bring back into their fold whether they liked it or not.
The Price
A few days after they escaped the aliens’ colony, Amanda and Eddie searched the wreck of her apartment for her stuff, when suddenly Amanda’s landlady slapped her with a lawsuit for the damages to her property. Feeling responsible, Eddie promised to somehow get Amanda the money she needed. Meanwhile in London, Neville Alcott, Jillian Alcott, and Charles "John" Sinclair discussed their inability to use electronic devices to find the Weaponeer’s vault because their use alerted Webnet. Holding a picture of Bloodshot, Neville said that he was in New York to find Geoff so that he could find the vault using his ability to speak with inanimate objects.
The next day, Eddie walked into the First National Bank expecting to get a loan because his father was the bank’s chairman, but much to his dismay his father denied his request. Meanwhile that afternoon, Amanda’s boyfriend, Seth, broke up with her because she was too weird for him. Later that evening, when Eddie and Amanda returned to his apartment they found Katsumi Kabuto and Blast waiting for them. Offering to pay for the damages that Eddie caused during his rampage and to settle the lawsuit against Amanda, Katsumi asked them to return to the foundation to how learn to properly use their abilities. Though Eddie considered going back, Blast’s taunts enraged him and he lunged against him, pushing him into the street through a wall.
As a fight broke off between Eddie, Amanda, and the Eggbreakers, Gilad Anni-Padda arrived, but much to Eddie and Amanda’s surprise he was there to convince them to return to the foundation as he was the one who contacted Katsumi to take them back. Refusing to have others tell her how to live her life, Amanda flew away. Finding Amanda atop the Statue of Liberty, Eddie convinced her to go back with him to the foundation, promising to make things better. Watching from afar, Gilad assured Geoff that they would be better off in the foundation, when just then Bloodshot arrived and recruited then on a mission to find the Weaponeer’s hidden vault.
Search For The Vault
Late one night in Battery Park, as Bloodshot told Gilad and Geoff of his need to use Geoff as a bloodhound to find the Weaponeer’s vault, snipers onboard a Webnet stealth helicopter opened fire on them. Running away, Gilad dispatched a group of Webnet goons coming out of a van just as Bloodshot saw a second van coming their way. Following Geoff to the subway, they ran inside the train as the doors closed, but then the Webnet agents cut the power and the train stopped. As the Webnet operatives boarded the train, Gilad, Geoff, and Bloodshot escaped through a grate into the sewer. Meanwhile, 100 feet below Heathrow Airport, in a shooting range within MI–5, Richard Grant arrogantly showed his superb marksmanship skills to Charles Sinclair.
Hours later, in the Lower East Side, as Gilad, Geoff, and Bloodshot left New York aboard a speed boat, Webnet operatives shot at them with a bazooka from a yacht and destroyed their transport. Jumping into the water before the missile hit, Bloodshot, Gilad, and Geoff swam to the yacht and dispatched the agents, then, using his ability to speak with machines Bloodshot jammed Webnet’s frequencies so they would not be able to locate them and commandeer control of the boat.
The next day in the Balkan mountains, Felina, a guide, led Gilad and the others to a cave that Geoff discerned was were the vault used to be before it was moved. While making their way down the mountain, Bloodshot heard the faint sound of an assailant taking out a Webnet sniper, but dismissed it. Twenty six hours later in Hong Kong, Geoff looked out at the city from the roof of a hotel and found the vault. Making their way south, Gilad saw two Webnet cars coming at them, so he led them into an outdoor market to end their pursue. While Gilad and Bloodshot dispatched the Webnet agents, Felina took Geoff to the other side of the market, but two agents found them. While Felina fought off an agent, the other one offered not to kill Geoff in exchange for his help finding the vault, but then, through means he refused to elaborate on, Geoff knocked out the agent.
Sometime later, on an island off the coast of the Philippines, Geoff took the others into an active volcano that he assured them was where they would find the vault. Finding the Weaponeer’s weapons cache in a massive cave, Geoff asked the security system to let them in, then he and the others found a specific crate that Neville was looking for. Just then, however, a group of Webnet agents came out of the shadows to take it from them.
Elsewhere, the Weaponeer wrote down an entry in his journal detailing his assistance to Neville’s men looking for his vault and his hope that Neville would put weapons they found there to good use.
Search And Destroy
Though surrounded on all sides by the Webnet agents, Bloodshot and Gilad dispatched them and escaped. Carrying the three crates that Neville was looking for on their shoulders, Gilad, Geoff, and Bloodshot found a submarine in a dock within the volcano. Sensing the approach of more Webnet agents, Geoff said that they should stay and hold them off, but Gilad urged him to get inside the submarine and leave. Staying behind with a crate, Gilad dealt with the agents while Bloodshot took Geoff and the remaining crates away in the sub. As their submarine sped away from the island, Geoff saw two enemy vessels following them on the radar. During a firefight, the submarine hull breached and the vessel went down to the bottom of the ocean.
Back in the cave, Gilad engaged the Webnet agents in a fist fight, but they overpowered him and took the crate, which in reality was a bomb primed to blow up within seconds. Fighting his way through the agents, Gilad escaped the explosion and leapt off a ledge onto a rope ladder hanging from Felina’s chopper. As the chopper flew away, the island exploded behind it. Meanwhile, beneath the ocean, Bloodshot rammed the Webnet submarine with his own. As the hull cracked and the submarine filled with water, Bloodshot gave Geoff an aqua–lung and dragged him to the surface, where Sinclair was waiting for them aboard a boat.
That night in Bangkok, Gilad took Felina to dinner to repay her for saving his life, while back in London, Neville admired his new acquisitions, eagerly looking forward to begin Project: Secret Weapons.
Truth And Consequences
While making her way to class Faith noticed a crowd gathering at the entrance to the school and saw Harada’s enforcers escorting Stronghold and Livewire inside. Upset, Amanda lashed out at Coach Nicoletti for treating her and Edward like criminals, while, ashamed for dragging her into this mess, Edward promised her that he would make things better and change. As the Eggbreakers took them away, Amanda saw Faith watching her. A week later, Amanda asked Faith to help her find Eddie, who she had not seen since they got there. Worried that something had happened to him, Amanda told Faith that she was the only one she could trust and that together they could find Eddie and escape, but, unsure of what she could do, Faith declined to help her.
Days later, while Faith Victoria, Simon, and Butch played in the snow and Sam told Mira that he ended up with the Detention Squad after he trashed Mr. Smalls’ car on his first day during a fight with Butch, Amanda abruptly came flying out of an underground facility chased by the Eggbreakers. Enraged after learning what happened to Eddie, Amanda lashed out, but she ultimately fell when hit by a burst of energy from Blast. After the enforcers took Amanda away, Butch was appalled to see Natalie Toynbee hanging off Blast’s arm and told Sam that she needed to hang out with a guy who had charm and class like him, not a loser like Blast.
Later that day, Takashi informed Mr. Smalls that the lab technicians assured him that Amanda would be dealt with, promising better results than they got from Edward. As Takashi left, Mr. Smalls said that Harada would be upset to learn that he had allowed the doctors in the labs to tamper with his children, unaware that Victoria was listening in from inside the ventilation shaft. That evening, after Victoria told the others what she had learned, Faith, who felt guilty for turning her back on Amanda, convinced the rest of B-Squad to help her find her in the underground labs. Worried that Faith would get the others in trouble, Mira objected to no avail.
That night, Faith and the others made their way through the underground labs and found Edward laying on a gurney with a surgical scar on his forehead that indicated he had been lobotomized. Just then, the equally–lobotomized Amanda trapped the B–Squad in a makeshift cage. As enforcers entered the room, Faith pleaded with Amanda to listen to her, but Amanda told her to save her concern, which was a little too late.
The next day, Mr. Smalls discovered that someone had activated the sprinklers in his office and called a janitor to clean it up. As Livewire came walking down a hallway, the janitor accidentally splashed her boots. Calling him janitor an idiot and leaving, Livewire failed to recognize that the janitor was Edward. His memory gone, Edward apologized and said that he was cleaning the floor to make things better.
Bad Omen
Bad Omen – Part I
At the Ranch, the HARD Corps’ underground headquarters in Albuquerque, Director Sigmund Heydrich charged the Corps with a mission to breach the Harbinger Foundation Complex in Bolivar to record Toyo Harada’s brain waves for inclusion in their Harbinger powers database and to assassinate him.
Later that day, at the foundation complex in Bolivar, the members of B–Squad, punished with cafeteria duty after the prank they pulled on Mr. Smalls, coped with their reprimand. While Sam, Faith, Mira, and Victoria served Sloppy Joes and tater tots, Butch and Sam bused tables. After clearing Beatrice’s table, Butch ran into Nathalie and tried to cozy up to her, but Blast warned him to leave her alone. Meanwhile, Takashi Kuramoto informed Mr. Kabuto and Mr. Sakai of his decision to cut down on the foundation’s security measures, as in his opinion their enemies were no longer a threat. Leaving in a huff, Mr. Kabuto exclaimed that she was glad that she would be relocating to New York and would not witness Kuramoto tear the company apart, unaware that Kuramoto planned to dismiss her and her colleagues from the foundation for good.
That evening, Simon noticed Sam was distracted and asked him if he was okay, so Butch mockingly revealed that Sam had the hots for Mira. Though he denied at first, Sam asked Butch if he thought if Mira would go out with him, but Butch told him not to bother with her because she was a cold fish. While getting dressed to go out, Butch told Simon that he could tell he had fallen head over heels for Mira, but that inevitably something would go wrong and he was the one who would have to hear him moan about it later. Walking out the room, Butch told Sam that he was leaving to go see Natalie in spite of Blast’s warning that he stay away from her.
Elsewhere, Ms. Kabuto told Mira that since things with the B–Squad had not improved since she assigned her as team leader she had no choice but to break them up due to their many indiscretions. Returning to her room, Mira told the girls and Butch that in two weeks Ms. Kabuto would relocate them to different branches of the foundation, with some of them going with her to New York. Feeling guilty, Victoria offered to confess that she flooded Mr. Smalls’ office, but convinced that it would only make things worse, Faith dissuaded her. Upset, Victoria asked if there was something they could do, and Butch said that they could go get drunk.
That night, B–Squad broke into the hospital cafeteria to have a last meal together. Reaching for a six pack, Butch split the beer with the others, except for Mira and Faith, the latter of whom said that her friend Torque let her have a sip once and it tasted awful. Raising her bottle, Victoria promised to visit the others and offered a toast that Simon sealed by yelling out that “Nothing Beats A Bud”. Just then, the kids saw the Corps walked into the cafeteria in Ghost Mode. After a brief skirmish, the Corps defeated the B–Squad, except for Simon, who turned invisible and ran away. While Flatline and Hotshot stayed behind to watch the kids, the others proceeded to Harada’s room, where after copying his brain waves, Gunslinger trained his weapon on his head.
Bad Omen – Part II: Hard Decisions
Standing over Harada’s bed, Hammerhead urged Gunslinger to pull the trigger, but feeling at odds with his orders, Gunslinger requested to speak with Heydrich, when suddenly Simon grabbed his arm and pulled it away. Punching Simon aside, Hammerhead knocked him out, but then Sam and the rest of the B–Squad broke into the room with Flatline and Hotshot in tow. Though the Corps got the upper hand again and defeated the B–Squad, the sound of the security alarm in the distance forced them to retreat. Meanwhile in the cafeteria, Faith told the security guards that she and the others were there investigating noises when the Corps attacked them. Hearing the sound of an explosion, the guards ran into Harada’s room and saw a hole in the ceiling.
While the Corps made their way toward their rendezvous point with their evac chopper, the foundation’s security guards surrounded them from both sides in the hallway. Breaking through a tilted window to escape, the Corps inadvertently found themselves facing dozens of guards waiting for them outside. Flying toward the roof, the Corps took cover while they waited for their chopper. Meanwhile, while Walter Sakai chastised Kuramoto for risking Harada’s life, inside the hospital, Katsumi questioned the B–Squad. Seeing their chopper, the Corps made a break for it and got away, certain that Harada would not wake up from his coma.
Inside the hospital, as the kids confessed that they broke into the cafeteria not worried that they would be punished since she had already broken them up, Katsumi told them that they were heroes for saving Harada’s life. Meanwhile, Walter and Kuramoto were astonished to discover that Harada had awoken from his coma.
Bad Omen – Part III: Last Rites
During an assembly, Harada asked the members of B–Squad to stand so he could have a look at them. Feeling proud, Mira pulled Sam by the arm so he would stand up with her, while feeling embarrassed, Victoria, Faith, and Simon slouched in their seats until Ms. Kabuto forced them to stand up to be congratulated. Calling the B–Squad a shinning example of the Harbinger courage and spirit, Harada told them that he looked forward to meeting with them that afternoon and then broke off the assembly. While Victoria and the others left for the infirmary to see how Butch was doing, elsewhere in the auditorium, Coach Nicoletti asked the Eggbreakers where Blast was. At that moment in Natalie’s bedroom, as Blast walked out the door she asked him when she would get a try out with the Eggbreakers, but rolling his eyes, he said that it would happen soon and then left.
Sometime before noon, in Butch’s hospital room, the kids felt weirded out that everybody was treating them like heroes, especially Victoria, who could not stand being congratulated for saving a guy she did not even know. Unlike the others, Mira was excited that they were going to meet Harada, who wanted to thank them personally. Later that day, while Toyo and Walter discussed their imminent strike against Omen Enterprises, Kuramoto’s fate, and the whereabouts of Pete Stanchek, they ran across Edward Sedgewick. Looking into Eddie’s mind, Harada was appalled to learn what happened to him. Meanwhile, in Takashi Kuramoto’s office, sensing his impending doom, Takashi called an unidentified associate and gave him access to the foundation’s network to steal its classified data as a way to ensure that he be remembered long after he was gone.
That afternoon in the gym, Sam asked Mira if she had seen Faith, who was supposed to give him a computer lesson. Feeling left out because all her friends and family were in Minnesota, Mira told Sam that Faith was probably with Victoria as they barely left each other’s sight. Telling Mira that she was her friend, Sam gazed at her and told her that she did not have to be alone. As Mira reached out to hug Sam, Victoria and Faith interrupted them. Grabbing Sam’s arm, Faith pulled him away for his computer class. As Mira left, Victoria asked Sam if he was making a move on her, but calling her shrimp he told her to mind her own business.
Sometime later, in Harada’s office, Toyo assured the B–Squad that he would deal with the people responsible for assaulting the foundation and attempting to kill him as they took something from him that he wanted back. Commending them once again for saving his life, Harada told the kids that it was a joy so see them thrive and reach their full potential, especially Faith, who he was glad had adapted well to foundation life. After Harada sent the kids on their way, Simon turned back and asked him if there was anything he could to do stop the squad from breaking up, and Toyo promised to take care of it. Leaving Harada’s office, the kids padded Simon on the back for having the guts to speak to Harada on their behalf.
That night, while Mira told the kids that Katsumi told her that they were going to let them stay together, back in Harada’s office, Toyo discharged Takashi for dishonoring the foundation and him with his ploys. Bowing to Harada, Takashi left to reclaim his honor. Following Takashi to his office, Harada found him kneeled on the floor holding a katana to his abdomen ready to perform Seppuku. Telling Harada that he did not regret anything he did, Takashi said that he did not think he could go through with killing himself, so Harada pushed the sword into his stomach with his mind and then walked away.
That night at the HARD Corps’ headquarters in Albuquerque, as Gunslinger delivered the device that held Harada’s brain scan to Heydrich, a squadron of Harbinger fighter jets attacked the Ranch.
Bad Omen – Part IV: H.A.R.D Retribution
While Softcore talked with her mother on the phone, the window exploded and the lights went out. Looking outside, Softcore witnessed a small contingent of Corps led by Hammerhead holding their ground against a barrage of Harbinger foundation troops descending on the Ranch. As a foundation soldier fell beside the open window and trained his weapon on Softcore, Hotshot killed him. Throwing a weapon at Softcore, Hotshot told her to follow her. Meanwhile, at the Harbinger Foundation complex in Bolivar, Harada oversaw the assault against the Ranch on a monitor bank. Ordering his troops to focus on the Corps above ground, Harada said that he had a weapon that would destroy the underground levels and retrieve what the Corps stole from him.
Back in the Ranch, director Heydrich retrieved the device that held Harada’s brain scans from his safe and ordered Gunslinger to ensure its safety. Leading Heydrich away from his office, Gunslinger was interested in getting back with his team. Looking to reach Softcore, Gunslinger got in touch with Lifeline, who found the Corps and Softcore in the battle field. Surrounded from all sides by foundation troops, the Corps was in trouble, when then, Shakespeare arrived on a commandeered foundation helicopter and killed their attackers.
While Gunslinger and Heydrich ran down a darken hallway, a piece of equipment fell over a tech that was running behind them. Though Heydrich urged him to leave the man behind and get him to safety, Gunslinger ignored him and went to help the tech while Heydrich ran away. Meanwhile, outside, Livewire, Harada’s weapon, destroyed the helicopter that Shakespeare commandeered. Escaping using flight mode, the Corps followed Livewire to stop her. Reaching a dead end, Heydrich ran back down the hallway to go find another way out. Stumbling on a piece of metal on the floor, Heydrich dropped the scanning device. Reaching for it, afraid that he broke it, Heydrich inadvertently activated the device, when just then Livewire flew toward him.
After taking the device, Livewire bond Heydrich with metal wires. Looming toward him, her hand glowing bright, Livewire was ready to kill Heydrich, when then the Corps arrived and stopped her. While Gunslinger recovered the device, Hotshot protected the team behind a force shield and Shakespeare and Flatline kept Livewire off her feet. Defeated, Livewire collapsed the ceiling and sealed the hallway. As Hammerhead released him, Heydrich demanded that Gunslinger return the device to him. Throwing the device at Heydrich, Gunslinger told him that he did not trust him and was watching him, then they all got out of there.
That night in Bolivar, Harada told Walter Sakai that their attack against Omen had not ended, and that he could not allow Omen to ever use his psionic power, for in the wrong hands it would devastate the world.
Incandescent Expectations
In the gym of the foundation complex in Bolivar, the B–Squad took part of a training exercise with Gilad. After Sam punched Gilad on the jaw, the kids pilled on him, but Gilad easily pushed them off him. Calling off the exercise, Coach Nicoletti sent the kids to the showers. Asking Faith to stay, Gilad asked her if she knew where her former renegade teammates were, but she told him that she did not remember much about her time with them. Placing his hand on her shoulder, Gilad told Faith that he believed that she remembered more than she wanted to admit. Walking away, Gilad said that Faith owed her family and friends not to let her happiness stop her from learning the truth about her past. Meanwhile, Butch learned from Beatrice that Blast was stringing Natalie along with the promise of giving her a spot with the Eggbreakers and left in a huff.
Sometime later, Katsumi gave Sam the keys to a van so that the kids could drive themselves to the foundation headquarters in New York with Toyo’s permission. Suddenly, Blast came crashing out through a wall into the parking lot. Walking through the rubble left by his sonic scream, Butch accused Blast of having no intention of helping Natalie get into the elite squad. Shooting Butch with an energy blast, Blast threatened to make him pay for attacking him, but then Sam and Katsumi stopped him. While his friends held him back, Butch told them what Blast had promised Natalie. Telling Katsumi that it was a misunderstanding, Blast said that he never promised Natalie anything, unaware that Natalie was listening in from amid a crowd. Meanwhile, Faith returned to her room and told Victoria that she was going leaving to go find out what happened to her parents.
That night, while Toyo told Gilad what happened to Stronghold and Livewire, elsewhere, Natalie confronted Blast. Lashing out with her fireworks, Natalie blinded Blast, who shot the floor beneath her feet and sent her down the roof to the level below them. Following the light show to the roof of the building, Butch and the others asked Blast what happened and he accused Natalie of being crazy. Rising up, Natalie lunged against Blast, when just then Gilad arrived and stopped her. Holding her down, Gilad told Natalie that he did not want to hurt her, but grabbing his head, she told him to let her go. Reaching out to her, Butch told Natalie that that what she was doing would not solve anything, and assured her that he did not need help to get a shot at being an Eggbreaker. Tears streaking down her cheeks, Natalie powered down and walked away with Butch.
A few days later the B–Squad packed their van and left for New York, leaving Beatrice behind pinning for Butch. Hours later, at a public phone, Butch called what he thought was Natalie’s number and left a message on an answering machine, unaware that she had given him a random family’s phone number.
Total Eclipse
On January 18th, 1979, in Lynchburg, Virginia, Toyo Harada visited Faith Herbert when she was a toddler.
15 years later, the B–Squad’s van got a flat tire somewhere in Ohio, and while Sam held the van up for Butch to check the torn tire, Mira yelled at Butch for blowing it out. Since they had used their spare tire, Victoria suggested that Faith fly back to the last town they drove through, Murry County, to find a tow truck. Just then, a truck drove by them and the kids told Faith to wave it down, but, lost in thought, she did not hear them. Soon, Faith and Victoria left to go find a tow truck. Back at the Harbinger Foundation in Bolivar, inside an observation deck overlooking an operating room where Stronghold was undergoing a mysterious procedure, Harada assured Katsumi that he had the B–Squad’s van under surveillance, and that he hoped that their trip would build character in Faith and her friends.
An hour later, at Murry County Middle School, Dr. Eclipse held a classroom full of children hostage after he killed their teacher, Ms. Hockryder, whose corpse he sat behind her desk at the front of the class. A native of the town, Eclipse regaled the children with stories of his childhood and transformation. Meanwhile, in a gas station, Faith told Victoria that she was thinking of going back to Virginia, but since she was scared of what she might find there she thought it be best to stay with her and the others. Telling Faith not to be a chicken, Victoria suggested that Gilad was right, and that it was time that she went out and straightened out her past.
Just then, Dr. Eclipse came out of the school yelling that he was renaming the town Benderville. As the cops opened fire on him, Faith and Victoria ran to the school to see what was happening. Using his necromantic energy to kill two police officers, Eclipse held a third one in his grasp to suck the life out of her, but then, Faith kicked him across the head. Looming over the girls, Eclipse said that they were full of the necromantic energy he needed, when then, Victoria hit him with an electric jolt that dispersed him across the street.
While Faith and Victoria helped the police officer, Eclipse’s ooze coalesced back into a humanoid form underneath a school bus. Holding the bus over his head, Eclipse threatened to drop it on the girls, when then Sam and the others arrived. Grabbing the bus, Sam pushed it off Eclipse’s grasp. Licking his lips, Eclipse was eager to suck the energy from the young Harbingers. Yelling at Eclipse to get lost, Butch’s sonics were futile against his energy form. Punching Butch on the jaw, Eclipse lunged toward him and grabbed his head to rip it off his neck, when then Mira threw a brick at his head to make him chase her.
Leading Eclipse toward the gas station, Sam leapt at him from behind to help Mira, but he fell right through his liquid body and Eclipse grabbed them both. Facing Victoria, Eclipse hit her with a blast of necromantic energy. As Eclipse turned back, Sam hit him on the face and ripped his head from his body. While Sam and Mira ran away, Faith dozed Eclipse with gasoline and then lit him up with Butch’s lighter. Flying away before the station blew up, the explosion pushed Faith off balance and she fell on the ground next to the others. Back in Bolivar, foundation scientists briefed Harada on their discovery of dozens of Spider Alien vessels taking off into space from different locations on Earth. Surmising that they were gathering to plan an attack, Harada decided to destroy them before they launched a first strike.
Sometime that evening, in a market’s parking lot, Faith found a camera/tracking device on the van while taking her bag out. Walking up to her, Simon asked Faith where she was going, so she told him that she was returning to Virginia to find out what happened to her missing parents. Telling the others that she had another life before she met them, Faith said that she had to try to find a way to clear the clouds that covered her memories of it. Though Sam offered to go with her, Faith told them that even though she was scared, she knew that she would never be able to live with herself unless she put the pieces of her life together alone. As tears ran down her cheeks, Victoria promised Faith that they would cover for her, and told her that seeing the way she handled Eclipse she knew that she was ready for anything. Watching Faith fly away, Victoria asked Sam if they would ever see her again, but Sam answered that he did not know.
As the van made its way to New York, Dr. Eclipse stroke again, filling the car with his liquefied necromantic self to drown the B–Squad. Floating in the ooze, Sam could not get any leverage to break the roof, while the harder he pushed the deeper he sank. As the kids drowned, Dr. Eclipse’s laughter filled the night.
Chaos Effect Delta
The Gathering – Part I: A Call To Arms
At the office of Toyo Harada in Bolivar, Aric Dacia asked Harada if he had any information about the Spider Aliens, whom he was certain were up to something after they sent a thief to steal a ship in Orb Industries. Confirming Aric’s suspicion, Harada said that he had recorded dozens of Spider Alien vessels leaving Earth. Presuming that they were gathering in space planning an attack, Harada told Aric that Omen Enterprises and the government faction that ran the Armorines were launching two shuttles out into space to investigate. Interfacing with Harada’s computer, Aric downloaded the location of the Omen spacecraft into the Good Skin and took his leave. Before Aric left, Harada reminded him that this was another favor he had done for him with no questions asked, and that he expected him to do the same for him someday.
Inside a van somewhere in Ohio, the kids from B–Squad drowned in Dr. Eclipse’s liquid body one by one, when then, Butch let out a sonic scream that blew the top of the van off. Chocking on Eclipse’ fluid, yet still alive, the kids crawled into the road, where Victoria saw Eclipse looming over them with a mocking smile on his face. Taunting them, Eclipse challenged the kids to take on him, so Sam Silently stood up to face him. Grabbing Sam in his oversized hand, Eclipse pulled him toward his mouth, when suddenly, the chaos effect enveloped the world and filled him with an influx of necromantic energy. Mad with power and delusions of Godhood, Eclipse took to the skies and left the B–Squad behind to wonder what was happening.
Amid glowing chemical lights, Harada told Walter, Katsumi, and others that he had spent two hours reaching out across the globe and felt the fear, confusion, and death left in the wake of the chaos. Explaining that the laws of nature no longer applied, Harada said that a dark energy was sweeping the world, blocking the sun’s rays and disrupting the electromagnetic spectrum, causing electricity to become erratic. Proclaiming that they were witnessing the fall of man and that they were spinning chaotically in a world that no longer welcomed them where science no longer ruled, Harada said that magic and faith were their masters. Fearing the worst, Harada told Walter that he believed that the Spider Aliens were behind the worldwide crisis, and that the Armorines, Omen Enterprises, and X–O Manowar might be battling them in deep space with the fate of everything hanging in the balance. Pointing out that communications were out, Walter said that there was no way they could find out what was happening, but Harada suggested that there was a way he could find them.
Somewhere in West Virginia, Faith landed in the woods to find shelter from the weather before she got lost in it. Just then, a dog called Chief jumped her from behind and threw her on the ground. Following Chief, Jack, a young kid, apologized to Faith and pulled the dog off her. Introducing himself, Jack told Faith that he and his uncle had a campsite nearby and invited her to join them. Five hours later, somewhere in Ohio, the kids from B–Squad gathered around a campfire beside their van and wondered when the skies would clear up again.
In Bolivar, while on their way to a specially prepared room, Harada told Walter that he planned to reach out mentally to the Omen shuttles in space to take possession of somebody’s body, preferably Aric’s, so he could not only see the end of the Spider Alien threat, but play a part in it as well. Disrobing to go inside a sensory deprivation chamber, Harada told Walter to transcribe everything he said, and that even if the chaos effect ended, he was not to be disturbed. Entering the chamber, Harada spent the next few hours focusing his mental abilities in an effort to reach out to any of the warriors fighting against the Spider Alien forces.
High above the Earth, the Armorines and HARD Corps engaged the Spider Alien fleet in a no holds barred battle. Astonished, Antonio Cordova could not believe that they were taking on an alien fleet in space, while Michael Sirot was satisfied that the proof was right in his face. Seeing a squadron of alien warriors coming their way, Flatline suddenly grabbed his head and keeled over in pain as Harada took over his body. Staring out into the void of space, Harada looked at the others with contempt.
The Gathering – Part II: Search And Destroy
On the morning of June 20th, 1994, in a remote launch site owned by Omen Enterprises located somewhere in New Mexico, the space shuttles Voyager and Intrepid launched into orbit carrying the Armorines and HARD Corps within them. Inside the Voyager’s cargo hold, while Major Lane complained over the cramped space, Clark Hossen felt elated that they were going out into space, but urging him to loose the starry–eyed attitude, she told him that they were going to war, not an episode of Star Trek. Behind them, Gunny Lewis agreed with Myra Lane that they could not take the luxury of taking in the scenery, not when an alien invasion threatened the entire Earth. Soon, the shuttles reached escape velocity and were well on their way to rendezvous in high Earth orbit.
Down in ground control, Phillip Zahn told Heydrich that he was surprised that he did not sent Softcore up with his agents since she activated their Harbinger powers. Explaining that they had found that they ran less risk of discovery by keeping Softcore at the home base on all of HARD Corps’ missions, Heydrich said that it gave them tighter control over the Corps’ members. Offering his due respects, General Kendall told Heydrich that he found the ability to brain–fry their own personnel on a whim to be somewhat disturbing. Telling Kendall not to be sanctimonious, Heydrich accused him of building his distinguished marine corps’s reputation on false propaganda and deceit. Looking to dissuade the argument, Zahn called Kendall and Heydrich’s attention to a monitor. Behind them, Softcore established contact with the HARD Corps aboard the Intrepid and told them that she would be switching them to shield mode until further notice.
Onboard the Intrepid, Flatline told Hotshot that he was not too keen on working with the Armorines, who tried to kill them. Agreeing with him, Hotshot said that if they turned on them while they were up there they would be dead meat. Calling them paranoid, Gunslinger told them that what happened before was a mistake, and that Gunny Lewis was a good man, when suddenly the shuttle wobbled and threw them off balance. Running to the cockpit to find out what happened, Gunslinger learned that there was some kind of major disruption in the Earth’s electromagnetic geosphere and that the pilot had lost contact with Voyager.
Reestablishing contact with Intrepid, the two crews learned that there was some kind of global disturbance that caused a communications blackout that left them completely cutoff from Earth. Contacting Gunslinger, Gunny turned his attention to a massive alien fleet in the distance that had spotted their approach. Back in ground control, Kendall found Zahn staring at the sky, amazed by the electric field that encompassed the Earth, and ordered him to return inside to help Heydrich’s staff. Telling the General that there was nothing they could do, Zahn said that the aliens may have caused the electrical freeze using some type of weapon to keep them defenseless for when their invasion force stroke. Looking at the sky, Kendall proclaimed that that could mean the end of everything as they knew it and Zahn concurred. Meanwhile, onboard a Spider Alien vessel, Marc Anthony told Aristedes that their mothership was not scheduled to arrive for a few hours and asked him what they were going to do about the two shuttles, which surely contained a human attack force. Reluctant to risk loosing anymore ships, Aristedes ordered Marc Anthony to sent out three squadrons of their finest warriors in X-O Wolf Armor to engage the humans in hand–to–hand– combat.
Equipped in EVA suits, the HARD Corps exited the Intrepid’s cargo bay through the open canopy while the Armorines approached them in their armors from the Voyager. Hearing Flatline complain about being stuck on shield mode and loosing their offensive strategy, Gunny realized that cut off from Softcore they could not switch to any of their other powers, which put them at an immediate disadvantage. Showing off a high–tech gun, Hammerhead told Sam to be glad that he insisted that they bring those along. Nevertheless, Gunny suggested that they work together and watch each other’s backs. Agreeing, Gunslinger said that their first priority was to find a way to disable the aliens’ ships. Watching the alien’s first wave of defense troops bearing on them, Gunny ordered everyone to lock and load for a fight.
His heart pounding like a hammer, either due to an adrenaline rush or the cold fear at the sight of the aliens, Gunny wondered if they were going to have a chance against them and their technology. Contacting Myra, Gunny told her to scan the outer hull of the closest ship to find a weak spot they could penetrate with their weapons. Taking Gunslinger with him, Gunny blew a hole on the side of a Spider Alien vessel with his ion cannons and the two of them went inside to find its main power source and destroy it. Meanwhile, outside, Toyo Harada’s consciousness took over Flatline’s body. Taking the others by surprise, Harada used the Omega Power to switch powers and dispatch two alien warriors, then he flew away, leaving Shakespeare in doubt.
Inside the alien vessel, Gunny and Gunslinger reached the engine room. While Gunslinger kept the aliens at bay with his force field, Gunny fired his PBC cannon at the engine and destroyed it. Blowing a hole through the hull, Gunny and Gunslinger escaped the vessel before it rammed another ship. Taking cover behind a shield, the two withstood a massive explosion that resulted from the collision of both vessels. Floating aimlessly, at the mercy of two alien warriors, Gunslinger was too weak to put up another shield, while the energy levels in Gunny’s armor had dropped severely and were a few minutes away from going back on–line. Just then, X–O Manowar destroyed the aliens and rescued them. Cursing the hard skins, Aric promised that they would die like all the rest of their kind. Assuring one another that they were on the same side of the battle, Gunny, Gunslinger, and Aric went their separate ways to fight the aliens from multiple fronts.
Elsewhere, Harada in Flatline’s body watched as the Armorines and HARD Corps engaged the aliens in futile battle atop an alien vessel. Showing outer disregard for the other’s safety, Harada ripped the alien vessel to shreds. Taking cover behind a shield, Hammerhead told the others that he was beginning to believe that Flatline was not himself.
The Gathering – Part III: Old Acquaintances
Leaving Harada’s office, X–O Manowar took off for space, delighted at the prospect of the coming slaughter. Satisfied that Harada’s information confirmed his suspicions about the aliens, Aric vowed that they would not escape his wrath. Urging the Good Skin to hurry and take him to his enemies so that he could fulfill his blood oath, Aric broke orbit right as the necromantic energy pouring out of Ivar’s time arc enveloped the Earth and momentarily lost touch with the Manowar Class Armor. Staring at the Earth, Aric surmised that the aliens were responsible for the energy web around the planet and vowed to make them pay dearly, when suddenly he heard Paul’s voice screaming in his ears. Skeptical at first, Aric listened as Paul said that the X–O armor had not fully absorbed part of his consciousness during the joining due to his being a human host and not an alien. Deducing that the disturbance had awoken Paul, Aric promised to deal with the situation after they killed the aliens. Meanwhile, at the Orb Industries medical center, Ken Clarkson and Tilly Milton discovered that Krollos had escaped.
Above Earth’s atmosphere, Harada took over Flatline’s mind and flew away, while Sirot broke ranks and left. Aboard an alien vessel, Gunny and Gunslinger destroyed the ship’s power source, causing the vessel to ram another ship and explode. Delighted by the sight of so many hard skins, Aric inferred that the gathering must have been why Aristedes desperately wanted Shanhara out of the way. Holding Aristedes responsible for the death of Shanhara and Paul’s current predicament, Aric promised Paul that he would find him and make his juices flow. Floating aimlessly at the mercy of two alien warriors, Gunslinger was too weak to put up another shield, while the energy levels in Gunny’s armor had dropped severely and were a few minutes away from going back on–line, when then X–O Manowar destroyed the aliens and rescued them. Cursing the hard skins, Aric promised that they would die like the rest of their kind. Assuring one another that they were on the same side, Gunny, Gunslinger, and Aric went their separate ways to fight the aliens from multiple fronts.
Meanwhile, in a small town near Vancouver, Randy Cartier informed the rest of Department W that David’s autopsy revealed that whoever murdered him was an experienced assassin. Explaining that the coroner found a gelatin fragment and broken skin along the bruise on David’s neck, Randy said that David was poisoned. Calling it a unique method of assassination, Ian said that the only individual in their files that fit that mo was an assassin who called himself Snakebite, named after the legendary silent killers of World War II. Intent on tracking down Snakebite, Randy urged the others to help her. Just then, a sniper’s bullet killed Stephan.
Breaking into an alien vessel, Aric found Aristedes on the bridge and tore him asunder, then he blasted Marc Anthony into space. Elsewhere, Gunslinger and Gunny went to find Flatline, who unlike the other Corps was not stuck in shield mode. Contacting Myra, Gunny learned that Sirot was onboard one of the alien vessels and had shut off visual and audio contact with Hossen.
After ripping the heads off two aliens, Sirot linked his armor to the vessel’s computers, unaware that an alien had trained his weapon on him. Startling Sirot, X–O Manowar killed the alien. Grabbing the interface, Aric asked Sirot what he was doing, so he told him that the NSA wanted him to retrieve as much information about the aliens and their technology as he could while he was up there. Silently, Aric ripped the interface from the aliens’ computer and shattered it in his hand, infuriating Sirot, who accused him of being a stupid, arrogant brute. Just then, the alien ship shook up and threw the two men off balance. Lighting the darkened room with his omni beam, Aric told Sirot that the others might be trying to disable the ship from outside.
Finding Flatline attacking the Spider Alien vessel with arc charge, Gunslinger ordered him to stop what he was doing and told him that one of the Armorines was on board the ship. Calling him naïve for not realizing that Sam Kim was no longer in control of his body, Harada said that the aliens posed a threat to everything he had tried to built and that he did not care who got killed as long as those damned creatures were eliminated. Vowing that he would not be denied Harada delivered a fatal charge that destroyed the alien vessel.
The Gathering – Part IV: Unholy Alliance
Finding Flatline attacking the alien vessel, Gunslinger ordered him to stop what he was doing, and told him that one of the Armorines was on board. Calling him a fool, Flatline said that the Spider Alien posed a threat to everything he had tried to built and that he did not care who was in the way of his slaughter of all of those creatures. Vowing that he would not be denied, Harada delivered a fatal charge that destroyed the alien vessel.
Gathering the Armorines and the Corps, Gunslinger told them that Harada had possessed Sam, and that in his eyes they were expendable. Certain that Sirot was dead, Gunny accused Harada of murder, when then Myra informed him that Sirot was alive and headed their way. In awe, the Armorines and Corps watched as the X–O Manowar armor in its ball configuration flew toward them from the explosion and opened up to reveal Sirot and Aric inside it. After thanking Aric for saving Sirot, Gunny confronted Michael for shutting off visual and audio without permission, but all Sirot would say was that he had his orders. Interrupting Gunny’s reaming of Sirot, Major Lane informed him that one of the alien ships had broken formation and headed for the Voyager. While the others dealt with the fleet, Gunny and Aric flew toward the shuttle to take care of the aliens.
Soon, Aric and Gunny found the vessel attacking the Voyager, which was taking evasive maneuvers. Aware that the shuttle could not avoid the alien lasers for long, Gunny worried that if they did not save the shuttle, they would all be stranded in space. Attacking the ship from different flanks , Aric and Gunny destroyed it. Reaching the shuttle, Gunny raised Myra on their comm–link and told her that the shuttle was hit hard but the hull was not breached. Meanwhile, Sirot suggested that they kill Flatline, but Gunslinger told him that killing Sam to get rid of Harada was not an option as far as he was concerned. Pointing to the last three alien vessels, Shakespeare informed Gunslinger that they were reconfiguring and that Harada had gone on the offensive.
Contacting Harada, Gunslinger urged him to halt his assault, and told him that taking on the Spider Aliens alone was suicide, but Harada ignored his warnings and engaged a squadron of aliens in Wolf armor. Urging Harada to realize that he was jeopardizing the mission, Gunslinger told him that he if he really wanted to beat the aliens he would work with them. Though he was hesitant to work with his would–be assassins, Harada agreed to let the Corps and Armorines protect him while he single–handedly knocked out every alien ship. Protected by the Corps’ shields while the Armorines took out the aliens, Harada destroyed the alien vessels.
Weakened, Harada turned on his brief allies to avenge their assassination attempt on his life before he lost his hold on Sam’s body. Shooting Shakespeare out of his way and disabling an Armorine, Harada, certain that he would not harm him as long as he was in Flatline’s body, grabbed Gunslinger’s neck through his force field and threatened to blow up his helmet, when, suddenly, an Armorine tackled him and pushed him off Charles. Exhausted, and unable to hold much longer, Harada barely had enough strength to raise a force field to deflect a burst from Sirot’s PBC cannon. Regaining control of his body, Flatline came to unaware of what happened.
Sometime later, Gunny and X–O Manowar took out the remaining alien ships while the Armorines and the Corps took out the last of the armored aliens, bringing an end of the Spider Alien threat. Soon, while Gunny informed the team that it would take a few hours to make repairs on their shuttle, Gunslinger bemoaned the fact that as long as the energy field was around the Earth they could not get back, when then the disturbance disappeared as soon as it appeared. Contacting the Intrepid, Gunslinger urged them to reestablish contact with ground control. Shacking Gunslinger’s hand, Gunny told him that as soon as they made contact with ground control they should get out of there, while X–O would stay behind to help the Armorines get back safely. Parting ways, Gunny and Gunslinger agreed that they were getting too old for their line of work.
No Tomorrow
No Tomorrow – Part I
Back in September of 1993 in New York City, during the battle between Pete Stanchek and Toyo Harada, Faith and Kris hid in an alley to take shelter from the wreckage caused by the fight. Confused, Faith did not understand what was happening or how they had ended up in NYC, while Kris, who began to remember everything, said that what was happening was not real.
Hours later, as Kris and Faith walked through the rubble, Kris heard the sound of sirens in the distance and assumed that the worst was over. Sensing that Pete was gone, and feeling that somehow they were to blame, Kris told Faith that she was going home and suggested that she do the same.
A few days later, Faith arrived in Lynchburg Virginia and was surprised to discover that her parents’ home lay abandoned. While searching the house, Faith found a torn picture of her parents on the floor, when just then a woman who claimed to be from the Harbinger Foundation told her that she had to go with her. As Faith asked the woman what she had done to her parents, the woman said that she could not tell her anything more and then shot her with a tranquilizer dart.
In a diner in West Virginia two days after the Chaos Effect, Faith told Jack and his uncle that she hoped that her friends made it to New York okay. Telling her that she worried too much, Jack assured Faith that her troubles were over, but just then, Mak and Gridlock, two Harbinger truant officers, came inside the diner searching for the B–Squad. After Gridlock tossed a man who flirted with Mak through the front window, Mak showed the patrons a picture array of the kids and asked if anyone had seen them. Recognizing her picture on the array, Faith wondered how they found her, when then she realized that the camera she found on the van was a tracking device. Seeing Faith, Mak and Gridlock lunged after her, but Jack and his uncle stood in their way. After tossing Jack’s uncle against the counter, Gridlock grabbed Jack by the neck and pushed him against the wall. Before Gridlock could punch Jack out, Faith broke a bottle and hit him on the face with it. Taking flight, Faith escaped to prevent others from getting hurt, but soon as she came out of the diner Big Girl, an Eggbreaker, grabbed her by the ankles and slammed her against the street. Holding Faith under her arms, Big Girl put her inside a van that took off after Mak and Gridlock went inside it.
Meanwhile, as the B–Squad arrived at the Harbinger Foundation’s headquarters in New York City, Katsumi demanded to know where they had been. After Mira explained that they ran into Doctor Eclipse, who almost had them until the skies turned weird, Katsumi was satisfied that the kids where safe, when then she noticed that Faith was not with them. Though Katsumi demanded to know where Faith was, the kids kept quiet. Nevertheless, Katsumi went inside certain that the Eggbreaker team she would run into Faith.
At a Harbinger aerospace facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Toyo Harada oversaw the preparations for the imminent launch of a colony shuttle filled with young Harbingers, teachers, and trainers in suspended animation to endure space travel meant to make contact and form alliances with alien life–forms. Satisfied that the shuttle was in readiness for its launch 24 hours hence, Harada had received word that a late addition to their sleeper colony, Faith Herbert, had arrived. Elsewhere in the complex, Faith awoke in a darken room where she found her mother, who, garbed in a laboratory coat, told her that she was a teacher for the space colony and that she had been working for the foundation since before she was even born. Revealing that she was a breeder, Marta told Faith that the Harbinger foundation matched her with Hank to produce and raise her, then, tearfully, she said that she grew to care for Hank, who was gone now.
Overwhelmed, Faith refused to accept that what was happening was real, and accused her mother of pretending to care for her and only doing her duty for the foundation. Just then, Chief, Jack’s dog, ran into the room followed by Jack and his uncle, who came to get her out of there. While Jack’s uncle held the door close to keep the guards out of the room, Jack opened the window so that Faith would fly them away. Letting the guards in