🚀 go-pugleaf

     As the battle raged in the Bob City Correctional Facility, people all
around the world tuned in to listen.  They crowded the home stereos, car
radios, bars, civic centers, electronics store display windows, and bandstands
hastily wired in.  Nearly every television and talk radio station was hooked
into the live feed from Radio Free Hero, while a cable-TV movie channel aired
a special broadcast of "1984" for the first time in years.
     In Londonderry, New Hampshire, the streets were deserted.  Not a single
car passed through the intersection of routes 102 and 128, and many of the
stores closed early due to lack of business.  A pin dropped on the sidewalk
could be heard over a hundred feet down the road.  This was expected at two in
the morning, but not at two in the afternoon.
     Despite this lack of activity, there was still a palpable tension in
the air.  The citizens of Londonderry knew that a battle was being waged to de-
cide the course the world would take.  On Mammoth Road (route 128), a lone
chipmunk scurried across the road, seemingly able to sense the tension.
     A human-shaped blur zipped down the street, turning effortlessly onto
a side street.  It quickly slipped through the door of a house several side-
streets removed from Mammoth Road and slowed down instantly.
     Sean walked down the eight stairs from the door to the basement, where
Jon and Rob were watching a TV station carrying a live simulcast.
     "Man, there's noone on the streets," Sean said as he plopped down on
the couch next to Rob.
     "Really?  You should have invited him over," Rob replied.
     Sean tactfully ignored the quip.  "Where'd the girls go?"
     "They went to the mall," Jon said.  "Bargain-shopping."
     "They'll be in luck, I'm sure."
     "I would think so.  Most of the stores there are trying to entice people
away from their radios and TVs with sales today.  Rather sleazy, but it works."
Jon got up and got out his sunglasses.  Sean noticed that he was dressed in the
black bodysuit he wore as Jon Perceptor.
     "Going somewhere?" he asked.
     "I'm going to go on patrol," Jon replied.  "I need to get my mind off the
Revolution for a while."
     "Ah, so we're not getting involved in it, I take it," Rob said.
     "Not on the Revolutionaries' side, and only if we're called upon.  Sound
good?"
     "Yup.  We're too young and innocent to go to war just now," Rob said.
     "My thoughts exactly," Jon said.  "Later, guys," he added as he left.
     "Earlier," Rob responded.
     As they heard Jon's motorcycle pull away from the house and head down the
street, Sean turned to Rob and asked "What do you think?"
     "I think we should find something else to watch," Rob said.  "Hand me the
remote."

                                  ***********

                       A SYMPHONY FOR TAROT AND BUZZSAW
                                Fifth Movement
                                    "Alone"

                                   WRITTEN BY
                            (in alphabetical order)
                   Eric Alfred Burns, Bill Dickson, Mike Escutia,
                       Rob Furr, Chris Meadows, Gary W. Olson
          Daniel Pawtowski, Bill Paul, Jesse Taylor, and Dominic White

                            EDITED INTO COHERENCY BY
                                 Gary W. Olson

                                  ***********

     Around the world, parents sent their children out of the room.  Around the
world, arguments began.  Some cheered Bulletproof's shot.  Others recoiled in
horror.  Some took a vicarious pleasure in loving or hating it, like they would
with any other television program.
     But there was no cry, no moment of unification.
     The fires of Revolution ebbed.  Around the world, people watched what they
assumed were two fanatical groups fighting a bloody war.  No one considered
joining it.
     It was dawn in Bob City... but the new age had died stillborn.
     The question was, would the midwives survive?

Psalms: Chapter 23.

                                   ***********

     Bulletproof felt time passing.
     Time.
     That was the problem.  That had always been the problem.
     It was not the right time.  It had never been the right time.  And now, it
might never be the right time.  It had been rushed...too rushed, too much in
too little time.  It was all falling apart.
     The red letters of the User-Hostile Interface on the cracked sapphire of
his visor glared at him, casting his hollow face in blazing copper.  7.62
millimeter, the letters read; empty.  Twenty millimeter; empty.  Grenades; gone.
Fuel tank...
     Well, now.

23:1  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

                                   ***********

     "I think that will be enough, Spandex Babe," Andy Awesome said calmly.
     The shapely heroine tossed the heavy-set and unconcious mage over her
shoulder.
     "I was wondering if I would have to fight you," she said as she crouched
a bit and started circling the awesome figure.
     "We don't have to fight.  We could team up.  We could try and stop this
madness!"
     Spandex Babe lauged.  "This is stopping the madness, Andy!"  She lunged
and cocked back a deadly fist.  "The madness has been going on for far too
long!"
     Andy waited for her fist to reach him and then stepped smoothly to the
side at the last possible moment.  His powerful hands brushed the side of her
outstretched arm and directed her past him.
     "Listen to yourself, Spandex Babe," implored Andy as he dodged another
lethal punch by dropping in front of it and using her momentum and body weight
to propel her over his head. "You are not thinking clearly."
     "I'm thinking as clearly as I have to, Mr. Awesome Boy Scout!" Spandex
Babe landed in complete control and sprang forward with immediate speed. Andy
knew he couldn't evade this attack.  He leapt ever so slightly off the ground
and twisted his body in the direction the punch would take him.  The same fist
that put Andy Awe-Inspiring through a wall caught Andy Awesome in the
shoulder.
     Andy spun rapidly in mid air and landed in a perfectly controlled roll.
His arm still worked, but he could feel the bruise forming. He hit the ground
and started to plan for another evasion technique when he noticed Spandex Babe
beginning to glow. He sprang to one knee as his hand quickly grasped a blue
pen from his awesome pocket protector. He pressed the cap as Spandex Babe's
outstretched arms directed an energy blast at him.
     The powerful heroine may have been emotionally distraught, but she was
still in control enough to hold her vast power in check.  Her blast was
intended to knock Andy out, not kill him.  This self-restraint made it
relatively easy for Andy Awesome's energy redirection pen. An electric blue
funnel grew from its tip and sucked Spandex Babe's energy into it.  It was
released out the back in a fine stream of concentrated power which Andy
directed harmlessly at the ground.
     Spandex Babe stared at him for a moment, even in her anger she was
impressed.  "Don't waste your cool and minty breath on me," she said to him.
"Even Bulletproof would listen better than I would."  She backed away slowly.
When she was sure Andy was not going to pursue her, she turned her back and ran
into the thick of the battle.
     "Bulletproof," Andy muttered to himself. "Why not?"  The Aweswome hero
set off in search of the gargantuan mechanism.

                                   ***********

     "SAM!  BERT!"  The bellow startled the Maverick Cops badly, and Bert
dropped his fifth of scotch off the roof.  He moved to dive after it, but Sam
stopped him.  They turned away from the distant scene of mass destruction to
find the Chief, purple in the face, staring at them with his fists clenched.
     "Say, Chief," said Bert, pointing, "that vein in your head is-"
     "WHERE THE HELL(tm) HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?"
     "Right here," Sam said, looking puzzled.  "We still are, as a matter of
fact."
     "So you can stop shouting," added Bert helpfully.  "Seeing as how we're
right here, and all."
     "Gentlemen," said the Chief quietly, a strained smile threatening to split
the skin of his cheeks, "it looks to me as if you've been sitting up here,
watching a war break out south of our fair but recently all-too-abused city."
His smile disappeared, to be replaced by a fine spray of spittle.  "WITHOUT
BOTHERING TO GIVE ME A CALL!"
     "It's out of our jurisdiction," Sam pointed out.
     The Chief stared at them for a moment, then looked out toward the
abandoned Bob City Correctional Facility just in time to see a largish fireball
erupt from the ground, flinging broken bodies hither and yon.
     "Oooooooooo!" said Sam.
     "Ahhhhhhhhh!" said Bert.
     "GET THE &*^%*(& OFF THIS ^%(*( ROOF AND DOWN TO YOUR %T^&*&%^$% SQUAD CAR
%R&)&*& PRONTO!  $%#(_&*_ (%%##^&_ (*(U )*^&%#$%, ^$%^&*!" said the Chief.

                                   ***********

     Damien Wilson spun around dizzily on the motor cycle-like control chair
of the Awesome Force One's upper repeater turret. He was glad his target was
so big and that it had so many guns. His aim was still spot on, and grouping
was still superb despite his bluring vision and nausea.  He wondered how much
more blood he was going to lose before he passed out.
     He watched the menacing looking ship dip sharply as another straffing
round perforated it's upper deck.  Then it shot up with tremendous speed. A
barage of cannon from its starboard guns let loose.  Damien was flown from his
seat as Chris rolled the ship over.  The weaponry sailed clear over the AF One
but Damien went plummeting through the hatch way and slammed hard against the
floor. His foot took the brunt of the fall and he heard a splintering crack as
his tibia shattered beneath his skin. He toppled atop his broken arm, forcing
both ends of the ulna and radius to go compound.
     "They're going to try it again!" Damien heard Chris yell through the
pounding in his ears and his own whimpering.
     He grasped the highest rung of the ladder his good arm could reach and
strained to get his sprawled body back up to his gun. He pulled himself up and
used his shoulders to fling his busted armover the rung and hook himself there
as he grasped a higher rung with his good hand.
     "I can't dodge them for much longer!" Chris yelled.  "They're getting
right on top of us!"
     The Dalek ship, which they would have easily laughed at on first sight
had it not fired first and appeared second, was now right next to the Awesome
Force one.  They were beam to beam, and the cruiser was taking it's sweet
time, as thought they knew they had them.
     "Author!" shouted Chris.  "We're gonna die!"

                                   ***********

     Radian skittered backwards away from the blast of a grenade. Things were
going...relatively well, she guessed.  This was good.  Very good.  The
Revolution looked to be fading away as she watched.  Only...
     It's hard to keep a secret, in general. Information is, possibly, the
hardest thing in the world to keep confined.  It's even harder to prevent it
from getting to someone if its being broadcast world-wide, and even harder
than that if the person who would be hardest-hit by it can feel the broadcast
itself, without needing to bother with any electronic intermediaries.
     "Eric," she said to herself, while giving a young, wide-eyed man with a
rifle the worst, and last, sunburn of his life.  Bulletproof had shot him.  Shot
someone who'd surrendered.  Who wasn't a threat _anyway_.
     Bulletproof was going to pay for that.  Come hell or high water, Radian
wanted Bulletproof to _pay_.

23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters.

                                   ***********

     "Most impressive"  commented Benedict as he watched a fresh round of fire
from Awesome Force one chew off one of his sensor arrays.  Even now, deprived
of it's primary and most effective weapon, the airship continued to fight with
a pair of laser turrets mounted above and below.  Intensely powerful for their
size, they nevertheless stood no chance against the might of the battlecruiser
now.  Perhaps they were misled by the flames and smoke pouring from the many
holes torn in the side of the 2402 by the awesomtonium projectiles.  Although
the damage was serious, it was not crippling.  Even the uncontrolled flames
gutting sections of the starboard battery would take hours to spread back to
reactor sections or other more critical areas, hours the Counter-
Revolutionaries did not have.
     The ship's computer agreed with his own internal simulations.  The Awesome
Force One would be defeated within twenty-two minutes.  The airship's fiery
demise would deal a crushing blow to the morale of the mages below, which
would only get worse when the titanic bulk of the heavy starship turned it's
attention their way.  While the mages below were fairing reasonably well
against the conventionally-armed human soldiers he had trained, they stood no
chance against weaponry capable of leveling whole cities in a single volley.
     The ground-pounding would last less than ten minutes.  Then, a few more
minutes spent climbing back into the airlessness of space would extinguish
the flames.   Although fully repairs would require several months back at his
Dalek moonbase, it would only take a few days to patch up the starboard side
to begin the final extermination of the mage survivors.
     There were still unknown variables in the equation, variables which could
still significantly affect the outcome of this battle.  However, these were
variables which his enemies could not possibly know.  The Dalek units that he
had dropped earlier were still shredding the ranks of the mages.  Although not
strong enough to individually withstand attacks from the higher-powered
metahumans, they had proven dangerous enough that no sane hero would wish to
encounter large numbers of them in an enclosed space.  Such as the cramped
interior of a Dalek warship.  No metahuman would be foolish enough to fly up
and enter the 2402's hull, to be slaughtered by the legions of RoboDalek
warriors who would be waiting inside.
     Legions who were not there at all.  Benedict had dropped nearly all non-
essential combat-capable Dalek droids into the battle already, leaving his
ship severely underdefended against a boarding party.  He had assumed none
would be possible, for only the most powerful of Earth's superheros could
withstand the 2402's point-defense lasers long enough to punch a hole through
her heavily armored hull.
     That was, of course, before the thrice-accursed awesometonium driver
of Awesome Force One had drilled enough holes in her sides to let the entire
Legion of Net.Heros in.  Fortunately, the Revolution's own metahumans were
keeping the others at bay, but the havoc that could be wreaked if somone like
Mighty Guy got inside...
     "Enemy weapon destroyed!"  one of the RoboDaleks manning a gunnery panel
called to its master.  Benedict quickly shifted his ongoing simulation of a
possible high-level metahuman attack into one of his minor processors and
looked down at his monitor screen.  A series of micromissile salvos had
finally breached the Awesomeantium armor of the airship's lower gun turret.
The top turret was still intact, still protected by some sort of strange
energy field that seemed to confuse the incoming fire in some absurd way.  But
all indications were that the field would not last long.  Soon, Awesome Force
One would be helpless.

                                   ***********

     "Akane, dammit, don't close off your mind to me," Shadebeam hissed, as
she flew low over the battlefield.  Overhead, the cheap-looking battlecruiser
was moving in for the kill on the Awesome Force One.  Even though it looked
like the ground tide was slowly turning in favor of the revolution, the
battle in the air was being lost.
     And Radian was looking for revenge.
     She saw Phobos on the ground, pounding a group of Dalek drones into
metallic scrap.  He was screaming...screaming so loudly she couldn't make
out what he was saying.
     Unorthodox Lass was approaching from an oblique angle.  He'd never see
her in time...
     Something must have alerted her as Shadebeam swooped in.  Unorthodox
Girl ducked out of the way of her attack and flung a handful of pre-opened
taco bell hot sauce packets at her.  The sauce stung her eyes, and she crashed
to the ground.
     Shadebeam wiped the stinging sauce from her eyes, and looked up.
Unorthodox Lass was looking at her, with a mix of determination and tiredness
and...it was impossible to tell what else.
     "You don't want to do this," Shadebeam said.
     "No, I don't," Unorthodox Girl answered.  "But I have to."  She lifted
a metal part that had formerly belonged to a Dalek, and hefted it over her head,
intent on knocking Shadebeam out.  She brought it down...
     ...and found only empty air hitting Shadebeam.  Moments later, a photon
beam slammed into her side, knocking her off her feet and out of consciousness.
     "Thanks," Shadebeam said, a bit puzzledly, as Phobos helped her up.  There
was pain in his eyes, but the incident had snapped him out of what seemed to
be a self-induced seizure of raw violence.  "What happened?"
     "She did," Phobos said, pointing a ways away, to where a woman was
running away, carrying the metal part that had only a few moments before been
in the hands of Unorthodox Girl.  "I think her name's Thieftaker, if I remember
my Weekly World Schmooze right."
     "Great," Shadebeam said.  "What happened to you?"
     "The bastards...killed..."
     Shadebeam grimaced.
     Overhead, explosions ripped through the sky.

                                   ***********

     The Superuser's heart froze when he heard Liz's scream.  She'd shut down
all of the armor's systems and gravity was slowly pulling her to her knees.
After whispering reassuringly to the mage that everything would be alright, he
rushed to her side and took off her helmet.
     "God, Bill...! What's happening to me?!" she sobbed.  "I don't know what
I'm supposed to do!!  I wanted to protect people and now I'm trying to kill
them! Please tell me: what am I supposed to do?!"
     "Exactly what you're doing now.  What you should have done a long time
ago.  Let it out.  Don't keep it bottled up inside anymore.  Just let it
out."
     Ginsu World Class collapsed into the Superuser's arms, sobbing
uncontrollably.  It was difficult to comfort her through a ton and a half of
armor plating, but Bill did his best.  They stayed locked together, curled up
on the floor of the demolished office, until Liz's hysteria eventually played
itself out.  The fallen mage managed to pull himself to a seated position and
propped himself up against a nearby table leg, not sure what to make of the
whole situation.
     "I'm sorry I had to say all those terrible things to you," the Superuser
said, "but I had to make you see that everything wasn't as cut and dried as
Benedict made it out to be."
     Ginsu World Class slowly broke away from Bill and wiped the tears from
her eyes.
     "You knew, didn't you..." she said, in a hoarse whisper, "That's why you
didn't say no when I asked you for the armor: you knew I wouldn't be able to
kill anyone."
     "Frankly, I started to have my doubts after seeing what was in the armor's
data recorders.  But I guessed early on that you wanted Ginsu World Class to be
your, uhm, 'instrument of revenge,' so I made very sure it couldn't be turned
into an automatic killing machine."
     "Bill? What would you have done if I had pulled the trigger?"
     "I'm not certain.  But I know I'd still love you just as much as I do
now."
     "Really?"
     "It's a fault of mine.  I've got a thing for women in armor."
     "Well... we'll have to explore that after we get back to the HQ."
     "Perhaps.  This isn't something we can just walk away from: you've a lot
to answer for, but I promise you I'll be there for you every step of the way.
In the meantime I have to get back to the battle: they still need me out there.
You two should be safe here for now.  See what you can do about splinting his
leg and I'll come back for you when the dust settles.  Oh by the way, according
to his wallet, this gentleman's name is Rick.  Rick? Meet Liz.  Liz?  Meet
Rick.  Rick's a school teacher.  Stick with him: he might learn ya something."
     Ginsu World Class turned nervously towards Rick and had to gradually work
up enough nerve to look him in the eye.  By contrast, Rick studied her closely
and unashamedly, amazed to discover that there was such a beautiful face behind
the hulking metal behemoth that only a short while ago stood ready to turn his
brains into tapioca.
     "I... I'm so sorry... I don't know what to say.  You must think I'm a
monster."
     Rick considered this and started wiping some of the dust from his face.
     "Tell you what," he said, "I'll stop thinking you're a monster if you
stop thinking that I'm a monster.  Fair enough?"
     A reluctant smile crept onto Liz's lips that gained confidence when she
saw the mage weakly smile back.
     "It's a deal," she said.
     "Well, I'll leave you two to get acquainted," said the Superuser suddenly,
"I'm sure you've a lot to talk about."
     The Superuser stood and cybernetically activated his comm-link while Liz
got out her first aid kit and began tending to Rick's leg.
     "Bruce, this is Bruce.  Do you copy?"
     "Loud and clear, Bruce!" the Masked Bruce answered back.
     "Pass the word on to the other Bruces that Bruce World Class is no longer
to be considered a hostile target."
     "How's she doing, Bruce?"
     "She's just fine Bruce, though I think it best if she sits out the rest
of the battle."
     "Understood! How're you doing, Bruce?"
     "All systems silver, Bruce."
     "That's splendid Bruce! Tell Bruce World Class I'm rooting for her: she's
a lovely Sheila and not at all stuck up.  Now, if you don't mind, we could use
you at the armory: there's a bunch of non-metahumans holed up in there being
led by some lunatic named 'Sarge,' and they're giving us no end of grief!"
     "They must all be pooftahs, Bruce!"
     "Aw spit!"
     "I'll take care of it immediately Bruce!"
     "I knew we could count on you, Bruce! Bruce out!"
     "Okay guys, I'm outta here."
     Bill paused on his way out towards the prison courtyard to lift Ginsu
World Class to her feet, and the two quickly became lost in a serious toe-
curler of a kiss.  Rick waited patiently for them to come up for air.
     "It's been weeks since we've done that," Liz breathed, mintily.
     "We'll have to do it some more later," quipped the Superuser.  "Preferably
without the armor.  Elizabeth, have I told you I love you recently?"
     "No."
     "I love you recently."
     "Dohw! *sigh* I love you recently too, Bill."
     Moments later, the Superuser was gone and Ginsu World Class's attention
was once again focused on Rick's injuries.  She finished setting his leg and
administered a local anesthetic, then made him comfortable on the remains of a
ratty old couch.  She sat next to him, holding her helmet in her lap, and they
both waited for a conversation to happen.
     "He must be a looney," Rick said at last, in a mock British accent.
     All was still, for just a second or two, before both of them broke out
laughing.

(continued in part two, following...)