Chapter 2 – A Panther's Perspective

I couldn't sleep.

I tossed and turned in my bunk, but it was useless. It had been one hell of a day and my thoughts were racing, refusing to calm down. And at the centre of them was one in particular I couldn't stop focusing on.

Captain Cosmos was alive.

Well, technically, he wasn't. The guy who had been Captain Cosmos was still alive. And I'd actually met him, spent time with him...

And I'd made a real ass of myself.

I've spent much of my time since returning to headquarters going over it in my head and kicking myself for being such a fool in front of the guy I'd always idolized. I called him 'lowly'! I got all superior with him! And then when I found out who he was, I couldn't stop myself gushing about how great he was!

And oh God, I actually admitted I found him sexy... why the fuck did I do that? I mean, I knew why. Because he asked when it nearly slipped out and of course I was not going to lie to Captain Cosmos...

But damn... that was now easily the most embarrassing moment of my life

Frankly, I am a little surprised I didn't figure out who he was until I saw that costume. I'd looked at so many pictures of him over the years, why the hell hadn't I recognized him when the only thing covering his identity was that small eye mask?

In my defence, I hadn't always been looking at his face when looking at pictures of him. And I thought he was dead, so was hardly expecting to run into him.

And on top of that, he wasn't exactly how I'd imagined the great Captain Cosmos would be. For one, I thought he'd be taller. But he was also a lot more reserved and restrained, colder and hard-edged, than he'd been portrayed in all the stories I'd read about him.

Maybe I'd read too much into those stories that made him out to be fun and friendly, passionate and exuberant, maybe they just weren't accurate.

Or maybe it was all the stuff he'd been through. Losing his powers, having to retire... plus he lost friends in the Destructron incident. It must have affected him badly. I saw the way he flinched when I said the name, the look on his face when I brought up the fact that the villain had killed two of the team. Vigilance and Cyberpunk and been founders of the Hero Alliance, just like him, so he must have been close with them.

So yeah, that must have been one hell of a bad day for him. Of course that would have had an effect on him. It was perfectly understandable for him not to be quite the same as he had been.

That said, I couldn't really know how he felt. I'd never really lost anyone major in my life. Well, there was Dad, but when he died in that car crash he and Mom had been divorced for six years, and I hadn't seen him in five, so we hadn't been close. It hadn't affected me in a significant way. Not like the loss of two friends might.

And as for losing his powers... I'd had mine for a few months, he had his for eleven years. There was no way I could know what it was like to lose your powers after having them be a big part of your life for so long.

Thinking of my powers, I rolled over onto my back and held my paws up in front of my face. With just a small mental flex, they lit up, blue energy enveloping them. I watched the energy flow and crackle over my black fur, relishing the feeling of having such power at my command.

I may have only had these powers for a matter of months, but they were already a huge part of me and my life. I counted myself extremely lucky. I survived an explosion and got some cool super-powers at the same time. Very few others could say that.

With a thought, I shut off my powers, the energy vanishing as I dropped my paws to my sides.

The thought of no longer having these powers, having to go back to a normal life... It was a horrible one. I tried to imagine what it might be like to lose them after having them for more than a decade, and only succeeded in making myself shudder.

A huge surge of sympathy welled up in me for Captain Cosmos... no, I corrected myself, for Lucas. He'd been a great hero, one of the best the world had ever seen, and now he was living a lonely life in a small house out in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't help but feel he deserved better.

I would love to do something for him, make his life better somehow, but that was a ridiculous notion. What could I possibly offer him? As it was, he was the one who actually had something to offer me, namely his help in honing my abilities, becoming a better hero.

That is, provided I tried to get over my cocky, superior attitude.

I rolled onto my side as that thought niggled at me, causing a small surge of annoyance. I didn't have an attitude problem.

Or did I?

If I'd thought that just that morning I'd have said a definite no, and called anyone who suggested it crazy. But it was Captain Cosmos who'd suggested it. In my head, that gave it much more weight, so now I was seriously considering it.

The thing is, my behaviour with him, the stuff he called me on, it does seem to point to me being a bit on the arrogant side. Was I really like that? I was pretty sure I hadn't been. Could getting these powers, working with the Alliance, have changed me that much?

Before the explosion, I had been kind of a quiet guy. Fresh out of college, working a crummy job. I mean technically I was a 'lab assistant', but it was barely a step up from janitor. At least once a week, I had thought about how I'd worked hard through college simply to be able to spend my time cleaning equipment, sorting supplies, and filing meaningless paperwork.

My life was so different now, and so was I. That moment when I was recuperating in the hospital after the explosion, when my paws first lit up with energy and it hit me that I had actual God-damned super-powers... well, it was the best moments of my life. The knowledge that my life was going to change completely now, it was going to be so much better, that I was a better and more worthwhile panther and...

Huh. I really did think that, didn't I?

Rolling over on to my other side, I mulled that over. I started thinking of myself as better, more worthwhile, right away. That did seem a little arrogant.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized how that attitude had only grown from there. From deciding I was going to follow in the footsteps of Captain Cosmos, to my first time stopping a criminal, a random mugger. Getting thanked profusely by the victim afterwards. Meeting the Alliance, getting accepted by some of the greatest superheroes in the world.

All of it had just reinforced the idea in my head that I was better now and along the way that became the idea that I was better than others...

Damn, I really did have a bit of an attitude problem.

But was it really that much of a problem? I mean, there were cocky, smug, superior, arrogant superheroes out there. Hell, that was practically the best description possible of Super-Stallion. And there was the Gambler, and Red Ruckus and... I wracked my brain for another example. Skyblazer probably fit the bill...

Except none of them were members of the Alliance. The Gambler had briefly joined, but had been kicked out due to his recklessness. If it came down to changing my attitude or leaving the team...

I chuckled to myself. That wasn't even really a choice. The Alliance was the world's oldest and most well-respected superhero team. It was a real honour to be there, to even be considered for membership. No way would I want to jeopardise that.

And of course, even more than that was the fact that Captain Cosmos... Lucas... didn't like it, he thought it was a problem. The thought of disappointing him, of not living up to his standards, that made a cold chill run down my spine.

I'd get over the attitude. I'd work with Captain... with Lucas. I'd be the best superhero I could be. I'd make him proud.

With that decision I made, I rolled back onto my back, hoping I'd finally be able to get to sleep.

I wasn't that lucky. Now that I had made a decision, my mind couldn't help but focus on what came next. Seeing the husky again, learning from him, spending time with him.

I'd be hanging out with Captain Cosmos...

Damn it! I needed to stop thinking of him like that. He was not the hero of my dreams and adolescent fantasies anymore. He was Lucas. I had to get into the habit of thinking of him as that and that alone.

Still, he was someone to be respected, that was for certain. And I then I couldn't sleep for imagining all the ways I could make an idiot of myself next time...

With a loud sigh, I gave up on sleep, tossing aside the bed sheets, swinging out my legs and sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment.

I glanced about my room, my home here at the Fort. It was a little empty and bare, just the basic furniture that came as standard, my bags of clothes and a few personal touches, like the picture of my Mom on the desk, some of my books on the otherwise empty shelves, my laptop.

Most of my possessions from my old apartment were currently in storage, until I made a firm decision about my future. At the moment, I was still technically undergoing training, preparing for when I was officially added to the team. I had agreed to live here at headquarters during that time, to make things easier.

Once that was done, though, I would have to decide what to do next. Make this permanent, go full time as a superhero. Or re-stablish my civilian life and secret identity, find a new job, a new home. Aegis had assured me the Alliance would help either way, they took good care of team members.

I was feeling a little thirsty, so decided to go get something to drink. I stood up and stretched a little, smoothing down my mussed up fur some with my paws. I quickly pulled on some pants and a vest before stepping out of the room.

As I padded down the white metal corridor to the kitchens, I once again found myself marvelling at exactly where I was. The Fort, the legendary Hero Alliance headquarters, generally accepted to be one of the most technologically advanced places on Earth, thanks mainly to Techno-Beast, who had designed and built it, incorporating a variety of systems and devices of his own creation. Frustratingly, no one had been able to give me a firm answer on exactly how and when the place got nicknamed ‘The Fort’. I don’t think anyone really remembers.

The place was mostly underground, at a secret location and consisted of four main areas. There was the operations wing, containing the conference room, main control centre, teleporter room, the hangar. The accomodation wing I was in housed a number of rooms for team members to use, kitchens and recreational areas. There was also the research wing, mainly occupied by Techno-Beast's lab facilities, as well as storage for all the dangerous technology and artefacts than had been captured and confiscated over the years. And finally, there was the training wing, housing the gym, and various simulators and power testing facilities.

Of course, it hadn't always been this way. From what I’d heard, the very first Hero Alliance headquarters had been a run-down abandoned warehouse in Delaware. The team had come a hell of a long way since then.

I mean, yeah, it hadn't been the world's first superhero team, but it was the first successful one, the first to last more than six months. All the previous teams and the majority of the ones since the inception of the Alliance eventually broke up and disbanded, citing teamwork problems, trust issues, organisational difficulties, inability to get proper funding or equipment. Even now, the Alliance remained the only super-team that has lasted more than two years. It was nearly thirteen years old now, and still going strong.

I supposed it must have helped that the Alliance was built on a strong foundation of trust and friendship. The four founders, Captain Cosmos, Cyberpunk, Aegis and Vigilance had all teamed up in various combinations and built strong friendships with each other before coming together to form the team. And they had ensured trust, respect and friendship were the basis of the group going forward, as the team expanded and changed over the years.

Of course, Iceberg had been the first new member of the team back then. Most seemed to think he was one of the founders, but he really wasn't. The fact that he actually joined a few months after the Alliance got started tends to get overlooked a lot.

I had to admit, one other factor in the team's longevity had to be the fact that it was the only team to have received any kind of official governmental recognition, thanks to the special treaty the team managed to negotiate with the United Nations. It made the Alliance technically sanctioned by the UN, but still maintaining a large degree of independence. This meant that they got a degree of funding from the UN, and also helped smooth other various legal issues. In theory the Alliance could operate in any of the member nations without too much difficulty, but it didn't always work the way it was supposed to in practice. And of course, any member nation had the option to opt out of the treaty, meaning the Alliance would essentially be banned from operating in their territory without permission. A number of countries had taken that route, but most accepted the necessity of a force capable of combating super threats and recognized the Alliance's excellent track record.

I arrived at the kitchen and switched on the light, revealing the large room under the glaring florescent lights. There were various tables and lots of chairs to one side and a kitchen area to the other, complete with lots of worktops and all the standard appliances.

Opening the large fridge, I glanced inside, not sure exactly what I was thirsty for. Nothing inside took my fancy, so I opted for just water. Grabbing a glass from a storage cabinet, I filled it and took a seat, sipping at it thoughtfully.

My mind was still a whirlwind of thoughts and concerns, occupying my attention completely, so I didn't notice someone else arrive until they spoke.

“Trouble sleeping, Ethan?”

I started and glanced around, seeing the big tiger strolling through the doorway. It took me a moment to process who it was as I really wasn't used to seeing him out of uniform. Aegis was wearing some simple jeans and a red checked shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow.

“Ah... Sorry Aegis, didn't notice you there...” I stammered.

He paused a moment at my table, raising a disapproving eyebrow at me. A split-second later, the reason why hit me.

“Sorry...” I said. “I meant Alec...”

He simply nodded, sitting himself down.

Calling my fellow heroes by their civilian names when they were out of costume was proving difficult for me to get used to. But it was the normal etiquette, the accepted protocol. There was even a good reason for it. Being in the habit of calling your comrades the proper name depending on whether or not they were in uniform helped lessen the chance of accidentally saying the wrong name in the company of others and giving away secret identities.

It was just that the heroes I was with now, they were big names, several of whom had more than a decade of experience under their belts. They were people I had always looked up to and admired. The idea of new comer like myself addressing them so informally, using their real civilian names... well, it just felt a little wrong. But I was doing my best to get over that, even if I still slipped up sometimes.

“You're here late.” I pointed out.

“I have monitor duty.” He explained. “But it's pretty quiet tonight. I was just heading back to my room to grab a book. You?”

“Oh you were right. Trouble sleeping.”

He nodded again, a thoughtful expression on his face as he looked at me. “Ask the question.”

“Huh?” I said, confused.

“The question I'm assuming you've been wanting to ask since you got back from seeing Lucas.” He said with a slight smile. “Go ahead and ask, we might as well get it out of the way.”

In fact, there was something I wanted to ask him. “Why didn't you tell me who Lucas was?”

“It wasn't my secret to tell.” The tiger replied. “It was entirely his decision whether or not to tell you, but I imagined he would.”

“But you knew how big a fan of his I was!” I said.

“Yes.” He smirked.

“He seemed surprised...” I said. “You didn't warn him I was a fan?”

“No, I didn't.” Alec admitted. “He had some choice words for me on that subject when I spoke with him earlier.”

“Why?” I wanted to know.

He sighed. “Because I believed that in all probability it would help lead to the best possible outcome. You did make a fool of yourself right?”

I winced. “He told you?”

“No, he didn't.” The tiger said. “But with your attitude, it was most likely to happen. Then when you found out who he was, it made you rethink your actions and attitude?”

I bowed my head, a little ashamed, ears drooping. “Yes...”

“Good.” The tiger grinned. “That's exactly what I was counting on...”

“Wait.” I held up a paw, confused. “You were actually counting on me making an idiot of myself in front of a guy I idolized?”

“Yes.” He admitted frankly. “As I said, I believed it would lead to the best possible outcome. If you had visited him knowing who he was, you would have kept your attitude in check, been the respectful fan the whole time. He would have not seen the problem, it wouldn't have grated on his nerves and he would have been less likely to accept you to train.”

“It grated on his nerves?” That was like a punch in the gut. I'd got on the nerves of Captain Cosmos! I mean yeah, I had suspected that. But to hear it confirmed...

Alec ignored me and continued. “And I daresay he snapped at you about your attitude and that has helped you realize that there is an issue there that you need to deal with. Correct?”

“Yes.” I said simply, with a nod, my ears flattening in shame.

“Good. Because you were refusing to listen to anyone else on the matter.” Alec explained. “I thought you hearing it from your hero would get through to you. Which wouldn't have happened if you'd been on your best behaviour.”

“So you...” I said, trying to process what he was telling me. “You actually planned for things to go the way they did?”

The tiger sat back in his chair and let out a sigh. “Let me ask you, the abilities and skills you have, do you only ever use them in one situation? Like say, combat?”

“Of course not!” I said. I wasn't sure what point he was trying to make.

“Exactly, it’s a ridiculous notion.” Alec said. “And yet, I always seem to encounter surprise when I use some of my skills outside of combat. Like the fact that I am a somewhat skilled strategist and tactician.”

I knew he was selling himself short there. 'Master strategist and tactician' was more accurate. It was partly down to his extensive studies of military history and tactics, and partly due to his enhanced brain. The experimental serum that had given him enhanced strength and agility had also somehow boosted the processing speed of his brain. It hadn't given him super-intelligence or anything like that, but it had resulted in extra-ordinary hand-eye coordination, the ability to think and react faster than normal, and his high level of skill in forward thinking and planning.

“So, yes, I planned for things to happen the way they did.” Alec continued, looking serious. “And I hoped things would turn out as planned. It's what I do. I look out for the well being of my friends, of my team, and always will. You may not be an official member yet, Ethan, but that includes you. And it includes Lucas. As far as I'm concerned, he will always be a member of the Alliance.”

Sitting back, I was hit by a surge of warm emotion. I was actually really touched. Here was Aegis, leader of the Hero Alliance, one of the greatest superheroes on Earth, and he was telling me he would always be looking out for me. However, that warm feeling was immediately followed by a pang of guilt about the attitude I'd been sporting recently. That can't have made things any easier.

Alec wasn't finished yet. “And the simple fact of the matter is that you need him. And he...” The tiger paused, fixing me with an intense glare. “He needs you.”

That was something I was really not expecting him to say. I could easily see how I needed Lucas, to learn from his experience and expertise. But... “How on Earth does Lucas need me? What could I possibly do for him?”

At that, Alec looked more serious and thoughtful than I'd ever seen him before. “I worry about Lucas. A lot. He has become so withdrawn and shut off since the Destructron incident. At first, I thought he just needed time, but it has been years now, and he has just been gradually getting worse, and nothing I have tried seems to have helped him. But I think training you might help, give him something positive and constructive to focus on. And I hope... God, I hope so much that it will help him find himself again.”

I looked at Alec... at Aegis, the great superhero... and I saw such a look of desperate sadness in his eyes when he said that, it broke my heart.

There was a moment of silence before I broke it, my voice quiet. “I had no idea the Destructron thing hit him that hard...”

“It hit all of us hard.” He replied. “But yeah, him more than anyone else...”

“Because he lost his powers as well as two friends?” I said.

Alec looked at me sharply, with an intense, pained expression before pulling it back and regaining his composure. “Yes. Of course. That is correct. We lost two friends that day. Except... Lucas and William... Cyberpunk... they were very close. Like brothers.”

I really had nothing to say that. Back then, I'd followed the news and all the stories about superheroes pretty closely, but I never knew that.

The tiger sighed and let out a small chuckle. “Oh, I could tell you some crazy stories about the shit they sometimes got up to together off-duty, William and Lucas and Gareth...”

“Gareth?” I wasn't sure I'd heard that name before. I was pretty certain it wasn't the civilian name of anyone on the team...

A grimace crossed Alec's face and he buried his face in his paws. “Ah fuck! I shouldn't have mentioned him. Talking about this is always so damn difficult...”

“Who is he?” I asked.

He took a long deep breath before answering. “Lucas' boyfriend.”

Of all the possible answers, that was probably the one I was least expecting. Captain Cosmos, the hero I'd always worshipped, was gay! And on top of that... “He has a boyfriend?”

“Not anymore.” Alec replied, with a sad shake of his head. Before I can ask anymore, he's glaring at me, whiskers twitching, his tail lashing behind him. “Don't you dare ask anymore about it. I should not have let that slip! I understand it’s a surprise, learning that Lucas is gay as well, but it wasn't my place to tell you, or mention Gareth. So I'm telling you, do not talk about it further with anyone! And whatever the fuck you do, DO NOT bring up Gareth with Lucas!”

I'm a little shocked at the ferocity of his tone. “Of c-c-course.” I stammer. “I'm sorry...”

He closed his eyes and took several breaths before looking at me again, calmer now. “No, Ethan. I am sorry. I'm not angry with you, I'm angry with myself. I don't usually make slips like that. But talking about this just brings up so many emotions...”

“It's okay.” I said. “You can trust me, I won't ask any more about it...”

Alec gave me a weak smile. “Thank you. Maybe some day you'll be able to be told about... everything. But for now, I believe it's best if the past stays in the past.”

I nodded. “I understand.”

The tiger gave me an appreciative nod. He then changed the subject. “So, you've decided you can accept Lucas' terms and want to be trained by him?”

“Of course!” I said, enthusiastically. “It would be an honour!”

Smiling, Alec said. “Good. I'll call him tomorrow and make the arrangements and we can...”

He was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and grumbling. We both looked up to see a brown furred bear enter through the doorway.

It was Techno-Beast, the super-intelligent inventor of the Alliance. While his power came from an accelerated brain that allowed him to learn, process and understand any information, and he was technically proficient in all sorts of things, he had a particular affinity for technology and engineering. He was responsible for a lot of the hi-tech equipment the team had at its disposal.

He was also responsible for helping keep the team funded. He had signed over the patents on many of his inventions over the years to the Alliance, and the profits from that meant the team wasn't as dependent on the funding from the UN as it used to be.

The bear was wearing his costume, which was not really surprising. I rarely saw him in civilian clothing. His bluish grey jumpsuit with the 'TB' logo on the shoulders hugged his bulky, heavyset body. A tool-belt hung from around his waist. Of course, he wasn't wearing his harness of combat gadgets, his weapon gauntlets, or his helmet, he never did in headquarters. His anti-gravity boots were also missing, he was wearing ordinary leather boots.

As he entered, he ignored us completely, his attention focused entirely on the device in his paws, poking at it with a screwdriver. At least, I think it was a screwdriver, although it did have wires and small blinking lights on it. Probably one of the bear's assortment of custom made tools. I had no idea what the device was either, it just looked like a metal box with wires and exposed circuit boards poking out one side.

My eyes happened upon the polished metal of his right paw and I was briefly reminded of how weird it had felt to shake that paw when I had first met him. Techno-Beast's right paw and forearm had been mangled pretty badly in a particularly savage battle with Brute-Bull several years back. They'd ultimately had to be amputated, so the bear had built himself a robotic replacement.

Techno-Beast was grumbling to himself as he entered, heading for the kitchen. “Capacitors are fine, power coils functional, quantum circuit compensators show no problem... why won't this damn thing work...”

“Hey, Tech.” Alec said. “Another late night?”

The bear looked up, seeming to notice us for the first time. “Oh, hi guys. Yeah, just grabbing some coffee...”

“You know, even you need to get some sleep sometimes, Tech.” Said Alec, with a mildly disapproving tone.

“I know.” The bear shrugged. “I'm working on that problem.”

I frowned at that. “You're working on the problem of having to sleep?”

Techno-Beast put down his device and tool on a counter top and switched on the coffee maker. “Yes. Maybe I'll figure something out, maybe not. It's one of my projects...”

Alec smiled and shook his head at that. As I understood it, the bear always had a large number of ongoing research projects at any one time. No one beside Techno-Beast himself seemed to be able to keep track of them.

As the bear set about making himself a pot of coffee, a thought occurred to me. “Why don't you just get yourself a coffee machine in your lab? Save you having to trek all the way over here when you need coffee?”

Alec chuckled. “Yeah, we tried that a few times.” The tiger told me. “He just ended up taking them apart.”

“I needed parts for a project!” The bear protested. “And I got impatient waiting for the shipment from the suppliers to arrive...”

“Just remember your promise!” Alec said, pointing a paw at him.

“I do!” Techno-Beast sighed. “No disassembling anything for parts from outside my lab without express permission...”

“Vincent was seriously upset when he found what you'd done to his DVD player...” Alec said.

“I apologised profusely for that!” The bear shot back. “And I did build him a new one, a better one, it was voice-activated and everything...”

“Yes, and it couldn't understand his accent!” Alec said.

Techno-Beast winced. “Yeah, that was my bad. I failed to do the fine tuning of voice recognition software. But in my defence, we did have to go rushing off to deal with that prison riot, and when we got back, I got distracted and side-tracked with other things...”

As they bantered back and forth I was struck with a strong feeling of disbelief. It was something I'd felt on many occasions during my time here. Seeing Aegis and Techno-Beast, two of the world's most respected superheroes, relaxed and chatting like ordinary guys, close friends, I could hardly believe I was there, privy to this private relaxed side of them, that I was going to be a part of this team.

My thoughts were interrupted by a shrill bleeping from Alec's pocket. I knew immediately what it was. It was an alert.

The tiger quickly snatched a small comms device from his shirt pocket and examined it's readout.

He was on his feet and headed to the door as he spoke. “It's a level 5 alert! Suit up and meet me in Control!”

Both myself and Techno-Beast scrambled to follow him, the bear breaking into a run, while I instinctively activated my energy field, taking to the air and blasting out the door and along the corridor back to my room. As soon as I arrived, I grabbed my uniform and started hastily pulling it on, just as Alec’s voice echoed through the Fort’s PA system, calling for all heroes in the base to assemble in the central control room for a level 5 alert.

A level 5 very serious. It meant an emergency involving multiple super-powered threats. The usual response was to deploy multiple heroes, sometimes even every available team member depending on the situation. This would be my first time involved with one.

Once I was fully dressed in my costume, I didn't so much as pause for breath and rushed out the door, zooming along the corridors of the Fort. My imagination was spinning through the possibilities of what I might be about to face, the villains that were currently at large, the things they might be getting up to...

I shook off that line of thinking. There was no point to it. Best to just wait and see what the situation was.

I arrived in the central control room just behind Mr. Mystic, the rabbit hovering a few inches above the ground on a small cloud of magical sparkles, his black cloak with gold trim fluttering behind him.

Central control was a large room with walls lined with numerous TV screens, each one displaying a newsfeed from somewhere in the world. There were desks with computer terminals, from which team members could access the Fort’s massive database for research and investigation of cases. At one end of the room was the large main command console, with multiple screens and a large main screen set into the wall above it. This place was the central hub from which all Hero Alliance operations were directed.

The room was already occupied by several other heroes when I got there. The athletic mouse Rapidpaw was there, although given his super-speed powers, it was no surprise he was among the first to arrive in response to the alert. Iceberg was there too, the arctic fox standing behind the main command console where Alec was seated, looking over the tiger’s shoulder and watching him work. Alec himself was still in civilian clothing, I guessed that he’d been too occupied with assessing whatever situation they were needed for to change into his uniform.

It wasn’t long before the other team members who were currently at the Fort arrived. Techno-Beast rushed in shortly after me, now having geared up with all his various gadgets. Following not long after him was Lightwave, the slightly glowing red fox looking a little bleary-eyed, making me assume he must have been sleeping when the alarm went off. Finally, the rocky form of Boulder lumbered in, the stone-skinned feline glancing about at everyone impassively.

The various superheroes stood around for a few moments, some exchanging greetings or basic chit chat as we all waited for Alec to fill us all in on what was happening. I myself just stood to one side by myself, waiting as patiently as I could. Despite how friendly and accepting everyone had been since I’d joined the Alliance, I still sometimes felt like a bit of an outsider at gatherings like that, especially when most of the team members present were people I’d not had much of a chance to get to know very well yet.

“Listen up, we need to make this quick.” Alec suddenly barked, grabbing everyone's attention.

Seeing that everyone was focused on him, the tiger continued. “Approximately six minutes ago, a World Health Organisation viral research centre outside of Geneva was attacked. The incident is still in progress, so we need to deploy immediately.”

As he spoke, his paws worked at the keyboard in front of him, calling up images on the large main screen for everyone to see. They showed what I assumed was the research centre, a series of large white circular buildings. And then there were a series of images that looked like they were taken from security cameras, each showed a different menacing figure, all wearing similar black uniforms with blue trim.

“From camera footage, we have managed to identify two of the attackers.” Alec continued. “Ballistic and Shockburst of the Ultra-Mercs. The other three are unidentified, but it is safe to assume they're also Ultra-Mercs, probably new members.”

My eyes widened at the mention of the Ultra-Mercs and I knew it most was definitely a very serious situation we'd be heading into. They were a secretive international organisation of ruthless super-powered mercenaries, offering their services to anyone who could meet their price. They were considered extremely dangerous.

“This facility researches some of the deadliest viruses on the planet.” Alec explained to us all. “It's most likely the Ultra-Mercs are there to attempt to steal some samples, probably for use in bio-weapons of some kind. We cannot allow that to happen.”

This was greeted with agreeing nods and murmurs. But Alec wasn't finished. “Of course, the Ultra-Mercs wouldn't attend they're own grandmothers' funerals without a pay-check involved, so it’s safe to say someone is paying them to do this. I'd like to know who, so if possible, let's try to capture one of the attackers for interrogation.”

From the looks that passed between the various heroes in the room, I could tell that everyone knew that would be very difficult at best.

“But let me stress, that is a secondary objective.” Alec added. “Our primary goal is preventing the theft of viral samples, at any cost. Understood?”

I nodded along with everyone else and Alec brought up the teleporter controls on his screen. “Stand by to deploy. I’ll be following shortly once I’ve contacted all off-duty members to standby to act as backup if necessary. And remember…” Alec glanced at everyone, but his gaze settled on me, and I got the impression this last part was mainly directed at me as the team’s rookie. “Ultra-Mercs are deadly and ruthless. Do not underestimate them.”

A few seconds later, light enveloped me and felt the tingling sensation of teleportation. And then the light was gone and we were all standing outside the research centre.

It was a chaotic scene that greeted us. Police and paramedics had apparently arrived just ahead of us, but hadn’t fully organized yet. There were plumes of smoke rising from various parts of the research complex and fires could be seen through several windows. There were people rushing about all over the place as police officers tried to get some degree of control over the pandemonium.

Our sudden appearance was greeted with shocked stares and gasps. But there was no time to introduce ourselves as Alec immediately started giving out orders through our comms earpieces.

“Rapidpaw, you’re on recon and rescue.” The tiger said. “Search the area for the Ultra-Mercs, but do not engage them alone. And get any civilians you find out of there.”

The mouse in blue and red spandex was off like a shot, a sudden blur as he sped off. A few moments later, I spotted him reappearing a short distance away, carrying an injured lab technician. He handed his cargo off to a surprised paramedic and then shot off again, back into the building.

“Everyone else, split into pairs.” Alec was saying. “Techno-Beast and Lightwave, take the main research wing. Boulder and Mr. Mystic, the storage vaults. Iceberg and Dynamic, head for the admin building. Find those Mercs and put a stop to them.”

We split off into our assigned pairs and soon Iceberg and I were pushing past panicking office workers trying to escape in order to get into the research centre’s main offices. Once we were inside, things seemed quiet enough, most if not all of the civilians had evacuated by then, and we began our sweep of the area

Iceberg padded along the corridors at a slight jog, with me hovering alongside him. I could easily have outpaced him, but thought it best we stick together. Besides, I had a question.

“Why are we even bothering with the admin building?” I asked, with a slight frown. “If they’re here to steal viral samples, surely this part of the complex will be of no interest to them?”

“Yes, if that is what they’re after.” Iceberg replied, slowly his jog so that he could more easily speak. “And yeah, that is most likely, as Alec said. But we need to be sure they’re not here for some other reason.”

I nodded my understanding and the arctic fox shot me a grin.

“When dealing with mercenaries or madmen,” he said. “Never assume you know for certain what their goal is.”

“Good advice.” I said.

Iceberg let out a short chuckle and his tail wagged a little. “It certainly is, but it sure took me a lot of time and several screw-ups in my early days before it sunk in, no matter how much a certain husky superhero tried to hammer it through my thick skull.”

Silently, I shot him a curious look.

“Yeah, that advice was originally from Captain Cosmos.” Iceberg confirmed. He stopped and glanced about, making sure we were alone, with no one to overhear us, before adding in a low whisper. “Trust me when I say you couldn’t ask for a better mentor. Be sure you listen to him, okay?” His muzzle split into a grin. “At least, more than I did when I first met him!”

“Of course I will.” I couldn’t help but bristle slightly at the implication that there was a chance that I wouldn’t.

“Good.” The fox hero patted me on the shoulder. “Now, back to work. Let’s make sure this place is clear.”

We continued our sweep through the corridors and rooms of the office building in silence. Through our comms, we heard that Rapidpaw had found Shockburst in the research wing, who had then been engaged in battle by Techno-Beast and Lightwave, who had her on the run before too long. The sound of distant explosions must have been her using her explosive powers.

We heard from Alec, confirming that he had now donned his uniform and was on site as Aegis, coordinating with the emergency services to organise the evacuation of civilians and in keeping the area sealed off. I caught him saying something about how a lone Ultra-Merc in the research area was unexpected and felt wrong…

Iceberg and I’s searching eventually took us down to the basement, wandering through a series of storerooms and utility areas. I was just thinking to myself how there was nothing important here, when we heard the sound of muffled voices nearby.

Our ears perked up and, listening as hard as we could, we crept towards them, Iceberg leading the way. As we approached an open door, we could start to make out the voices more clearly…

“Why the God-damned hell are we doing this grunt work?” Said a male voice.

“You know why.” Said the other, a calmer female voice. “It’s part of the plan we’ve been paid to carry out.”

“Yeah, but why are we stuck with this part of it?” The first, obviously very annoyed and frustrated voice said. “One of the reasons I joined the Ultra-Mercs was for the fun of fucking up some do-gooder superheroes. And now, on my first time out, I’m stuck planting one of the bombs in the area least likely to draw their attention!”

I exchanged a worried look with Iceberg. Bombs? Why were they planting bombs? I think we both realized then that the Ultra-Mercs plans were not what we had thought.

“That’s why. It’s your first time out.” The female voice said, calmly but with a hint of annoyance. “And mine. The UM commanders want to make sure we can follow orders and get then job done. I’m sure if we show them we can do that, we’ll be front and centre on future missions.”

The male sighed. “Fine. Is that damn thing ready yet?”

“All set.” The female responded. “The bomb is armed, timer is synced up with the others, activating it now…”

Iceberg went wide-eyed and dived through the door into the room, paws already glowing and snowflakes forming around them. He was probably hoping to stop them before they activated the bomb. But as I immediately swept in after him, it was obviously too late.

The room was a utility area, with various pipes and electrical junction boxes all over the place. In the centre of the room sat a metal encased device the size of a small backpack that had to be the bomb. The LED readout on its surface had already started counting down, and showed just under fifteen minutes.

Kneeling over the device was a female badger, one paw over the device’s control panel, apparently having just activated it. Behind her was stood a tall coyote with his arms folded across his chest. They were both dressed in Ultra-Mercs uniforms.

As we burst into the room, they both looked shocked, but quickly regained their wits, retreating a few paces from us, and standing side by side, paws raised and ready to fight.

I took a deep breath as I surveyed them, waiting for Iceberg to take the lead. I had no idea what to expect. These two were unknown to the Alliance, which meant we had no idea what powers they had or what they might be capable of, beyond the fact that, as Ultra-Mercs, they would be dangerous and ruthless.

“It seems you’re going to get your wish after all, Chaosbringer.” The badger said. “Let’s just make this quick.”

“Hell yes!” The coyote grinned and laughed. “Finally, some fun!” He stepped in front of his comrade. “Give me a little push, Untouchable!”

There was the faintest hint of concentration on the badger’s face and suddenly the shimmering wall of some kind of forcefield expanded outward from her body. When it struck the coyote, it flung him forward, sailing through the air towards us. We both dodged aside, but as the coyote landed behind us, he rolled and came up into a crouch, still grinning in an unsettling way.

“Take him!” Iceberg ordered. “I’ll take her!” He rushed at the badger, directing several ice-blasts at the villain.

Meanwhile, I focused on the coyote. A twinge of doubt entered my mind as I tried to decide how to deal with this guy. Could I really do this? Was I ready to tackle an Ultra-Merc alone, never mind the fact that he was capable of God-knows what? And with a large explosive device in the room, counting down, we were against the clock here…

But I quickly dispelled those doubts. I was a superhero. I was a member of the Hero Alliance. I was certain could handle this clown.

The coyote, Chaosbringer, took advantage of my hesitation and leapt at me, laughing. I managed to get my energy field up in time to block his swiping paws. But he was fast, dodging my attempts to strike back while trying once again to hit me. Luckily, I was able to solidify my energy field and prevent him reaching me.

Out of the edge of my vision, I saw Iceberg battling the other villain, Untouchable. He couldn’t seem to get anywhere near her, his ice blasts striking uselessly at whatever forcefield she was generating. But he was keeping at it, dodging his opponent’s attempts to knock him away by expanding her field in his direction.

“C’mon, do-gooder!” Chaosbringer snarled at me, beating on my energy field once again. “Just let me touch you, just the once! It’ll be so much fun!”

I couldn’t help but smirk at the coyote’s mistake, saying too much. Whatever his powers, they were apparently touch-activated. As long as my energy field prevented him laying a paw on me, I would be safe and could beat him.

But Chaosbringer was still fast and had apparently had a fair degree of paw-to-paw combat training. He kept dodging my attempts to hit him and spinning around to attack from a different angle, forcing me to constantly readjust my field to keep blocking him.

I can do this! I kept telling myself, ignoring the nagging doubts still hovering at the back of my mind. I’ve been training with the Alliance, I am a capable hero. I can do this!

Suddenly, the female badger called out. “Chaosbringer, heads up!”

I turned to see Iceberg stumbling and Untouchable striking him with her forcefield, sending him flying, tumbling through the air in my direction.

Instincts kicking in, I moved towards him, intending to snatch him out of the air. But Chaosbringer was faster, sprinting forward and leaping towards the stunned arctic fox, tackling him in mid-air. As the coyote and fox crashed to the floor, I could only watch in horror as the villain slapped a paw to the side of Iceberg’s muzzle.

There was a brief flash of light and then the coyote was rolling off the fallen hero, giggling insanely. “Oh, you’re in such trouble now, superhero!”

“No!” I growled. Anger welled up in me and I and blasted at the coyote with my energy. The coyote was too busy laughing at whatever he’d just done to dodge my attack and I hit him, sending him spinning though the air and slamming into a wall, finally shutting him up.

“Oh yes!” Said a voice behind me. I’d been so focused on Chaosbringer, I’d not kept an eye on Untouchable.

I turned just in time to get slammed by her forcefield full on, every part of me feeling like it’d just been hit by a sledgehammer. Dazed, I was thrown though the air where I hit the far wall of the room with enough force to crash through the bricks into the next room beyond. It must have been a storeroom, as I smashed through some shelving before I hit the floor hard, and a number of boxes of papers collapsed on top of me. Wincing in pain, I laid there for a moment, struggling to pull myself together.

“On your feet, Chaosbringer.” I heard Untouchable saying, back in the other room. “You’ve had your fun, now we need to go!”

“Just let me lay my paws on that damn panther!” The coyote villain snarled back.

“Remember the bomb?” The badger said. “There’s no time. We need to get clear of here! We’regoing! Now!”

“Fine.” Chaosbringer said, sulkily. “I guess he’ll have to wait for another time. If he survives what I did to his friend, that is…”

I definitely didn’t like the sound of that. As I finally managed to haul myself to my feet I heard running footsteps and knew the two villains were making their escape. Part of me wanted to get after them, letting villains go just didn’t seem right. But I had other concerns.

Flying back into the utility room, I checked on Iceberg, who was partially conscious, but seemed okay for the moment. Then there was the matter of the bomb. The timer was down to under seven minutes. I had no idea how to defuse a bomb. I needed help.

I activated my comms. “Aegis, come in!”

The tiger’s voice came through immediately. “I copy, Dyanamic. Report.”

“Encountered two of the unknown Ultra-Mercs, but they got away.” I explained quickly. “Iceberg is down but seems okay. They were planting a bomb here!”

“A bomb?” Aegis was surprised.

“Yes.” I confirmed. “It’s here with me. Less than seven minutes on the timer. They also mentioned bombs, plural…”

“So there are others about. Acknowledged.” There was a click on the line that I knew meant he was now broadcasting to the whole team. “Everyone be on the look out for explosive devices. The Ultra-Mercs plan is not what we thought. Rapidpaw, home in on Dynamic’s signal, grab the bomb with him and get it to Techno-Beast to be defused. Then do a full speed search of the entire facility. Find those bombs and get them to Tech!”

“On it!” Rapidpaw replied, suddenly standing in the room with me, having zipped in as a blur a split-second before.

The mouse gave Iceberg a concerned glance, then hoisted the bomb up into his arms. He gave me a quick nod and then with a rush of air, was gone again, speeding away.

“How’s Iceberg?” Aegis asked through the comm-link, an edge of concern to his voice now.

As he said it, Iceberg sat up, clutching his head and wincing.

“I don’t know.” I said, taking a step towards the arctic fox. “One of the mercs touched him and did something, but I’m not sure what. He seems…”

Suddenly a thick spear of ice shot out of Iceberg’s body and buried itself in the ceiling. A moment later, another shot out and struck an electrical junction box, causing sparks to fly and the lights to flicker.

“I don’t feel so good…” Iceberg said, his voice weak.

Noticing a white mist in front of my muzzle, I realized that it was my breath. The room was getting colder. Another spear of ice shot out from the artic fox, barely missing me and crashing into the wall.

“Iceberg, what…?” I began.

But my attempt to ask what was happening was cut off as Iceberg let out an immense cry of pain. His body shot out small spikes of ice in all directions, forcing me to throw up my energy field to protect myself. Ice was creeping across the floor, outward from where the arctic fox was sat.

“Dynamic!” Aegis was yelling through my earpiece. “Dynamic, what the hell is going on? Report!”

“Something is very wrong with Iceberg!” I responded. As I said it, the arctic fox fell back, lying on the floor and writhing in agony, screaming in pain. The temperature in the room was dropping rapidly and more and more spikes and spears were blasting out of Iceberg’s body in all directions, wrecking the room around us. “Chaosbringer… the coyote Ultra-Merc… I think he made him lose control of his powers when he touched him!”

“Understood.” Aegis replied, and then quickly addressed the whole team through the com-link. “Everyone be cautious with the coyote Ultra-Merc if you encounter him. Do not let him touch you!”

A sudden almighty cracking sound filled the room, and was quickly followed by the concrete floor splitting apart in several places as huge spiky twisted columns of ice forced their way up from below, making me retreat a few steps to avoid getting impaled. I started to shiver, feeling the intense cold even through my energy field. The creeping ice was out of the room now, flowing out of the door with gathering speed and starting to cover the corridor outside. Everything in the room now had a coating of frost.

And where he lay at the centre of it all, Iceberg was twitching, his face a mask of agony, letting out whines and cries of pain.

“Aegis, it’s getting worse in here!” I called through my com-link. As I watched, one of the columns of ice lanced upwards, smashing through an overhead support beam that was already badly damaged by ice spikes and in horror I realised what could happen if this kept up, kept getting worse. “He could bring down the building on top of us! What do I do?”

The tiger’s response came quickly. “Dynamic, you need to attack him! Hit him hard!”

I was shocked. “What? How will that help?”

“Iceberg’s powers require him to be conscious to work.” Aegis quickly explained. “So your best chance is to render him unconscious!”

While I could see the logic of the idea, it still felt wrong, the very idea of attacking a teammate. More than that, attacking one of the world’s most renowned superheroes and co-leader of the Alliance.

But as distasteful as it was, I could see that it had to be done, and I was the only one there to do it. Especially as I heard through the comms-link that Mr. Mystic and Boulder had found a couple of Ultra-Mercs near the viral storage vaults and Aegis had to direct the rest of the team to go render assistance. No one was going to show up to help me anytime soon.

I approached Iceberg, having to force myself forward every step of the way through ever increasing waves of intense coldness that threatened to freeze me in place. The arctic fox was still squirming and twitching, letting out heart-rending cries of agony.

Repeatedly telling myself that I was doing the right thing, I focused my energy field. I had no idea how hard to hit him. I needed to knock him out, but I didn’t want it to be too hard and cause him some kind of serious head injury. I’d just had to judge it as best I could.

With a deep breath, I went for it, solidifying my field and striking Iceberg across the side of the head. It only took my a second to realize that I hadn’t hit him hard enough. He had rolled over, but was still writhing and screaming.

I tried again, putting a little more force into it, but once again failed to do nothing more that batter Iceberg about the head. Frustrated and wanting this to be over, I forced myself to pour more force into my third strike.

The blow caused the prone arctic fox to skid along the ice-coated floor, but finally his cries died away as he lost consciousness. The shower of ice spikes from his body ceased and the pillars of ice breaking up through the floor stopped. It was already starting to feel a little warmer.

Stumbling over to Iceberg, I fell to my knees beside him and quickly examined him. He was alive, but unconscious. However, there was no way of knowing exactly what Chaosbringer had done to make him lose control, never mind what damage I might have done. I tried not to think too hard about the fact that I had just beaten a fellow superhero into unconsciousness.

Instead, I ended up thinking about how I’d failed him. We were supposed to be teammates, watch each others backs. But now here he was, unconscious and God-knows what having been done to him by that damn coyote. All because I hadn’t been quick enough, hadn’t reacted fast enough, hadn’t been watching out for him. It was obvious that this was my fault.

Maybe I wasn’t the superhero I thought I was. Maybe I didn’t really deserve to be a member of this team…

My guilt-ridden train of thought was interrupted by a voice calling out somewhere nearby. “Dynamic?” It was Aegis.

“In here.” I called back and soon the tiger stepped into the room.

He surveyed the frost-coated and ice-damaged room as he padded over and crouched beside me and Iceberg. “How is he?”

“He’s alive.” Was all I could really say for certain. “I managed to knock him out. Even if it took me a couple of tries...”

Aegis had pulled a device from a pouch at his belt and fiddled with it. I recognized it as a remote control unit for the teleporter. “I called in Dr. Brainbox.” The tiger explained as he worked. “He’s already teleported to the Fort. I’m going to send Iceberg directly to him in the infirmary. He’ll take of him.”

A moment later, Iceberg’s unconscious form was enveloped in light and vanished.

A paw gently rested on my shoulder and I turned to look into Aegis’ concerned face. “Hey, it’s okay. I know it can’t have been pleasant, attacking Iceberg like that, but it had to be done. And believe me, he’ll understand.”

I simply nodded, although I had a little trouble believing that, the guilt of my failure really starting to gnaw at me. Then I was hit with realization. “The others! They’ll need our help against the Ultra-Mercs…” I got to my feet and started to make for the door, but Aegis put a paw on my arm, stopping me.

“It’s already over.” Aegis explained. “I’ve been monitoring the situation. The Ultra-Mercs have all fled, probably expecting this whole place to blow up. But Rapidpaw found two more bombs and Tech disarmed them. I checked the security cam footage of the Mercs’ arrival, and they only had three backpacks with them, so I think that’s all the bombs, but Rapidpaw is making a full search to be certain.”

He patted me on the shoulder. “But there’s still work to do before we head back to base…”

It was several hours later before we all teleported back to the Fort. Those hours had been spent making sure there were no trapped or injured civilians in need of rescue, doing what we could to repair any major structural damage caused by our battles, making reports and statements to local officials and law enforcement, and finally making a brief appearance before the press.

As leader, Aegis took charge of addressing the reporters, managing to dodge plenty of questions and avoid revealing too much. They asked about me, wanting to know if I was a new member. The tiger deflected them expertly, not confirming or denying anything and instead talking about how the team welcomed my assistance with this incident. Some assistance, I thought to myself bitterly, screwing up badly and letting Iceberg get messed up.

One observant reporter did notice that Iceberg wasn’t with us, but had arrived with us, and Aegis was forced to admit that he had received injuries (which I had contributed to, I couldn’t help adding in my head) and that he was receiving treatment, and further details would be released later.

It was a relief to finally get back to the Fort. I felt exhausted and was ready for a hot shower and night’s rest. As we came out of the teleporter room into the team’s big conference room, I practically fell into one of the chairs around the main table. Rapidpaw did likewise, stretching and rubbing his neck.

If Aegis was tired at all, he didn’t show it, and immediately put in a call to the infirmary to check on Iceberg. Dr. Brainbox’s clipped British accent came back letting us all know that he was stable and under sedation for the moment and he was studying the arctic fox’s condition. A worried looking Techno-Beast immediately headed for the infirmary to assist him.

Everyone exchanged worried glances at the update on Iceberg. I suspected we were all thinking the same thing. Was his condition, his loss of control of his powers, going to be permanent? Could there be other side effects of Chaosbringer’s touch? Was their teammate going to be okay? At that point, there was just no way of knowing.

For me, the feelings of guilt welling up inside me were just getting stronger. I couldn’t help it. I should have been able to do better. I should have been able to take out that damn coyote before he got anywhere near Iceberg. I had failed, and failed badly, and now Iceberg was paying the price.

Aegis addressed us, breaking into my thoughts. “Good job tonight, people. Go get some rest. If there’s any major change in Iceberg’s condition, I’ll let you know”

While Mr. Mystic, Lightwave and Boulder all did just that, heading out the door that led to the accommodation wing, I stayed seated for the moment, wanting to take a minute to regain some strength first. Rapidpaw also stayed, and was now leaning over, examining his boots.

“Aw, hell.” The mouse speedster said. “I think I’m wearing out my new boots already. Tech is not going to be pleased that his new reinforced material didn’t last as long as it was supposed to…” He shot me a weak smile. “But I suppose he won’t mind the challenge of figuring out the problem, having a new project. Right?”

“Right.” I said, returning his weak smile. I didn’t know Rapidpaw very well yet, but in my time with the Alliance, I had come to notice that the mouse didn’t seem to like thinking or talking about anything too worrisome if he could avoid it. So I suspected him focusing on the state of his boots was his way of avoiding thinking too much about what had happened to Iceberg. I wished I had some way to avoid thinking about it…

“I’d better…” Rapidpaw stood up as he spoke, but stopped as he spotted Aegis. The tiger had silently sat down at the table, with a dark and thoughtful look on his features. “Hey, boss, what’s wrong?”

“Why do you say that?” Aegis looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh please.” Rapidpaw said. “I know your ‘there’s something wrong’ face all too well.”

A brief smile twitched at the corners of the tiger’s mouth before he was completely serious again. “I’m just trying to figure out tonight’s incident, what reason might be behind it all. The viral storage vaults and storage areas in the research labs were not touched, so the Ultra-Mercs were definitely not there to steal anything. Instead it seems they had been paid to blow up the place. But what purpose could that possibly serve?”

“Yeah, it is a puzzle.” The mouse hero agreed. “The way I see it, blowing up a viral research lab would really do nothing but cause chaos…”

I stayed silent, listening to the two of them talk. I had nothing useful to add. They were far more experienced than me, after all. They were much more likely to be able to figure things out than the likes of me, a screw-up who really didn’t really deserve to be there.

Aegis was looking thoughtful, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Exactly, so what purpose could be served by causing such chaos? Perhaps…” He broke off suddenly, rising from his chair and padding purposefully toward the door that led into the control room.

I got up and trailed after him, alongside Rapidpaw, curious as to what conclusions he might have reached.

“What are you thinking, boss?” Rapidpaw asked.

“When a level 5 alert is triggered and active,” The tiger explained as he sat himself at the main console and started rapidly tapping at the keyboard. “Low level alerts are set aside for later investigation, to allow us to focus fully on the greater threat.”

The mouse saw what he was getting at. “You think the attack was intended as a distraction? Someone went to the trouble and expense of hiring the Ultra-Mercs simply so they could commit some other low level crime unmolested?”

“It’s a possibility.” Aegis said, continuing to work away at the computer. “I’m just checking and… yes! There was a level 10 alert, exactly one minute after the attack started. A break in at a US government storage facility. I’d bet whoever’s behind that is who we’re looking for…”

I was having a little trouble wrapping my head around that. Someone had hired a band of super-powered mercenaries, risked destroying a viral research lab, simply to raid a storage facility? What kind of monster would do something like that?

“I’m uploading security camera footage from the facility now.” He waved a paw at the main screen. “Let’s see who we’re dealing with…”

An image flickered into life on the main screen. And the three of us were all immediately stunned into silence by what we were looking at. Because it was impossible and horrifying.

It was Aegis who managed to regain his wits enough to react. He hit a control on the command console and all the doors to the room immediately slammed shut and sealed.

“As leader of the Alliance.” He declared, turning to us. “I am officially declaring this classified. It is not to be discussed with anyone without my authorisation. Understood?”

“But…” Rapidpaw stammered, unable to take his eyes off the screen. “But it’s…”

“It’s now classified!” Aegis snarled. “Understood?”

The rabbit finally looked at him. Upon seeing how serious he was, he ducked his head, ears flattening. “Understood.”

Once I also agreed, Aegis sagged into his chair. I’d never seen him like that before, drained and disturbed, his eyes flicking repeatedly to the screen and its shocking image. It was kind of stunning.

The tiger shook his head, regaining some of his composure. He turned to his console. “Right, I’m requesting the US government classify this footage as well, keep it under wraps. If this gets out before we know what it means, whether its real or just an impostor… it could cause worldwide public panic…”

That was understandable. The whole world knew the person in the footage, would recognize that angular black metal helmet with the glowing red eyes. Years back, he had broadcast to the world his intention to destroy the planet, and had even come close to doing so…

I stood there staring at the screen, trying to process what I was looking at, the image of a villain who was supposed to be long dead.

It was Destructron.

To Be Continued…