*Author’s Note: This story takes place after Nova #3
The Deep
Below the Pacific Ocean
Unlike the prisons of above ground there was no way to tell the passage of time inside the Deep. Besides the routine of sleeping and meals imposed upon the prisoners. None really knew if when they ate breakfast it was actually morning or the middle of the night in the above world. That was part of the ‘charm’ of the Deep when conceived by the minds of the West Coast Governors. Seal up the worst of the worst offenders and instead of luxuries they could enjoy in other prisons, it was truly a horrible experience. Reports of inmates going mad from such conditions were easily swept under the carpet and chalked up to anyone running around in spandex and tights must already be mad as a hatter.
For five months one of the small cells within the deep had been home to one Doctor Carolyn Trainer. Known in dark circles as Lady Octopus, she had been a model prisoner. No outburst. No problems with other inmates. Taking her meals and exercise routine when commanded. In fact most of the guards preferred working with her over many more of the volatile residents. She had even passed the psych evaluations that many of the inmates were subjected to on a monthly basis. If not for the seriousness of her crimes and her past indiscretions, there was no doubt she would be free to rejoin the rest of the world. If only they could know what boiled within her mind.
Nights were spent dreaming of the demise of those that caused her incarceration. One face took up the bulk of such fantasies. Darkhawk and the other Champions. If it wasn’t for them her plans would have gone through and the West Coast would have been her play ground. With the Pride out of the picture, and those like the Kingpin and his successors worried about just the East Coast she could have ruled all. For the lack of better words she had to fall upon a cliché television line in her mind, if it wasn’t for those meddling kids.
A loud buzz sounded within the halls of the compound as the doors opened to allow the prisoners to exit. Many of the hard to contain and truly dangerous prisoners stayed locked within their cells, but the rest wore power neutralizing collars only removable by the Warden himself. The figured that even if they got them off almost none of the prisoners within the prison could survive the crushing pressure of the depth below. There wasn’t even an escape shuttle for the staff. Truly both villain and guard were prisoners.
Moving from the cell like told, Trainer let her eyes slide across the heavily armored guards as they herded the prisoners deeper into the facility, towards the mess hall. The whisper of fabric on fabric filled her ears as another figured moved ever closer, their legs sliding against each other. Stuart Clarke, known as Rampage in their circles, had been a genius and created his own powerful exo-skeleton. With his company bankrupted by recession, Clarke turned to crime like so many others of his genius caliber. Coming up against the Champions of old, Clarke was beaten many times and vowed revenge upon the team. To some it might seem sad that the brightest stars of society turned to crime in their darkest time, but Trainer saw it as inspirational. The smart knew what it took to survive a cruel and dark world. That would prove to be why one day they would win.
“Dr. Trainer.”
“Mr. Clarke.”
A thin hand rose to adjust the black rimmed glasses upon the bridge of the man’s nose. “There are rumors circulating that you have an escape plan. Something truly daring.”
“Now Mr. Clarke if such a plan was to exist, and I’m not denying or proving such rumors, why ever would I let you in on my secret?”
“Because I can help you. You hate the Champions, so do I.”
The laugh was hollow that came from pouty pink lips. “Mr. Clarke these are not the feeble halfwit Champions you fought in the past. No, these Champions are something quite different. Something…quite special.”
“Doesn’t matter. They hold that name, and I swore revenge against the Champions. Any team will do. Besides I have access to technology that might allow you to escape easier.”
Green eyes finally settled upon the man and bore into him. A quick glance showed the guards to be far back dealing with an ornery Griffen. “Very well Clarke, I suppose you could be of some use in my plan.”
The man smiled deeply. “So when do we move ahead with the plan?”
“We don’t.”
“But you just said…”
“We’re not going to break ourselves out Mr. Clarke.”
“Then how do we escape?” Confusion was clear upon his face.
The smile that etched upon her face was bloodcurdling and the man could have sworn the room temperature dropped dramatically. “We’re not going to break out, the Champions are going to break us out.”
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- JUSTICE
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- FIRESTAR
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- TURBO
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- SILHOUETTE
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- LIGHTSPEED
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- NOVA
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- LADY OCTOPUS
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- RAMPAGE
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- THE CORRUPTOR
DEEP BLUE SEA
Part I
By Scott Redmond
Champion Building
“You’re telling me that Dwayne has just dropped off the face of the Earth? No word at all? That doesn’t seem possible.”
Silhouette shrugged slightly, leaning back in the chair at the table as she placed her feet upon the said table. Vance stared momentarily, still getting used to the fact that the woman’s trademark braces were gone. The bite of the vampire had seemed to cure her paralysis. The doctor’s they had seen had warned her that there was no telling when it could revert but Sil was going to enjoy it as much as she could.
“It is Dwayne we’re talking about. Strong silent type that likes to do things his way. No doubt he has some master plan he’s working out and will pop up when least expected. It is odd that he didn’t at least warn us he was off the grid, but I have faith in him.”
“You’re probably right, but we can’t afford the uncertainty right now. With Chris still on leave with Nita, we’re in a tight spot lately. Not to mention…” There came a pause as he gulped slightly and let his mind wander. “What happened to…Rich.”
Sil let her own head droop as she nodded softly. The team was taking hits as of late, and none were worse than what befell the alien powered hero. They had gained a replacement in the new Nova representative to Earth, Bernie Dillon, but it wasn’t the same. After what transpired they knew that they would likely never see Richard again. There was nothing left for the man on Earth.
Letting out a small controlled breath, Silhouette met her friend’s gaze once again. “Richard is gone for now. We have to regroup and stick to the mission statement at hand. It’s what the others would want. Short staffed or not, it’s what we have to do. The streets need to be cleaned up. The Avengers west coast branch is doing well, but there are rumors of Pride that once controlled crime in the city going down. Rumor also has it that possibly the children of the Pride might have taken over. My sources have confirmed appearances by said children during the recent Vampire incident.”
The sources also claimed the teens had something to do with the ending of the threat, something the Champions had wondered about since. Even if they had, she was having a hard time believing that children of the west coast version of the Kingpin of crime; albeit a large group over one man, wouldn’t be involved with crime. Their actions against the vampires no doubt had to do with keeping their territory clear of others. It was only a matter of time before they would come face to face. It would not bode well for the teens if they were on the wrong side of the law.
“You’re right. It’s what we have to do.”
Before Vance could speak more, a loud ringing echoed through the room. A small monitor appeared in the middle of the table. The screen flickered and the image settled upon a somewhat older man with a thick mustache. The stern look that greeted them didn’t even faze as the man realized his call had gone through.
“Champions?”
“Yes sir, may I ask who you are?”
“Warden Marvin Hutchins. I’m in charge of the brand new prison off the coast of this fine state. The Deep.”
They had heard rumors of a new prison being developed for the coast to rival the prisons of the East Coast. While the super prisons were more needed near New York where most super crime tended to happen, with the increased super activity on the west coast it was a necessary precaution.
“How can we help you Warden?”
“The prison was finished recently and the inmates have been moved in bit by bit. Tomorrow is our final transport of inmates, some of the deadlier personalities. The Governor has tasked me with asking for your assistance with this sensitive move. Our guards are more than qualified to handle such a transport but the Governor doesn’t want to risk any possible mistakes.”
No doubt the politician was more worried about a breakout or mistake in the transport crushing his prison initiative and bid for re-election. At the same time this was one of the things that they had to do as the heroes they were. Justice nodded slightly as the man awaited their answer. With Rich and Dwayne gone, temporary leadership of the team had fallen to him. Sil hadn’t wanted the burden; therefore it was up to him now to decide.
“We’d be more than willing to offer our help in this situation Warden. I shall dispatch a few of my team to the transport site tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
The screen faded as Sil’s hand squeezed Vance’s shoulder lightly. “Did I do the right thing with us so short staffed?”
The woman shrugged lightly as she moved towards the doorway. “It’s a simple prisoner transport. The city will be okay for a few hours. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Prisoner Transport Beta One
En Route to the Deep
Gloved hands moved up to readjust the flexible golden helmet made of alien fabric and materials, as Bernie tried to adjust to the small cramped space of the submersible. Another hand settled upon his shoulder and drew his gaze to its owner. It was hard to read the looks upon Mickey’s face when it came to his presence. From the recent events centered around Rich he knew how close the two were. His presence was almost a slap in the face after what Rich had done. No doubt she had never wanted to see anyone associated with the Nova uniform again. Yet here he was at the request of the Nova Corps and approved by Justice.
“Are you alright?” There was a catch in her voice as the words came out.
“Yeah. Just not used to being so far beneath the water. Guess I’m a little wary of the vessel and the tight space.”
“Even after flying the space lanes?”
“Eh, I never really got to head into space much. The teleport beams got me where I needed to go and I haven’t really been in the Corps long. Just enough for training and such to replace…well you know.”
Catching himself in time, he turned to regard the others and the solo prisoner that was within the submersible. Justice had said the Warden told him it was a big prisoner transport but so far all that was there was just Jonathan Ohn, otherwise known as the super villain The Spot. Iron shackles held the man in place as he sat seemingly staring straight ahead. It was hard to tell where he could be looking as they never removed his mask or suit. Apparently they had tried before and the results had not been pretty. A current one eared guard could attest to that.
“Isn’t it strange that the large prisoner transport we’re supposed to be helping with has just one prisoner?” Bernie’s question was posed to all as the others glanced over.
Along with Turbo and himself, Justice had also sent Silhouette, Firestar, and Lightspeed along for the trip. They were the main force left of the Champions as of late. Justice himself had stayed back to tend the fort and work with the new staff that had arrived recently. Something about making a second impression after a vampire attack or such. Bernie decided he would rather not know the details.
“Just the question I plan to pose to the warden.”
The resolve in Silhouette’s voice as she watched the final descent of the sub, was enough to put the new Nova at ease. The woman had that effect on others. Clearly they could see what Night Thrasher had seen in her.
“Final approach to the deep. Prepare for docking procedures.” The pilot let his fingers fly across the keys as the heroes grabbed onto the upper railing. Seconds later the sub clanged into the station and the airlock was sealed. Soon as it was pressurized he turned and smiled at his passengers. “Welcome to the Deep.”
Water dripped within the debarking chamber as Spot was led out by his five person entourage. Warden Harkins stood in the middle of the open area of the prison, eyes glancing left and right as he awaited the heroes. Two guards with their helmets on tightly stood beside the man.
Stepping forward Silhouette handed the man the paperwork that transferred custody of Ohn to the prison. “One prisoner ready for incarceration.” The warden took the paper and nodded, ready to leave. Sil’s hand upon his shoulder turned him back. “If you don’t mind me asking Warden, you told us there would be an entire transport for us to escort.”
“Don’t always believe what you hear dear.” The voice came from the guard to Harkin’s right as suddenly a metal tentacle erupted from the guard’s armor and slammed Sil into the furthest wall.
As Firestar and Lightspeed leapt into action, dark holes appeared before them and swallowed them whole before they could react. Across the prison the dark holes opened to deposit their prisoners into power dampening cells.
The second guard ripped off his helmet revealing the trademark yellow mask that was part of Stuart Clarke’s old Rampage exoskeleton. Having raided it from the armory of the prison, he was raring to go. Leaping forward with an outstretched hand, he caught Nova off guard long enough to unleash a yellow puff of gas from his palm into the hero’s face.
Stumbling back gasping, Bernie began to cry out as he was surrounded by strange creatures trying to attack him. Falling to the ground screaming, the villains watched the galactic hero begin to break down.
The whir of Turbo’s gauntlets was silenced quickly as she was yanked up by the arm by a large man with a wrinkled face. Crying out at the pain, she stared Corruptor straight in the face. Her mask was ripped away as she tried to raise her other turbine to attack. Pain seeped through her every pore as a metallic device was slammed into the back of her neck. The scream she wanted to unleash never came. The hero was now under the large man’s total control.
‘We did it…We actually did it. I can’t believe it.” Rampage smiled broadly as he turned to watch Lady Octopus remove the rest of the guard uniform from her body.
Four metal tentacles stretched out as the woman stood in her trademark slinky outfit. “Yes we did Stuart. In one fell swoop, we’ve taken out the Champions. The Deep is ours.”
NEXT: The original Champions return? Villains triumphant!
The drug-addled superhero is a bit of a cliché and you managed to take the cliché and make it a little edgier. It started out as a good representation of drug addicts and those who help them but I found the issues were resolved far to quickly, in a rather short issue, and they seemed unrealistic. After what had happened Namorita and Darkhawk were fine? She gave him a person to focus his hatred on and now its suddenly forgotten. It didn’t seem real there and I feel that he’s gotten over the drug addiction far to fast. Nobody is that strong in ten days, the temptation should still be there. I’ll reserve further judgement until later issues. Namorita was written with a tender firmness that I found intriguing and endearing, a brilliant read. Darkhawk was written well to begin with, his inner struggles. It was a good issue, my main problem was with the epilogue. It seemed forced and rushed.
I appreciate the words Gavin. Looking back at the issue and my own thoughts about it, I pretty much concur with what you said. Not enough time was really given for him to fully get over the addiction and everything, something I now realize. I plan to show some of the remaining issues with his addiction very soon in the main series. I didn’t mean to make it seem so peachy keen at the end which was a mistake. Definitely not one of my top issues, but hopefully it gets better with this very issue. Darkwawk is becoming one of my second favorite characters to write in the series after Turbo. I don’t count Nova since obviously I liked him enough to do a solo with him lol. The evolution of Chris is far from over. You have my word on that. Thanks again for the review.
The next one is from a long time collaborator and friend and the brand new solo EIC of this very site Hunter Lambright:
I’ll start this off by saying that so far, I have really liked pretty much everything Scott has written in the past, which is why, for me, this issue seems a little, well, subpar from what I’m used to. You see, the issue was really short compared to normal, and a good chunk of it is a repeated scene anyway from the beginning to the end. The truth is, I’ve have gone with slotting this in between the scenes of a larger, ongoing arc in order to cement the idea that this really took time to go through. Other than that, though, Scott’s got his characters solid and his feet on the ground. His prose is still great, and I can’t hold anything other than the shortness of the issue against him, to be honest. So while this looks more negative, it’s not. It is actually pretty damn good.
Thanks for the review Hunter. Just like with Gavin’s review, I heartily agree with the comments. I dropped the ball with this issue. I was going to do it as an Amazing Fantasy issue but there is a quite a few issues ahead, so changed it to a Champions issue instead, and when I decided that I should have taken a second look at the issue and fleshed it out. Hopefully this new issue made up for the last. Glad you liked it other than the shortness and time issues with the whole detox. After thinking about the issue again and such, I expanded on ideas of what to do with Darkhawk and how to make up for such a sub par issue. Hopefully the next one will bring back the Champions quality of old.
That’s it for this issue. I feel a lot more confident with this issue of the title and I hope that shows through. Champions was my first title for Marvel Omega and for the community as a whole, so I hope to keep the quality going. My plans for the future aren’t really in motion yet but I hope to keep this title going for years to come.
Scott Redmond
10/11/09
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