The Infiltrator

Moonraker stood on the deck of the Infiltrator, his hand surrounded by the blue glow of his ability to generate corposant fire. Hovering in the air above him was Nate Grey, the X-Man. One of the members of Force Works. According to his SHIELD file, the X-Man thought of himself as the mutant equivalent of Jesus.

Slade Truman cursed his luck. He was supposed to sneak aboard the Infiltrator and see what knowledge he could gain about it. Was Bridge a captive of this new team of supposed heroes? Or had he actually gone rogue? But the last thing Moonraker expected to encounter on this mission was Force Works’ most-powerful member. Still, Moonraker had at least one trick up his sleeve which would help even the odds a little bit. His hand went to his belt, activating a hidden switch there.

The X-Man grinned, his left eye crackling with raw, unbridled psionic energy. “A psi-scrambler? Really?”

“You’ve stopped talking in my head, so it must be working,” said Moonraker.

“Too bad for you I can do a lot more than read minds,” said the X-Man. With a gesture of his hand, Moonraker froze and his body slowly ascended until he and Grey were eye-level. “Care to tell me what you’re doing on my ship, Slade?”

“It’s not your ship, it’s SHIELD’s ship,” said Moonraker. “And your team stole it from us.”

“I didn’t steal anything, Bridge already had this ship when he asked me to join his little club.”

“So Bridge is behind this, then?”

X-Man smirked. “We both know the answer to that, Slade.”

“You forgot one thing, though,” said Moonraker.

“Oh?”

“You’re just holding my body, I’m the one holding back my power!” The corposant fire left Moonraker’s hand and struck the X-Man, taking him by surprise. The momentary distraction caused him to break his hold and Moonraker fell back to the deck. Once he landed, he ran back, turning occasionally to fire off additional plasma bursts.

The first few caught X-Man unawares but then he threw up a telekinetic shield. As he watched Moonraker sprint across the death, he smiled. “I love a good chase.” X-Man flew after him, neatly avoiding every blast Moonraker threw his way.

The X-Man stopped in his tracks and hovered. With a gesture, Moonraker completely slipped and fell on his back, his head knocking against the deck. He involuntarily flipped over onto his stomach. Then he was raised back up, this time just a few feet away from the hovering mutant. The X-Man’s eye crackled brightly.

“Do you know how fine my telekinesis is, Slade?” he asked. “I can take things apart on a molecular level. Do you know what that means I can do to you?”

Moonraker looked down at his wetsuit which was beginning to dissolve away.

“If I can do that, imagine what I can do to a human being.”

“You’d really kill a SHIELD agent? Then you’re even crazier than I thought,” said Moonraker.

“You humans, you’re completely incapable of paying attention,” said X-Man. The molecules of the wetsuit reformed on Moonraker’s body. “I said I could do that. I never said I would.”

He dropped Moonraker back to the deck and slowly lowered down, shifting his legs into the lotus position and hovering just above the surface. Moonraker gave him a look, one Nate didn’t need telepathy to know conveyed complete and total confusion.

“Is this some kind of mind game of yours?” asked Moonraker.

“I’m not going to kill you, Slade. What purpose would that serve?”

“You’re playing some sort of game, aren’t you?”

“No,” said Nate. “I just like seeing how things play out. I know Bridge isn’t working for SHIELD, but I’m the only one here who knows that. And I also know something else. Something that may or may not help you and Fury.”

“And what’s that?” asked Moonraker.

The X-Man gestured again and Moonraker flew back into the air. The mask and breathing apparatus he came with were telekinetically refitted to his body. The X-Man moved closer to him and said simply, “your answer lies in Camelot.”

Then, with a flick of his wrist, the X-Man sent Moonraker back into the depths of the ocean.

COST OF IMPERFECTION

Part III

By Hunter Lambright and Dino Pollard

Below the Infiltrator, George Washington Bridge, AWOL Agent of SHIELD, had no idea of the events occurring on the deck of his commandeered ship. Instead, Bridge had other matters on his mind, namely the prisoner just delivered to him by the alien known as Century.

Niles Van Roekel sat bound in a chair before Bridge, who calmly circled him with his hands clasped behind his back. Roekel was the head of the Imperfects Project, which had been using AIM money to build his own army of superhumans. Force Works apprehended him and left him with their founder.

“What’s AIM’s purpose, Roekel?” asked Bridge. “Who’s in charge of this operation?”

“You think you can make me talk?” asked Roekel. “You don’t have anything on me. The people who employ me are far more frightening than you could ever be.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.” Bridge reached into one of the white pouches on his belt and pulled out a pair of pliers. He knelt down in front of Roekel and took one of the man’s struggling fingers in his grip.

“You wouldn’t dare,” said Roekel. “You’re a SHIELD agent. That means you answer to the United Nations. They’d never condone torture.”

“You’re right, they wouldn’t and I’d be court-martialed for it.” Bridge clamped the pliers down on the edge of Roekel’s fingernail and began to pull. “But we’re a long way from SHIELD.”

Texas

“You know what I hated about The Alamo movie?” asked the 3-D Man. “I already knew how it was going to end. ‘Remember the Alamo’ and all that.”

“Quiet,” said Cybermancer. “I’m picking up some very faint life signs. Which isn’t good for a tourist destination. Your senses picking anything up?”

3-D Man shook his head. “I don’t hear anything out of the ordinary. No screaming, no groaning, nothing. Maybe we’re too late?”

As the pair advanced upon the landmark, they saw dozens of tourists collapsed on the ground. Cybermancer immediately went to one of them, running scans with her armor. “This is bad, Delroy. I’m reading all sorts of different diseases here. Ones that don’t even exist on this continent.”

“Are they still alive?”

“Barely.”

“Suzi, we got company,” said the 3-D Man.

Walking from the building was the green, decrepit form of Hazmat. He dragged a fresh victim with him and added it to the pile. Through the mask he wore came a hollow, digitized voice. “Better hold your breath, children.”

“Delroy, you’d better—” Before Cybermancer could finish issuing the warning, the 3-D Man took a deep breath and already charged forward with his incredible speed. Hazmat moved into a fighting stance and with the gloved claws which served as his hand, slashed at the 3-D Man. Delroy managed to duck and then moved in with an uppercut to Hazmat’s chin. The 3-D Man countered with a palm-slam to the chest and then a roundhouse kick.

“Watch his claws!” said Cybermancer, flying in to offer her aid. “You don’t want to get infected yourself!”

“Hush,” said Hazmat, and fired a corrosive blast that knocked Cybermancer from the sky. Her armor had shielded her from the brunt of the attack. She got back on her feet quickly and rocketed into Hazmat, unleashing shock rays from the gauntlets of her armor, which knocked him back a few hundred feet.

The 3-D Man suddenly gasped for breath. Cybermancer landed near him. “You’re too vulnerable here. I need you to notify the CDC, get a quarantine established here immediately.”

“I can’t leave you to take him on your own,” said the 3-D Man.

“And if you stay here, you’re going to get infected as well,” said Cybermancer. An energy field appeared around her body. “My hard-light cloak can protect me, but I can’t project one onto you as well.”

“But—”

“Delroy, these people here need immediate medical attention!” she said. “If you don’t do this, then pretty soon, they’re gonna die. I’ll take out Hazmat, you bring in reinforcements.”

“’Remember the Alamo’ my ass,” muttered the 3-D Man as he took off in a sprint.

Cybermancer brought her attention back to Hazmat, using her sensors to lock onto his unique biological signature. She needn’t have used them, as Hazmat ran back to the scene, prepared for round two. Two long blades composed of hard-light energy surrounded Cybermancer’s fists and she thrust forward with one of them, which Hazmat easily leapt over. When she slashed with the second, Hazmat rolled beneath it.

He was fast, perhaps even too fast. Mentally, she adjusted the calibration on her targeting system, changing the missiles from heat-seeking and programming them to lock onto Hazmat’s signature. The computer established a lock and a pair of missiles went flying.

Hazmat’s corrosive blast took out one of them but when he tried for the second, he was too close to the blast and it threw him back. Cybermancer didn’t give him a chance to recover, descending on him and driving the hard-light blade into his abdomen.

San Francisco

Deathlok came over the ridge, stalking behind the Imperfect called Fault Zone. The young Russian woman stood near the Golden Gate Bridge and the seismic generator fused to her body channeled its energies into her hands. She knelt down and slammed her palms against the ground, sending out a shockwave that caused the bridge to shake and cars to swerve and slam into each other.

She prepared for another assault, but Deathlok fired off a shell from his shotgun that struck her in the back. The cybernetics lined throughout her body protected her from the blunt of the shot and she turned towards him in anger. She thrust her arms forward, sending a shockwave that knocked Deathlok off his feet.

Fault Zone moved in for another strike, but Deathlok jumped over her blast and came down on her. He slammed the butt of his shotgun against her head and used it to knock her legs out from under her. Discarding it, lasers emerged from their compartments on the cyborg’s forearms. He turned them on Fault Zone, severing her cybernetic limbs. As she screamed from the loss of her limbs yet again, Deathlok flipped her onto her stomach and grabbed hold of the seismic generator fused to her spine. Deathlok’s own gears whirred in strain until he tore it free from her body.

Coney Island

People ran screaming as the Wink easily avoided the Black Knight’s sword with the aid of her teleportation abilities. She teleported behind him and slashed his back with her claws. The Black Widow came in next, firing several rounds, but the Wink vanished again. The Black Widow stood over her teammate, but made no effort to check his wounds.

“Come. She’s on the move.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” said the Knight. “Where’d she go?”

The Black Widow surveyed the amusement park and saw a figure standing on a roller coaster car. “Up there.”

The Knight’s pendant flashed and his flying horse appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He mounted it and offered a hand to the Widow. She ignored his hand and climbed up under her own power. The steed took to the air, flying towards the roller coaster track. Once they were close enough, the Black Widow jumped off and flipped in the air. She fired her Widow’s line, snagging onto the frame and used it to land on the tracks.

The Widow raised her guns and fired at the Wink as the car approached, but the bullets passed harmlessly through the Imperfect. As the car came closer, the Black Widow jumped and landed in the first car of the ride. The Wink jumped forward, ready to claw at the Widow but just as Yelena raised her guns, the Wink vanished yet again. She appeared behind the Black Widow and wrapped one arm around her neck. The Wink raised her other hand to strike.

Before she delivered the killing blow, an energy blast from the Black Knight’s Sword of Light caused the coaster to derail and fall. The Black Knight swooped in and grabbed the Widow’s hand. The Wink however, vanished again. This time, she did not reappear.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” said Yelena.

“Fine, next time I’ll let you fall,” said Dane.

Mount St. Helen’s

Solara descended inside the volcano, using her superheated energy to attempt to generate an eruption. She fired down inside the volcano, hoping the increased heat and pressure would trigger an eruption. She was so focused on it, she barely noticed the hail of bullets flying into the volcano until it was almost too late.

Solara rocketed out the mouth of the volcano and found the War Machine waiting for her. As soon as she showed her face, his shoulder-mounted launcher unleashed a volley of missiles. Solara flew from them, gaining some distance and then turning and blasting them out of the air with a burst of energy.

“Trigging a volcanic eruption? Very Blofeldian,” said War Machine.

“Stay out of my way!” shouted Solara as she turned her energy blasts on him.

War Machine stood his ground, the blasts barely enough to even scorch his armor. “Nah, don’t think I’ll be doing that.”

Solara attempted to escape, with War Machine giving chase. The gatling gun on his other shoulder spun rapidly, releasing a hail of bullets at her. Solara did her best to try and avoid the strike. She stopped in mid-flight and descended just a bit, and War Machine didn’t have enough time to slow down, so flew right over her. Once he was able to pull back on his thrusters, she was already going back towards the volcano.

“Oh hell no you don’t!” War Machine locked onto her with his sensors and cut loose with more missiles.

Solara attempted to avoid these as well but they followed her and she was now too close to them to destroy them with her blasts. She tried to gain more and more speed, but the missiles caught up to her and a massive explosion in the air signaled the battle’s end.

“Heat-seeking missiles, bitch,” said War Machine.

Niagara Falls

Ammunition blew like the wind from Brigade’s arms and shoulders. The tourists he had targeted attempted to run but weren’t fast enough and others were frozen in fear. A tear appeared above the battle and Century descended down. He dropped to the ground between Brigade and the survivors, using Parallax to create another portal that absorbed the bullets. The exit portal opened behind Brigade, causing him to be caught in his own crossfire.

“Stop, what are you doing!” shouted Brigade.

“I’d say that should be indisputable/obvious/evident,” said Century.

“Not you, him!” said Brigade pointing at himself. “This isn’t what we’re about, we’re supposed to fight for Americans!”

“This is an interesting development…” said Century.

“This is who we are now, get used to it, soldier!” shouted Brigade at himself. He raised his arms and fired several plasma blasts at Century. “And as for you, you’re dead, you alien freak!”

Century deflected many of the blasts with his scythe, slowly advancing as he did. “I’m afraid not.” Century swung the scythe and sliced off one of Brigade’s arms, then drove the blunt end of the scythe against Brigade’s nose. “We are alike in some ways, both engineered by merging the minds of others. Unfortunately, I do not have the means to help/assist/aid you.”

The alien warrior raised the scythe and like an executioner, brought it down on Brigade’s head.

The Infiltrator

Roekel’s face was covered with blood, his breathing ragged. Bridge wiped his hands with a rag and looked at the alien scientist. “Have you had enough yet?”

The scientist chuckled. “I suppose so. There’s not much you can do now to stop it.”

“Stop what?” asked Bridge.

“Miriam Sharpe…wanted an army,” said Roekel. “With superhuman terrorist attacks, Sharpe could ram the SHRA through the Congress. Just like her masters want.”

“And who would her masters be?”

Roekel shook his head. “I don’t know. Sharpe came to me…received funding from AIM. Asked me to-to create an army for her. A terrorist cell. And I did, but our goals weren’t the same. I was going to use my army, take them back to my home planet. So I could save it.”

Roekel started laughing now. “That stupid bitch had no idea I’d accomplish her goal by making her a martyr.”

Bridge’s brow knitted together. “You’re going to kill her. But your Imperfects…”

“They’re all committing acts of terrorism? Not quite,” said Roekel. “I kept two in the wings. One is going after Sharpe as we speak.”

“What about the other?”

Bridge looked around as the lights in the Infiltrator slowly dimmed before turning off completely. The Infiltrator was now pitch-black, Roekel’s laughter echoing throughout the room. Bridge reached for his gun out of habit, even though he knew it would be useless if he couldn’t see what he was shooting at.

The room lit up with a dim blue glow. Bridge turned to the source and electricity generated by Johnny Ohm flowed into his body until he fell to the ground. The lights came back on and Ohm freed Roekel from his bonds.

“This is why you’re my favorite, John,” said Roekel. “Is my ship ready?”

“It’s outside,” said Ohm.

Shortly after the pair departed, the X-Man entered the room and went to Bridge’s side. The former SHIELD agent slowly opened his eyes, still groggy. “You’re alive, I see,” said Nate. “You should be grateful.”

“Where the hell were you?” asked Bridge.

“Exploring how to send my astral projection into alternate dimensions,” said the X-Man. “Haven’t quite mastered it yet.”

“Yeah well right now, I want you to get a message to Century. Tell him Roekel’s got an Imperfect prepared to assassinate Sharpe!”

“I should care because…?”

Bridge grabbed Nate’s chin. “Because if she’s killed, it’ll give the Congress just the initiative they need to ram through the SHRA, you arrogant prick!”

The X-Man remained stoic even after that comment. “Very well, if you insist…”

Washington, DC

Senator Miriam Sharpe stood on-stage at a rally outside the Capitol Building. Supporters in the crowd held signs with various slogans printed on them, such as REGISTRATION NOW or NO MORE MARVELS. Others had images, like one with the stylized A which symbolized the Avengers in a circle with a line through it.

Sharpe smiled and waved at the crowd and they cheered. “My fellow Americans, it’s so great to see so many of you out here in our nation’s capital, standing up for what’s right! In the midst of these ongoing superhuman terrorist attacks, now is the time for our country to act! No more will we live in fear of nameless, faceless vigilantes having their costumed wrestling matches in our neighborhoods, near our schools! No more will we allow them to go free without having to answer to the deaths of innocent bystanders or the wanton destruction of property! The Superhuman Registration Act will require all of them to register with the government! And if they choose to operate as superheroes, they will need to undergo the required training for such an authorization!”

The crowd cheered and Sharpe smiled again, basking in their adulation. And as she did, Paragon descended onto the stage and quickly slashed the throats of Sharpe’s security detail. She moved to strike at Sharpe next, when a portal opened up and Century emerged. The alien warrior extended his hand, projecting a burst of energy that threw Paragon back.

As the crowd went crazy, screaming for help and running for cover, Century hefted Parallax in both hands, ready for Paragon’s next strike. She never did, though. Instead, the Wink appeared between the two. She placed her hand on Paragon’s shoulder and the pair of them vanished.

“I’m sorry, I failed,” said Sharpe. Mascara-stained tears ran down the sides of her face.

“Yes, you did.” The voice that spoke to her had a slight echo to it. “But now you must be strong. Stand up and if there is any implication of your involvement, deny it. My people have already seen to it that no evidence links you to the Imperfects.”

“What about Roekel? And the Imperfects themselves? Are they still out there?”

“It seems unlikely. We have been able to find no trace of them whatsoever. No bodies have been recovered either. Nevertheless, they have been placed on the Most Wanted list and Homeland Security now identifies the Imperfects as a terrorist organization.”

“But what about me?” asked Sharpe. “My career, it’s over now! There’s no way it can be salvaged!”

“Yes it will. Stick with me, Senator, and I will see to it that you have a long and fruitful career in politics.”

“You can guarantee that?” asked Sharpe.

“Of course, I can.” The mysterious man stepped forward, a leather trench coat over a bulky suit of gleaming gold armor. “I’m Dr. Midas, I turn everything to my advantage.”

NEXT: Warzone