Walter Rosen, the CEO of GeneTech, was not having a good day. With an implant developed by GeneTech, he was able to take control of the New Warriors thanks to the help of Patriot. Dwayne Taylor, otherwise known as Night Thrasher, assembled a team of former Warriors to rescue the latest incarnation.

At first, Rosen was satisfied with the events. The present Warriors had the past on the ropes, but what he hadn’t counted on was that Night Thrasher’s team was simply playing possum the entire time. Night Thrasher had one other former Warrior working secretly—Silhouette.

She infiltrated GeneTech and was able to tap into the system. It gave someone else access to the system and in addition to overriding the implants installed by GeneTech, it also gave them one other edge. Silhouette had released Psionex, GeneTech’s team of homegrown marvels.

Despite the alarms blaring however, Rosen’s eyes were fixed on the phone that sat on his desk. He was expecting a call any moment now from his contractor. It was a call he was not looking forward to taking. But he knew it was inevitable.

Beneath GeneTech, Psionex was awakened from their stasis. Mathemaniac, Abyss, Pretty Persuasions, Impulse and Coronary all stood before Silhouette, eyeing her carefully. She stood her ground, not allowing them to intimidate her.

“Listen to me,” she said. “The implants have been overrided. You’re all now free of GeneTech’s control. You’re not their puppets anymore. But there’s still one more thing we have to do—we have to bring them down.”

“And what do we get out of it?” asked Impulse. “Once the smoke clears, then what? You ship us off to the Vault?”

“That’s up to you,” said Silhouette. “You can keep on running from the law like this, constantly fearing GeneTech. Or you can help us bring them down once and for all. The choice is yours. Do you really like living in stasis, being kept in storage until Rosen decides it’s time to use you again? Or do you finally want to be free of them?”

The members of Psionex all looked at each other. Mathemaniac stepped forward. “Give us your word that we’ll be free. If you’re going to turn us over to the authorities, then that’s not any better than what GeneTech’s been doing to us. We’re done being Rosen’s puppets and we won’t be yours, either.”

“I’m speaking on behalf of Night Thrasher, you know we’ll treat you with the dignity you deserve,” said Silhouette. “None of you are villains. You’ve been under Rosen’s control and I give you my word, we’ll let you go free.”

“We’re in,” said Mathemaniac.

“Welcome to the New Warriors,” said Silhouette. “Now let’s get to work.”

PATRIOT GAMES

Part V: Independence Day

By Dino Pollard

Crash Pad

Eddie McDonough sat at the computer console in the headquarters of the New Warriors. Through the terminal, he was staying in contact with everyone on Night Thrasher’s team, including Silhouette.

{Silhouette here. Psionex has accepted our offer. Do your thing, Hornet.}

“Doing that right now, Sil,” said Eddie. “Thanks to the satellite uplink, I’ve access to a lot of damning files on GeneTech. Stuff that I’m sure SHIELD will find very interesting. Just say the word, Thrash.”

The next voice Eddie heard belonged to Dwayne Taylor. {Do it, Hornet.}

“Establishing a connection right now,” said Eddie. “Priority message to SHIELD agent Scorpion. I’ve got something I’m sure your bosses will like to see…”

GeneTech

“Ugh, I’ve got a massive headache…” said Speedball, his hand gripping his head. He offered his hand to Justice and helped his old friend to his feet. “Hey Vance, you know I didn’t mean any of that stuff, right?”

“I know, it’s okay,” said Justice. “You weren’t yourself, man.”

“Gather ’round, people,” said Night Thrasher. He had his foot on Patriot’s chest, pinning the former leader of the Warriors to the ground. “Now’s the time to decide, Patriot. Do you stand with us or with GeneTech?”

“Do I have a choice?” asked Patriot.

“You always do,” said Night Thrasher.

“C’mon Ritchie, didn’t you get enough of being someone else’s gofer with the Black Marvel?” asked Ricochet. In another life, Patriot was the hero called Prodigy and he and Ricochet were both members of the short-lived team called the Slingers.

“You’re right, Rico,” said Patriot. “I’ll help.”

Night Thrasher removed his foot and helped Patriot up. Once he stood, Patriot looked at the assembled Warriors. “This wasn’t what I wanted. I just wanted to be a hero again.”

“Now’s your chance,” said Speedball. Patriot nodded.

“Let’s do this,” he said.

GeneTech security burst onto the scene almost instantly. The Warriors assembled alongside each other, with Night Thrasher taking the lead. He brandished his truncheon sticks, and the rest of the team similarly readied their respective weapons and powers.

“Just like old times, huh buddy?” asked Nova.

“Hell yeah,” said Speedball. “Good to have you back, Buckethead.”

“Good to be back,” said Nova.

Just moments ago, these two teams were at each other’s throats. Now, they were fighting alongside each other against a common threat. The new team felt violated by GeneTech’s attempt to control them and they were itching for payback. It showed as Rage went into a frenzy, attacking the guards as they came at him. Despite the armor the guards wore and the weapons they brandished, they were no use against the young man who was recently a member of the Fantastic Four.

Justice contributed to the battle by telekinetically thrusting Speedball forward. His bubbles surrounded him as he bounced around the room, each strike nailing another guard down.

Gravity caused a group to suddenly drop to the ground from their own increased weight, and Patriot, Night Thrasher and Joystick went at them with their fists and weapons.

Turbo, Firestar and Nova attacked from the air. Turbo’s turbines generated massive gusts of wind and Firestar and Nova followed up with their own respective energy blasts.

Namorita and Darkhawk jumped into the fray, using their fists to speak for them. Ricochet and Spider-Woman fought from the back ranks. Ricochet bounded as close as he wanted to get so he could hurl his discs with Spider-Woman’s venom blasts and psionic webbing catching anything he couldn’t hit.

“This is so cool,” said Gravity. “You guys realize this is our first real team-up since we got together? And we are kicking ass!”

“Dude, relax, this is nothing,” said Nova. “When this is over, I’ve gotta tell you about the Sphinx.”

“Please, I went up against Mephisto,” said Ricochet.

“Oh God, I am so sick of hearing that story!” said Spider-Woman.

“Is this a fight or a bragging session?” asked Patriot.

“C’mon man, what’s a fight without some banter?” asked Speedball. He released a flurry of kinetic bubbles, causing several guards to bounce uncontrollably.

“Y’know, there’s nothing like fighting alongside old friends,” said Justice. He telekinetically removed the rifles from several guards and Firestar swooped down to nail them with microwave bursts. “Nice shot, babe,” he said.

“Thanks, hun,” she said.

Night Thrasher smiled beneath his helmet as he saw six figures emerge from the shadows. Silhouette with Psionex by her side. “It’s about to get a lot better.”

Helicarrier

Carmilla Black, the woman codenamed Scorpion, approached her handler, Dum-Dum Dugan. “We’ve got a situation in New York.”

“Tell me something new,” said Dugan. “What’s the sit rep?”

“The New Warriors are tangling with GeneTech,” she said.

“Why should I care?” asked Dugan.

“Because of the information the Warriors just sent me,” she said. “Check out the terminal.”

Dugan did as she said and viewed the information Hornet uploaded to their system. “Illegal genetic experimentation… Super Soldier Serum… mental implants… some shady dealings with Emma Frost apparently…”

“Rosen’s been pretty busy,” said Scorpion.

“Dispatch a squad of Mandroids,” said Dugan. “The time’s come to shut him down.”

GeneTech

With the added might of Psionex to the Warriors, the fight became even more lopsided against GeneTech’s security forces. Walter Rosen watched it on the security monitors and he knew the time had come for him to get out.

{Mr. Rosen?}

The voice came from an intercom on his desk. He pressed the talk button. “Yes?”

{Psionex has turned on us, and there are reports of a squad of Mandroids en route to GeneTech.}

Rosen removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “Goddammit… this is not good…”

{What should we do, sir?}

“Purge the records, we’re going into deniability mode,” he said. “Call the lawyers, make sure they start preparing a defense. Remember, the Warriors attacked us and Psionex, a group of dangerous beings we were keeping under observation, were released by them.”

{But what about the Warriors?}

“Do what you can, get all security forces down there.”

Mathemaniac’s calculations caused a group of soldiers to lose control of their bowels as Pretty Persuasions’ whip and pheromones caused many to turn against their comrades. Abyss sucked several into her Darkforce dimension. Coronary only needed a touch to cause many of them to experience seizures and Impulse raced through, his blades taking out as many as possible.

Joystick moved through the groups, her batons striking them down. She slammed them together when necessary to generate massive concussive bursts of energy. Night Thrasher and Patriot worked together as if they were a well-oiled machine, both of them striking in unison.

Silhouette moved similarly, using her crutches as offensive weapons. Ricochet dodged bullets thanks to his warning sense, moving in and hurling disc after disc.

“Just how many of these guys do they have?” he asked.

“Who knows, just hit anyone not wearing a costume,” said Namorita.

“We need to get to Rosen,” said Night Thrasher. “We can’t let him slip out.”

“He’s mine,” said Patriot. With that, the hero once called Prodigy slipped away from the battle.

“Patriot wait!” said Night Thrasher, but it was too late. “Dammit. Ricochet, Spider-Woman, come with me.”

“Good, I was starting to run low on discs anyway,” said Ricochet. “Ready Spider-Girl?”

“I so hate you,” said Spider-Woman.

“Yeah, yeah,” said Ricochet.

Walter Rosen descended in his private elevator. It opened in the parking garage and he hoped to get to his car and get out of there before S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived. The coast was clear and he made a beeline for his car. Before he could open the door, a shuriken knocked his keys from his hand. He bent down to pick them up and when he looked up, he found Patriot perched on his hood.

“I think we need to have a chat,” said Patriot. He kicked Rosen in the head and jumped from the hood. He wrapped his gloved fingers around Rosen’s neck and lifted him up before slamming him on the hood.

“Stop… Ritchie… I just gave you what you wanted…”

“I wanted to be a hero, you turned me into a villain,” said Patriot. He increased his grip, beginning to choke his tormentor. “So give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you.”

Patriot pulled his fist back, prepared to use it to pound Rosen’s skull in. Before he could, a psionic web wrapped around his fist, holding it back.

“You shouldn’t because that’s not what we do and you know it,” said Ricochet.

“You don’t understand what he did to me, Rico,” said Patriot.

“He used you as a pawn, I know the feeling,” said Night Thrasher. “But if you do this, you’ll be exactly what he tried to turn you into—a villain. You don’t want that.”

“Remember when we were in Hell, Ritchie? Remember how you said you were letting go of your rage?” asked Ricochet.

“Don’t let him get to you, Patriot. Come back with us,” said Spider-Woman.

Patriot released his grip on Rosen’s throat and the CEO of GeneTech began to gasp for breath. His hand went to his neck to massage the strain. Patriot pulled his mask off and threw it at Rosen.

“I’m done being your Patriot.”

Walter Rosen sat in an interrogation room, awaiting his lawyer. The door opened and a tall man with glasses entered. He carried a briefcase and sat across from Rosen.

“You’re not my lawyer,” said Rosen.

“No, I’m not,” said the man. “I work for your associates, Mister Rosen.”

“You don’t understand, I have to explain—the Super Soldier Serum was perfect, it’s just—”

“No more excuses, Rosen. Control is done with you. But take solace in the fact that your implants will prove very effective.”

Crash Pad

Dwayne Taylor stood before the assembled Warriors and Psionex. “I just spoke with Dugan. GeneTech was apparently violating any number of laws against genetic experimentation. The files Eddie took from them also tied them to the murder of several young mutants.”

“So now we’ve got a bigger problem to worry about,” said Speedball.

“What’s that?” asked Nova.

“Just look around, Buckethead—this Crash Pad ain’t big enough for all of us,” said Speedball. “Or to put it another way—what are we going to do with twenty New Warriors?”

NEXT ISSUE: What indeed, Robbie? That question will be answered next issue! GeneTech is out of business, the Warriors have swelled to a massive number, and the media is now catching on! Who stays, who goes? Find out next issue!