Madripoor

The Principality of Madripoor, located in the Straight of Malacca, southwest of Singapore. Once a haven for pirates, today that tradition continues. It has become a bastion for crime and remains a place of safety for criminals, thanks to the lack of an extradition policy.

The city of Madripoor possesses a huge economic divide, splitting it into two halves—Hightown and Lowtown. It is here in Lowtown where business owners must pay protection money routinely to various enforcers. This particular section is under the control of Chon Li, known as Aardwolf. Or at least, under the control of his enforcers. Li himself keeps busy in Hightown and never ventures into Lowtown.

Asano fled Japan for Madripoor twenty years ago to avoid capture by the Japanese authorities. He opened a bar in Lowtown and has been operating it since then. However, protection fees have gone up and he finds himself at a loss.

Unfortunately for Asano, the Smiling Tiger was not willing to see it from that point of view. The claws which covered the Smiling Tiger’s fingers were around Asano’s throat, pinning him to the wall.

“You must understand, Asano—we expect payments to be prompt and on-time.”

The man who spoke leaned against a wall and watched as the Smiling Tiger prepared to slice open Asano’s throat. He was of mixed blood—Asian and African and dressed in a Mandarin-style suit with his head shaved bald. Whereas Smiling Tiger acted as the primary aggressor, Midnight’s Fire served as the leash for the feral young man.

“P-please, I was short this month, I’ll give you what I had,” said Asano.

“You were short last month as well,” said Midnight’s Fire. “You know Mr. Li doesn’t appreciate being short-changed. What could we do to make up the difference?”

“I—I—I—”

Before Asano could say another word, a black aura appeared around his head. Once the aura vanished, so did Asano’s head. His limp body fell to the ground and the Smiling Tiger looked to Midnight’s Fire in shock.

“Children, why are you wasting time here?”

Midnight’s Fire and Smiling Tiger both brought themselves into fighting stances. “You have a lot of nerve coming here, Casseas,” said Midnight’s Fire.

Diego Casseas stepped out from the shadows, his left hand surrounded by black energy, a smile spread across his features.

“I thought you would have had enough sense to stay dead,” said Midnight’s Fire.

“Obviously you’re still a little upset,” said Casseas. Smiling Tiger growled in response.

“You have a chance to walk out of here alive—I suggest you take it,” said Midnight’s Fire.

“Why are you two working for Aardwolf anyway?” asked Casseas. “And why in such a small capacity? From what I’ve heard, the Folding Circle was once at odds with him.”

“Times change and we must as well,” said Midnight’s Fire.

“But working the protection racket? What a waste of your abilities,” said Casseas.

“We’re not interested in what you have to say.”

“Funny, that’s not what Eric and Min Li had to say,” said Casseas.

Midnight’s Fire raised an eyebrow at this comment. “Bloodstrike and Silk Fever? You’ve spoken with them?”

“And they’ve agreed to resurrect the Folding Circle,” said Casseas.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard or not, but Wilson Fisk is dead.”

“No, we hadn’t heard,” said Midnight’s Fire.

“The Kingpin’s death has obviously left a vacancy in the New York underworld, a vacancy I’d like the Folding Circle to fill,” said Casseas.

“And you want us to be your enforcers. I think we’re just fine where we are.”

“Not enforcers—partners. Everything is split down the middle, everyone gets an equal share. The five of us together can make quite a killing, and with our abilities, we can even rival the Maggia’s influence,” said Casseas. “So your choices are as follows. Continue working the protection racket for Aardwolf, making shit for money. Or come back to the Folding Circle, where our power and wealth can vastly increase.”

“Fine,” said Midnight’s Fire. “But I’m keeping my eye on you, Casseas. If I get the slightest suspicion that you’re going to double-cross us, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

“I would expect nothing less of you,” said Casseas.

GHOST IN THE MACHINE

Part III: Deathlok

By Dino Pollard

New Jersey

Aaron Stack watched intently as he and his fellow captive, Adam Aaronson, attempted to break through the security system of the Casanco Corporation. A leader in the field of robotics, Casanco was a front company secretly owned by SHIELD in their attempts to build a new Deathlok prototype cyborg.

Their captors, the Iron Trinity, had plans to steal the Deathlok prototype for themselves and sell it on the black market. For that, they needed someone with an inborn knowledge of the Deathlok’s operating systems. And as the prototype was based on the specs of the Machine Man and the Machine Teen, that made them the obvious choices.

The security console beeped and a green light came on. The door slid open and Aaron and Adam led the way inside, followed by the Iron Trinity.

“There, we got you inside,” said Machine Teen. “Now how about you let us go?”

“We’re not through yet, buddy,” said Killdozer. “We still need you two to bring the Deathlok prototype up and running.”

“No tricks, either,” said Steel-Fist. “Don’t forget, we have people watching your parents, kid. If we don’t report back at regular intervals, their trigger fingers get itchy if you know what I mean.”

Machine Teen cursed under his breath and glanced to the Machine Man. But the X-51 model didn’t seem to offer any sort of emotional response to the situation. Instead, he just concentrated on the task at hand. What little Adam knew of the Machine Man was that he was once associated with the Avengers and a hero. Now, Adam wondered if he had switched sides.

“This way,” said Machine Man. He turned down a darkened corridor and the other four followed. There were emergency lights on to guide their path, but nothing else and the Trinity felt no need to get the facility fully up and running. There was no telling how much SHIELD was monitoring it.

A freight elevator took the quintet down to the sub-basement levels. A large door with RESTRICTED printed on it stood before them. Both Machine Man and Machine Teen approached the door and wires snaked out from their hands, attaching to the security console. It took only a few moments for them to communicate with the security system before the doors slid open with a hiss.

The three armored scientists who composed the Iron Trinity stepped forward and beneath their faceplates, each of them smiled. In the center of the room, attached to various wires, was the Deathlok prototype—an assassin that was almost unstoppable. Powered by a human mind, it would make a perfect addition to any terrorist cell or rogue nation. Provided they had the money to buy it from the Iron Trinity.

“Alright kid, get this thing up and running,” said Heavy Metal Jacket. “And you, Stack, I want you to download all the specs for the prototype. We may have the makings of a new business venture here.”

Machine Man walked over to a console and interfaced with the CPU. He began to download the data from the computer on the prototype into his own memory banks. While he did that, Machine Teen interfaced with the Deathlok prototype itself. Its eyes lit up and it began to move.

“Beautiful,” said Heavy Metal Jacket.

The wires disconnected from the cyborg’s body and it stepped down before the Trinity.

“Good work, kid,” said Steel-Fist. “Your parents get to live another day.”

Deathlok raised its hand and backhanded Steel-Fist. The armored scientist reeled from the blow and looked up at the cyborg with a shock. He then turned to look at Machine Teen.

“You little shit, what the hell did you do?”

The Machine Teen offered no response. Instead, his body was limp against the console.

Compartments on Deathlok’s forearms slid open and miniature gun turrets extended from them. He took aim at the Iron Trinity and began firing.

“Well, whatever he’s done, that thing’s gone nuts!” said Killdozer.

Queens

Patriot knelt beside the limp body of Nina Aaronson and placed his fingers by her neck. He looked up at the other New Warriors, as well as Scorpion.

“She’s still alive,” he said.

“Same over here,” said Joystick, who knelt beside Nina’s husband.

“Looks like we’re a little late getting over here, though,” said Rage. The Queens home of the Aaronsons was trashed and it was obvious that a struggle had occurred.

“Scorpion to base,” said the Scorpion. The circuitry in her facemask provided a mic that transmitted to the SHIELD Helicarrier, along with an earpiece she wore. “We’re too late—Aaronson’s been taken by the Trinity.”

{Figured as much.} The voice of Dum Dum Dugan, her handler, came through her earpiece. {They’ll be heading for the Casanco Corporation, where the prototype is stored. You and those Warriors get over there pronto. We have a failsafe in place, but better safe than sorry.}

“Understood. Scorpion out.” She looked to the rest of the Warriors. “We’ve got a bead on them.”

“So how about leveling with us?” asked Joystick.

“I told you, the information was classified,” said Scorpion.

“One of our teammates is missing and if you think we’re going to follow you before you tell us the story, then you’ve got another thing coming,” said Joystick. An energy baton appeared in each of her hands as she spoke and she regarded Scorpion with a cold stare.

“You don’t want to fight me,” said Scorpion. The gauntlet on her left arm retracted and her left hand began to glow with green energy. “Keep in mind that you’re still a fugitive, Joystick. And technically, I’m well within my authority to place you under arrest.”

“Then you go through me first,” said Patriot, moving between the two women. The rest of the Warriors rallied around Patriot and Joystick.

“Make that all of us,” said Rage.

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” said Scorpion.

“The only one of us who’s in danger is you if you don’t tell us what we want to know,” said Gravity.

{Scorpion, what in the hell is going on down there? GPS tracking shows you haven’t moved an inch!}

“We’re having some… difficulties,” said Scorpion. “They want a full briefing.”

{Oh for chrissakes, just tell them!}

Scorpion rolled her eyes. “Acknowledged.” She sighed before she addressed the Warriors once more. “Aaronson’s father once worked for a company called Casanco, which is a front company owned by SHIELD’s Logarithmic Organic Kinetics department, or LOK. They were developing a prototype of a cybernetic organism, based on Able Stack’s X-51 robot. That prototype vanished and was reported destroyed a few years ago. And now Machine Teen turns up, bearing a strong resemblance to that prototype.”

“So basically, Machine Teen is that prototype,” said Ricochet. “But why does the Iron Trinity want him?”

“After that prototype vanished, Casanco began constructing a new one—this one with a bit more of an upgrade from the previous,” said Scorpion. “It’s the prototype for a new Deathlok cyborg. A cybernetic assassin, controlled by a human mind. But for the Trinity to get it out, they either need to have a working knowledge of Casanco’s security as well as the cyborg’s CPU.”

“Machine Man and Machine Teen,” said Patriot. “That’s why they captured the two of them—so they could operate the Deathlok cyborg.”

“Exactly,” said Scorpion. “And now, we have word that there’s been some activity in Casanco after they closed for the night. So we have to get moving.”

The Casanco Corporation

“How the hell is this happening?” said Heavy Metal Jacket as it deflected a laser from Deathlok off his gauntlet. “I thought the weapons systems couldn’t be activated without a conscious mind controlling it!”

“It’s that kid, he must’ve somehow taken control of it!” said Killdozer. He aimed his palm at Deathlok and fired off a blast of intense heat energy, covering the cyborg in its entirety. Deathlok turned its head to acknowledge its attacker and charged towards Killdozer. Heavy Metal Jacket and Steel-Fist came to their teammate’s aid.

Over at the console, the Machine Man had stopped the download of the blueprints. Instead, he went ahead and used the computers to send a distress signal to SHIELD. Now with Deathlok apparently set off by Machine Teen, which explained why the young hero was collapsed.

The doors to the large room opened and the New Warriors and the Scorpion stood in their wake. The Scorpion quickly moved to the Machine Man’s side.

“What happened?” asked Scorpion.

“The boy, he activated Deathlok like they wanted to, and it seems he’s taken control of the cyborg,” said Machine Man.

“So you’re saying he’s inside that killer robot?” asked Speedball. “That doesn’t sound too good…”

Deathlok continued its assault on the Iron Trinity, but in the midst of it, something seemed to be going wrong with its operating systems. The cyborg convulsed and collapsed. The Iron Trinity took this as a respite, but quickly found themselves up against the New Warriors instead.

Joystick opened the assault by slamming her two energy batons together. A blast of concussive energy spewed forth from the union, knocking Killdozer from his feet. Heavy Metal Jacket and Steel-Fist activated their boot thrusters, but Gravity used his powers to bring them crashing to the ground.

Rage charged forward and punched Steel-Fist. He continued to pummel the armored man, trying to keep him on the ropes before Steel-Fist could retaliate. Speedball launched himself forward and slammed into Heavy Metal Jacket. Using his kinetic field, he battered the armored man relentlessly. Joystick joined in the battle as well, assisting him with her batons.

Killdozer got to his feet and was greeted with a venom blast from Spider-Woman. He grunted in annoyance and fired off an electrical charge. Spider-Woman defended herself for the most part with a shield crafted from psionic webbing, but it only halted the blow slightly. Ricochet and Patriot moved on the thief, combining their strength in an attempt to keep him off-balance.

Gravity flew into the midst of the battle and Patriot and Ricochet dodged away as Gravity used his powers to increase the weight of Killdozer’s arms and legs, making it impossible for him to move. Spider-Woman dropped down on Killdozer’s shoulders and tore the helmet free from his head, with some aid from Gravity’s control over it.

Gravity performed the same function on Steel-Fist and Heavy Metal Jacket, with Rage and Joystick tearing those helmets free. With their armors damaged, the Iron Trinity were effectively neutered.

Machine Man and Scorpion approached and the heroes gathered around Machine Teen and Deathlok, both collapsed on the ground. Slowly, Deathlok began to twitch and finally rose to its feet. Its eyes began to glow once more and it looked to Scorpion.

“Give me a sit-rep, Scorpion,” it said.

“Huh?” asked Scorpion. “Who the hell are you?”

“Agent Truman,” he said. “While you tried to reach Aaronson, Dugan and I decided the best course of action would be to transfer my consciousness into Deathlok, so if the Trinity did get in, we’d have a surprise for them.”

“Then what happened to the boy?” asked Machine Man. “The cyborg awoke shortly after he tried to interface with it.”

“There was another consciousness trying to gain a foothold, but then it went off,” said Truman. “That’s when I stepped in and took control.”

“Wait, so he’s in the computer?” asked Patriot.

Machine Man moved to the console and quickly interfaced with the systems. He scanned through the computers at Casanco, but turned to the Warriors and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t locate him. His consciousness is still out there somewhere—the question is where?”

“We’ve gotta find him, we can’t just leave him like that,” said Spider-Woman.

“There’s nothing I can do, not from here anyway,” said Machine Man.

“Plus, that body he was in is the property of SHIELD—Aaronson stole it from us,” said Truman.

“Hey asshole, that’s our friend you’re talking about!” said Spider-Woman.

“Friend or not, that body is coming back with us,” said Truman. “Scorpion, back me up.”

“Give them a break, Truman—they helped us out today,” said Scorpion.

“Need I remind you that I outrank you, agent?” asked Truman. Scorpion glared at the cyborg, but then did as she was told and faced Patriot.

“We’ll do what we can to help your friend, but there’s nothing more I can do right now,” said Scorpion.

“Not good enough,” said Patriot.

“It’ll have to do,” said Truman.

“If I can suggest an option,” said Machine Man. “Agent Truman, I’m willing to offer my services to SHIELD to search for the boy. If necessary, I’ll even offer up my own body as a home for his consciousness.”

Truman looked at Patriot. “That good enough for you, Bucky?”

“My name is Patriot.”

“Like I give a shit,” said Truman. “As of this moment, you’re all trespassing on SHIELD property. I’ve already sent out a signal to the Helicarrier and agents are on their way as we speak. So either leave now, or you kids—and the Taylor Foundation—will find yourselves in a sticky legal situation.”

Patriot was about to step forward, but Speedball laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Dude, we can’t afford to bring that kind of heat down on Dwayne’s head,” he said. “There’s nothing we can do for MT—we might as well let them handle this.”

Patriot relented and stepped closer to Truman. “Don’t think that this is over.”

“If you wanna piss me off and have all of SHIELD crashing down on your head, then keep pushing tough guy,” said Truman.

Patriot clenched his fist tightly, but rather than choosing to pick a fight with Deathlok, he turned and walked towards the door. The Warriors followed, save for Rage who hung behind for a moment. He threw a right-hook at the Deathlok cyborg, knocking him to the ground.

“That’s for being a prick,” he said, before following his teammates out the door.

NEXT: Joystick’s criminal past catches up with her when she becomes the target of the Jury! Be here for part one of “Judgment Day”!