NATURE VS. NURTURE

Part III

By Wesley Overhults

BioSynth Corporate Headquarters, Hope Springs

The Secret Warriors sized up their opposition and took a collective breath before readying for the incoming attack.  Fagin led the charge for Helix’s group of thugs, shifting into his mutated form.  Composite put his hand on one of Gadget’s gauntlets to absorb the properties of its metal and then moved to meet Fagin, the two titans trading blows.  Ana Kravinoff let Watson and Crick off their leashes, the two enhanced jackals sprinting into the fray.  Finesse formed a pair of katanas and batted aside one of Ana’s dogs.  The jackal whimpered from the cut the energy blade gave him but it healed almost immediately.  Ana came in close with her hunting knives, the metallic blades clashing with the ones made out of hardened light.

“I know you’re not used to a situation like this, Lucy,” said Neon as she set off one of her flash grenades to disorient her enemies.  “Trust me, it can be pretty crazy the first time out.”

“I was fine back at the apartment building,” reminded Gadget as her eyes scrolled through the data displayed on her visor and she sent out some of her orbs.

The mechanical spheres hovered around her and glowed with energy.  When Mako tried to take a swing at her, the three orbs formed a triangle in front of Gadget and constructed an energy wall to block the attack.  Mako’s fist bounced off the wall and the force was enough to send him staggering backwards.  Gadget smiled as Mako tried to attack from different angles and marveled at his speed.  These particular spheres were a variant on Iron Man’s standard repulsor technology.  Instead of incorporating them into her gauntlets as a weapon, Gadget used them as a defensive tool.  The orbs kept pace with Mako’s actions, parrying all his attacks with their shield and causing him to recoil every time.

“I have him, Lucy,” assured Requiem as he hit Mako with a blast of magical energy that blew him backwards.  “You have a more important task.  I feel the need to add that your armor looks unsafe.  I don’t know the statistics about how many mechanical failures could result from such things.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve worked out all the bugs,” confirmed Gadget as she set up one repulsor shield on each of her sides and then ran towards the door that would take her to the building’s server room.  “I’ll leave some in here to help you guys out.”

She let out a stream of her spheres behind her and they immediately glowed with electrical energy.  Since she wasn’t as protected as Iron Man and didn’t have access to his full arsenal, Lucy had designed a lot of her weapons to simply be deterrents meant to keep from getting hurt while in combat.  The spheres that were assisting the Warriors now zipped in an out of range of their enemies, delivering a nasty electrical shock every time they connected with one of Helix’s goons.  She knew her toys would give her friends as much help as they could and she was actually relishing the opportunity to test her gear in the field.  She wasn’t exactly Iron Man just yet but it was exhilarating to finally see all her hard work pay off.

“You may have someone with some new toys but that’s not going to help you win,” promised Fagin as he hit Composite with an uppercut and knocked Henry to the floor.  “You can pick up whatever form you want and you’re not going to be better than me.  None of you will be.  I’m sorry that Jensen isn’t here so that I can kill the three of you all in one go.  I’ll get to him eventually though.”

“You’re not going to make it that far,” assured Composite as he kicked Fagin in the legs to buy himself a moment to get back to his feet.  “When this is over though I’m going to beat some answers out of you.  Why did you hire the three of us to take the fall for you?”

“I just do what I’m told,” said Fagin as he hit Composite with another punch, trying to push him further away from the rest of his team.  “You know all about that now, don’t you?  I gotta admit that the boss had you pegged from the start.  Maybe you’re not leader material but you’re a good grunt.”

“You can say whatever you want but I’m not buying it,” stated Composite as he battled back with vicious haymakers that hurt even Fagin.  “There’s no way your boss could’ve planned all this to that degree.”

“No but it still worked out fine,” said Fagin as he kicked Composite and knocked him through one of the hallway’s doors.  “Calusky!”

Excavator manipulated the concrete in the building’s structure and caused a cave-in that blocked Composite from getting back into the hallway.  He turned and let a magical energy blast bounce off his rocky skin.  Komodo flipped through the air and coiled her tail around Requiem’s throat, taking him off his feet and giving Excavator the opening he needed to get to the server room where Gadget was doing her work.  He shrugged off the electrical orbs she had guarding the door, swatting them away like they were insects and then caving in the door behind him once he was in the room.

“I got us some private time,” he told Gadget.  “I’m not the type to mess with this computer crap so maybe I’ll just bury this whole room with you in it.  Sounds like a good idea, right?”

“For starters, there’s nothing actually in here,” said Gadget as she turned to face him.  “All this stuff is just a bunch of empty shells but I found the company’s real computer network by tracking its Wi-Fi signal.  I read your file back at the Helicarrier.  SHIELD thinks you brought down that plane to get yourself out of federal custody but I don’t think that’s true.  I think Helix is the one that did it.”

“And why the hell would he do that?” inquired Excavator though he already knew the answer.

“To get you here,” answered Gadget.  “He knew you would run and he steered you towards Hope Springs with SHIELD right on your tail.  He did it to make sure you had no one to go to except him.”

“Yeah well maybe I like it here,” said Excavator as he came at Gadget.  “You don’t know shit, okay?”

Gadget used her orbs to defend herself with a repulsor shield that kept Excavator at bay.  Ricky’s secret wasn’t the only one she had discovered after a few minutes within BioSynth’s computer systems.  Helix had files on all three of the original Warriors.  He had his fingerprints all over their lives and after rooting through their systems Gadget knew the sick truth behind the three of them.

“You’re not going to get through my repulsor field,” promised Gadget as Excavator swung again and failed.  “I guess that’s why they sent you in here since none of this stuff is really important.   You’re going to end up breaking the whole room at this rate and I think that’s what Helix wanted.”

“Good idea,” said Excavator as he stopped attacking Gadget’s shield and used his power more constructively.

Lucy yelped in surprise as the floor underneath her gave way, the concrete in its supports dissolving thanks to Excavator.  She momentarily lost control of the orbs generating her repulsor field but that wasn’t her big concern.  She had to break her fall and there was only one way to do it.  Gadget lifted her arm towards Excavator and fired a grappling hook from the top of her wrist.  The prongs on the hook sunk into Ricky’s rocky hide and he kicked himself backward to try to get away.  His movement only pulled the line on the grappling hook tighter and now Excavator found himself as Gadget’s anchor.  Ricky clutched the hook and tried to tug it loose from his chest but it was anchored in deep and he couldn’t revert to his normal form for fear of the thing killing him.

“Are you going to haul me up or what?” asked Gadget as she hung just below the edge of the hole Excavator had created.  “I think my arm’s going to go numb soon.”

“You are straight up crazy,” said Excavator as he gripped the grappling line and tugged, pulling Gadget up to solid ground.  “You’re lucky I didn’t just take us both into that hole.  I coulda lived through it but you not so much.”

“You wouldn’t have done that,” stated Gadget.  “I told you before that I read your file, Ricky, and you’re not such a bad guy.”

“Maybe you and everybody else don’t know me so well,” said Excavator as Gadget retracted her grappling hook.  “Better get some of those balls ready ’cause we’re both goin’ down.”

Both of them heard the floor creak and strain until it gave way.  Gadget screamed but Excavator moved as fast as he could to help her.  He knocked aside the various pieces of gutted computer equipment that impeded him and managed to wrap Gadget in his arms.  He twisted his body so that he would take the brunt of the fall instead of her and shifted into his stone form.  Lucy realized what he was doing and tried to get some of her orbs above them to form a repulsor field against the falling debris.  Both of them hit the floor hard and Gadget wished she had gotten a repulsor field under them as well to cushion their fall.

“Are you okay?” she asked once the dust cleared.

“Yeah,” he replied.  “You good?”

“Yeah,” she murmured in reply, realizing that he was still holding her.  “Could you, you know, let me go now?”  She felt his grip loosen and broke free from him.

“For the record, that wasn’t ’cause I’m a hero or anything,” clarified Excavator as he dusted himself off.  “I’m gonna find the exit and get the hell outta this place.  You do whatever you want.”

“I’d like to find the real computer network,” decided Gadget.  “Do you think maybe you could help me?”

“I ain’t a babysitter,” said Excavator.  “You’re smart and shit, you’ll figure it out.”

“You made it so you would take the most punishment from that fall and probably saved my life,” reminded Gadget.  “I’m betting you’d help me again if you came with me and once I get into the network I can get you the truth about what happened.  I can help you clear your name.”

“Alright,” agreed Excavator with a nod of approval.  “I’ll help you get the dirt you need but after that I’m gone.”

“What about your boss?” asked Gadget.

“I think it’s time for me to quit,” said Excavator.  “I’m tired of this crap anyways.”

“I thought perhaps we could take this moment to talk.”

Composite whirled around to face the voice and saw Helix standing before him.  The concrete that was blocking him from getting to his teammates wasn’t going to keep him away for long, not with the superhuman strength he had in his metallic form.  Henry estimated it would take a few good punches to break his way through.  However, it seemed that this room was exactly where he needed to be and it made him wary.  Helix was too smart to put himself into a corner like this.  He had to have a contingency plan.

“I’m not interested in anything you have to say,” stated Composite.

“I think you’ll find what I have to say very interesting,” countered Helix.  “I know it’s been such a hard life for you, Henry.  I confess that I haven’t been the kind of father I should’ve been.  You were supposed to be my best work and I let you get away from me.  I knew you would come back to me though.  I knew you all would sooner or later.”

“You’re saying you’re my father?” asked Composite.

“In a sense,” explained Helix.  “You can’t deny that you’ve always wondered about your parentage, about what kind of people could spawn someone with your inherent abilities without the aid of an x-gene.  I know all about the endless string of foster families, Henry.  I know about all those dirty jobs you took in Texas.  Once I turned my attention to you again, I knew who you were.  That’s why I had Fagin contact you and convince you to come to New York for that little job interview.  You’ve grown into a strong man, Henry, and I have need of that strength now.”

“You’re not my father,” said Composite as he came at Helix.

“Do you know what I love more than anything in the world?” inquired Helix as he parried the blow with unnatural speed and agility.  “I love the animal kingdom.  Everything that humans have learned about genetics and evolution has come from studying animals.  Animals are masters at adaptation, at survival.  They were here before humans and will be here after they’re gone.  Can you imagine what a world would be like if some other species had evolved into humans?”

As he spoke, Helix began to change.  His canine teeth grew into fangs and his fingers became slender and longer to resemble talons.  Composite didn’t know what he had done to himself but it was clear that he had mutated himself using DNA from various species of animals.  It didn’t matter though.  Henry was sure he was stronger.  That was why Helix was using these mind games, because he knew he couldn’t stand against Composite on a physical level.

“You’re not human,” said Composite as he threw another haymaker.

“I’m so much better,” assured Helix as something sprang from the base of his spine.

The appendage was like a tail but it had a long, sharp point on the end like a stinger.  Composite knew whatever poison was in that stinger wouldn’t hurt him while he was in his current form but the tail was strong enough to wrap itself around him and pick him up off the floor.  Helix slung him into a wall without even using his hands to do so.  Henry didn’t physically feel the blow but it was enough to jolt him.

“It pains me to do this,” said Helix as he calmly walked towards Composite.  “You were going to be my ultimate creation.  Think of it, Henry, a man who can almost evolve at will.  With just the slightest touch, he can change his shape to any substance he wishes.  I had to let you go though and it burdened my heart to do that.  The authorities were closing in on my lab and I couldn’t be caught.  I had to scorch the earth behind me but you made it out of that lab alive.  Maybe that fire activated your power and that was what saved you.  That’s why you can’t remember a lot of your early life, Henry.  You were grown in a test tube and artificially aged but life takes so many different turns.  It brought us back together now though.”

Composite’s head was spinning.  He couldn’t deny the truth in what Helix was saying.  There were always things that Henry couldn’t explain.  He couldn’t explain why he didn’t remember a lot of his early life.  He couldn’t explain why he had the abilities he had.  He couldn’t explain why he had such an inclination towards violence or why he had this inherent instinct to survive.  That was what his whole life had been about: survival.  His power was the power to adapt, to shed an old skin for a new and stronger one.  It made sense in a weird way.

“I’m not going to stand with you,” he told Helix as he got back to his feet and readied to continue the fight.

“So you’d rather stand with your ‘friends’ then?” asked Helix.  “You can’t lead them, Henry, we all know that.  You weren’t built for that and I should know.  I made you for better things than them.  They drag you down, Henry.  They hold you back, keep you from fulfilling your true potential.  Evolution can’t afford to be stalled.  You know what I’m telling you is true.  That’s the thing about instincts, Henry.  You can only ignore them for so long before giving into them.”

“What about the other two?” asked Composite.  “Frankie and Jeanne?”

“Oh they have their own connections with me and I’ll reveal those in time but you were always meant to be my favorite,” said Helix as he extended his hand.  “Do what your instincts tell you, Henry.  Come home and be with your real family.”

Composite looked at Helix’s hand and felt a horde of conflicting emotions rise up within him.  He cared about the Warriors but in the end he knew what Helix said was the truth.  They would only drag him down.  He could be so much more than just some grunt working for SHIELD with everyone around him expecting him to always do the right thing.  There were no rules with Helix, nothing to stop him from indulging in the violence that had permeated his former line of work.  He missed that life at times and now was definitely one of those times.

“Don’t hurt Frankie and Jeanne,” said Composite as he put his hand in Helix’s and shook it.  “Do we have a deal?”

“I would never hurt any of my children,” assured Helix as he joined in the handshake.  “You’ve made a wise decision, my son.  Now come with me.  We have so much work to do.”

Hope Springs Police Department

Frankie Jensen sighed and felt the chains on the handcuffs clatter against the table.  He hoped that the interrogation was over because he couldn’t stand the boredom for much longer.  He could have broken out of the building in at least five seconds but he had decided to be patient.  Finesse was always needling him about the fact that he didn’t think things through so perhaps it would be wise to heed her advice from time to time.  Frankie could be patient when the situation called for it and now was definitely one of those times.  He wished he had some way of staying in touch with Detective Allen and he wondered if the cop had plugged Gadget’s device into one of the computers yet.  He hoped the others were getting something constructive out of this.

“You look like you could use some coffee.”

Wipeout looked to the door and saw Detective Allen enter the room.  He offered Wipeout a cup as he sat at the opposite side of the table and took a sip from his own cup.  Frankie gestured to the chains that kept his hands connected to the table and highlighted the fact that they allowed for very limited movement.  Still, he was thirsty for something even though he doubted the coffee at the police department was good.

“Are the cameras off?” he asked Detective Allen.

“I wouldn’t be in here unless they were,” countered the detective.  “I did what your friend told me to and I’ve been looking harder at the evidence.  Someone planted it, maybe even fabricated it entirely.  Whatever the case, it’s tainted and we can’t use it.  Any defense attorney will hammer that home when you go to trial.”

“And if Helix is behind this then he’ll have planned for that,” said Wipeout.  “I’m not going to trial.  He’s going to try to kill me while I’m in here.  He’s probably got enough cops indirectly on his payroll to make that happen.”

“I told your friends that I could protect you,” reminded Allen but he couldn’t say more because the door opened.  “Captain?”

Captain Kenneth Michaels of the Hope Springs Police Department stood in the interrogation room and motioned for Allen to leave.  Wipeout’s face darkened as he realized what was going to happen and he shot Allen a look that tried to communicate said knowledge.  Allen noted the look but didn’t make any sign that he had done so.

“I want to question him alone,” said Captain Michaels.

“With all due respect, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Allen.  “The two of us can work the interrogation if you want.”

“I’m your superior and I’m ordering you out of this room,” said Michaels.

Allen saw the man’s hand twitch as it slipped into the folds of his suit and knew instantly what he was going for.  Wipeout saw it too and decided it was time to stop playing pretend.  He liquefied his hands to slip out of the cuffs just as the police captain pulled his gun and took aim.  Wipeout hit the man with a blast of water that took the man off his feet before he could fire even one shot.  The gun in the captain’s hands clattered across the floor and by this time Allen had pulled his own gun on the man.

“He knew you’d do that if we put too much pressure on you,” said Michaels.  “You were always trouble, Jensen.  After all these years, we’re finally going to nail you one way or the other.”

“The cameras are back on,” realized Allen as he heard footsteps moving swiftly towards the door.

“And all they see is us looking like we’re about to kill him,” said Wipeout.  He didn’t say anything else for fear of getting Detective Allen in deeper trouble.  He simply turned into his water form and slunk away.  He knew that the others would be at the BioSynth building and they were going to need his help.

“Two birds with one stone,” said Michaels as the door opened and cops poured into the room to cuff Detective Allen.

BioSynth Corporate Headquarters

Fagin turned after hearing the crash, saw that neither Gadget nor Calusky had returned, and dismissed the thought.  He knew that Excavator was dead weight and it felt better not having to carry him anymore.  Still, Calusky had managed to take one of the Warriors with him and Fagin had to admit it was helpful.  He decided that now it was time to continue closing the noose around the team of SHIELD agents.  He ran towards Neon and tackled her to the floor, intent on killing her since Helix had told him she wasn’t needed.

“Your little flash bombs aren’t going to slow me down,” he warned her as she tried to use some of her light pulses to get him off of her.  “I’m going to take my time and enjoy tearing you apart.”

“Not if I take your head off,” said Finesse as she held one of her energy katanas up to Fagin’s throat.  “It’s only going to take one slice to give you a very nice haircut.  I’m afraid you won’t like it as much as I will though.  Get off her or lose your head.”

“You talk a mean game but that’s all you do,” jeered Fagin as he stood up and turned around to face Finesse.  “Fine then, you want to cut in line ahead of your friend.  Works for me.”

“No, I want to cut something else,” countered Finesse as she took a swipe at Fagin’s head.

Fagin recoiled and dodged the attack but only barely.  Finesse changed up her fighting style, using the katana like a rapier and lunging towards Fagin with it.  Fagin swatted the blade away and tried to punch her in the face.  Finesse dissipated her blades to use her hands for blocking the attack.  She moved inside Fagin’s blow and elbowed him in the jaw before twisting his arm in a direction it was never meant to go.  A normal man would’ve gotten his arm broken but it barely caused Fagin any discomfort.  He broke Finesse’s grip with his superior strength and then clutched her by the throat, lifting her off the floor with one hand like she was nothing.  Finesse tried to dislodge Fagin’s grip by kicking him in the head a few times but it was clear he wasn’t going to budge.

“He built you good but not as good as me,” said Fagin before slinging Finesse away.  “All of you are flawed.  All of you are just a waste of oxygen.  I’m the favorite son.  I’m the only one worthy enough.  Who else wants to test me?”

“I’m in the mood for a good laugh so yeah I’ll take that challenge.”

Fagin turned and took the torrent of water in his chest.  He waded through the barrage in an effort to get at Wipeout.  Frankie increased the intensity of his blasts and he could feel Fagin start to falter.  He looked to his right and saw Requiem getting back to his feet.  Sebastian launched a blast of magic at Fagin to help try and bring him down.  The giant of a man continued to fight through the combined effort of the two Warriors.

“We need something else,” said Requiem.

“I have him,” assured Finesse as she picked up one of Gadget’s damaged shock orbs and tossed it into the stream of water, electrifying it and Fagin in the process.

The concentrated attack by the three Warriors finally brought the behemoth down.  They looked around the battlefield and saw that Helix’s thugs were picking themselves back up as were the rest of the Warriors.

“Where’s Calusky?” inquired Wipeout as he realized that Excavator wasn’t present.

“He’s with me,” said Gadget over the com-links.  “He helped me back in the server room but all the stuff in there was just empty shells.  I’m in their real networks though.  Helix has files on you, Henry, and Finesse.  I know why he wants you three.  I know what he did to your mother.”

“What he did to my what?” asked Wipeout and the fury was evident in his tone.

Gadget was about to explain when the concrete rubble guarding the door that separated everyone from Helix and Composite burst outward.  Composite stepped out of the room and the Warriors looked relieved to see their leader.  Henry strode towards his teammates and nodded to Finesse.  He knew it was going to be hard for them to accept things but he had to make them see the truth for themselves.  Helix just wanted to bring everyone home and Henry knew somewhere in his heart that he belonged there.  He just had to make Wipeout and Finesse understand it too.

“You look unharmed,” noted Finesse.

“Knew you guys had it covered without me,” said Wipeout as he raised his watery hand for a high five.  “You good, Henry?”

“Yeah,” answered Composite as he gave Wipeout a high five and absorbed his watery form.  “I’m good.”

Composite used a torrent of water to push Requiem and Neon away from him.  Helix’s thugs took this as a sign to attack.  Ana Kravinoff hit Finesse in the back of the neck with tranquilizer dart to incapacitate her.  She tried to do the same to Wipeout but Frankie figured out what was going on too swiftly to fall for it.  He twisted around the darts and tried to reach the rest of his teammates.  Composite moved to intercept him and the collision splashed water everywhere.  Both of them reformed but Wipeout was faster due to his greater experience with his powers.  He didn’t know what the hell was going on but he knew he had to get away.  Helix had obviously gotten to Composite somehow.  He had planned for this all along just like he had planned for everything else ever since the Warriors arrived in town.

“Gadget, I need you to stay off the coms,” he said as he saw Fagin and Mako go for the other Warriors.  “Get away from Calusky and stay safe.  I’ll come find you after I get away from them.”

“What’s going on?” asked Gadget frantically.

“Get SHIELD down here,” ordered Wipeout.  “We need all the backup we can get.”

Fagin turned and tried to hit Wipeout but Frankie moved out of the way.  He flowed down the hall in his water form to get away from everyone.  Requiem tried to follow with Neon in tow but Mako hit both of them and knocked them unconscious.

“You think I don’t know what you’re doing?” asked Composite as he flowed in front of Wipeout and cut him off.  “You’re not getting away from us, Frankie, so you better just give up now while you’re still conscious.”

“What the hell is going on with you?” asked Wipeout as he prepared to fight Composite in order to escape.  “You were supposed to be the steady one out of all of us.  That’s why Daisy wanted you to be the leader, because she knew you could be the one who didn’t fold.  What the hell happened?”

“I got smart and I made a deal with Helix,” explained Composite.  “He’s not going to hurt you or Jeanne.”

“He’s not going to hurt any of us because I’m taking him down,” stated Wipeout.

“You touch me and I get the rest of Helix’s crew to kill the rest of the Warriors,” warned Composite.  “You’ve got no options here, Frankie.  Just shut up and let us take you into custody.  Helix has something he wants to show us and it will help explain everything.”

Wipeout looked around and realized that he was right.  Mako had both Requiem and Neon slung over his shoulders and he already knew that Ana had taken care of Finesse.  Fighting back would likely get all of them killed.  He hated to do it but he had to surrender if he wanted the rest of the Warriors to live.

“When we get out of this, you and I are going to settle this,” warned Wipeout as he raised his hands as a sign of surrender.

Composite didn’t say anything as Helix’s other operatives moved to restrain Wipeout, taking him away along with the rest of his teammates.  Henry saw the last dirty look that Frankie shot him but it didn’t hurt him in the slightest.  Things had changed now.  He had finally decided to start being what he was instead of trying to be something he wasn’t.

“I’m impressed,” admitted Helix as he came out of the room where he had been and clapped.  “I do, however, have regrets.  I regret that Mr. Calusky isn’t going to be joining us for the final curtain.  Then again, I didn’t expect him to last too long.”

“I told you that you didn’t need him,” reminded Fagin.

“What I no longer need is more of your useless prattling,” snapped Helix as he turned his attention to Fagin.  “You were supposed to lead these children and yet it was Henry that made sure the job was finished.  I hold you accountable, Fagin, for almost bungling this entire operation.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” said Fagin defensively, not enjoying being dressed down by his creator.  “If you had let me do this on my own then . . .”

“You would have most assuredly failed,” finished Helix.  “No, I think it’s time you were taught a lesson and I believe that task falls only to one person.”

Composite changed his form to metal after touching one of Ana Kravinoff’s knives.  He approached Fagin with frightening speed for someone his size and hit Fagin so hard that the giant actually thought he had knocked some of his teeth loose.  Fagin tried to put up his guard to protect himself but he was too stunned at what was happening to react properly.  Composite hit him again and kept pounding him.  Fagin staggered and flailed drunkenly, trying to land any blow he could to buy himself time to regroup.  Composite wasn’t going to give him that time and Fagin soon found himself lying on the floor with stars in his vision.

“You want me to finish him off?” inquired Composite.

“No, that’s enough,” decided Helix.  “Give him a few moments to reflect on his mistakes.  In the meantime, I will send one of the others to root out the girl in the armor.  Now let’s go downstairs and I can show you where you were born.”

Next Issue: It’s the conclusion to “Nature vs. Nurture” and one of the Warriors won’t be coming back alive.

EDITOR’S NOTE

It’s our sad duty to inform you that Wesley Overhults passed away on January 30th, 2017. From the time he joined Marvel Omega in 2009, Wesley was one of our most devoted writers, consistently turning out high quality work and being an active participant in the community. He will be missed.