Written by John Cheese
Featuring: Persuader
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Meadowdale Farm, Ohio - 8th September 2014
A boom sounded and the armoured monstrous figure emerged onto the farmyard, its reptilian eyes darting around in panic as it realised where it was. Ahead of it, seemingly unaware of the visitor’s loud arrival and the panicking livestock around her was a human woman, dressed in a T-shirt, jeans and large headphones the steady beat of loud music radiating from them. Quietly the visitor stalked up on its victim and plunged the bladed stave into her back, a small gasp leaving the woman's mouth. "Libby did you hear…Libby!" A voice yelled causing the creature to turn and see a figure dressed in similar clothes to the woman it'd just killed. This one however, was male, aware and armed with a pitchfork. Removing the stave from the corpse, the visitor advanced slowly, methodically as it calculated how much damage its opponent's weapon would do. "You think I'm afraid of you freak!" The man yelled as he jabbed his improvised weapon at the advancing alien. "I'll kill you!" He screamed as with one mighty thrust he stabbed the prongs through the attacker’s neck. The fact he'd stopped the alien was less of a surprise, as the alien ripping itself off the fork, the holes in its neck wheezing as it breathed. "Apokolips dying!" The alien wheezed as it swung at its enemy, the impact of the staff knocking the human defender to the ground. Panicking as the monster stood over him the man kicked out, the blow sending his wounded foe stumbling backwards into a bailing machine, its back ripped open as it landed on the bladed teeth. "I told you, that you'd pay demon!" The man snapped as the alien reached for the box on its belt, only to have it slapped away onto the floor, the pitchfork levering it closer to the teeth below. Flicking the switch to 'On' the man watched as the alien was dragged into the baler, thick spurts of blood pouring out accompanied by an inhuman cackle that lasted too long before being silenced. "Libby!" The man stated as he bent down next to the woman's body, his head bowed and tears running down his face. "I promised to look after you, take care of you. I failed, failed like I always do.” He kissed her on the head and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.” The Badlands, Utah - 2018 A gloved hand stroked the woman in the picture, before turning back to the metal stave and the box dropped by the alien all those years ago on the worktable. "The design is solid." The man mumbled as he welded the hinge of the box, it’s insides gutted, to the stave. "For you Libby, this is all for you." Hall of Justice, Metropolis - 5th November 2016 A winged shadow flew over the figure watching the Hall of Justice from the bus stop. He knew enough to recognise it as Hawkgirl or some other similar hero, he didn't know who the Justice League member dressed like a knight was who’d come out to meet her, but then it didn't matter, none of them did. All that mattered was that he wasn’t caught. "Ah Hawkwoman, if I were you I'd get out of my way." The knight figure stated as he looked up at the angelic esque figure. "I have comprehensively embarrassed your teammates inside, not my intention of course, but as Burns once stated 'The best laid plans'..." "Who are you?" Hawkwoman asked as she held onto her mace. "And what do you mean embarrassed?" "My name is Prometheus and it was my intention to kill them." The knight replied as Hawkwoman swooped towards him, ready to land a brutal strike. "A shame, I had bigger plans for all of you." He yawned as he levelled a key like blaster at the Justice League member and opened fire, bright white energy lighting his target up, a single high note sounding. The watcher closed his eyes and when he opened them Prometheus was gone. Hawkwoman was knocked down, hurt and unconscious from the brunt of the extreme blast. Walking over slowly, the figure bent down next to her and pulled a few metal feathers off. He'd planned to steal one of the Nth Metal blades from the museum inside the Hall of Justice, but this was better, almost all the reward for no real risk. As far as the watcher was concerned that was a good deal. The Badlands, Utah - 2018 Emerging from the shack the man grabbed a face mask and walked across the military scrapyard he worked and lived in, to a small building with a chimney. Wearing overalls, he was nondescript not that anyone would bother him here, he was alone. "Mold is ready, today’s the day its born." The man stated as he removed a sample bag containing the cleaned up Nth metal feathers, before placing them in the mold. "Should make it light but strong and durable, it'll have to be." He added, as he tipped the vat of molten steel into the mold. "Soon, very soon but I can't rush this, it has to be perfect." The Narrows, Gotham City - May 2018 The scream of the speeding monorail high above didn't cause either the man or the woman he was meeting to flinch, nor did the slight streak of purple chasing after it. (For more on that runaway train, check out Emma Wood’s Batgirl #8 - John ‘No More Spoilers’ Cheese) "My master was very interested in the pitch you presented." The woman dressed in a grey uniform emblazoned with a red and black moth logo announced as she looked the man and down, as if determining what use he could have. "He even considers you our second front in Metropolis." "I'm not looking for words Tiger Moth, I thought we had a deal." The man replied as he kept his head on a swivel. "Relax the Batman never comes to the Narrows." Tiger Moth reassured him, "As for our deal, please find two cryogenic fuel cells, liberated from Doctor Victor Fries firstly by the Penguin and then by us, contained within." She added as she handed the man a metal case. Opening the locks of the case, the man peered inside and saw two glowing fuel cells before closing the lid. "That's for you!" The man announced as he fished an envelope out of his jacket. "There's double the amount there for good service," He added, "and for you and your master to forget this transaction ever happened." The Badlands, Utah - 2018 The mold had long since set, and the man working on it had retreated into a derelict APC, the vehicle now serving as a bedroom and kitchen. Heading to the fridge the man removed a bottle of water and a fuel cell before rolling the later over in his hands, the cold felt even through the thick gloves designed for handling nuclear materials. "Got to keep it cool, there's a lot of energy coursing through the structure." He mumbled as he sat down on an abandoned footlocker and looked at the scrappy poster advising a matinee showing of 'The Shadow' a pair of tickets attached to the poster with a combat knife. It had fallen down many times before, and there was a tear down the top third of the image, giving the titular character an unattractive scare down the side of his face. "I'm doing this for you Libby. You and the thousands like you that they take in their inane struggle." The man mumbled as he took the cell and the bottle of water and headed back to his workshop. "They have power, now we have power." He stated as he closed the door behind him to reveal an orange warning sign displaying a symbol for radiation hanging on it, a rifle hole blasted through the centre. Daily Plant Parking Garage, Metropolis - February 2018 "Hold on you want what?" The yellow hazmat suited form of Neutron buzzed. "I think it's simple Neutron, I came to you because I need fissionable materials." The man stated from behind the face mask and overalls he wore. "Five hundred grams should suffice; the half-life alone would give my weapon a functioning lifespan of almost a millennium if properly managed." "So, what you want half a kilo of what?" Neutron asked as he began to smoke slightly in anger and confusion. "I'm just energy, not that I’d be happy to just let you lop a finger or a toe off my body." "Yes you’re energy, energy that can be transferred." The man stated as he held out a segmented ceramic disc. "All I need you for is to give this power cell some energy." He added as he handed Neutron a lead lined case and the power disc. "If you were to be so kind." "Yeah, yeah but then I need you to do the thing I asked you." Neutron moaned as he charged the cell, before placing it in the lead case. "Happy?!" "No." The man replied in sudden alarm as he took the case and closed the lid. "Help, it’s a super villain and he's glowing." He added as he ran out of the Daily Planet parking garage. Giving him a thumbs up as he left, Neutron summoned a red tinged aura around his fist. "This time Superman," He buzzed as he strode out int the plaza towards a parked police car, "this time I've got you," (To find out how Neutron fared against Superman check out Legion of Doom #1 - John ‘the Titan’ Cheese) The Badlands, Utah - 2018 "Finally, it's almost ready." The man sighed as he placed the irradiated disc inside the gutted box he'd recovered all those years earlier. "Finally, I have the weapon to persuade them of their wrong doing." He stated as he placed tubes into the box that was hooked up to the cryogenic cell at the mid-section of the haft it had been tapped to, a clamped release valve keeping the coolant from flooding the micro reactor until needed. "This will save so many, they will have to stop and if they don't I'll make them stop." He groaned as he took the haft and headed back outside. Walking past a wooden cross with a hockey mask attached to it he stopped. Spray painted grey save for two red 'tear' smears under the eyes, the mask had been found by chance and bought on a whim. "Got to look my best." The man mumbled as he removed his face mask to reveal pale, almost bleached skin, before covering it back up with his new mask. "Got to look strong, like I can persuade the masses that I can protect them from their biggest foe." Courtyard Logistics, Bludhaven - May, 2016 The mask had seen a lot, once a young man reborn into this world had worn it. Now all its new seller knew, was that some maniac was paying ten grand for it and a set of ballistic plating that he could get anywhere. "It's your money." The brunette woman dressed in a green dress covered by a winter coat stated as she walked past a trophy case containing an embalmed corpse wearing a yellow leotard and matching boots. "It is, now if we can continue." The man stated in an annoyed tone as he stared the muscle-bound enforcer dressed like a cowboy in his angry eyes. "Watch your tongue hoss, or I'll watch it for you." The enforcer announced in a Texan accent that matched his appearance. "Stallion relax, we're among friends yes Mr Parker." The woman announced. "By all means try on your purchase before you commit to buying these items. We will need collateral however." "You want collateral Countess?" Parker asked as he handed the woman a worn-out photo of a laughing woman dressed in casual clothes hugging a worried looking man dressed in overalls. "That's the most valuable thing I own." "Of course, it is." The Countess stated in a voice of mock belief and faux sympathy as Parker walked off to a private room. There wasn't a long wait for him to return, and the man who did was different indeed. "Your money." Parker stated as he handed Stallion a thick envelope of cash. "I'll take it." The Badlands, Utah - 2018 Parker had returned to the APC for a rest, the photograph of him and Libby in one hand and a plush toy yellow cat in the other. "I'm doing this for you Libby." He stated as he looked down at the rod he'd created and the gleaming steel implement prised from the mold he'd filled this morning. "But for the life of me I feel like a coward, I can't do it." He stated and turned the photo over to read the message on the back. 'Me and Cole, Meadowdale Farm Vacation - 11/09/14' Closing his eyes, a content smile on his lips, Cole Parker heard the poster rip and fall to the floor to reveal a yellowed article from the Daily Planet, the headline reading; 'Smallvile Farm Boys survive Cave In' (Covered in Tobias Christopher’s Action Comics #13-14 - John ‘How Many DC2K Cameos did you spot’ Cheese) "That's where it all started!" Cole roared as he threw the plush cat away and slammed the photo down face down. "He's the one who caused this!" He roared as he picked up the steel scalloped axe head he’d created and rammed it down onto the haft under the micro reactor. "I'LL SHOW THEM THAT THEY AREN'T SAFE!" Cole roared as he got to his feet and stormed out of the APC, the silver of his mask and the armour he wore gleaming in the evening sun. "I'LL MAKE THEM SAFE." He added as he slammed the axe down, the blade slicing through the APC's chassis down to the desert floor below. "Death to the Masks." Cole whispered his voice hoarse after the sudden outrage he'd just shown. "So proclaims the Persuader." |