Back at the Compound, Harry relates what he’s been told. His face is still twisted in shock at what his uncle said.
The Halcyon Knights had already managed to split the Hand and Veneer, by blowing up a bridge the two were crossing. They’d then taunted Veneer, knowing her haughty attitude wouldn’t allow her to ignore it. The Hand, more sensibly, had kept going. Then the HHL’s tackler/attacker duo had descended, and the Knights had moved to their next target.
Glom and D-SOL-8 were heading to the Two Rivers power plant. As far as League intelligence could tell, the plan was to obtain a large amount of enriched uranium. The uranium was going to be transported off-site, but the vehicles tasked with doing so weren’t there yet. The clock was ticking for the Seven Wonders. It felt like the optimal time to split up the pair.
Shock Jock provided the power for the experimental railgun. Numerous copies of Cavalcade kept the weapon steady. Cross-wire aimed it from afar, using his peculiar super-synesthesia to bracket the target. When the round impacted D-SOL-8, putting a sizeable hole in the cyborg’s torso, Bone Voyage skeleported herself and Zeppelin into Glom’s personal space. Zeppelin released all the atmospheric gases he’d been absorbing, and Glom’s repel defenses sent her spiraling up and over city blocks.
“Tackle-attack ready for Glom and D-SOL-8,” Cavalcade’s dupes had reported. The primary in turn reported back to Cross-wire and her team: “they’re on their way. They want us to stick to D-SOL-8 until they arrive.”
“The HHL searched for any sign of the Halcyon Knights,” Harry explains. “Nothing, except scraps of their gear and uniforms. If they escaped alive, they never checked in again. The League put out psychic and magical searches. No trace of them.”
He turns to Andi, who’s already looking distressed, and guesses she knows what he’s going to say. But he goes ahead anyway.
“I think that’s why Uncle Chase was sandbagging with the Irregulators. He was the one who trained the Halcyon Knights. Went to bat for 'em with the League to tackle this job. They were his project.”
Harry purses his lips, and raises palms in the air in a helpless gesture. “He’s been so afraid of losing another batch of kids, no matter how ready they were.”
Andi folds her hands in her lap. “I understand that feeling. I do…”
She looks back up, at Harry and the others. “Doesn’t give anyone a pass for letting the Seven Wonders own the city.”
Stingray tilts his head. “This is starting to feel too big to handle. They had twelve Leaguers, plus a five-head support team. There’s just the five of us. What are we gonna do that they couldn’t?”
Mirage speaks up. “We are going to think.”
With the group’s attention now on her, she continues more confidently. “It is not quite as hopeless as you suggest. Mercury’s explanation lacks much in details, as I would expect from the emotionally wrought source. Nevertheless his uncle conveyed sufficient fundamentals. Power against power, focusing on neutralization or negation first. This is tactically sound, but it is… unsophisticated. Clearly the League of that time lacked strong tactical thinkers, or was unwilling to listen to those it had.”
“Consider. We know the HHL had numerous technologies at its disposal. Power suppression systems, force fields, and so on. These technologies went unused, even beyond the consideration of fighting a technopath such as Motormouth. They rehabilitated or redeemed villains - or more likely simply recruited them, with promises of amnesty. I believe these choices expose the chief pathology of the HHL, which was their need to control their own public perception. Even playing for these stakes, they centered their thinking around arranging a moral struggle of hero vs. villain. They wanted to, as they say, ‘look cool’.”
The hologram turns to Ninjess. “Our association began with your attempt to rehabilitate your own image among the citizens of the city. Now you must make a choice. I propose using any edge we may obtain, even if it does not center us as the victorious heroes the citizens seem to want. Will you remain in the shadows, where you have dwelt for so long, if the success of this mission hinges on you doing so?”
Ninjess glances at Stingray with a pained expression on her face. But she catches something in his eye, and looks back to Mirage with renewed dedication. “There are other ways to play ambassador for my people here, and to atone for my nation’s actions. And I cannot put myself before the needs of a city I wish to impress, can I? I am shinobi. I will endure.”
The adult heroes of the League were accompanied by a copy of Cavalcade, one per team. The tactic to split up the Seven Wonders had worked twice already, and she had reported back each time.
Suddenly, the dupes thumbed their jackets to white - the emergency signal.
“It’s D-SOL-8 - oh god - everyone’s–” each dupe managed to say, in sync. And then they simply vanished.
The group returns to their preparations.
Doctor Zap has been tasked with not one line of research, but seven. The brilliant squid is getting his wish - work with best-of-breed surface science - in trade for contributing his biotechnology expertise to the problems posed by the villains.
Stingray has dug up some equipment from the warehouse. “You think Jason would mind me using this stuff?” he asks Harry.
“Hey, if he’s not here to say no,” Harry grins. Both men know Jason’s still alive. But he left this entire vault full of toys, and aside from the real need the city has, it’d be a shame if they didn’t get played with just a bit.
Mirage and Ninjess continue to work on tactics. Increasingly, Vigil from the HHL is included in those discussions. Harry has requested the group not talk about the Halcyon Knights at this point, even with HHL members who would be expected to know.
At home, Harry feels a tension growing between him and his parents. They’re worried about him, and what he’s proposing to do. They know he talked to Uncle Chase, and what he must have heard. And yet he’s going ahead with it. Torn between choosing to support a young hero, and trying to keep their son out of danger, they seem content to do the former at least for now. But it’s gnawing at them.
Word shortly comes in that the Seven Wonders have struck again. This time, they’re attacking a rocket launch facility owned by Tyran Enterprises, used to send people and cargo into Earth orbit to support Tyran’s commercial interests. This was the rocket that also sent the Stellar Six to confront the villain who attacked and destroyed the Haven space station.
This attack happened in “415 - Star-Crossed!” – Ed.
Harry checks with the others. All of them are interested in heading out. They know the Stellar Six will be there. So maybe there’s an opportunity to learn something, about both teams?
The fate of the Halcyon Knights stays fresh in their minds as they depart the Quill Compound and head for Tyran’s launch facility.