Harry gets a side call, not on his team’s comms. “Son - everything okay?”
The voice is tense. It’s his father.
“Engaging the Seven Wonders with the Stellar Six, dad. Hang on–”
Mirage cuts in over the team’s channel. “A big broadcast is going out. This seems important. Patching it through.”
There’s a voice being sent across the city. Televisions, radios, and big screens downtown are receiving it. Citizens are looking and listening.
“My name is Gnosis. I am the Seventh Wonder of the Villain World. I am here to announce our intentions, and our demands.”
Silver Streak’s voice competes for Harry’s attention in his ear. “Son - Dr. Ken Wissen - he’s the Seventh Wonder.”
The doctor was introduced in “409 - The Soul of the Hero” as a psychologist and expert on the Seven Wonders. – Ed.
The villain known as Gnosis is still speaking. “Each of us wants different things. I want domination. In return, I help my companions in their own ways.”
Stingray is looking down at Mercury with a frantic question written on his face: what do we do?
Mercury makes an impatient waving-down gesture back at him: chill out, let’s see what happens.
The villain continues. “We reject the corporate dominance of Tyran Enterprises, starting with their deceitful takeover of much of the city’s properties after the Atlantean invasion. We reject the collaborators in government that passively permitted this to happen, in trade for financial and other considerations. We reject the hypocrisy of the Halcyon Heroes League, who named themselves the city’s protectors and the arbiters of morality and then abdicated or violated that responsibility at every turn. We reject their would-be successors, the Stellar Six, for reasons which we shall demonstrate presently.”
“Most of all, we reject the idea that citizens deserve better than the corrupt institutions to whom they’ve given political and economic power. If the masses wish to be ruled by villains, very well. If they do not, why have they so passively allowed it to happen? We simply offer ourselves as more benevolent villains than those who currently hold power. We intend to take power the way you have shown you approve of. We will oust our rivals by power and wits, and take our place as your rightful rulers.”
“As a demonstration of our commitment to transparency, let me tell you the secret of the Stellar Six. They are physical clones of heroes and villains, but have no minds of their own. They are remotely operated from a secret headquarters run by Tyran Enterprise employees. We were able to disable the remote-control apparatus through a combination of our members’ powers.”
Harry’s eyes widen. Experimentally, he calls out on comms. “Stellar Six control - are you still there?”
There’s no answer.
No wonder they always wear full-coverage masks. Anyone who saw their faces would recognize them immediately.
Gnosis continues. “Doug Pitt - a clone of incarcerated villain Mudmaster. Max Armstrong, cloned from villain the Flying Buttress. Ellie Dee - cross sex clone of minor villain Troll. Kara Lott - a clone of one of Tyran’s own super-biology researchers.”
The next names raise Harry’s hackles. “Never Miss - a clone of superhero Tempest. And Ray Blaze - a clone of former JHHL member Pharos.”
Pharos. A.J. Masoud. Harry had talked to him about the Seven Wonders. For Tyran to use his DNA like this…? He’d known about his mother being cloned, but now so does the entire world.
Harry talked to A.J. in “409 - The Soul of the Hero” – Ed.
“No doubt our claims will be viewed with suspicion. We will guarantee safe passage to any members of the press who wish to take blood samples from the Stellar Six we have here, in order to verify our claims. Anyone attempting to remove the Stellar Six from this site will be repelled with force. Any escalation beyond that will result in the destruction of the launch facility. The rocket fuel, in particular, would pose an ecological hazard if it were to catch fire. I therefore encourage prudent behavior. We are happy to return these living toys to their owners once our claims have been verified.”
“Tyran Enterprises has been consolidating their control over supervillain incarceration in order to harvest more super DNA. They acted to de-legitimize AEGIS and the Halcyon Heroes League in order to replace them. Gradually they would wear the mask of the independent hero - the icons the public idolizes - without risking the independence and morality of a hero interfering with their agenda.”
Some of the news choppers are already descending to the tarmac. Harry and his team watch them with mounting tension.
Gnosis’ voice stays as calm and level as it’s been throughout the speech. “We’ve offered proof of the perfidy of this city’s current rulers. We have made our goals clear. We expect compliance. I close with one more thing. It is not a demand. It is a statement.”
“We have already destroyed the HHL’s home base. We will destroy any other site which plays host to the HHL within city limits. To the remaining members of the Halcyon Heroes League: you are no longer welcome here. Leave with our promise of safe passage, or stay and be hunted to destruction, along with any would-be supporters you still have. We will always be able to find you. We will not stop until your unsightly presence has been excised from this city.”
The broadcast ends.
Mirage is next on the line. “Well. That was most certainly that.”
Stingray comes on next. “So uh. Mercury. Dude. What now?”
Harry feels drained. He honestly has no idea what to do now. Working with the Stellar Six, formerly merely an intensely uncomfortable compromise, now feels unthinkable.
So much depends on what the HHL will do next.
It feels like there are no heroes left in Halcyon.
No matter who we help, it feels like it’s a win for a villain.
“Let’s go back to the Compound,” Harry says.