The Magistracy's Legion

[csyphrett]

Placeholder for me to find in a day or two

CES

[OzMike]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

You may have some placeholder rep then.

[Mr. R]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

Bumping it to keep it up there. Your stories are really good and I look forward to the new instalments every time they come up.

 

Jerome

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

Thanks guys. I appreciate it.

CES

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

1

 

 

The Chemist held in a scream as his eyeballs tried to jump out of their sockets. His hands covered his face as he staggered in the hall outside the operations center. Pain was a lava flow through his system as he concentrated on getting help.

 

The door slid out of the way as the magician finally was able to work a little bit of a symbol to kill the pain long enough to operate. He found a chair, and dropped in it. His spell opened a small region in his head that allowed him to ignore the roar rushing through his blood.

 

Then it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

 

"You okay, buddy?" Kevin Reilly stood over him, coffee in hand. The operations officer sipped the warm liquid, eyebrow raised at his visitor.

 

"I don't think so." The Chemist found that he couldn't move. His limbs refused to assist him. "Could you call Maker up here to the center. Something is wrong with me."

 

"I've been telling you that for a while." Reilly went over to his computers, and keyed the intercom. "Maker, please report to Operations. I say again. Maker to Operations."

 

While he waited, the Chemist performed several simple tests with his symbology. Everything came back that he was fine, better than a normal man of his age, and physicality. The pain hadn't come from inside.

 

He was afraid of what it meant to him that something outside of his body had tried to boil him alive without warning.

 

Maker arrived clad in her silver and black armor of tiny machines. She left her faceless helmet off, the face underneath thin but still attractive. Her gray eyes questioned him before she said a word.

 

"Something bad just happened." The Chemist tried to stand but couldn't. "I need you to go over any observational data for anomalies."

 

"Let's take a look at you first." Maker acted as the Magistracy's medic when needed. Her nanotechnology allowed her to fight things on a cellular level. The FDA had her prototype cancer cure in testing and planned to release it in small doses sometime. They worried the nanotech would go crazy in a host and wreck more than it fixed.

 

It hadn't so far.

 

Maker put her helmet together, took pictures with a camera in her gauntlet. Her manner said she hadn't found anything wrong with her colleague.

 

"Everything looks normal." She doffed the helmet. "What's going on? Is this some kind of prank?"

 

"He came in here and collapsed in the chair." Reilly sipped more coffee. "He looked bad off and asked for you."

 

"I think something is wrong with the world." The Chemist adjusted his sunglasses. "I just want to check on it."

 

Maker nodded. The Chemist was weird, but he knew things that no one should know, or be able to find out. The fact he trusted her to do this search instead of doing it himself meant more than he said.

 

It meant something had happened and he was scared to try to explain it since he didn't know the cause.

 

Maker created her helmet again, and plugged into the operations network. The teleporter the team used was plugged into a satellite relay system. Very few people knew those satellites could be used to observe the ground as they passed overhead. The capability needed to be there so the Magistracy wouldn't be reassembled in stray material in the target zone.

 

"All right." Maker didn't sound happy behind her featureless helmet. "I found something. There was some kind of eruption in Kansas a minute or two before Kevin paged me."

 

"I have to get out there and look around." The Chemist tried to stand again, and made it with effort. "Something bad is about to happen."

 

"We should sound an alert." Maker unplugged from the system, standing also.

 

"I need you to get the others ready in case I'm right." The Chemist tried to smile. "This could just be a false alarm."

 

"We could be having a barbecue for the pigs flying out my butt," said Reilly. He looked at them, looking at him. "I know, I know. Fire up the cannon, Reilly. We have to get somewhere as fast as scrambled molecules can go."

[OzMike]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

Bumpitty bump.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

2

Cassandra Vogler worked on the crystal mosaic on a table in her living quarters in the CORPS's building. It had taken a few months to gather the chips and place them just right. When she was done, she hoped to have a picture of anything in the world. It was an investment of time and labor that should help her prevent threats to her adopted family if she made it work right.

 

It should work the same as the bracer she wore as Crystalmach. Hopefully it would protect the building, act as an amplifier, show her important events, do everything her personal crystals did with less effort.

 

Cassandra fitted the last few squares in place, gluing them down with her magic. She stepped back to admire the rainbow hues dancing in the fragmented mirror. It looked beautiful.

 

Pain ripped through her head. She dropped to her knees, reaching for her bracer. She needed a shield. Her crystal working shattered on her arm, spraying glass in the air. Her free hand came up in reflex to protect her face. A minor stab didn't pierce the shroud covering her brain with agony. She took a deep breath to scream and the torture was gone.

 

Cassandra took a deep breath. Her hand indicated something was wrong. She looked down, noticing the blood dripping from her palm. A piece of crystal she worked with had entered her hand during that strange attack.

 

Crystalmach touched the sliver in her hand. She concentrated. The piece of glass slid out of her flesh, closing it up as it went. The shard dropped to the floor as Cassandra examined the damage.

 

Both her bracer and the giant mosaic were destroyed by whatever she had experienced. Her arm had several cuts, none as bad as the stab she had taken in her hand. Her work space was littered with glass, some of the furniture looking like strange porcupines with the spines sticking out the backings.

 

She took a deep breath, glad that it wasn't worse than what she could see.

 

Crystalmach took a breath and concentrated, holding her bracer up in front of her. Chips quivered around the room as she exercised her will. The glass flew from its landing places and returned to her wrist cover, fitting back into their spaces with the aid of invisible fingers. She clenched her fist when the focus was reassembled. Magic danced as the crystal lit up from within.

 

I'll have to fix everything else later.

 

Crystalmach left her apartment. She needed to find the others and check to see if they were all right. It was possible that the event had only happened to her. She absently fixed the cuts in her arm as she changed her clothes to the brown and yellow costume she wore on missions.

 

Crystalmach entered the conference room the CORPS used for briefings. The Persian and Jonah Charles were already there, looking at the bank of televisions carrying networks from around the world. Charles's nasty smelling tobacco filled the air as he puffed on his pipe. One of his eyes had traces of blood marking the white.

 

"You felt something." Crystalmach held her bracer out and scanned her employer. Everything looked normal for Charles according to her bracer.

 

"Severe pain." Charles pointed at the talking heads with his pipe stem. "Some of our lesser brethren died from whatever it was that ripped through. Bodies were found. Preliminary causes reported are strokes and heart attacks."

 

"Too many to be a coincidence." The Persian wore his purple jacket and gold cargo pants. The purple mask that wrapped around his face and head sat on the nearby table. "Not enough to be a focused attack."

 

"Let's make sure there isn't one," said Charles. "This kind of thing is bad for business."

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

3

 

The New York underground concealed many secrets from the world. One of those secrets was the bum wandering along the lower edge of Manhattan Island, keeping to himself. Occasionally other bums would see him and wave in recognition. He merely nodded but kept walking.

 

"You can't turn your back on this, Buddy." His companion always appeared out of darkness, clad in shadow, walking with a stick that he didn't need. Gray hair completed his disguise as a human.

 

"Sure I can." Buddy kept walking. This was an old argument. "I kept my part of the deal and look what I got out of it."

 

"No one said it would be easy." The non-man glided after his recruit. "Protector of the universe is not flipping burgers."

 

"I'm sure you say that to everybody you turn into a monster." Buddy turned, heading for a subway station.

 

"You can't go back to your old life, Buddy." The man of darkness followed, limping fast with the help of his cane. "We've discussed this before."

 

"Screw you, pal." Buddy started down the steps to the subway, layers of clothing shrugging around him. "I did my part. That was enough."

 

Buddy paused between steps. He bent double. Then he fell down the steps to the landing at the bottom. None of the pedestrians tried to stop him as he rolled to the bottom.

 

"Buddy!" The advisor rushed over to the entrance as fast as his lame leg allowed. "Buddy?"

 

"That sucked." Buddy twisted his head back where it should be. "This is all your fault, V."

 

"Why is it my fault?" V patiently waited for the explanation. He knew it was something convoluted that fitted a conspiracy theory.

 

"If I hadn't signed the deal, I wouldn't have had a migraine put in my head, and I wouldn't have fell down the stairs, and twisted my head around on my neck." Buddy looked up at the other man, flesh pulled tight on his skull. "It's your fault."

 

"We don't have time for this." V leaned on his cane, rolling his colorless eyes. "You have to find out what caused your episode, and do something about it."

 

"Why?" Buddy's eyes lit with fire.

 

"Obviously this is an event that threatens Earth, and perhaps the rest of the galaxy, if not the universe." V tapped his cane on the sidewalk. "And since you are supposed to protect the universe, it's your responsibility to find out the cause and stop it."

 

"I don't have to like it." Buddy climbed up the stairs, hand on the metal rail for the public.

 

"Quit whining and do your duty." V slid away in shadow, vanishing as silently as he came. "I don't expect anything else."

 

"Quit whining, Buddy." Buddy stepped on the sidewalk, flesh changing as he moved. "Do your job, Buddy. Forget your life, Buddy. Save the world, Buddy."

 

His clothes changed into a starry void as he walked down the street. Jaded New Yorkers got out of his way with varying looks of fear, astonishment, and lack of interest. A star field covered his face. Red suns were his eyes.

 

Save the world, Buddy.

 

Buddy walked down the street, fading with every step until he was gone. The busy walkers went about their business. If the world didn't end, they still had to pay bills, get groceries, and try to get their significant others to love them a little more.

 

Buddy passed through several gates, trying to track back the feeling that had impinged on his brain. He felt the pain as a wave receding from him as he slipped between realities. Everywhere he looked, he saw fractures. He wondered what caused that as he slid along.

 

Maybe he was going to have to save the world after all.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

4

 

Higgins grimaced at the office when he stepped inside. This was going to be such a mess to clean up when the master and his son were done. Not as much of mess as the world, but still a mess he was responsible for cleaning as part of his duties.

 

No one wanted to make the retainer's life easy.

 

The Writer had taken his magically created son to another dimension after seizing the necessary ingredients from the Chemist and his allies. Time had passed faster there than on Earth. Enoch was now twelve and a considerable magician in his own right.

 

The mess came from the Writer's discovery of a virtual fountain of energy in that other place, and wanting to bring it to Earth. Higgins didn't know why, but thought it was a vanity and egotism that made his master want to lord it over others when he could. In any case, the magician was in the other realm, and Enoch was in his office. Both were working tirelessly to bring the two worlds together.

 

The thought they might be hurting billions seemed to never have crossed their minds.

 

"Your lunch will be ready momentarily, Master Enoch." Higgins made sure to stand clear of the swirling type dancing on the bared floor. He didn't have an urge to be stripped down to his core and sent back to the netherworlds.

 

"Excellent." Enoch's fair skin and blonde hair gleamed from sweat. It was hard to believe he wasn't human.

 

Enoch sat in a drawn circle. Letters danced around the circle then went to another circle, then danced around another one. Higgins thought of a child's drawing of a flower. The letters vanished randomly as they went along on their tour. The boy drew another letter in the slot when it worked around to his hand again.

 

The spell could take days to finish. Enoch was expected to stay in the circle writing and working his will until it was done. If someone tried to stop him, Higgins was expected to stop them with his own claws, and the help of Dr. Krueger's vat grown children.

 

It had been a while since the butler had done anything like that. The Writer preferred a small amount of denial when he struck. That kept things at arm reach for the most part. That was the best part of working for him.

 

It had been decades since he had ripped the heart out of someone himself.

 

It would be nice to do it again.

 

Higgins left the room, returning a minute later with a cart. Food stacked on the cart in covered dishes. A pitcher of tea sat to one side, silver glass next to it. He carefully served the food, making sure to stay clear of the moving diagram. Enoch ate, still writing his letters between bites.

 

After the meal was done, Higgins whisked the empty containers away with his usual efficiency. He returned to the office, taking up his station by the door.

 

"Father said you have been a great asset over the years." Enoch made sure that nothing marred the great design.

 

"I doubt I have done anything important." Higgins kept his professional demeanor. It wasn't his place to comment on the excellent butlering he had done since his real personality had been destroyed by the Writer.

 

He had come out the better for that, he judged.

 

"He may give you your own duchy to administer in the new world he hopes to establish." Enoch grinned slightly. "You might even have a separate kingdom if things go right."

 

"I live to serve," said the butler.

 

"I don't think so." The boy smiled, face becoming harsher as he regarded the servant. "You live at a whim, and any time that whim may change. All that matters is what happens to you if we should fail."

 

Higgins said nothing. He knew that he was connected to the Writer. If the magician were to be destroyed in some way, he would be also.

 

On the other hand, if something happened to him, the Writer could go on as if nothing had happened.

 

Higgins wondered how much it would take to kill this boy and foil his master's plans. He would certainly pay for it with his life if he followed up on such a thought.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

5

The Lizard scratched his scaly head, wondering if he should transfer somewhere the crazies couldn't follow him. He straightened his police issued utility belt around his waist as he walked on the river bridge, tail twitching behind him. Chicago's Gold Coast looked down on him as he went to clear the obstruction out of the way of traffic.

 

"You're going to have to get out of the street." The Lizard pointed with a blunt finger to the sidewalk running down the side of the bridge.

 

"Human scum must pay my toll before I allow them to cross my bridge." The ugly wino stood tall, taller than the reptile policeman. "Three pieces of silver and you may go to the other side."

 

"Only the city can charge a toll on a public bridge." The Lizard's eyes squinted at the hairy behemoth in front of him. "I'm going to ask you to quit being a nuisance and beat it."

 

"The Trolls of Ufgard say no." The hairy guy walked over, crooked teeth sticking out of his mouth. "This is our bridge now. Now be gone before I use you for new shoes."

 

"Everyone goes for the shoe bit." The Lizard cracked the knuckles on his three fingered hands, smiling like a crocodile. "If you want some, I'm taking you downtown."

 

The troll charged swinging a ham fist. The spikes on the bracelet he wore sliced the Lizard's uniform shirt as the arm went by. The reptile hopped back, glaring at the tear. The fairy tale outlaw laughed, drawing back to swing with the other hand.

 

The Lizard went for a head butt, slamming the long armed galoot in the face. He staggered back, pain shooting through his head. Gutguard had a head like a rock. At least purple blood streamed from the troll's nose and one of his twisted teeth lay on the bridge.

 

"I'm going to enjoy roasting you over my fire." The troll went for a clench, aiming a grab at the Lizard's neck. Strangulation seemed to be on his mind.

 

The policeman leaped into the air, bare three toed feet latching on to the top of his enemy's shoulders. He swung a right-left-right combination, driving the hairy monster to the asphalt by force. He flipped the troll over and put heavy cuffs on him to make taking him in easier.

 

"You should have just beat it." The Lizard dragged his perp by the collar to a waiting police wagon designed to take powered passengers. "Now you have assault on an officer and resisting arrest. You're looking at jail time, monkey boy."

 

"No human prison can hold a troll of Ufgard." The troll strained against the cuffs holding his arms behind his back. "I shall have my revenge on you."

 

"Better get in line," said the human cop waiting at the back of the wagon, holding the door out of the way for the Lizard. "Central says there's another one of these guys across town, and some of the Odd Squad are chasing some kind of procession on horses along the lake. Something is up tonight."

 

"This guy should be booked, but we can round up his brother and take them both in." The Lizard surveyed the rip along his shirt. "He's strong as heck. I don't know if we want two of them in the same wagon."

 

"I'll get some back up." The cop reached for his microphone. "Maybe the other one will get the message."

 

"The Trolls of Ufgard fear no one." The troll strained against the heavy chains holding him to the wagon's left prisoner bench. "We will have our silver."

 

"Shut up in there." The Lizard slammed the back door shut and locked it. "Let's go, Marty. The Chief must be throwing a fit by now."

 

Marty got behind the wheel. The Lizard hopped on top of the wagon, banging on the roof to let his colleague know to go. Chicago was weird, but not usually this weird. Something was out of whack somewhere.

 

The Lizard watched the road as the wagon rolled through the streets. Once he was done quelling some of this trouble, he would look into what was going on.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

6

The Chemist materialized in the middle of a street. He looked around, the letter on his blue coveralls changing as he turned his head left, then right. This was bad as far as he was concerned.

 

He expected to find a town, somewhere in the thousands for population. Maker's maps had indicated such. The problem was he expected a human town with modern buildings, and other accouterments of modern 21st century life.

 

That was not what he saw around him.

 

Something had changed the bustling town into a village of straw and wood. The street was dirt until it reached a city limit sign that had survived whatever had happened. People stared at him, dressed in tunics and breeches from hundreds of years ago. They seemed scared to see him walking out in the open.

 

That wasn't a reaction he was used to.

 

Maker had said there was a burst of unknown energy, then the town had lost touch with the outside. Phones and radios needed technology to function. It looked like the phones had vanished when the event had happened to revert the town.

 

That didn't explain why the villagers shut their doors and windows when they saw him.

 

The Chemist saw a sign proclaiming an inn. Maybe someone there would give him some clue what happened if they even knew themselves. He walked over and pushed his way in, looking at the small handful of people eating and drinking.

 

"Excuse me." All eyes turned to the magician. "I'm lost. Can someone put me on the way to New York?"

 

"Strangers aren't welcome here." The inn keep looked wealthy if you believed his gut and marks of drinking. "I suggest you start in one direction and keep moving until you see another town."

 

"That's really unfriendly." The Chemist hadn't expected anything less. He would have been more worried if they had invited him in to eat.

 

Someone would have surely tried to stab him in the back while he was asking questions.

 

"You heard what I said." The inn keep went to the end of the bar. A knife was in his beefy hand.

 

"No need for histrionics." The Chemist held up his hand, slowly backing out of the inn. He turned and started down the street. There had to be some kind of explanation for this.

 

The Chemist heard something that sounded like wings flapping. He looked up, spotting a gargoyle descending from some unseen height. A finger traced a protective rune on the sleeve of his coverall.

 

Maybe this is what made the people in the inn afraid.

 

The winged monster dropped to the ground a few feet away. A tabard, marked like a servant's livery, flapped around it as it folded its wings. Yellow eyes glared at the strange visitor.

 

"State your business." It's voice was smooth, almost educated.

 

"I'm the Chemist." The magistrate traced the rim of his sunglasses with a finger tip. "I'm wondering what's going on and where you came from. Gargoyles are rare in my neck of the woods."

 

"This is the Lord Scriptus's realm." The gargoyle stalked forward. "He has commanded all strangers to be killed on sight."

 

"That's not very nice." The Chemist backed up, holding his sunglasses to his face.

 

"That doesn't matter." One stone hand flexed into talons. "All that matters is my orders."

 

The Chemist wrote one more line on his glasses. The black plastic became shining mirrors. A burst of flame erupted from the newly made gates. It retreated back into the wraparounds, taking the gargoyle with it.

 

"Maybe Lord Scriptus will be easier to talk to than a simple minded guard." The Chemist erased the spell as soon as the glasses shut their door to where he had designated.

 

The Chemist wrote on the air. The letters revolved into a floating arrow. It pointed him up and to the left. Something invisible was in that direction. Either that, or it was across some line in the air that cut it off from the village.

 

Maybe it was a castle of horrors.

 

Curse you, Konami.

 

The Chemist followed the arrow. It would take him to Lord Scriptus, and then maybe he could straighten this out.

 

Flapping on the air reminded him that gargoyles traveled in packs. He wrote on the palm of his hand in case he had to deal with them. It was always good to have a ready spell for trouble in case he couldn't write on the air.

 

He wondered why Scriptus sounded familiar as he walked.

[OzMike]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

Just posting to let you know that I really look forward to reading your stuff - I just wish you'd manage it more quickly because the waiting is killing me

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

Just posting to let you know that I really look forward to reading your stuff - I just wish you'd manage it more quickly because the waiting is killing me

 

I tend to write on five or six things at a time. I put a sort of system in to help me write faster so I can finish stories faster.

CES

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

7

Crystalmach looked at the shattered mosaic she had been working on. The Persian was getting the team together to go wherever they needed to be to stop this new menace. She couldn't wait that long.

 

She had to get there as fast as possible.

 

Cassandra knew that others with greater ability had sensed the warp in reality. Some of them would even be trying to use it to fuel their own schemes. A mage war was possible as far as she was concerned.

 

Crystalmach touched her bracer, changing the combination of colors with slender fingers. The mosaic should still have part of her magic entrusted in it. Crystal, glass, and reflective surfaces were her foci. She needed something bigger than her bracer for what she wanted to do.

 

The glass shards started dancing where she had left them when the magic pressure had swept through her chambers. They took to the air piece by piece, then returned to the backing she had made from some oak from a crafts shop. The fragments glued themselves in with a small rainbow sparkle.

 

Crys smiled, as the bracer signaled it was done with a loss of light. Luckily she had been almost done with it when it had shattered. It wouldn't do everything that she had intended for it to do, but it should still be a good scrying tool to figure out where the wave had came from in the first place.

 

The mosaic felt cool to her touch as she activated it. Her fingers moved the colors around like typing on a keyboard. A picture formed in the glass, a city limit sign. That's where the wave had started rolling across the planet.

 

That's where she had to go.

 

First she had to get out of the building without the Persian finding out her intentions and trying to stop her.

 

Crystalmach armed herself with backup crystals for her bracer, or to be used as one shot spell sources. She checked that her work clothes were okay, everything in its place. Then she left the apartment.

 

Only one person could help her at the moment.

 

Crys found Martina Horvach standing in front of a window, looking out over the city. Martina could go anywhere in the world. Watching the people go about their business below reminded her how she used to feel about things before she became empty.

 

"Martina, I need a favor please." Crys looked around to make sure they were alone. "I need transportation to a place called Springfield, Kansas."

 

"You can get Darius to fly you there in the jet." Martina played with the loose sleeves of her shirt. She was too thin to be beautiful, hair cut in ragged patches, eyes different colors.

 

"You're faster than a plane." Crys looked around again. The Persian would make her wait, and she didn't think she had the time for that. "I'll get you those cookies you like so much."

 

"You can't bribe me with Pecan Sandies." Martina smiled. "I want a dozen eclairs."

 

"Six." Crys knew a dozen would have her friend locked in her room for hours just enjoying looking at them. "After I get back."

 

"Twelve, or start walking."

 

"Eight."

 

"I will take nine." Martina made a cutting motion with her hand. "That's as low as I go."

 

"Done." Crys shook her head. "I'll pick them up when I get back."

 

Martina nodded. She spread her arms. The blackness of the empty crawled up her skin, glowed from her eyes. It shivered slightly. Crystalmach had never seen it do that.

 

"There's some interference." Martina's voice, changed by her transformation from a pleasant soprano to a tenor shook from effort. "I'm going to lock on long enough to let you pass. One chance."

 

Crys waited patiently. Something big must be happening to disrupt the empty. She had enough time to reconsider her choice while she waited.

 

"Go." The black sheath became a solid darkness, steady as a rock. Crys leaped into the shadow, feeling a chill wrap around her brain. Then she was out in the middle of a middle age village.

 

"I guess I'm in Kansas." Crystalmach started walking, looking for a clue.

 

8

Buddy walked into view, assembling himself as he came down the main street. The star field of his body gleamed in the twilight he found himself in. He looked around, wandering who put up the Renaissance fair where downtown should be.

 

He spotted a woman in brown and yellow ahead. He glided after her. He should have expected that someone else would be looking into this. Crystalmach was a local back in New York. Where were the rest of her guys?

 

Best to get the introductions out of the way. No way could he pass the buck. V would be all over him for breach of contract.

 

Besides she looked good, and who didn't like looking at a good looking woman?

 

"Hey, Crystalmach!" Buddy kept walking. It was better to let her see he wasn't a threat. "You're a long way from New York."

 

"Do I know you?" The woman turned, hand touching the bracer on her other arm.

 

"Naw." Buddy held up his hands. He thought he could take her if he had to do it. He wasn't there to fight. He didn't like to fight unless he had to. "I'm from New York too. I was just wondering why you were here."

 

"I'm here about that wave of magic." Crystalmach didn't take her hand away from the bracer. "Something bad is going on, and I'm here to stop it."

 

"Local reality has been shattered." Buddy looked around, burning eyes taking in more than surface details. "Some other places too. My boss wants me to stop it too."

 

"Is that so?" Crystalmach looked at the shining glass on her arm for a second.

 

Buddy sighed. He wouldn't believe himself either, if he hadn't gotten screwed over like he had.

 

"I'm the protector of the universe." Buddy pointed up and to the right. "The guy we want is that way. Now we can talk all night, cause I don't get to talk to chicks much, or we can start walking."

 

"You don't get to talk to women much." Crystalmach smiled slightly. "I can't imagine why."

 

"Tell me about it, sister." Buddy started walking in the direction he had indicated. "I used to be okay, but nowadays, the girls scream at the sight of my face and run. The Phantom of the Opera got more action than I can now."

 

"Have you considered it might be your personality?" Crystalmach followed behind him, a little more relaxed. Whatever danger was there, this whiny guy didn't seem to know enough to be a danger except to himself.

 

"That's what my boss says." Buddy paused. "Someone is up ahead of us. He's got some kind of marker leading him."

 

"Let's catch up and see if he knows more than we do." Crystalmach touched her bracer again, borrowing speed and vision from it. "Maybe he even knows what's behind all this."

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

9

 

Lord Scriptus smiled at the dancing letters on the floor around him. It had taken some doing, but things were on schedule at the moment. The Chemist had arrived as predicted, but he could be kept at arm's length if you knew how.

 

His two companions were another thing. They should be taken care of before they became too much of a problem. Unfortunately he didn't have anything that could handle the protector of the universe.

 

He thought about it, thinking that perhaps he could use this development. It might help him shorten the length of time for his spell to run.

 

He just had to make it look convincing.

 

Scriptus wrote a symbol on the air. It should make his voice heard to his soldiers. He gave them a moment of instructions before wiping the symbol out of the air. He had to get ready for his guests.

 

He diverted three lines of writing away from the circle around him, the main engine of his spell. A y branch formed at the end of the new additions to his equation. A finger stroke put out the torches on the wall over his trap.

 

It wasn't perfect. Hopefully he could snare all three with a minimum of effort. He just had to make it look believable.

 

Lord Scriptus turned his attention to the workings of his dimension driver. The years he had spent training his protege had been well spent. Enoch had learned, been programmed, with the secrets that he needed to be taught at a phenomenal rate. He was as strong as any writer left on Earth. He just needed some experience in how to use his abilities.

 

The constant concentration required was just the thing to firmly establish his skill and abilities.

 

The gargoyles should be herding the wizards and their supernatural ally into the castle by now. He had ordered hit and run attacks to keep them off balance and running for cover. He didn't want to give the Chemist too much time to think of a countermeasure.

 

That would be extremely dangerous to his plans.

 

The three entered the castle. His watchdogs kept an eye on them, herding them to the central chamber where he waited. He added another letter to each of his writing tentacles as he waited, tending his brainchild.

 

If this plan worked, he could add more and more territory to his new kingdom until he had his own universe under his control.

 

The Chemist shattered the main room's door with a spell in the palm of his hand. Crystalmach fired shard daggers at their enemies as she backed into the room. The protector was at her side, depending on his physical strength and universal understanding to shatter any of the enemy who came close enough to him to touch. The magistrate turned and wrote a symbol to form a wall between the three of them and the menace outside the room.

 

Lord Scriptus activated his trap with a mark as he waited patiently for the three of them to notice him. He smiled as they turned to face him.

 

"Welcome to my humble abode." Lord Scriptus nodded at them. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

 

"We're here to stop you, fruit cake." The protector stepped closer, pointing his finger. "You're not blowing up the Earth. All my stuff's there."

 

"I don't see how you're going to stop me." Scriptus waited patiently. He needed to snag the Chemist, and Crystalmach first. An entity as strong as the protector might be able to break free if he wasn't careful.

 

"I think our combined talents are more than a match for you." The Chemist reached for his sunglasses, looking at the glowing letters around the other magician.

 

"I think you're going to help me." Lord Scriptus's writing seized the three in a death grip. Their magical power lit up a line of writing back to his wheel. The humans dropped to their knees, drained by the spell. The protector lost some of his solidity but remained on his feet. "Thank you for the assistance."

 

The protector slammed a fist against the side of an invisible bottle in frustration.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

10

 

 

Jeff Ashcroft looked around the cemetery, hating being stuck at a photo op when he should be busting someone for a dirty deed. That was why he signed up for the School in the first place. He didn't like being pulled away for a job the Secret Service should be doing.

 

"I thought you would like the break, Jeff." Aaron Stark walked over, dressed in the rig he wore as the Watcher. He led the School's other team.

 

"I'd rather shoot myself." Pointer straightened his tie, looking at the crowd.

 

"We have trouble." Triple's voice drifted in over the team intercom. "Looks like big trouble."

 

Stark looked to the left, dialing up his helmet. He spotted Triple, or one of Triple, floating in the air. Something was coming out of the ground.

 

"Looks like zombies." Watcher dialed in a better view. "Looks like everything buried is trying to get out of their graves."

 

Ashcroft had argued against having both teams for the ceremony and speech making, argued against having any of them there, recommended the Secret Service wholeheartedly. Now he smiled. This was something he liked dealing with better than hot air politicians.

 

"We need to clear the cemetery of civilians." Pointer pointed one of his imaginary pistols at something reaching from the ground. "Fliers make that a priority. Blasters and tanks converge on the President, until he can be gotten to safety."

 

Triple soared down, forming a triad around the President. Each one of the parts wore a plain coverall with the number three on the chest and back. Only the three basic colors; red, green, and blue, were different so others could tell the parts apart.

 

Pointer felt a small amount of relief as he pulled the trigger on a corpse that finally made it halfway out of the grass. Nothing was getting past Triple. Now they had to take care of the rest of the people in the graveyard.

 

The problem was the two squads of the School only had three fliers among them, and Triple was one of those.

 

Holo, trailing sparks in the sky from his glowing body, and the Replacement, wearing stealth black from head to toe, were carrying noncombatants over the metal fence that surrounded the cemetery as fast as human bodies could bear.

 

Pointer moved to keep the area in front of him clear. Watcher was on his right, using the laser in his helmet to burn corpses.

 

Fortress and Granite had taken one side of the invisible circle, ripping up zombies with their bare hands. Fortress, holding at twenty feet tall, was scooping up the decayed bodies by the handful. Granite was a short and stocky rock. He had to wait for the undead to get close enough for him to smash them apart.

 

There was an explosion of soundless light in the distance. Pointer squinted. One of his guys was out there shepherding civilians. The Saint looked at a zombie and it exploded. His mystical glow was outweighed by the priest's collar around his neck.

 

"We're holding the other side of the grounds." Puma Sai sounded calmer than Pointer felt. "Air support would be cool."

 

Puma, Currenta, Poster Girl, and the Beatnik had been walking the grounds. They had been glad to be spared the boring speeches after their obligatory one picture. Now they were on their own.

 

"Triple." Pointer spoke into the miniature com in his sleeve. "Get the chief out of here, then help the others."

 

"That's a go." The triple men floated over the fence, holding the president with invisible bonds. They released their grip on the other side of the fence, then flew off.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

11

 

Jerry Silver lit a cigarette, frowning over the status board. Emergencies lit up red spots all over the world. Other heroes were handling some of the problems. It just wasn't enough.

 

"Looks like an invading reality to me." Maker's voice drifted to him from far away, cutting through his thoughts.

 

"Excuse me?" Silver took a drag on his cigarette, looking at his chief technical advisor, his only technical advisor.

 

"The initial start up is where I sent the Chemist." Maker wore her black and silver armor without the helmet. "I am positive the outbreaks are some kind of spreading contagion from that point."

 

"How sure?"

 

Maker looked at Silver. The look itself was enough to tell him that he had said something wrong. He puffed on his cigarette to buy some time to think before he said anything else.

 

"Since that seems to be the source of the problem, and the Chemist is there already, I want to step over and take a look for myself." Silver congratulated himself for isolating cause and effect.

 

"The teleporter can't lock down over the area." Maker checked her wrist pad. "Some kind of boundary broke the beam every time we tried to recall the Chemist."

 

"Just put me in somewhere close." Silver took one last drag on the cancer stick before stubbing it out. "Get the rest ready and come in close enough for a rescue."

 

"I don't think you should go it alone." Maker crossed her arms.

 

"Me big chief." Silver pulled on his hat. "You lackey. Start lackeying."

 

"I see you and Kevin Reilly have been hanging out together." Maker raised her eyebrows. "We'll put you down as close as possible unless your pattern gets ripped apart. If that happens, it would be bad."

 

She paused as if in thought.

 

"Bad for you anyway."

 

"If anything happens to me, I will hold you responsible." He led the way to the teleporter control room near the operations and meeting rooms. His eyes wandered over the control surfaces, taking in the display of mechanical aptitude that he couldn't understand or imagine working as well as it did.

 

Maker plugged into an outlet, nodding at the computer data the machine fed her. She sighted in on the outskirts of the expanding circle. A small pulse activated the beam. Silver broke apart into his basic molecules, flew to orbit, bounced from one satellite to another, then snapped together outside of a wood and straw town straight out of a Robin Hood movie.

 

Silver lit another cigarette as he walked into town proper. The Chemist would have come this way, probably stopping at the inn to talk to someone, and then went looking for the big kahuna.

 

Silver just needed to figure out which way that would be.

 

The magistrate looked around, walking along the dirt road. He spotted a pile of stone fragments, one of which looked like a hand. It looked like Chemist had started up the hill from the wrecked gargoyles. The electric man followed at a slower pace than before.

 

He spotted the castle appearing out of the darkness ahead. He could have sworn it hadn't been there before. That must be the place.

 

A guard let out a cry as soon as Silver was close enough to be seen from the battlements. He let loose a lightning bolt at the big mouth, satisfied that his primary question had been answered. The Chemist had arrived at the castle, and the people were trying to stop him from checking on what was going on.

 

Spears rained down from above. Silver sent a shock in the air that knocked the wood aside as he thought about how to get inside. This was where the brain was, and that was the reason he had to find out what was going on with the Chemist.

 

Silver pointed at the wooden drawbridge blocking his way. Lightning punched a hole through the wood. It wasn't big enough. He fired again. That gave him something to walk through. He kept an eye out as he stepped inside.

 

He was used to unfriendly welcoming committees.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

12

 

The Persian sat at the controls of the CORPS jet. His constant checking of instruments betrayed a certain urgency to anyone who knew him. Crys shouldn't have took off without the rest of the team.

 

"We're coming up on our landing zone." The Persian used onboard cameras to pick out an empty field. He flipped the wings so the engines pointed straight down.

 

"Ready, Pers." The Graft stood by the door, waiting for the plane to land.

 

The Persian checked his instruments one more time. Everything seemed ready to go for a landing. He could make out a shimmery veil and a small village beyond. Flying things filled the air. He didn't want to fly into an attack since the jet didn't have weapons.

 

"The Empty isn't responding well." Martina looked sick in her blue coverall.

 

The Persian looked over his crew. He judged they were ready to deal with the threat. He just didn't know if they had the capability.

 

"The mission is to get Crystalmach back and shut down whatever is causing this interference." The Persian eased the jet down on its landing gear before shutting the engines off. "We'll be crossing open ground, so we won't have any advantage of surprise."

 

The Persian went over his options before stating them, looking for the easiest deployment that would ensure victory.

 

"Cowboy, you're our front line. Believer and Blood Knife, I need you to watch our flanks. Graft will look after Empty until her powers come back up to speed. That's the best I can come up with until we know more about our enemy."

 

"No problem, Boss." Cowboy's voice was a rumble to match the jet when in flight. "Let's go before they try to break in to take care of us."

 

The Persian nodded. Cowboy, dressed like a hero from a western movie, pulled his Stetson low over his bovine face as he pushed the jet door open. He jumped down, growing another two or three feet before he hit the ground. The minotaur paused for the others to unload before heading toward a hill in the distance on the other side of the village.

 

Believer dropped down, hand on the long barreled pistol holstered at her hip. The white cross on her black body armor glittered as she moved to the left. Her eyes sought out any unobvious menace while she waited for the flying birds to test her mettle.

 

Blood Knife landed lightly, and walked to the right. His hand glowed lightly as he moved forward. His World War era fatigues turned him into a shadow moving with a round lamp in his hand. Goggles protected his eyes and worked as a mask.

 

The Graft grabbed the door frame with his artificial third hand, while holding Empty around the waist with one of his normal hands. He swung down gently, poncho swinging slightly around him. He needed something like that for full use of his symbiote.

 

A shirt meant something trying to hold his third arm to his chest.

 

The Persian jumped into the air, hovering over his team. He was the only member of his team that could fly. He and Charles had talked about adding several fliers to the team, but so far had been unable to agree on who to try to recruit.

 

Cowboy ballooned up, attracting the attention of the flying birds with his huge stature. Smokey breath snorted from his muzzle as he walked forward, each step the length of a football field. His fingers clinched into fists as big as elephants.

 

The flock descended, firing curlicues of fiery clouds at the giant suddenly appearing in front of them. One hand crushed several with a swing like a man swatting flies from the air. He spotted an outline of something that might be a castle. He waved at the ground forces as he stepped over the village.

 

The Persian pointed his wrist laser at any flying birds that tried to regroup to come after his team. He blasted a couple of them to keep them moving away as fast as possible. The burning things screamed in fury as they circled in the air.

 

The ground forces crossed the boundary. The Empty became a black oil covering its host's body. Martina drew the Graft in, vanishing in the night air. She returned moments later for Blood Knife and Believer.

 

"We're all up by this castle, Persian." The Graft's voice sounded cheerful over the radio line. "Looks like a small army is getting ready for Cowboy. Ugly things if you ask me."

 

The Persian dialed up his vision. He could see the four at the base of the wall, but not the castle itself. The Graft stood there, smiling under the cloth mask he wore over his eyes.

 

"We need Crys." The Persian considered his mission. "Get in and find her. Cowboy and I will try to keep them busy."

 

"Can do, Persian." The Empty took them inside the castle, out of their android leader's sight.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

13

 

 

"Higgins." Enoch traced a letter into the marching line with a smile. "I think it's time for Dr. Krueger's latest son to provide a distraction."

 

"Magistracy Tower?" Higgins knew that other groups were busy across the globe. Naturally the UN's team would strike for the head if it could.

 

"Yes." Enoch smiled as he watched the flowing letters. "Silver and the Chemist are being dealt with as we speak. The others might as well go too. Then we can deal with the other protectors of the Earth."

 

"Understood, sir." Higgins nodded at the strategy. Eliminating potential threats one at a time before they joined forces was a time honored tradition. "Is there anything else?"

 

"A glass of milk, please."

 

The butler nodded. He left the office long enough to fetch a glass of milk. Then he walked to the screens behind the desk. A snap of his fingers produced the geneticist's lined face.

 

"Higgins? Higgins. What can I do for you?" Krueger didn't look happy to see the saturnine face at the other end of the video phone call.

 

"The young master would like your latest project to demolish the Magistracy Tower, and kill everyone inside." Higgins raised an eyebrow at the wince his request had set off. Krueger seemed squeamish for a mad scientist. "It needs to be done as soon as possible."

 

"I'll send him, but I think it's too early." Krueger looked off screen for a second. "He should have a better than even chance of succeeding."

 

"We'll let you know what happened." Higgins cut the connection. "Better than even chance."

 

"His prototypes were less than that." Enoch smiled. "If he can kill or cripple just one, that will help us when they try to stop my father."

 

"What happens if they try to stop you first?" Higgins stood with his hands behind his back, looking down on his sitting charge.

 

"I have you here to protect me." Enoch grinned at the butler, keeping up with his work as they talked. "I expect you to be my shield. That's why you were bound after all."

 

"I wouldn't say that." Higgins kept his staid exterior intact. "Demons are perfect man servants."

 

"We'll see how perfect you are if the Magistracy stumble on our little nest." Enoch made a dismissed gesture. "Don't think about crossing me."

 

"Wouldn't dream of it." Higgins walked to the door, walking through after a bow of his head.

 

Enoch looked at the door, moving the swirling lines along with strokes of his finger at the right place. Higgins seemed to be carrying out his duties with the same capability, but something was emerging from underneath the veneer.

 

The heir didn't like what he was detecting when he interacted with the butler.

 

Higgins was showing signs of breaking his oath and double-crossing the two writers. If that happened, their plan would be disrupted depending on where the butler applied his treachery. Perhaps he should be removed.

 

Enoch thought about it, but realized as long as he was helping to merge the Earth with the alternate, he couldn't act on his suspicions. One major act to break the ritual would mean everything would have to be restarted.

 

Surprise would be gone if he did that. Higgins would have to be watched for now. If he had to act against the butler, hopefully it would be after the spell was completed.

 

That was the best he could hope for at the moment.

 

Enoch wrote in more missing letters to change reality around the world.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

14

 

 

Kat Friday flew through the front of the mall. She hit the tiled floor, rolling to her feet. Bystanders were running from her. If she wasn't fighting for her life, she would have run too.

 

The West Side Mall dominated the small town of Ulster, almost like a Wal-mart would any other town. Almost the whole town came to the West Side for supplies of every type. Kat had come down from the mountain overlooking town to get a couple more shirts and jeans.

 

Now she would have to get an extra shirt to replace the one she wore.

 

Kat pulled the ripped sleeves off her shirt as she headed for the parking lot. She didn't look like much of a threat at 5'2", 90 pounds. Muscles moved under her tanned skin like bands of steel rubbing against each other.

 

Someone was going to pay for that shirt.

 

Kat frowned as the two assembled piles of rock shook in silent laughter. One pointed at her with a misshapen finger. Fury caused blotches of red to cover Kat's round face. They threw her through a wall, then laughed at her.

 

We'll see about that.

 

Kat ripped up a piece of asphalt out of the lot. She flung it like a discus. The piles of rock scrambled to get out of the way, rocks approximating stumpy legs throwing them into shallow dives.

 

"Who's laughing now?" Kat pulled up another piece of artificial stone. She flung it so she could charge behind it.

 

The bigger pile of moving rocks swung an arm at the short girl. One crushed tomato of a human was its intention. Small hands grabbed the loosely constructed fist. The thing made a sound of puzzlement. Then the world spun wildly, reversing earth and sky for a few wild seconds. The titan crashed on a street a few blocks away.

 

The smaller heap looked for its comrade with an eyeless countenance. Then it roared, charging with its head down. It ran into something holding its flight. The human had run her shoulder into it at waist level. The legs were still going, but the upper torso crashed to a landing behind the miniature titan.

 

"You owe me a shirt, you nitwit." Kat grabbed the head of her fallen enemy, and punted it with a sneakered foot. "Dang it. Why did I do that for?"

 

"You should play soccer." The familiar voice of Andy Chen drifted down to Kat. "It's out of here."

 

Kat looked up at her floating friend, a shimmer under the light from the mall's street lamps used to mark different sections of the lot. Almost invisible lines drew a grin and the shape of eyes against the night sky.

 

"Let's get out of here." Kat started across the lot, fists clenched tight. "Everybody will know I wrecked the mall. I'll have to move on before the cops come up to the house."

 

"Mr. Rickert might be able to gloss this over." Andy floated in her wake, a shifting outline the same density as smoke. "He's pretty good at that sort of thing."

 

"I was so supposed to keep a low profile." Kat gestured at the wrecked cars around them as they walked. She pointed at the hole in the front of the West Side. "That doesn't look like low profile to me."

 

"You stopped a public menace." Andy tried to put a hand on her shoulder. It split in two parts, then reformed as he shook his head for forgetting. "Don't worry about it."

 

Kat Friday focused on the mountain at the edge of the small town and kept walking. Everyone would know who she was by tomorrow. Then the trouble would follow. That's why they were hiding out in the first place. She had screwed up.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

15

 

 

Jerry Silver wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand as he stepped over another lightning struck piece of stone. He hunkered down in the shadow of a column. He had dealt with more of the things than was good for him.

 

At least he had been right about the brains of the operation being close by. Humming reached his ears. It reminded him of generators turning. They would be huge by the level of sound he was picking up.

 

The more he followed the noise, the more things tried to hack his head off.

 

Silver heard creeping coming down the hall behind him. He readied to launch once more in the fray. He paused when he heard someone complain about the smell.

 

The gargoyles didn't speak as far as he knew.

 

"This is Jerry Silver." Silver felt confident his name would get some kind of response. "Speak up, or I'll blow holes in you."

 

"This is Believer of the Corps, Silver." The voice, female, was harsh and unmusical. "We're here looking for Crystalmach."

 

Silver stepped out in plain view. Electricity curled around his hand. That was enough to light the newcomers who had followed his trail of bodies. The woman, dressed in black with a large white cross on one side of a breastplate, pointed a long revolver back at him. Her dark hair was pulled back in a braid. Others spread out behind her, ready to defend themselves if they had to.

 

Silver nodded, recognizing the group's members from file pictures.

 

Believer stood in front. The Graft stood to her left, third hand raised outside his poncho. Blood Dagger stood on the right, glowing knife in hand. The Empty stood at the back of the group, covered in moving darkness.

 

"Crystalmach came here by herself. Obviously she failed in whatever she was trying to do." The Believer lowered the big pistol she carried.

 

"The Chemist is here somewhere too." Silver let the electric light die from his hand. Small sconces stuck out from the stone walls above them, torches providing feeble light. "I was going this way."

 

Silver pointed down the hall toward the buzzing he felt.

 

"We'll go with you." The Believer consulted her comrades with her eyes. No one disagreed. "Any direction is good as another when you don't know where you are."

 

"Safety in numbers too." The Empty sounded panicky to Silver.

 

"Let's go then." Silver turned and headed down the hall, wishing for a cigarette.

 

Silver paused in front of a set of ornate doors. No guards. He didn't like that. He didn't think he had beaten them all. Where were they?

 

The humming, vibration, was coming from the other side of those two doors with their carved symbols. So he could wait until the party was over, or open them. He held up his hand to let the CORPS know to wait.

 

Why get them killed if he was wrong?

 

Silver took a moment to look for a door knob. He shook his head at the absence of any. One hand pushed on one of the doors. It opened with a mouse squeak as it slid back. Silver frowned at what he saw in the chamber beyond.

 

A man sat in a circle. Unknown letters danced around him. The Chemist, Crystalmach, and another man clad in night sky, stood in smaller circles. The letters moved around the trio, before waltzing back to their master.

 

"Jerry Silver." The mage wrote a letter in a space in the line, sending it down the stream. "I don't remember inviting you to my humble abode."

 

"Let's cut to the chase." Silver stepped into the chamber, hands blazing. "I want you to stop doing what you're doing and release my friend, and his friends."

 

"Or?"

 

"I start blasting." Silver pointed at the writer.

 

"I don't think so." The writer sliced the air, fingertip glowing a soft mauve almost as a counterpoint to the glaring white yellow of Silver's electricity.

 

Bands wrapped around the magistrate, dropping him on a clear piece of floor. Shouts told him that the Corps had been wrapped in the same way. This guess was confirmed as three more heroes was added to the pile.

 

"I have things to do." The writer checked the flow of his scripting. "I'm changing the world and I really can't afford to have interference right now. I'm sure you understand."

 

Silver pulled on the bands wrapped around his torso and legs. He wasn't surprised they didn't break. He didn't bother with repartee as he tried to think of a way out.

 

He wondered when the magician would notice the Empty had vanished.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

16

 

 

 

Jeff Ashcroft pulled his tie from around his neck, stuffed it in a jacket pocket. Paperwork had to be written and filed on his team's actions. That was the worst part of his job.

 

Taking down a bad guy made him feel alive, filing the arrest and team effectiveness reports took that feeling away in a hurry.

 

"Reports are coming in from everywhere." The Watcher looked out over the devastated cemetery. Parts of the undead were fighting their collection and burning by regular army and marine forces. "The world is under attack and it's getting worse."

 

"What do the brains think?" Ashcroft rubbed his face, already deciding that the center of the cause should be excised like a cancer before they got bogged down fighting the symptoms.

 

This habitual tunnel vision didn't make him popular with his commanders.

 

"Something is going in Kansas." The Watcher looked at his friend, helmet hiding his expression. "We have two Magistracy incursions there, and the Corps's jet made a beeline for the general locale according to the intel."

 

"Let me make a call." Ashcroft pulled out his cell phone. "You get the others ready to go."

 

"We don't have authorization to move on this, Jeff." The Watcher glanced at the armed forces clearing the zombies. "We're supposed to wait on orders."

 

"Can't hear you." Pointer pressed a number. "I'm going, and I'm getting my team to go with me. We're stopping this."

 

"This is against my better judgment." The Watcher stepped away to get the two teams together and ready to move out.

 

The Magistracy's answering service asked Jeff to step through the system with button pushing until he finally got a live operator. A few more minutes of wrangling got him Kevin Reilly.

 

The operations officer didn't sound happy.

 

"What can I do for the School?" Reilly sounded distracted. That might be good.

 

"Something is up in Kansas." Potentially sharing information could be bad news, but Pointer wanted faster transportation than a plane from Arlington. "Both of the School teams want transportation using the Tower systems. Everyone knows you have the only working teleporter."

 

"You know I can't authorize that." Reilly's end suddenly muted. Then the crackle and rush came back on. "John Public says get your guys together in a cleared space and we'll bring you across."

 

"We're doing it right now." Pointer looked at his eleven colorful comrades bunching around the Watcher as he briefed them on the problem. "Give me two seconds."

 

"Leave your phone on."

 

"All right, guys." Pointer walked over to the group, glad none of the military was close enough to listen to what he was going to say. "We're leaving. Anybody who wants to stay step over to the right about ten feet."

 

No one moved, not even the Watcher.

 

"Bunch in as much as possible." Ashcroft held the phone up, stepping in the middle of the group. He didn't know how the system worked other than what he had experienced when he helped snag the Halberdier. "We're ready."

 

"Go time." Reilly said something else but it was lost in the flash of light as the team appeared across the country.

 

"Welcome to Magistracy Tower." John Public stood to the right, next to a technician in fatigues at a control panel. "We were just getting ready to leave when you called."

 

"Going to Kansas?" Pointer pushed through his squads. "That's why I called."

 

"This is amazing." Ashcroft ignored his friend's urge to find out how things worked as he made his way to the front, putting his phone away. "We need one of these babies."

 

"That's right." Public smiled. "Everybody is in the meeting room right now."

 

"Incoming." Reilly's voice on the intercom was followed by a klaxon. "Red Alert. Incoming."

 

"I guess introductions will have to wait." Public sprinted from the room.

 

"Spread out, and look after the civilians in case there's trouble." Pointer followed, finding it hard to keep up with the man in gray.

 

The School could handle this emergency. That's what they were trained to do. Still he didn't like the timing.

 

Public and Pointer burst into the operations room. Reilly had a close up of something moving across the Atlantic, heading dead for the tower. It looked like a man.

 

"Not again." Reilly gave the go sign to unlock the defenses. "We need to hide this place instead of hanging out here in the middle of the ocean."

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

17

 

 

 

Ray Hammet looked at the night sky, wishing the stars meant more than lights. Hammet turned his attention to the empty crossroads where he stood. Fields of corn bordered one side of the road leading west. Flatness lay in the east.

 

He could see a light miles away as clear as the evening was.

 

Ray shifted his traveling bag to his other shoulder. He had been on the road for a while and had many more miles to walk before he got to where he was going. His head turned to check out what lay in the other cardinal directions the road ran.

 

Trees blocked his view of the north. House lights peeked through the branches like giant bugs. The south was the same as the east, flat and unhealthy looking.

 

Ray scratched his chest through his flannel shirt. He crossed the empty road and headed east. He had been in the service for most of his life. This new freedom bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

 

Ray had walked for an hour before he heard a car coming down the road behind him. He stepped off the side, knowing his tallness let the sky light him up as a moving shadow. He was walking because he didn't want to deal with other people. He stepped a little farther off the road.

 

No need to make the driver stop to talk when he wanted to be alone.

 

Ray kept moving, glancing over his shoulder. The car was coming fast. He could see the lights growing as the engine roar carried down the dark asphalt. Pain shot through the soldier's chest. He stopped to watch the auto advance.

 

Ray frowned as the car picked up speed and headed right for him. He swung his bag into a field of short grass behind a wooden rail fence. He didn't want to lose his stuff if he survived.

 

Ray waited patiently for the car to reach a point a few feet in front of him. He jumped up, rolled over the roof, dropped to the other side. He landed on his feet as the Charger screeched to a stop.

 

Funny place to run into the Duke boys.

 

Ray walked over to the driver side of the Dodge. He didn't want trouble. Being a vagrant made the police look at you as the trouble instead of victim. He did want to know why the guy had aimed for him.

 

Ray paused when he was almost within arm's reach of the car. His chest sent arcs of lightning to his brain. Yellow lights shone about where the driver's eyes would be if he were watching the ex-soldier approach.

 

"Got something to say?" Ray took a breath, wishing he knew what was going on.

 

"You're not afraid?" The driver whistled slightly. The amber beads nodded. "Still I have my quota to fill. Nothing personal."

 

"I don't think so." Ray stepped back, scarred hands lifting in defensive fists. "I don't know what your game is, but it's personal to me."

 

"Don't be that way." The Charger's door swung open. "You'll be the first sacrifice in a century. Others will follow until the demon wolf walks once more."

 

Tentacles exploded out of the interior of the vehicle. Ray realized it wasn't a car after all as he threw himself back. It just looked like a car. The boneless limbs scrabbled for a hold as he bounded to the side to keep out of their reach.

 

"It's always a monster." Ray stepped back again. The skin over his forehead split apart before bone plates emerging from underneath. A glow escaped his shirt as the transformation ran its course in a second that lasted forever. "I haven't had squid since being stationed in Japan."

 

The limbs wrapped around Ray. He didn't mind. The transformation had shaken the car devil like it was intended to do. The rest was up to him.

 

Ray kept his arms and legs together as the thing pulled him toward the open door. A mouth must be in that dark recess. The experiment braced his feet on the body of the car and pulled on the tentacles. He grabbed two of the appendages, and squeezed as he exerted dragging force on his enemy.

 

The limbs came apart under his pressure. He fell to the ground. The dismembered appendages flopped around him as he tried to get up.

 

The car door slammed shut as wheels ground grass up. The Charger veered back on the road, moving with animal grace.

 

Ray leaped. His fingers slid on the trunk's top until he made hand holds. He didn't know where this monster had came from, but he knew what he was going to do. Killing monsters is what he had been made to do. The lid bled as the plated hands dug in.

 

Ray pulled himself up the roof. He punched through with his mace-like fist. He had a moment to see fear in the inhuman eyes. That was the best part sometimes. Then he was inside the shell, swinging with everything he had.

 

The car rolled to a stop, pieces falling off and dissolving into mist as it slowly halted. Ray pulled himself clear of the mush. He didn't try to brush the slime off his clothes and bone skin. He just walked back for his bag. He could change and clean up at the next town.

[csyphrett]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

18

 

The Persian floated in the air, using his built in weapons to fend off the flying things that were trying to stop him and Cowboy. He found that his web gun was the best option. One hit put most of his targets on the ground.

 

And his on board targeting gave him that hit.

 

Cowboy stood at thirty feet tall. Arrows were needles stuck in his double breasted shirt. He threw his shoulder against the stone work he felt but almost couldn't see. The wall bent under the impact, cracking the air as small chunks gave way.

 

Cowboy backed up and charged the weak spot again. He heard cries of alarm and clear the wall as he ran forward. At the last step he threw himself in the air. He collapsed that section of the wall as he stepped into a visible courtyard.

 

The Persian drifted behind the bovine bulldozer, spraying the ground troops as he went. He felt they would try a mass assault to drive his giant colleague out of the castle grounds. He meant to discourage that as much as possible.

 

"Keep going." The Persian lit his eyes into spotlights. "We have to find the source, that's where the others will be."

 

"On it." Cowboy slammed into the main castle wall. He aimed for a window, arrow slot, for his charge. He drew back and hit again. A hole appeared, stone bricks falling inside the tower.

 

Cowboy shrank down to fit inside the tower. The Persian followed, sensors trained for the energy pattern present with the Empty. Martina should be with the others.

 

"We go down, Cowboy." The Persian led the way, spraying liquid nets. He took a spear in the arm but ignored it to punch the next man into his friends below.

 

"Let me." Cowboy pushed pass the purple and gold leader. He expanded to fill the hall. He swung hard that cleared the way through the hall.

 

"Good job." The Persian covered the upper stairwell with his web. "Keep moving."

 

Cowboy took the stairs in leaps and bounds. He smashed through a blockade at the bottom of the stairs. The Persian stuck the men together when he reached the devastation.

 

"That way." The Persian pointed down a corridor lit by torches. "I hear heartbeats and some kind of humming."

 

"That must be where our guys are." Cowboy started down the hall, estimating how much he could grow if he had to. "I don't see any more of those little guys."

 

"The rest must be up in the upper part of the keep." The Persian paused, examining the hall. "There should be more wear and tear for a standing army."

 

"What do you mean?" Cowboy paused too. He was aware of traps that could be used against a giant.

 

"It looks like no one has walked beyond a certain spot." The Persian hunkered down for a closer look at the carpet. "Your foot prints are the only ones I can detect."

 

"That means the mastermind is alone." Cowboy smiled. "Let's get on with it."

 

"You can't go any further." A black silhouette formed into a woman covered in black with her eyes burning like fire. "The others have been captured."

"What happened?" The Persian thought perhaps the army was a stall for anyone trying to get into the building now. If they happened to stop an intruder, so much the better.

 

"These bands came out of nowhere and wrapped around us. I teleported away. I don't know what happened to the others." Martina looked down. "I didn't know what else to do."

 

"We know where they are." The Persian glanced at the locator signal readout inside his eyes. "They're at the end of this corridor."

 

"So we go in and bust up the bad guy." Cowboy cracked his knuckles. "That's what we do."

 

"No, I go in alone and look around for an easy stop." The Persian faded from sight. "If I don't stop this, you come in as big as you can."

 

"This is a big chance to be taking, Boss." The long cow face looked miserable.

 

"We can't risk the others." The Persian drifted down the hall. "If all it takes is one shot, so much the better."

 

The synthetic man paused at the door. He readied his web gun. His captive friends were stacked in front of the door with Jerry Silver. Crystalmach stood in a cleared circle, some kind of lettering moving on the floor around her. The Chemist and someone that wasn't in his memory files were in similar circles.

 

The Persian fired his web gun at the only person moving under his own power in that room. The red strands struck some kind of wall, wrapped around it harmlessly. He flipped to a sonic attachment as the man wrote on the air with his finger. The Corps leader flew straight up, smashing against the roof. Stone clutched him in place.

 

"Hopefully there won't be any more interruptions." Lord Scriptus went back to his writing.

[Mr. R]

Re: The Magistracy's Legion

 

More please.

 

How Do I rep someone cause i have found two I want to rep.