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## Within the Brass Web

### A City of Heroes Fan Fiction Novel

By Brian W Moon

2011

### Smashwords Edition

This free novel is released under: Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial, Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

For more information visit creativecommons.org

You may share and repost this story as long as you give the author credit. You may NOT make changes without the author's permission. You may NOT make a profit from sharing this story.

City of Heroes if the property of NC Soft and all rights belong to them. If you enjoy the story or just enjoy comic books, check out the online game City of Heroes at cityofheroes.com

I am merely a fan of the game City of Heroes; I am in no way affiliated with this awesome game other than as a player.

You can contact me at: moonlyte01@gmail.com

### A message from the author;

Within the Brass Web is a piece of fan-fiction based on the MMORPG City of Heroes. NC Soft and Paragon Studios created the game's world and characters. I was as true to game history as I could be, but large gaps in information and tight-lipped developers forced me to get creative. Real history events where not altered to fit to the story. They happened in the same time frame as the game history and I wove many of them into the web. Although I tried to be accurate to the game and history, ultimately this is a work of fiction based on a fictional world. If you look at what happened in 1932, it's easy to believe that it could all have been a Nemesis plot. Then again, maybe it was...

#### Welcome to Paragon City

Just up the Rhode Island coast from Point Judith sits the port city of Paragon. Like all major cities it had its humble beginnings in the seventeenth century as the settlers came to the new land. The natural large, deep-water harbor made it an idea port city. The Baumton Canal connecting Liberty bay is a mile long stretch to the Atlantic Ocean and the over all affect provides ships with a very safe harbor. This gave Paragon City two advantages over its neighbor, New York City as a major port. The protected harbor and it was a one-day shorter travel time from the European countries. Because of its active port, other industries quickly moved in and Paragon found itself becoming the front runner for manufacturing and commerce. In the early nineteen hundreds the city found itself in an economic boom and wealth. The city quickly started to expand and grow and there was talk about moving the state capital there.

Like everywhere else in the world, the great depression spared no one and no city. The companies that had thrived suddenly collapsed, Fortunes where lost and parts of the city became a ghost town. New buildings stood incomplete and shop owners boarded up their windows. As the legitimate businesses closed or left the city, a criminal element entered the town, some of it organized, some of it random. It only took a few months for the Marcone family to establish ownership of the docks and control over everything that came into the city. From the humble beginnings of bootleggers they moved and expanded through intimidation, murder and bribery until they became the largest organized crime group in Paragon City.

Like wise the great depression saw the growth of another type of organization in Paragon City. The Southern United Manufacturing Company seemed to simply appear out of no where, buying defaulted contracts for construction, fabricating parts, and becoming partners with other failing businesses. Their tactics were not that different that Marcone's but the end result was different. With the city's politicians on their payroll, the little known company grew quickly, putting people back to work on their payroll or on the payrolls of other companies. It wasn't like the prosperity of the twenties, but at least people received a fair wage for a day's work. The Marcone family and Southern United came to an understanding and mutually agreed to leave each other alone or at least limited the amount of open violence in the streets. The joke was that Southern United put money in a man's pocket so Marcone could take it from him, in one of his bars. Most men went about their lives just thankful to be alive and to have something that paid them. Whether it was legal or not wasn't their concern. Many had it far worse, and everyone knew it.

One man couldn't over look the crime; one man knew he had to bring justice back to his beloved city. Now that man has returned home with the power to make a difference. No longer would he tolerate the criminals.

###### Chapter 1: Same old story

The green Ford Focus rolled down the long private drive to the Mannheim Retirement Estates. The Resident buildings resembled large Georgian mansions, with the grand porches and massive columns. Max shoved the last bit of his burger into his month and chewed it quickly as he turned the car into a looping drive in front of building number five. The Estates entry guard had already cleared them for they're visitation and their pass Ids hung around their necks. The car's tires crunched as it rolled across the pea gravel driveway to park in a small lot marked for visitors.

"Man can you imagine how much it must cost to keep your parents in a place like this?" Max said as the gazed out of the windshield at the massive structure and pristine lawn.

"I Goggled it." said Anton between sips of his soft drink. "I don't think our paychecks combined would get us a broom closet here."

Max whistled and turned the car off. "I wonder where he got his money from."

"I don't know, we'd need a warrant to get access to his finances and for that we'd need to charge him with something."

"Oh that's a good one. Can you see us going to Judge Hart and saying we want to arrest a one hundred year old man for possible crimes during the depression...? I'm sure he'd get a good laugh." Max said sarcastically as he got out of the car and brushed the crumbs and a stray French fry off his brown slacks. The sound of a car door closing came from behind him as Anton got out of the car. Anton looked rumpled and Max wondered if the man ever pressed his pants. Anton Sampson was a research technician who specialized in nanotechnologies. He was very close to a groundbreaking invention when his plans were stolen by the enigma of a super villain known as Lord Nemesis. Recent events brought Anton and Maxwell Christopher, a FBSA Agent together. Now that some super heroes had managed to stop a plan to control the weather that had been in the works for at least a decade. Anton felt convince that there was more going on that needed explaining. Maxwell went along with this, wondering just how many more landmines Nemesis had planted out there.

Max was still of the opinion that "Nemesis" was more of a title now, than an actual person. He knew his view point on this was in the minority but still, how could it be the same man? He trusted in the police record from 1932, the event they call Brass Monday, which said he died in the explosion of the Southern United Manufacturing Building. Those people that knew about Nemesis, like Anton, seem to give him a god like quality as if he too possessed amazing powers like the Statesman. Max was sure if that had been the case then more people would have seen him, but that wasn't the case, not even in pictures. Not even from the time when it was reputed that he was an actual a man and not one of those strange brass robots that the super heroes talk about from time to time.

Now here he was with Anton, on his day off, visiting an old man that a rumor says he used to be part of the army that attacked the city on July 11, 1932. If that is true, just how much will this man remember from an event that happened seventy nine years ago? It was the researcher's insistence that the man might die at any moment, and the possible information lost would be a loss to everyone. He reluctantly gave in and offered to drive them almost to the Massachusetts border. They were already given permission to take in a single recording device to the interview, but it would be with the old man's choice as to whether or not they could use it once they arrived. The two men climbed the concrete steps up to the large porch area. Several residents had already taken up chairs around small tables for cards or chess, in the late morning sunlight. The men and women were dressed to personal taste but none were in bathrobes or pajamas. They held the door for an elderly couple wheeling golf clubs behind them and entered the main lobby of building number five.

Max imagined that this is how the lobby of a five-star hotel must be like. Everything just seemed to be expensive. Colors and fabrics picked up colors in from the large painting across from the reception area. They were facing a set of elevators where there would normally be a grand staircase. Max could make out their images in the reflection of the highly polished brass. They crossed over to the red marble counter where two uniform individuals sat watching them.

"Good morning, Mr. Sampson and Mr. Christopher, the main gate called a few minutes ago." The young man said with a deep New England accent. "If you'll please step into the room right over here" he gestured to the open doorway beside the counter, "we'll only detain you for a moment." Anton thanked him and he led Max into room. The room itself seemed to be a combination of emergency station and activity center.

The second man, larger than either of them came in, "Gentlemen please empty your pockets into these trays." They both did and a wand was passed over them to detect any other items that might have been "forgotten." "I see you have permission to have the voice recorder, but its up to the resident as to if you can use it. The valet will ask if it is okay. If they've changed their mind, the valet will bring it down and place it with your items for pick up. Wait at the elevators for the valet to escort you to the room. Talk to no one unless they talk to you first. Do you understand these instructions so far?" He asked looking down at each man. Max was a trained agent and didn't let the man intimidate him, but Anton took a step back.

"Thank you, can we go now?" Max asked evenly. He and Anton stepped back into the lobby and walked up to the elevator doors. It didn't surprise Max that the elevator had its own lift operator. The uniformed man greeted them politely and asked them if they were traveling to floor two or three. The chime dinged softly as the doors opened onto the third floor and Max and Anton stepped off. The door closed behind them and they looked down the empty hallways to the left and right waiting as they were told. A moment later a young woman wearing an official uniform came down the hall pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair.

"I'll be with you gentlemen in a moment, please wait for me" she said with a smile and pushed the elevator button. When it opened she pushed the woman in and secured the break. "Mrs. Morrison has a bridge date on the back veranda."

"I'll get her there with out a problem." The elevator operator said and pushed the button to close the doors.

"How may I help you Mr..." she paused as she read his guest pass, "Christopher and Mr. Sampson?" She looked up and gave them a slight smile.

"We have an appointment to see Mr.Eisenberg. We talked to him about recording our session, so I guess you'll have to ask him if we still can." Max explained to her returning her smile.

"Mr.Eisenberg? In the four years I've worked here he has had only one other guest and that was for his birthday. He doesn't even get the usual lawyer visits that most of our other guests get from time to time. Are you family?"

"No we just want to ask him some questions about historical events that he lived through."

"Oh, well I'm sure he'll be happy to talk, he loves to talk about the old days. I'm not sure how much you'll be able to use though. Follow me please." The young woman turned and walked down the left hallway. Max watched as the brown hair swayed from side to side as she walked in front of them.

"Why is that?" asked Anton

"Well, keep in mind he just turned one hundred a couple months ago, so sometimes when he tells his stories the past and present can blend together. It makes for an imaginative story, but not very possible. They just didn't have that type of technology way back then...know what I mean? Not to mention there is his paranoia. If he is to be believed then everything is all part of an elaborate plot to rule the world." She said this laughing softly. "Wait here please." Max and Anton exchanged looks as the woman knocked and then opened the six-panel oak door with brass fittings. They could hear her voice coming from inside and then footsteps coming back towards them. "Mr. Eisenberg says the recording is still permitted. Please come this way." She entered the door again and led them down a short hallway into a living room area roughly sixteen feet by twelve feet. Off of this room were two doorways, one leading to a bathroom and the other a bedroom. The living room's floor was a mahogany colored wooden floor with matching baseboard and crown moldings. One wall was covered with a massive bookshelf from floor to ceiling and every bit of it was filled with what looked like to be personal journals with some books scattered among them. The room had two windows facing out over the back gardens and a large wood and leather couch faced the view. Two matching high back chairs sat facing the couch and a small coffee table sat between them. Sitting in one chair sat Mr. Eisenberg with an electronic reader in one hand and a pair of glasses that looked like magnifying glasses perched on his thin nose. Max envied him with his snow-white hair, which although thin, still covered his head, where Max's own hair had begun to retreat from the top of his head.

"Gentlemen, forgive me if I don't stand up, nor offer to shake your hands. I'm afraid my body doesn't do those things as well as they used to."

"Mr Eisenberg, if you need anything please give me a ring. Gentlemen, if you need assistance just pick up the phone and dial the star key."

"Thank you Rebecca... if it's not too much trouble can you have the kitchen send up coffee for my guests. My blend, not that awful stuff they buy at Wal-Mart."

"Of course," she replied and left the apartment, closing the doorway behind her.

"Mr. Eisenberg, I'm Maxwell Christopher with the Federal Bureau for Super-powered Affairs and this is Anton Sampson a research specialist in the field of nanotechnology. Thank you for seeing us today."

Eisenberg gave both men a contemplative look, "Well I have never had super powers and I'm not a scientist in any field so to what do I owe this visit to?"

"Well Mr. Eisenberg..."

"Please call me Lukas."

"Thank you, Lukas," Anton started again as he turned the digital recorder on and set it on the table between them. "The reason we're here is because we had questions about the past, specifically 1932. We have reason to believe that an event back then had something to do with an event that just happened a few weeks ago."

"I'm sure Rebecca has already told you that I have a problem keeping the past and the present apart from each other... or do I?" He gave them a knowing smile. "So ask your questions gentlemen and this old man will do his best to answer them."

"Well sir," Max started "We recently discovered a plot by an arch villain by the name of Lord Nemesis. Does that name mean anything to you?"

Lukas smiled slyly, like a fox being asked if he knew what a chicken was. "You would not be bothering me at this moment in time if you didn't already think it would. Yes gentlemen, I was part of Lord Nemesis' army in the nineteen thirties."

"To what degree did you interact with him?" Anton asked excitedly. Both men watched, as the old man seemed to be pondering a serious choice. Finally his face relaxed, his decision had been made.

"I don't suppose you would be looking to send an old man to prison for crimes long since pasted. It would be nice to tell someone my story before I die. To clear my conscious before I have to stand before God and justify my actions. You do so many things in your youth, thinking that your own death will never come. Then one day you're old and no one cares to hear about your past mistakes. They have their own death to ignore, why would they want to burden themselves with someone else's, eh? Yet here you are asking me to confess my sins. Perhaps I will find forgiveness and salvation, after all, yes? I am Lukas Adali Eisenberg; I was Lord Nemesis' second in command and CEO of the Southern United Manufacturing Co. Yes I was there with him in 1932 for what they now call Brass Monday. Yes he was a real man and a good friend."

"Wait a minute; I thought the CEO of Southern United was a man by the name of Reese." Max interrupted Lukas as he flipped through his note pad.

"So it was, Lukas Reese is what I was known as. Reese was a more American name, and people trusted that more so than Eisenberg. Plus it had its advantages when they came looking to make arrests. Lukas Reese was said to have died, while I lived on using my real name. Since no one outside of Lord Nemesis' followers ever used my given name it was easy to hide using it. It was Mr. Reese that never really existed. So now that that mystery is cleared up, what else would you like to know?"

Both Anton and Max took in what was just said. If this man was to be believed this could be a gold mine of information. Both men look at each other then back to Lukas.

"Everything... everything you know about Nemesis and his plans during that time. Anything you remember about that event would be very useful." Anton said excitedly.

Lukas Eisenberg chuckled at the thought of their request of know everything. "Even I didn't know everything... no one ever did." He thought to himself. "I don't think you'd what to know everything that has happened in my life. I think, what you really want to know is about 1932, but how much do you know about that time yourselves? About the great depression that choked the world, and what caused it?" Mr Eisenberg's expression became one lost in time and memory. For a moment Max thought he might have to prompt the old man, but then he continued.

"So much has changed to Paragon City since those days... so much. There were no war walls back then, you know. You didn't need to go through layers of blast doors to get around the city. So many buildings and homes are buried under those walls. You know my favorite theater used to stand between the Atlas Park and the Steel Canyon section. Steel Canyon was a sight to behold... Back then there were more girders and concrete than finished sky scrappers. That Swiss architect had only begun his redesign of the city and you could still take a carriage ride around City Park... Atlas park now... or row a boat on the lake. No larger than life statues saluting heroes elevated to god-like stature. It was our buildings reaching into the sky that was testament to our status as a major city. Our city was lucky that we had so much going on, because it was much worse for other cities at that time. We did have food lines but what city didn't. Still our businesses survived and some even thrived. We did lose the King's Garment Industries and that was a major blow but their market was global and well, no one was buying back then. We were lucky indeed for companies like the Southern United Manufacturing Company.

"Lucky we had such a large corrupt conglomerate calling the shots in the city? They were the biggest criminal organization there ever was. Maybe you were lucky because you ran it for Nemesis, but I wouldn't call it lucky."

"Excuse me? When businesses were closing their doors for good, and people were out of work, even starving to death, who do you think was putting our city's people to work? Right and wrong, young man is all in how you choose to see it. People like you... like the Statesman called Southern United criminal but were we any different than the major corporations of today, with their lobbyist, high powered lawyers and political favors? I will agree with you that the group calling themselves The Kings needed to be wiped out. Southern United and the Marcone Family did their best to keep those murdering thugs contained, but do you see that written anywhere in history? Where in history is it written that over twenty thousand people lost their jobs because the Freedom Phalanx wanted justice and attacked Southern United? Who by the way, had not done anything to warrant their attention and yet they declared war on our company in July. It was because THEY attacked Nemesis first that events happened. Just because Lord Nemesis was prospering during the depression, they acted like he had caused the great depression for his own gain."

"Did Nemesis cause the depression?" Anton asked with awe in his voice.

"Don't be stupid Anton, one man couldn't have brought the world to economic ruin" Max rebuked him.

"Of course one man couldn't have done that." Eisenberg said in agreement, but the sideways look and wink he gave to Anton had the younger man convinced even more that it was possible.

"So Nemesis was just an innocent bystander, being picked on unjustly? What about his attack and siege on Washington D.C. in 1942? He didn't seem so innocent then, now did he?"

"I seem to recall that a large automatronic was responsible for that attack. Gentlemen, Lord Nemesis died on July eleventh, the day of your Brass Monday. I saw his body just before the building came crashing down around us."

"So he is dead?" Max asked skeptically.

"No that's not possible, it was him all right, and he forced them to crown him emperor." Anton said defiantly.

"Was it now? I knew Lord Nemesis all of my life. My father served with him aiding the Confederate States of America. Both of them were in the Prussian army and had been sent as a showing of good faith by our government, to bolster General Lee's infantry. I later served under him during World War One. My ambition got me noticed, my ingenuity to solve problems ensured his respect and he already knew my family. Eventually we came to understand each other, well enough anyway. After the war he asked me to immigrate with him to the United States to work for him. He was in his nineties when 1932 came along. You say you discovered a scheme that had been in the works for a decade? I tell you that was nothing to the long sighted Lord Nemesis."

### Chapter 2 Back to the Beginning.

It was typical January in Rhode Island. Bitter cold wind came in off the Atlantic. The car's wide white wall tires where splattered with mud as the car pulled up in front of the Southern United building in the upper section of what they were now calling Steel Canyon. The neighboring buildings now dwarfed the twelve-story build. Lukas Eisenberg, better known to the business world as Lukas Reese, stepped out onto the curb and looked around at the loud construction sounds coming from across the street. He looked up into the morning blue sky to see the iron walkers on the high girders, working thirty stories up without any form of safety equipment. How he'd love to have men of that type working for him and he didn't mean for the company. He entered the lobby and was greeted by the receptionist with a smile.

"Excuse me Mr. Reese, Ms. Helena just sent down this message and I was wondering if you could take it?"

Lukas crossed over to take the note and read it. He smiled back to the receptionist, "I'll take care of it Karen, thank you." He crossed over to the elevator and stepped through the opening doors. He inserted his key and gave it a turn to open a panel below the normal buttons. There were four buttons behind it and Lukas pressed the second button, and then closed the latch again.

The elevator moved quickly downward. Not one of Nemesis' creations but he certainly improved upon it, just as he improved upon everything he touched, although the stomach churning drop took some getting used to. Lukas never ceased to marvel at the man's genius. Deep beneath the basement floor of the Southern United Manufacturing Company the lift came to a stop and opened up onto a private corridor. Four guards saluted him as he stepped out onto the floor. The last guard undid the locking mechanism and opened the door for General Eisenberg. He felt completely out of uniform as always in his suit. He much preferred wearing the uniform of his fellow soldiers but necessity didn't allow him that privilege. He stood just beyond the now closed door and waited for the man to acknowledge him. He knew better than to approach him while he was working on something. The old man looked over at him.

"General Eisenberg, I was just about to call for you, come see what I have discovered." Lord Nemesis may have been in his nineties but you would never tell by his movements. Yes he moved slowly from time to time but his hands and fingers had the dexterity of a twelve-year-old, but the control that only comes with age. Lukas understood that this workshop was where Lord Nemesis came to think, to clear his mind by concentrating on mechanical things and letting solutions come to him when the time was right.

A clanking noise drew Lukas' attention to a side of the workshop to see a jaeger moving among the tables and storage shelves. Its brass clam like body dully reflected the light of the room. Its long four legs moved smoothly, each step placed with care and solidly. The top swiveled to reveal the single lens of its optical sensor. As it did so the two foot tall exhaust pipe swiveled along with it. The single eye glowed red as it looked at him. It made a series of clicks and then went back to its wanderings.

"Come here I want you to see what I have figured out." He said gesturing to the table in front of him. "I have found a new way to power the jaeger's electrical power plant." This was the third improvement Lukas had seen is so many months and hoped what was about to come wouldn't. Moving closer to the table he saw the legs and bottom shell of a partly disassembled jaeger beside the table.

"See, I have discovered that if I add the chemical Cesium to the water... now just a few grains..." his hand picked up just a few grains with long tweezers "and you drop in the water..."

The resulting reaction caused Lukas to jump, as water erupted from the cast iron pot. Nemesis just laughed just a little wetter for the display.

"Okay you get a very violent reaction for very little effort, where does this lead? Using water sources to destroy targets?"

"That isn't a bad idea, but no... I have found a way to mix Cesium in a clay rod. As the clay breaks down in the water it releases small amounts at a time. This will create the steam needed to turn the generators to power the jaegers."

"Sir what's the advantage to this? The oil burner units you developed will give them eight hours of inactive use and 4 hours of active battle. How much more can this improve the performance over that?"

Nemesis turned to face his young General and smiled. "My tests have run a jaeger inactive for two days general and a day at full power. Yes the improvement is substantial. I want all of the jaegers refitted with the new power plant designs immediately."

It was as Lukas had feared. "Lord Nemesis, what if we just alter the ones on the assembly line for future models."

"No General, I want them all changed over."

"I understand Sir, but that is over six thousand units that will have to be disassembled. That will set us back at least two months."

"It will take the foundry at least a month to produce the new units general; we can continue making base units while we wait for the power units. Then we can finish assembling them. So not too much time will be lost."

"Yes sir. I'll let the foremen know of the changes. You know sir if you're just going to keep finding new and improved ways to power them, perhaps you should design them so we can just take the power units out of the jaegers without taking them apart. It would save so much time in the long run."

"Hmmm excellent idea Lukas... excellent indeed and such a simple change as well... That is what I appreciate about your thinking. Sometimes I can over complex things. Not a bad thing, but not always the best. I'll have those designs for you by this afternoon."

"Very good sir," Lukas turned to leave then turned back. "I almost forgot the reason I came down here was I wanted to drop off today's progress reports. Also Captain Jenson wanted you to know that they attempted a test on the Warhulk prototype, but had a problem."

"Really? What type of problem?"

"Well he said your new formula for the Impact Suspension Gel was the right... viscount... vias..."

"Viscosity?"

"Yes, thank you, the right viscosity to support the pilot, but that it was too thick for him to see out of the drive chamber."

"Yes, that would be a problem. Tell Captain Jenson, I'll have the modified recipe to him later today, and that we will be there tomorrow to help with the testing. As for the rest of the items, just leave them on my desk, I'll get to them as soon as I'm done with this."

"Yes sir... and while I'm almost forgetting items, Helena asked a message be given to you. It seems that your breakfast is ready, that is if you want to eat it hot. She will be leaving to help with the Salvation Army food lines so if you don't come now you will have to eat it cold or cook it new for yourself."

The old man laughed and set his tools down and got off his stool. There was a hiss as the pneumatics on his leg supports extended to a walking position. Lord Nemesis could walk without these brass and copper mechanical units but it was to slow for him and a wheel chair was too limiting. So he constructed these braces which turned out to be the for-running design for the jaeger's leg system. Both men started towards the elevator. Lukas tossed the mail onto Lord Nemesis' desk as he passed by.

"You see General, they say that a man's home is his castle, but they never actually say who rules it." Lukas smiled knowingly. Helena was Lord Nemesis' great niece and is in charge of his household and personal matters. It was a joke that the men feared her more than they feared the general.
Chapter 3: At the movies.

George Zingale had gotten the message earlier the day before and he dutifully put out the sandwich board announcing that the matinee showing was sold out. He knew what they were, but they paid more than what he would get from a normal day's sales. People without jobs can't afford a night at the theater like they used to. Although with Valentines Day quickly approaching he busied himself to make the theater extra clean, and special. Trying to entice couples to spend what they had on a special night together. With this private showing for the... company, he would be able to drop ticket prices to $.05 a person and still come out ahead. The Liberty was one of the few remaining movie theaters still operating in Paragon City and with its location between what they 're calling Steel Canyon, because of all the skyscrapers going up, and the City Park he had a better than average location to survive. What better way to spend an evening than a good movie and a romantic carriage ride around the lake.

George was just a boy when his mother and father immigrated to the United States from Sicily. Then came northward to what was said to be the new jewel on the Atlantic, a city that would one-day rival New York City. Upon arrival his father Thomas found instant welcome on the docks of Independence Port. Many people from the old country had already settled in Paragon and they offered work and family to them. The problem was Thomas knew what "Family" they were referring to. The only problem was that if they realized just who Thomas' "family" was in the old country then he wouldn't be safe. Family feuds tended to last generations, so he looked for a job away from that area. He looked into working at the Kings Garment Company, but they didn't seem too friendly towards him, probably the same reason the others offered him a job. He and his wife saw their first moving picture show a few weeks after moving into their little two room apartment. Thomas was excited beyond belief at the marvels he had seen, and he knew what job he wanted. He took a job at the movie house sweeping up and worked his way to projector operator in a matter of months. They had only been in Paragon a year when they obtained a loan from the Bank of Italy and opened The Liberty Movie Palace. George inherited the theater several years later when his father died of influenza. During World War I George managed to pay off the loan to the bank when some investments paid big dividends. With a little left over George was set to take care of his mother, and hire some new employees.

The private showings were the only reason that The Liberty even managed to stay open when the world crashed into its depression. Paragon City was faring better than some cities across the country due to the Southern United Manufacturing Company. They were putting people to work, mostly on the towering structures going up around his small movie house. George felt a need to keep the theater going and to do so as cheaply as possible. There was nothing like a movie to take you mind off of your troubles and going against the grain of the other theaters in town, he lowered his pricing from $.24 cents to $.14 cents. Not to under cut the others but because he felt a need to give back to the city that took his family in and gave them a place to call home.

A year ago a gentleman stopped by the box office with a unique request. The Southern United Manufacturing Company wanted to pay for a private showing of the movie for its managers and guests. There were several stipulations to this but the money was three times the amount what he would get if he sold out the entire house. When he asked the man why him and not one of the larger theaters, the man replied it was because his was the local theater and Southern United took care of its community first.

Everything was ready for the private party. After several of these he and his employees had a good idea that there was more to this company than anyone actually knew. Still Southern United paid well and no one saw any reason to make any comments, after all, they made payday possible. So they treated them like royalty and just took part in the benefits from the party. Cars started pulling up to the front doors and men and women would step out onto the curb and great him as he held the door open for them. Most were the usual managers, some new faces and of course some of the most beautiful girls in the city always seemed to be draped over the men's arms. George didn't need to play doorman, but he felt it was his responsibility to watch over the proceedings. As usual the last to two cars to pull up were Peirce – Arrow, Silver Arrows. The cars were polished to a mirror finish and he could see his reflection in the chrome as they pulled up to the curb. He always marveled at the dark color tinted glass that obscured the occupants.

The four men that had been waiting outside the theater stepped up to the curb and opened the doors. The first man to step out was Mr. Reese and with him was Mr. Tomain, an assistant of some sort. Form the second car came the long legs of Helena Michele preceded the rest of her beautiful form. Her blond hair was done in curls that cascaded down her back. George swallowed hard and did his best not to stare. Ms. Michele could easily be a movie star.

"Thank you George." Her voice reminded him of a singer he once heard in a smoky club, as smooth as silk but with a smoky tone. From the first time she talked to him, he was captivated.

"George, how good of you to take us in on short notice."

"It's never a problem Mr. Reese. As a matter of fact I have a special treat for you and your friends."

"Really? And just what may that be?" Lukas asked in a friendly tone, but with an edge that came from not liking surprises.

"Well sir, I received my new movies early, you know for the Valentines Day weekend. I'm not supposed to show them until Friday, but if you won't tell, I think we can get away with a private premier... Just like they would do in Hollywood."

"Oh how wonderful, what movie is it?" Helena asked, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"I was able to get Shanghai Express with Marlene Dietrick and Clive Brook. Not to mention the News reels from the opening ceremonies and first week from the Lake Placid Olympic Games."

"George, once again you treat us too good, thank you." Lukas patted George on the shoulder. "You can start the films in ten minutes."

"Enjoy the show Ms. Michele, Mr. Reese, let me know if you need anything." George watched these two stroll through the lobby like the king and queen of some small country and was grateful they were his patrons.

It was understood that the balcony for a private party among the private party. It was here that Lukas met with is officers or managers as they were called in the world outside.

"Gentleman, is there any problem meeting the new design specifications?"

"They are really intriguing, but do we have to undo them all over again? We just got things back on track."

"I am afraid so James, believe me I tried to dissuade him this time, but you know how pointless that can be. Any word on when we can expect that shipment of copper?

"I looked into that this morning. It seems our shipment from Michigan arrived in Erie Pennsylvania yesterday. It's being off loaded onto a freight train and we should have it by next week."

"Speaking of cargo ships, those containers still ain't unloaded. Those dock guys in Independence Port keep jerking me around. What do you want me to do?" Bobby said irritated.

"Mr. Tomain, please set a meeting up with Mr. Marcone to see if we can come to a mutual agreement."

"And if we can't?"

"Then we do what we do best."

George was pleased with how this movie was received, when his patrons were happy, he was happy. It wouldn't seem right to take that much money and have them being disappointed. Everyone carefully filed out of the theater to their cars laughing with each other. George could always tell the low, middle and upper managers from how they came out in their little groups. It seemed that they all knew each other, but tended to keep a respectable distance from each other. It was going on five o'clock and George and his crew would have to clean up before going home to their own families and supper.

"George, you never disappoint, that was a wonderful movie. Thank you." Came Helena's voice from behind him.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Michele. I'm glad you enjoyed the movie."

The two Silver Arrows pulled up to the curb and the four men once again moved into a watchful position. Mr. Tomain paid George while the rest of the group headed out into the cold February afternoon. Everyone along the street stopped and turned to look at the sound of squealing car tires. Two Packard came around the corner and raced up the street. A black car seemed to be chasing a green car, until a few yards from the theater, when two Thompson submachine guns appeared out of the passenger side windows from both cars. Lukas pulled Helena down behind the Silver Arrow while the four guards and two drivers dove for cover. The sound of the guns roared and echoed between buildings causing the whole neighborhood to jump. The .45 lead bullets ripped into parked cars and buildings. Lukas had to shift his position to cover Helena from the exploding glass from the theater's windows and lights. George heard a girl scream, and looked from his prone position on the floor to see his ticket girl Cindy curled up on the floor, but gripping her arm. Blood flowed from between her fingers and George forgot about the bullets and glass and scrambled over to help her.

As the two cars passed just beyond the theater, an awkward angle to continue to fire at them, the four men stood up, their weapons already assembled and ran into the street to pull the triggers. The brass weapons fired almost silently but just as rapidly. The difference between the two opposing weapons was the size of the projectile. .45 Caliper bullets make for a big hole, but the .55 caliper bearings these weapons fired shredded the metal of the retreating cars. The men stopped firing as the cars swerved around the corner. George watched the scene in shocked disbelief but he had to act quickly, Cindy had passed out and was very pale. Mr. Tomain was saying something to him as George lifted the girl in his arms. He let himself be led out of the theater and into the second Silver Arrow. His eyes saw Mr. Reese and Ms. Michele getting into the first car, but his brain didn't register it. Nor did his mind register that the car, which took a full broad side of bullets, was running like nothing had happened. His mind didn't register that the windows looked like jigsaw puzzles but were still in place or that the tires weren't flat like the others on the street.

Mr Tomain jumped in the first Silver Arrow with Lukas and Helena and the car was racing across town in the opposite direction from its twin.

"Gerald, find out who that was." Lukas' voice was cold and his eyes blazed in the darkened light of the car's interior.

"I can tell you that wasn't the Family. Those guys were clearly armatures, way to sloppy... that made Marcone's goons look elegant."

"I agree with you there. Let me know about George's girl as soon as you hear... and get a work crew over to the theater, I want it pristine by Friday."

"Already on my list, sir."

"I'll help you pick out some paint colors Gerald. The colors in that lobby always made my stomach churn." Helena added as she fussed with her hair.

The street was eerily quiet as the last of the cars pulled away but the residents on the street hadn't come out of their holes yet to see what had happened. Across the street, in the shadows of an alleyway another shadow moved away. It seemed to fade out of one shadowy area and into another, avoiding the light at all cost. It had watched everything, but was uncertain as to what it all meant... for the moment.

### Chapter 4: Test results.

General Eisenberg walked beside Lord Nemesis while Colonel Tomain walked behind them. They had driven up route 100 almost to the state line and then turned off east into the middle of nowhere. It was odd to think that the smallest state in the Union would have nowhere spots, but this one did and five square miles belonged to the Southern United Metal Works. The property was surrounded by dense forested hills. Inside this area was the Southern United Foundries. City restrictions prevented them from being built around Paragon. Many thought it was strange that Mayor Rabinowitz didn't change the zoning for one of his biggest election supporters. The company simply stated that it was spreading the available work to surrounding communities. The Southern United Metal Works was a massive complex that produced anything from metal castings to machine parts that they sent all over the country, even the world.

Part of the complex was also a private training ground. Inside vast structures that looked like very other building on the complex, houses Nemesis' army. Men devoted to his cause for a perfect world. Men who believed in a rule by one individual with out all of the clutter of politics. Men who believed Lord Nemesis was the man to bring about a truly unified continent. Since the civil war Nemesis had watched and learned the art of war. Picking and choosing styles and techniques from all over the world and then blended them together to form a unique unified fighting style for both hand to hand was well as with weapons. Lukas Eisenberg was one of the first and best students of this new fighting style. Men practiced all across the open floor. Some practiced commanding small units of jaegers. Colonel Tomain watched with interest as a jaeger approached a target, the crab like top split open, the top half elevating a foot, and the two morning star maces swung out to smash into the target several times in its circular path. The chains retracted and the top closed again, becoming bullet proof once.

Their walk ended near a platform of a tall brass mechanized unit. Two massive legs supported what looked like a vertically elongated fish bowl on a hip base. The metal ran up and around the bowl and half way around. This supported two massive arms with clawed ends. An exhaust pipe rose up the back and over the top of the bowl... small wisps of steam came out as the generators idled quietly. Attached to the arms of this unit was shield unit, protecting a flame throwing device. On the other arm mount was a large circular saw blade. These of course could be interchanged with other weapons and arsenals as needed.

"Captain Jensen, I trust the new chemical compound is better suited to the task?" Lord Nemesis asked in his soft but demanding voice.

"It seems to be Lord Nemesis, but our tests would say for sure. Ah here comes our aquanaut now."

They turned to see a fit young man with a bald head coming towards them. He wore a suit that was created from one of Lord Nemesis' ideas. Made of a rubber-covered fabric it fit the man like a second skin. Attached to the suit was a wire frame structure that followed the joints of the body. In the soldiers hands he held a helmet. The front half of it was glass to give him maximum view. The man bowed to Lord Nemesis and then saluted the officers. The glass dome released from the base with a hiss and rose upward to reveal the aquanaght's cockpit. He climbed a short set of stairs and crouched while scientists connected his suit's rods to internal connecting points. His helmet was secured and an umbilical hose was attached to it in the back. The solder gave a quick wave and the glass dome was lowered back into place and hissed as it was sealed shut.

"Alright, make sure the gas vent valve is open and start filling the tank." Captain Jensen said to the other scientist. Several wheels were turned and gauges began to move, seconds later a green fluid oozed into the cockpit. The pilot readjusted his position to center himself behind the long control rods and waited for the tank to fill. Everyone watched with interest as the aquanaut kicked himself off the bottom of the tank to crouch behind the controls. The fluid supported him easily in place as he took a bent knee position. A scientist signaled the dome was completely filled and the sealed off the vents. Captain Jensen made a circular motion with his hand and the soldier gave him a thumbs up and began moving levers and tapping gauges. There was a whine as the generators kicked in.

"Captain Jensen, remind me later to show you the new power unit design."

Captain Jensen looked questioning and curious towards Lord Nemesis. The Warhulk took a lot of power to run its servonetics and any increase in power would be welcome. He turned back to the Warhulk as it extended its legs to stand upright and then stepped forward. For the next twenty minutes they watched as it went though some basic maneuvers with lumbering success.

"I'm still not please with it movement speed. Hydraulics technologies would move it quicker but the problems out way the benefits of them. Still... Captain Jensen, lets see how well the Warhulk takes damage shall we?" Lord Nemesis said, a slight smile curled his weathered lips. "After all, the purpose of the impact gel is to help the aquanaut withstand damage to his person."

"With pleasure, Lord Nemesis." Captain Jensen took up a red flag and waved it towards the Warhulk. It raised a claw in response of understanding and turned towards the testing ground and followed the path painted in red. They watched as it was hit with blunt and sharp weighted objects from all directions. All the while the aquanaut did his best to perform specific tasks. Ten minutes later the Warhulk came back to station, dented, badly beaten, the glass dome splintered in several places, but this thing still ran. It was an impressive success.

"Very good... very good indeed. We now have a weapon that can take care of the suborn problems we may face. Excellent work Captain Jensen. Let's get these into full production and aquanauts trained in them."

Lord Nemesis was in a very good mood during the trip home and insisted that they stop for hot cider and pie at a roadside diner. Once back in the car they talked over some business that needed to be decided on, but Nemesis kept coming back to the Warhulk's movement speed.

"You know good General; I recall a paper in the scientific quarterly that now has me wondering. There is a professor and his assistant at the university. Give me a moment to think of their names... James St. John-Smythe and Brandon Warfield is his assistant's name. They were theorizing about an exoskeleton system and how it could adapt to read from the body's electrical system. I remember I wrote it off because their theories didn't match the possible outcomes. But seeing the Warhulk move I begin to understand what they are talking about. You see Lukas, I theorize that the reason their paper made no sense is because they built the suit already. Now they're looking to understand how their invention completely works. If they don't have the paper work to show how they came to their prototype they have no way to reproduce it."

"So, do you want to see the prototype?"

"No, no... nothing that obvious. I would however like copies of their notes and schematics. The least they suspect someone has seen their work the better I think."

"Yes sir, I'll get right on that when we get home. Colonel, please remind me... Just in case I forget."

"Yes sir."

"So tell me Lukas, what are your plans for Sunday?" Lord Nemesis asked with a sly grin. Lukas cringed inwardly. He knew that look on Lord Nemesis' face and he was about to be set up for something he may not like.

"Nothing at the moment, sir," Lukas said wishing he could lie to the old man.

"What a coincidence, for my Helena has nothing planned either. Two young people such as yourselves should be dancing and having a good time on Valentines Day. You will pick her up at seven and I suggest chocolates would be in order." He said now grinning ear to ear, please with his planning.

"Yes sir," Lukas said residing himself to his fate. "It could be worse." He thought to himself. He glanced over at Colonel Tomain who was doing his best not to laugh out loud.

### Chapter 5: Justice comes to town.

March came in like a lion as the saying goes. The northeastern storm clashed with the current cold air from the north to create high winds, poor visibility and lots of snow. The city didn't really come to a halt, if you could move you did, but most people choose to remain home and wait out the bone-chilling storm. They had to act quickly to take advantage of the diversion. Sixteen men climbed into four Buick Eight sedans, three men with Tommy guns and a driver. They sped off into the rainy night, their headlamps covered to let out just the barest amount of light. The cars raced through city, cutting through City Park and on towards the Kings Garment mill. This was the second of planned attacks on the group called The Kings. The first one was by Marcone and his men. The Family and Southern United hoped to squeeze them between the two territories and drive them out of Paragon City, if not out of existence. The problem was that no one knew where to actually find the group. They weren't like the other two organizations, the Kings preferred to skulk about in the night. Thieves and cutthroats seemed an accurate description for this group's members and that is what angered the other two organizations.

In this time of great hardship, the Family and Southern United found a way to prosper and survive and in doing so everyone associated with them also prospered. The Kings just took what they wanted and they had no problem killing someone to take it. They had no problem burning down a business just because it was there. People feared walking the streets and the problem was growing. It was a problem that would be dealt with quickly.

The tip had said that the Kings could be found in warehouse seven over on Bailey drive, but the cars moved on to hit the old textile mill directly. The one thing Lukas knew was not to trust an anonymous tip that came the day after another hit. It was too easy to jump at the information given and to fall right into a trap. They would hit the scheduled building he had estimated to be the best location for a hide out. If the warehouse was indeed a trap then their hide out was vulnerable to an attack. The cars pulled into an alleyway a short distance away and the twelve men got into the rain. Their long raincoats were pulled tight against the wind and their hats were pulled low on their heads. The water ran off the oiled leather of the coats and the well-oiled metal of the guns as they ran for the building's back entrance. They tried the door and found it locked. One man pulled a small brass box out of his pocket and slipped part of it into the keyhole. A second later the men were entering into the building.

They moved quickly and silently with military precision searching room by room for signs that anyone had been using this building for anything. They could hear voices as they descended the stairs into the boiler room and the clicked their safeties off on the guns. The lead man signaled the others to halt and moved ahead to scout it out. There in a poorly candle lit room sat four men around a table playing cards, a bottle of cheap gin sat on one side and the men drank out of miss matched coffee mugs. Their clothes were ragged and torn and their faces where covered with months old growth. They were old men enjoying a card game, this was probably the only place they had to live. The lead man moved away from the door and the men followed him out to search the next building.

This building was a maintenance shed and they found access just as easy as the first building. Through a set of doors they could hear a larger group of men talking and laughing. The light was electric this time and came from bulbs in caged lampshades well over head. The twelve men spread out as they approached the main garage. In here they could see a group of men. Some in suits, some in work overalls, but they all had one thing in common, they all had guns at hand. Sitting in front of the two garage doors sat three Packard, one with a lot of damage to the rear metal and rear window, clearly one of the cars used in the drive by shooting. Silently the men spread out into the room to the left and right of the hallway leaving one man to cover it. The lead man raised his hand and watched the men in the room move about. When he dropped his hand, the Tommy guns roared to life. Twelve hundred shell casings hit the concrete. The men then dropped the barrel clips and inserted fresh barrels as they walked out of the building into the night.

They ran back to their cars and sped off into the night. The driver of the second car barely had time to react as the car in front of him slammed downward, sending sparks from it undercarriage and two of the tires blowing out. The first car skidded sideways on the wet road and was soon rolling down the street forcing the other three cars to stop suddenly. The men in the last car had just stepped out to see what had happened when a railroad tie smashed into the engine compartment blocking the other two cars in. The rain had turned to sleet now and it stung the skin where it hit. A large man rushed into the group before they could make out his darker shadow from the others and started fighting them hand to hand. There were several burst of machine gun fire that lit up the night. The sounds of the gun fire as well as the shouts of the men were drowned by the storm and wind.

The driver from the first car climbed out of the front window and stood shakily to his feet, blood washing off his face as fast as he could bleed. He could just make out one man moving in front of him when a car turned a distant corner. In that second he saw the entire squad laid out on the pavement. Not a single man was moving. Standing in the middle of them was a man in red and blue. His cape whipped around him in the wind. The Statesman was, holding a piece of twisted metal that used to be a gun. The driver's legs gave out and he fell to the ground as he passed out.

### Chapter 6: Taking in a western.

Lukas was furious at the news. It might not have been so bad if he hadn't just gotten the report that a squad was still missing, but to get the report that, that idiot Hauptmann had managed to kill the boy, was more than his temper could take for one day. Of course the plan for the kidnapping itself had worked flawlessly, Lord Nemesis' plans always did. The newspapers and radios were calling it the crime of the century and the news wires seemed oblivious to everything else going on in the world. The plan was simple enough, under the cloak of this blindness, it would give them a small window to accomplish several things. The first and most important was the movement of troops through the northern states. People flocked to New York to help search for the kidnapped Lindbergh baby. Some out of loyalty to their nation's hero but most just desperate for the reward money. So it was easy enough to explain a thousand more men traveling in the same direction. Every law agency was focused on this event as well. Even Paragon's police department was involved in helping their neighboring state and Lukas hadn't needed to mention it to the mayor that this would be a good show of support. Mayor Rabinowitz had thought of it on his own, and that surprised Lukas.

Although one of his squads was still missing the organized attacks on the Kings had been going very well. The Kings were the worst type of crime organization. No real plans, no concern for the general public. Lukas wanted to make sure they understood where in the city they were allowed, but he hoped they would simply leave the city. If they intended to stay, then they needed to understand who actually ran the city and it wasn't the mayor or his police force. Having the Marcone family join them in this endeavor also helped to clear up a small misunderstanding on the docks. Fortunately Mr. Marcone was a reasonable man, most men are with enough money and the belief they had gotten their way. The thought of wasting time teaching the Family the same lessons he was teaching the Kings was not something he had wanted to waste resources on.

Lastly with the Paragon Police running a skeleton force while the majority of the force raced to New York to help with the Lindbergh Kidnapping, the vandalism of a certain college professor's office only got a cursory glance. Mr. St. John-Smythe had to except that it wasn't going to be investigated any further. The police looked into it and were sorry that someone had turned his office upside down. With no other evidence or leads and with nothing stolen the police department wrote it up as it being caused by an upset student. Unfortunately some kids behaved like that.

Still... Lukas was altering the kidnapping plan slightly without Lord Nemesis' consent. When it was clear that this was no longer a useful endeavor; the boy's body would be found. That was the least he could do. Then he would drop enough clues to see that Hauptmann took the fall for failing in this simple mission. Of course he would believe he was part of a bigger plan and that Lord Nemesis would take care of things... until the end. Lukas did smile at the thought about letting the legal system do his dirty work.

"Are you all right Lukas?" Helena asked him as the car came to a stop in front of The Liberty. The movie house had not only been restored but the work crew also improved upon it with a new marquee sign that lit up the street with changing colors.

"Yes, just some news I need to forget, especially when we get time together, away from the building." Lukas forced the mental anger back down to concentrate on the beautiful woman with the long legs sitting next to him. Sure he knew from that start whose idea it was that he should date Helena but he wasn't complaining. The only reason he hadn't let the beautiful blond enter his mind before was the fact of whose relative she was. She wasn't actually Lord Nemesis' daughter, but she might have well have been. In the back of his mind he had no doubt it was Lord Nemesis' plan that they should marry and have many children to carry on the family business. He wouldn't put it past the old man, but he was in no hurry to make that part of the plan come to true... just yet anyway. They stepped out of the car and looked at the glowing marquee. Lukas bought their tickets and they entered to find the newly redone lobby was beautiful in its deep red velvet drapes and shinning brass fixtures.

"Mr. Reese, Ms. Michele what a pleasure it is to have you with us tonight." George said as he crossed over to greet them through the crowd of people milling about the lobby.

"Good evening Mr. Zingale' how is that sweet girl doing?" Helena asked. She always seemed to know just the right thing to say to endear people to her. Perhaps it was something that ran in the family's blood. Lukas wondered as he watched her interact with the man.

"She is back to work now, but I know she would love to see you. Thank you again for helping with her hospital bills. She's working over at the concession area."

"It was the least we could do. Lukas would you like anything while I'm over there?"

Lukas smiled and thought for a moment. "I'll share what ever you get."

"Oh you will, will you?" she said in a seductive tone that left George feeling awkward as she walked away.

"Mr. Reese, now that we have a moment I wanted to tell you about the man that came to see me last week. He was asking a lot of questions about the shooting."

"Really? Describe him..."

"He was large, built like one of your assistants, but he had this thing... I don't know how to describe it... like there was more to him than just being a man... It made my skin prickle like being to close to the high voltage box in the basement... if you know what I mean."

Lukas' scowl hadn't had a chance to stay away for long. "Did you see his face? What was he wearing?"

"I'm sorry, no. A long coat, duster hat, dark glasses... He has brown hair, cut close, the little I could see."

"No red and blue suit? Steel mask? Anything odd about him, besides your feeling?"

"Nothing like that, but I found this in the gutter after he had left." George said crossing to the ticket booth and taking out a metal lump and handed it to Lukas. His scowl increased as he looked at the lump. It was comprised of several of their weapons bearings, probably the ones they had fired, but these were mashed together like they were nothing more than clay balls. It was him again.

"Thank you George, do me a favor and don't mention this to anyone else."

"Do you want to know what he asked me about or what I told him?" George had been worried about that all day, afraid he may have said something he shouldn't have. Especially after seeing Mr. Reese's look and hearing his tone of voice.

"I'm sure you said nothing more than you knew. I know I can trust your judgment in things like that George. You're a smart man." Lukas forced the scowl back once more and forced a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a beautiful woman."

"Yes sir. Oh Mr Tomain is already in the private box waiting for you."

"Excellent, and thanks again George."

Lukas moved through the crowd, being a Friday night he actually didn't know any of the faces that moved around him, and he liked that feeling. He found Helena talking to the girls that had taken a bullet and excused themselves to take their seats. A private door way with a locked entry was the only way up to the private box. It was situated between the main floor and the balcony. To actually see it you would have to be standing on the floor by the stage and look back into it. It was the private Southern United viewing area and had enough room for ten people. Just another improvement made to the theater. As Helena and Lukas entered the box two other couples were already seated. Gerald was with a young brunette with that bob cut Lukas despised. Why any woman would want a man's hair style was beyond him. The other couple seated Lukas knew as one of the scientist from the foundry plant and his wife. They had met before at a different show.

"Helena, Lukas, its good to see you two. This is my date Kathy Wheeler, she volunteers over at the hospital. Kathy these are my friends Lukas and Helena." The greetings were passed around Kathy ask Helena where the lady's room was just as the world newsreel was starting. The three women excused themselves while the men settled in. The reel came to a part about an upcoming election in Germany where the Chancellor Hindenburg was running for another seven years. His opponent was a young man from a small political party.

"Hey Lukas... is that the man he is backing? That scrawny man?"

"Yes, that's him. They've been sending encrypted telegraphs back and forth for weeks now. To complete the deal we actually sent him those plans for that horrible rocket suit. You remember the one that would fly around like balloon when you let go of it?"

"Really? And they're still talking to us? He doesn't look like a military leader. He doesn't even look like he can throw a punch, let alone take one. What does Lord Nemesis see in him anyways?"

"Charisma. Charisma the likes of which you have never experienced."

"Charisma? Is that all? How's he going to conquer that part of the world with charisma?"

"He only needs to get the people to follow him, make them believe that he has the answers to all of their problems and nothing more. That man could pick up an empty bottle with you watching. Fill it with water from the faucet in the kitchen, re-cork it and sell it back to you. And you'll believe him when he says it's much safer than drinking the water from the same faucet. He will take them once more into a war that will span and weaken all of Europe. Whether he succeeds or not doesn't matter."

"So what's the point of helping him, if he doesn't take control of Europe?"

"The point is, when war breaks out, Americans will hesitate, not wanting to act, they don't have the stomach for such things. When this happens we will start a global patriotic movement and form our own militia to stop the threat. Young men will flock to us eager to make a difference, even if their government doesn't want to. From there, we will plant the seeds of discontent and the revolution will be over before it even starts. In case you haven't noticed we are much more advanced than any other country in the world. All we need are the eager men to follow, to believe."

"So tell me Lukas, why does Nemesis always tell you how plans are meant to work?"

Lukas laughed as the women started back up the stairs. "First he only tells me what he feels I need to know. Trust me, what he tells me are things that either I need to take care of or no longer matter in the grand scheme to things." He looked towards the stairway to the blond coming up the steps laughing. "Second, if he trusts me enough to take out his niece then some things are just a given."

They all settled down as the movie South of the Rio Grande started. Lukas wasn't too sure if the women enjoyed the western, but he certainly did.

### Chapter 7: Enter Maiden Justice.

This was supposed to be a simple request. Jerry, Daryl, and Robert hadn't had to actually request anything from anyone in a long time, as a matter of fact they had become, friendly with most of their... clients. They simply would walk into the businesses, wait politely if the person they needed to see was busy. They did their best to maintain a regular schedule so the person could almost plan on them being there at a certain time. They would normally sit and have coffee, discuss the sports events of the day and so on. They would collect Southern United's share of the profits for that month and then move on. Today they did need something form Mr. McMillan, the head of Paragon Electric. It would actually benefit everyone in the Paragon Heights and Steel Canyon areas of the city. So Jerry didn't see this as being a particular problem and yet here they were.

"...Look Matthew, it's not like we're asking you to pay for all of this, now are we? This is a legitimate contract to do work for Southern United. We could just say do it and let it come out of your pockets, but they want to be fair about it." Jerry's voice was cold but calm. It never did any good to start yelling. "All we need is for you to replace those power lines with something heavier..."

"I can't do that... sure it'll benefit you, but that would leave Founders Falls struggling for power. They'll have continuous brown outs until they get those new generators on line. Besides I can't just do work on the city's lines without city counsel approving it."

"What are you worried about? It's not like there is anything important in that part of town. So those snobs will have to learn to be considerate of their neighbors for the first time in their highbrow lives. It'll do them good to have to wrap blankets around themselves and hug their family. Give them a taste of what the rest of the world is living with."

"I just can't do it, I'm sorry." Matthew McMillan was one of the fortunate business owners to still be operating. His company had needed assistance to survive, and when Southern United offered him help with new contracts he had signed up. At the time he hadn't really realized what his agreement actually meant, but he learned soon enough. The money was good and there had only been the one demand and since then he had been left alone to run his company. But he still didn't like that he had to break the law, even just once. He was willing to pay Southern United their share of the profits and for the most part was happy with the arrangement, that is until today's request.

Jerry sighed deeply, this was already taking longer than it should and he had a tee time to make over at the country club. "... so am I... boys please convince Mr. McMillan that helping us is in his mistress's best interest."

"My what? What do you mean my mistress? I'm a married man..." Matthew started to argue. Jerry looked around the small office and noted nothing special about it, actually it looked more like a closet. The desk had two chairs, one on either side. A bookshelf stood on one wall, filled with technical binders while the other wall was buried behind filing cabinets. Jerry went to look at the picture on the wall of Matthew and his family. Why would any man need a mistress when he had that hot dame at home was beyond him. He pointed to the portrait.

"This Mr McMillan is not the woman you have been seen with in that hotel in Newport. I seem to recall she was a blond. Your wife doesn't look like a blond, unless she changed its color? Careful of the face gentlemen... it's hard to conceal that type of injury." He said absent-mindedly. His mind turned to his golf swing as he tuned out the man's begging and pleading as Daryl and Robert took off their jackets and approached him.

"Why doesn't he just say he'll do the contract?" Jerry thought to himself.

"Fingers?" Daryl asked.

"No more than two you must, but on the same hand this time." Jerry went back to thinking how he was going to approach hole number ten this time, a long par 3 that had a bend to it. He tried to remember what the coarse layout looked like, to think if he could cut the curve out with a direct shot...

The office door smashed opened and before Jerry could think, he was grabbed by the lapels of his jacket and thrown into the warehouse beyond. He landed with a crunch knocking the air out of him. He looked into the open doorway but could only see scattered shadows moving on the wall and ceiling.

"Get the bimbo!" Daryl yelled. This was followed by a large crashing noise.

Jerry rolled over getting to his feet and rushed back into the battle. His eyes registered what he saw, but didn't believe what he was seeing. A woman with long blond hair had just hit Bobby hard enough to lift his feet off the ground while Daryl lay in a pile of binders and broken wooden shelving. Jerry charged the woman. He threw a punch to her stomach, thinking to knock the wind out of her, but his fist never connected. She had caught his fist in her hand as easily as if she had caught a ball of yarn. The woman was shorter than he was and stood dressed in a white dress, like from one of those roman times movies. Around her waist gathering the dress together was a short metal girdle that looked like it was made of gold. It was intricately etched and seemed to glow in the dim light of the office. Jerry found himself in the air again, only this time he crashed into some of the warehouse shelving. Merchandise and wood flew in all directions as Jerry's body made its way to the floor. He laid there in pain and couldn't get back up.

Jerry heard the soft footsteps approaching but was unable to do more than open his eyes. A delicate sandal covered foot pressed on his chest. Jerry followed the sandal's gold lacing that ran up the woman's leg to the dress, the golden girdle thing that glowed even brighter now. His eyes continued up to the long blond hair cascading over the woman's shoulders and chest to the red lips and then the golden mask that only revealed piercing ice blue eyes.

"Get this straight and tell your boss, who ever that may be... that you are not welcome in my part of town. If you come here again it will not be the police you'll have to deal with... you'll be dealing with me and I will not be happy to see you again." As she said this she applied more pressure to Jerry's chest to the point he thought ribs would start breaking. She held her foot there making sure he understood and then she stepped off of him. As he took a deep breath of air, another hammer blow from her other foot knocked the air back out of him. As he gasped for more air she was now kneeling beside him, pulling him up to meet her gaze by his jacket.

"Oh by the way... my name isn't bimbo... you can call me Maiden Justice. You have five minutes to get out of here." With that she let go of his jacket and his head hit the concrete again. With his blurred vision he watched her stand up and in a swirl of white robes she walked out of his line of sight.

### Chapter 8: Sizing up the competition.

Lord Nemesis sat at his usual workbench. Now littered with the parts of a Lancer's sniper rifle. Lukas watched as he fiddled with a retractable bayonet to be installed on all of the rifles and was fine tuning the design. He spoke without looking up. He wasn't being rude, he just didn't need to be facing you to talk. Especially when he was working on something like this.

"Maiden Justice eh? Why not Justice Maiden? Unless she did not want herself confused with a young girl? Was there anything else... maybe something unusual?" Lord Nemesis looked at the growing list on the chalk board in front of him. At the top was The Statesman and underneath the name was a list of abilities that others had seen him demonstrate. Beside him was a question mark in a circle. Beneath this was the name Vambrace with the names Smythe/Warfield under that with the notation of electric / mechanical strength. It was the only "hero" they knew who was in charge because Nemesis had stolen the design specifications and research from them earlier. Next to this name was written "The Shadow" just like the radio play. No one had discovered who he really was or what name he used, but he had been spotted several times hiding deep in the dark shadows... always watching.

"You mean more unusual that a five foot seven woman beating the snot out of our three best Lieutenants?" Nemesis didn't respond to Lukas' sarcasm. "Yes there is something, Jerry said her belt glowed as she fought. Not like luminescence, he said it seemed brighter when she was doing more damage."

Nemesis pondered this for a moment. "Something has happened to alter the world I think." He stood and moved over to the black board. Taking up the chalk he tapped it under The Statesman's name. "They were the first to appear and since then the others have started to crop up."

"They sir?"

"Yes, we have not encountered the other but there are rumors and whispers coming from the Isles that mirror what we know of The Statesman. There is no name for him that we have heard of. He moves slowly, precisely, very patient, waiting for his plans to work out."

"Oh really? Sounds very similar to someone I know." Lukas said. Nemesis laughed at the joke.

"I don't think this is science we are dealing with. I believe we are experiencing an influx of supernatural or magical energies."

"Do you want me to... detain one of these heroes so we can ask them ourselves?"

"No we will watch and learn for now. Perhaps it will work with our troops as well as theirs?"

"Any thoughts as to how or why yet?"

"I only have theories at this moment. If it was just one, I would have to say it was a mutation of nature, maybe even the next step in evolution. With the way they are appearing I must think it is something other than evolution. Could it have been a chemical accident that altered them? The shining girdle suggested something as unlikely as magic but not the common slight of hand, but the Old World story type magic. But that is only the first part of the question. The next part is why did it pick these people to develop in, instead of you and I? There are more questions than answers here and unfortunately I do not have the means to study it at this time."

Lukas stared at the names a bit longer then turned back to the more pressing issue of the jaeger production, especially if human troops were to be limited until the proper recruitment drive. Not to mention he still had to prepare for the directors meeting being held next week. Several of Southern United's sister companies had extensive military contracts and they needed to formalize the bids and budgets for the rest of the year, now that year-end totals were completed. Some days he wondered if he was more a businessman than general. "Not really that much difference I suppose." He thought

### Chapter 9: Dark Watcher stops watching.

"This had better not be a stupid April Fools Joke." Lukas said coldly to the men standing in front of him.

"N n n no sir. I wish that it was right now though. What I mean is..."

"Shut up." Lukas looked at the men in front oh him, he hadn't felt like hitting something in a long time, but lately this feeling was surfacing more and more. He really looked at the group of men in front of him, to see their injuries. He focused on the one man that seemed less battered than the others. "You," he said pointing to the man, "these men all look like they've gone ten rounds with a bull. You don't look as bad off as them, why is that?"

"Sir," the man stepped forward at attention. "I was guarding the truck outside sir, they somehow knocked me out sir. I woke up to the men dragging me to the back of the truck to escape. I'm sorry sir."

"They? Are you saying there was more than one of them?"

"No sir, I mean sir I really don't know how many there were."

"I see... Any idea how they "knocked" you out?"

"No sir, I don't. I had my back to the truck and I didn't see anyone in front of me. One moment I was on watch and the next moment I'm picking up myself off the ground."

"Get back in line... Can anyone tell me who did this? How did this happen?" When no one answered he slammed his hands on the desk in aggravation. It was unlike him to let anything upset him. He knew what it was; he had spent the last couple of weeks running everything, while Lord Nemesis stayed secluded in his workshop. Lord Nemesis was excited when he finally had time to look over the work from St. John-Smythe and how he constructed his Vambrace suit. He kept going on and on about how this was what he was looking for. At the time, Lukas brushed it off as scientific excitement. What he didn't know was that it would mean him taking care of everything. The day to day items were one thing but the increasing nuisance for these would be heroes, was beginning to wear thin with him.

Lukas rubbed his temples and sighed. "Okay one at a time, tell me what you saw happen tonight. Not what you think, not what anyone else did, just your story. We will piece together events from there."

The large Ford truck rumbled over the planks of the dock. It was headed for their scheduled meeting at the pier nine warehouse. Two black, four door Deisenberg escorted the truck. The men inside the cars and the truck all wore top coats, to protect their suits against that night's rain, but also to conceal their weapons. The Kings were getting aggressive these last few weeks and neither they nor the Family were taking this lightly. Several key attacks seemed to only aggravate the Kings instead of settling them down. They were definitely too stupid to know when to back down, and it would be their undoing. The headlamps barely cut through the rain, showing only a few feet in any direction and the men were rightfully nervous. The docks should have been secure by the Family, after all this was their home, their kingdom. The men didn't worry about the Family double crossing them. The Family and Southern United dealt in two different aspects of business, so they really weren't competing against each other. They actually supplied each other when the need arose.

The large truck stopped and then backed up to the loading dock door, which opened as it did. Several men stepped out onto the dock under the cover of the extended roof. Both of the cars stopped and the men all got out, huddling against the rain the quickly climbed the stairs to the loading dock floor and entered inside while four massive looking dock hands easily unloaded the crates and brought them inside. In the darken warehouse the eight men from Southern United and the Twelve men from The Family all stood around or sat on crates sharing a couple bottles of Canadian whiskey, talking about the start of the baseball season that weekend. The usual debate between the Red Sox, Dodgers, and Yankee fans was always lively but good-natured. Of course every one ribbed the dockhand that favored the Pittsburgh Pirates... This was just a drop off, the money had already been exchanged so there was no worry of being cheated or double crossed. Really what was in the crates wasn't even a completed weapon, but parts the Family had brokered to someone in Canada in exchange for the more whiskey. The men had just finished their round of drinks when the lights in the building went out.

They were experienced men and silently drew their weapons and whispered commands to prevent them from shooting each other. They slowly moved towards the docking bay door. When one of Marcone's men flew ahead of the group to crashed into the door.

"What's the matter guys, can't see in the dark?" Came a voice from somewhere in the darkened warehouse. "Both of your organization's days in Paragon are numbered gentlemen. Well actually your number just came up."

"Stay tight and keep your backs to the door!" someone shouted.

"Show yourself!" Shouted another.

"Gladly, but you should be careful what you ask for." Chuckled the sinister voice. Out of the darkness screamed terrors, darker than the darkness, wrapping themselves around each man, filling each man with paralyzing fear, the only thing to break that fear was a sudden attack. Each blow seemed to drain the life out of each of them but they didn't notice, they didn't hear each other's screams. One by one they dropped to the floor. Only unconsciousness brought them a reprieve from the things that held them immobile from terror. As the last man fell to the floor the voice spoke again but he wasn't laughing anymore. "Tell your bosses, that the Dark Watcher is done watching."

"So you're telling me that none of you got off a single shot? How did he to it? How did he scare you so badly that you couldn't move?" Lukas demanded. He had seen men paralyzed with fear on the battlefield, but he had never heard of anyone inducing it. This was just madding. "Get out of here before I shoot you myself." These heroes were beginning to become really irritating and still Lord Nemesis refused to act. His "you don't see the entire picture" didn't help his mood. This didn't look to be a start to a good day. He looked at the reports piled oh his desk. He hated the feeling of being incapable of reacting. If he could just put out contracts for these creeps, even if it was opened to independents, to keep the company out of it. He'd even be willing to contact the Kings for their assistance. Why were these heroes targeting him and not the Kings anyways? He new the answer to that question, that fool of a mayor and his big mouth, were to blame. He may have been the perfect pawn for their use, but he was as transparent as glass. He was corrupt, the heroes knew it and they knew who his biggest supporter was. It was a pretty short trail back to them. He chuckled to himself, if they only knew about the other half of this."

"What's so funny?" Helena asked walking into his office. Her long fur coat was made of silver fox and it accented her pale blue eyes.

"Nothing, it's just been one of those days. So what brings you up to the tenth floor?"

"Well a lunch date actually. You did remember we had one right?"

"Yes, but its not..." He stopped as his eyes locked on the wall clock to see it was indeed twelve noon. Where had the morning gone? "I'm sorry; I told you it was one of those days already."

"We can do this some other day." She said a little disappointment in her voice.

"Oh no we won't," he said standing up and grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair. "If there is one thing I know, lunch with you will be the brightest point to my day. Let's get out of here." He leaned down to the intercom on his desk and hit the switch.. "Linda, please have them bring my car around. Ms. Michele and I are going to lunch."

"Yes sir." Came the reply. Lukas had his topcoat on, his duster hat set just right on his head and he opened the door for Helena. Maybe the day was looking up after all.

### Chapter 10: April Fools.

Gallo's Restaurant was always busy during the lunch crowed but never crowded, at least not when you had a standing table waiting for you. The light sparkled of the river as it passed in the canals of Founders Falls. Helena enjoyed a salad while Lukas had the house special. Although he had wanted the hot pastrami on rye, he thought better of it for his date's sake, not that he expected to kiss Helena, but if there was a remote possibility he didn't want it to be with pastrami breath.

"So what has my uncle been up to these last few weeks?" Helena asked between bites of spinach salad.

"What do you mean? You see him more than I do." Lukas said as casual as he could. He didn't want his frustration spilling over into his lunch.

"Well not really. Last month he went on about some new research he came across. Ever since then he hasn't been coming up to the penthouse for more than a meal, to bathe, and fresh clothes. He and his poor assistants have been working almost night and day in his private research lab."

"Oh, so that's where he's been. I didn't think I saw him in his office area."

"I'm really worried about him. He shouldn't be pushing himself at his age. I know he loves all that science stuff and every new discovery is like Christmas morning for him, but he needs to take better care of himself."

"I would agree with you, except I don't think his brain works that way. I really think if he wasn't doing what he does, it would be the death of him. He enjoys his tinkering, and every once in awhile he comes up with something truly amazing. If he would patent and publish his ideas he could easily be the next Galileo."

"Well if he doesn't let me shave him soon, he'll at least look the part." She smiled softly. Her red lipstick just seemed to hold Lukas' attention. A static charge ran up his spine, maybe his ears had picked up the sound and was acting on it before his brain registered what it was.

"Everyone get down!" He yelled. His voice carried the commanding tone of a general, loud and forceful. He stood flipping his table on its side and pulled the stunned Helena down behind him, just as the first sounds of gunfire shattered the glass windows. Five seconds may not seem long, but when bullets are flying over your head it can be an eternity. As quickly as it had started the silence followed. Lukas stood up and looked around. There were a lot of injured people, but none looked serious. He turned to help Helena to her feet and felt horrible to see her salad had stained her light blue satin top.

"You do realize that this is the second time someone has shot up an establishment when we have gone out together... Do you think it's a sign?"

"A sign of what? That we shouldn't be dating?" He asked slightly confused as to her thought process.

"Oh of course not, I was merely thinking maybe we should be ordering in. Perhaps we should give that a try tonight and see if any bullets are involved. Let's say seven o'clock at your place?" She smiled seductively and brushed off another piece of stray lettuce.

"I think maybe your right, we should try staying in and seeing if anyone shoots at us." Her statement had surprised him, in a good way but he had to force himself back to the moment. "Stay here while I have the car brought around." He said to her then quickly grabbed his coat and headed for the door. The doorframe itself was pretty shot up and he found it easier just to step through the broken remains of the glass door than to mess with opening it. He wasn't out side two seconds when the Silver-Arrow pulled up to the curb and the driver along with Anthony, his personal body guard for the day, stepped out of the car and came up to him.

"I'm sorry boss, we saw them coming but they beat us back here." Anthony said.

"Who are they?" He asked but already knew the answer.

"It was the Kings again, sir. They didn't bother using a different car either. The back side was still filled with holes from our first encounter."

Lukas swore under his breath. "They are getting way to bold. We would never shoot up a business... at least with everyday people inside. How I wish someone could just put an end to one of their leaders, to send a clear message that we have had enough. I hate dealing with cowards, if they want a battle then challenge me in the open... this... this..." he gestured to the ruined restaurant, "...has got to stop."

He stepped back in and gestured for Helena to come and then placed a ten-dollar bill in the waitress' hand and told her to keep the change.

The driver opened the door for them as Anthony got into the front seat. A thoughtful look was on his face and that was very unusual for the large man who always had a joke at the ready. The Silver-Arrow moved through lunchtime traffic easy enough and crossed over the canal bridges and onto a coastal road.

"Can we go through City Park? I'd like to see how that new hotel is developing. They say it'll be nicer than any five star hotel in Europe." Helena asked seeing the country road they took would bring them along the east side of the park.

"Sure we can... driver you heard the lady, to the yet to be completed Paragon Hotel." He said. In his mind he wondered what the third big problem would be today. They always came in threes and he was just waiting for the shoe to drop. The loop around the park was altered slightly to accommodate the construction going on. They had started the hotel on a raised platform, so just leaving the hotel meant an unobstructed view of the park and lake across from it. Beyond the lake and the distant trees rose the skeleton towers of distant skyscrapers. It would be an impressive view when those were done. They turned up the hill heading towards those skeletons when Lukas found his number three headed straight for them. A flat bed truck with a with a canvass tarp covering the back came racing down hill with flames licking the canvass and wood. The driver yelled for them to hold on as he slipped, swerved and turned the car to lessen the impact of the collision. The seconds after the crash ticked by as the flames of the truck roared beside them. The car once again had taken quiet a beating, but it wasn't impervious. Lukas was just about to get them out of the car and away from the fire when his door was yanked off and disappeared into the lake with a distant splash.

"If you're alright, you need to get out... now!" Came the deep voice. A red and blue covered arm reached in the missing door and pulled him and then everyone else free of the car. They staggered down hill into the grassy field around the west side of the lake, away from the flames. When the heat of the flames had lessened they turned to watch. The man they called the Statesman, was busy trying to free the trapped truck driver. What ever was under the tarp burned fiercely and a new heat wave forced them to step back further. The Silver-Arrow was wedged against the driver's side of the truck. With the flames growing with every second, Lukas watched in horror, as the Statesman started hammering and ripping his car apart, one piece at a time and flung the metal aside like discarded wood scraps. People cheered as the Statesman freed the trapped driver and got him to safety. Moments later the truck erupted and the flames poured onto and into the car beside it. Within minutes both vehicles where nothing more than piles of melted metal.

"That figures..." was all Lukas said realizing that the April Fool had struck with a vengeance and he was his one and only target today.
Chapter 11: A welcome vacation.

Things seemed to settle down, and actually Lord Nemesis found it quite funny that Lukas' "hero" was the man that was annoying him.

Two weeks later Lukas headed to Lord Nemesis' office with what he thought would surely be disturbing news. He didn't know how Lord Nemesis would take the news because he knew how much the next step depended on it. He opened the door and braced himself for what he anticipated to be a nasty response. Although an old man, he could be very unpleasant when upset.

"Lukas did you're hear!" Lord Nemesis' tone wasn't quite as upset as he thought it would be, in fact it almost sound cheerful.

"Yes sir I just heard this morning, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, I only heard this morning myself. Still it is stunning isn't it?"

"I don't know about that sir, but it is a bit of a worry."

"A worry? Nonsense, this is the greatest advancement known to man. Just think of the possibilities."

Lukas looked at the excited expression on Nemesis' face and he began to wonder if they were on the same topic. "Sir, how is your friend's election loss a great advancement?"

"Pardon? What election are you talking about?"

"I'm referring to the election in Germany."

"Oh really? Well that was to be expected, but it will work in our favor in a few years. No I'm talking about Cockcroft and Walton over in Cambridge... They split the atom! Can you imagine!"

"Excuse me? They split a what? And if you expected him to lose then why did we just send him over some prototypes of our long rifle?"

Lord Nemesis sighed but smiled. "I think we need to break this down to the two events that they are. Yes, I didn't expect him to win the election the first time around. But if we look carefully at the overall events I think we will find that his political party has grown to occupy more seats in his government. This momentum and his magic with words will win the day and our plans will continue... time will yield our desired results. Now the second event is more important. They actually split an atom. That wasn't supposed to be possible but they figured out how! I have to travel to England and talk with them, to see how it is done... this is greatest discovery since fire."

"I'll take you word on that, but I still don't see how it's important."

"Don't you? The theories clearly state that splitting a single atom will release more power than all of the power plants in the United States combined! Imagine, if we could harness that single action to supply power to our units, or to create a weapon with that power!"

"If it means rebuilding the jaeger power plants again, I say forget it. Now if you're talking about building new and better weapons, I'm all for it. But are you sure now is a good time to travel to England? That would put you out of the country for at least a month. I don't think that's a smart thing right now."

"Nonsense now is a perfect time to travel. There is nothing pressing here right now so let's take advantage of this while it is still safe to travel. Besides, Helena has spent way too much time here in the city taking care of me, she deserves a trip don't you think?"

"Indeed, you'll have to send me a postcard."

"Nonsense, you're coming with us. After all I can't have Helena wandering around London un-chaperoned. I can't ask her to come with me; she finds the talking of science very dull, much like you in that respect. I think having you along will be the best thing for both of us."

"Sir I can't leave at the same time as you."

"Nonsense, I didn't pick Colonel Tomain as the second in command for his dazzling smile. He can handle the mundane items until we get back. If it makes you feel better, cancel anything you feel is too important for him to handle alone."

Lukas knew this test, if he said Colonel Tomain couldn't handle something it would be contradicting Lord Nemesis' decision to have him in charge.

"No sir, if we must leave, now would indeed be a good time to do so." Lukas smiled thinking of a cruise and private time away from the city with Helena, and the possibility of no one shooting at them. It really would be relaxing to be somewhere where no one cared who you are. Unlike some people Lukas preferred the quiet life.

Traveling with Lord Nemesis was always an adventure. For this one he resumed an old favorite disguise of Wilhelm Roentgen retired but still respected German physicist. To free Helena up for her little vacation he also hired a translator for himself. This proved interesting as Lord Nemesis, from that moment on, only spoke German or Latin. To Lukas' thinking, this would only make the trip more difficult, but he knew Lord Nemesis found it amusing. Everything that anyone would say will have to be translated, because Lord Nemesis would refuse not to play the part. So Lord Nemesis would sit there in his wheelchair and he will poke someone's leg with his bumbershoot until someone did translate...even though he had understood it perfectly. Much to everyone's delight Nemesis or Roentgen had managed passage on the Graf Zeppelin out of New York to Paris. From there they traveled by train to Calais then across the channel to England. The airship was a marvel and floated well about the clouds. It was especially beautiful during sunset from the main lounge area.

"You know sir, a floating fortress might be an interesting idea." Lukas said in German as they enjoyed glasses of brandy. Helena had already retired to her cabin for the evening. Although the rooms, food and service were excellent, the size of the zeppelin limited the entertainment possibilities. Here in the gentlemen's lounge they sat and watched the moonlight reflect off the waves of the Atlantic far below them.

"It would make for an interesting command center if nothing else. Someday, when we control the skies I will have to revisit this idea. I'd rather not be shot down in my sleep." He replied laughing.

They made their connecting train with out a problem, and even had time to have lunch in a small café before boarding time. The ride was not as smooth as the airship, but the food was good. The gentle countryside rolled pasted the train. Some areas still showed the horrors of the last war. Darkened fields where no crops would grow. Lukas even point out some areas that he had marched through with her great uncle. An evening in the smoking car with Lord Nemesis proved to be the most pivotal point of Lukas' life. He was used to the Nemesis the scientist, Nemesis the military genius, Nemesis the ruthless businessman, but Nemesis the adoring uncle was a new side to the man. The men had ordered cognac and cigars for after dinner and settled back to enjoy the passing French countryside.

"If I may be so bold, my young friend, but I couldn't help but notice that you and my niece are getting along quite well."

Lukas rolled his eyes and prepared himself for the manipulation into his personal life to begin. "Yes sir, she is truly a wonderful woman. I really do enjoy her company."

"If I'm not mistaken, and I must admit understanding a woman's thought process can even perplex me. I do believe that she feels the same for you." He said with a slight smile. "Smart, pretty, and a joy for life that you don't see these days, could anyone find a better person?"

"Not that your view of your great niece is bias in anyway sir, but better person for what?" Lukas knew what might be brewing in the back of his leader's mind, but he wasn't going to make it easy on his mentor. It was seldom that he got to see him at a loss for words and even a bit awkward in handling this matter.

"I am concerned about Helena, I won't be around that much longer and it would be easier when the time comes to die..."

"... knowing she's taken care of... in good hands... safe with a terrific handsome man, worthy of your praise?" Lukas finished for him and laughed.

"... Yes, since you put it that way. I don't know if those are the words I was thinking about though, but they'll do. I would be pleased to know she was with a man I respect."

Hhmmm.... "If I didn't know better I might accuse you of those personal attacks on our lives just to bring us together."

The old man laughed and waved a dismissing hand. An old gesture he would do when he would neither confirm nor deny something. Just leaving it opened ended to make you wonder. He reached into an inner pocket of his smoking jacket and pulled out a blue velvet pouch and handed it over the table to Lukas. Lukas set his cigar down and gingerly opened the pouch into his open palm. A gold ring slid into his hand. Its gold band was plain, but the stones were not. A sizable miner's cut clear diamond sparkled even in the smoking car's hazy light. Surrounding the diamond were green emeralds, thirteen stones in all.

"That was my mother's ring, and her mother's before her. I think it would only be fitting that you give it to Helena as a token."

"It's a beautiful ring sir, but I need to know something first..."

"No fear my friend, if you don't want to I will not hold it against you. I myself could not bring myself to commit to such a task. I would understand if you choose not to get married. I just thought I'd offer the ring in case the thought had crossed your mind."

Lukas nodded his head and looked at the ring.

It was beautiful on Helena's finger as they exchanged wedding vows in a small chapel in Calais, beginning the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Reese. The rest of the trip was a honeymoon for the young couple, while Wilhelm Roentgen and his interpreter immersed themselves in the ways of splitting atoms. Lukas and Helena spent their time exploring London and surrounding areas.

### Chapter 12: When things go missing.

They booked passage on the Curnard ocean liner Georgic for its maiden voyage to New York, for the trip back. The cruise back took only four days and the weather was fair and warm. They enjoyed the luxury of the first class states rooms and used the time to get caught up on current events around the world. Lukas found it interesting that Al Capone had been convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to jail. Helena joked that he had better call the company accountants when they got back home. Of all the things that Al had done, and Lukas knew of many of them, that was the only thing the police could pin on him? That was simply amazing. A couple of days before docking, news came that the Lindbergh child's body had been discovered. "Right on time" Lukas thought, but Helena was visibly upset with this news. Although she knew of some of Southern United's shadier dealings, she had never been privy nor was it ever let on about her great uncle and his... other plans. To this both men regretted, but it was a necessity to keep her safe. Lukas sent her ahead for dinner, giving him and Lord Nemesis a moment to decide if the media coverage would be sufficient enough to move more troops and equipment into Paragon City from their plant in Atlanta, Georgia.

Lukas and Helena decided his apartment in Baumtown would be better suited than hers in the United building, they were far larger than the ones she currently occupied. Not to mention if Lukas were to stay in the building everyone would find a reason to seek his advice or help. She accepted this but only under the conditions that her great uncle would hire a duty nurse, just in case anything happened.

Lukas woke up and dressed and quietly kissed her good bye and headed to his morning meeting with Colonel Tomain. He was greeted with coffee and Danishes from that bakery over on 12th Avenue and sat down at the head of the large oak table in the boardroom. It was one of the secure rooms beneath the Southern United building so there was no outside windows to let light in. To keep it from being claustrophobic most of the basement rooms had 9-foot ceilings.

Reading quickly through the usual business reports, he waited for the other directors come in. He made notations of actions to be taken and signed vouchers for items to be paid. He chuckled over the accounting report that assured him that the companies, as well as his own personal taxes were current and correct. He guessed he could give up the idea of bunking with Big Al. Gerald Tomain was the first to enter and came around the table to congratulate and hung his friend on his catching the most beautiful girl in New England. The other directors followed suit before sitting down and starting the meeting.

"Well gentleman, thank you again for the well wishes. I will gladly pass them along to Miss... to my wife. That's going to take some getting used to. We will be having a private reception at The Palms nightclub. You should be receiving your invitations in the next few days. I have read through the reports and I'm pleased to find we aren't bankrupted. I would like to take a moment to express my displeasure with the production numbers on the new Warhulks. I had hoped to have more of them completed by now. Regardless I am happy to see that the Kings activities have been curtailed to some degree. Also we may have another opportunity to move more equipment coming up here shortly. I will send you a list of duties to have ready for the when the time is right. Once again we will use the media to cover our actions. Unless someone else has something pressing, I still have a long day ahead me."

"Well sir," Gerald started. "We have one item and we don't know to what degree it may or may not be a problem. Chasseur Krichbaum hasn't been seen in a couple of weeks. Actually not since your wedding was announced around here."

"Anthony? Give me the details." Lukas said suddenly remembering that look on his face and wondered what he had gotten himself into.

"He was acting funny after hearing the news of your nuptials. His squad mates said he became real sober. As everyone who knows him will attest to, he is always jolly. So that got many wondering as to what was going on. Quartermaster Kirk reported that afternoon that his long rifle wasn't turned back into the armory after practice. He called for an extensive search of the rifle range and then the outlying buildings and training center. Not a trace was found of him."

"Did someone over look the rules that unless they are wearing a uniform, no one got access to their weapons?"

"That's the second problem sir, he was wearing his uniform and it was never turned back into his locker."

Lukas let that sink in. His driver was missing with his uniform and a very special sniper rifle... a sniper rifle... What was he up to? "Just going through the basics, you had someone checked his house?"

"Some of his friends went by his place, but no one answered the door."

"Did they go in?"

"No sir."

"Okay, Colonel, get Jerry and his crew on the streets. If the Kings are involved I want to know about it. See if they can find anything out. I want a couple of men with us as we go to Anthony's apartment. Also send some men to watch over Helena."

"Sir I doubt the Kings had anything to do with it. With their hate of us, they'd be parading like peacocks."

"I don't think so Gerald... If they suddenly found themselves in possession of one of our sniper rifles, they may not want to let anyone know what they've found. I know I wouldn't broadcast having a unique weapon coming into my possession. Have my car.... Have a car pick us up in ten minutes." This wasn't what he needed today, but to not act upon it would be negligent on his part.

It was a pleasant late spring day in the city as they drove towards the garment district. Lukas was getting a more pronounced uneasiness as he saw Anthony's apartment building was in fact in the center of the garment district... an area now being referred to as Kings Row. The building was only four stories tall, and a nice elderly woman let them in the entry door when Lukas explained he was worried about his employee. They climbed the wooded stairs, the faded carpet runner might have added color to the dreary hallway at one time but now only added another shade of brown. They reached the third floor and looked for room 307. Knocking yielded a response from the neighbor, who hadn't seen the gentile giant in weeks. From the apartment itself, came no response to their knocking.

"Open it." Lukas said in a soft tone and moved his body to block anyone's view of what they were doing. One of the men turned to the door and pulled what looked like a cigar box out of his coat. He pulled what looked like small bundle of wires from the box and inserted them into the keyhole. He pressed a switch and there was a soft hiss and then a click as he turned the box to unlock the door. The two larger men moved into the apartment first and Lukas and Gerald followed them. The two-room apartment was military neat, and Lukas was impressed. A small couch sat on one wall with a radio on a table next to it. Several magazines lay on a coffee table in front of the couch. The kitchen was little more than a stove and icebox and a very small chrome table with one chair. The sink was clean and overall again, military neat.

The next room revealed a single bed, made and a clothes cupboard. The cupboard was locked but it didn't stay that way long. Inside they found Anthony's clothes but more importantly they found maps, some actual, some hand drawn. Names and some pictures, and a lot of notes where also spread across the inside of the two doors. Lukas and Gerald carefully looked these over, trying to piece the puzzle together.

"Do any of these names mean anything to you Colonel?" Lukas said showing him a piece of paper.

"They do now. Look at this page." The sheet handed to Lukas had a several names listed on it and a couple of them were circled. Near one of the circles was written The Kings. "I think he thought he found the leaders but why would he bother?"

Lukas thought a moment. "The last time he was my driver was in April, when the Kings tried to kill me at Gallo's. I had mentioned that I wanted someone to hit any of the leaders, just to show them that we aren't fooling around. He must have taken me serious. That might explain this map where he circled a block. And I'm guessing "x" marks the spot. Let's go look at this building." They closed everything up and headed back to they car. Very conscious of who may be watching now and what they were watching them with, the men moved quickly to get in their cars.

The building was an old textile printing company, now long since abandoned. They got out of the car and went to the car's trunk and opened it up. Each man took a pistol and then divided up the two Thompson submachine guns and two shotguns. Lukas also grabbed the pool cue case and swung it over his shoulder, and headed for the roof. Once on the roof they orientated themselves to the hand drawn map and looked out to where the "X" was pointed. In the immediate distance nothing presented itself, but as they looked further away there were a row of low warehouses. Lukas opened the cue case and pulled out a riflescope. He attached to a base with three legs and set up the spotter's scope on the ledge of the building. Lukas looked through it and got it locked onto the building and pushed down a button on the top. A small hiss moved the internal lenses and brought the loading dock into focus... he scanned along the row of bay doors and then stopped.

"What do you make of this Colonel?" He said stepping aside to let him get a look. The scope showed a loading bay door wrenched and twisted out of its framework. Gerald shifted the scope and looked at the surrounding area to the same twisted metal pieces and the path of destruction.

"You know General, I've seen something like this before, it was down in Texas when I was looking into purchasing some oil fields and one of those Texas Twisters had come through a small town early that month and everything looked like that."

"Are you saying that place was hit by a tornado?"

"That's what it looks like to me."

"General, Colonel, excuse me, but you need to see this." They turned to walk to where one of the guards was standing. The roof paper had been torn in a ragged strip and was just a pile against the backside of the roof entrance. Buried in the pile they found a single rifle shell. The bricks behind the torn roofing showed fresh cracks and scratches as if something big had hit it.

"Colonel, Get some men to check out that other building. I'm thinking we have a new freak to deal with."

### Chapter 13: Hunting Kings.

If there was one man Anthony Krichbaum truly admired it was General Eisenberg. To be so important at his age just amazed Anthony. He did everything to pattern his life after his general. So when the Kings had attacked General Eisenberg and Miss Michele while under his care, he felt he had let him down. So when he heard that that his general had gotten married to Lord Nemesis' great niece he felt he needed to do something to make up his failure to them. He would have to break the rules and probably would get court marshaled for it, but at least they would know he did this to make up for his earlier failure.

He was getting ahead of himself, first he needed to know who and where to find the Kings. He had one advantage over everyone else looking for the Kings. He had grown up in the garment district as his parents had worked there. He knew the people in the neighborhood, grew up playing ball with most of the guys, and got into trouble with other guys. He spent all of his free time quietly talking, looking and listening. He was surprised how quickly he had acquired the information he needed to mark a target. He had never killed a man before but being a soldier he knew it would be required of him at some time. Not that the men he would be going after would think twice about killing him.

Anthony drove to the foundries and put on his uniform and then headed towards the sergeant at arms and requested his sniper rifle for training. The sniper field was set just outside of the exercise center because of the distance they shot at. He walked outside down a short path and turned into the woods. A short walk brought him to the edge of the parking lot and a bag with a change of clothes. He drove back to Paragon City in high spirits. If he was lucky he could take his shot and get back up here before nightfall.

The doorway he was targeting was an easy shot for him. He simply had to be patient. He sat in the same spot for an hour or more, his eyes never leaving the view of the scope, not wanting to miss his shot.

"Let me guess... bird watching?"

Anthony jumped at the sound of the voice. He turned to find himself facing a man in a gray and blue outfit. His entire head was covered in a gray mask with some sort of goggles over his eyes. The outfit had what looked like blue lightening bolts running down the arms and legs. This had to be one of those heroes he kept hearing them talk about.

"Not really, I'm just shooting rats. No one really cares about rats do they?" Anthony said trying to keep his calm like General Eisenberg would.

"Those must be some really big rats for a gun like that." The man's voice carried an accent Anthony had heard before when he went to New York City. "Great, I bet he has a New Yorker's attitude as well" Anthony thought to himself.

"King size rats, and real nasty if you see them up close, so it's better to do this from a distance."

"I can't let you do that. Give me the gun and we can talk about this on the way to the police station. You haven't done anything that I know of, so you'll lose the rifle, and spend a day or two in jail, but at least it won't be a life time for... rat killing.

Anthony looked at the rifle in his hands and thought it over. What would General Eisenberg do? He wouldn't surrender that's for sure. Anthony twisted the handle and his bayonet knifed opened at the end of the rifle. In one easy movement he lunged at the man. The man leaped backwards and moved around to stairway entrance. Anthony followed him around the building, raising his rifle for a shot. The hero had backed himself against the edge of the building and Anthony moved to put the building to his back.

"This is your last chance, put the rifle down."

"I'm sorry, I have nothing personal against you... I just have to do this." Anthony said as he took aim and started to squeeze the trigger. The gray hero made a sudden movement with his arms and Anthony was suddenly hit with a gust of wind that knocked him off balance. The Hero made the gesture again and this time Anthony was hit with a gale force wind that threw him into the building behind him and held him there. He struggled against it but the wind just kept building until through squinting eyes he saw part of the roofing give way, and come straight for him to slam him into the wall even harder. The wind died down and Elementar picked up the unconscious man's rifle to look it over. Then he moved to the chair and used the rifle scope to see the rats this man was hunting.

### Chapter 14: Watching the weather.

"Come in General" Came Lord Nemesis' voice muffled by the solid oak door that led to his private study. Lukas had only been in here a handful of times, but noticed the new wall addition at once. Three walls of the study had floor to ceiling bookshelves. The normal types of books on literature and education had long since been replaced by personal journals. Lord Nemesis was a stickler for documenting everything that transpired in his day. Nothing was trivial to the man and it was all written down on one of these pages. He even had his own card filing system that would be the envy of any library, referencing everything to everything else. The man's entire life, every thought, every conversation was written here. The difference was that the shelves along the left-hand wall were now empty and mounted across the middle of them was a series of cork boards. On the boards were a more detailed listing of each hero and the powers they have shown. Newspaper articles and even a rare photograph or two were posted on the board.

"Did you have to move your journals to make room for them?" Lukas asked standing in front of Lord Nemesis' desk. Nemesis waved his off hand in a gesture to take a seat while he finished writing.

"There, now I can set that aside for another day." He said putting his fountain pen down. "You really should document your life, you never know what will or won't be important to remember later on and you can't always trust your brain to find the information you need."

"So you keep telling me sir, but with the reports I write and send all day, the thought of doing it after hours doesn't appeal to me."

Lord Nemesis smiled, they have had this conversation three times before and it was always the same. "No I have found a way to make better use of my books. Have a look at this." He said as the lifted a brass disk off his desk and handed it to Lukas. It was roughly six inches in diameter and resembled a gramophone album. "That, good General, is one entire journal. I'm having all of them converted to these and then placed into the multiple disk reader. I can find anything and everything I have ever learned. Not only my journals but anything else I have ever read from. When all of this is done..." he gestured to the room around him, "and placed into the core reader, I will have this knowledge forever and I will be able to access it as quickly as I can make my request. Almost as fast as a person thinks, in theory anyway." His expression turned somber before he continued. "You see my young friend, my mind is not as fast as it once was. It doesn't pull the information I need fast enough any more. I can not complain at my age, most men are sitting in rocking chairs and need someone to change their bedpans. Still, my mind has and always will be my greatest weapon. I can not afford to lose it or what is inside of it."

"And just how will you access the information? Will it just play it back to you, like those that play music?" Lord Nemesis just smiled his eyes bright.

"aaah! That my friend is the right question."

Lukas hated that answer. It meant that he was on the right track to finding an answer, but Nemesis wasn't about to give it to him. Lord Nemesis pushed his seat back and pulled out a tattered old green journal and placed in front of Lukas. "Go ahead and open it. Any idea what you hold in your hands?"

Lukas opened that book and leafed through the pages. The letters were English, but the words made no sense. "Not one sir, I'm guessing it's in a code you developed."

"Very good, it is indeed. But what does the code hide?" a sly grin crossed his face.

"That I'm sure it will be one of the mysteries of the ages sir... It will rank right up there with the Sphinx."

"That may be," he chuckled "but I will give you the short of it. This, my friend, is THE book. Every plan, every contingency, everything I have and ever hoped to achieve is written in these pages. From time to time I've had to make adjustments, but always for the same goal. A world without war, without crime, unified as one to take human kind as far as the cosmos will let us. Mankind will be great, even if we must weather the growing pains and tantrums. These," he said gesturing his had to the cork board "are just the latest development as to how man can change suddenly."

Lukas flipped through the pages with great reverence, this was like touching the very first Bible. He gently closed it and placed it back on the desk.

Lord Nemesis watched him for a moment, waiting. "So we come to the reason for our urgent meeting then?"

"Yes sir, there is a new development that I need to talk to you about. It would seem Chasseur Anthony Krichbaum took upon himself to eliminate The Kings leadership."

"Krichbaum... mountain of a man, brown hair, a hearty laugh?"

"Yes sir, that's him."

"I applaud his ambition. So which is it? Did he succeed or fail?" Lord Nemesis looked on with amused anticipation as he waited for the answer.

"I don't think he got the chance to try sir. We found the building top he had chosen to shoot from."

"I see... did he have his sniper rifle with him?"

"Yes sir, and we have adjusted the rules to prevent such ambition from happening again."

"Good to hear. How far out would his shot have been?"

"It was a good kilometer and a half sir. He took a high elevation and a clear line of sight."

"Really? Do you think he could have done it?" Nemesis asked slightly excited.

"Yes sir, I believe he would have."

"So what do you deduce happened to him?"

Lukas pulled out a set of pictures taken of both the roof top and the abandoned warehouse. "I think before he could set up his shot, another "hero" attacked him."

"Really? What am I looking at in these pictures?"

"We think there are two types of damage to be looked at. Those are of what we put into electrical damage." The images showed blacked scoring along metal all round the loading dock door and some of the higher beams inside.

"You don't think it was Vambrace do you? His design indicates the possibility of electrical discharge." It was more of a statement than a question. "And what are these of?"

"Those sir, are want we think is wind damage. Over all we think something or someone generated a massive gust of wind to knock Kirchbaum into a brick wall on the roof. What you're seeing is the tarpaper being ripped and pushed together... Like a floor runner all pushed to one end of the hallway. These show electrical strikes and a twisting wind motion appear to be more like a compact tornado." Lukas told it as straightforward as he could, just keeping to the facts, as they are known. "We also found multiple dents in metal shipping containers near the door, they indicate something the size of my fist hit them, but it was a very random pattern."

"In keeping with you description, I would say it was probably hail." Nemesis said speculatively.

"Awfully big hail... That would hurt if you didn't have a helmet on."

"And that my good General is what makes it an excellent weapon. You can't fight an opponent in front of you, if you're too busy looking upward. So I will agree with you that it sounds like we have another hero in Paragon City. They just seem to be flocking to us don't they? So what should we name this one until we hear what they are calling themselves... Stormy?" He smiled at his quip but Lukas didn't return his humor.

"There's more to this sir. Krichbaum, his rifle, and his uniform haven't been seen since that happened." Lukas said. Lord Nemesis' mood changed abruptly, his eyes seemed to blaze.

"You mean to tell me he took his uniform with him? It's bad enough he had his rifle, that can be explained away, even laughed at by the novice observer... but his uniform? So do you think this hero has him?"

"I don't know sir, it could be him, or it could be that the Kings found him. In either case, I'm doing everything we can to locate him."

"If you find him alive General, bring him to me... if he is dead, then he got off easy." Lord Nemesis took up his fountain pen and checked the ink level and started writing again. He looked up when General Eisenberg hadn't taken the clue to depart.

"Yes general?"

"One last thing sir. Even though Chasseur Krichbaum fouled this up, he did one thing right. Based on his research and using his notes, we know who the leaders of The Kings are, and where they like to hide out." Lukas knew this news wouldn't offset the problems, but it was a bright point to all of this.

"Did he now? Leave that with me, I will look it over shortly and determine how best to proceed. Thank you again General." Nemesis moved the papers to one side of his desk and then looked up. Again General Eisenberg had failed to leave on cue.

"Yes general? Is there some reason you refuse to leave tonight?" There was a hint of humor in his question.

"Yes sir, but totally unrelated, but I promised to tell you."

"Tell me what general, I don't think I can take much more tonight."

"Helena made me promise to tell you she will be making your favorite glazed ham on Sunday and you are expected to be there for dinner at two. Her words sir, not mine."

"Lukas, what I don't understand is this. I find her a husband and a home to make her own... and still I have to do as she demands... why is this?"

"Well sir, if it makes you feel any better I understand how you feel. All I can say is she shares the same ancestry as you. It must be something passed down generation to generation. I will tell her you will be there at two. Good night sir." With that Lukas stood, bowed slightly to Lord Nemesis and then walked out of the room. He smiled to himself thinking about the blond beauty waiting for him.

### Chapter 15: Uninvited guest.

Saturday May twenty-first came along and Helena was like a whirling dervish checking on everything for the reception. Lukas found the best thing to do was stay out of her way and gave her a crew to direct. There was still no word about Anthony and that bothered him. So much so that he passed along a request to Marcone and his Family to keep an eye out for anything odd around the docks, a body that big just didn't disappear. Lord Nemesis still wouldn't let them attack the Kings even though they had shot up one of Southern United's construction sites. The men were dangerous to everyone and everything and they needed to be stopped. He grabbed a car and driver and headed towards Baumtown to pick up his new tuxedo. He had several really nice suits but Helena wanted this to be a special event. Lukas figured that since they had, had a small chapel wedding he would give her this much.

Towards Baumtown a new tailor had opened shop and Lukas, always one to support a local business thought he would stop by there first. A thin man with dark hair and olive colored skin greeted him at the door of the little shop. He introduced himself as Sergio and had only come to the United States from Milan Italy at the beginning of the year. Lukas sat and drank coffee, while they made the alterations to the tuxedo. Lukas didn't see it as being any better than a well made suit.

"So do you think that woman will make it?" Came Sergio's broken English.

"What woman is that?" Lukas said picking up a copy of the Times from the chair next to him.

"The woman flying across the ocean." Came his reply just as Lukas read the headline of Amelia Earhart taking off on a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

"Well I wish her luck, but I don't understand the need for it. It's not like I would fly with a woman pilot."

"No woman I know would even think of such a thing... but Americans are odd." Lukas could only shake is head in agreement.

There were three nightclubs in Baumtown, of them, The Palms was by far the most elaborate. Car after car pulled up to the white stucco entrance. The entrance portico was held up with four posts carved to look like palm trees. A short walk past the coat checkroom, which saw little use on this warm evening, opened onto the hall itself. To the right was the stage where the band was setting up. The raised area curved gently in a serpentine meant to look like a wave and it helped to define one edge of the dance floor. The mural behind the band area showed more palm trees and distant waves. The dance floor was made of a light colored wood and polished to a mirrored finish. Tables sat opposite the bandstand on four different rises, giving everyone a good view. Looking up towards the ceiling showed a vast night sky, the stars lit and twinkled in a field of dark midnight blue that faded to shades of purples and reds of a Caribbean sunset around the edges of the circular room. The tables were covered with white linen and dressed with silver with gold filigree tableware. Helena and Lukas stood by the entrance and greeted their guests.

Lukas couldn't stop looking at Helena. She had picked out a pure white gown. The dress was sleeveless and started high in the front was and draped from her shoulders loosely over her chest to her waist. The skirt hugged every curve down her legs only to flair outward at the bottom. There simple was no back to the dress as it was open down to her waist. A pair on long white opera gloves covered her arms to finish the outfit. "There isn't a movie star alive that looks as good as my wife," Lukas thought to himself.

Everyone took their seats with the bride and groom and special guests, like the mayor and the police commissioner, off to one side and Marcone and his family towards the other. Everyone who was anyone in Paragon City was invited to the event and champagne flowed freely. Seated with Lukas and Helena was an older gentleman also dressed in a tuxedo but he sat in a wheel chair with what everyone took to be his nurse next to him. He was introduced as Helena's great uncle, but most didn't ask, as he didn't seem to talk. He watched the proceedings with a gentile smile. There was some clapping as the piano player finished up his dinner set and the band began to take their seats for the evening. The owner of The Palms, Timothy Dolan stepped on the stage and approached the microphone.

"Ladies and Gentleman, The Palms would like to say congratulations to a wonderful couple. Everyone join me in a toast to them." He raised a fluke of champagne and waited for everyone to do the same. "To Mr. and Mrs. Lukas Reese, may you know only joy and happiness in your life to come... Cin cin!" Everyone stood and drank to happy couple. As they settled down Mr. Dolan addressed them again.

"And now if we can get the Mr. and Mrs. Reese to step onto the dance floor to begin our evening..." He waited as Helena had to coax her husband onto the dance floor. "For your entertainment tonight, The Palms is thrilled to present Mr. Paul Whiteman and the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. There was a round of applause as the famous band leader stepped onto the stage and bowed. He turned to his orchestra and started the evening with a slower number so that the couple could have their first dance. There was a polite round of clapping as the song finished. With a motion from the couple, more people joined them on the dance floor and the party started in earnest. The orchestra increased the temple and the couples moved and turned around the dance floor in a tuxedos and ball gowns.

No one heard the exchange of words at the doorway between the entrance guards and a single man. It wasn't until the two men came crashing into the ballroom that people took notice. It was under extreme threat that not a single weapon was permitted into the ballroom. Lukas cursed this decision, but with the place surrounded by his men and Marcone would have his own men within striking distance, help wouldn't be that far away. That is if Lukas couldn't defuse the situation first. The fact that there wasn't any gun fire was a good sign that it wasn't The Kings or any other such would be thugs. Baumtown wasn't known for criminal activity, mainly because of the night clubs and restaurants that entertained so many.

Following the two guards was a lone figure in a red and blue outfit with stars up the arms and a metal plate mask over his face. His long cape nearly touched the floor and was designed the same as his suit. The outfit left very little of the muscle mass underneath to the imagination. Most of the women either gasped or blushed; most of the men stood straighter and stepped between this intruder and their dates, as if to keep him from dancing with any of them.

Lukas knew the man, took a deep breath and stepped towards the man, keeping his calm. He noticed that Gerald had taken up his right flank while out of the crowd Marcone's son stepped up to take the left. Behind them came the Mayor and Police Commissioner with the other men unconsciously spreading out behind them.

"I'm sorry, but this is a private party."

"What I need to say can't wait." The deep voice replied

"I don't believe we have met, so what could you possibly have to say that is so important, that you have to interrupt my wedding reception?" Lukas kept his voice even, but his eyes flared.

"You know who I am, just as I know who you are... who you really are." The man's voice was low, so only those close at hand could hear him.

"Statesman... What is the meaning of this? I tolerate your antics because you seem to have the city's best interest in mind, but this is inexcusable." The Mayor said stepping forward. He made no effort to hide his anger. The Statesman's eyes stared at the mayor and Lukas could have sworn something like lightening flashed across them. The Mayor also seemed to see something too, because he stepped back behind the line of fire.

"It's alright Mr. Mayor, Mr. Statesman seems to believe he has something important to tell to me." Lukas made a gesture to Gerald to stay back and stepped forward, moving past The Statesman and went towards the entrance where eight men now stood waiting for a sign from their leader. He stopped in an area away from everyone and Statesman joined him and the two men faced off. Both men where the same height and looked each other squarely in the eyes. The Statesman crossed his arms in front of him and spread his legs evenly, a defensive stance Lukas noted. Lukas on the other had kept one hand on his hip and dropped the other into his jacket pocket to fiddle with some marbles he placed there. An old habit to keep his fingers distracted in stressful moments.

"So, what is so important that you can't just catch me at the office?" His tone was even and calm... deadly calm.

"I know all about Southern United, and what it's hiding."

Lukas didn't reply, in fact he made his best, I don't have a clue as to what you're talking about look.

"You may have the public fooled, but the truth will come out, and I will enjoy breaking your hold on this City. Of all the crooks in this City you are the worst."

"Excuse me? What do you mean crooks? Southern United not only works with law enforcement, but we support their efforts one hundred percent."

"As long as they leave you alone, you mean. I have an idea what it is your company is hiding, all I need it the proof. When I find even the smallest verification of what you're up to, I will be coming for you personally. Do you understand me?"

Lukas shrugged, "not really, but if you are finished I'd like to finish my evening with my guests. I'd invite you to stay, but this is black tie party and well..." Lukas made a gesture towards Statesman, "You seem lacking a jacket let alone a tie."

The Statesman gave him a smirk. He reached out his hand and placed something into Lukas'. Without a word, he turned and walked back towards the entrance. Lukas gave his men a look and they let him pass by them without any trouble.

There were a lot of comments throughout the crowd. The Mayor and Police Commissioner agreed they needed to do something about these vigilantes thinking themselves above the law. Lukas called Mr. Dolan over and had him get the orchestra started again and then a new round of champagne to go with the cutting of the wedding cake.

"Lukas?" Helena said hurrying over to him, taking his arm. "What did he want, why was he here?"

"He's misguided is all. Don't trouble yourself over it, I know I'm not going to. All you need to worry about tonight is my dancing skill." He laughed and led her over to the wedding cake to cut it. When he had a second he pulled the metal object out of his pocket to look at it, in was a brass and silver pin of a Chasseur Infantryman. Well at least he knew who had Anthony. A look towards an unmoving old man in wheelchair didn't reveal too much, but the look in his eyes told him the truth behind the calm surface.

### Chapter 16: Deciding what to do.

As Lukas entered Lord Nemesis' workshop, the man's anger could be felt in the air. By the looks of it the old man hadn't slept last night but had tried to work through his anger and thoughts by pounding metal into submission.

"Tell me exactly what was said." Lord Nemesis said evenly. Lukas recounted the encounter and ended by placing Anthony's pin on the table in front of Lord Nemesis. The wrinkled old hands reached out and gingerly picked up the pin and brought it close for inspection. His hand slammed onto the table with the pin smacking onto the metal surface.

"General, I have to admit this is my fault. I have been waiting to see what these anomalies in mankind's development would do next. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. I see now that these powers do not seem to be advancement but more of a mutation. Not all mutations are good for the world. I want a meeting this afternoon. I want all the officers there."

"Yes sir, is there anything else?" Lord Nemesis waved him off and Lukas turned to leave.

"Oh and General..."

"Yes sir?" Lukas paused to look back.

"That was quite a party last night, you handled events very well and Helena has never seemed happier. Well done."

"Thank you sir, and she's not the only one happy with things." Lukas smiled and left the room.

It took some maneuvering to get all of the officers from various parts of the state to a meeting here in Paragon by two o'clock. Yet, all of the men were settled down in the workshop. The tables had all been moved to form a large "U" shaped table with one table off the open end. At this table Lord Nemesis, General Eisenberg and Colonel Tomain sat facing the officers.

"Gentlemen, I thank you for freeing up time today on such short notice. In the files before you I have outlined our growing concern with the interference of these self proclaimed heroes. We have only seen the intervention of five persons and our conversations with the Marcone family confirms the same five have also plagued them as well. They have no immediate plans to deal with this nuisance. They prefer to wait to see what Southern United will do about them. I have documented the actual known appearances and at this moment it does not appear there is any co-ordination between their efforts, which is good for us. Now if you look at the statistics on each of these you will see some interesting items. Of the five, Vambrace is the least of our worries. It is mechanical armor and I'm sure our own Warhulks will be a good match for it. This Statesman and Maiden Justice both show an advanced level of strength. They can take a lot of physical abuse, but they can give it out even more. I believe just overwhelming them with numbers will suffice. Next you will see the one labeled Stormy... We have learned today he goes by the name Elementar. It would appear he has somehow learned a way to create weather conditions, especially with wind and lightening. Lastly is the one called Dark Watcher. He is the most dangerous of the five. The Statesman may be the most seen, but Dark Watcher is dangerous because no one seems to see him, until it is too late. I don't understand his abilities yet. Those experiencing them have led me to believe he has the ability to manipulate a person's mind... crippling them with their own fear. I believe it is just a matter of catching him off guard. A long shot from a sniper rifle would be the safest way, if we can locate him first. " Lord Nemesis looked around at the faces in the room. He gave them a moment to absorb the information he had just given them.

"Although I had not planned on this for a while yet, I believe it is time to start moving troops and resources into the City. It would be criminal to ignore The Statesman's threat. There is nothing more dangerous than a vigilante that feels he has identified the cause of everyone's problems. So Captain Jensen, what would be the most daunting task to move your operation from the foundries?"

"Simply the movement of the Warhulks, sir, they can't go by truck. They will have to go by box car, to do that we will have to build the box cars ourselves. I have a design already for your approval, but it will take at least a month to be ready to move them."

"We will meet after this Captain to look those over. Colonel Tomain how do we stand on actual troops?"

"We have fifteen hundred in training and can be ready within two days. I would like permission to move what we have ready from our Atlanta foundries. That would give us another five hundred to shore up our lines."

"You know General, I must admit your concern about recruiting has suddenly become apparent. Still two thousand against five individuals, even with super powers can't be a match for our numbers, especially if we add in our mechanical warriors. No I think we will be fine. I wish to meet with each of you privately before you leave. Thank you gentlemen."

### Chapter 17: Laying plans.

General Eisenberg watched the news real with interest as they covered the march of World War I veterans on Washington DC in protest of promised pay. How ironic that this assembly of honored soldiers concealed the movement of five hundred more men. They would spend the march in Washington and then instead of heading back home to the south, they would travel back home to Paragon City and the surrounding area. It was so easy to move about this country. If this had been a plan to take over Europe then they would be horribly restricted to a small area. Better to let that Austrian deal with those problems. He did his best to enjoy the movie with Helena and the rest of the directors. It had been awhile since they had rented out The Liberty, and some private down time was just what everyone needed. It was funny to think that they were safe in a public movie house. The movie started, a new Laurel and Hardy film, but even their antics couldn't distract him for long and his mind went back to his previous conversation with Lord Nemesis, concerning their latest problem.

The problem had been growing as the jaeger production not only caught up with the refits, but started to produce new mechanized warriors. The problem was simple, where to put them all. The solution came when they were breaking ground on a new building and they needed the permits to break into the city sewer systems. Most of the actual sewage was channeled through pipe work four feet in diameter. The rest of the tunnels housed the City's electrical and water lines.

"Lord Nemesis, excuse me but I have an idea I wanted to talk to you about." Lukas said as the looked into Lord Nemesis's office. Very little journals actually remained on the shelves to the left side of room. More corkboard had been placed over the empty shelves and more articles and papers on the five named heroes and a new ones only hinted at covered the boards. Lukas waited for Nemesis to put his pen down and look up from his latest journal.

"Okay, what is this about?" His voice seemed to have taken on an older tone. It was as if his leader was rapidly aging before him these last few weeks. Lukas figured it was the stress of these new heroes. The thought that it could be that Lord Nemesis was quickly approaching the ripe old age of ninety-one didn't enter his mind.

"Well sir, I was thinking about storage areas for Jaegers where they wouldn't be found, at least not easily. My thought was towards the City's sewer system in this part of town. The main sewer lines are self-contained, as are the power and communication lines. There is almost a meter of space, more than enough for Jaeger movement, and it connects this entire part of the City."

Lord Nemesis considered this for a moment. "Please continue."

"We can add warehouse space under the Steinberg, Knotts, and Macy's buildings easily enough because construction is still months from completion. Also our building's sub levels can be converted and tapped into the same system. We can have a crew tap into the tunnels at the shipping terminal and as the trucks come in they can drop off a few at a time. Open the hatch and down they go. Then it's just a matter of guiding them to the right warehouse."

"That is a brilliant idea General... simply brilliant. I would only add one part to that. While we are at it, I would like you to install exit ports at key points through out the city. That way we can move anywhere if need be. It would also give us a way to move our troops around without prying eyes seeing what we are doing. Good work general, very good... I knew there was a reason I liked you."

"Thank you sir that is high praise. I will draw up the appropriate plans and will get them to the work crews by tomorrow morning."

"Very good. Have you also had any thoughts to the box cars containing the Warhulks?"

"Not as of yet sir. It would be too obvious if we suddenly started laying rails when there is no need for them."

"Laying rails... General what if we alter the box car design, most of that space was wasted anyways. What if we made the cars to look like the tram cars. There are always a number of them sidelined for repair or lack of need. We could just mix them in one tram car at a time from anywhere in the city. Spread out over that distance would make them less conspicuous than all of them just sitting in the same rail yard."

"Now it's your turn to be brilliant sir, as usual."

"You are too kind general, too kind... now I must finish this before I can get back to my lab. Thank you Lukas."

"You are welcome sir." Lukas left feeling good about this. It solved so many logistic problems and it would all happen right under the noses of those heroes. He smiled; maybe he should have a crew investigate the tunnels under the Kings Row area. Perhaps a surprise Jaeger attack might improve his mood.

The planning stage was easy enough and the construction workers made quick time with the alterations to the structures. Soon the delivery trucks started dropping off four to six Jaegers at a time and they were guided down under the bowels of the city and shut down to wait use. The tram car idea would take at least five more weeks to get ready, but that only delayed their initial time frame by a couple of weeks.

Lukas had also taken to manning high points around the city with some of his best marksmen. The target was this Dark Watcher. There was only one rule, if you shoot your rifle, you had better hit him. One shot one kill, nothing else would be tolerated. They were not to reveal themselves other wise. The troops now back from the march on Washington, found homes and jobs waiting for them. They quickly adjusted to city life and their duel roles.

General Eisenberg and Colonel Tomain waded through the shinning brass of the stilled Jaegers. Some men moved about tapping off their water supplies and checking the vacuum tubes for any damage. It wouldn't do for the targeting system to malfunction and attack their own troops.

"Do you really think he'll attack those heroes? Sure they're a nuisance but no more so than The Kings."

"He has not mentioned it since our last meeting, but that doesn't mean he has forgotten. I'm sure like all things it will be in his time frame."

"True, but I just don't want him to jeopardize everything by showing his hand too soon. We have been working hard too many years now just to throw it away on a personal vendetta."

"Gerald, you know as well as I do that he does nothing on a whim. If he decides to act it will be the right time to do so."

"Please stop me if I'm out of line, but you are related to him so maybe you don't see it as clearly, but he's not looking that good. I have no doubt that his brain is as sharp as ever, but his body is failing him. Lukas, what will happen if he passes away before things happen?"

Lukas pondered this for a moment. It wasn't the first time he had considered this possibility. Its not one he wanted to consider to tell the truth. But it was true, he had noticed Lord Nemesis' failing body, but maybe the preservation of his memories was his first step to preserving his dreams.

"This is not an appropriate conversation, even between the two of us my friend. Lord Nemesis is if nothing else meticulous in his plans and visions. When the time comes for him to die, rest assured he has planned for it and everything will go according to plan. Knowing him he's also scheduled the day and time he is to die." Lukas said smiling. The two men looked over the rest of the round brass soldiers in silence.

"So did you hear how the Red Socks did last night?" Gerald asked looking sideways to Lukas. Lukas rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a folded twenty dollar bill and handed it over to Gerald. "Thank you very much." Gerald laughed putting the bill into his own pocket.

~~~~

It was the last bit of his conversation Colonel Tomain that kept coming back to Lukas as the movie played on. He tried to laugh with the rest of the audience but it was only in response to them, not with the movie. Helena took his arm and asked if something was bothering him, but he shrugged it off to his lunch not settling well. He made an extra effort to concentrate on the film, but feared he had missed something important as to why Laurel and Hardy had a chimpanzee.

###### Chapter 18: What weapons?

Captain Jensen... well Robert Jensen for the time being, walked through the empty warehouse. The last of his equipment as well as the Warhulks had been moved just that morning. It was an eerie feeling to be in the large echoing structures. His production was being moved to their plant in Atlanta Georgia. This wasn't a better solution, but since Lord Nemesis seemed to have better connections in the south it stood to reason to move there. He himself believed it had something to do with the problems in Paragon City that motivated his decision. That made more sense to him. He shook his head, June in the south was going to be miserable. He grew up in the mountains of Pennsylvania, he would miss the snow.

This area of the foundry would be converted to manufacturing parts for their Canadian counter part. Winning a bid from Great Britain for what they called a Bren, light machine gun, they subcontracted the making of the carriages and barrel braces to this facility. They would have to hire at least sixty more employees plus the fifty needed to replace the soldiers that moved with the labs. This would become just another legitimate business in the Southern Unite Manufacturing Company. With contacts to both the United States' and now Great Britain's weapons needs, Lord Nemesis had the information he needed to build his army better than either country.

Robert looked around one last time and threw the main breaker by the doorway and closed the door behind him. He tested the lock to make sure the latch had caught and moved on back to the main office. He would need to leave his keys there for the next person to be called foreman, his term of duty at this facility was now at a close. He entered the main assembly area and unlocked the door to the office and hung his keys up. He turned off the light and pulled the doorway closed behind him. This shop was always lit with a few over head bulbs for security reasons, but they had never had a need for security itself. The chain link fence with barbed wire tops not to mention being in the middle of nowhere seemed to keep the curious off the property. Robert walked down a long hallway, lined with crates, and turned into the reception area. It was really nothing more than corrugated tin walls defining an eight by ten area with one desk and four chairs that the front doors opened into. He felt himself being grabbed by a figure lost in the shadows and thrown into the wall. The ridges in the tin flattened from the impact and he slid down the wall. Just as he shook himself back into awareness another set of hands grabbed him and slammed him once again into the wall. Robert heard a large cracking sound and prayed it was the wall stud behind the tin and not his back.

"Where are the weapons?" Came a voice from the darkness. At first Robert thought the lights had gone out, but quickly realized that the darkness was more like a black fog and within that fog moved two darker figures. One was a large man the other was shorter, and wore some kind of hat. He found it hard to focus on the shapes as the darkness swirled and moved around them.

He was slapped across the face. Not a slap intended to injure him, but to bring his attention back to the dark figure holding him against the wall, his feet not touching the floor.

"I said... Where are the weapons?"

"Th...th... there in the warehouse. B...b...back th...th... th... over there." He waived his arm in the direction he had just come from. He landed on his feet but the hands still held him upright.

"Lead the way, is there anyone else here right now?" The deep voice demanded.

"No... just me." Jensen suddenly realized he just told these men they were alone. He may have held the rank of Captain but truth be told, he was just a scientist that needed to outrank the men he was commanding. He had no military training, but even without it he knew he had just made what could be a fatal mistake.

"Please d..d...don't hu..ur..urt me."

"Show us." Came the dark command and pushed him back down the hallway they had just come from. Robert did his best to regain his composure and didn't trust himself to speak. He led the men in silence, the creepy black fog licking at his heels kept him motivated to keep moving. They entered the main assembly room and turned to the left and walked toward row after row of wooden shipping crates.

"Here, these are the completed guns. Every thing else is just pieces." He was thrilled that he hadn't stammered this time.

The large figure let him go and moved past him out of the shadows. It was then in the dim light that Robert realized that this large man was The Statesman. So it stood to reason that the other man in the dark fog was the Dark Watcher. A new sense of dread filled his body. The Statesman walked over the crate and without hesitation pulled the top off using only his hands. He quickly moved the packing straw around to reveal six rifles held in place by the crate.

"Where are these going?" He demanded looking up from the box. Robert squinted in the dim lighting to read the numbers painted on the side of the box.

"W...w...well, the numbers on the side of the box indic..c...ate it is going to Fort Mead. That is crate number seventeen of thirty."

The Statesman made an aggravated sound and kicked over the crate as if it was made of cardboard. The rifles clattered out of their packing onto the concrete floor. "My source said those weapons were made here... where are they?"

Robert didn't even think about it, didn't give any outward sign of anything more than the obvious. "You're looking at them. We have several contracts to produce guns for the military. We aren't doing anything wrong here." The Statesman whirled with amazing speed and grabbed Jensen again by this coat and slammed him into a stack of crates. This time he saw dots in front of his eyes and blackness threatened to block them out.

"If you have nothing to hide, then why are these buildings so far from any town? Where are those special weapons?"

"Because no one wants a weapons plant in their back yard? I don't understand what weapons you're looking for."

"You know what weapons I am talking about... where are they at?" The last part of the question was emphasized with another thump against the crates. This time Jensen had no choice as the blackness filled his vision. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and slumped into dead weight in The Statesman's hands. He had no last thought as his body crumpled into a pile on the floor.

Robert woke to himself being put into the back of an ambulance. It took his mind a moment to recognize that he couldn't move. He must have been strapped down to the stretcher. A bandage covered part of his one eye and he tried desperately to remember just how he had gotten this way. The stretcher was secured in the back of the ambulance and he could hear some talking out side. A new figure jumped in the ambulance, the doors closed and Robert could feel the vehicle moving. He tried to focus on the man looking down at him. He tried to say something but his speech came out a garbled mess.

"Easy sir. We'll get you to the hospital first. Your family in Paragon has been notified and will meet us there. Just get some rest."

When next he awoke again he could make out the sterile green tiled walls of the hospital room. His movement was still limited but not like before. His eyes roamed the room to see a man looking out of the window, his back to him. He made to speak but only a croak came out. The man turned to look at him for a long moment before smiling. He walked to the door and called for a nurse. Several minutes went by before the nurse left and Robert was propped up sipping on water.

"You took quite a beating there Jensen, do you feel up to telling me about it?

Captain looked into his General's eyes and shook his head. He tried to speak but his voice came out in a croak, they gave him some water and he started again with the facts from the beginning of the day all the way to blacking out. General Eisenberg laughed at the Statesman's frustration of his insistence as to where the guns were and the Captain's insistence that he was looking at them.

"You did good Captain. From the damage we figured it had to be him."

"The damage sir?"

"Sadly the man must have a temper to match his strength. Ever crate was smashed, the smelters were cracked off their mounts, lathe machines where thrown around like wooden blocks. Then he went on to do the same to machine shop two. The only buildings intact were the empty ones. You did good Jensen. Relax and get well. You'll be in Atlanta in no time." Lukas patted the man on his shoulder and left the room. This was not good, but wasn't totally unexpected. He was just grateful that the trucks had already crossed into Virginia at that moment and that the Warhulks where actually safe and undisturbed through out the city, hidden in plane sight.

### Chapter 19:

June started with Helena announcing to Lukas and her Great Uncle that she was pregnant. Lukas quickly got up and hugged his wife and Lord Nemesis grinned from ear to ear. It was the first time he had seen the man smile since the closing of the company's ruined metal works. It wasn't possible to move the workload to the other plants, so the contracts had been sold off to other bidders. This news however brought that old sparkle into his leader's eyes. The rest of the evening was just about family and family history.

It seemed that the rest of the month was determined to ruin his mood. The foundry was only the first of the attacks on Southern United. Although Lukas filed complaints with the Mayor, without eyewitness proof, there was nothing that anyone could do. As the heroes stopped more and more of everyday crime, most of which was caused by the Kings, the public began to support the heroes and what they were doing. Everyone was supportive of them cleaning up the streets and bringing order to Paragon. Something the police department seemed incapable of doing themselves.

Soon the public outcry for justice was growing out of hand and local papers thrilled to have something to write about that didn't involve how desperately bad the times actually were, started running full page stories on the new crime fighters on Paragon City. The people needed someone to look up to in these dark times and The Statesman suddenly was elevated to being that beacon of hope. Of course the newspapers also felt the need to name that which was responsible for the bad things in the city. For that they blamed the organized crime groups for everything wrong. Of course smart editors would remove the actual mention of names, no one wanted to be directly in the line of fire.

Lukas couldn't believe the latest round of public outcry for getting rid of any city officials found to be "on the take" as they referred to it. It was becoming increasingly harder to do regular business, as people would refuse to see him or his representatives. Most sighting the fear of being found out by someone for taking bribes, or giving contracts to Southern United. Just whom do these people think were keeping the construction and manufacturing industries alive with jobs? Did they complain when he gave money to the hospitals to keep them open? Once Southern United was a welcome member of society, now, society seemed to distancing themselves from it. And this was only from those who knew what was going on, heavens forbid if the general public found out about everything that went on.

Lukas stepped into Lord Nemesis' library. All of the shelves were empty of books and journals, as well as the corkboards. Lord Nemesis sat at his desk reading the day's Paragon Times.

"Not writing in your journal tonight sir?"

"No not tonight. I have a feeling that I'll have no more need to do so from this point forward. The rest will be stored in my head easily enough, I think." He said laying the paper on the desk. It was the first time Lukas noticed Lord Nemesis having to use reading glasses. The older man smiled as his shaking hands took them off. "It is amazing how a single pebble dropped into still water can create ripples that cross the pond. This is what is happening with us today. A single word in print has the entire city in an uproar. Always remember Lukas, a single man is smart, but a group of men are like sheep. They will follow the one man with enough charisma to lead them. Does this sound familiar my friend? That which I have planned has come back to haunt me it seems. But it doesn't matter, not really when you consider time itself."

"So are we giving up here, sir? I mean will we move on to other parts of the country to continue?"

"Give up? No my General. In my younger days I would have had you shot for even mentioning those two words together. There is no need to move on, the sheep are merely confused as to whose hand is actually protecting them. The Statesman gives them hope, but I provide them with food and shelter and honest work. The difference is they have yet to meet their true Shepherd. We will have to introduce them to the real reason they have prosperity when others starve."

"Have you decided on a time frame sir? Perhaps I can start preparing the men, and laying a battle plan."

"I do my good General, but it isn't the time for you to know. I have something that must be completed first. Another plan that needs a little more time to mature and grow, only when I'm sure it will survive in the world on its own, then we will deal with these heroes that would rule my world."

"Sir I mean no disrespect, but are you feeling well? You seem to be..." Lukas hesitated as he searched for the right way to say what was on his mind.

"I seem to be getting old? My mind is still fine general, but yes, my body has suddenly seemed to want to give up the ghost as the saying goes. Will you do as well when you get to be my age, I wonder? Why does this concern you now? We have talked about my dying for awhile now, every body must die."

"Yes sir, but the concern is what happens after you die. You haven't explained what has to be done after that fact. Who will carry on what you have started?" Lukas asked.

"Is that a position you yourself wish?" A sparkle crossed the old man's eyes, but Lukas didn't notice.

"No sir, I will retire to my home in the south with my wife and child. I would not presume to be able to understand what you have been creating here."

"To true... to true... No, rest assured when I have finished with this next phase of my plan the future will all be revealed, just a few more weeks my friend. So now tell me, what is that wife of yours making for dinner this weekend?

Lukas dismissed himself and left Lord Nemesis to his newspaper and a promise to pick him up for Sunday dinner. He wandered through the underground complex just taking in everything. There was a sense of tension in the air, as if time was on hold and would let loose like a spring when the time was right. He remembered the feeling, one he hadn't felt since his first battle during the war. He walked to his private room here, took his gun out of his locker and sat at a table and began to dismantle, oil and clean it. He did his best not to think about what Lord Nemesis meant by no longer needing to write his thoughts down and what that implication might mean.

### Chapter 20: July fourth.

Paragon City celebrated the fourth of July with as much pomp and circumstance as the times permitted. A parade was held in Paragon Heights and ended at City Hall followed by speeches from the local politicians and state representatives. The theme for the day seemed to be taking pride in the city and it's communities. The crowd was inspired at the thought of ending crime and making the city a safe place to live once again.

Lukas was happy that he didn't have to sit through all of the speeches. He had to get to the City Park and fire up the outdoor grills. Southern United held its fifth annual family picnic in City Park. It was a way to give back to the people of the City and give Southern United good publicity. Lukas and Helena enjoyed themselves helping to serve on the food line, while other employees took care of games and entertainment. It wasn't possible to hold fireworks in the park anymore due to the construction going on so it was moved to the shore line where a large garbage scowl had been cleaned and decorated for the honor of setting off the fire works. It was anchored well off the shoreline to ensure everyone could see the spectacle and celebration of the greatest nation in the world. People gathered on the new boardwalk or lay on blankets on the beach itself to watch the fire works. It was a festive show of colored explosions and the entire city seemed to enjoy the celebration.

### July fifth:

"LUKAS!" Nemesis shouted. Even without the internal communications device he would have heard Lord Nemesis' yell from down the hallway. He rushed to the workshop not completely knowing just what to expect. In all the time he had known Lord Nemesis, he had never heard the older gentleman raise his voice. His tone may grow colder, more menacing, but never louder. Rushing into the private workshop to find his leader bending over a lab table his hands pressing something firmly against it. The leg braces hissed as they worked to keep him up right, but seemed to mirror the wearer's mood. "Have you seen the Times this morning?"

"No sir, not yet." Lukas replied crossing quickly over to the table.

"Read this!" Lord Nemesis said poking the article with his finger.

Lukas looked down to the front page of the paper, the headline read:

###### The New Heroes of the City!

...Yesterday, Paragon City not only celebrated July 4th with the usual patriotic flare, but with a new announcement of independence. Not from a tyranny of an oppressing country, but from the tyranny and fear from the criminal elements that have held a death grip on every aspect of our lives. Not even our city officials are immune to the demands of these overlords. In many articles this reporter has pointed out time and time again where our own police departments were unable to fight or turned a blind eye to the crime happening around them. Public outcry for change in our broken system has long been over looked and smoothed over in the Mayor's office and now our cries for help have been answered.

Many of us have heard rumors or stories about the presence, of what the mayor's office called vigilantes, with extraordinary powers. Their Leader, who calls himself The Statesman, was the first to be seen with his costume of red, white, and blue and long cape. He has formally joined forces with others with unique abilities to publicly announce the formation of the Freedom Phalanx. They formed this group with the single purpose; to free our fair city from all crime. From the steps of City Hall, The Statesman proclaimed:

"... We will not rest until all of the criminal elements are eliminated from our City. We will fight not only those breaking the law, but those individuals and companies that believe themselves to be above the law... There are things happening that not even the criminal elements are aware of, and we will put an end to these elements that hide and fester in the darkness..."

~~~~

Lukas didn't move, he didn't speak... he knew very well as to the reference The Statesman was making. The night at his wedding reception was proof of that. With this declaration he just declared an informal war upon Southern United.

"General Eisenberg" the cold menacing voice Lukas seldom heard now surfaced. "What is our current troop status."

"We currently have 2000 troops, two more Warhulks have been completed giving us a total of twenty. At the end of last week we had fourteen thousand melee Jaegers and six thousand range Jaegers."

They stood in silence as Lord Nemesis pondered the information. "Not enough to take over the world, but enough to handle this rabble. Divided everything we have into ten platoons, two Warhulks with each of them. The world will tremble when they see my mechanized army. Those numbers are plenty to take this city and to crush this Freedom Phalanx. History is written by the victors and we will write these would be heroes out of existence."

"Yes Lord Nemesis, it will take us two days to move everything into position."

"Let us plan for Monday the eleventh. We will take full advantage of the confusion of the morning traffic and the food ration lines. The more we have going on, the more it will be in our favor."

"Surely you don't intend to attack civilians sir?"

"Of course not, one doesn't hurt one's subjects willingly. Rather it is their confusion that will keep others from rallying an effective counter attack. Now I think its time to show you my latest invention and just as these... heroes... have come to light, perhaps now is the time for Lord Nemesis to reveal his true self, my new form will strike fear into them. Come with me." Lord Nemesis got off his stool, his hydraulic leg braces supporting him.

They walked to the far side of the workshop to a secure door. Lukas didn't know where it led, nor did he bother to ask. Like so many things with his leader, he would be told if he needed to know. Old fingers turned the safe dial several times.

"Please open it for me. My back can no longer take the strain." Nemesis said, his voice now the old man again. The doorway reminded Lukas of what you would see on a naval vessel only it was thick. It swung open with some effort. Lord Nemesis stepped over the door lip and with a motion of his hand the lights turned on. Lukas stopped as he took in what he was looking at. The room's ceilings were at least two stories tall but the room itself was only twelve by twelve. The two side walls were filled with gauges and vacuum tubes. Standing in front of him stood what Lukas thought was a statue of a giant soldier. It stood at least ten feet tall and was made of brass. Behind the statue was a large set of doors in proportion to the size of the statue.

"What do you think of my creation?" Nemesis asked with a proud tone in his voice. He walked over to one set of gauges and threw a large levered switch. Every gauge and dial lit up, every vacuum tube glowed to life. Lukas could hear the sudden release of steam in near by pipes. As he looked around in wonder, the statue suddenly stood a little bit straighter. Lukas was startled when the eyes began to glow amber color in the dim light.

"And just what is your creation sir?" Lukas asked as his thought process started to formulate understanding. The closer he walked towards it, more his eyes picked out very tiny lines where the metal pieces fit together so tightly not an edge showed. He ran his finger tips down one leg. The tips of his fingers registered the seams but he couldn't get a fingernail beneath one. An arm twitched and understanding finally came.

"This is a Warhulk?"

"No I call this an automatronic... well my automatronic to be specific. That St. John-Smythe really is a bright man. If he had my research to add to his own he would probably be almost as far along as I am. Warhulks are just merely machines guided by their pilots. An automatronic can be so much more. Everything that I am, everything that I will be will be a part of this structure. All of my journals, my entire library can be accessed by my creation. You once asked me what I would read them with. Inside this room and in others like this one, house everything that I am and when connected I have access to everything that I have ever known and so much more. With this suit, within these walls I will live for ever."

"So you will ride inside this suit of armor?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Why did you use brass? That won't withstand bullets for long."

"If it was normal brass I would have to agree, but this is only brass plating on top. Each piece is a combination of thin layers of metal and metal woven fabric, all bonded together. It is harder than steel when it comes to impacts because it will actually flex a little like skin. Since each piece fits so precisely, putting a dent into it will be very difficult."

"You don't think the size will be a problem?" Lukas asked looking up into the glowing eyes.

"Perhaps, but the advantages of having the larger structure is a stronger skeleton of sorts, and the larger actuating cylinders will provide for my own super human strength. It is very Greek God like don't you think?"

"Well if you disregard the uniform part of it, I'd have to agree. So how do you get into it? I don't see a hatch of any type." Lukas said as he walked around the mechanical soldier. On the back of the automatronic was the massive power plant. What he took for decorative spikes rising off the shoulders proved to be exhaust pipes . The forearms where large and cylinder in shape with what looked to be a series of hatches running around them. Lukas just naturally figured it would be weapons of some sort.

Lord Nemesis shook his head and moved to sit in a wooden chair by one side. "No General, there is no hatch because no one climbs into it."

"No one climbs into it? I don't understand, how ill you control it then?"

"Grab another chair and I will try to explain." Lord Nemesis waited for Lukas to bring another chair into the cramped room to sit near him. Both men looked intently into each others eyes. "In all of my research, in all of my tinkering and inventing, I have come to realize that our bodies are nothing more than elegant machines. Machines with one flaw, they wear out. Our lives are only this short because our bodies can not be adequately repaired over time. The brain how ever is different. There are no working parts, it is a storage device. Some bits run continuously, working heart and lungs; while other parts take an active thought to trigger, like speech or walking. Seeing and hearing is nothing more that the brain processing that information and storing it. I can not go into year's worth of research but let us say I can duplicate what is inside my brain onto the mechanical processor of my creation."

General Eisenberg sat in stunned silence as the magnitude of his words finally struck home. He meant to copy his brain into that... automatronic and live forever as a metal god. If it had come from anyone else he would have laughed at the notion, but not coming from Lord Nemesis. He had seen too many things in his time with him to doubt this plan. He would have loved to ask so many questions but he also knew he wouldn't understand the answers. But there was on question that he knew he had to ask.

"Sir, what about Helena? Have you told her your plans yet?" He already knew the answer to that but he needed to ask it himself.

"No general, I have not. She has been with me since her mother and father died. And they were with me before her. She is the only remaining relative that I have. With everything that I plan I have never hesitated about the costs, but with her... I have not been able to bring myself to tell her. Surely she knows that this body will fail soon. I do this to preserve who I am for all of eternity. So even time can not undo my plans for a unified world. And yet, when she looks at me with those blue eyes, I always hesitate... But the days of hesitation are at an end. Several things have come together and several more are about to be put into motion. If you will bring her around for dinner tonight, perhaps with my second in command by my side I will be brave enough to tell her."

"My lord, have you considered how much one explanation will lead to another? Won't the telling of one secret lead to another?"

"I have thought it through, but have yet to come to the right conclusion. All I can say is I trust you to follow my lead."

"Always sir." Lukas gave a quick smile. He looked at the brass god before him and shook his head to clear away the distractions of doubt and concern. There was a battle to plan for and a lot to do before that time.

~~~~

Dinner was a pleasant affair but the mood was tense. As they settled into a desert of apple pie, Helena set her fork down and looked at the two men.

"All right out with it. I haven't known you all my life," she said looking to her great uncle, "and you for the last six years" she looked at Lukas, " to not know when you're keeping something from me. Now I know there are things I shouldn't know, but do and there are things I should know, but don't. By the way you two are acting I'd say this is the latter. So out with it." Her blue eyes flashed so much like her great uncle's it was scary. When no one spoke right away she touched her napkin to her lips and set it on the table beside her plate. "All right then, let me start this. I have always known that Southern United isn't as forthright as everyone seems to believe. I have seen more gunfire than some soldiers have and it was never a random act. I also know that some of your inventions are far more advanced than anything I have ever seen. I marvel whenever I catch a glimpse at the items you create from nothing. If I had to guess, I'd say you haven't been sharing your toys with anyone else. As for you my dear husband. Your men slip up more than you notice. I happen to know you were a corporal in the war, so when one of them calls you general, I know its not a war reference. Now don't give me those surprised looks my good men. You seem to forget whom I am related to. Now I don't have all the details, but I know something is happening. So out with it."

Lord Nemesis looked at her for a moment and then started to chuckle. "And that my good General is why she is truly the one in charge of our lives. Yes my dear, Southern United is more than a thriving business. Yes at first we needed to use criminal tactics to achieve our goals but it has been a long time since we actually had to do anything despicable. Although we are not beneath helping those with political ambition to get what they want for favors at some later date. It is these Heroes of the City that are creating a problem we can no longer ignore. We did our best just to ignore them, but they didn't go away like I had hoped. I know now we will have to face them and prove to everyone once and for all time just who is the real hero, the real savior of this great city."

"This is about that news paper article from yesterday isn't it?"

"Yes my dear. These heroes seem to believe we are to blame for the criminal state our city is in."

"That's preposterous!"

"We all know that, but none the less our past has come to haunt us and we are backed against the wall."

"So what are you going to do?"

"We have several options depending on how open minded these heroes wish to be." Lord Nemesis said calmly. He met Helena's gaze directly and was very impressed with her control. She was indeed very much like him and he wondered why he had not seen it before. Perhaps he needed to rethink his views on women.

"So why do they call you General?" Helena said letting her uncle's vagueness go for the time being and concentrating on her husband.

"Every organization needs a chain of command, and being military men it just seemed natural"

"That makes sense, but from now on don't make me pull the information out of you." She warned sternly. The evening ended and Lukas and Helena drove home in silence for awhile. Helena turned to Lukas and asked. "So tell me General, just why do they call you Eisenberg?"

Lukas's head hit the back of the cab as he jerked it upward with a start. He looked at his wife, she looked at him intently but had a half smile on her lips, her eyebrows raised in question. He knew he would have to explain more, but that this might be a good time to come clean on several items.

###### Chapter 21: July ninth

Coming clean on his real name and the reason for the secrecy was barely enough to keep him in her good graces. Helena made it clear that she wasn't changing her last name to Eisenberg. Since Lukas had been living without his real name all of these years when around her, then he could just give it up. Lukas did finally convince her to do a little bit of traveling for a little while. His concern for her and their unborn child was becoming a distraction. What finally won her over on this idea was his explaining to her that Lukas Eisenberg owned a small estate in Atlanta, Georgia with nothing in it but an occasional servant to keep it clean and in good order. What completed the deal was he gave her free reign and a sizeable budget to decorate their summer home. Helena hesitated to say good bye to her husband but even more so to her great uncle. He was the only family she had known for most of her life. Both men sent her off with smiles on their faces and Helena knew they hadn't told her the entire truth, but she would find that out after she came back home.

"You followed my lead very well in this matter, I am impressed." Lord Nemesis said as he engaged his leg braces and headed for the elevator. "Did I ever tell you why I made you my general?" He asked without looking over his shoulder.

"Aside from the fact you and my father were friends? I figured it was my handsome looks and rapier wit." Lord Nemesis chuckled.

"I can honestly say your looks had nothing to do with my decision."

Lukas smiled and replied, "That's good, I would feel a bit uncomfortable if it had been otherwise."

They waited for the elevator doors to close before Lord Nemesis continued. "No my young friend, I could tell right away you were a man of discretion. Have you ever told anyone about the time you had to rescue your friend from that brothel for non payment?" Lord Nemesis chuckled to see Lukas' startled reaction, "I see you have not broken your promise to him." The old man held up his hand to forestall any questions or comments on the matter. "I appreciate that you know how to keep your word, you may question the way an order is executed but never the order itself. You never ask about things that don't concern you, and yet you are far from being a lap dog. Also your ability to think, adapt and anticipate makes you a valuable commander. I know I can count on you to do anything I command of you."

"Thank you sir, that is high praise indeed. I'm just honored to be of service to you and your vision of a perfect world. A world I hope my children will see some day." Lukas then cleared his throat not entirely comfortable with this praise.

They entered the now packed workshop. Scientist busied themselves repairing problems and making adjustments to units of their mechanical army. They joined a group of men standing around a cluster of work tables now shoved to one side. On the table a detailed map of Paragon City was spread out.

"So gentlemen, what do you think of our chances against these five?" Lord Nemesis asked but didn't expect an answer. "Are there any questions?" Colonel Tomain looked to Lukas and then to Lord Nemesis.

"Sir, the battle plans itself I understand, but what I still don't see is how we are going to get them to attack us? We could be waiting for them all day looking like a parade that has no where to go."

Lord Nemesis gave the Colonel a stern look, but then yielded to the thought of divulging this bit of information. "We know where St. John-Smythe and his Vambrace creation are kept. We will make a not so discrete daylight attack on his lab at the University. If we are successful then we will be down one "hero" right then and there. Odds are we will not be, so do not count on it. The commotion will bring them running. Our squads will take up position at the Center Square between Freedom and Victory Drives. They will be hard to miss from that point. Once we have them drawn them in, then we will close in on their flanks. Are the Warhulks in position?"

"All but two my lord, the map shows a siding rail off of twenty-seventh avenue, but they were pulled last year when we started the Macy's building. So I need to know just where to place them." Captain Jensen answered while pointing to the location of where they were supposed to go. The Macy's building was one of the ones with a modified sub basement to store the jaegers and troops in. They would need a set of rails close enough to that point if the Warhulks are to be with their squad fast enough to command them.

"General, have those two cars hooked up to the morning commuter trams. When they make their stop here along twenty-eighth avenue. Just disconnect them and leave them sit at the station. I doubt any of that rabble will actually notice that they aren't moving."

"Yes Lord Nemesis." Lukas said making a mental note to get with Captain Jensen after the meeting.

"Colonel Tomain, I trust all of your sniper groups are now in place and are keeping themselves hidden?"

"Yes sir, I found myself with an extra squad after taking care of the placements you requested. So I added more snipers here... here... and here." He said pointing out of various buildings with the best chance to a line of fire.

"Very good, Colonel. So now gentlemen, if there is nothing else, I really need to complete something else. General, please make sure I am not disturbed."

"Yes sir." Lukas walked a few paces with Lord Nemesis out of earshot of the others. "Sir, do we tell the Southern United employees not to come to work on Monday?"

"No, if this goes well, they will be witness to the glory of our army... but if not, then they will be nothing more than what they are now... employees that don't know anything."

###### Chapter 22: July tenth

Lukas had spent the day packing the last of their apartment and having it sent to a warehouse over in Norwich Connecticut. It would be safely out of the way and harder to find under his Eisenberg name. Regardless of what Helena thought, having two legal names had many advantages. It wasn't that he was afraid they would loose, but having worked with Lord Nemesis for so many years, and his father before him, you learned that having only one back up plan is not enough. Besides with a child coming, he thought it time to purchase a new home. He had been looking into that new development just west of the ports. The city planners decided to keep the zoning for families only, no businesses. The thought was to encourage wealthier families to build larger estates near the city. With the waterway between them and the downtown area it should be a peaceful place to raise a family.

Lukas found himself pacing back and forth with nervous energy. It had been a long time since he experienced anything like this. The little skirmishes with the Kings were nothing compared to what was going to happen tomorrow. This was an all out battle and the part that irritated him was that he didn't really know who or what they were fighting against. True they had seen some of their powers, but had they seen them all? Were there still only the five of them or had they found more, which were willing to fight for their "justice"? Lukas called down for a car to be brought around. It wouldn't do any good being here like a bird in a cage.

For lack of a better idea he had his driver drop him off at The Liberty. He bought his ticket and entered the building. He smiled at the young girl behind the candy counter and headed up to the private box. He didn't remember what was on the screen, he sat lost in his own thoughts, battle plans and troop movements, company bids and meeting payrolls, a beautiful wife and his first child; all these thoughts swirled around in his head. He had to wonder if all of this bogged his mind down, how much more must move through Lord Nemesis' mind. How could one man think in so many directions, connect so many things and not go insane. Perhaps he was an insane old man and he was just realizing it.

"You know Mr. Reese, this is the third showing that you've sat through. Honestly the movie isn't that good. Life is a funny thing." George said sitting next to him, and Lukas hadn't seen him come in.

"How so George?"

"People think to much from time to time. We get so caught up in thinking about this or that, that we miss what our eyes are seeing right in front of us."

"What is it our eyes are seeing then?"

"They're seeing a really bad movie and they're wondering what they did wrong to deserve such a punishment to have to sit through it three times."

Lukas had to laugh, "I must admit that I do have a headache. So that's my eye's doing?"

George smiled, "Indeed it is Mr. Reese. So where is the lovely Mrs. Reese? If you don't mind my asking that is."

"She's off visiting friends."

George shook his head knowingly. "Well then, I will suggest Johnny's two blocks over. He serves an amazing pot roast on Sundays."

"That does sound good, thank you George." Lukas stood and put his coat on and followed George down the private steps. He stopped George at the bottom. "George, you've been a good friend and a loyal supporter of Southern United. I can't tell you why, just make sure you and your family and employees find other places to be tomorrow morning, if you get what I mean." George locked eyes with Lukas for the first time he could remember.

"You know Mr. Reese, running a movie theater is a little like running a bar. You can't help but hear things... some good, some bad, some made up... you and your company have been good to me and this community. A lot of us owe you our lives, quite literally sometimes." Both men smiled at the reference. "We can do a lot worse, if you get what I mean. Take care of yourself." Lukas shook George's outstretched hand and bid him farewell. He turned left and decided to walk down to Johnny's.

###### Chapter 23: The Morning Rush

The morning of July 11th broke with an unusual wind coming in off the Atlantic. The tropical storm that had hugged the shoreline was quickly approaching but still looked like it would avoid landfall. The storm just seemed content to fill the sky with clouds of various shades of grays. It was a pleasant change from the usual July heat. As the sun first broke the curve of the earth it turned the underside of the clouds a crimson red and cast an eerie glow on the sleeping city, as if Mother Nature herself was foreshadowing the events of the day. Within moments the reds vanished into hues of violet and orange. As the sun rose above the cloud line the day turned a dreary gray. Lukas drank the last of his coffee and headed back down off the rooftop of his apartment building. Unbeknownst to his wife, the coffeepot and a military cot were all that remained of their apartment. Soon those two items would also be gone. For better or worse they will not be coming back to this place.

He entered the Southern United building and headed down to the planning area. Lord Nemesis was in his uniform of solid black with gold buttons and piping. Lukas went and changed into his own black with gold and grabbed his hat on the way out of changing room. His mirrored polished boots clicked on the concrete floor as he crossed over to the main table. Two officers sat at a small desk with a wireless sending out dots and dashes faster than Lukas could think. The reply came back, and the second officer wrote down what was received. The wireless itself was not a new technology, but Lord Nemesis created mobile units that ran on batteries that could be charged by turning a crank. The observers carried the units on their backs and the Morse key was attached to a bracer on the soldier's forearm.

"Sir, Sniper post seven has a clear view of the campus. The Hussar are ready and waiting for your signal." The Hussar squad was the most highly trained soldiers Lord Nemesis had. These men would charge into oncoming bullets if that is what it took to win the day. Now they were poised to attack a college campus. It seemed a bit over kill to Lukas.

"Good Sargent, send the word to proceed with do haste and extreme predigest against that laboratory."

"Yes sir."

Lukas swallowed hard, it had begun.

Part 1: Battle for Paragon University.

The Captain of the Hussar squad watched the hand gestures of his communication officer on a rooftop across from the campus through his binoculars. They could begin their attack and they were meant to make a lot of noise doing so. They broke out from the cover of the alley way beside the Franklin Science building. Twelve large soldiers, in black uniforms with brass chest, shoulder, and leg guards all baring a roaring lion's head. The helmets were also brass with a black bristle mane running form the top down the back. They ran full speed to the front entrance where they came face to face with the students that were just starting their school day. They scowled as the student's expressions moved from stunned silence, to out-right laughter. Catcalls filled the air as people wondered were the parade was to- Halloween was months away- to why did they wear their buckets on their heads.

The Captain smirked as he pulled the preferred weapon of the Hussar from his back where it hung by a strap. The large brass gun had multiple barrels in a circle, much like the Gattling Machine Gun, only with a wider diameter. A second cylinder was behind this. Two handgrips were mounted on this last one. One was on the side and the other was a pistol grip off the bottom. The captain's left hand pulled the side trigger and the barrels started rotating, then he pulled the pistol trigger. Pointing the gun at the trees above the student's heads, the gun thundered into life in one long gun blast. Leaves, branches, and chunks of wood fell onto of the students. The captain let the trigger loose and there was a moment of silence.

Then all chaos broke loose as students ran every which way screaming at the top of their lungs. Books and papers fell to the ground now forgotten as they fled in terror.

The captain grinned and signaled the squad to move into the building. They could see the faces of the students looking out of the windows at the commotion. Inside the Captain walked up to a student in a letterman sweater.

"Excuse me but I need to know where I can find Professor St. John-Smythe's laboratory." He said in a polite voice. The student looked at him and the gun in his hand and just pointed down a set of steps. "Thank you, now if you will be so kind as to get everyone out of this building before it catches fire." The boy just looked at him dumbly, not really sure what to do or what was happening. "Fine, get out." He grabbed him by the jacket lapel and half pushed half threw him back towards the door. He reached for cylinder from his belt, kicked in a supply closet door and pulled the pin. He pulled the door closed as the smoke started billowing form the canister.

"FIRE!!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs and headed down the steps. He was pleased to hear the thundering footsteps and shouting coming from the floor above. Room after room they checked in quick military efficiency until they of course came to the last room, by the looks it would be the size of half the building. They kicked in the doorway and rushed in spreading out to either side of the room. An arc of electricity flew across the room but missed the men.

"Marching band practice is the next building over." Came a tinny sounding voice from the metal armor facing them.

The Hussar stood up as one, rifles drawn to open fire on the cocky hero. The captain's rotary cannon roared again blowing apart everything in its way, tracing a line across the room towards Vambrace. His suit provided him with amazing speed and he raced away directly into the soldiers on the left side, taking them to the ground and shocking them. Vambrace jumped and ducked behind another shelving unit as everyone opened fire on the moving metal man.

"Brandon, ground yourself!" Came a shout off to their right. A man in a lab coat now stood on top of a desk looking at the attackers. Not hesitating, the man reached over and pulled a large lever. To late the captain realized the floor was made up of metal plates. The captain didn't try to warn anyone, he used his time to drop his gun and reach for another canister. As he felt the electricity race up his legs he dropped it onto the floor. The canister rolled away from him sparking from the charge. Too late the professor saw it rolling under a piece of equipment. The metal box of wiring, gauges, and switches took most of the blast and was shredded into a tangled mess of metal. The electricity now disrupted, the Hussar slowly got back to their feet.

Brandon took advantage and threw James over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and ran out of the room and up the steps.

"Set the explosives," the captain said. Each man placed a larger canister around the room and on important looking pieces and equipment and ran an electrical cord back to a center brass box. The captain turned the timer dial and turned it on. The men ran back the way they had come in. The captain was pleased to see no one was in or near the building as they exited and ran across campus. The explosion lifted the science building off its foundation and then it collapsed into itself. The squad jumped into the back of the waiting flat bed work truck and went as fast as it could go down university drive then turning north onto Freedom Avenue.

###### Part 2: Running the Gauntlet

The Sargent reported the build had just exploded and the squad was headed north on Freedom. The one called Vambrace was in pursuit.

"Sargent notify the sniper positions they are to take a shot if they can get one." Lord Nemesis said. Lukas could see the excitement in his eyes just like the old days on the battle field, but he didn't miss his leader grasping his hands together to keep them from shaking. Lukas walked to his side of the table and pulled a flask from an inner pocket. One of the few items he had left from his father, on it was engraved CSA. He opened it and handed it to his leader.

"My father said it was a standing tradition between the two of you before a battle. He would supply a taste of whiskey before and you would supply the tobacco afterwards." Lord Nemesis took it and smiled then took a long pull from it to calm his shakes.

"I had forgotten about that. I will have to find us some cigars for later." He said handing the flask back to Lukas who also took a long pull form it.

Vambrace raced down the street, having to avoid the morning traffic and crowded sidewalks as people made their way to jobs they were fortunate enough to have. Fire trucks raced past him heading back towards the university.

Several Lancer soldiers raised their sniper rifles and focused on the moving metal man. Some of their hidden positions were from several blocks away. In their scopes Vambrace paused due to traffic and it was a pause he couldn't afford. No one heard the long rifles of the lancers as they squeezed the triggers. Three large caliber slugs hit Vambrace two from a front angle and one from the side. He was picked up and thrown several feet only to crash onto the sidewalk, cracking the concrete. Pedestrians startled by this just started running, unsure what was happening but knowing they didn't want to be anywhere near it. Vambrace got first to his knees then to a couching position. This exposed him once again and two more slugs effectively knocking him off his feet again hit him. The snipers watched through their scopes waiting for a target to present itself. Both the Lancers and the observers noticed what they first thought was a smoke screen rapidly moving down the street, but it didn't dissipate. One observer then noticed it moved contrary to the direction of the wind.

The Sergeant interpreting the dots and dashes wrote down the latest report of this smoke screen and gave it to his commander who in turn gave it to Lord Nemesis.

"I don't think this is smoke, perhaps a fog. I think that Elementar has a new trick up his sleeve. Tell the Lancers to shoot any shadows they see within the fog. Carefully mind you."

The Lancers looked for anything to shoot at within their sights, but the fog was so thick and complete, there was just nothing to target. They watched in aggravation as the fog retreated up the street and behind a building out of sight, but Lancers where like spiders, they could wait for hours, even days for their prey to come. At the range of their weapons it would be next to impossible get out of their line of fire in any direction.

Several long minutes passed when there was suddenly a burst of clatter on the wireless. So much so, it was hard for the Sergeant to interpret what was happening, then it started to clear out. Then only one sentence came through before the observers in the by the University route went dead.... "He can fly."

"Who can fly... which one... how can they fly..." The room burst into clatter.

"SILENCE" Came Lord Nemesis' voice. The room fell silent and all turned to look at their leader. "It is pointless to speculate and is in our best interest to count on more than one with this ability. They have been moving their pieces as carefully as we have. Well played Statesman. General redirect our efforts to the square we will not waste our efforts on stalling them any further."

"Yes Lord Nemesis." Lukas went to the communications operator and gave the necessary orders.

"General Eisenberg, if you are done please walk with me."

Lukas followed Lord Nemesis down the hall into his personal workshop and then to the private workshop doorway. He turned the dial combination and gestured towards the door.

"Would you mind?"

Lukas pulled the doorway open and stepped aside as Lord Nemesis entered.

"General... Lukas, my heart is beating like a sparrow's. This body is expiring faster than I had hoped. It would appear that now would be a good time to present the new Lord Nemesis to the world. I will greet these heroes when the time comes, and it will not be in this shell of a body. Your orders until I arise are to keep to the plans we have discussed. You are not to go out there yourself for any reason, do I make myself clear?"

"Sir I really don't think..."

"Lukas, stopped thinking for once. Will you follow my orders or not?"

"You know I will my lord. And what do I tell to..." Lord Nemesis held up his hand to stop him.

"Let her grieve an old man and move on with her life." He held up a packet and handed it to him. "You General are my last line of defense. Your orders are in here, follow them to the letter. Understand?"

"Yes sir, I will. Sir, will you feel anything in that metal body?"

Lord Nemesis' eyes flared, "That my good friend is the right question." He smiled and pulled a lever and the outer hatch closed him off from the rest of the world.

###### Part 3: New Face, Face Off

The thing about winning a battle is not the attack itself, but waiting for the right moment to attack. Lukas was a patient man. He would wait all day if need be, the heroes would come to them. How could they not? He had received a message that the police department had started to set up road blocks and warned citizens to stay indoors and away from windows. It would only be a matter of time until the streets were cleared. By now everyone knew of the large gathering of armed men at the center square, wearing older style uniforms. If it wasn't for the guns people might think it was some sort of Prussian Pride Protest. Lukas laughed at that thought as he tried to say that several times fast.

The lights flickered again, and that brought Lukas' thoughts back to his leader. This was the fourth power drain since his leader had gone into his room. His instructions were clear on events, during and after, so for now he had to wait. There was a large thud that shook the floor with the next power drain and then all was silent.

"Calm down everyone, that was just our Lord Nemesis and unless I'm mistaken he is heading out to do battle." Lukas said keeping his own voice neutral. Several more minutes passed until the wireless began it dots and dashes.

"Well sergeant?"

"Observer nine says a large brass statue has just come up in the middle of the square but its not moving."

"Inform everyone that is not statue, that is our Lord Nemesis and he will be moving soon enough."

Lord Nemesis didn't have much time to adjust to his new body and doubted he would be up to more that just standing here for awhile. Walking proved to be an interesting adventure just by itself. His body's inputs gave his brain just as much information if not more than his human body had, it was just a matter of the imprinted brain sorting it all out. Why he didn't do this a few days ago escaped him. He knew within time everything would become second nature, but it was irritatingly slow at this moment. He scanned his troops before him. Five Hundred of his armiger infantry knelt at the read in a square around him. Facing all four directions and now scanning the sky for the upstarts.

Observers reported another fog bank this one coming from the City Park area and it was moving fast. While from the south came the blur of blue and red flying above the buildings. Nemesis focused his gaze to an alleyway off to the west just to make sure the darkness wasn't a malfunction, but it wasn't. The darkness seemed to slither out from the shadows and in the middle of the black fog stood the Dark Watcher. Within seconds The Statesman landed next to the Dark Watcher, in the moving blackness. His cape seemed to move in a breeze that wasn't there. A minute later a fog bank rolled in encompassing everything limiting visibility to no more than a few yards. As it thinned, and mingled with the darkness Lord Nemesis could make out all five of the heroes facing him from across the street.

The Statesman took three steps forward and held his hands up in a gesture of being unarmed and not wanting any trouble. He looked to Colonel Tomain, judging him to be in command by his uniform and where he stood behind his troops. "You are to surrender now and face charges warranted to your criminal activities."

Colonel Tomain smirked, "I am afraid I have no authority to negotiate with you. You will need to take this conversation up with our leader."

"And who would that be?" Statesman asked placing his closed fists on his hips.

"I see introductions are in order." Lord Nemesis said, his voice volume just a little too loud. He made a mental adjustment to that. He was please to see the startled reactions of everyone as he spoke. His wasn't a simple speaker in a helmet, his body was mostly animated. He took great pains to make sure his face would be as life-like in function as possible. He moved his closed fists to his hips mimicking the Statesman's stance. "I am Lord Nemesis and you are the ones creating the problem. Paragon City is under my care, we didn't ask for your help."

"I don't recall your name being on the last election ballot," came the snide remark form the shadowy figure.

"I seem to remember that the politicians didn't help any of the city's citizens through these dark times. I at least provided jobs, incomes, pride."

"You did it by extortion, blackmail, and murder. You accomplished what you did by making everyone fear you."

"blah.... I did what had to be done to bring about a better system. You can not deny the people are better off here than anywhere else in the world. You are the ones behaving criminally. I placed my will on the city and it improved and with the exceptions of some maladjusted individuals. What will happen if you have your way?

"What we think doesn't matter, it's the people's choice how they live their lives. We are only giving them back their choice. That's something you took away from them."

Nemesis waved Statesman's comment off with one hand. "How is your self righteousness any different? You say I took away their right to choose but you do the same....unless I am mistaken and you took a poll of the city's citizens wishes? I give you this chance to reconsider your actions and motives in all of this."

The woman laughed, "We follow the law of our land, we support our government and you want us to consider our motives? Seems to me you are the one who is self-serving here."

Nemesis shifted his position to face her better, he was pleased to notice that this simple act of banter was helping his mind adjust to movement. "Tell me Ms. Justice, what business man isn't self serving. Its his drive and views of how he sees the world that makes his company successful or causes it to die. Yes I am self-serving in what I want to come to pass to succeed. All of my employees benefit from my success, and their success feeds other businesses. Out of chaos, I have created a well balanced economic system."

"Most business men don't murder, to achieve their goals." Said a man in gray and blue, "That must be Elementar." Thought Lord Nemesis.

"Most businessmen don't create their own army." Said Vambrace.

"Look around you, if this was any other city you would see more crime than what we have. Show me a forthright family man and I will show you a man who would do anything to keep his children fed. I've made it so they don't have to make that choice. Yet here stands the grand Freedom Phalanx in front of me, judging me like a common pick pocket. Up until today I have had no need for an army, but a wise man prepares. I just happen to produce weapons for the military, so it stands to reason I have better resources to protect my interests than the average business man."

"We merely enforce that law. You will be judged in a court of law, not by us. So come out of that mechanical suit and surrender. It will go much easier for everyone." Statesman said flatly.

Lord Nemesis shifted his stance to match that of Statesman's again and locked his electronic eyes on the man with a cape. The city was oddly quiet, only the sound of the wind whistling down the channels of stone, metal and glass. With the wind also came another sound, the sound of metal on pavement, like multiple hammers striking again and again. Lord Nemesis gave a slight smile, which he was pleased that he could actually feel himself doing so.

"Again I say you might want to reconsider your position on this matter."

##### Chapter 24: Brass Monday part 1

General Eisenberg waited until the observation posts checked in and confirmed that the known five heroes where now facing Lord Nemesis and that there was no other movement heading that way.

"Sergeant, send out the order to muster the troops to the Center Square."

"Yes sir." He replied and sent off the command.

In secret storage areas under buildings men rushed through a sea of brass and turned activation keys, then pulled the key out to let it drop to the floor. Water boiled and generators turned. Single glass eyes glowed red and metal legs adjusted themselves as the jaeger army ran through self-diagnostics. The hatch was opened and an officer took a whistle to his lips and blew the command. The jaegers turned to face him then stepped out into the city sewer system, to follow their leader. In single file they marched their red eyes illuminating the dark sewers. From four main staging areas they filed out. At key intersections parts would break away from the main to join their commanders. Along the way groups of soldiers would join them to form the ten platoons of Lord Nemesis' army. Each platoon consisted of the two Warhulk commanders, one hundred and fifty soldiers of various ranks and standings, and two thousand jaegers.

They spread out under the city to find the maintenance access tubes that led to the surface and out into the overcast morning light. Around the City twenty men stood up, some looking like hobos, some construction workers, some businessmen, and stripped off their clothes. Underneath their disguises they wore suits of rubber. They then climbed into various trams and started throwing levers. The trams hissed open to reveal the Warhulks lying down. Once the sides were down, the beds of the trams elevated the Warhulks into a standing position and the pilots scrambled into them and activated the fluid intakes. The murky green slime filled the cockpit and suspended the pilots. The pilots moved their arms and legs testing them. Then some knelt to pick up long rifles, some flame guns, while others just had a massive hammer. The Warhulks stepped down onto the ground and moved to wait for their platoons to arrive.

The jaegers and soldiers quickly filed out, flooding the streets with brass and red or blue uniforms. The platoon leader moved his Warhulk forward and everyone fell in behind him. The jaegers formed eight lines across the road, two hundred and fifty rows and the soldiers followed them. The second Warhulk took the last spot in line to complete the line of communication. Then they started off towards the central square and victory. People looked out of their windows down at the various processions wondering just what was going on. The ten platoons moved quickly towards the Center Square, approaching it from all four directions. Two platoons from the west, south, and east while four came from the north.

Nemesis had learned from General Lee that there was no such thing as a sure thing. There is no perfect plan that you can count on. It was then that he started laying several plans at the same time for the same thing. So when The Statesman launched himself towards him unexpectedly it wasn't a total surprise. What surprised him more was his ability to grab the blur coming at him, swing him around and send him crashing back into the building behind the other four with an explosion of brick. The Statesman got up and dusted himself off with a smile that told Nemesis he too was looking forward to this.

As the sound of hammers came closer the Freedom Phalanx could make out the mechanized army moving towards them, from every possible direction. They turned every way trying to figure out the best course of action. Nemesis watched their reaction to his complete army, please with himself. Clearly he had caught them off guard with this move.

"FIRE!" Came Lord Nemesis' order.

The Freedom Phalanx's attention snapped back to the five hundred soldiers with rifles in front to them, the five acted out of instinct. Elementar reached out his arms to his side and pulled at the air around him, as his arms came back to his body the fog bank reasserted itself and quickly everyone was blanketed in the white, cool mist. Statesman, Maiden Justice and Vambrace charged forward and crashed into the shadowy figures in the fog.

"Troops fall back to the parameters!" Nemesis' voice could be heard over the sounds of hand to hand combat. He knew in this fog humans would be no match to these heroes in hand to hand. For a fleeting moment he caught sight of the woman as she threw a soldier into the mist and was gone again. He concentrated for a moment then his head swam as the lenses in his head switched and the world took on shades ranging from the cool blue of the cold pavement to the white hot body flying right at him... He marveled because he actually felt the impact against his chest armor and then again as he impacted the ground behind him. He pushed the unconscious body off of him and stood up. Concentrating on the colors he began to understand the shapes they made. So this was what a jaeger sees. The biggest marker to friend or foe came from the specially designed brass elements on his soldier's uniform. In this mode of heat vision those pieces where totally black. The black told the jaegers the target was friendly and to avoid harming if possible.

The Heroes:

As the human troops retreated, the metal ones moved in, swarming into the square not hindered by the fog. The first line of jaegers opened their clamshell and two short barrels expended and then opened fire. Vambrace shoved Elementar aside and took the slugs with a sound of a rivet hammer.

"I can't do anything about these metal ones. I'm going after the big guys." Shouted Dark Watcher. He pulled his darkness closer to him and disappeared into the fog. Oddly enough none of the jaegers even seemed to notice his passage.

Statesman and Maiden Justice didn't react as the approaching jaeger's clam shell separated and two spiked maces swung outward on chains to slam into their bodies. They staggered from the momentum but there was no damage that could be seen. Maiden Justice grabbed the next mace and chain and pulled the jaeger off its feet and spun him into the one behind her with a metal crunch. Statesman took a more direct approach and just hammered them into a pile of twitching metal.

Vambrace dove for cover again as another round of bullets flew past him. "How do they know we're not friendly?" His voice came out in gasps. He had taken some serious hits with those snipers and was still feeling the pain. Elementar watched as one of the mechanical things stepped over a fallen soldier. Not one of the four legs touched him. He had an idea and scrambled around a parked car, now looking like Swiss cheese and grabbed the stray helmet found there. He pulled it onto his head and pulled the strap under his chin then stood up slowly.

"Are you crazy? Get down!" Vambrace shouted ready to launch himself out to cover his partner but paused when the jaeger turned towards him, gun barrels opened. It paused a moment then closed itself again. It swung back to where Vambrace was hiding and opened fire again. Elementar smiled at this revelation and made sure to pull more fog in to keep their cover. Looking right at the jaeger he pushed with his hands and a gust of wind caught it and several others and they flew into the air to crash onto the jaegers behind them. He grabbed another helmet and ran back to Vambrace and slammed the metal helmet onto his metal head. It was a very tight fit and the soldier's helmet stretched to fit over Vambrace's head.

"They don't target their own soldiers because of these. Somehow they know not to attack the ones with the helmets. Pretty smart, unless someone figures it out." Elementar explained to Vambrace.

"You'll owe me a new helmet if I can't get this bucket off of mine."

Dark Watcher made his way towards the edge where the fog thinned and pulled his own darkness around him. Sure the soldiers would see the difference, but there would still be no clear target to shoot at. He came to the first Warhulk he could and concentrated. He pulled more of the darkness, the inky black substance that came from what some would call hell itself, and then pushed it towards the driver. The Warhulk staggered back as he was hit with his own fears. Dark Watcher pulled more and then pushed again. The Warhulk staggered again and then started twitching and turning. The man's own fears got the better of him and the Warhulk opened fire. His large rifle turned several jaegers into scrap metal. "This is going to be fun" Dark Watcher thought to himself and then started his attack on anyone close by.

Not having to take cover anymore Elementar strolled into the sea of oncoming metal beasts and reached his hands and thoughts to the sky above. It took a minute but soon the sound of ice bouncing off of metal could be heard. The sound didn't stay small for long as the hail grew to the size of apples and rained down for half a city block damaging everything in its path. The aftermath of the ice storm was the jaegers didn't read the ice as a hazard and found themselves slipping on it. Their legs going in every direction, and crashing into each other or toppled to the ground.

Vambrace walked up to the nearest jaeger and placed his hands on either side to send an electrical charge through it. It twitched and then smoked. He could hear the popping sound as the vacuum tubes inside of it, exploded. Beneath his armor he smiled and started clearing out a path of his own. He would need to recharge soon but he would worry about that when the time came. Inside the flog bank the pile of mangled metal just kept building up. Statesman jumped to a new area as the mound he was standing on was growing to big to maneuver. He shook his head in frustration. No matter how many he took care of they just kept coming. He no sooner found his footing when he was surrounded again. Statesman reached to the sky above, and called upon the energy it could provide. He felt it grow in him and when it reached the point were he felt it escaping his control, he released the electricity into the jaegers surrounding him. They buzzed, sparked and then collapsed as their electronics where fried. Statesman smiled, so many damaged, so little effort.

"I need to recharge... I have to find a power supply." Vambrace yelled to his partner.

"How much can you take? Power wise that is?" Elementar asked while blowing another gust of wind to clear a path.

"I can filter it to what I need, so the amount doesn't matter!"

"Good stand behind me; close your eyes and turn off your ears! This is going to be loud!"

Vambrace pulled out his recharging plug and held it upward and shut down his input sensors. Even in doing so the lighting strike showed white through his closed eyelids and the percussion of the thunder sent him staggering. When he got himself straightened around, he was fully charged. The sight that greeted him totally confused him, the jaegers were battling anything and everything that moved, which was mostly themselves. "What happened to them?" He asked.

"I think the lighting strike fried their optical lenses. Just get down and let them do our work themselves." Elementar was almost laughing. That was until a massive figure arose in front of him to knock him backwards several yards. Loosing consciousness, Elementar's fog also began to dissipate. Nemesis had finally gotten into the battle.

Lord Nemesis:

Lord Nemesis had two problems going on at the same time. First was his unfamiliarity with his new body. He knew he had machine guns, but how did he get them to work? His human body was not so equipped so the response wasn't instinctual. The second problem was he couldn't move without harming his own creations. He was standing in a sea of brass and one step would simply crush the jaegers packed around him. Although they all waited for an opportunity to attack the two heroes, they effective hindered his own movement. "Two, only two... where did the other three go?" He thought to himself as he scanned the battlefield. There on the far side of the battlefield was a sea of black. Not the markers used by his soldiers but just a large black void in the view of colors. "Dark Watcher, it has to be!" He realized the first flaw to his creations targeting safety. He scanned for the other two but could not find them. Only jaegers and a few brave Arimger Soldiers. He thought he would reward them for their efforts when he saw one of them raise his arms and a number of jaegers tumbled away from the two of them. The other two heroes... Nemesis realized the second flaw to the system. How could he not have foreseen someone figuring out how the safety system worked?

Just as Nemesis bent down to leap towards the two of them, a large lightening strike hit the one. It took him a second to readjust his sight, when he did he was furious. There were only five of them, how could they be defeating his army? He leaped into the air and landed just in front of the one called Elementar. He strolled towards him and swung his massive metal arm. He may not have access to his weapons but he could still beat them the old fashioned way. He struck the man, and with great satisfaction he watched him sail across the road into a mailbox. He smiled when the fog bank began to dissipate as well. Soon his soldiers would have something to target. He felt himself being knocked off balance as Vambrace threw a body check into his legs. He staggered backwards but didn't fall. He did however find himself now engaged with a group of jaegers that no longer could tell the difference between friend and foe.

Nemesis started kicking his own robots out of his way as he made his way back towards Vambrace, who was now kneeling with the fallen hero. As the fog cleared more he could make out the extent of the damage to his metal army. At least four platoons lay before him. On the other side of the square he could make out Statesman taking down another small group jaegers. Before he could wonder where the woman was, Maiden Justice hammered at his leg joint with large hammer. It took him a second to realize it was a Warhulk hammer she wielded in her hand. His knee gave way and he tumbled to the ground. It sounded like metal thunder and his body crushed jaegers beneath him. Maiden Justice was on top of him now pounding on his chest yelling she was going to rip him out of his machine.

"Foolish woman, when are you going to understand, I am Lord Nemesis!" His arm swept across sending her through the air, but she was ready for it and landed on her feet. Hammer still gripped in her hand.

"Then I'll simply pound you into scrap metal." She said coldly and then ran for him again. It was only a volley of gunshots from a squad of soldiers to their left that diverted her swing. The fog had lifted enough now for a clear line of fire and the soldiers had taken their shot.

Statesman was suddenly at her side and then past her as he flew like a rocket into the line of men. It took him seconds to break the firing line apart as men and guns flew or scattered in all directions. He didn't wait to look as he headed into the next group setting up to fire. Nemesis was almost back to his feet, but with the distraction of Statesman going through his army as if they were no more that tin soldiers, that he missed Maiden Justice's new advance on him. The blow from the hammer caught him off guard again and he hit the ground a second time. He raised his arm to block her, when the gun slots opened up and there pointing at her chest were twenty .50 caliber barrels. He enjoyed the shocked look on her face... and nothing happened. He growled in frustration, as he could not figure out how to get the guns to fire. Still in her moment of hesitation he took advantage of it and knocked her through the air again. He stood up and looked around him, trying desperately to salvage the day. He had never in his life experienced such a collapse of plans that left him wondering as to what he should do.

He needed a moment to think, to regroup. That was the only course of action, retreat and regroup. This battle was over, but the day was not. He pulled a tube from his side and held it aloft and squeezed. A green flare sailed through the sky to signal what he thought he would never signal, fall back to regroup. He leaped away from the battle before Maiden Justice could make another charge and headed back to the north side of the city. He could only hope that the heroes needed rest after this first round and would buy him enough time to regroup. He would not be caught off guard a second time.

###### Brass Monday part 2

Lukas paced the command center as everyone did their best to follow the battle as reported by the five wireless observers. The snipers were still in route from their previous positions but even the snipers that had the angle of the battle, didn't have anything to shoot at. He hated the fact that he was stuck here... he should have been on the front lines with his leader. Colonel Tomain could handle this part of the operation. The reports were useless descriptions of a boiling mass of fog that an occasional jaeger would appear as it was thrown into the air... or random hail storms... or flashes of lightening. It didn't make sense, they were twenty-three minutes into the battle, which was more than it should have taken to win this fight. He had felt sure that using this size of resources was over kill, but now he was beginning to wonder.

The report of a black mass attacking the soldiers directly came over the wireless. Soldiers were running away from the blackness or attacking things that didn't seem to be there. Dark tendrils, that seemed to come from the abyss itself, grabbed at the soldier's legs to slow them down. It had to be Dark Watcher, but just what was he doing to his men? He thought Dark Watcher's name meant he just hid in the shadows, but now it seemed he commanded the darkness itself. Just what type of person could do that?

"Sergeant, order the snipers to shoot into that dark mass. I don't care what they can or can't see, I want it full of holes. Maybe with some luck they'll hit something." He commanded.

"Sir observer six reports that the police department is moving in cautiously. They are coming up from the University and it looks like it's the whole force sir."

Lukas swore and looked at the map on the table. "Fine time for them to get a back bone of their own." He thought. With them in motion and the information that militia in Newport had been mobilized and would be arriving sometime in the next hour didn't bode well. They needed to end this quickly to secure the city itself. There had to be something he missed and it troubled him. How could just five people push back this army. "We have the secure spots, we picked the battle field and yet they have the upper hand. I need to see what's going on!" He took a deep breath to calm his frustration.

"Sergeant, contact the snipers on the move and have them get to their positions for operation fall back. If we have to move I want them in place to cover the retreat." Some of the men turned to look at him, but didn't question his orders. It was the logical thing to do and that was always a good place to start. "Also have the ninth and tenth platoon start to pull back, to thirty-fifth Street and set up a blockade facing south." He looked to the board to see what other playing pieces he had to maneuver but they were thinning fast. How could this have gone wrong?

The report that the fog was clearing was excellent news. There was a bit of pride as they told how Lord Nemesis had taken the weather hero down. There was a small cheer until word came of Lord Nemesis being knocked down by the woman. "Why isn't he using his weapons?" he asked himself. It didn't make sense for him to go into combat and not use them. Two possibilities came to mind. First was that the equipment being untested had failed, and the second scared him. What if it wasn't that the weapons wouldn't work, but that he didn't know how to make them work?

"Sir the third and fourth need help with that dark cloud. The soldiers can't get near it and the jaegers refuse to attack it." It was then that Lukas saw the flaw. Black markers are non-targets and that was a massive non-target ripping his lines to shreds.

"Tell them to pull back, try to get Dark Watcher to separate himself from the others. I want them to set up a picket line and shoot continuously into that dark mass. He can't avoid every bullet."

"Sir all watchers report Lord Nemesis has launched a green flair."

"That's it gentleman make sure everyone falls back and that they take whatever wounded they can. Leave the scrap metal. Tell the ninth and tenth to expect company. Those snipers will never make it in time to set up covering positions, give them the return order. We may need them when the militia gets here."

~~~~

Lord Nemesis moved up Freedom Avenue in great leaps. He was pleased to see a platoon already in barricade formation across it. He knew that Victory would have a similar barricade and was pleased to see his General was one step ahead of him. He knew Lukas wanted to be on the battlefield with him, but this is why he insisted he coordinated the battle from the war room. Lukas had all the pieces of the puzzle at his disposal. He did not. He landed and checked the gauges to his own power plant. It was operating at full capacity but had no need to. Not unless he could figure how to make his weapons work. A Warhulk limped past him, its left leg servo was leaking fluid. Lord Nemesis crossed over to it and took its massive rifle. He plugged it into the port on his arm and the gun lit up. Well at least this will work. How long had it been since he last held a rifle? He brought the stock up to his shoulder and sighted down the barrel.

He concentrated and his vision swirled again. He wondered why he could do this, but could not get his brain wrapped around his weapons command. Now his right eye telescoped his vision so he could make out the square several blocks back, to see movement on the far side. Throwing caution to the wind he calculated his shot and squeezed the trigger. The rifle fired with a loud report and as he watched a car near to where he was aiming exploded. Well if nothing else he'd keep them on their toes while his men and machines set up for the next assault. He pulled the trigger as fast as the rifle would reset itself, sending shells overtop and around the heads of anyone still in the square. Mounds of jaegers erupted in twisting metal as the shells drove into the piles of the dead machines.

Lord Nemesis dropped the spent rifle, if nothing else it helped him rid himself of his frustration with his own problems. Colonel Tomain came to him with updated numbers. Over a third of the jaegers were destroyed or just didn't work correctly. Of the Warhulks fifteen remained battle-ready, but of the two thousand troops only twelve hundred could actually fight. Down Freedom and Victory Avenues Nemesis' set up was the same, all the Jaegers in front of the barricade. The men set up in a picket line to shoot overtop of the jaegers into the oncoming heroes. A split platoon to guard their flank and path to retreat. It took his army only ten minutes to set up and organize this next line of attack. Now they waited. Nemesis as well as the observers picked up the dark cloud making its way up Freedom and a fog bank was reported to be moving up Victory.

Were they really that foolish to split their miniscule forces? Had their first victory made them over confidant? Nemesis pondered this development as the clouds overhead started to churn and roll. A runner broke his concentration. He hadn't noticed the winds had picked up considerably. The runner didn't wait for him to address him because he was panicking.

"Lord Nemesis! There's a tornado coming up Victory!"

~~~~

Colonel Tomain had just finished his inspection and inventory of what he had to work with when the fog bank rose into view and started moving up Victory Avenue. A runner quickly came from Lord Nemesis to tell him that Dark Watcher was moving up Freedom. This was a break he was hoping for. He may not be able to see what they were shooting at but at least they could shoot into it with out their own fears attacking them. He ordered his infantry to stand read and then called his eight Warhulks to move to the front of the jaeger group to for a charge. As the Warhulks built up steam, rain started to fall between them and the approaching fog.

"Attack!" Colonel Tomain shouted and the Warhulks started lumbering down the road, weapons at the ready. The wind shifted and swirled and the light rain changed into sleet. The Warhulks started to slide and shift and their legs seemed to go several directions at the same time. Colonel Tomain watched in frustration at this all the while the fog bank moved towards them. He was just about to give the command to fire, regardless of his dancing Warhulks when the wind began to pick up. It seemed to swirl around him, up and down the avenue. A block away the winds roared and suddenly the fog bank was sucked into a column of turning air. Colonel Tomain had never seen one, he had only read about them, had only seen their aftermath, but his heart stopped as the realized that he was looking at a tornado. Looking beyond it he saw Elementar standing legs spread wide and arms moving in a circular motion. He could see him clearly and yelled for his infantry to shoot him... but no one heard him over the roaring wind.

Colonel Tomain saw Elementar push forward with his hands and the tornado rushed down the avenue. His order choked in his mouth as the Warhulks were sucked into the tornado and spun around several times, bouncing off the buildings to either side of the road. The tornado picked up speed and intensity as it roared down the street. The Colonel didn't have to give a retreat command as his men broke ranks and started to run, but it was too late. The tornado charged into the jaeger ranks and the air was filled with swirling metal.

~~~~

"A what?" Lord Nemesis yelled over the wind, now sounding like a freight train.

"A TORNADO!" The man yelled, but Nemesis just barely heard it. He had chosen this section of Victory and Freedom because of the buildings forming a natural choke point. With Thirty-fifth Street crossing between them for a natural support route. He called for the troops on Victory to cross towards Freedom, but his orders couldn't be heard over the wind. How could anyone have known that this Elementar could conjure up such a destructive force of nature? The wind rushed between the buildings that enclosed thirty-fifth street. It filled instantly with metal debris as the tornado had room to expand as it passed through the intersection. Windows shattered and brick cracked as jaegers flew into the buildings, cars and anything else that got in the way of the mangled metal. Just as fast as it had started it was gone, and everything that had once been suspended in the air currents, rained down to the ground below. Nemesis didn't bother looking for survivors it was a waste of time. Now only a third of his forces remained.

"Here they come!" a shout rose from the front line. Nemesis turned to look and he didn't see anything but a dark shadow rushing up the street to meet them.

"Fire!" He yelled and a second later the front line fired into the blackness. Again and again they shot into the approaching blackness. When their guns were empty they moved back and let fresh troops open fire. They did this none stop. Soon the jaegers where over run with the blackness but they didn't attack. So intent where they on the dark cloud, no one noticed the blur that rounded the corner from Victory. The Statesman hit hard into Nemesis knocking him off his feet and into a storefront of a hardware store. Vambrace was right behind Statesman springing off the corner of a building and right into the line of soldiers. The platoon covering their flank turned towards the attack only to be facing a woman in white robes, golden corset belt and Warhulk hammer.

"Come on boys, let's dance." Maiden Justice said and jumped into the front line, swinging in wide arcs. The men shoved their bayonets forward but there really wasn't enough room with so many other men so close together. Men when down left and right, as she swung the hammer in wide arcs. Those soldiers unfortunate enough to get close to her and survive, would swear she was singer to herself.

Nemesis got to his feet quickly enough and again he could get his gun ports to open, but again he could not get them to fire. What was he thinking not changing bodies last week? Now it was too late to figure out how to work his new body. Statesman was on him again and the two men went at it exchanging blow for blow, each hoping the next one would bring the other down.

Dark Watcher moved out from the shadows from one side of the streets. He wasn't in the dark cloud but directing it. Now he changed tactics and pulled sticky tar from the ground slowing the soldier's movement. With a smug look at the trapped men he unleashed his full power of darkness on them. The soldiers shrieked trying to get away from their own fears. He walked in to do battle, the darkness cascading off of his body in waves.

Lord Nemesis had to concede this battle and pulled a red tube from his waist and fired off a red flare, the signal for retreat. He continued to fight Statesman for as long as he could to give his men time to get away, but in the end he leaped over Statesman and headed back towards the square. Several jumps had him there and onto the lift. He descended downwards and the hatch closed above him, but he knew Statesman knew where he had gone and it was only a matter of time until he continued the pursuit. Reaching the tunnel he moved to a panel beside the lift and threw the lever that he thought he would never use. The signal went out in a high pitched whistle. Any jaeger still able to receive the signal immediately went into count down mode. Ten seconds later all of the jaegers exploded violently from ruptured steam generators. The percussion of the explosions shattered windows and the metal fragments flew in every direction.

###### Chapter 25: Contingency Plans

Lukas swore when he heard the news of the tornado and knew that they had severely underestimated the powers of these... these super heroes. The red flair was reported and Lukas activated several levers along one wall, to disengage the failsafe. No one had to tell him of the jaeger's self-destruction, the ground shook from the explosion. It would be felt all across the city and many people would mistake it for an earthquake. Lukas pulled another switch, if Lord Nemesis was in the tunnel heading back this way and the super heroes were in pursuit, then this building was no longer secure. He walked to another panel and pulled three more levers. Red lights started to flash and a claxon sounded indicating evacuation. His men turned to look at him to make sure it wasn't mistake, but his expression told them the truth of it so they grabbed their gear and they ran for the escape tunnels. Lukas walked to Lord Nemesis' private laboratory and found it unlocked. He opened the doorway to find his old friend's body sitting peacefully in a chair. His head was covered with a metal helmet with hundreds of wires coming out of it attaching him to the machine behind him. He carefully removed the helmet and waited for the new Lord Nemesis to appear. It was only a few minutes when the echoing footsteps could be heard and then the tall doors swung open. Lord Nemesis stepped in scanned the room quickly and then looked down at General Eisenberg.

"General we have learned much today wouldn't you say?"

"I wish we had learned it weeks ago, before we went into battle. How much time do we have?"

"I would give them five minutes at most to get into the tunnel. I gave you your instructions, you have served me well my friend, but I'm afraid it is time for one of your alias' to die. I will contact you in Atlanta." Lord Nemesis looked at his old body, "what are you going to do with that? I don't care about it, why should you?"

"For Helena sir. I will leave it in your apartments above, when they find it they will say you died in the explosion. She will except that easier than all of this." Lukas gestured with his hand to the surroundings.

"Indeed I suppose. I really need to study women more, I really don't understand them. You will have to hurry though, you will only have two minutes to escape once the lever is pulled."

"I know sir, you better get moving yourself, and close the doors behind you if you will. Maybe we'll get lucky and catch them in here when it explodes."

Nemesis chuckled, "That would be a nice ending to a horrific day. By the way, I guess I will have to owe you that cigar."

"Yes... you will." Lukas said as the metal man turned and left the room that it was created in, pulling the massive doors closed behind it. Lord Nemesis took a hidden side tunnel to another secret laboratory to hide until things calmed down, if that would ever be possible after today.

~~~~

Lord Nemesis' body seemed frail and lighter than its size suggested. Lukas carried over his shoulder back to the workstation where he had sounded the alarms from and took a key from his pocket. He inserted the safety-key and turned it. His hand reached forward and hesitated over one final lever. He looked around his home since coming to this country. Well he had a new home in the south now. At least his children would grow up away from the City. He pulled the lever the turned to lift Nemesis' body and the satchel he had been given before the battle and got into the elevator. He stepped out into Lord Nemesis' hospital like room of an apartment and laid his friend down on his bed and crossed his arms in rest. He paused, saying a pray for his old friend who was dead but wasn't and then ran for the elevator. Lukas was grateful for the speed of the modified elevator, queasy feeling and all and he found himself out the front door and into a waiting car. He had never seen this battered old Ford before and wondered if he would have to get out and push. Lukas was changing out of his uniform and into what looked to be farmer's overalls when he heard the explosion. He didn't need to see it to know that the Southern United building, all twelve stories of brick and mortar just collapsed into itself and it's four sub basements filled with rubble. They would find the wallet and ID of Lukas Reese, but no other trace. Whether they connected him to Lord Nemesis would remain to be seen but for now his only immediate need was to get out of Paragon City and to his wife.

The orders in the satchel were clear on how to make his escape and where to head, change vehicles, where to sleep. It would take him weeks to get to Atlanta, but once there he would stay there for quite some time. Running a company that manufactured vacuum tubes as Lukas Eisenberg. But for now he settled in the small uncomfortable car as they headed for the first of many checkpoints out of the city. Passing over a bridge he threw a weighted bundle out of the window into the water below. The last of his military career now sunk to the bottom of the inlet.

###### Chapter 26: End of the tale

The three men sat in their chairs, while Lukas took a drink form his iced tea. Letting everything sink into the brains of the two men in front of him. He gave them credit for not interrupting him constantly with questions. So now he waited for them to respond. He always thought remembering the events of those years would be painful, but it wasn't too bad. Some of his happiest days with Helena had started back then so he had enjoyed parts of his trip down memory lane. If he had told his story just right they would not notice those things he omitted in the telling. Some personal, some important, but in the end they would piece together a truth that best fit their beliefs. Even if they noticed the gaps or inconstancies in the story, they would just write it off to an old forgetful man at the end of his days. So they would connect the dots together into a nice neat picture that answered their questions. Every man did this to some extent or another, he just hoped they formulated the ideas he wanted them to do. The next questions would tell him if he was successful or not. He set his glass down, his hands shaking and he looked at both men in their eyes as they pondered their next questions. The one called Max looked down to his note pad. "A smart man keeps his notes in order." Lukas smiled at the thought. Now days he didn't even have to write them down, he just spoke into that blasted computer and it did it for him.

"So..." began Max, "all these things in history were his doing?"

Lukas gave a wheezing chuckle. "It would not be fair to blame him for all the evil in the world. There are plenty of others that can share in it. Let us just say he did what he needed to bring about his goals for world unity and peace."

"Starting World War II was his way to bring about peace? How can you say that after all the horrors Hitler did?"

"You missed the point, Nemesis did not orchestrate the war, and he merely gave the right people a push in the right direction. He only wanted the distraction of world's time and resources while he furthered his plan. The fact that Japan started their own war was something no one could have foreseen. Nor was the fact that Adolph was mentally unstable, he did put up a good front before it began. I'm sure Nemesis would have dealt with him long before the genocide happened. Lord Nemesis wasn't a cruel person, human life meant a great deal to him. Stubborn, head strong and sometimes ruthless, but never cruel and never did he attack the innocent or helpless. We can argue the ethics of historical events and the motives that drove them for years. That is a luxury that I don't have."

"So you went into hiding under your real name, why didn't anyone figure it out?"

"The world was already in a pit when World War II broke out, I was easily overlooked when they figured I had been killed when the building collapsed. Science back then was nothing like you see on the television now days, many things went undiscovered and stayed that way."

"How did his, what did you call it? His automatronic? How did that work? What gave it the ability to act on its own?" Anton asked.

"I have never understood those types of things. It took me three years to set up my own e-mail account, I wouldn't begin to speculate how that thing worked."

"So you found him dead and the mechanical man gone. Did he program it? Did it have its own computer?"

Lukas laughed, "Gentlemen, read your history. The first computers filled rooms just to do basic math. How absurd is it to think he had that capability. He may have dreamt about it, but how would he have created a microchip back then? I am sure it was like the jaegers, simply friend or foe, attack or standby, nothing more."

"So you don't think this thing that others have seen, even just recently is the real Lord Nemesis?"

"It's not a matter of thinking, I know. I found his body dead that day, I laid it on his bed to rest in peace when those alarms sounded. I can only hope to go in my sleep when the time comes." He let his eyes wander around the room over pictures and portraits of loved ones, some now long lost.

"Did you talk to Lord Nemesis after you fled Paragon City?" Max asked quickly trying to trip him up.

"I was thankful to be alive, to be free, and to have a wife and soon to be son that adored me. I saw no good reason to hold a seance to contact my wife's dead relative. My life played out very nicely if I do say so myself. I walked away from Paragon City and did not look back."

"What happened to Colonel Tomain?"

"He was killed in that tornado attack of Elementar's. I understand close to five hundred good men died in that one attack. I don't seem to recall that ever being mentioned in the history books. Did you know the framework of that mighty Atlas statue was formed from the metal of those twenty thousand jaegers? It was a mistake, that whole battle was a mistake. How could anyone know the powers those first five truly contained. There was no registration for powers... no one trained... it was only by trial and error that they discovered their true potential. Unfortunately Lord Nemesis was both the trial and error for them. Against that unknown, the odds were never in our favor and many good men died that day. I hear that some of the ones affected by Dark Watcher never recovered. They lived out their days in mental wards surrounded by their own nightmares. Powers like that should never be allowed. I know... I know..." he waved off their protests.

"Mr. Eisenberg, do you know what happened to Nemesis' library? You mentioned he wrote everything down, do you know if his library survived?"

"I'm afraid it was lost in the rubble and fire of that explosion. At least no one said otherwise."

"So all of his books are gone? What a waste."

"It is a waste but not all of his books are gone. Lord Nemesis died writing in his planning journal. It laid limply by his side, so I took it to prevent others from getting their hands on his life's work."

"You took it?" Anton's eyes lit up. "Do you know where it is, can we look at it?" He said excitedly. Lukas noticed both men now sat on the edge of their seats.

"Yes I still have it, and I see no reason not to show you. After all the plans in it where written a life time ago, I doubt you could use them for your own plans of world domination." Lukas pushed himself out of his chair and grabbed his walker. His spine cracked as he stretched his old frame. He moved to the bookshelf and started taking down several books to reveal a hidden door. He opened the door and took out a well-oiled satchel, the black leather gleamed in the light. He moved back to his chair and handed it to Max before sitting down again. "There it is gentleman. All that Lord Nemesis ever wanted to achieve, is in that case."

Max undid the hasp and opened the top then pulled out a carefully wrapped journal. Taking off the wrapping bound in plastic was an old green journal. He let go of his breath that he didn't know he was holding and removed the plastic wrap then opened the cover. The pages where old and had a brittle quality to them, but they didn't tear or fall apart. Lukas watch the two men, their expressions where one of awe and wonder as they turned page after page, looking at the diagrams and sketches of inventions.

"Did you ever figure out his code?" Anton asked looking up.

"No I'm afraid I was never much for puzzles. Helena tried for awhile but had to admit defeat as well. I'm afraid it might remain a mystery forever." Lukas said wistfully.

"Would you allow us to try to decipher it? We'd only scan it, then bring the book right back to you. We can even have a preservation expert look at it so it'll last longer." The eagerness in Anton's voice was quite evident.

"Just what do you hope to find in those pages? Surely not some technology, time has out distanced Lord Nemesis on that point. Oh the marvels he could have made today..."

"Well sir, the plot we uncovered whether it was the real Nemesis or an imitation the threat was very real. If there is any way to find any other such plots we have to take that chance. These plans are like land mines and people get hurt when they go off. We want to prevent that." Max explained.

"A noble cause, but I think that you are headed down a rabbit trail and not the path to enlightenment. Still I see no reason for you not to attempt it. Keep it as long as you need to, I don't see a need for it in my immediate future. Gentlemen I hope you will forgive me, but I am exhausted. I have not had company for so long, I need to rest."

"No problem sir, we're just grateful you took the time out to talk to us." Anton said.

"Well I hope you found some insight to what you need. It was a pleasure meeting the both of you."

Max and Anton thanked him again and collected their equipment and coats. They rung for the valet and waited for Rebecca escorted them back to the elevators. Lukas watched their backs as they talked excitedly to each other and smiled. It really did feel good to get most of that off of his chest. Even if the story was edited down. He was proud that he didn't have to lie too much, just avoiding sections of the whole truth seemed to work well. He was very pleased with this meeting, but wished it had come twenty years sooner. Sometimes super heroes could be so thick in the head.

###### Epilogue: A New Life

Lukas waited for the confirmation call from the front gate that the green Ford Focus was off the grounds and heading out onto the highway. Only then did he give a sigh of relief. He had been waiting for this day for a long time. Standing up was such a pain, even with his walker, but he did what he had to do to walk into his bedroom. He closed the door and turned on satellite music radio. He found the station that played the hits from the forties and fifties and turned the volume just below polite conversation level. In the bedroom was a hidden safe, standard with all the units and he took from it a fire proof lock box. He sat down on his bed and opened it up. On top were his personal papers. His insurance information and funeral arrangements lay on top. Next was his stock portfolio, what little of it that was left. Most had been liquidated and moved to a special account to go to his only living relative. He took out an aged picture of Helena and himself, holding their baby boy, Luke Gerald Reese at his baptism. She looked beautiful as a young woman, but mother hood made her simply shine. He pulled out another picture taken just a few months ago at his one hundredth birthday party. It showed a beautiful young woman, the spitting image of his Helena, his great grand daughter Annabelle Reese. He had followed her adventures as only he could and was pleased she was finding her way in the world. He smiled knowing that she could take care of herself when everything looked their worst. She came from a very interesting family tree and he hoped she would enjoy reading about said family once he was gone. Setting these aside he pulled out a cell phone that was well cared for but never used. His shaking hands hit the # sign and then the number two and three together. He swore at his shaking hands and tried it again. This time just the # key and number two button where hit and held it up to his ear.

..."Hello?... Yes, I'll hold but not too long my dear, I would hate for my obituary to read that I died while on hold." He laughed at his joke.

"Yes.... Hello my old friend... I'm tired, oh so tired, and you?... I know but it's only polite to ask. Surely you haven't also given in to this rude age and given up politeness... I can only imagine... I just wanted to let you know they just left... yes, with the book... They were like little greedy children being presented with a chocolate cake... Oh I would imagine they'd have the whole thing scanned by the end of the week, if not by the end of the day... Indeed... By the way, thank you for letting them "discover" that scheme of yours, it led them right to me. I was afraid I was going to die before anyone figured the clues out... So what were you doing with the weather?... (laughing) Oh don't give me that bull, I know the real reason you wanted to control the weather, and it had nothing to do with rockets... (laughing) oh yes I do and you can't fool me... you know most people just fly south for the winter months... why not?... just a couple of old codgers relaxing down in the Keys... (laughing) Forget the margaritas, just give me the tequila... Yes, she really loved the south didn't she... Yes, I'm ready... I've been ready since... well for years now... HA!... miss what food? I've been eating nasty tasting mush out of little jars for ten years now. I really don't think I'll miss eating all that much... now the wines and other whiskey are a different story... True, it is best I never taste those again... Helena would be please to know I'm not... So, I'll be getting a new model, not like that massive thing you have, right?... No massive is good on you... you have a larger than life personality... HA! Well, I don't know... that Iron Man look is pretty nice, it has that Italian sports car feel... (laughing) Who would take me serious if I looked like him? All dark and menacing, sounding like I'm having an asthma attack... Well maybe at that Hero Con thing... (laughing)... Yes old friend, I can't wait to come back home either... I'll be waiting for them... I will want to stop by the cemetery before I do... yes... yes... Well with a new body will come new hope, eh?... Until then my old friend, and thank you for this opportunity... Goodbye."

Lukas hung up the phone and put it and all his other papers and photos away in the box and locked it safely away in his safe. He picked up the bedside phone and dialed the front desk, he felt like visiting with some friends one last time, before beginning his new life.
About the author and this book:

I have been playing City of Heroes since June, 1995. It was my first MMORPG and I was hooked. There have been some diversions with other games and beta testing, but I have always had this one to come back to. I have met a number of amazing players, some became real life friends. It was with the encouragement of one group of Role Players that I wrote my first fan fiction piece. Nothing more than an extended biography, but when it was completed they asked me what came next. I have since moved beyond fan fiction and recently completed my first fantasy novel, Griffin Rider.

This story was written for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNo WriMo) challenge. Every November there is a challenge to write a 50,000-word (un-edited)novel in thirty days. I chose to come back to City of Heroes, specifically in hopes of writing the story of Brass Monday. The original concept was to do this from the Freedom Phalanx point of view, the rise of the super heroes against the world's first super villain... It didn't work out that way. There just wasn't enough information to do it from the Hero side. I scoured the forums, in game mission logs and clues, I even begged the developers for a glimpse into that what is only hinted at for physical descriptions and power sets of the original Freedom Phalanx, but found little.

With November quickly approaching, I had to scratch my first idea and fell back to my second plan. That was to take this story from the Villain's POV but even that proved to be in a word, vague. Lord Nemesis is a very elusive character to track down. So I compromised by making the Heroes and Villain the secondary characters and created our main character Lukas Reese a.k.a. General Lukas Eisenberg.

I am a husband, father, gamer, and writer. I live in the foot hills of the Laurel Mountains in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

You can contact me at moonlyte01@gmail.com

I look forward to discussions and comments.

Or find my other works at http://moonlyte.net

Thank you for reading.

Brian.

Griffin Rider: Book 1, The Inventor's Tomb.

The wind whipped past Eliza, as she urged Raima on faster. The alarm had awoken her and her family with its distant blaring and although her father flatly told her to stay home, she flatly ignored him. It wasn't like her to be disrespectful to her parents; on the contrary she was normally a very mindful of their instructions. Not so much out of duty, but out of love for them. This was different though; this was the one alarm no one wanted to hear... the raiders are attacking the village. Eliza knew beyond certainty that she of all the people, in this small part of the world, was the only one who could get the upper hand in this attack. As she cleared the hilltop she got her first look of the village below. The whole village seemed to be awake, and fires had broken out. The long wail of the steam powered siren drowned out any shouts that may have reached her. Breaking the lights and the flames were shadows of people running or chasing. And there above it all was the pirate's airship. Not larger than the size of a sailing sloop one would see on the great lakes, it was suspended from above by two black orbs. Eliza could barely make out the connecting wires from the balloons to the ship below.

Eliza cringed at the thought of what she must do, she so desperately wanted to ride in one of the great airships, and to see the technologies on them. Not this one though.

"We need to get above them." She yelled over the wind and pulled up on the straps to redirect Raima. His massive wings pumped harder as he banked in an upward climb to get above the menace in front of them. The sleek griffin's flight path took them above and behind the balloons, moving faster than any airship could maneuver...

... They swung around for a second pass. Raima was picking up speed in his banking dive and was headed for the first balloon again. Eliza held on tightly and leaned forward, now looking like a race horse jockey. The griffin came down along side of the balloons and spiraled at the last second. Eliza's saddle had been custom made for her by her best friend Aden and his dad. Her boots had built in pin rings that fit into a matching set along the saddle to the stirrups. A brass rod slid down between the rings and locked into place, holding her fast in the saddle. This was a good thing, because right now she was looking at open sky to one side, and ground to the other. The balloons jiggled as Raima skimmed the side and lashed out with beak and claw. Several smaller holes appeared, but more importantly one of the main cables snapped. As he completed the circle, leaving Eliza a tad queasy, she noticed people sliding down rope ladders and cables, abandoning ship. She would have smiled if she wasn't busy turning green.

The front balloon was all but gone and the fore of the ship was now pointing straight down and falling quickly as the rear balloon lost its gases. Seconds before the ship crashed to the earth, there was a loud explosion of fire and steam amidships as the boiler erupted. The pillage of the town turned into a route of the attackers. With out their support from above and more importantly without a means to escape, the pirates' thoughts of plunder turned to one of fleeing on foot. The only logical explanation as to the demise of their ship could only be that somehow the king's men had been laying in wait for them. Eliza banked Raima towards home...
